Baby Showers

I have been sewing for baby showers. My friend Jill has a fantastic blog for all of you crafty people...www.homemadebyjill.blogspot.com where I got most of my inspiration. It is fun to have some small projects to do without committing more than a few hours.
You can't see the cute ribbon I put on the bibs without zooming in.
I have had a lot of compliments on the burp cloths.

ok go--"A Million Ways"

This is one of my favorites. I love the dancing! The bald guy isn't even the singer.

OK Go - Here It Goes Again

OKGO!

Abe and I had an awesome date on Tuesday! We had received coupons for free Chipotle burritos and then went to a free OkGo concert. It was part of the 10k hours program which uses a free concert to encourage students to log 10 community service hours.



This year the featured band was OkGo. I was introduced to them by my brother Colt (my music guru) and they have subsequently become one of my favorite bands! The concert was amazing. There were probably about 100 people present which made me a bit sad for OkGo. I hope they didn't feel embarassed or like they were not meeting their potential as a big named band. But, it made for a very intimate and homey feel where I was almost able to touch the lead singer Damian a few times. I also caught a cool OkGo tambourine they threw out. At one point during the concert they came down into the isle of the theatre only feet away and sang a few accoustic songs including "A Million Ways" where we all got to chant "1 0 0 0 0 0 0 cruel" in the chorus. They had funky background videos, confetti cannons, and light up jackets. All in all it was one of the most fun activities I have ever done and was even better because it was free. I definitely would have paid to see them. Too bad so few students took advantage of such an awesome event.



Unfortunately, Abe's camera lost its batteries just as they showed up on stage! Very sad.



Here they are for those of you who aren't sure who they are.

Lacrosse Award

I got awarded an All-League Honorable Mention for lacrosse. Wow. I usually don't think people outside my team notice me so it is nice to be nominated by the league. That is very encouraging, especially since our team had such a poor record 1-4.

Non-living room biking thoughts

I know I already blogged today but I decided I better write one more post.

This week I logged my first hour of road biking on the road instead of inside on my trainer in my living room. I learned a few things:

There are no hills inside. Although I can simulate more difficult riding by changing my gears, it is nothing like "grandma's hill," the hill leading up to, you guessed it (Abe's) grandma's.

There is no rain inside. We logged 14 miles in a downpour yesterday. Yes, I am hardcore. My brandnew shoes, helmet, gloves, pants (and bike) are all seasoned with mud.

Most importantly, there are NO cars inside my living room. Abe and I decided to bike to his parents' house for dinner. On our way home we were on a busy street and I was hit by a car! I was literally struck in the elbow by a passing car. I guess they also knicked Abe's handle bars. I am proud of myself for not veering off or panicking or anything. I just have a scrape and probably a bruise...and a little frustration towards the non-caring driver. I am glad they weren't another six inches over or I could have had some major trouble.

Despite all of these differences, I am loving it! I can't wait until our next ride.

Rock-in Pizza

Abe is an amazing cook. I am very lucky to have such a culinary whiz for a husband. This seems to be common knowledge among friends and family. Any time I have a good lunch at school people assume Abe made it (even my Olive Garden lunch the other day) and at parties people ask if I made it and are told by others, "No, Abe is the cook." I am very proud of him but sometimes I worry that people think I am not taking good care of my husband.



Last night we made homemade pizza. We made a special whole wheat and herb crust in our bread maker. I was pleased that his brothers were coming over to share with us and that they could remember that I am also a cook. Unfortunately, what I was hoping would be "rockin' pizza" ended up literally being a Rock in the pizza! His brother some how found two small black rocks in a bite of his amazing pan. I have NO idea how that happened but I thought it was humorous that the first time I have cooked for them in awhile yielded such unsatisfactory results!

I have little idea what danger I am putting my guests in!

Looking so innocent as it sweetly bubbles in the oven (sly tooth breaker!)

It's fearful contents revealed!

Been awhile

Some updates:

I rode my bike for the first time this week. I logged my first hour in two days. Not bad for a busy schedule. I think I am really going to get into biking! It was so much fun, I didn't fall on my face because of my clip in pedals, and my bike is FAST.

I "finished" my first root canal on a molar. Finished is in quotation marks because I have to go back and fix something. Yuck. I didn't quite get one of the canals filled all of the way so I have to redo it. What a pain. Usually I am very good at that step (called obturation) but we aren't sure what happened, maybe the filler material wrapped back up on itself. My patient has been anxious to finish since day one and has been quite emotional at times. Too bad for the both of us we aren't done.

My neighbor secured their network meaning I will have to bite the bullet and pay for wireless internet. Good thing I am almost caught up in Lost before that happens.

I had my lacrosse final dinner last night. Didn't make defensive MVP behind the goalie. It is hard not to vote for the girl getting all of the action. I was a close second. (Too bad, I was hoping for one more resume booster.)

I have been trying to live my priorities...early to bed (and actually earlier to rise), my house is slowly getting cleaner, and I have been reading my scriptures for much longer. I am also trying to work in the exercise. Amazing how much better I feel when I do these little things.

EARTHQUAKE in Illinois this morning. Slept through it.

Polygamy

I am saddened by all of the happenings of the FLDS in Texas. It makes me so sad and puts butterflies in my tummy just thinking about those poor girls who get stuck in that environment and the poor boys who get kicked out, etc, etc. I can't imagine what it would be like having my loving father give me away to one of his ugly old man buddies as a 14 year old wife. I try to not judge things I don't understand, but this just seems bizarre and very sad. I am relieved someone finally had the intense courage to speak up.

It also is a bit frustrating that this puts more attention and links to my church. I had a patient the other day ask if I was a "Mormon" and something about how many wives my husband would have. I sternly (in my most sternest professional voice--which actually means quite sweetly--still trying to pass superblock) corrected him and told him that this was not the case and has not been for many years (try a couple hundred). He just giggled and told me about the "harems" of women the Mormons had (or have?). He was evidently the expert on such things. I was always under the impression that even though polygamy is a part of my religious history that things were not like they are down in Colorado City or this now famous Texas town. Maybe my toothless patient has an inside source.

A friend said I should have told him that Abe would have more wives than he does teeth.

I wish I would have told him that maybe being Mormon wasn't so bad...if you get your own harem! Seems like our missionary efforts could double, at least with men.

Priorities Sermon

I have been assigned to give a talk at church tomorrow on priorities for busy graduate students. I have spent all morning writing my talk. Not sure it is quite right but don't know what else to say.

Whenever I write a talk I end up writing it out. I feel like there is a bit of a stigma for this, that you should just take notes and speak by the spirit. I have done this before and I can do it just fine, but I feel more comfortable having it written out. Does this make me less spritiual? I kind of feel like it does, or that people think that. I know my friend Diana must feel the same way because she made me reassure her once that it was okay she wrote hers out. I shouldn't feel ashamed for being prepared and I am able to modify according to time, etc, but I like having a good guide. The apostles have their talks on the teleprompter, so it must be okay, right?

Anyway, I realized just barely that I am a poor candidate for this talk. I think I do a good job of staying on top of school and not stressing much. I do make time for my family, maybe to the extreme where I don't study enough? I know I can't seem to keep my house clean, my cupboards stocked, get enough sleep, and have the energy to exercise since I started SuperBlock. I don't feel up to riding my bike inside today but feel guilty just writing in my talk about the importance of taking care of yourself. And like I said, I am an addict. I have been feeding my Lost addiction at every spare moment.

I hope I am not a hypocrite!

Lacrosse Ending

I knocked this girl over!

Our lacrosse season is over! Just as I felt I was getting back into it I found out our last game was cancelled. How disappointing! It is sad to think I may never get to play again, esp as I remember how much fun it is.

We lost our first game by quite a bit. However, after I explained a few defensive strategies we really made a great defensive comeback. Way to go team! I was so proud. Our second game we were ahead until the last few minutes. We got down by 2, tied it up in the last 1 minute (and even the last 7 seconds) only to lose in overtime. Disappointing but we played well.

It was probably one of my very best games ever, so it was a good one to end on if necessary. I was in a very aggressive mood and won many ground balls (usually my worst skill), made some great clears, and made a lot of checks.

Fainting spells

The other day a friend told me she heard one of the oral surgery instructors talking to another who had recently come back to his job after a long abscence. They were pointing out people in our class from our picture panel who want to do oral surgery. I was told the instructor came back to what my friend figured was my picture (I am the only woman interested in the program and she knew the backstory) as a bit of an after thought and said something like, "Oh yeah, she wants to, but she fainted in the O.R."

I was mortified when I heard this! I didn't faint in the O.R. Yes, I had to sit down and eventually went home. Turns out I had one of the strains of influenza that hit Iowa hard. I was sicker than a dog for about 5 days and actually missed about 3 days of school and spent a whole weekend in bed. I was very disappointed I had to go home because I was scrubbed in to a very interesting surgery where we were harvesting a bone graft from the hip to use to repair a bilateral cleft palate.

I decided not to worry about it. I can only hope that I don't have a reputation among the residents and staff that is unfavorable. Since this person was not there, obviously something was said about me. I hope it was said in passing, not as a negative comment about my abilities.

Luckily, my friend informed me that the other instructor was quick to stand up for me saying that it was okay for people to get faint in the O.R. and that it wouldn't affect my abilities as a surgeon.

Let's hope that is the common mentality.

Lacrosse Update

We survived our first tournament as a team. We lost our first 2 by quite a bit (now I know what it was like to play against BYU) but pulled off a win in the final game with a score of 10-8. Phew!

It was fun playing again although frustrating. It can be hard on defense to feel like you are making a difference when you are losing by almost 15-20 points. But, I guess I shouldn't get down on myself too much...I haven't played for 3.5 years, I am not in as good a shape as I used to be (do I have time?), and I was playing with a new team with many girls who have never played before. Considering this, I think I did okay. I hope I start to feel a little more useful this weekend. I can't believe I only get to play in 3-4 more games, ever! Sad.

http://hometeamsonline.com/teams/?u=IOWA&t=c&s=lacrosse&p=home

Here is info on our team...schedule, pics, stats, etc. Unfortunately, defenders don't pick up many stats when you aren't shooting on goal or getting assists.

Come to our games this weekend if you like! I think they'll be a lot more competitive than this past weekend.