I Like This Sweater

Here's a Kindle Sweater I like. I'm not going to waste any more time knitting sweaters for my Kindle. I'm going to spend more time actually reading on my Kindle.

A Sweater for My Kindle

My office staff gave me a Kindle for Christmas. I love it. It's compact and I can read and store tons of books on it. It's great on the eyes, better than the iPhone Kindle. Recently I knit a sweater for my Kindle. . . such a grandmotherly thing to do. I used some yarn I had on hand and I'm not crazy about the yarn color choice, but I just wanted to see how it would turn out. I think I'll knit another one using colors I like better.

Today I had lunch with a friend who is selling nutritional supplements. David and I joke sometimes because there are so many miracle food supplement companies out there. The current trend in this industry is to find an exotic plant that grows in a country far away from the US, and claim that it can do wonderful things like strengthen the immune system, or help the body deal with stress, or cure some disease (they can't really claim that, so they just insinuate . . .) I use a supplement that is made from "magic"  pears from New Zealand. I have been taking this supplement for several years and it really does help my joints to be supple and non-arthritis-like. David uses a supplement drink mix from a different company whose product are made from a "magic" tree in Africa. It helps him maintain his health while he's on the road. The products I heard about today are made from plants used by ancient Chinese AND other plants only found in Siberia AND "magic" berries from some other exotic country. I laughed out loud when I read the brochure. I'm not saying these product don't do what they claim.  But the "magic" ingredient thing makes me laugh. I thought we were supposed to eat foods grown locally, sold at the Farmers' Market. It's like the definition of an expert as someone who lives more than 50 miles away. Same idea with "magic" ingredients. . . the farther away it's found, the more exotic and wonderful, and the more money they charge.

Christmas Cards and Letters in January

I really enjoy the tradition of sending and getting cards and letters at Christmas. It's always such a busy time of year that I don't get a chance to sit and read everything right away. But in January, after things calm down, I like to take some time to sit and read them in peace. I did that today.
I like seeing the passage of time measured in news of kids my daughter Sarah used to babysit, getting married, having babies of their own. It touches my heart to see the shaky handwriting on letters we received from people of our parents' generation. People from our generation are returning from missions or planning on serving missions soon, retiring, moving to be closer to children and grandchildren. One of the teenage boys David worked with when we first got married, just turned 50. We hear from friends from Kentucky, Indiana, Texas - all places we have lived in our nearly 40 years of marriage. We have friends who travel the world, and friends who stayed put their whole lives.
One card I missed this year was from my aunt and uncle in California. My cousin wrote and told me he and his siblings had to move their parents into a facility where they could get additional care. And no card from them this year.
I even found a utility bill and a government sales tax form in the pile of Christmas cards!

It's So Glamorous to Own a Business

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I'm proud to be a business owner. It's so glamorous.  Besides networking and getting to know the members of the business community, providing great dental services for my patients, and managing the finances of a growing business, one of my jobs is to clean the two toilets in my office. We used to have Karen clean our office once a week, but my staff talked me into allowing them to clean the office themselves. I felt guilty having them clean toilets when I hired them to be office managers and dental assistants, so I agreed to have them do all the cleaning except for the bathrooms. That would be my job.

I have the greatest staff. We had a staff meeting this week, and their feedback was awesome. They have really good ideas for improving the flow of our office, and they make me feel like they really care about the dental practice, that it's more than just a job for them. I always leave these meetings thinking about how fortunate I am to have such a good staff.

My dental assistant is looking into making a career change, going into sonography . . . taking heart sonograms in a hospital setting. I will be sorry to lose her because she is so outspoken and smart, but she needs a job where she can work her way up and get promotions and make more money. Dental assisting is a good job to provide a second income, but it's hard to support yourself on just the income from this job. She used to have a second job tending bar, but she really needs a higher paying career job.

Yesterday I was listening to my office manager talk to a patient about paying for his dental treatment. She was so clear, understandable and friendly. She's very kind. A typical office manager would have to be somewhat mean to collect the money people owe us, but she can collect and still be kind. She often has things done before I even ask for them. And she just finished compiling a big e-mail list so we can send out regular informational/promotional announcements to members of the community. She's great.

We have had our hygienist working three days a week, and will increase to four days this month. The first year in business we had an average of 70 new patients a month. The second year our average was 60 new patients a month. That is REALLY GOOD! When I first opened I was hoping for 35 a month. My goal is to sustain the 60 new patients a month forever.

I'm very fortunate. Even if I have to clean the toilets.

A Nice Thank You

Here's a nice e-mail I got from my friend whose kids I have taught or am currently teaching in Primary.


"Kathy,

Alex said the prayer for dinner tonight and said, "please bless Sis. Ford to come over. Please bless Sis. Ford come play fish".  Kevin then explained that you had a pond in nursery today.  Our boys are so lucky to have had you for their teacher.  You put so much preparation into your lessons and they appreciate it.  Alex was also singing "Book of Mormon Stories" during dinner.  Thank you for all of the energy you put into being their teacher.

And a million thank yous for the mittens, hat and head band.  It was so sweet of you to make the head band for me.  Thank you.  The boys have loved their mittens."

Alex and Ethan

Alex calls me "Sissa Ford." And his cute friend Max calls him "Awekth."

Calder called me this morning and asked me if I could come over on Tuesday. Calder lives in Louisiana and I live in Nebraska, so it's not too easy to just come over. I asked him if there was something special on Tuesday. He said there wasn't. He just wanted me to come over on Tuesday.  

Happy New Year 2012!

Calder, Max, Genevene, Leah, David, Matt, Kathy, Bess,
 Julie and Atticus

Here's a picture of David and I with Matt's family in Natchitoches the day before Christmas. Matt shaved off his beard, and left a mustache only. So he and Julie got mustaches for everyone and took a family picture.

I wrote about our Christmas visit in the Carrier Pigeon Blog here  http://carrierpigeon11.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-eve-at-matt-and-julies-house.html
in case anyone is interested.

I am thinking about 2011 and evaluating my goals for last year, and making new goals for 2012.

2011:
For my first year in my dental practice, 2010, I used loan money for working capital. And in 2011, I got by on money we collected. Finances were very tight, putting it mildly. It was a stressful year financially for us at work and at home, but I'm anticipating that 2012 will be better. My business is growing steadily, and I feel like it will continue to grow and keep us busy and able to pay the bills.

• I achieved my goal to read the New Testament, and I also read the Book of Mormon.
• I didn't achieve my goal to do Yoga twice a week and a cardio workout twice a week. Instead I did cardio twice or three times a week, at they gym or walking out at the lake. The Yoga thing kind of fizzled out. 
• I achieved and exceeded my goal to knit ten hats and ten pairs of mittens. I was a knitting maniac in 2011, and knit way more than 10 pairs of mittens, and a few more than 10 hats. I also knit a few scarves and some headbands for people at work after they found a cute winter headband on Pinterest and asked me if I could make them each one, which I did. Knitting was my Yoga, to relieve stress. Very therapeutic.
• I achieved my goal of having three one-to-one BNI meetings a month. I even got a BNI award for having the most one-to-one meetings with chapter members.
• I didn't achieve my goal of submitting one referral a week to BNI members. 
• I didn't achieve my temple goals either. I'll try again in 2012. 

Some things I particularly enjoyed in 2011 were knitting, the trip with my sisters to visit our brother and his wife in Washington, Thanksgiving and Christmas with the kids, helping my friend Muriel move into senior housing, and others.

Here are my goals for 2012:

• Read the Book of Mormon 
• Work out three times a week
• Learn to knit socks
• Continue to schedule three BNI one-to-one visits a month
• Submit at least two BNI referrals a month
• Organize a family reunion in Salt Lake City for this summer
• Pay off two personal lines of credit, even if it means moving the money to the lower interest equity line
• Pay off a small business loan to Patterson Dental
• Refinance my business
• Equip my third treatment room

This month's first presidency message in our church magazine advises all of us to implement the ABC's for the coming year: A = have a good attitude  B = Believe in ourselves, and C= Have courage 

I like this advice, and I'm going to try to remember it.

2012 is the end of the Mayan calendar, and according to some, the end of the world. And 2012 is predicted to be a year of dramatic solar events, according to a "Universe" documentary I watched on TV. It could also be the year that Adam becomes a business owner (big secret, at this point . . . don't tell anyone!), Willie could be made partner in the law firm, Sarah could have a second book published,  Willie and Sally could have another baby, Simon could get his driver's license, we could have a really fun family reunion in Salt Lake City, and countless other wonderful things. 

I will have a good attitude, believe in myself and have courage. 

What Dentists Give Other Dentists for Christmas

A plate of delicious handmade chocolate candies

                         


                      Cookies with Christmas icing

                               
                                    A giant and very clever card with candy bars glued to it

And . . . a bag of gourmet chocolate, nuts, licorice, peanut brittle, bath gel, hand lotion, gourmet pears and apples, etc.

Fun times.