If you've ever wanted to meet my family....

this is pretty close to what we are like.

Happy birthday to Dad :)

Though this post is late, the card and gift was not. And that's what matters. :)

I made him a card this year. So I thought I'd take some pictures.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!I LOVE YOU!!

Scrubbing in for surgery

One of the perks of my job is that, because I work in a small office, I get to try a lot of new things. That's absolutely awesome. I enjoy constantly learning and experimenting. It helps me explore and not get bored.

One day, about two years ago, they called and asked for any help I could provide on the Mobile Dental van. Apparently, none of the scheduled assistants showed up to a clinic. So they just needed people. I went to help. And was mesmerized.

Since then, I've participated in several training sessions and done job shadowing, and they now occasionally let me leave my normal day job to go work on the Mobile Dental vans. I get that most people wouldn't consider this a perk. But I personally love, love, LOVE it.

And I got to go on the van again this past Wednesday. I assisted with a crown, 9 extractions, oral surgery, and root canal prep.
AWE.SOME.

Doing our initial exam.

Getting started

Now we're really getting going.

Prepping for the crown impressions

This photo cracks me up. Dr. Visconti (the dentist sitting across from me) was talking about how I was so colour coordinated for the pictures. I was wearing this pink shirt and navy scrubs, and we were working with purple impression material. So in this pic, Dr. Visconti was telling me to primp the hair and work it for the pics. haha!

Different patient. Prepping for a root canal. We were putting in a rubber dam.

It took all three of us to get the rubber dam around the teeth, floss it through the teeth, and get the clamp in place. I felt a little badly for the guy with 6 hands surrounding his mouth. But we got it!

We, unfortunately, didn't take any pictures of the extractions and oral surgery procedures. Those were, by far, my favourite of the day. If I become a dentist, I think I might want to be an oral surgeon. I love watching surgeries.

I simply just so enjoy learning new skills and, in the process, helping people who so desperately need it. It's days like this that help keep me going.

Welcome to the Peep Show

A Peepless Easter? Not this year...

While I normally abhor the idea of eating Peeps, this year I made an exception. You see, Easter, as with every holiday, is surrounded with traditions that simply "make" the holiday. And I got to talking about Easter traditions with a friend and had a fun memory of Peep wars. So, out of college Peep war nostalgia, I went out and bought a package of pink Peeps. My friend, Jessica, bought yellow.

*Peep war tip #1 : use two different colours of Peeps. It makes it easier to determine the winner*
But as you can see, the pink Peeps started with a size disadvantage. I don't know why they make pink Peeps smaller than yellow Peeps.

*Peep war tip #2 : If given a choice, pick the bigger ones to begin with.

Then the face-off.

Stick them in the microwave, and turn it on....

Yellow took an early lead.

But pink quickly caught up.

Yellow ended up winning. Boo.

Deflated Peeps.
*Peep war tip #3 : Deflation happens quickly. So have your camera ready as soon as you open the microwave door.

About to try the microwaved marshmallow treats...

*Peep tip #4 : DO NOT eat microwaved Peeps. They are not "treats" as previously thought. Yuck!

So then we tried Roasted Peeps. With nothing else around, we decided to do it over my stove.

Punctured Peeps, pre-roasting

In the act of being roasted.

*Peep roasting tip #1 : If you do it over a stove like this, beware of sugar dropping off of the Peep and causing a fun spark

*Peep roasting tip #2: Roasted Peeps taste much better than microwaved Peeps.

After the war and roasting, the Peeps made up and became lifelong friends. But because I sent them home with Jess, I'm guessing their lives weren't that long.... :)

I still don't like eating Peeps. But this was a fun nostalgia evening. Go Peeps!

Free Them: Stop Human Trafficking 5k Fun Run & Walk

The UN estimates 1.2 million children are trafficked annually.
That's more than 3,200 kids every day.
Modern day slavery is the 2nd largest criminal industry in the world.

As some of you know, human trafficking is one of my hot topics. This year, I've decided to participate in World Concern’s 2010 Free Them: Stop Human Trafficking 5k Fun Run & Walk.

Funds raised will help provide education to enable children to learn about the incredible danger of trafficking and how to say no. World Concern teaches children, with both a classroom education and job-related skills, to help escape the risk of being trafficked.

It's hard to think that people can be enslaved and for sale in today’s world, and even in our own neighborhoods – but it’s absolutely true.

Washington's Task Force against Trafficking of Persons reports our state is a hotbed for the recruitment, transportation and sale of people for labor. The report indicates several factors that make Washington prone to human trafficking:

• International border with Canada
• Abundance of ports
• Vast rural areas
• Dependency on agricultural workers
  

It’s probably not an idea that you enjoy thinking about. But it's something that we cannot ignore.

Here's the good news: child trafficking is preventable. And by supporting me (or joining me!) in the Free Them: Stop Human Trafficking 5k Fun Run & Walk, you are helping to make a real difference in the life of a child!

Please visit my fundraising page to support me!

Oh Canada - Day 2

On our second day in Canada, we started with tea and water in our room, with the amazing sun coming through our windows. We certainly picked the best weekend to come, especially because it was the low season so we got a great deal.

And we had a nice little breakfast companion.

Blair found a robe, and couldn't resist the photo op.Then we went downstairs for our awesome breakfast. The tables were beautifully set.

I really liked the rose in the center.

We sat there for a while, taking pictures and waiting for the owner to bring in the food. It was supposed to be served between 8:30-9:30. We showed up around 8:45, trying to get in early so we could start our day early. At 9am, the owner (Sylvia, who is extremely nice and quite chatty) came in to set up. She was very surprised to see people in the room already. Apparently, the clock in the kitchen hadn't been changed for daylight savings time, so she was thinking it was 8am and that she was early. It was so cute! She got all flustered and apologetic. But it was really cute! She was such a sweet lady.

And the meal was totally worth the wait. The first course was homemade granola, homemade plain yogurt, and fresh fruit. Plus homemade lemon scones with homemade raspberry jam. YUM. Oh, plus fresh orange juice/coffee/tea. So good.

Then, because apparently that isn't enough for a proper Canadian breakfast, they served a second course of Eggs Neptune: essentially Eggs Benedict, but replace the ham with fresh smoked salmon and add a tomato slice. I can say that it was marvelous.

So we left Sylvia a nice little thank you note in the guest book in our room.

And took some pictures of the room's beauty. This pic of Jess and me is off of our deck.

Also off of our deck, but without us blocking the view.

And this is of our deck.

The room. Don't worry parentals...the room was a suite, so there was a second bedroom. One for the girls, one for the boy. hehe

After our lovely breakfast and check out, we decided to explore the park that was literally next door to our B&B. We actually overlooked part of it from our windows.

I LOVED these trees. They were all over the place in Victoria. They were so cool. And I found out that they are called Garry Oaks. Yep, I'm a fan.

And we also found these cool purple checkered flowers. I'd never seen anything quite like them.

And then there were the ducks. I sat down and they swarmed. I'm sure I disappointed by not having anything to feed them. Hence why in this picture all you see is them walking away from me. haha

And here we were our own version of a totem pole.

We spent about 2.5-3 hours there! It was so pretty!

Then we decided to go geocaching downtown. And we found our first Canadian cache! And then a couple more after that... :)

After a decent amount of time walking around geocaching, we decided to stop for some lunch. We asked a local where we could go for some good, albeit cheap, food nearby. His response: McDonalds or the mall's food court. Yeah, thanks that's really helpful. HAHA So we just went walking around some more, and happened upon this Greek place. It was really tasty. I had the Moussaka and Greek salad. mmmmm

After lunch we decided to go to Beacon Hill Park. Again, we were told it had amazing views, and also offered cool things like 30 heron nests in the trees. We never found the heron nests, but we did see some other awesome things. Like this stunning peacock that was so vibrantly coloured!And then we saw more....so we followed them as they followed each other.And then we walked up to the top of Beacon Hill. This was the breathtaking view.And this cool gismo showed the direction and distance of different things, like Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker, Seattle, etc. We also used the gismo as a camera tripod for this picture. :) After Beacon Hill, we had to had to our ferry back. This time we caught the one we were hoping for. But it was still super sad to leave. We had so much fun!!

Oh Canada, we love thee