For my mom's 60th birthday, my cousin Andrea (my mom's niece) and I decided to throw her a little party with dinner at a hibachi grill. My mom is the most selfless person I know, and no matter what we do, it would never measure up to what she has done for us. So we all went, had a fantastic time, the cook kept referring to my mom as, Saki Mamma, it was hysterical. Everyone loved the themed food, so we decided that once a month, we'd take turns hosting a different food-themed party. June's theme was Greek, and my mom was hosting.
We try and dress to fit the theme (if possible), and eat a bunch of appetizers/dinner/drinks from the country we're representing. We also had a lot of fun playing some lawn games (bean bag toss & ladder golf). Here are some photos!
A little blurry, my mom offered to take a picture of Alex and I.
Clearly I'm very awkward and have no clue what to do. My mom said, "Put your foot up." I look ridiculous hah.
Foooood! Alex & Andrea on the left. My dad in the back, Uncle Angelo & Sue (holding Guiliana).
Prosciutto wrapped fig with sage and feta.
Food table!
"Mmm!" says Isabella as she smells the flowers.
My mom and I.
Strawberry marshmallows (from Bulk Barn). Andrea picked these up for me, because I was craving them all week!
My attempt at Greek themed hair/earrings/dress, hah.
Cupcakes!
I made these lemon lavender cupcakes for the party, check out the recipe here in the "Food" section of my blog.
Next month's party is this Sunday, at Andrea's house. Theme: USA/Canadian favorites for the holiday. My mom and her sister were born here in Buffalo, my Aunt married a Canadian man and moved to Port Colborne, Ontario. They had two children, Andrea & Aaron. Unfortunately my Aunt passed away in 1989 from breast cancer, and my mom has been more of a mom than an aunt to Andrea & Aaron, and we're more like siblings! They all still live in Canada, and we spend a few days a month visiting back & forth.
Now that our summer clinical session of school is done, we have 6 weeks off to study and sit for our part 2 board exam. Mine is scheduled for July 23 & 24th, day 1 = 8 hour exam, day 2 = 4 hours :-( I'll be spending the next month studying around 4-5 hours/day (or however long it takes me to get through 70 cards/day (See picture below). It seems deceiving, the front has a multiple choice question, then you flip it over to the back and the answer is there, but wait! There you will also find the tiniest font, with paragraphs and paragraphs of information on the subject. Bahhhh, they take forever to go through. Either way, there are just about 1,500 cards, so doing 70 cards/day will take me around 3 weeks to finish the deck. Then I'll have a week to review. I did the same thing for my part 1 exam last summer, and it worked out well, so I'm not too worried.
Dental decks. Yuck.
This is what my studying has looked like the past two days. It's the only way I can stay focused and not consume buckets of food while studying.
Tomorrow: Andrea & Craig are coming in with the kids, and we'll hang out with them. I also have to get in my 70 cards for the day. Bor-ing.
Alex's youngest sister, Annaliese, graduated from high school this past weekend. On Friday I ran to the Niagara Falls Outlet Mall to hunt for her gift. She had been talking about wanting a Coach wristlette for years, since she saw mine, so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to get her one. We have a Coach Outlet store pretty close by, which is fantastic, because almost everything they have is discounted by 50%, and they offer coupons when you walk through the doors for an addition 30% off, so 80% off sounds pretty darn good to me!
I ended up finding a cute, classy, and spacious wristlette/clutch combo that was perfect for a girl ready to start college.
I lucked out and ran into my friend Jenn (best friend who introduced Alex and I) at the mall, and she and Alex's other sister Astrid (via phone) helped me pick out the above bag, pretty cute! Jenn and I also stopped by the Bare Escentuals store and I picked up some pretty neat products (eye liner kit with special brushes, and some summery blush/bronzer to go with my tan). Anna's graduation, along with Jenn's rehersal dinner and wedding were coming up fast (this past weekend for the grad, and this week/weekend for wedding events), and we decided to hit up Banana Republic to look for some dresses for the events. I instantly found six dresses that would be perfect, tried them all on, and decided to get them. I recently realized I had no classic/elegant dresses that could be worn to any major events, so this shopping trip couldn't have worked out any better!
Early Saturday morning (3:30am) Alex's sister Astrid was coming in from NYC (where she goes to Optometry School) for Anna's graduation. Alex picked her up, we snoozed until 8:00am, and Astrid surprised us with breakfast from Ess-A-Bagel in Manhattan. Yum!! Perfect treat to hold us over before our celebratory dinner at 6:00pm.
Astrid & Alex waiting for the graduation ceremony to begin.
The graduation ceremony was held at Art Park, and was like any typical high school graduation - long! Alex even brought an ipod to listen to through the student speeches, while I kept my head down in an, "I'm embarassed for you" manner. I have horrible anxiety when it comes to watching young people sing/give speeches, for fear that they will do a horrible job. Of course there was the typical girl who decided to stroll down memory lane and blah-blah about every inside joke/story she'd ever been a part of. Then there was the loud, flamboyant doofus who was way too over the top. The valedictorian's speech was expertly executed and I felt as if I were listening to one of my peers give a presentation, rather than an 18 year old. Refreshing.
After the graduation came the long awaited dinner reservations at Tempo Restaurant! Alex and I had heard rave reviews about this restaurant from our friends, but it is pretty fancy, and we don't really go out to restaurants very often, mostly because we both enjoy preparing yummy foods at home. We all decided to order drinks and a bunch of appetizers to share, and then ordered individual meals. I am an avid food photographer, so here are some pictures from our dinner.
Astrid's eggplant appetizer.
I ordered the calamari. This was THE BEST calamari I've ever had. It was a huge hit around the table!
Alex & his dad both ordered the muscles. These were the best muscles I've ever had as well. Perfectly steamed, soft, not chewy at all, and no big fishy taste!
Alex is VERY excited for his enormous 32oz. ribeye.
I ordered the filet mignon wrapped in proscuitto, over a bed of gnocchi and escarole.
Yay! Congratulations Anna! (With her gnocchi.)
Alex's dad's ribeye.
Alex is ready to do some serious eating.
Astrid & her mom ordered the grilled steak.
Tiramisu.
Creme brulee.
The dinner was absolutely fantastic! Definitely the best restaurant we've been to so far (for the type of food served). All-in-all, a wonderful day to celebrate Anna graduating from high school, perfect weather, great family, and amazing food. What more can a girl ask for!
As I mentioned briefly in my earlier post and my blog description, I am a dental student at the State University of New York at Buffalo's (aka SUNY Buffalo or UB) School of Dental Medicine. I am going into my fourth (and final) year of dental school and it has definitely been the most difficult journey I've taken thus far!
I was born in Buffalo, NY and have yet to leave. I grew up in the Irish Catholic part of the city (South Buffalo), and went to St. Ambrose for elementary school, and Mt. Mercy Academy (girls only) for high school. South Buffalo was a little world of its own, comprised of a community rooted in Irish heritage, where you could find a bar, pizzeria, and Catholic Church on almost every corner. Now most people have moved out to the suburbs, and South Buffalo seems to be taking a slow downward spiral. It is so disheartening to see that it has changed so much in the last seven years, but alas, on to bigger and better things.
I did my undergraduate at UB, getting my degree in biomedical sciences (basically a pre-dental curriculum), and went straight on to dental school after graduation. Dental school. Hmm... how can I summarize without griping. For whatever reason, I constantly feel compelled to try and make those who aren't dental students realize how grueling it really is, but I've finally realized... no one will ever understand unless you've gone through it.
My favorite question I get asked when people ask what I'm studying at UB - here's how the conversation usually goes:
Person: What do you go to school for?
Me: I'm in dental school.
Person: Ohhhh... so you're going to be a dental assistant?
Me: No, I'm...
Person: Oh! You're going to be a dental hygienist? That's it!
Me: No... I'm going to be a dentist.
Person: Wait, what? You mean you're going to be an assistant or a hygienist, right?
Me: (flustered) No, I'm going to be THE dentist.
Person: (confused) Okayyy... so, how long does that take? A few years?
Me: Yeah, it's pretty long actually. I had to get my undergraduate degree first, that was four years. Then I had to apply to dental school, then I had to get accepted, and dental school is another 4 years. So that's eight years of college total.
Person: So will you be a dentist then? Like a REAL dentist?
I'm pretty sure I look like Trollface by the end of the above conversation.
It's insane to me, in the world we live in, no one in their right mind can fathom that, 1.) anyone would want to be a dentist, 2.) a woman can be a dentist, and 3.) becoming a dentist requires some pretty unyielding, long years of studying, doing work on mannequins/fabricating crowns/dentures/partials and treating patients, all before you even get your DDS!! (Catches breath...) Phew. Yay dental school! Hah.
Some of my favorite dental meme sites (if you're a dental student, or a dentist, you will 100% appreciate these!):
In all reality, sifting through the memories of unending studying and dwindling elbow grease, I really am enjoying my (almost) career. Especially now that I'm in my fourth (and final) year, and can say, yes I've done a bunch of fillings, placed crowns, made dentures, and have done root canals, I'm feeling pretty accomplished! I can imagine I'll feel like Wonder Woman once I actually graduate (in 313 days, woo! Yes, I've had a countdown going since I started dental school in 2009).
After all of this, I cannot hesitate to mention the most important person in my life, who has been there through all the nitty gritty with me, my boyfriend of almost seven years, Alexander (I call him Xander). We met through a mutual friend right before I started undergrad. My friend told me, "Hey Kim, I know this guy who's going to start dental school at UB this fall. I asked him if he would meet up with us so he could give you a tour of the school and some information." I am the weirdo child who wrote in her kindergarten journal, "I want to be a dentist!", and actually followed through.
A HUGE thanks to the universe, and my friend Jenn, for aligning the planets that day, because over the next year we became friends, and later began dating. Moreover, we got each other through life from that point on. Without Alex, I would have never had the focus and drive to understand exactly how hard I had to work to get accepted to dental school, and to have a direct view into the career, see exactly how challenging dental school would be, and make important connections with professors in the school to show them that I was meant to have a spot in their school. If I never met him, I highly doubt I'd be where I am today. I'd like to think that although I didn't contribute much to his actual school career (how can you mentor someone who is 4 years ahead of you in school?), I did keep him sane as much as I could, and offered my entire support and encouragement.
So there you have it, my life in a brief summary (super boring? I hope not :-/ ). Alex has been out in the "real world" working as a dentist for the last three years, while I've been shoveling through the huge manure pile that is dental school. We live in a studio apartment with our English Bull Terrier, Poppy, bull in a china shop, and two adults, it's comedic really. Watch the video below the photo of Poppy to find out why.
Poppy's way too cool for the rest of us.
Note: This video does not feature Poppy, however all Bull Terriers do this silly thing called a hucklebutt - random excitable burst of energy that results in lots of tail wagging, running in circles and sprinting back and forth, please enjoy!
Hi internet world! I've decided to finally make my debut. I initially had so many ideas about how I wanted to start my blog, make proper introductions, and so on. However, I have a "pressing" question to throw out to any skin-care experts, and further introductions shall be made later!
I am 24, soon to be 25, and I still have acne :-( Now it's not horrible, but I see so many of my peers with fresh, beautiful faces, and find myself wondering, when will that be me? I have had pimples since I was 10, and after 15 years, you start to wonder when you'll grow out of it.
I have tried almost EVERY product out there from drug store products (Clean & Clear, Noxema, Aveno), to television ads (Proactiv), to department store counters (Clinique Acne 3-Step, Origins, Body Shop Tea Tree Oil collection, Bare Escentuals bareVitamins) and even prescription antibiotic cleansing pads from my doctor. Unfortunately, I've spent a lot of time, money, and wasted hope on these products, and none of them have given me results that I am satisfied with.
However, I recently tried a sample I found in my closet from... who knows when - of Clinique's Turnaround Concentrate. I found that I really liked it! Although my skin still had some blemishes, I liked how it made my skin feel, almost like it was healing and moist, rather than angry and irritated. Now here's my dilemma: it's so darn expensive! $42.50 for 30mL!!! You've got to be kidding me! I don't have money to throw around on a product I may have to purchase twice a month! Especially because this is not a life or death situation here.
If anyone has any advice or solutions that clear up skin on a budget, please post-away!!! I am thinking that because I've tried the "kill the bacteria, burn it away" method which just seems to anger my skin, serums may be the best option, which may lead me to a pricier product. Le sigh.
Thank you for your time and thoughts! An introduction post shall follow.
