Back to School, Back to Blogging

It's almost been 3 months since I have blogged, and during that time Joe and I had a FABULOUS summer. I plan to share details of our adventures, but I'll save those stories for future posts :)

Last Monday Joe went back to school and it has been less of an adjustment than I expected. While I hate that he's gone for so long (he's already spending more time in class and lab than last year), I feel like I grew during D1 and I'm better able to entertain myself in his absence. I still hate it, of course. I definitely got spoiled with Joe-time this summer.

To keep busy, I am re-watching The Walking Dead in preparation for the season 5 premiere on October 12, crocheting, and reading book 1 of the Game of Thrones series. Oh! And I am in not one but TWO fantasy football leagues. Go Broncos! I've still been going to the gym... but let's just say that a cruise and 2+ weeks in Missouri set me back a little bit.

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Our Summertime Plans

As of last Thursday, Joe officially finished his first year of dental school! I am so proud of all that he has accomplished this year and SO excited to have my husband school-free for the next 2+ months.

Well, technically it is here. But I couldn't resist a GoT reference.
Or that throne made of pool noodles.

It still seems unreal that he has time on his hands. We went out to lunch and shopping on Friday, and both kept thinking that we needed to hurry home so he could get back to studying. After every meal we eat, show we watch, walk we take with Buster, etc., we both expect us to have to part ways (him to study, me to try to entertain myself until his next - brief - break). I'm not sure how long it will take for us to adjust to his new, totally free schedule, but it is such a great feeling every time we remember that he doesn't have any studying to do that I don't mind this adjustment period.

This summer will be his only sizable break from dental school during the entire 4 years. Next summer (between years 2 and 3) will be spent studying for his boards and in clinic. Once clinic starts, that is a year-round commitment until dental school is complete. 

Knowing this, we want to take advantage of these next couple of months and have some exciting things to look forward to. My youngest brother, Brian, is coming to visit next Saturday. While he's here, the three of us will head to Washington D.C. for a couple of days. Joe has never been to D.C. and is a big history buff (especially U.S. and Presidential history), so he is really excited. Brian and I have both been twice, but never together. I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time looking at monuments and visiting museums. 

The following Sunday (June 22) is our cruise! Brian will be staying at our place and taking care of Buster while we are gone. I am SO EXCITED for this cruise. Unless you count our road trip out to Philadelphia or trips to visit family, the last vacation Joe and I took together was our honeymoon 3 years ago. This is long overdue :) The cruise is a week long, and we will sail from New Jersey to Bermuda, dock there for 3 days, then sail back. I know that most cruises involve island- or city-hopping, but I actually like the idea of having a long period of time in one place. Most of the other cruises we looked at only docked for about 4 hours at each locale, which doesn't seem like nearly enough time. I've been on 3 cruises in my life (at ages 5, 9 and 22), so I know what to expect. Joe, on the other hand, has never stepped foot on a cruise ship, so it will be so much fun to get to experience his first time cruising together. 

Just 13 days after we arrive home from the cruise, we will be heading to Missouri for a little over 2 weeks so we can visit Joe's family. We don't want to leave Buster again, so we will be driving and bringing the dog with us. It's about a 15 hour drive and Buster hates the car, so that should be really enjoyable. Despite the dreaded drive, I am so excited for this Missouri trip! I love Joe's family and when we visited during our road trip out to Philly last year, I was SUPER sick. Like, the sickest I have ever been (I had to sleep on his mom's recliner for 10 days because I would have extended coughing fits if I laid down at all). I felt so miserable that we ended up cutting our road trip short and heading straight to Philly after Missouri (with a couple of short detours) instead of driving through the south and then up the East Coast as planned. I feel like I didn't get to spend enough quality time with his family, so hopefully this trip can help make-up for that a bit.

After we return from Missouri, things slow-down a bit. All we have planned for August is to see Book of Mormon and to go to a Phillies vs. Cardinals game. 

I know that I have been terrible at blogging lately, but I am hoping that all of these exciting adventures will give me something to write about :) Then again, maybe I won't want to waste a second of time that I could be spending with Joe. I guess we shall see...

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Allow Me to Fill You In....

It's been quite an absence - sorry about that!

Here's what I've failed to fill you in on lately:


SPRING BREAK

Going back to California for Spring Break was a lot of fun!

Joe joined me in California for the first 5 days of my 11 day va-cay. Since he was only in town for a handful of days, we had a pretty packed schedule because we wanted to visit as many friends and family as we could. It was so much fun to see all the familiar faces :)

After he left, things slowed down and I spent most of my time either working or shopping with my mom. I was so strange to be away from him for almost a week - it's the longest we've been apart since we've been married - but I'm still going to try to make it home more often in the future. Since I can work from anywhere, I should take advantage of that.

It was also fun to be home for two Sundays because I was able to watch two new episodes of The Walking Dead with my parents - who are obsessed (especially my Dad). My brother, Brian, was home for the first Sunday and is a big fan as well. He convinced me to read the comics, which I started a few days ago and am TOTALLY hooked on. They are incredibly twisted so, being me, I obviously can't get enough of them.

***Side Note*** This is the first comic I've read, so I don't know if this is true for ALL comics, but I am SHOCKED at how many "adult situations" there are! Now I finally understand why some guys are totally obsessed with comic books ;) ***End of Side Note***

While I ate too much on my trip and only exercised a couple of times, I was still down 0.4 pounds when I returned... so I consider that a win. And that's after TWO visits to In N Out ;)

Of course, I HAD to Instagram my first meal there :) And, yes, I do eat a ridiculous amount of ketchup.

BUSTER'S BIRTHDAY

One downside of staying in California longer than Joe did was that I missed Buster's first birthday with us. He's four now, and his birthday was March 14. Not only did his mommy miss his special day, but the poor guy had to go to the vet for some shots!

I made it up to him by bringing home some presents. He also got a special doggy cookie in the shape of a squirrel (he loves chasing them) and Joe made him some chicken and rice to eat.

I'm impressed - the dog knows how to open a present...

I LOVE this picture because he looks like he dropped his mouth in shock at his present. Really, he was just yawning - something he does approximately 15,324 times a day.

DENTAL SCHOOL

The second semester of dental school has brought a shift for Joe. Instead of being in lecture all day learning science stuff, he's now doing more hands-on stuff! He's excited to finally roll his sleeves up. Not only is he assisting 3rd and 4th year students when they work on patients, but he is in lab doing things like making wax teeth and filling cavities on dummies.

Sometimes, he can bring stuff home. And then I get to take pictures :)

He's carving a tooth out of wax for this project. I don't understand the point, but nearly every (if not all) dental schools require this. Some make you do the entire mouth! It's incredibly time consuming.

Hard at work

But happy to be carving instead of having his head buried in a book.

TRAINING

Upon returning to Philly, I've been really focused on eating right and hitting the gym hard with my trainer. Though I have been lazy and haven't made it to the gym on non-training days, three extreme workouts a week is definitely a step up from what I had been doing. I'm going to aim for 5 days a week next week (3 with the trainer, 2 cardio days) - which is what she wants me to do.

Although I am not a fan DURING training, I am LOVING that I made the decision to do this. I can tell that I am getting an incredible workout, and I am already seeing some arm definition that I haven't seen in FAR too long. I'm so dedicated that I've even starting drinking protein powder drinks after workouts to help build muscle!

I love my trainer! She knows how much to push to make me red-faced, sweaty and sore the next day
- but not in a ton of pain.

The only thing that really stinks is that she wants me to weigh myself just ONCE a month. This is going to be VERY difficult, and it also means that you'll have to say goodbye to Weigh-in Wednesdays, but I'm going to be a good trainee and listen to her.


Welp. That's really about it. Life has been crazy busy with work and training, and there haven't been too many exciting things going on. That said, I hate inconsistent bloggers, so I am going to try to up my game :)

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Guest Blogger: Gabriel Ruiz (Dental Spouse)

Today I'm going to do something I've never done before: feature a guest blogger!

Gabriel is the husband of a dentist, and messaged me a few days ago about writing a post on life as a dental spouse. I thought it would be helpful for my readers who have husbands or wives in dental school :) What I love is how Gabriel and his wife are true partners in life and business.
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When I was growing up I never dreamed of being a doctor's “wife.” I expected to a be a teacher like my mother or preacher like my father. During dental school I even had an inkling of the inevitable. Still I didn't realize how much of a typical dentist's spouse I'd become until I introduced myself to a patient as "Gabriel, the doctor’s wife," on accident.

Today, nearly 14 years later, dentist's spouse is a label I wear with pride. My wife and I have been a team since dental school, and it has paid off. As a dental spouse I've been able to supplement those strengths that make her a great dentist such as determination, self-confidence, and attention to detail with my own strengths in communication, people management, and visionary development to create a thriving dental practice.

It is no surprise then that, after years of searching in vain for reliable dental practice management software that would be easy to use, affordable, and work on both PCs and Macs, we would choose to take the challenge of creating such a software together. Two years and a small fortune later, we are proud of the software we've created, Axex Dental. Check out a video of the software in action at video.axexdental.com.

In an interview with The Dental Geek blog about our experience and our software, we were asked if making the transition from dental practice to entrepreneur was difficult for us. The truth is that whether setting up a practice, taking over an existing one, or creating software, all dentists will be entrepreneurs at one point or another. Although we have been very successful in our practice and our software, it has not been without challenges, hard knocks, and harder lessons. But it does not have to be so painful.

Dental school will not prepare your spouses for running a business, and chances are they'll be too busy to supplement studies on their own. As a dentist's spouse you may want to brush up on business and entrepreneurship knowledge. You don't need an MBA. Listen to a podcast on startups every now and then. Read a book or two on business. I recommend "The Personal MBA..." by Josh Kaufman and "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries. I really enjoyed those two, and believe me, what I find fun reading is typically "Good Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors" by Molly Harper. . .

Huh. Maybe I am a typical doctor's wife after all.

Gabriel Ruiz has a BA in Theology from Southern Adventist University. He taught junior high at Loma Linda Academy, and until 2011, he was a stay-at-home parent of two wonderful children with an unpaid internship at Kimberly Riggs Ruiz DDS, Inc. in HR, IT, and BS (Marketing.) These days he splits his time between the aforementioned unpaid jobs and the equally unpaid job of Lead Evangelist and Co-Founder for Unident Software Company and Axex Dental.

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