Friday, February 08, 2008

A New Direction

Recently Erin and I have been praying and thinking about my future. We laugh at how many jobs I have had in my lifetime but it is actually becoming an issue for me. I do not like the field I am in. It is as simple as that. I grew up wanting to be a Doctor. That is all that I ever wanted. But, when I went to school, my lack of maturity, circumstances, expectations of how my life would turn out, etc intimidated me and I took the easy way out. I got a business degree because it was easy, cheap, and what everyone does when they don't know what else to do. Not exactly the best way to make decisions about your future.

So, Erin and I began listing the things I have liked and enjoyed in my previous positions or hobbies. This is what we came up with.
  1. I enjoy being with people
  2. I want ownership and to be my own boss
  3. I like to choose who I work with, to be able to pick my own staff. At cj, I was fortunate enough to be able to assist in choosing some of the new hires that I would be working with. This makes for a great cohesive team, where everyones strengths complement the group. Less nit-picky too.
  4. I like for my work ethic and my income to be directly related. I want to be able to control how much I make by how hard I work. In my previous and current positions, now matter how hard I work, I am not rewarded for my efforts.
  5. I LOVE to be on my feet
  6. I like science and healthcare. I read physiology books and medical manuals and journals for fun.
  7. I want a flexible schedule so that I can be a mom one day
  8. I like preventative care. I think people should take care of themselves before there is ever a problem. It is much easier to do regular maintenance and prevent a problem than to fix one. Plus, I think that America as a whole is over-medicated.

From this list Erin and I came up with a few career possibilites: M.D., Dentist, Chiropractor. We ruled out M.D. right away because of the cost of school, the length of school, and the fact that I don't want to treat colds, flu, and hypochondriacs. I would rather be a surgeon and I would be in school till I was 90 :). Also, I have more and more issues with our healthcare system. We are over-medicated, over-charged, and if universal healthcare comes into play I want to be as far away from general medical practice as possible.

We ruled out Chiropractic care next. Although I have found relief from Chiropractic care and used to work for a Chiropractor, I am not passionate enough about it to make it my profession. I have done some research on the science. I believe in the methods but not neccessarily in the philosophies of Chiropractic. Plus, it is more likely to be influenced by a slow economy than any other type of healthcare.

We then evaluated dentistry. It seems like the perfect fit. We could pay cash for school if we stick to the same strict budget we're on now. We could also save enough to give us a good start on beginning a practice once I'm out of school. Dental school is only 4 years long. I have pretty teeth (heheh). A large part of a dentist's work is preventative care. I love people. I could own my own practice. I'd be on my feet. We feel God's leading in this direction and until he tells us no or closes a door, we will pursue this.

Monday, February 04, 2008

Manning Fans

I've got to admit that leading up to the fact, I was very uninterested in the Superbowl. I was first pulling for the Titans to make it to the big game. They of course did not. Then it was the Cowboys...well Jessica Simpson and her pink Jersey ruined that for us. We are NFC fans but we could not root for the Patriots. Tom Brady is a man-whore (pardon my language). So, we decided to pull for Brett Favre thinking they could definitely beat the Giants. I mean, come on, the Giants were the LAST wild card pick and everyone knows that Eli isn't as good as his older brother, right? I had basically chocked this up as a worthless superbowl and figured Brady and his cheating coach would take it home this year.


Well we were definitely proven wrong. It turned out to be one of the best Superbowl games I've ever seen. Erin was glad to see Burress catch the winning pass for a touchdown. After all, Burress gave Erin most of his points on his fantasy league this year! What a great game. Considering the fact we live in UT country, we are Manning fans. It was very good to see Eli win a superbowl and get MVP and not have to be under the shadow of his older brother anymore.

We also had fun going over to Brittany and Scott's for their annual superbowl party. We had a good time. Here are a few pics.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Birthday Fun!

Erin and I's birthdays are very close together. Mine is January 23 and his is February 2nd (groundhog's day).

My birthday was on a Wednesday this year (bleck!) and I had to work. Nothing too exciting happened at work except for the fact that I had more friends call, email, or text my birthday wishes than I ever have before! We had decided not to do presents this year for our birthdays because we got everything we wanted for Christmas and we would rather write an extra check towards the Dave Ramsey plan than receive a present. So I wasn't really expecting anything. After work I went to the gym and worked out and when I came in the house it was perfectly clean, something delicious was cooking, and there was a fire in the fireplace! Turns out Erin had taken a half day off work to clean the house for me and cook me a fantastic dinner of Candied Glazed Lamp Chops and my favorite bleu cheese chopped salad. Yummy! I also had roses and a sweet card waiting for me. It was a great birthday.

Erin's birthday was on a Saturday which gave it a little more flexibility. I got up early that morning and a Monkey Bread (or Pull-Apart) coffee cake, Juice, and a Quiche waiting for breakfast. I even put 28 candles in the Monkey Bread for him to blow out :) We spent the day just doing fun stuff: went for a walk, threw the football, etc. Then that night Hale and Andi, Nate and Erin P, and Erin and I went to Macaroni Grill (we had a gift card!) and ice skating. Ice skating was a blast; probably more funny than anything!

Thanks to all of you who sent birthday cards and gifts. We appreciate and love you all!