Ants, ants everywhere!

Work will always be work, but I have developed a passion for dentistry and I have very much enjoy working with many different kinds of patients. My new office is great and although it isn't as nice as the offices in the states and I happy here. However, I have an ant problem, you see there are little sugar ants everywhere here and I can't get them to stay off of my patients! Most of you know my operatory isn't the nicest and it is so embarrassing when i am cleaning someone's teeth and a chain of ants are marching on the patient's bib or face. I try my best to slyly brush them away or suction them up with my saliva ejector, but none the less they never fail to show up every day. One almost made it into my patients mouth, but he got sucked away! What can I say? At least they aren't spiders or crabs.

Dental Calculus, my favorite!

Most of you know that I have been working in Grand Cayman for 3 weeks now. It has been a great experience to work with a variety of people and I have been able to see a lot of patients who haven't had their teeth cleaned in a long long time. In this pictures you can see the build up of calculus (a mixture of a bunch of junk but mostly bacteria) and I LOVE it when I have a patient like this because it is so fun to clean! The chunks just fly off and I can almost hear their gums singing songs of thanks to me. Ha ha, seriously love the calculus builders. Black people have such beautiful big teeth but a lot of them, espeically if they are from Jamaica, haven't had dental treatment. Luckily it is a government law that every employee on the island has to have insurance.

I thought this was cute..

Some kids are so cute when they come in and others make me not want to have kids for a while, but I thought this cartoon was cute. When I was little I was always excited about the flavors of paste and fluoride and so I always give kids the option of several flavors and my gloves smell like grapes. Now if I could just get them interested in brushing and flossing.........

And my job isn't hard?

Antica Gelateria

Less than a block away from our apartment is a gelateria with the very best gelato. Bryan went on his mission to Italy and so he introduced me to the land of gelato when we got here and can I just say it is by far my favorite treat? If any of you haven't had gelato then you are missing out because it is so good!

Car Problems

Bryan in his cool sunglasses and cool car.

Here is our Honda Integra which used to be a nice car in her day 15 years ago. We didn't want to spend that much on a car so we found this and purchased it from another student. The A/C was working fine when Bryan found it and bought it. My main stipulation was that it would have A/C but when we arrived and started driving it we realized it didn't work at all. We called a mechanic who fixes a lot of student's cars and he told us that the guy before put enough freon in it just to sell it because he knew it would leak. Very annoying. So we are in the process of trying to find out if our mechanic is competent to get it fixed. I hate cars, they are nothing but a toilet to flush money down. Too bad my work is so far away. Did I mention that we already got a flat? No big deal right? Wrong.. there was no jack and the nuts and bolts on the tires are not original Honda brand and so then we had to find a jack and a twisty thing that would fit the bolts so we could get them off. Ahhhhh, I hate cars. (can you tell this is Laura writing this? ha ha)

Grand Cayman or Mexico?

The parking lot at our complex got shut down for a little while for some patch work and when we saw this scene we both laughed. Apparently they could only find shopping carts to tie off the area. The nearest grocery store is about a mile away.

Ummm...MAKE ME BABIES!!!

I figured we needed some kids to go in our stroller so I did a search to see if there were any websites that would combine our faces and tell us what our kids would look like...I thought it was pretty funny...and just to clarify any doubts....NO we are not planning on having kids for a while! (a really long while )... plus just looking at a picture of what a little brat might possbly look like is scary enough!

Stroller already?

I found this website giving away a free stroller. I know that we don't have kids yet but its always good to plan ahead! Please visit this website and follow the directions to sign up for the drawing.. http://inevergrewup.net/giveaway-25-bumbleride-indie-stroller/#comment-7412

UNDY TIME!

Luckily this place has a cart so I don't get tired on our trip down to the Undy Room.

At the "resort" we are staying at we have a community undy room, you know the place where you wash your undy's. Bryan says we have to wear our clothes 3 times before we can wash them because it costs about 10 dollars per load. Too bad he is going to be the only one who stinks because I refuse to wear clothes with goobers!

My Outer Darkness Operatory

This is my new operatory at work. I started my new job today and as I got working I realized that some of the equipment is broken, like my suction knob was broken and it won't twist and the water in my unit leaks and drips all over. Luckily the patients are so nice here and the staff too. I feel so deprived after working in Utah. I have tried to make this look more professional but all those cords have no where else to go and the rust on the floor will not budge ( thanks to Hurricane Ivans). I am excited about my new cavitron sitting on my little table, it is so nice! I also have new instruments coming--yippy! Unfortunately, today I only made a fraction of what I was making in Utah. Hopefully I can make enough to stay over here.

A Few Things I Love Having On the Island

Here are a few things that I am glad I have here in Grand Cayman.....


Bryan near me all the time, you see those are my feet and he is right close to me. I love seeing him multiple times a day when he is not studying.

I bought a Juicy Couture swim suite a few months ago that was very very on sale. Although this isn't my actual swim suite you can get the idea. (mine is brown and has a halter) I love this suite because it covers up some of my extra cellulite, but it is not at all mommy-ish. Well, at least I don't think so. Anyhow, it is so comfy and my first choice when we go to the crowded parts of the beach to snorkel. I would have put the actual picture of me wearing mine, but I guess it was just too hot for the computer because it wouldn't down load.

My new toaster oven. This roasts veggies so well! I love cooking my chicken in it too, it doesn't have to pre-heat...I love it! I am definitely going to buy another one of these when I get back to the states. I also love this muesli cereal I found at the fake Costco here. So good! I also love this little lamp because it is the only light in our kitchen.

We found this little spotted little sting ray about 5 feet away from the shore where we were walking.

We have been on a walk on the beach every night since we got here because it is so beautiful. No wind, perfect temp, no big waves and crystal clear blue water.

This sign tells how far away each place listed is and which direction it is located.

Love the sand, it is so soft and not rocky. It goes for 7 miles, hence the name.

One of the pools outside our room. Our room over looks this pool.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN!

Happy 15th birthday Jordan on December 31, 2009. We are so happy to be part of your live and we love being around you. You are such a peacemaker and you have an inviting personality. We are so proud of how you have chosen to live your life. Sorry this is a little late. We love you!

Love,
Bryan and Laura

Dad's new toy.

Jeeping with my dad in St. G.

We got out and climbed all over the rocks and it was such a beautiful day.

Bryan, J and L chasing Lucy. Very cute.

More Pictures from Christmas.

Bryan with Lacey.

Laura, Bryan, Jordan and Ally.

Jordan and Diane with their ginger bread house.

After decorating the tree.

Russ and Ally, they ran out of m&m's because Bryan ate most of them so their roof has two different sides.

A nice Christmas Mix.

Cool Uncle Bryan.

Making ginger bread houses with the Taylors which I loook forward to everytime. Every year we get more creative, unfortunatley I think I ate more candy than I put on this house.

We got to spend half of Christmas with the Taylors and half with the Woods.

Christmas at the Nye's with the Wood gang.

Things we did over Christmas

Saying good bye to my very best friend.....so so sad.

Bye bye Nye's.

Bye, bye wonderful Cafe Rio, we will miss you so so so so much.

Another one of my brilliant ideas at our humble abode.

My idea, Bryan's installation. For any of you who want to visit we will put you up in a very nice area....our living room.

Kitchen, Living Room and Bedroom All In One? Perfection!!

Bryan is trying to take the credit for my brilliant idea to stack the trundle bed on the other mattress and put our shoes there. I kind of feel like Carrie Bradshaw when I pull this out to make my shoe selection.

Thank goodness this place came with a TV since it is $1650 a month

Because we put our bed on cinder blocks I practically have to run and jump to make it on the bed, but it is worth it to have somewhere to store stuff.

Really, how many people have the luxury of being this close to the kitchen from their bed? SAAWEET!

Dining area.

Our New Home

Bathroom

The lights in here are so fluoresent that they make my teeth glow, not a good place to put make up on.

Those two lamps are the only light in our apartment, besides the bathroom. Needless to say it is a very dark place. Good thing that bright quilt came with the room to brighten things up; it only has a few cigarette burn holes in it.

Ah yes, how could I ever need anything more!! I can't wait to cook in here every day! There is no freezer in that half frigde and no oven which is why we had to buy that litter toaster oven. Did I mention that the walls and ceiling's are asbestos heaven?