Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all had a great day/ weekend! I sure did. Well for the most part. I sure did miss my friends and family. It was really hard not being with them. I could not even call them cause I would have just cried. Well enough sadness...

I love male wrapping. It is the best! This is a pic of my gift from Dan. It is precious to me! There is about 100 yards of packing tape and the wrapping paper is pieced together. I love it! It meant so much to me.

This is what Portland looked like on Christmas Day. We have had record snow. Notice the street that is not plowed. That is how most of the streets are here in Portland. They just dont plow the side streets. I live on a major street that connects to the train/bus system and gets you East and West bound on one of the freeways so it was plowed. But the snow was pushed in front of the driveway so deep we barely made it out. And since the town never gets snow there are no snow shovels. So I shovelled our walk with a garden shovel. It sucked. You can see it a little in the pic. Well it was annoying.

This is the same shot today Dec 28. Yesterday the temp did not get below 37 and it rained all day. There was some serious floods. Anyway, It is amazing that all the snow under the cars and on the street is almost completely gone. It is crazy to me. No wonder the city does not have snow shovels if it melts this fast all the time. Anyway this is just another manifestation of the difference between OR and UT.

So if you are dying to know what was in the box....Dan gave me the best gift ever. It was a flat cast iron pan for tortillas or big pancakes aka crepes. I love it! I have needed one for about 5 years and have not got one. Now I do and I am so happy. I hope you all got exactly what you needed and wanted! Need to go work on my New Years plans....what to do what to do.

Winter Wonderland

Yesterday Portland received about 8 inches of snow. Then in the evening it started to rain and the wind started to blow. The result was freezing rain and a cocoon of ice around everything. Here is a pic of the bushes in my back yard. I had to wade through knee high drifts to get this picture. There was a crust of ice on top of the snow. It was great.

Here are some more leaves.

Poor little tree and cherry fruit things...see the bark on the trunk of the tree; yeah it is ice.

This is not a class room door window in an old LDS church it is my bedroom window. The outside is completely frozen. The wind blew the rain and it froze there. It looks just like frosted glass all bumpy and old school. I love it!

This is my truck. I can see the completely perfect layer of ice on every inch of my truck it is hard to photograph but you get the idea.


It is cold here in PDX. I hope y'all are keeping warm and dry where ever you are!

Good News

I finally have good news!! Last night at 6:36 pm Dr Mueller called me and offered me the hygiene job in his office downtown. I am so excited about this! This is the job I have been wanting. Dr M has taken his sweet time in deciding who he was going to hire. I am just so stinking happy it is me!!

Today I had to commute to McMinnville over an hour away in the snow...not bad since the news told everyone to stay home. Anyway when I got there I discovered that the office had a flood. Last night a pipe broke in the fire sprinkler system and backed up into the office. All the ops were damaged...except hygiene. So I worked 3 hours. Then my next 2 pts were new and since all xray machines were wet and shorted out we called the pts to have them reschedule. The Dr felt so bad about my day being shot but what can you do? So I came home early and now get to celebrate with my cute boyfriend!

We are celebrating because of his grades....found out yesterday and my job! I wonder what we will discover...

Let it Snow

I have heard of cities shutting down because of 1 inch of snow....I call that city Las Vegas. But Portland??? We are in the Northwest. There is snow here, snowboarding is huge. So why is the city unprepared for snow? I am not sure. Anyway, we have church @ 1 pm. At 9:43 a voice mail was left on my phone telling me that church was cancelled. I was surprised. Dan was not. I got up around 7 this am for a potty run and noticed the light dusting of snow. I went back to bed because I really really wanted a sleep-in and Dan actually turned his phone to silent so I could (he has tried to get me to sleep in with him but his phone vibrates every time he gets a text or email so it never fails on sleep in mornings it goes of btn 6-7 and then I cannot go back to sleep). So I go back to bed and sleep for about an hour. I rolled over and still being attached to my snugly husband I grabbed my book and read while he slept. I got up again about 9 am and there was about a whole inch of snow. Our bathroom clock has a thermometer in it and it registered 48 degrees. So I turned on the heater...we only have electric heat and since we are poor we try to keep it off as much as possible but 48 is freaking cold. So I run back to bed and snuggle my warm husband who wakes up because I am all sorts of chilly! We snuggle for about an hour and then get up. So during that time we both received several calls telling us church was cancelled and that Portland city was requiring all people to have chains on their tires if they were driving around etc. I was laughing I mean an inch....Dan turns on the tv and the news is broadcasting non-stop about this storm.

There is footage of people sliding down the bridges that go over the river etc. It was kind of funny. I mean who does not know bridges are pure ice during snow storms because there is freezing air under the road? Anyway, Dan bundles up and goes out to see if the beloved 4-runner will start. It struggled but quickly came to life so we went for some fun in the snow! There were not many people around. We did donuts in the church parking lot and had a good old time!

Now we are home and chicken enchiladas are cooking in the oven. It smells all cozy and wonderful in here. Dan is playing Halo and I am blogging:) Now you are updated on our minute to minute details.

Still no word on the downtown job. So currently I have been offered a job in Lake Oswego at the high end dentistry place for 2 days a week one of which is Sat. I don't want this job but will take it if I have to. Then I have been offered a job in McMinnville 1 hr 20 min drive for 41 miles for one day a week...Thursdays. I am still waiting to hear if I get the job downtown which is Tues, Wed, Thurs and one Fri a month. I work there again on Tues So I am hoping that I will get the job! I really want it. Now if McMinnville will change their day to Monday I will be set and can tell Lake Oswego no thanks. That is my dream! Well other than that I am hunkering down for this 'Artic Blast' storm we are having and I am kind of glad I do not work tomorrow for Albertsons. Now I can just stay inside and let everyone else commute in the crazy weather! Well, hope you all are keeping warm and loving life....I am!!!

(pic....first one is from the front door looking at Dan's Durango, second is from the back door of the 4-runner and my Tundra, third is our backyard....)

PS. Dan is soooo like my mother when it comes to snow. She loves to be out in it and slide around etc. Dan was so happy when we were outside playinig in the snow. He was like a little kid! It was so fun to be with him!

My Mess

This is the view with my back to our front door. Dont you love the wall hanging half on the blinds and half on the wall....Dan and I are Martha Stewart wanna be ha ha ha.

This is the view of my living room from the computer chair in the other pic. We are true decorators....I do have a nativity on the tv but you cannot see it...

This is our kitchen from the doorway of the living room. I need to do the dishes ha ha ha. But notice the flowers....

Dan gave them to me just because! I am so lucky! I personally do not have any vases so I had to steal an empty Amoxicillin bottle from the pharmacy.....one day I will have a grown up vase!

Here is our door. Dan does not have a stocking...so sad so I made him one at work today!

The pharmacist Christie thought I was the most cleaver girl in the west! I personally just thought Dan might get a kick out of his Viagra, Cialis and Levitra Christmas stocking made from a brown paper bag with 'do not drink alcohol' 'take with food' 'keep in the refrigerator' stickers on it and cotton from drug bottles....I am pretty proud of it myself. Dan has not seen it yet since he is still at work. I'll let you know how he feels about it:)

Still no word on the job front....except I have no hours next week for Albertsons! that sucks big time. I need every penny I can earn right now! I guess I have to stay in OR for Christmas:(

My working interview....

So the interview went alright. I worked 8.75 hours. I cleaned the assistant Pavel's teeth...yup the office in downtown Portland has only one assistant. He rocks though. I had 1 no show and 1 cancel. But Dr Mueller said stay on the clock visit with the staff, read a dental magazine, do whatever. That attitude alone made me want to work for him! He is younger than I am but I am ok with that. He is very laid back. He is conservative when it comes to restorations and I really really want this job. I really hope I get it! So 'Becky' is on his schedule to work next Monday but it does not say working interview it just has her name as working like it does tomorrow with the temp working. So I dont know if Becky is having a working interview or just working. Does not matter anyway, Dr M told me he would let me know before Friday if I had the job or not. There is a temp on wed and thurs and a working interview on Friday so I am thinking that either Dr M is crazy....or I got the job. I really hope I got the job.

Becky episode 2

So back to Becky. She told me that is required to do SRP on any 4mm pocket. So she does a lot. She does not like it but does it because Bob asked her to. Have I mentioned Becky is a year out of school? Well Becky was seeing this man who had dumped $25,000 into his mouth at Bob's office. Then when a lower anterior bridge failed he was pissed. So he wrote this letter to Bob explaining that he had been keeping his teeth clean and that it was Bob's fault the bridge failed. The patient even said...your hygienist said I am doing good and bumped my recalls to 6 month. Now all of us RDH have done this. We think a patient is doing good. There is no pocketing there is no inflammation there is no calculus so after a year of this we bump them to 6 mo recall. Well Bob flipped his lid. He gave Becky a formal warning and wrote her up etc. She was devastated. She wished Bob had just explained that you dont do this and she would not have done it again. But instead Bob called her into the office and said that he was cutting her hours and hiring another RDH.

Crappy huh?

Well, I was looking at their schedules when I was there and the hygiene schedule was very very low. During the last 3 months there was not one full 8 hour day. Becky told me that it was common to only have 3 pt in one day and be expected to come in for those 3 hours and then leave. So I am not too keen on this job and being expected to clock out all time especially since I live 30 min away. I am not feeling good about this job offer.Well I have my working interview tomorrow and I am going to get that job!!! I want it and I am going to go get it! I'm gonna jet and go check out the Max (light rail) schedule so I can take it downtown to work tomorrow and not pay $8.75 for parking plus gas and traffic issues.....I'll keep you posted...

And FYI tonight my house is too small....I cannot get away.....Help me.....

Our House

This is our house. It is so little! It is a one bedroom house. This is the front view.

This is our back door. The house has a little kitchen, little living room, and really tiny back porch area where the washer and dryer take up the whole space. When going in the back door you have to slink inside because the door does not open all the way due to the washer being in the way.

This is the front corner of our house. The two windows are our bedroom. Notice the clear sky....

This is our back yard. It is still green! It is so cute and tiny!

This is my roommate! He is pretty cute too but not so tiny!

I love him to death. I am so glad we found each other! I do not like thinking about my life without him!

Job offer #1

I had my working interview yesterday at the high end dentistry place in Lake Oswego. It was interesting to say the least. There is a 3-D CT scanner there I was telling you about a few posts ago. It only costs the cash patient $230. Amazing. This 89 year old woman came in with her husband. She was interested in getting new dentures because the current set were sliding around a lot and due to bone resorption she thought it was time for a new set. So she got one of these scans. I was surprised. I guess I am used to 89 year old people being on fixed incomes and not being able to afford many extras. Then I found out that Lake Oswego is where the rich and well to do of Portland live. Who knew....so I am in this hoity toity office feeling out of place in my tennis shoes that have mud on them from my walk into the parking lot and my mentality of dont rip off 89 year old women! Oh well. She seemed happy and excited to get a new set of dentures so I should let her spend her money any way she wants to.

The office has the Visiscope thing used to check for oral cancer. They use it as part of the initial exam which is good. They charge $39 for that and $35 for a fluoride treatment. which is not a tray but me wiping fluoride gel on their teeth. That is not helping....It needs to be at least on a tray and in their mouth for 4 minutes. Also the office does not have a cavitron. They have a piezo. Cedar Dental Center had both so I am familiar with the 'P5' but their tips suck!!!! I am going to have to get them to order some new ones. So I got the job for 2 days a week one of which is Sat. I dont know how I feel about this job. I do know how I feel and it isn't good. Here is a story...any advice is welcome.

The current RDH (lets call her Becky) is working full time for this Dr (lets call him Bob). Becky has been working for Bob full time for 1.5 years. This month he tells her that she is being cut back to 3 days a week and he is hiring a new rdh for the other 2. She is not happy. She likes working for him and likes working 5 days a week. Becky has been out interviewing for other jobs even the same ones I have. I got a working interview from the downtown Portland office and she did not. So I am wondering if she is a 'weird' rdh or if the dentist is a jerk or what. Is Bob trying to get her to quit? Is Becky a bad RDH? Why are her hours being cut? These are the things I want to know. I am going to call Becky later today and see if I can find out. We could not really talk much yesterday during work...too many ears you know. So I will update you asap. But I have a job...good or bad I have a job.

3 down 0 to go

Today was the best interview yet! When I saw this job posted on Craigs list I had this feeling. I know it sounds cheezy but the feeling I got was this is why no one else has called-I'm supposed to work here. I believe that more that before! This office is in straight up downtown Portland. I have to park my car in a parking garage and the office is on the 7th floor of this huge building. It is small. It has 4 ops. The Dr is young. He bought the practice 1.5 years ago. There are about 600 patients on file. Not many kids--Yeah!!! He needs a RDH Tues, Wed, and Thurs with the chance to grow as his practice grows. I think I am going to like how he diagnoses, and treats patients. He believes in gold crowns. He gives the patient 2-3 treatment plans with all the different options and lets the patient decide what they want. I like that. I really really like that! I also personally like gold. Gold crowns are so much more well adapted to the tooth and the tissues are so much healthier. I know gold is not cool cosmetically but as far as longevity and durability and health I think they rock. Now you can criticize me all you want. I personally have a porcelain crown...I hate it. I wish it was gold just because of the margins and my gums cause I now have a 4mm pocket! ARGGHH. The only downer is that he does not have digital and all notes are in charts...not the computer-weird cause he is young and should be all into the technology. Anyway, I really really want to work for this dentist!!! Then if I am lucky I can still work at at the high end place in Lake Oswego and work 5 days in hygiene! I hope anyway! That would be perfect. The one yesterday was in McMinnville which took me over an hour in commuting...The Lake Oswego takes me about 30 minutes of freeway (not stop and go) and the downtown one takes about 13 minutes mostly freeway. I pray I get this downtown job! So wish me luck!

2 down 1 to go

Today I woke up at 5:30 am to drive 1 hour and 10 min to a working interview. I worked 7 hours. One of which was an interview with the front office manager. Needless to say I saw only 5 patients today. It was kind of weird. The office does things a little different and Eagle Soft is weird....Sorry WSU! What is weird is that the Dr was so nice and personable and she diagnosed very well and respected the patients wishes like waiting to do a crown and not doing xrays today- that kind of thing. I liked her a lot. Plus her I-pod played Rob Thomas and Matchbox 20 like 9 times today so that rocked!

There are 2 assistants. They too were great. They took me to lunch. We had a good time and chatted about live, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was nice. But the vibe just was not there. My patients loved me...of course right ha ha ha. I did not get offered the job and do not think I will. Not sure why. Not sure I care.......It was a great office with great staff and great patients and maybe it was just too great? I don't know. It is just not meant to be my office. Well one more tomorrow @ 10am only about 7 minutes from me; Yeah!

1 down 2 to go

So interview one is done. I drove up and the office looked like many of the buildings around it. It did not look particularly nice or anything. So I was surprised when I opened the door and there was this posh office. There was leather cushy seats in the waiting room with a gas fireplace. Above the fireplace was a flat screen tv playing info about vaneers etc. Then in the corner was this huge leather massage chair. There were 3 soothing water displays placed around the room. Anyway the office looked really nice and very professional. I waited for my interview for 17 minutes. I was trying not to be irritated but I was. I had left work at Albertsons to run down to this interview and the Dr who did not have a patient....was wasting my time. Finally he came out and said oh I thought you were a patient not my interview because he said hello to me after I had been there 5 minutes. I was not impressed. So he takes me into his office which has a big flat screen tv/computer monitor and really nice furniture. He proceeds to ask me questions. He wants to know about my last offices perio program. He wants to know about my speed and accuracy. He wants to know if patients like me. He wants to know what I expect in regards to pay. I answer everything and think I'm doing alright. Finally he asks me to come back for a working interview on Tues. I tell him I already have a working interview that day. He said ok how about Thurs. I say I am working at Albertsons Pharmacy for the rest of the week. So he decided on Sat. He said he would really like to see me work blah blah blah because I seem like I am a normal person. I said I am normal. And then we joked about how some dentists and hygienists are not normal. It was great fun. So I guess I am going back for a working interview on Sat.

It should be a real experience. He has the latest technology. There are 9 ops and each has a huge computer monitor behind the patient and at least a 36 inch flat screen in front of the patient so you can show them xrays, and their ct scan. Yeah, like I know what that is....It looks like a pano machine and it takes a 3-dimensional image of your head and measures bone. So you look at this jaw and you can see exactly where a furcation is and exactly where the nerves are buccal and lingual. It was really impressive. Kami would flip out for a chance to use this stuff with her students! Then he has 'rats' which are mouse for your feet. So you control your cursor with your foot and that is how you do probe depths. There is going to be a learning curve for me and a challenge to get all this high tech stuff down. It will be great. I am pretty sure I will get offered the job. I feel that the dentist liked me and now just wants to see what I can do and produce.

It is a high end dental office. He does a lot of IV sedation, vaneers, implants etc. I am afraid that he is going to pressure me into diagnosing perio when there is no perio. I am going to do my best to be a good ethical and correct RDH. I had better brush up on my classifications of perio though!

Well I have a working interview tomorrow. I have a 90 minute commute. I should be in bed but cannot sleep and so I'll be trashed tomorrow. But what can you do? I already don't want the job tomorrow just because of the commute. It is only 35 miles away but with traffic and since there is not a highway I have to go through town and that means stop lights. It is going to suck. But at least I have one more chance at a good office and that will be on Wed when I have a regular interview in a downtown Portland office...only 7 min from my house. I am keeping my fingers crossed for that one! Well, I guess I should try to go get some more sleep....I really hate insomnia!