New Job

So I found a job!! It's an awesome one too. In hygiene it's really hard to find a full time job because dentists are cheap. They like to split the 40 hours between two hygienists so they don't have to pay for any benefits, so that means you have to search for two jobs if you want to get around 40 hours a week. I was not looking forward to that! My dream was to get into one office where I could make myself comfortable, instead of skipping around between two. I started job searching about a month before I graduated. I thought I would get a head start since I figured it would take me awhile to find one anyway. Then one day about a two weeks before graduation I saw a posting on KSL for a full time job in Roy. Bingo! So I emailed in my resume, and called to make sure they had received it. No one answered, so I left a message. Well a few days later I got a call that they had received it and wanted me to come in for an interview. SWEET!! My first interview!!! Let me back up for just a min.-this wasn't the first resume I had emailed/taken to an office. This was probably the tenth I would guess. And ALL of the other offices said that they were looking for someone with experience. UGH! It had been so frustrating! So finally someone was giving me a shot! I couldn't believe it! So I went in for my interview and it lasted about 45 min. Good interview I would say! By the end he was joking with me and I just had a good feeling about it. The only thing that worried me was when he was wrapping up the interview he asked me this "If I decide to go with someone who had more experience, would you mind if I kept your resume in case it doesn't work out?" Experience- I hate that word!!! So what else could I say except "of course"? He said he would give me a call the next week and let me know either way. So the long week passed, and the next week I got a phone call. They wanted to set up a second interview with me! YAY!! I was so excited!! So my second interview was the week after that on Monday. I was more nervous for this one than the first, because I was so much closer to getting it! He had narrowed it down to three of us. THREE! I was one of three. So in my second interview he just wanted to clarify some things. Then he said "My only hang up with you is lack of experience." So the next five minutes I tried to convince him that that wouldn't be a problem and that I knew I could work quickly and efficiently. I said my piece and that was that. It was all up to him now. As I left he said he would know by the end of the week, and would give me a call. So the next three days dragged on and on as I sat there waiting. Friday morning came and when Andy got up to go to work, I could fall back asleep like I usually do. I was too nervous! So I turned on the tv to distract myself, but after a few hours of dumb tv shows I couldn't take it anymore, I had to call him. I called and Kara, one of the front desk ladies, answered the phone. I asked her if Dr. Wade was available and she said he was with a patient. I told her who I was and wondered if he had made a decision about the job. She went back and checked with him, and came back to say that he had made a decision, and would call me in a bit. NOOO! More waiting! I was going to go crazy waiting. I jumped in the shower and got ready for the day trying to pass the time. Four hours later I finally got a call! He said sorry for the anticipation, and that he would like to offer me the job!! HALLELUJAH!!!! I couldn't believe it!!! The first place I interviewed and I got the job, even before I had my license! That's insane!! I was on cloud 9 the entire day. I couldn't wait to tell Andy! He was so proud of me. It was such a great feeling. I start on June 4th, so now I am just relaxing and enjoying my free time because soon I will be a working woman!

Graduation

I'm finally a college graduate!!! It feels sooo goood. Now I can move on with my life!! Here are some pics from the blessed day

It was really dark in the UCCU Center, so this is pretty much the only one that turned out from the actual graduation.

My Andy brought me these beautiful flowers

The whole fam minus Miranda, Brett and Tate

Mom and Dad-the two people that made this day possible. Love you both very much!

This is Mrs. Knight, one of my favorite instructors.

So these are the pictures from one of the many cameras that were there that day. When I get more put on the computer I will put more up!

Saying Goodbye

So I am graduating tomorrow...whoohoo!! And while that is SO exciting, I can't help but be a little bit sad. These past two years in the program has had it's up's and down's but through all of it I have made some really great friends. We have made it a goal to get together as a class every year, but some of us are moving to different states, and I highly doubt I will get to see them again. I am going to miss these girls so much! I love all of them!!! Thanks for a great two years!

Four Down, One to Go!!

Since my last post was one down, four to go, I thought it would be fitting to do a post now that it's four down, one to go. One more exam to go!!!! This makes me so excited!!! I took the big national board exam today, and I think it went alright. It took me a little over five hours, so the last hour of it was a little rushed (I was beyond ready to be finished). This Friday is the big clinical exam. The whopper!! I'm not too nervous, I've only spent the last two years preparing for it every day in clinic, so hopefully all goes well. Send me good vibes that my patient will be accepted by the examiners, and that he won't pass out when I give him his injections (he's a little afraid of needles...). And of course good vibes that I will clean him well and pass! Because I definitely don't want to have to redo this one...and pay the 1,200 again. I would be pretty upset, to say the least. So here's to a happy Friday and to me finally becoming a Registered Dental Hygienist !!!!:)

One Down Four to Go!!

I passed my first Board exam!! One step closer to becoming a dental hygienist. Hoorah!! I was so nervous for this first one, since I had no idea what it would be like. I studied and studied and STUDIED for it until I literally ran out of material to study. It was the written local anesthesia exam, which isn't a huge one, but i'm still really glad I passed. My next one is in two weeks and it's my Process of Care exam. I need to start studying for it, but my score on the last exam has given me a false sense of security...dang it!! Then a couple weeks after that and I have my clinical local anesthesia exam where I inject someone while two old ladies lean over my shoulder and make sure I do everything exactly right. Not excited for that one. Then my two biggest tests after that, and then I am done!!! So sorry I have been an awful blogger lately, but I have more on my plate than I can handle sometimes!! I just can't quit imagining about the day I graduate and how wonderful it will be to actually make money!!! Just the thought of it all is so exciting!!!

Africa

So as I was doing my usual internet skimming this morning, you know, Pinterest, Facebook, gmail, blogger, and I read something on Pinterest that made me remember/think about how fortunate I was to go volunteer in Africa. It just started a chain of thoughts about what a miracle it was that I even got a spot to go, and how everything just fell into place piece by piece. The whole thing was a huge testimony to me of the power of prayer and having faith that everything will work out. When I decided I wanted to go, I prayed about whether it was right or not. The answer I got was the strongest that I had ever felt, so I knew I needed to go. So I called my friend McCall and told her I wanted to go with her and her mom. The next day she called me and told me that her and I wouldn't be able to go because all the spots had filled the day before. I was devastated! How could this happen? I KNEW I was supposed to go, so what was I going to do now? I couldn't go any earlier because of school, and I couldn't go any later in the summer either. This was the only team I was able to go with, but now it was full. What the flip? So I said a little prayer and felt calm about things, so I let it be. A few days later McCall called me back and told me that a family that had signed up for the June team had just moved to the July team, so we were able to go if I still wanted to. Heck yes! I was so excited. Let the fundraising begin! So I sent out letters and let everyone know what I was doing. The girl I worked with had done something similar in Bulgaria, and she said she got one thousand dollars from Wal Mart, since her brother-in-law was over donations. Her nieces where actually coming into the office the day after we had talked about it, so she said I could talk to him about it when he brought them in. So when he got there she explained what I was doing, and he said I would probably be able to get the money. He just needed to run it by his boss, then it was a done deal. Woohoo! That was a HUGE chunk of what I had to raise. What a relief! But....the next day he called Anne while we were at work and told her I needed to get my paperwork into him that day. He said they had just had a meeting and told everyone that if the donation wasn't going to a local cause it was an absolute no. No if, ands, or buts. He said he would try to get me the money, but it wasn't looking very hopeful, and I needed to start looking for other ways to raise it. When Anne was telling me this she looked like she was about to cry, but I felt totally calm about it. I knew that the Lord wanted me to do this, so I had faith that he would help me get there. Anne was so confused about why I wasn't freaking out, but I told her that it would all be ok. She thought I was nuts ha ha. So a few weeks went by and I heard nothing. Then one day I went into work and Anne threw a handful of ripped paper over me and screamed "You got the money!!!" We were both so ecstatic! After work we went over to her brother-in-law's house and he handed me the check. He said "I have no idea how you got this money. I pushed this every day for two weeks, and they shut me down every day, so I gave up. Then today my boss walks up, hands me this check and says give this to her, then walked away. I really can't believe you got this." I just smiled and thanked him and we left. What a miracle! Then through all my wonderful aunts and uncles, friends, and so many other generous people I was able to raise the money I needed to. The opportunity I had to go to Africa was such a blessing and literally a miracle. I'm so so grateful I got to go and learn everything and experience a completely different world. Thank you again to everyone that helped me get there!!!

Krishna Temple

Yesterday I had the chance to walk around the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple with one of the men who helps run it. Most people know it as the place where the Festival of Colors is held everywhere in Spanish Fork. I've been to the Festival of Colors before, so I knew the outside was pretty amazing, but I had never seen inside of it. So yesterday Whitney, one of my classmates, had to drive her patient home after clinic because he didn't have a ride. She obviously didn't want to go alone, so I volunteered to go with her. Her patient was Indian and lived in the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork. When we got there he offered to show us around. It was so interesting to see how different everything was. The smells, the floors, the design, all of it pretty much. I kind of felt like I was actually in India. It was pretty cool. But he took us to the upper level where their temple was, and we had to take off our shoes before we went in. When we got there he rang this big bell to let Krishna (their God) know we were there. Then we went around the room as he told us about the pictures on the wall and the different Guru's that have come and gone and how they have been reincarnated. It was so interesting to me! It got me thinking about religion in general, not just my religion. It was interesting to listen to his stories of how Krishna saved the people from a flood by holding up 21 square miles of land with his pinkie for seven days and seven nights without getting tired. I wondered to myself how he believed these crazy stories, but then I thought of things from his perspective. I'm sure if I had told him the story of Noah's ark, he would have thought I was nuts too! Don't think this is blasphemy or anything, but think about it-one single man built an ark that held two of every animal in the world that held up through forty days and forty nights of rain....it's quite the story! And if I didn't believe in God and his power I would have heard the story and thought people were crazy for believing it. But I've grown up learning about Noah's ark, just like he's grown up learning his stories. So it was just kind of an enlightening trip for me, I really enjoyed it!

P.S. Does anyone know why my font changes colors half way through? I can't figure it out and it's driving me crazy.