Colds and Kitties

Don't you hate that feeling when a cold is first starting to rear its ugly virus head at you? 99% of my colds start as a sore throat, then move to a stuffy head, then move to a chest cough, and then I'm usually good after 4-5 days. But this cold is a little bit confused. It started two nights ago with just one side of my nose being stuffy for several hours (something about the asymmetry drives me nuts! Why can't my whole nose be stuffy or not at all!?). Then when I woke up yesterday morning, my nose was running like crazy. It was so not my typical cold-like symptoms that I was beginning to wonder if I had developed allergies for the first time in my life.

I found the secret combination of Ibuprofin, a 12 hour Sudafed, a Chlortab (for the runny nose), and a melatonin made me sleep like a husband last night (that's right, like a husband, not a baby). I even woke up a little early today feeling super refreshed and ready to clean things so I did some laundry, the dishes, and cleaned the kitty litter box. Look at me go! And Robbie's not even awake yet! I do have a slight scratchiness in my throat today but I still am not sure if it's a cold or allergies.


Speaking of cleaning the litter box, I haven't written about our precious kitty yet! Her name is Riesling but we call her Riesy. We adopted her from the humane society a little over 2 years ago. She was rescued from a hoarding situation where a lady had 30 cats and 10 dogs in a trailer (YIKES!). She absolutely loves human affection but hates other animals. If I was stuck in a trailer with that many animals for four years of my life I would probably hate them, too. 

Anyways, she is my little buddy during the day while Robbie's at school. When I'm not playing with her, she likes to sleep. Everywhere.

My lap while I was trying to work on the laptop

 

The fruit-basket-turned-mail-holder










 


A cardboard box


  










 


The couch

 



My lap while I'm at the kitchen table

Adventures in Travel

I seriously cannot believe today is the last day of spring break. Robbie's already been to the lab today and has three tests next week! Where did the time go!?

Our trip to Virginia started off a little rocky. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:00 am last Saturday. We got to the airport at 4:30 that morning only to be informed by the arrival/departure TV that our flight had been cancelled. While standing in line to find out when we were going to fly out instead, I got a call on my phone informing me of the flight cancellation. Um... thanks for the warning? After two hours at the airport, we finally had our new tickets to fly out at 11:50 that evening.  Here's a picture of a very tired husband showing off our new tickets while we waited for one of his classmates to pick us up (who we felt really bad calling that early in the morning on the first day of spring break).

We ended up having a great time in Virginia once we got there. I loved introducing Robbie to my extended family, seeing the gorgeous mountains of Virginia, and visiting Appomattox for a little Civil War history excursion. 

Here's a picture of us in the McLean House in Appomattox, Virginia where General Lee surrendered to General Grant. Here's a painting of the signing of the terms of surrender which took place in that very room.

Robbie is much more into history than I am, but I still found it pretty interesting and learned a few things about the end of the Civil War.

Here's a picture I took as we drove through the mountains to my relatives' house. I just love Virginia's landscape!

We got back from Virginia on Thursday, then on Friday we drove an hour to Fort Collins to visit our parents and pick up our cat (my parents were watching her while we were away). Out of nowhere, a blizzard came in and forced us to spend the night in Fort Collins because the highway back to Denver was closed! Needless to say, it feels good to finally be back home in my own bed and I'm looking forward to getting back on a good sleeping schedule. What a crazy week but we had so much fun!

Babysitting

We had an awesome time yesterday babysitting two little girls for one of Robbie's classmate's while he and his wife went on a date. We got to do fun activities like going to the park, decorating paper faces with playdough, and having balloon races in the backyard. Here's a picture of our playdough faces:

 

After we put both kids down for bed, we had some time to just sit on the couch and hang out for a bit. I had such a great feeling about how we worked as a team and it gave me a small glimpse of what it's going to be like when we have kids of our own. Lately, I've been feeling a little hesitant about starting a family while he's in school (while Robbie is totally excited about the idea), but babysitting with Robbie helped reassure me that we will be able to handle the new challenges that come. Something else that reassures me is that many people in Robbie's class are married and a good portion of them have one or two kids already (I will try to write a post in the near future from the perspective of some of the stay-at-home-dental-moms I know).

Anyways, I'm really excited about our trip coming up and if I don't write any new posts it's because we're too busy having fun! I hope you guys have a great week, too!

Can't Wait for Spring Break!

Just one and a half days of school left before spring break starts! Woo hoo!! This week and last week have been pretty insane for the students because several of their classes are ending so it's like an early finals week. Robbie has definitely earned some relaxing time off and we're both really looking forward to his class load going down for a little while (summer classes start in May I think).

Another reason I'm looking forward to spring break is that we're going back east for a couple days to visit some of my extended family, many of whom I haven't seen in about 10 years! I can hardly wait to introduce Robbie to all of them and show off my awesome husband a little bit. :)

Robbie and I have been lucky to be able to take several trips together since we got married-- two to California (read "Ariel going insane at Disneyland"), one to Arizona to visit Dental Schools, and one to Alamosa, Colorado to see the sand dunes and an alligator farm. I just love traveling with him because we both tend to be a little more laid-back about trip planning. We don't try to cram a ton of activities in and then wind up coming home exhausted. Instead we try to just have a general idea of what we might like to do and then adjust our plans once we get there to how we're feeling.

Since this semester has been a little nutty, I have a feeling that we are going to do a lot of relaxing and just enjoy my family's company. If we do decide to do something a little more touristy, I think it might be a visit to Thomas Jefferson's house (Robbie loves historical stuff).

Here's us at the alligator farm holding Capone.

Please note my awesome Little Mermaid shirt.

What about you guys? Do you plan trips down to the minute or are you go-with-the flow kind of travelers? 

Pearls of Wisdom From a Dentist

Since Robbie started school last August, I have honestly had more time on my hands than I know what to do with. It was a really big switch from before we moved up here because I had been working full time for two years (and before that I was working and going to school). We feel really appreciative of the fact that I am able to have this time as a stay-at-home wife before I become a stay-at-home mom. With all this time, however, I'm needing to learn to have discipline about time management.

One of our mentors back home (who happens to be a dentist) has a passion for the book of Proverbs that is contagious. If you haven't read it or it's been awhile, I highly recommend taking a look. It's all about what wisdom looks like and how to get it and why it's useful. I have fallen in love with the concrete, applicable advice found in Proverbs and it has helped me not only in making huge decisions about life (ie. who should I marry, what is my purpose in life, and how should I relate to God) but also in the day to day living (ie. how should I respond when someone hurts my feelings, how should I manage my time, how should I handle my money).   

When I was in college, this mentor was the leader of my Bible study and something he liked to do was share "Pearls of Wisdom" from scripture with us. He even came up with acrostics using different types of seats to help us remember them. An example is the C.H.A.I.R. acrostic.

C- Companion: You become like the people you hang around (Proverbs 13:20)
H- Hearing is transformation: You haven't really heard unless you've obeyed (Jeremiah 11:6-7)
A- Authority of God: At the end of time, no one will question God's supreme authority (Philippians 2:10-11)
I- Idolatry: Idolatry is any time we worship by putting our trust in or deriving our fulfillment from someone/something other than God (Matthew 4:10)
R- Rebuke: If you are wise, you will receive rebuke with joy and approach God with it to see how he wants to change you (Proverbs 17:10)


The reason I bring all this up is because I found another "Pearl of Wisdom" today while thinking about what to do with all this spare time I have. The pearl is about diligence. Diligence is defined as "having or showing care or conscientiousness in one's work or duties." The opposite of a diligent person is a sluggard and the verse that keeps sticking out to me is Proverbs 20:4.

"Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look and find nothing." -Proverbs 20:4

Right now, I have the option of using this season to grow or to be lazy, to be diligent or to be a sluggard. At the end of this season, I want to look back and see that I did not let it go to waste.

Check Out This Tooth-Related Blog!

My sister just introduced me to a blog called "My Milk Toof." It's actually pretty adorable and extremely creative. It's about the adventures of two little teeth named Ickle and Lardee. Here's a link if you want to check it out. I especially like the "Toof Noir" story in the archives because it reminds me of the game L.A. Noire, which I love.

Our Dental Journey (Part I)

I've been trying to decide what to write about for my blog post today and I found inspiration on another Dental wife's blog (thanks Kate!). She had written about the process her husband went through to get into school and it brought me back to how our own journey began.

JANUARY 2010- Switching to Dentistry
It all started just over three years ago in the shower (I don't know what it is about showers but don't you feel like that's where a lot of life-changing decisions are made?). We had just gotten married the previous month and he was about 3 weeks out from taking the M.C.A.T. to apply to Medical School. While taking advantage of his new marital privilege of having a shower buddy, Robbie confided in me that he was having serious hesitations about Medical School. He felt like it wasn't the right fit for his personality and that he was leaning more towards becoming a dentist.

It didn't take much convincing for me to be on board with that plan. I had always loved going to the dentist as a kid (I know, right?! I am a total weirdo!) and my parents are still good friends with my childhood dentist. Additionally, while I was in college I got to live with a dentist and his wife so I was able to see first hand the healthy balance of work and home that dentistry could offer

MARCH 2010- Visiting Dental Schools
We went on a little road trip down to Arizona to visit the schools in Glendale and Mesa. It makes me chuckle now thinking that we were so set on going out of state.

JUNE 2010- Taking the D.A.T.
It was actually a relatively easy change from pursuing Medical School to Dental School. Robbie had taken an M.C.A.T. preparation class and there was a lot of similar material on the D.A.T. (He was also thrilled at the glorious revelation that the test did not include a Physics portion). The only additional class he had to take was Microbiology. 

AUGUST 2010- I started working in a Dental Office
Not much to say except that this job was a complete god-send. Robbie eventually started working at this office as well which gave him awesome dental experience to talk about in his interview. 

SEPTEMBER 2010-Submitting His Application
He applied to 5 schools all together: University of Colorado, Creighton, A.T. Still, Midwestern, and University of Nevada. I vetoed a lot of other options (Texas, Missouri, Ohio, etc) mostly due to climate. I have curly hair and I absolutely hate humidity (I'm still amazed that Nebraska made the cut). I don't mind heat as long as it is dry (hence the Arizona and Nevada applications). In my heart I really did not want to leave Colorado. Every other state felt like a step down (no offense to other states, I've just lived here my whole life and I have a hard time with change).

DECEMBER 2010- One Interview Offer
This was a sad month for us because we received several rejection letters and only one interview offer (from University of Colorado). We had to keep reminding ourselves that this was the road God had called us down and that he was going to make a way for us to accomplish it.

JANUARY 2011- The Interview
His interview in Denver went relatively well but since it was his only interview we didn't have much to compare it to. The thing he loved most was meeting the students. It made him realize that University of Colorado was a perfect fit for him and that he wanted to go there more than anywhere else. 

APRIL 2011- The Longest Wait
The worst part of applying to Dental School I think is the waiting. You start to question what could've gone better, what you should've done differently, what will you do if you don't get in, why haven't they contacted you yet, etc. Four months of hell. Then one day Robbie called me at work to inform me he had received a letter of rejection. I knew it would not help if I cried even though I desperately wanted to.

I don't know what I would do without God's word in my life. There are so many moments I can look back on and remember the specific scripture that God used to speak life back into me. The one that carried me through this moment was Psalm 27:13-14.

"I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for LORD." -Psalm 27:13-14

I think that's a good stopping place for today. Sorry my posts get so wordy. I'll try to work on being more brief in the future!

The Hardest Part (For Me) of Applying to Dental School

Around the time that Robbie took the D.A.T., I made a huge decision to stop pursuing my degree in Spanish and to go to Dental Assisting school. We both knew that having a wife in the dental field would be an excellent discussion point for interviews (which it was but I'll write about that some other time). I had been miserable for most of my undergraduate education and I had no use for a Spanish degree (other than to just say, "I have a degree! Hooray for me!"). Dental Assisting school really appealed to me because it was much more hands on learning (versus abstract theory taught in most universities) and I am very much a "side-kick" type personality. I thrive in positions where I am not the one in charge but I am there to make things more efficient.

We spent a lot of time agonizing over this decision because we thought my dad would be really upset if I didn't complete an undergraduate degree. Let me be more honest here... I was completely terrified because I knew my dad would be absolutely livid. He has very strong opinions about how things are supposed to be done (ie. everyone MUST go to college and get a degree that will make money, etc) and I am not the personality type that likes to rock the boat. We spent several weeks praying about it before approaching my dad to tell him our plan.

The most difficult thought I kept wrestling with was that I knew God wanted me to honor my dad but that He also was leading me to pursue Dental Assisting. I knew that only God could make a way for both to happen. During those weeks of prayer, God continuously brought one verse to my mind that was an incredible comfort.

"I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name." -Isaiah 45:2-3

Let me say here that, in my eyes, approaching my dad about this subject did not just seem like it would be a "rough place" or a "door of bronze." It felt like the freaking Red Sea needed to be parted because Pharaoh and his army were baring down on my position and were about to cut me to pieces. Robbie and I finally went to my parents' house for dinner (I had knots in my stomach the whole time). Once dinner was over we decided it was time to drop the bomb... I braced myself for the explosion... and it never came! While my dad was still hesitant about me stopping my undergraduate degree, he could at least see the logic in me pursuing Dental Assisting to help Robbie become a Dentist.

The conversation ended with him asking us, "So what do you need from me?" (I think he was expecting us to ask him for money to help pay for the Dental Assisting tuition) to which Robbie responded, "Nothing, we just wanted to let you know what was going on and where we were headed." How I love my husband! That single statement was the shining moment of the evening. Not only did my dad understand our decision, but he now felt honored in the way he had been treated.

God had gone ahead of us and made a way where it didn't seem possible. On top of that, God really did bring "hidden wealth" from the situation. The whole conversation became a defining point in my life. It solidified (in my mind and my dad's mind) Robbie's authority as my husband and brought incredible healing to my relationship with my dad. 

Thank you LORD that you call me by name and that you made a way through the hardest part (for me) of applying to Dental School.

How to Thrive While Your Husband's in Dental School

Today I want to write about a big myth that was repeatedly told to me before Robbie started Dental School. When we excitedly began to share the news that Robbie had been accepted, I had several (well meaning) people say these lovely words to me: "That's great! I'm so happy for you guys. Say goodbye to your husband, though. He'll be so busy you'll never see him."

First of all, what is with people needing to say something so negative when something so awesome has happened? Be happy for me!! It's like telling people you just won the vacation of a lifetime to go on an African safari and all they want to talk about is how long the flight will be, how many shots you'll need to get so you don't get some scary disease, how hot and miserable it's going to be while you're there, etc. They are completely missing the fact that you are going to experience an incredible adventure-- all the amazing animals you'll get to see, all the cool cultural experiences you will have, and all the memories you will make!

Anyways, part of my personality is that I really dislike change and as someone who is used to spending a lot of quality time with my husband, I started to fear that our marriage would change and I really would never see him once he started school. Now that we're 7 months in to this experience, I want to share a few things I've learned about how to not just survive while my husband is in Dental School, but how to thrive!

1) Choose to be flexible instead of rigid.
The myth of the magical disappearing husband is a lie; however, it will definitely take more effort and creativity to spend time together than before. Before he started school, we agreed that one date a week was something we wanted to make a priority. We have had to learn to be creative in how we make that happen. Friday night has been the best time for us personally because he doesn't have school the next morning and he knows that he has two whole days over the weekend to work on things for school so it's easier for him to relax more. The hard part about Friday nights, however, is that at the end of a long week, Robbie often feels mentally drained. I've found that some of the best dates we've had are simply the ones where we stay in on a Friday night, have a glass of wine together, and cuddle while we watch a movie on Netflix. If you always have the expectation that a date must involve getting dressed up, going out to dinner, and then going dancing, you will probably be disappointed. But if you choose to be flexible and redefine what a date can look like, you are going to enjoy your time with your husband so much more. Isn't learning to be flexible instead of rigid a useful quality to have in life in general?

2) Choose to actively participate in his world sometimes.
If you feel like you're not seeing enough of your husband in the non-Dental School part of your life together, why not step into his Dental School life some? You can offer to quiz him to help him study for an upcoming test or go to the lab with him on the weekends and read while he works. Ask him about what he's learning in class (and actually listen and try to understand!). Go to Starbucks with him to keep him company so he can study while you read (or look at Pinterest). If it works with your schedule, try bringing your husband lunch on campus and have a short picnic together. Make him some cookies and bring them to campus as a surprise if he has to stay after school to work. The goal of being a Dentist is not just for him, it's for his family and you can choose to play an active role in his success.

3) Choose to actively build a support network.
Your husband cannot be the only person you interact with. You need other friends, too! If you moved to a new city (or even state!) for school, this is even more important. The first month living in Denver was the hardest because I felt isolated and friendless. Sometimes it's hard for me to make friends because I feel intimidated about introducing myself to people I don't know. We spent a lot of time praying for God to provide me with a support network and He was so faithful to provide for my need! We had a "chance" encounter outside of Starbucks with one of Robbie's classmates who recognized him from class and now his wife is my closest friend up here. We celebrated Thanksgiving with them and two other Dental School couples. We go to church with them and eat dinner at their house. The fact that we share the common bond of our husbands being in Dental School means that we have an idea of what each other is going through. An extra bonus of having her as a friend is that she has kids and is a wonderful mom so I get to see the struggles and joys of parenting during Dental School and help her out where I can. If you're having a hard time connecting with your husband's classmates' wives, try getting plugged in in other ways. Join a book club, try out a class that teaches you a hobby (like painting or quilting), join an exercise class, go to church with your spouse and join a Bible study, etc. There are a lot of ways to meet people but you have to make the choice to not be a recluse.

4) Choose to be a refreshing person to be around.
This one has been the most challenging for me by far. I find it difficult to not get caught up in my own frustrations or boredom so that when Robbie comes home, he finds it refreshing to be around me instead of draining. I'm not talking about faking your emotions or just putting on a happy face for show. I'm talking about making the choice to look for the positive in your day, to have a grateful heart that chooses joy instead of self-pity. Dental School is hard enough without coming home to someone who is feeling sorry for themselves and complaining about their day. After feeling convicted about needing an attitude change, I've tried to think of three positive things I can tell Robbie about my day when I pick him up from school. Then, if there's something negative I need to work through with him, I bring it up later on once he's had time to be recharge a little. I love it when he tells me, "It's so refreshing to come home to you. I always look forward to coming home." I have a feeling that (sadly) some guys don't like to go home because they know they are going to hear complaining and nagging about why they aren't home more. I wouldn't want to be in that environment either! Inspiring instead of requiring time at home is the way to win here.


I just want to point out that we do not have kids of our own yet but we plan to start our family around his third year. I know that having kids in Dental School presents some additional challenges but I still feel like the above recommendations can work for anyone, whether you have kids or not. You can even try to get your kids involved in these ideas if they are old enough to understand. Ask them for ideas about how they could refresh Daddy and use it as a teaching opportunity about how our negative emotions affect other people. If the school allows it, take the kids in occasionally to see where Daddy is working and for him to show them what he is learning to do.

Overall, I just want to stress that the changes that come with Dental School do not need to be feared. Don't view it as just the means to an end (ie. I can't wait for this to be over so our life can finally begin and our marriage can go back to normal!). Dental School is an excellent season for lessons in selflessness and caring that can help you through many other seasons of marriage down the road if you will choose to make the most of it right now.

Here's Robbie working on his first lab assignment of Dental School-- to fill in shapes and letters with wax. 

Robbie graduated from filling in shapes to carving wax teeth. 

Now that he's able to carve wax teeth, he gets to practice placing fillings in a dummy. He's becoming a dentist before my eyes!

The Career for My Personality Type

I'm actually really glad I haven't written any posts for six months. They probably would've been filled with a lot of the same things over and over-- I took Robbie to school, I came home and cleaned, I went to the gym, I went grocery shopping... exciting, right? Looking back now, however, allows me to talk about the big picture of our experience as well as the highlight moments.

I know Robbie is the one in school (and he is definitely the one doing the hard work), but I have loved the role of coming alongside him in this dream. In high school, I remember taking those which-career-is-right-for-you assessments and feeling so confused about what to do with my life. One personality test in particular is called the Myers-Briggs Test (here's a link for the test if you are interested in taking it. Once you get your personality type, visit this website for a great explanation of what it means). It gives you four letters to describe your personality type: introversion vs. extroversion, sensory vs. intuition, feeling vs. thinking, and perceiving vs. judging. Here's a chart with a very simplified explanation of each letter.

I happen to be an ISFJ. The list of top recommended careers for that type include:
   Interior Decorators
   Nurses
   Administrative Assistants
   Social Work / Counselors
   Clergy / Religious Workers
   Shopkeepers
   Bookkeeprs
   Childcare/ Early Childhood Development
   Home Economics

And I've gotten to do them all! In six months I've been a cheerleader, a motivational speaker, a study buddy, an errand-runner, a "master" chef, a listening ear, a house keeper, a tax preparer, a shoulder to cry on, a lover, a nurse, and a prayer fiend. I love my career as a wife!! In return, my wages are knowing that I am playing an irreplaceable role in my family's adventure, seeing the man I love toil and struggle and be transformed and rise victorious, hearing the words "I don't know what I'd do without you," and, most importantly, seeing God's perfect provision in my life.

Oh, and if you were wondering, Robbie is an INFJ and do you know what the three top careers are that are recommended for him? Clergy, teacher, medical doctor/dentist.  

"In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, and not for men." -Colossians 3:23