Happy Birthday and Goodbye Peggy

LUNCH WITH THE GANG

CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION

Happy Birthday Karen!!

Today we celebrated Karen's birthday at the dental office. We ordered lunch at Courtyard Cafe and Shandra made the most delicious vanilla/pineapple cake topped with strawberries and whipped cream. We all chipped in and got Karen a gift card for Bed, Bath and Beyond so she can buy some things for her new house. We had a great time and almost witnessed Judy dumping whipped cream on Dr. Kiholm's head! Whew! Close one Judy! ;)

- FIELD TRIP TO THE DENTAL OFFICE

- HANG IN THERE JACK!

Today was free taco day at Jack-In-The-Box. Jack was hit by a bus on February 1st. Shandra, Alice and I had to show our support today. It wasn't about the tacos, it was about the adventure....and the freebies. I love freebies!

For more information on Jack's condition, check out the website - www.hangintherejack.com

- FAMILY AFFAIR

Even though I've had the week off at the dental office, I went to work for a couple of hours today to confirm appointments, check the answering machine and get charts ready for Monday. Kurt and Tyler came along to help.

Kurt fixed the tack strip on the carpet (it's been taped down for about a month now).

I guess those years of managing apartments taught him how to fix anything!

Tyler got in on the action too, pulling charts and attaching route slips.
We stopped at In-N-Out Burger for dinner afterwards.
Thanks guys!!!

- OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY

Tonight was our annual office Christmas Party. We had dinner at Heyday Cafe. What a great restaurant! I had the seared salmon over Thai dirty rice with spicy orange glaze. It was AMAZING. Judy and I shared our desserts. I ordered the brownie with vanilla gelato and she had the orange 50/50 creme brulee. WOW! Love this place!

Left to right - Dr. K, Peggy, Moi, Kathy, Alice, Shandra, Karen and Judy.

The front office staff - Judy, Tami and Alice - wearing the flashy Christmas necklaces Peggy gave us.

The back office staff - deep in conversation about something important ;)

Judy all bundled up after dinner. It was SO cold outside.
What a fun night! Thanks Dr. Kiholm!!!!!

- SANTA?

Mike, our lab guy, brought us all yummy coffee cake and Starbucks goodies this morning. This is his annual Christmas tradition. I had the caramel apple cider - my Starbucks favorite!
THANKS MIKE!!!!

- YAY BARRETT!

Today Barrett Hamp had his final dental appointment before he leaves for his mission. Here he is receiving his dental clearance so he can submit his mission paperwork.
Good luck Barrett!

- WACKY WORK WARDROBE

It never fails, at least once a week Judy, Alice and I wear the same color to work. It's never planned but always makes us wonder if we aren't sharing the same brain some days. Today was the weirdest. I have had this red jacket for over a year but have never worn it to work. This morning I got up and KNEW I had to wear it. Now I know why. I'm going to keep a change of clothes in the trunk for this very reason ;)

- THOSE PEARLY WHITES

Today I was the "fill in" girl at the dental office where I work. That's the hazard of working where I work. When the hygienist's chair is empty and you're due to have your teeth cleaned, you're "it". Kurt and I have been so blessed to have work done on our teeth that we've been wanting to do for quite some time.

This is my hygienist Peggy. She's AWESOME!!!!!

- WELCOME BACK BROOKE!!!

Today Brooke Brake came home from school. It's her mid-semester break. She stopped by the office and we all went to lunch at Tortilla Flats. It was so good to see her! She's loving school and adusting to living away from home. We sure do miss her at our office!

- JOB DESCRIPTION

My job title at the dental office here in Placerville is "Schedule Coordinator". That involves scheduling appointments and keeping the schedule full, answering the telephone, posting treatment to the computer, an extensive chart check, and various other duties. Occasionally we need to babysit for patients, but this was something new. A patient brought in their brand new kitten (still bottle fed). It had been left on their porch a few days earlier. We got to hold and feed it while the patient had her teeth cleaned. You just never know what the day has in store!

- LUNCH WITH THE GIRLS

One of the highlights of my work week is lunch out with the girls. We do this at least once a week. We have a few favorite restaurants that have fast service and are close to our office. This is our favorite Mexican restaurant - Tortilla Flats. It's always nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of work and just relax!

- MY BIRTHDAY LUNCHEON AT WORK

Today my co-workers spoiled me. We ordered lunch at Tijuana Taqueria (Dr. bought my lunch), Kathy brought me roses, Shandra made my birthday cake, and everyone chipped in and bought me a $70 Kohl's gift card.

Posing with my birthday roses.

Everyone was very secretive about my birthday cake and had been whispering and giggling for a couple of days. They asked me to close my eyes and lift the lid. They had put plastic bugs all over the top. This was Shandra's brilliant idea. She recently found a HUGE dead cockroach outside and brought it in to the office and put it on Alice's keyboard and then chased me around the office with it. I DO NOT LIKE BUGS!!!!

Thank you Dr., Judy, Alice, Kathy, Shandra, Peggy and Karen! I love you all! Thanks for making my birthday so special!

- KATHY'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

My co-worker Kathy will be 60-years-old on Saturday. She's an RDA in our office and has worked for Dr. Kiholm for years. We celebrated her birthday all day today. I brought her flowers this morning and Peggy brought her miniature roses.

Shandra, our other dental assistant made an Italian Cream Cake for the party.

We "manipulated" the schedule with fake patients and surprised Kathy by taking her to Lil' Jonnie D Carlo's for a longer than usual lunch. The food was incredible. We laughed a lot and took a lot of pictures. (It's a pretty dark restaurant so the photos aren't the greatest). We gave her a Macy's gift card and a gift certificate to The Sequoia Restaurant.

Here's the whole gang (minus me, the photographer).

Lil' Jonnie himself came out and sang happy birthday in Italian to Kathy. He had the most amazing voice. Kathy turned about 10 shades of red before he was finished!

The whole paper bag thing was inspired by the birthday card Dr. Kiholm gave Kathy. We asked her to close her eyes while we put them on. I'm sure everyone in the restaurant thought we were insane! It was SO much fun.

Here's Kathy fanning the smoke after she blew out the candles on one of the yummiest cakes I've ever tasted! Great job Shandra!

Here we all are, leaving the restaurant. We sure got some weird looks from passersby! I don't think Kathy will forget this unusual birthday celebration anytime soon!
Happy 60th Birthday Kathy!!!!

- GOODBYES AND CPR

Today was Brooke Brake's last day of work. She's a dental assistant in our office and is moving to Rocklin to attend William Jessup University. She is truly one of the sweetest girls I have ever met. We had a going away luncheon for her today. We ordered salads and sandwiches from The Cosmic Cafe and Judy made a yummy pralines and cream cake. We all gave her words of advice and told her about our college experiences. I sure will miss her!

After work we all attended a CPR re-certification class. It was interesting to learn the new CPR guidelines. Things sure have changed since I took the class 8ish years ago. It's so much easier. 30 chest compressions/2 breaths for an adult. 15 chest compressions/2 breaths for a child/baby. So simple and so much easier to remember!

Getting ready to start practicing our chest compressions. They've sure come a long way since Resusci Annie!

I wonder if I could do this on a "real" person if I had to?

Brooke, getting ready to practice rescue breathing on an infant.

Rachelle and Dr. Kiholm having fun with the babies!

- OPEN HOUSE

Tonight, after work, Alice, Judy and I went to an open house for Dr. McIntire, a new oral surgeon in town. We were very impressed to see his new state of the art office. It was fun to meet some of the people from other offices that I talk to on the phone all the time. About the photo - no we didn't coordinate our wardrobe, but this happens all the time. We walk in and everyone asks if we plan what to wear so we'll match. Pretty funny. Fun night, excellent food, and great company!

- BACK TO WORK I GO

It was good to be back at work today - and into my normal routine. It was No Cavity Club Day at work today. Below is the photo that appears in the Mountain Democrat Newspaper every month listing kids who had no cavities. (I was the photographer for this one).

Front (left to right) Alice, Judy, Tami
Back (left to right) Brooke, Karen, Dr. Kiholm, Kathy and Peggy