Greenspan A Go Go

12/3/11

2011-12-03T13:04:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving break=too quick, Emergency chair=two extractions and a 5 year old who bumped her front teeth loose, Lunch with my beloved Newton, Lotsa Sleep!

This week-lots of oral surgery time due to cancellations, emergency prophy, the loosest front tooth EVER, starting to study for finals.

11/16/11

2011-11-16T19:15:00.000-08:00

A few more days until Thanksgiving break. It's not a complete break-I'm volunteering to work emergency over the break. The extra time units will be nice. I can hardly believe this semester is almost over!

This week-I'm almost finished with a maxillary denture. Just a little festooning, some check offs, then I send it to the lab! So excited! Also, finished 4 quads of scaling and root planing on one patient and have only one more quad left to do on another. I'm almost finished with my scaling root planing requirements to graduate. I still have all other areas that I desparately need patients in..operative, endo, fixed, removable.....good thing I have a year and a half left!

Tomorrow-an elementary school visit-hope to inspire some good brushers and flossers!

10/6/11

2011-10-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

Team Closed this morning-Bonus time to check up on patient records, study for oral surgery exam, and re-learn how to box up and pour up bases for complete denture. Classmate JK was so sweet to show me how to do the box up. Really lucky to have him on my team-and as my student dentist! Diagnosis in the afternoon was fun and I had the help of a 1st year so it was great to have an additional set of hands to do the computer work so I could focus on the hands on. Best classmate buddy SW announced she's expecting...again. Came home to find some of the repairs to our bathroom remodel were done-finally progress but this remodel has taken a crazy long time for such a small room. Tonight-study for oral surgery midterm! Productive Day-feels good!

6-9-11

2011-06-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

Clinic is great and not great at times. The day flies by and yet I'm home earlier than ever but exhausted or riddled with massive migraines or body aches that I can't focus to study for boards yet. It is soo much to take in. We are learners, dentists, assistants, cleaning crews, office managers, receptionists, IT services.....we are soo many roles at once that my head spins.

My good friend/classmate told me something she told a patient this week -"It doesn't matter how you got here, the important thing is you are here". I know I will use that over and over with my patients. I have great patients. I'm on rotation in radiology right starting today through early next week, but I can not wait to get back to my own patients again.

Now if I can just get used to the toll it takes on my brain and body so I can start focusing on boards in the evenings!

5-23-11

2011-05-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

Spent the day learning to scale calculus and explore sub-gingivally. Finished the day with grocery shopping and made fish tacos, chips/guac, and for dessert-smores. That pretty much took all night and I didn't accomplish anything for school or boards. So there you go...even if I wanted to cook-I DON'T HAVE TIME.

Pool was officially uncovered-its getting all new chemicals right now-it always amazes me how gross it looks upon uncovering for the season and within a week its crystal clear. I hope I get to actually find time to relax in the pool this summer!

4-16-11

2011-04-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

Preparing for finals. End of the dreadful 2nd year is almost here! It's been quite a year. It is amazing how much information is crammed into my head. Hopefully I'll remember it for my boards this summer.

Also-although we can all drive one another crazy-I think this is the best class I've ever been a part of. I've never been around so many genuine, caring, helpful, funny, friendly classmates in my whole life. I care soo much for my classmates that it affects me personally when something happens to one of them. One classmate lost his father just weeks ago-and it makes me cry when ever I think about it. This classmate is so dear to everyone. Another just emailed bad news just this weekend. We tease each other relentlessly-and yet-when he hurts-I hurt for him. I didn't realize how attached I was getting to everyone. I guess that's what happens when you go through hell with a group of people-you're bonded for life. I look up to so many of them-and yet-I'm the oldest in the class.

I can't wait to see everyone at future reunions.

3-21-2011

2011-03-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

My Orthodontics professor told me this morning he really liked the retainer I made. Whew! I went to the lab last night to work on it. While I was polishing it up the lathe hooked one of my wire bends jamming the retainer into my thumb and then throwing the retainer against the metal back splash breaking the corner of it. So, I had to rebuild it and re-polish. Now my thumb is purple and it hurts to hold a pencil but that retainer is done!

So, that left me with the whole lab time to study. Nerdy I know but I love unexpected study time! Granted, in retrospect, I should have stayed in the lab to practice for Fixed. Ah well, tomorrow is another day. OH-and I ran over to the med school library to study and for once it was actually quiet! -That IS amazing. The hospital hill campus makes me crazy-there are no quiet areas to study. All the libraries are loud all the study nooks are filled with people on their phones or talking in groups-and yet this is where the future docs, nurses, pharmacist are supposedly studying

And today's dental school lesson brought to us by our Removable Partial Professor- "Expect Disappointment". Yeah, that sounds about right.

2-12-11

2011-02-12T18:34:00.000-08:00

Projects and Tests all around me. Can't wait for this semester to be over!

Last night-bending ortho wire until 1:30 am while watching a few movies.

Tonight-study for my ortho midterm.

Tried New York Dawg Pound hot dog restaurant in Mission. This is the second new hot dog joint thats opened up in KC. This place was very good as is Dog Nuovo but I have to say I like the ambience of Dog Nuovo a bit more.

Ran into a friend at the restaurant. He told Bob and I he may be transferring to another city. It's always weird when a friend you never see moves away. We never see him now but there's always that chance. When he moves-that chance is gone too.

I've been soo out of touch with so many friends. School takes up ALL of my time. If it weren't for Facebook I'd never know what was going on with them.

So, I did a "very respectable" job on a bridge this week in Fixed Prosthedontics but then I did a horrible job on the Fixed practical-so I'll be retaking that. I think my Periodontics midterm went well. We'll see-whenever I think it went well it didn't and vice versa so who knows.

Went to the dental school talent show....here's a bit of the show: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBuA3AMrzuk

January 22, 2011

2011-01-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

Spent a good part of the day in the lab yesterday. We have soo much snow that Bob has been taking me back and forth to school. So, I'm stranded there while he is out on appointments. Which has turned out pretty good since my first instinct is to dash out and go home when classes are over. This makes me stay and actually get stuff accomplished.

I am 2 weeks into the spring semester now. I guess that means 14 weeks to go! I just want to get through this as fast as I can. I'm just soo tired all the time. It has only been 2 weeks and already it feels like I've been back for a month. But, I know when May gets here I'll be amazed at how fast the semester went.

Today, Bobby Danger and I ran errands and have done some odds and ends around the house. The Christmas tree finally came down today. Then Bob made his chicken sweet potato leek soup-soo good. Just a nice winter's productive day.

January 15, 2011

2011-01-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

Spent 5 hours in the lab after classes yesterday and I still need to go back in this weekend for more. Saw The Green Hornet last night-very much enjoyed it! Cleaned the house most of the day so far-now getting ready to study. Still have much ahead of me to do this weekend.

January 13, 2011

2011-01-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

Almost the end of week 1. The sheer magnitude of things to print is a little scary. Luckily this semester a few professors have a binder of all their presentations for us vs. having to print off 40-55 slide powerpoints for each class-with 16 classes this takes a chunk out of my day!

Fixed Prosthodontics lab was interesting. I haven't held a drill in 4 weeks-my prep for a bridge is a mess. And, they assigned almost a half semesters worth of work to be done by next week. They do this every time there is a break (MLK Day monday)-they over-assign work to do to make sure you don't have a minute of downtime. So, looks like I'll be spending some time in the lab over the weekend.

Next week, just about every class has a guaranteed quiz or a potential of a quiz so every night I will be consumed with reading. I keep hearing that the worst semester is behind me but time will tell.

On the plus side, the streets are a mess and there's no way my Miata will make the trip so Bob has been driving me back and forth. It's a nice way to spend a little bonus time with Mr. Pretty. Too soon our schedules will be wildly out of sync and we'll barely find time to catch up with one another.

January 10, 2011

2011-01-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

First day of spring classes. I have 16 classes this semester. 16 CLASSES! Today we made it to lunch then the school decided to close due to snow. INSANE! SUVs were sliding, streets weren't plowed, we all risked our lives to get there and then at lunch they decide to send us back home. What's the point-we're already there now-might as well finish the day.

Bob had to take me to school today-there is no way the Miata was making it around the city in this snowy mess! He's my ride tomorrow as well since it's still snowing. But, since he has his own full day of appts looks like I'm getting dropped off at school extra early. Hopefully, I'll get a lot accomplished.

Anyway, it was good to see everyone again-but I don't feel ready to take on 16 classes. All I can do is keep showing up and just hope to get through it.

January 4, 2011

2011-01-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

Lovely Day of Sleep and Recovery and then tile shopping with Bobby G-I think we're really going to get a new masterbath this semester! So excited. We went to several stores to look at tile-it was so fun shopping with Bob. Even mundane things like tile shopping are a fun night out with Bob!

January 3, 2011

2011-01-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight we met with our friend Jared who will be remodeling our masterbath! Tomorrow we look at Tile!

January 2, 2011

2011-01-02T17:56:00.000-08:00

It's the end of the holiday season. I have one week left of my winter break before I start the second semester of my second year. I hear this semester is suppose to be better even though we have even more classes then last semester. I need to work on a better balance-if it is possible.

I will REALLY miss all the sleep I've been getting. I just didn't get enough sleep last semester. I was always sick and tired and sick and tired of being sick and tired. Of course I will miss all the down time with Bob. I'm so lucky to have such a supportive husband who does EVERYTHING for me.

New Year's Eve was fun. We met Stan and Veli, our friends from NYC, for dinner at Jack Gage. There was hardly anyone at the restaurant the whole evening. We met them for a 7:30 dinner and realized at 11 pm that it was getting late and we should actually go to the party we planned on going to. We went to Jared's house for the actual New Year's Eve countdown. Bob ran into friends there that he had not seen in 10 years and we found out that their friends (also at the party) used to live in our hood before they moved to Jared's hood. Small world-we all seemed to know some of the same people besides Jared. Stan and Veli fell instantly in deep conversations with total strangers as well. So, it worked out great and it was a fun evening for all. Seems like we had just arrived shortly before the countdown started. I think we left about 1:30 or 2 am. Anyway, it was a good night.

I didn't think I drank much at Jared's. But then again, I rarely drink anymore so my tolerance is really low. I did feel hungover the next morning. But, it was a great day-Bob and I literally lazed about the whole day on the couch watching movies and taking naps. Bob usually can't sit still for too long so this NEVER happens so I loved every moment of it. We left to find some restaurant open for dinner (so many were closed) then came back and watched Get Him to the Greek-which was soo funny.

Today, we slept in again-I'm really going to miss it! We ran an errand and then found ourselves driving around KC just on a sunday drive. I haven't accomplished much more than that and it's been wonderful! This will be a busy week getting my life and house organized for the new semester.

Anyway, it has been a lovely break and I'm so fortunate for all the blessings in my life. I hope I will one day earn all these wonderful blessings.

December 22, 2010

2010-12-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

Wow! I haven't blogged since August-right before my second year of dental school started. This was an incredibly hard semester. A lot of all-nighters. In fact, the last week of finals (last week) I stayed up 4 days in a row. I thought only crack addicts did that. But, I survived. Thank God-literally!

After my last final about 10 a.m., I went home and went right to bed. A few hours later I woke up in a frenzy looking for something having to do with some last project my dream must have told me was due. I had to tell myself over and over again-I'm done. I completed everything. There is nothing left to do. Then I went back to bed and slept until about 10 at night. I woke up and made some popcorn just as Bob was pulling into the drive. He just returned from his trip to El Paso. So, although I was out of my mind exhausted and in a daze from my finals experience-it was good to have Bobby back and to be able to just - be.

Since Friday, I've been sleeping, cleaning house here and there, running errands, and catching up on movies/t.v.. Bob replaced our old Apple TV-so I have access to all the movies I missed over the semester-so far I watched THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT AND WALLSTREET 2. I found both disappointing. Bob and I also saw BLACK SWAN out at the theater this past weekend and it was awful too. I'm soo tired of bad movies. Something has happened, either I am a harsher movie critic or movies have really gone downhill over the last few years.

Last night, we went to a Christmas party at one of Bob's clients. We go to this party every year. As we were walking to the coat room to hang up our coats we both said almost simultaneously-"wow-it doesn't seem that long ago that we were just at this party". All my life grandmas and grandpas told me how fast time goes by and I always thought it crept by. I'm becoming privy to that feeling of speeding through time now. It's scary! It feels as if it was just August. I was getting ready for my second year of dental school. I may recall not wearing a coat one day, then seeing some leaves change colors, then all of a sudden I needed a coat it was soo cold. Those quick glimpses of seasons changing is about all I experienced. All semester, I didn't watch a single full television news broadcast. I was that disconnected from the outside world. Anyway, all this disconnect is making me think I need to be more careful in keeping some kind attention of my life-before I race through it and knowing me-forget it. So, I think I'll try to document my life more.

August 9, 2010

2010-08-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

It's the beginning of a new year for me. I look at birthdays like clean slates-tabula rasa. I really didn't make any resolutions. In general anything I can improve -I want to. I am about to enter probably one of the busiest years of my life. So, for the next few weeks I just want to focus on what I can to make an atmosphere where I can be successful.

My birthday recliner arrives tomorrow. I'm excited but Bob is cringing. The thought of a recliner (not carrying the name Eames ) makes him crazy. But lucky for him it's going in my office. Since I pull so many all-nighters I wanted something I could take a 15 min snooze in, or relax by the window and read. And, it had to be leather so my furry friends hair won't stick to it. I think we found the best deal. I gave up on heat, massaging options, italian leather, etc. because my next purchase is going to be a little more expensive.....I'm getting a dental set up for home. I'm sure to still spend hours upon hours in the dental lab but when the compressors go off at 11 pm now I can finish my work at home.

Only two weeks of summer left. The anxiety is building but I gotta go back sometime.

June 11, 2010

2010-06-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

Four Year Anniversary-Dinner at the Melting Pot.

Here is the love of my life next to a fondue pot of chocolate- isn't life grand?

May 21, 2010

2010-05-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

Last week we took nephew, Ethan, to L.A./Disneyland.

Here we are on Splash Mountain. Ethan was soaked, Bob had squishy shoes the rest of the day. I was completely dry-notice the extra set of hands around Bob's waist but no body/head behind him...

Ethan in Toon Town.

Bob and Ethan. Ethan bought his Indiana Jones hat as his souvenir-we think he'll get beat up at school but he was proud of it.

Bob in front of the Matterhorn.

On the plane on our way to L.A.

Me at the Griffith Observatory.

Ethan and I at Griffith Observatory-lights of L.A. behind us.

Bob and I at Disneyland

Bob and I in the front yard of the Wayfarer Chapel

Bob and I at Griffith Observatory

May 10, 2010

2010-05-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

Still so sleepy. How many days of sleeping will it take?

May 9, 2010

2010-05-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

Its May! I vaguely remember May starting but I was in such a fog. Last week, I literally stayed awake for 3 days straight then took a 3 hour nap and pulled yet another all nighter. It was finals week and every test basically could have been a grade dropper. Head and Neck Anatomy was the test I took after being up 3 days straight. I didn't even finish reading 4 lectures worth of material-I knew I was going to bomb. At three AM that morning I decided to give up on the written exam portion and focus on the lab exam portion. I figured I could at least do well on one of the tests that day and maybe bombing the second one wouldn't hurt as much. Let's just say-the universe was kind-or Dr. Thomas was-and somehow I pulled out an A on the lab exam and a B on the written. Scary-I literally have no idea what the questions were even asking because I didn't read the material and because I was so brain dead that I couldn't comprehend the questions.

Now finals are over. Friday afternoon, my class held a class picnic at Loose Park. The weather had changed on us and it was freezing but it was fun to have lunch with the class and just relax and try to wrap our heads around being done with this year. It was a challenging year. We've all been pushed to our limits in more than one way. Some of us have been challenged trying to keep up, or learn new material, and of course-learning hand skills it takes to become a dentist. I remember getting our hand pieces for the first time-quite exciting! Many of us were horrible on our first cuts but everyone is improving.

I am taking a summer Operative course. It will give me more hands-on experience and help me prep for next semester when we start working on maxillary teeth. Much more difficult because you are working upside down, backwards and relying on using the drill in one hand and a mirror in the other. The class runs for 3 weeks and then I will officially be on summer vacay.

But, I'm getting a taste of summer already. After I slept off and on for a couple of days, Bob and I saw Ironman II. Very entertaining. And today, we celebrated Mother's Day at our place with mom, Bobzilla, and my brother's family. We made steak and chicken and all the trimmings for tacos. I've already done two loads in the dishwasher and another one pending. Now I've just been lounging around. I should take something to knock myself out. My sleep schedule is totally out of whack and of course after taking a nap earlier today I can't sleep now. A part of me feels like I need to study something and I'm still feeling so anxious but I need to just relax and just sleep and enjoy my time off.

4-25-10

2010-04-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

Dental School Prom a.k.a. Bushwacker

-Classmates are almost unrecognizable without scrubs on. Reminded me that we all do have lives beyond dental school.

-New suit for Bobbaganoush, new dress for me, insane purchases of jewelry and sunglasses the day of the party-total cost is obscene.....an event that I wasn't in charge of....priceless.

March 29, 2010

2010-03-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend Bob and I went to Oklahoma to visit relatives. We stayed the night in Bartlesville at the Frank Lloyd Wright Price Tower http://pricetower.org/innatpricetower/ . This is a town that really does roll up the sidewalks at 6 p.m.. We arrived around 8 pm and the city was completely dead. Most of the restaurants were closed. And, to our dismay, the lounge at the top of the hotel closed at 9 pm. YIKES!

We did run upstairs to the hotel bar for a quick drink before we set out to find a "steakhouse" by the name Murphy's that Bob had heard was a go to destination. I think we were 1 of maybe 4 couples staying at the hotel that night and we all had the same idea about getting to the bar before closing. Well, Bob and I ended up shutting down the bar that night..... The bartender told us that the economy had really hit Bartlesville hard. Not only do they close by 9 pm but its not unusual for the bar to be empty for days. So, this must have been a big night!

We found Murphy's. I can not rightly call a place soo brightly lit with fluorescent lights a steak house. I can not. But, I played along and ordered the steak. Meh. The place reminded me of the little mom and pop restaurant I worked at when I was young.

The next day we headed to Bixby-outside of Tulsa-to see the family-Bobby, Patty, Chris, Shanna, Aubrey, Cody, and Marcie. We went out for a barbeque linner. We went to a little hole in the wall place but it was really good and the staff really aimed to please. They kept bringing out samples of their latest dishes-fried mushrooms, fried pickles - threw in a peach cobbler for Aunt Patty's b-day, and handed 4 year old Aubrey a cookie just because she asked-she turned around to the group and yelled "It's Free!". We tried "pigs wings"-pretty good, pretty pretty pretty pretty good.

Then Bob and I headed back home. We came across this whale along Route 66. I had been to this roadside attraction as a child. Funny, if someone would have asked me about visiting this whale I wouldn't have remembered it but seeing it person I remembered how it looked in better days. How the tongue of the whale was squishy to walk on and how I climbed up inside the whale. Bob also visited the whale in his younger years. Although, he was at least a teenager/young adult at the time, the whale had been run down and privately owned by some rednecks who forced him off the property so he only got one picture of the whale back then. How funny for us now to run across this whale in the middle of nowhere.

3-13-10

2010-03-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

This week I ran into someone I met a million years ago on a canoe trip. Turns out his wife is a year ahead of me in dental school. Anyway, it brought back soo many memories. Basically, I met my friend and former roommate, Katie, on this trip. The guy I ran into, Craig, was hilarious and just kept us laughing the whole time. There was a paraplegic on the raft with us. This guy was amazing-he got around better than those of us with use of our legs. I remember them lifting his wheel chair to hand to him on the raft as we were loading up the raft. The wheels had been removed so he could put the wheel chair on the big inflated hump in the middle of the raft. But, some how this hand off failed and while he was getting situated the spoke that holds the wheels on was gouging deep into his leg (unbeknownst to him)-it looked like it was soo deep a gush of blood would explode any minute. I yelled to him about the spoke practically cutting his leg off and he simply lifted it off and said "Well, that's going to leave a mark".

Later on down the river, we came across a cliff that people were jumping off of while grabbing a rope swing that would toss them into the deep middle of the river. The paraplegic (sorry I've forgotten his name) sitting on his wheel chair in the middle of the raft yells up to a hesitant teenager "JUMP! I DID!".

After about 8 hours there was a jump off point where a truck would take you back to your campsite. Paula, Cindy and I decided to jump ship leaving the rest of the group to finish. I guess what the rest of our drunken raft mates didn't realize was we had already run out of food, water, and BEER! Also, by 8 hours we really hadn't covered that much territory as the Niangua just didn't have a current and nobody in our group was gung ho on paddeling. So, the three of us got to camp, showered, made dinner, even had naps and reconvened at the campsite for s'mores and there was no sign of our trip mates. It was already the middle of the night. Then we started to hear voices coming toward us and it was the rest of the trip mates. Apparently, they soon realized they had no food, water, or BEER and actually paid $30 for beer from another raft they passed on the river-that too was soon gone and their was no one else left on the river. So, what else could they do but make a death pact among themselves. I'm sure there were strong debates on who they would eat first. Finally, a search party was formed (by the raft rental place?) and they were found and delivered back to camp. This made for funny campfire stories when they returned.

Well, my memories of the trip were good but I don't think many of us have gone on another raft trip since then.

3-1-10

2010-03-01T14:03:00.001-08:00

My typhodont. I just added the lips and cheeks recently. We practice taking impressions, amalgam preparations, etc. on this. There is a bookstore nearby that sells replacement teeth for this thing. I spend a lot of time with this thing. It freaks me out that it has a uvula.

2/7/10

2010-02-07T13:51:00.000-08:00

First time I've seen my name this way.

1-31-10

2010-01-31T17:14:00.000-08:00

This week I changed my Facebook profile to a picture of when I was about 5 years old. And a friend from that age contacted me. Crazy. I didn't recognize her name and at first I didn't recognize her at all. So, I went ahead and accepted her as friend hoping to FB stalk her a bit to find out who she was. But, nothing other than a vague familiarity of her photo rang a bell. But, I suddenly was pretty sure who she was. Sandy. Memories are still flooding my brain. Her large family lived two doors up from me when I was growing up-until the 3rd grade when we moved. I recall always being at her house. In fact, in retrospect, I believe I have more memories of her house than of my own. We had a shared wooded area behind our homes and I can remember my sister and I and Sandy and her sisters spending our days and nights outside running around our yards. I remember a lot of tragedy hit her family. Maybe that's why I remember them so well. They just seem to weather every storm and openly accept everyone into their lives with so much love and grace.

We emailed brief life histories already. Although we all age, its amazing to hear what has happened in the life of someone you knew when you were 5. Somehow the last memory of them is the age they are forever. She only knew my brother as an infant so it blows her mind to know he is married with three kids of his own. I can't believe she has adult children!

It will be fun to meet in person and catch up. What a truly touching blast from the past.

1-12-10

2010-01-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

Christmas Break is over. This winter, KC has been the snowiest I've ever seen! At first it was nice. But then snow became a hassle. It sidetracked our plans to fly to Maryland for two days, sidetracked Bob's trip to Vegas for a day, Bob has shoveled the drive numerous times now and there is still so much snow we're only using half the circle drive, and the snow plows have barely touched our street. I'm tired of the snow!

Random animal tracks wandering over the pool-who know what is probably living in the cabana!

Firepit

Super icicle formation

Studying for Operative-Back to school!

Christmas Break! 12-23-09

2009-12-23T08:37:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been lazy. I've needed some lazy days and yet I feel guilty. During finals week all I can think about is getting sleep, renting a bunch of movies and lounging on the couch all day, and eating healthy. By the end of finals I crave healthy foods because I've eaten so poorly-and just plain stress-eaten my way through finals week that my body is crying out for real and healthy food. Well, it is now Wednesday of my first week off. I have slept. Yesterday I slept in and lazed about in bed until around 2 pm!

The rented movie thing hasn't worked out so well. Our Apple TV is acting up-so I can't freely download movie after movie like I want. I did watch a few movies just on regular satellite-can't remember now what I even watched-I must have been half asleep.

And, the healthy eating hasn't worked out either. We had a party Saturday night and my house is full of left overs from the party. I had a cupcake with buttercream icing for breakfast this morning.

Anyway, this Christmas break has been nice so far. This past weekend Bob and I hosted a Holiday party which was really fun. Bob had one of his 24 hr mystery illnesses the next day - when he gets the cold or flu he gets hit with it in minutes and falls apart instantly but within 24 hrs he's golden as if nothing happened. When I get sick I have to exhibit symptoms for a few days then spend a few days bedridden then a few slow recovery days-its always about a week before I feel good again.

We did some Christmas shopping on the Plaza and saw the lights (kind of a KC tradition). We hit the Toys 'R Us-sounds like a fun place but this annual Christmas shopping locale is hideous. Children screaming, whatever we are there to buy is always out of stock, aisles filled with over-filled baskets to maneuver around, it's just a horrible horrible place. So, we're almost done with all the Christmas shopping!

Last night we went to the Klevenow's Christmas party. Our friend Stan was in town from NYC and he joined us. He was on the news this morning-I just remembered-I feel bad I missed it! Hopefully Bob taped it. Later, we went to dinner at Westside Local. My first visit. It was very good. I love the Westside. It's so unique. I love the new moderns that have been built in the area. We just tried a new crepe place there on Friday-my friend Beth's aunt owns the new restaurant Chez Elle-they haven't been open a whole week so they are working out all the little intricacies of the business but the food is really good!

So, I guess I could say my break so far has afforded me much needed sleep but we've been able to accomplish a lot and enjoy socializing too.

Christmas Break! 12-21-09

2009-12-21T13:35:00.000-08:00

12-12-09

2009-12-12T16:25:00.000-08:00

UGGG 12-5-09

2009-12-05T18:45:00.000-08:00

Motivation lost, huge tests impending. Two weeks to serenity.

11-30-09

2009-11-30T18:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to church.

Today is my brother's birthday.

Today I finally did well on my biochemistry quiz.

Tonight I might actually accomplish my list of things to get done.

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary that I was accepted to dental school.

11-27-09

2009-11-27T09:29:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2009 was fun. No pictures to share-unless cousin Marcie sends me some of hers. The Oklahoma relatives came to Thanksgiving this year. We haven't seen them in a few years. Time flies!

Memories from this Thanksgiving:

Going around the table telling what we were thankful for turned into laughing so hard we were all crying.

Bob rev

erting to 11 years old for the day and competing with nephew Ethan in video games and shooting guns.

Great hors d'oeuvres, dinner, dessert.

Spending time with family

At the end of the day, Bob and I took in a movie......Men Who Stare At Goats. Odd. Then one more evening of lovely sleep! I think the best part of my Thanksgiving break has been sleeping in everyday! OH

THE LUXURY!!!!! In just a few days I will be back in the grind and stress of school again. Although, I only have about 3 weeks left-then I will be on Christmas break!

This photo just in-from cousin Marcie.

November 25 2009

2009-11-25T09:34:00.000-08:00

I'm on Thanksgiving break. I had grand plans to study from the moment I left school Friday on thru the whole break so I would be not only caught up but....AHEAD. It is now Wednesday and I'm planning to start now. BUT, all is not lost. I have been active. I have been catching up on important sleep. I've lost so much sleep this semester I can never repay the debt but I have managed in 5 days to lessen the dark circles under my eyes and my eyelids are a little less purple and puffy. Plus, I've moved into my new office. That means I returned everything we put from my office into the guest room (while Bob was building my office) back into the office and thus we have a guest room and an office again. It is as if two whole rooms have been added on! Its much like finding $10 in your winter coat from last year (you always had it but didn't appreciate it)-which I also did this week.

I have also seen many movies-one of my favorite past times. I rented several and Bob and I saw Precious the other night. Plus we purchased a few we plan to watch before the week is up. Last night we went to a wake for a friend's mother. We ventured to downtown Overland Park for the wake. Afterwards we had an impromptu dinner with friends. We ended up at a new-ish restaurant called TASTE. It was in a building that once housed a bar a group of my old friends used to frequent. The bones of the building were still very much the same (I had heard there was a fire there at one point) but the decor/music was more modern/moody. This restaurant specializes in the shared small plates type of dinner I do enjoy so much. The food was really good and it was nice to spend some relaxing time with good friends we don't always get to see socially.

I hope I can accomplish a lot during the rest of my break. I know the tail end of this semester will fly by so I need to focus and really use what ever time I have available to get caught up. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

11-11-09

2009-11-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

I really should be studying. But, I don't have a test until Monday (after having had a test each day this week so far) so it is really hard to motivate myself to read a chapter of biochem. I have to tell myself that getting a good night's sleep for a change will be just as valuable.

Today was my dental morphology lab practicum over the maxillary canine. I stayed up late last night prepping the tooth for this test. We're allowed a minimal amount of prep work and the practical itself is 2 hours. It is a pressure cooker. Everyone is feverishly creating a tooth out of wax that will be scrutinized by a team of graders. They look at every minor detail of the tooth so it is important to have clean lines, correct angles, correct contact points between teeth, correct spacing between teeth. There is a lot that goes into it. Of course, while working in the wax everytime a change is made to one area of the tooth it affects another area of the tooth-whether that is symmetry or just realizing after that one change is made something else becomes glaringly out of place. A lot of people complained of migraines after the test-it really is stressful.

11-7-09

2009-11-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

So, another week, and I'm still in D-school. I keep asking myself why. I pulled 3 all nighters this week. I call it an all nighter even if once every few hours I take in a 15-30 min nap because there is no way I'm getting any REM sleep -thats strictly to let my eyes moisten a bit. So, I had to rearrange my Friday and catch up some work before I could leave school at 4. Then I've been slacking off ever since. I've slept (can never catch up from such deficits) and I've run an errand. Now its time to get back to work and I just can't seem to make myself read. You can tell when I write on this blog that I'm desperate to NOT study.

Bob not only worked late most of the week but he is pretty booked this weekend as well. Why is it that most couples we know have their nights and weekends to themselves to do whatever they like and we work soo hard all the time? When does all this work pay off? I know we have much to be thankful for. Bob's clients have kept him busy while others have lost their jobs. I have gotten into a program that a lot of people can not get into. In fact, I keep telling myself if I left D-school now I'd actually have to find a job in this bad economy and that might be worse actually.

I have so much I wanted to accomplish this weekend but I accomplish so much during the course of the week that it is hard to fully use my weekends for much more than recuperation. It is a horrible cycle I just can't seem to free myself from. I don't know how people do this. Some classmates have weekend jobs, some have children and they still seem to do fine and never pull all nighters. Oye!

On the positive side, Bob almost has my office fini! Now, I need to find new furniture and I can move in. Bobby just got a check up and he's got a clean bill of health but has some maintenance to do again......ah chemo brain its like being married to a different man for 6 mos. And, Bob got us I phones. I'm too busy to learn how to use it but it seems kinda cool. So there you go, there is some positive stuff going on. Back to the books.

UNCLE

2009-10-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

So, d-school is killing me. Literally. I don't know if I will make it another semester let alone finish this one. Next week, I seek some extra help to see what, if anything, I could do differently. It appears pulling 2-3 all-nighters a week then getting 3-4 hrs of sleep a night when I can lay down just isn't going to work for me in the long haul. So, if I can't find another way to make it I may have to stop "living the dream". It is devastating to me to think I might have to let go of this goal but the reality is this just may not work out. But, I can say I tried. No one in their right mind could say I didn't try hard enough.

Black October Special Thanks

2009-10-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

My g-room is such a wonderful man. I don't know how I got so lucky in life but I did. I've had a really rough month and a half. The most difficult of my life I might say. So, due to lack of sleep and extreme stress I could only imagine how difficult it is to live with me. Thanks love for leaving me alone when I need to be and trying to make me laugh when I can't even muster a smile.

Dental School

2009-09-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

It's not for the weak - I hope I can handle it.

August 2, 2009

2009-08-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

(There we were, there we were, at Mount Rushmore.)

I can't believe it's August! I only have a few weeks left of summer. I am so fortunate to have been able to really relax and enjoy time with Bob this summer. We have visited with so many friends this summer, even hosted a big party with all of our neighbors, caught up on all the current and rent-worthy movies we typically don't have time for, and began biking. The weather in Kansas City has been like non-stop spring. We have a trip to Portland coming up where they are experiencing a heat wave. Funny that we have to leave town for such a mild destination to actually experience heat.

Yes, biking. We've found some really nice trails and we like to hit local restaurants or shops as goal destinations. I've never appreciated the slight incline/declines of roads so much! With each ride I become a little stronger and gain a little more endurance. Some inclines I could not make now are becoming do-able. Bob is bike crazy now. After the first ride he was ordering special biking jerseys and pedals. We've been to more bike/sporting good stores in the last month than we have in our whole relationship. One day, I even called out to a police officer to clock me (use a radar gun, not physically beat me) as I drove by. He did and yelled 11 miles per hour! I just hope that when summer is over we'll still find time to ride at least on weekends.

There is still a lot to do and people to see. I know we won't be able to do it all but I want to make the most of each summer day I have. I should remember to live with so much gusto!

July 7, 2009

2009-07-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

We're back from our Fourth of July Road trip to Mt. Rushmore. I took a lot of video and Bob photographed our trip so hopefully I'll have a little movie to add about our trip later. We had a great time! We left Thursday evening and stayed in Sioux Falls, IA. Friday we headed to Mt. Rushmore for their fireworks display on July 3. We stopped at the Corn Palace (http://www.cornpalace.com/), and the Famous Wall Drug (http://www.walldrug.com/) and drove through the Badlands (http://www.nps.gov/badl/upload/Badlands%20Visitor%20Guide%202009.pdf) where we saw this little prairie dog on the right. Upon reaching the little town at the base of Mt. Rushmore, Keystone SD, we found the little town jam packed and happened to take the last hotel room that someone canceled as I walked into the hotel to even check on vacancy.

We heard that in order to see the fireworks in the park facing Mt. Rushmore people had to arrive by 9:30 AM. As we arrived after 6 pm, we doubted we would get a spot to see the fireworks over the presidential heads. But, we hiked the 3 miles up the Mountain and when we were turned away from the park entrance because of capacity (even though hundreds were leaving because of the drizzle and fog) lets say we used a little ingenuity to get in and be front row and center. However, even having the best seats in the house, or mountain, did little for our cause. The fireworks went off behind large clouds and fog so no one actually saw a thing except a dimly lit cloud of fog. We were right smack in front of the presidents and couldn't even see them because of the fog. The 6 mile round trip up and down the mountain killed my calves but I'm looking at it as a jump off point to getting exercise this summer.

Saturday we headed for Rapid City, SD and hit the city of Deadwood along the way. We hit the shops, casino, and lunched in Deadwood which took us only a few hours. We ended up going to Dinosaur Park when we got to Rapid City (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/10514). We saw a bunch of locals hiking up to the park to view the Rapid City fireworks so we grabbed some dinner and settled in ourselves. We could see all the fireworks displays from several connecting cities as well. Sunday, we headed back home but had to hit the Corn Palace once more so Bob could take photos.

The drive was fun. Bob and I travel very well together. It was nice to spend so much time with Bob. Our lives get so busy that once in awhile it's nice to get that uninterrupted one on one time and explore the world together. Thanks Love for taking us away for the weekend!

July 1, 2009

2009-07-01T16:34:00.000-07:00

Bob is the sweetest husband! He is always doing little things for me. Today he left me this love note made out of legos in the living room. Those are Bob's beloved childhood legos as well as his little cars which can be found in little hidden spots around the house. I love that he is a responsible, well-adjusted, intelligent, and gorgeous man who still plays with toys!

June 29, 2009

2009-06-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm having that feeling that summer is practically over! But, luckily this past weekend felt like a long one!

Friday evening Bob and I saw UP in 3-D. I absolutely loved this movie. I laughed and cried and just felt like making all those positive changes in life that one always says they are going to do. Seeing it in 3-D was extra special. It just gave an added POP to the movie. I don't recall seeing a 3-D movie in the theater before (well, except for a Universal Studios type of movie/ride). And, I do recall a few TV gimmicks showing a 3-D movie and you had to go to Quicktrip or a certain store to buy your glasses ahead of time but it's not the same. I hear there is a new theater in town that has gamer seats that shake when apropos during the movie. Maybe we should see it again in 3-D and in gamer seats! Not that there is a lot of shaking in the movie going on just an added feature I would like to try.

After the movie we had dinner at Islamorada Fish Company. It has been almost a year since our first visit to this restaurant. And, just like the first time, the place was completely dead. We had the whole patio practically to ourselves. I don't understand it. Dinner was really good and the drinks were really good. Our waitress was not so good but she tried hard so we couldn't be mad. Anyway, by the patio is a little man-made pond. We sat and enjoyed the mild summer evening and just raved about the movie, dinner, and the drinks.

Saturday was a full day. I had a haircut and I brought Bob along to see the salon. Our friend John owns skyline salon in the old Abdiana building downtown (www.skylinesalon.com). It's nice to see that corner of downtown picking up. More businesses are moving into the building and into the neighborhood-I'm so tired of seeing all these empty stores everywhere! Afterward we hit the Power and Light district where we had lunch at Chef Burger (1st for both of us), happened across an art fair, checked out the newest businesses in the area (including The Jones-which we decided not to pay the $25 cover for both of us to get in), and we came across my sculpture profs public work at the Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park at 12th and Walnut.

On the recommendation of the Pretty Campbell's we stopped at the Fresher than Fresh snow cone trailer (fresherthanfreshsnowcones.blogspot.com). SO cute! This little snow cone trailer is a hidden little treat! It was blazing hot outside so snow cones were perfect! And, we got to walk around the West side a bit. I had watermelon/basil and Bob had blackberry lavender.

Later, we stopped in to say hi to my friends working the Southwest Blvd Family Health Clinic garage sale (http://www.swboulevardfamilyhealthcare.org/). We were completely drenched in sweat it was crazy hot outside. So, we spent the afternoon in the pool. The water was so warm that it wasn't shocking AT ALL to step in. I think Bob and I took turns passing out while floating on the rafts. At some point I asked Bob a question and he answered it and a second later let out a big snore! The day just sort of meandered-it was wonderful! By the time we thought about getting out for dinner it was 8 pm. We were going to play mini-golf so we headed to Cool Crest and decided to have dinner at V's Italiano next door. Dinner took longer than we thought and it started to sprinkle by the time we closed down the restaurant so we didn't get to golf. I don't recall ever going to V's. Apparently, it is a special event type of restaurant. Every booth in our little alcove had a plaque listing the engagements that happened at that table. Outside there was a listing of the events going on that evening....I think there was a 97th B-day party going on in one party room. Old school special occasion restaurants are fun. They are very serious about their reputation/business but I'm so glad Bob didn't propose to me in a room covered with fake ivy and grape vines. It was a fun little adventure nonetheless.

Sunday was suppose to be work day. Bob and I both had our own To Do lists. We did get a little done but my brother and his family came over to swim so it was more fun to jump in the pool then to go on with chores. Bob, or Uncle Bob, toured the backyard bamboo forest with the nephews. Little boys love forests. They talked about camping out amongst the bamboo, and came up with all sorts of uses for the bamboo-most of which was for weapons. So, each nephew got his own bamboo stick and with it Uncle Bob helped them make a blow dart, a bow and arrow, chop sticks, and finally the left overs became sticks for marshmallow roasting as we all enjoyed the first s'mores of the summer.

After family left, Bob and I grilled out dinner and just enjoyed the quiet that a couple without children often don't appreciate until their quiet has been compromised. It's funny. We love our nephews and we have a good time with them whenever they visit but when they leave we marvel at how hard it must be to have that level of activity in your home full time.

June 22, 2009

2009-06-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! Trying to fit in as much fun into the summer that we can Bob and I planned a jam packed weekend. First up, Friday night we had dinner with our good friends, the Pretty Campbells. We went full-out COOK OUT FEAST for Karen and Chris with peppercorn steak, baked potatoes, grilled asparagus, and strawberry pie. And, we were having such a good time catching up we nearly forgot to play the board games they brought over. Typically it's Greenspans vs. Campbells but this time we played boys v. girls. So they wouldn't get their nose out of joint, Karen and I let the boys think they won. Then Bob gave a slide show of his recent trip to Detroit.....Chris Campbell is also a photographer with an eye for the retro.

Saturday, Bob and I went to Briarcliff Village. Our friend Stan Williams had a book signing at Nell Hills and Bob wanted to stop in and visit his friends and clients involved with the book and with Nell Hills. Then we had a lovely lunch at The Cafe in the middle of Briarcliff Village and did a little browsing. It started to rain so we didn't run around KC like we had hoped to but we did look for a little snow cone trailer the Campbell's told us about parked across from the Blue Bird Cafe -maybe next weekend we'll actually get out of the car and try it! And, we drove around the Blue Bird Cafe neighborhood. We really like the area and love all the modern homes being built there.

Saturday night, Stan joined us after the book signing and we tried Zest located at Mission Wood Farms. Really good high end comfort food! Bob and I have tried to dine here before but never wanted to wait the 2 hrs for a table....so reservations are a must! We ended up closing the place down.

Sunday was father's day. We planned a cook out / pool party for Bobzilla. My Bob and brother, J.C., cooked out hamburgers and hot dogs and everyone piled into the pool for splash balls, pool surfing, noodles - it was a lot of activity. My step brothers, Jason and Robbie, and their new families were all able to join us too. I think Bobzilla enjoyed the day having all of us together in one place. Later most of the family left and my brother's family stayed a bit and played XBOX and watched videos. Nephew Andrew ended up vomiting all over our bedroom and bathroom. Too much food and fun, I guess! The three nephews ended up staying the night and we stayed up late watching movies and playing XBOX and they woke up this morning immediately taking their spots on the couch where they left off. I'm still washing bedding and hand prints off of everything!

June 17, 2009

2009-06-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Sculpture Class Project - My head. (back is detached until hinges can be affixed-opens like a book and has a small shelf inside)

Friday night Bob and I went out for dinner for about an hour. During the time we were gone our electricity went haywire and our alarm was beeping, some rooms had no power, and some rooms had power but so little juice that lights were just barely on. Bob was checking all systems and made an emergency call to a friend, Jared, to help. They determined the issue was at the meter and not in the house (this time. In the past we have had a weird pattern of electrical problems-last summer I complained that I kept smelling an electrical fire smell and Bob thought I was insane-until he finally got a whiff of the smell right around the plasma screen then suddenly-EMERGENCY!!! And, this past winter we had several DISH Network folks out to fix problems and the system literally sparked and shocked so many technicians no one wanted to deal with it and just kept sending new Dish systems.) So, the power company came out and did a temporary fix to the power going into the house until an electrician can come and make permanent arrangements. Apparently, the house could have burned down. Great! Yet something else to keep me awake at night!

Saturday morning, Bob had a trip planned and we needed to be up at 4 AM to take him to the airport. So, needless to say we didn't get much sleep since the power company guy left about 1:30 AM and Bob had to still run around the house resetting everything.

Bob left for his trip - a fun trip to Detroit to road trip with friend Charles Phoenix and take pictures for Charles's show in Detroit. Charles is a fun guy who has a retro comedy slide show. His website doesn't do him justice but here is Charles's site: www.godblessamericana.com/ .

Sunday, I went to a K.C. Modern event at the home of Scott Francis (interested in KC Modern go to: kcmodern.blogspot.com/). This house is really a cool mid century modern home. A former board member of mine lived in it before Mr. Francis and I had always wanted to see the inside. I went with my friends/neighbors Denise and Patricia. We ran into more neighbors at the event and decided to put together a block party. I like to plan events at the house because it makes us get more work done on it. Although, Bob has photos of it in a book that was just released (www.kansascity.com/1008/story/1243208.html ) he hasn't had a DIY photo shoot there in a little while - and that is how room by room the house gets done. Anyway, I met a former owner of our little mid century modern flip at this event. She was so very nice and was afraid I would be mad at her for the alterations she and her husband did to the house back in the 60's. I had to assure her enough changes have happened that I didn't even know about her alterations. She took my number for a future tour to see how it looks now. That should be fun!

So, while Bob's been away I've been able to really spring clean many drawers and cabinets. I tend to do this when Bob leaves because he is a pack rat and will debate to save every empty box, every expired prescription bottle, and anything that looks like it can be rewired. I am more of a minimalist. I follow expiration dates and throw out food and medications when directed. I believe that in the off chance that I'll ever send something back after a week of owning it I'll just go get a new box to ship it back in. And, I believe Bob once had the time to rewire crap back together but that time of his life is gone (and now so is all the broken crap waiting to get fixed - hee hee!). Don't fret too much for Bob, he knows this is going to happen when he leaves and when he returns he ends up loving the organization so much that he is oblivious to what is actually missing.

Monday night hit with a big storm and again-power went out. This time everyone's power went out. But, I was lucky it returned by 7:30 the next morning. So, I was able to go about my day spring cleaning! I met my friend Jana at Crown Center for lunch. She always updates me about life back at my old work place but so many faces have changed since my time that I no longer recognize anyone. She tried to pick my brain about fundraising events and quite frankly I've been out of the game awhile now so I just don't think in those terms anymore. Which is good for me because putting on 800-1000 person events or even receptions for 100 isn't fun and games. Having nightmares about catering or typos on invitations is annoying. I'm glad it's not my life anymore.

Yesterday, I found a turtle in the pool. He seems happy there. I fished him out with a net and tried to get him to eat but I think he's too scared to eat. I was going to save him for my nephews when they come over this weekend but its probably more humane to just let him go. I'll at least save him so Bob can see him tonight when he comes home from Detroit. I may just go enjoy the pool with my little turtle friend this afternoon!

Our Anniversary

2009-06-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

Bob and I have been married three years today. It sounds funny to say since we've been together so much longer than that. I can honestly say I'm truly lucky in love. I tell everyone that I must have done something really great in a previous life to deserve Bob because there's no way I did anything in this life to be so lucky.

I'm having the time of my life. Everything I do with Bob is so much fun. Just going to the grocery store with Bob is fun even after nearly 8 years together. How is that possible? We don't even really do gifts for holidays like Christmas or birthdays anymore. Instead, we just treat ourselves to time together like trips or just an evening out. Bob literally provides everything I could ever want or need in ways I never knew I wanted or needed. When hearing single women talk about what they are looking for I always have to say - don't make a list - it's limiting. Bob is more than I could have ever thought to ask for as a single girl.

So, tonight is just another lovely evening spent with the love of my life. I can't believe my luck!

Last Weekend Intensive Class

2009-04-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

This week flew by! I just had my very last weekend intensive class, World Religions. It isn't officially complete, I still have an online final to take by Wednesday and a paper comparing Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Saturday night. I was surprised at some of the questions in class today. The Trinity really seemed to throw a lot of people off-and this is a catholic private school. I have enjoyed the class and I have learned soo much. This weekend we covered Judaism, Christianity, and Islam so it was a very very full weekend. Of course we discussed the Holocaust and oddly enough when I got home Schindler's List was on TV so I had to watch it again.

Now I'm taking a little break from my neurobio studies to blog. Bob tried to get me to go to a party tonight. I just can't break away - so much to do! I have a big week ahead of me. Neurobio test on Monday, my final research presentation on Tuesday, World Religions final by Wednesday, World religions paper (see above) and a paper on Kudzu by this weekend, and a ton of work on my latest sculpture also needs to happen. No wonder I feel so scattered-my brain is literally pulled in all different directions -science, religion, art.....

Well, back to the grind....

Easter 2009

2009-04-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

Easter Egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Arnold's is serious business! This is nephew Andrew with nephew Ryan.

Jake, in the way again.

Nephew Ethan in deep Easter contemplation.......mmmm chocolate bunnies.

My brother J.C., he's one of those squeezable stress toys where the eyes and ears pop out.

Bobzilla torching the ham.

Goodbye Creepy Walking Stick Plant!

2009-04-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Yet another lovely day! I should have studied all day-I just know I'm going to pay the price later but I had to get some spring cleaning done!

I cleaned the cat house-a.k.a the sun room that my precious kitties spend most of their day in. I brushed out both cats with one of those awesome brushes that cuts out a ton of hair. Hobbes is a fan, Effie wanted to scratch my eyes out. I laid to rest two plants that just didn't make it indoors this year. One has been on its last leg since Bob and I started dating. I'm so glad to just rip the thing out of the planter and break it down and throw it away. It used to be a cactus of some sort....it was always ugly as hell. It looked like a giant walking stick-it creeped me out....and now its gone gone gone! Unfortunately, the other tree was a cool tree we bought from a nursery going out of business. Usually I'm able to send my plant cast offs to my mom to be saved but unfortunately its just too late. I'm just not a good plant owner. Now that I'm almost done with my Botany class perhaps I've learned a thing or two and can give it another try. The sun room just doesn't look right without a tree - and the cats love sleeping in the big planter under the tree.

Bob is photographing Kris Kristofferson tonight. Wow. Kris Kristofferson. A star is still alive.

When I was 20, it was a very good year, it was a very good year for city girls who had double lives......

2009-04-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

The weather was lovely today. I was able to sleep in yet again! Went to my first class and sounds of the school carnival held on the quad could be heard in the background. Went outside after class to work my carnival booth with a few of my classmates (I'm president of the Bio Med Club and member of Tri-Beta Biological Honorary Society) to recruit new members for next year. And, I did not work at the clinic today. Instead, I ran to the grocery store and came home and started making club posters. Our Bio Med Club is selling t-shirts that say "Trust Me....I'm almost a doctor" and we're planning a trip to the Zoo with our classmates so both need to be promoted by poster advertisement. Yes, I feel 20 again.

If I were truly 20 I would be living in a sorority, living a double life -one working in a big city an hour away and another at a small private college in a small sleepy town called Baldwin City. Each life would have separate friends, parties, and boys to distract me. This weather and being back in school reminds of that time so much. I had so much fun.

Fun is just defined differently now. Instead of going out with different boys all the time I have one boy now. And, he's the best date I've ever had. I have fun with him no matter what we do. The parties are better too. There are still the people who drink too much but random fights don't break out and girls don't run to the bathroom to cry over some boy. So, growing older is pretty good!

To Sleep Perchance to Dream

2009-04-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

Had quite a few more sleepless nights. So much to do, so much to worry over. But, I did get some sleep finally last night and even slept in today. I feel guilty - like I got away with something. But, also the fact that I had a good night of sleep makes me anxious there was something I didn't do (I mean how on earth could I get a good night of sleep-it must be at the expensive of something?!?!). But, over the last two mornings I woke up believing that my step brother's daughters were part of some homework assignment that I needed to deal with but I keep forgetting what the assignment was.....it takes me a good 10 minutes to talk myself out of this unknown assignment thought. It's kind of a take on the whole- haven't shown up for class all semester and I remember right in time to take the final -dream.

I imagine it is a true sign that the semester is winding down and all of the end of the semester tests and papers will be due very soon. So, I'm working away on all of it making one last attempt to try to be ahead of the game (yea right!). This week the focus is my thesis. I've turned in the draft and I'm on edge just wondering how many edits I need to make. Then I can put together my powerpoint for my final presentation on all the research I've done over the last three semesters. I think I will sleep for a week straight when it is all said and done!

Week one of summer my goal will be to sleep and watch all the movies that I missed this year!

Puzzled Looks At The Budget Meeting

2009-04-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

I haven't had more than 2- 3 hours each night sleep since Saturday night. I had a few big tests to prepare for and the endless list of things on my to do list. I feel drunk maybe even hung over from this sleep deprivation and I just winged a budget meeting......and its coming back to me right now things that I think I said. I'm pretty sure this committee I had to answer to must think I am out of my mind.....I guess I am. Oh well, can't take it back now.

Arkansas City

2009-04-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Went to a regional conference in Arkansas City this weekend for a biological honor society that I belong to. Gave a poster presentation on my research. Met some scary smart students. Won an award. Drove home.

The yellowed prairies were ablaze.
The fire oozed through the night covered land like flowing lava.
The world smelled like a campfire.
The choice of hotels in Ark City sucks.

Weather It Will Snow or Not

2009-03-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

All I have heard for days now is about how much snow we will get. The pictures of the Colorado snow that will supposedly hit Kansas City look horrible. Weekend classes have already been cancelled. Given the low dim light coming in through my bedroom curtains I expected the 6-8 inches they are calling for to have covered every inch of spring green that was beginning to pop through the ground and on tree branches. But so far - only rain.

Bob is in West Palm, Fl. and finished his work early so he's actually going to attempt to fly back tonight. I think he should stay one more night to avoid this storm if it really is as bad as they say it will be. Why not enjoy a mini vacay in Florida?

It is a perfect day to stay inside, make a crock pot of chili and study neurobiology.

March 25, 2009

2009-03-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

1) Two weeks ago, I lost a purple water bottle that I've had for years. Just thought about it last night in fact. This morning my sick little friend, Jenae walks into class plops down and takes a big swig out of my purple water bottle. Apparently, it made its way around campus because she found it somewhere I hadn't been.

2) My friend Nate told me about his spring break and I think he is right out of quantum leap. Nate was/is in the military and was in Iraq, now he is a full-time student. Every time we have a break I ask him what he did and it's always something very different. Apparently Nate is licensed to blow stuff up so he was hired for the week to go up North-and blow stuff up. Over Christmas break he drove dead bodies from the airport to the morgue. I never know what he'll do next but it's fascinating!

3) Another intriguing day in neurobio - there is an area of cortex we call sensorymotor region and it basically contains a map of our body so if your left arm is chopped off say below the elbow than the area of this sensorymotor region that has the map of your left hand thinks there is still a left hand and gets phantom pains in it or the brain can think the hand is clinched (but there isn't a hand there) so there is a mirror box that can be used where the patient puts his/her good hand in this box with a mirror in it to basically trick the mind into seeing two hands so they can unclench the fist of their good hand and "see" a left hand in the mirror unclench and this relieves the strain of having a clinched fist for them. Even though they totally get that they are merely unclenching their right hand to the side of a mirror it somehow triggers that the left "phantom" hand is unclenched too. There was soo much more about this like: touching a part of the face can stimulate a touch on the phantom hand as well because the area mapped for the face is right next to the area mapped for the hand on the sensorymotor region of the brain so since the sensorymotor region for the phantom hand is starving for stimulation since the hand is missing the cells in the mapped face sensorymotor region start to bleed over to the sensorymotor hand region.

4) Research - well, all I can say is my results have my research mentor and I baffled. Possibly a fluke but my primers that would signify I have mating type(-) are working on both mating types + and - (not good). I will redo on Friday.

5) Started a new sculpture. I'm very excited. This is a found objects sculpture.

Memories-What I learned in Neurobiology

2009-03-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

We have this thing called working memory and its job is to retain things at least for the short term while we work with them (ideas, information). Also, if I asked you to recall your seventh birthday party, working memory retrieves this memory from your long term memory in order for you to "recall" and tell me about your seventh birthday party. But, the problem is the time in which a memory or idea is in working memory it is subject to change or influence. So, this is a real problem with eyewitnesses when recalling a crime. They recall a memory and depending on the influences around them at that time (things said to them or positive or negative feedback) that memory can change and innocent people can be charged with crimes based on this malleable memory.

So, basically, if you want to retain that crystal clear memory of your seventh birthday party - you must never think of it again.

Spring Break 2009....so far

2009-03-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

1)Invited Nephew Andy over to celebrate his seventh birthday (played laser tag, went to Chuckie Cheese, bought a toy, watched movies, played XBOX, went out to dinner, he was the first nephew to use the new and improved guest room, went out to breakfast, returned him to his parents).

2)I attend two different universities so one is on spring break and the other is not so I still had afternoon classes at one.

3)Wrote a paper comparing the Hindu and Buddhist view on the Atman/Soul/Life Energy.

4)Worked on my research project - Studies on Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii Mating Types

5)Finished my sculpture and am allowing it to dry out before putting it in the kiln

6)Sleeping in is magic to my soul

7)Wore capris and flip flops for the first time this year!

Tonight, working on class notes....American Women in the 20th Century