Strategic Planning For MY Family

In dental school they teach us a little bit about the business side of dentistry and one of the things our professors have talked about is Strategic Planning. I didn't pay it much attention at the time because our business class is only half a credit and there are no tests. This class is at the bottom of the priority totem pole when compared to our other classes (Oral Pathology, Oral Surgery, Operative Dentistry, ext). But, now I'm starting to pay more attention to Strategic Planning as a guide to how my wife and I run our house. You are probably familiar with Strategic Planning if you have taken business classes, because most businesses follow this style of planning. You can google Strategic Planning to learn more about it. Which is what I did. Come to find out it is a good planning tool for any organization, family, couple, or individual. So, I thought I would apply it to our family.

I got some great ideas from this link

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/02/14/creating-a-positive-family-culture-how-to-plan-and-lead-a-weekly-family-meeting/

This past week I sat down with my wife and discussed creating a Family Mission Statement.  Our assignment is to answer the questions we got from the link. I haven't started yet so, you'll have to wait to see what we come up with until next time.

Four Weeks Left!

Well, just four more weeks and I will be a second year dental student.  I am really looking forward to summer.  It will be busy. If you read my last post then you know that I am going to ODS. I am really excited about that.  I have final exams in four weeks and Anie is taking Raylee on a trip to Utah for that week so they won't bother me while I am trying to study.  It will be the first time we've been apart for a long period of time since I went to Costa Rica for two weeks. That was three years ago.  I'll miss them more than they will miss me.  It will be the only time Anie can go on a trip this summer cause she will be due in August with our baby boy.  It's weird to think that we are going to have a baby boy soon.  Life seems to be moving so fast.  Before you know it I'll be in the navy pulling out some sailors tooth.  But for now I just have to remember to slow down and enjoy life.

 This is a photo of me and two of my buddies at the Midwest Dental Conference in Kansas City.  They had a photo booth there so we took advantage of the opportunity. We skipped anatomy class to go to the conference. It was free admission to all dental students and there was a free brunch served from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. As you can see it turned out to be a better time than sitting in an anatomy lecture about the spinal cord.  Well, I told Anie I was studying so I should probably do that. Until next time

Procrastination

WOW! -- It's been a long time since I posted (hence the appropriate title for the post).  I lot has happened.  The short list,

1. Raylee was born 12/19/11

2. I graduated from Missouri Western State Uni.

3. I started dental school at UMKC SOD
4. I joined the Navy to pay for dental school
5. Anie is pregnant again, due 8/20/13
6. My Mom moved out of Savannah, MO

These are the big things that have changed in my life.

Right now, I am procrastinating.  Tomorrow I have a test over Oral Diagnosis and a practical on #19 class 1 preparation & # 30 restoration and Friday a physiology test.  So, naturally, I am blogging a post to prepare. I really don't want to study. Spring break is next week so I am trying to push through but it is just not happening.  I have been surfing the web looking for information on Officer Development School (ODS). ODS is the 5 week "navy camp" that I have to do this summer to learn how to be a navy officer.  I am kind of excited for it.  From what I've learned it is nothing like navy boot camp.  It is suppose to be a lot easier.  That's why I call it "navy camp". I plan on blogging about it so my wife  knows what I went through.  I need to lose some weight before I go.  I am suppose to be 190 lbs. Obviously I'm not. I pushing 200 lbs. I have a month between the end of school and when my departure date (6/16/13) to lose weight.  I don't think it will be too hard, I hope.
Well, I should post on here more often. It is kind of therapeutic writing down all the thoughts that are going through my head.  (It could also be dangerous).
So far, school is going well. I am doing better than last semester. I have all A's and B's. This time last semester I had a few C's.  Did I mention that dental school is hard.  I consider myself a laid back individual who handles stress better than most, but dental school has made me question that.  I have realized that the way I deal with stress is by ignoring my responsibilities.  For instance, this post. I should be nose deep in my lecture notes right now. But, I'm not.  And I realize that my tests are not going to go away but I am a creature of habit. Ignoring my responsibilities to reduce my stress has been a staple in my character for so long that it is a hard thing to change. OH Well, at least I have my wonderful wife to help me stay focused. She is my source of motivation.  I feel bad when I let myself down but I feel worse when I let her down.  I guess I should wrap this up and stop procrastinating. Maybe I should watch some netflix before I start studying, just to relax my mind for all this writing. Yep

Phlebotomist

So, I'm a Phlebotomist, or as I like to say, a Phlobot. Some people call us phlebs. I don't like that as much cause it sounds to much like dweebs. I prefer Phlobots, cause it sound much cooler. I imagine myself as a robot with needles for fingers, and when I finish drawing blood I say "mmmmmm That's good Blood" in a voice that sounds like Johnny 5 from the movie Short Circuit.
Anyway, work was good tonight. I enjoy drawing blood. I also, shadow at UMKC today. I got to see a guy prep for a crown, and another guy do a root canal. Someday I will be doing that stuff. But until then, I guess I'll settle for sticking people with needles.

Christmas Break

Christmas Break was good. It was nice to relax and not think about homework. I'm looking forward to a new semester as well as the new year. I'm taking Physics II, Developmental Biology, and Genetics and that's it. Just 3 classes. I started doing some research also. I am going to research Zebra Fish fin regeneration. I know it sounds awesome. Right!? But until school starts I'm not going to do anything but play board games, watch movies, work, and hangout with my wife.

My first post

WOW, I never thought I would become a "blogger" much less someones "blog buddy". You should see the look on my wife's' face. She is so happy that I think her face is going to explode with joy. What a silly girl. I wonder if there is a way to block her from viewing my blog. ha ha (just kidding honey) But seriously IS THERE?
Anyway, I am trying to decide if I want to go to Physical Therapy school or Dental school. I have always want to be a physical therapist but the more I learn about dentistry the more it appeals to me. Today I went with Terrin Porter up to UMKC to watch him work on some dental patient. It was fun except that his instructor didn't know who I was and asked me "Are you the patients husband?" I quickly blurted out "NO!" You would have too. The lady looked like one of the witches off of the movie Hockus Pockus. The fat one to be exact. I was really offended. But other then that it was alright. I even got to watch a girl get two of her teeth pulled in oral surgery. That was pretty cool. There wasn't as much blood as I thought there would be. Well, I guess this is it for my first blog.