Drilling

This is my first entry on "our" blog! Matt has been doing this single handed until now. A couple of days before Matt's b-day I made Funfetti cupcakes and took them to school to celebrate his 27th birthday with his fellow students and friends. We had a rather dry get together (I forgot to bring milk) in a side room on the 6th floor of the NYU Dental Center. Since I didn't have work that day Matt burrowed a friends lab coat, thanks Ryan, and I headed into the lab with 120 other students wearing white lab coats. (I fit right in...only I was the only girl with a lab coat that was 10 times to big!) I watched Matt insert an Amalgam filling into a plastic premolar in a dummy's permanently open mouth.

(not actual tooth)
It was pretty cool. I left while he finished up his requirement for the day and then I got to go back up and do some drilling!


I wasn't very good at it. The thought of doing that on real teeth in a real person's mouth is scary!! I am glad it is Matt training for this and not me. Good luck all you dental students; keep up the good work!

How Cold?

How cold was it today? Frozen piss cold!





Julee and I both had the morning off today and so we set out to explore. When the alarm clock woke us up the radio said that it was 15 degrees out. That might not sound all that impressive to those who live in Rexburg or other places were it is that cold all winter, But believe me there is a big difference between dry cold and humid cold! We bundled up and headed out. I was wearing two coats and so was Julee, it made me feel like I was Ralphie's little brother off of the Christmas Story. It actually took effort to put my arms down.

When walking in Manhattan an important survival skill you learn quick is watching were you step. If you don't pay attention you are guaranteed to step in several little presents left by the local population of little rats people call dogs around here. This morning something was different though. The piss was frozen! This set me off on a tangent about how ranking things on a scale of one to ten is too easily exaggerated. When speaking about how cold it is, it should be: "on a scale of one to frozen piss." That way when someone asks how cold it is you can say it is frozen piss cold, and they will know one, that it is really cold, and two, that you are not just exaggerating or comparing it to...lets say, the weather in Florida.



After that excitement we got on the 6 train and headed up to the end of the line to Pelham Bay Park. The park is part of the Bronx and is the biggest park in New York. Julee and I stopped at a diner for breakfast and then spent an hour exploring a small section of the park. We saw a WWI monument, ran through leafs, saw gees, walked on a beach, thought about swimming, and lastly skated on a frozen pond. Wow it was nice to get out of the city and at certain spots you couldn't even see any tall buildings! It was cool to be able to get close to the water and smell the coast.

Christmas in New York

Julee and I celebrated our first Christmas alone. Last year we were still living in Rexburg and were able to hang out with Natalie, Jared, and Julee's grandparents. Christmas in New York was fun; it was like living in a movie. Julee worked hard making Chocolates and I worked at an out doors store selling mostly coats. For me it is now a relief to be able to take a vacation from work and start going to school again.



A week or so before Christmas there was a stake Messiah sing along. When it was first announced I thought it sounded nice, but probably not. Then in church I heard someone talking about how great it was. We ended up going and WOW! It was awesome! There were about 10 people playing stringed instruments, a trumpet, drum, and best of all a base, tenor, soprano, and alto. When the tenor got up and sang the first part it blew me away how loud he could sing. From there the night only got better. Julee and I tyred to sing along when the congregation was supposed to sing the chorus parts but after I sang out of place twice when nobody else was making any noise we stopped. The base could sing louder than scream. By far the best music that I have ever heard around Christmas. What talent in the stake!




On Christmas eave Julee and I met up in Grand Central Station after work and then went for a walk over to Rockefeller Center to look at the huge tree there. It was beautiful, very big compared to most Christmas trees and very small compared to the buildings. Unfortunately it was really packed with people (mostly tourists).





When Christmas morning finally came we opened our presents and enjoyed not having to work. We both missed out families and were grateful for the miracle of cell phones that allowed us to call everyone. Julee received a hanging Jewelry box and earrings form me, and she gave me a Beautiful Blanket she made for me, a beautiful journal, and a pair of shoes.



Christmas was Wonderful for us and We hope it brought you closer to Christ.