6 More Weeks

I am delighted by the fact that there are only 3 more weeks of class until Thanksgiving break and three more weeks after that. We are sooooo ready for a break!

I often get asked how PA school is going. "Busy" is usually my answer, although I have learned that there are many who have a much higher study time tolerance than I do. I am finding out that I am not a science person, which usually raises some eyebrows--luckily there's more to being a PA than science. And let's face it, I'm not hoping to become the next Dr. House cracking the worlds most mysterious medical cases. I do really enjoy the hands on things. So far we've learned to do injections, draw blood, suture and do physical examinations. All of this I really enjoy. I also like charting, which ostracizes me from most of my classmates. What can I say? I'm a Comms major at heart.

The most challenging thing about school is being in class for 6-8 hours/day, 5 days/week. I sit on one of those big exercise balls instead of a chair (as do many of my classmates). It seems to help me stay awake (haven't fallen asleep and spilled off onto the floor yet anyway) and you can always bounce for entertainment.

I am pleased to report that my US Army stethoscope that Matthew won from a recruiter for guessing the kind of car he drove (strange...I know) seems to work great. Still, I am dreading when I am actually practicing and I have to explain to my patients that I was never in the US Army. It seems like I should come up with a better story of how I got the stethoscope....

Five Years

Matthew and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday and it's made me reflect on some of the things we've done these past five years:


June 3, 2004
I was living in NYC doing an internship with an advertising agency and living the dream, literally. Matthew flew in to visit and we spent the evening visiting the Manhattan Temple Dedication. Afterward we went for a stroll through Central Park and ended up on the tree-lined Poet's Walk cozying up on a bench where a month ago he had whispered, "I love you," into my ear. That evening we became engaged and our story began.


July 29, 2004
Megan called around first thing in the morning because I had forgotten to book an appointment to get my nails done. Luckily we found a place with an opening and rushed off for the matrimonial mani/pedi. Several hours of primping later Matthew and I were married in the Boise Temple for time and eternity. We had an incredible day with our friends and family enjoying the bliss of new love and marriage.

December 18, 2004
Matthew graduated with a B.S. in International Buisness Management and Spanish from Utah Valley State College. Whew!

April 14, 2005
I checked into LDS Hospital for a 5-day stay to have my first tumor removed. I had to arrange with all of my teachers to have my finals early and complete projects ahead of time so I could have the surgury during finals week. Additionally, the weeks prior to surgury required me to take medication to control my blood pressure and to slowly increase it until surgury. I started out taking one pill once a day and ended up taking eight pills twice a day! It the medication slowed me down immensely and, in some ways, that semester was my most difficult yet.

April 21, 2005
It was really important to me to attend my college graduation because I felt that I had worked hard to achieve that little piece of paper so when the surgeon told me I would be going under the knife one week before graduation I was determined that I would make it on the stage. My parents rented a wheel chair so I wouldn't have to walk far and Matthew pushed me around all day. I got a seat of honor on the floor of the Marriott Center with graduate students and Matthew sat close behind me. It was a long ceremony to endure even with the narcotics but I am so happy I was able to be there.

May 9, 2009
Matthew and I started our first college grad jobs. Matthew was managing a Tunex franchise in West Valley City and I was working at BYU doing marketing for the campus auxilliaries. Though my drea m was to return to NYC and start up an advertising career, it was a perfect transition considering my health and the wonderful support I received while working at BYU. My coworkers made it possible for me to have a job at that time.

July 29, 2005
I arrived in SLC airport around 7 p.m. with my parents. We had just come from Bethesda, MD where I spent the week getting a work up of tests to determine the location of my other tumors. Our first wedding anniversary was unconventional at best, but we did get to enjoy a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant.

April 2006
While driving home from General Conference I received inspiration that we needed to fulfill Matthew's life-long dream of taking a huge amount of time to travel. We spent the next nine months preparing and finally quit our jobs in December 2006 so we could have an adventure.

2007
Traveling was hard on me because I really like to have a schedule and be accomplishing things on my list but that year we learned more about eachother than we've probably learned in the other four years combined. We shared so many great experiences that we'll never forget...and created our homemade RV we like to call the "Campry." The world is so beautiful and there are so many places I can't wait to get back to!

January 21, 2008
I guess traveling does change you because I started school on a Tuesday, down the long path to becoming a physician assistant. I loved being back in school but I worked hard. Science is not my forte and it took all I had to earn what I did. Matthew was a huge support to me in this transition. I guess I inspiried him because eight months later he caught my insanity and started taking classes to prepare for dental school.

January 12, 2009
I had just had my wisdom teeth removed four days before and suffered a flu bug in the process of healing up from that so I wasn't sure I was at the top of my game but I headed off to Meridian to interview for a seat in the Idaho State Unversity PA program. The interview seemed to go well and I wasn't disappointed because just two days later we celebrated a seat offer.

May 27, 2009
We took our last chance (for the next few years) for long, international trip and flew to Cancun, Mexico for some summer fun--two months of relaxation and chaos in Centeral America.

July 29, 2009
Five years--I love you more than ever, Matthew!!!

Love for Pandora

Who doesn't love Pandora? I started using this service when I was working at BYU a couple of years ago and continue to love it. Where else can you hear Colbie Caillat sing "Kiss the Girl" from the Little Mermaid and Jack Johnson all on the same radio station?

If you are so unfortunate as to have missed out on Pandora for the past few years, please--do yourself a favor--check it out now!

These are some of my favorite stations:
That's How You Know It's Love (from Enchanted)
Colbie Caillat
Antonio Vivaldi
Rascal Flatts

My Calling

In January I was called to be the Relief Society (RS) President in my ward. Matthew and I attend a married student ward so I am relieved to not have the complexities of a family ward but this has been quite a growing experience. I have some incredible women serving as my counselors and secretary which is a HUGE benefit. These are some of the lessons I have learned in my first three months on the job:

1. A calling like this can consume you, so you have to learn to compartmentalize your life.
2. There are people out there with bigger problems than you, trust me :)
3. People think that they are unique in being shy or feeling weird talking to someone they don't know--almost everyone feels that way.
4. Delegate.
5. It is tough to be the manager. I have managed in my previous work but it was nothing like this. It is really hard for me to be the one who is making sure everyone is doing their job without doing it for them.

I know many of you are LDS so if you are wondering, "What can I do to make my RS president's life better?", here are some answers.

1. Do your visiting teaching. There is a reason we harp on this all the time. It's a big burden to bear to be responsible for dozens of women.
2. Do your calling. Be as enthusiastic as you can about your calling and look for ways you can fulfill it.
3. Be friends with the sisters in RS. If you think you are shy see (3.) above.

Some of the blessings that I have received from this calling thus far are as follows:
1. An increased connection with the Spirit.
2. The ability to know the names and faces of the ~65 sisters in the ward.
3. A better understanding of what RS is all about and why we have it.

If any of you have any tips for a budding, young RS president please pass them on!

Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy

I thought this might brighten your day. It lasts about 4 minutes so give it a look when you have time. I'm not able to embed it so click here for a great video.

Confessions of an Identity Theft Victim

In November I received a surprising phone call from Dell asking me if I had ordered and financed two purple laptops totaling over $4000. Three payday loans and at least two new bank accounts later I think I have everything resolved. I had heard radio ads, etc. about ID theft but I didn't really know how to prevent it or what to do about it so I didn't do anything. After going through this whole time-consuming mess, this is what I wish I had known:

1. If you ever receive a letter from a company letting you know that they have lost (or may have lost) your personal information call a credit reporting agency and put a fraud alert on your account. There are three agencies and if you call one they automatically notify the others. These are the agencies: Transunion, Experian and Equifax. This fraud alert will last for 90 days but you can call again in 90 days and put it on your account again.

2. If you are not actively seeking credit you can also put a security freeze on your account. This means that credit will not be issued in your name. It's done the same way as the fraud alert. If you want the security freeze lifted from your account (when you are seeking credit) it usually just takes a phone call and a few days.

3. Most states mandate that a free credit report be available for each resident each calendar year. These reports do not provide you with your credit score but they do show you the activity on your credit history. This is helpful in identifying shady activity in your name. When I got my reports I had three false addresses, a false SS# and fraudulent requests for my credit history. To get the free report just go to the three reporting agencies listed above and order it.

I won't go into the whole headache of fixing your credit once ID theft has occurred because I am hoping most of you won't have to deal with that, but if you ever do, give me a call and I'll let you know what I did.

Goodreads

My wonderful friend KaLee just introduced me to the Goodreads website. It's a place where friends can share books they are reading and get recommendations. I think this is great because I am always looking for a good book to read. So if you are interested please create an account and add me to your friends. I don't like mass emailing people info like this so this is my invitation.

Here's my latest review of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling:

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard L. Bushman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was intrigued by the title of this book and I have found it to be very appropriate. This book, written by a practicing Mormon, is a great account of the prophet's life. He gives plenty of background information which helps the reader to understand the influences of both the period and his unique family situation that may have played a roll in his decisions.



It is a long book and it's written by a historian so you can get a little bogged down with it. I've been working on it for just over a year now and I'm almost finished. It's a good book to have on the shelf to pick up when you feel like it but I wouldn't attempt to charge straight through it.


View all my reviews.

Undefined

Does anyone know why it says "undefined undefined" at the top of each of my posts? I can't figure out how it got there or how to make it go away. I think it's positioned where the date should be.

ISU--Boise, here we...are!

I've been accepted to Idaho State University's PA program and I will be attending at their Boise campus. Matthew and I are very excited because ISU was our first choice. These are the reasons why:

1. We already live in Boise

2. ISU is the least expensive program (i.e. less student loans to pay back later)

3. Matthew can stay in school at Boise State

I didn't even know what ISU's mascot was so a quick google search fixed that. Go Bengals!

2nd Amendment Rights