I found out this morning that President Hinckley passed away last night. I was deeply saddened to hear this. I will greatly miss him, his teaching and especially his voice. It always conveyed to me the truthfulness of his words and through it the voice of God. Conference this April with be sad without him.
Good Bye President Hinckley! I'll miss you!
I used to love the SNL skit "PAT". So it made yesterday's experience all the more hilarious. I walked into the dental operatory (No its not a bad dental joke) and said to the seven year old patient's head in the chair "Hey big guy!" Then my assistant shows me the chart. On the patient label it said the name along with an "M" for the sex. Above said sticker she had written "female". And with that I began the dental visit confused as to if patient was a patricia or patrick. The name was not helpful in figuring out the gender. The child has short curly hair and was overweight with a higher voice. Only the voice made me think female. So the whole appointment I was careful not to use he/she, buddy/honey. It was very hard, I realized I use those terms a lot with my patients. The part that really made me think of the PAT skit was I kept asking questions in hopes of getting a gender clue. The best friends name was some weird name I had never heard of and was unhelpful. Favorite TV show also unhelpful: The Fairly OddParents. Also, the teeth didn't look either male or female. So the patient left and I was able to confirm that it was a girl.
Our residency has a rotation where we go to Tufts School of Dentistry in Boston and teach the dental students on their pediatric dentistry rotation. So I was in Boston on Thursday for my last day of this rotation. I decided to use the chance without children and a wife to finally walk the entire freedom trail.
The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile red-brick walking trail that leads you to 16 nationally significant historic sites, every one an authentic American treasure. Preserved and dedicated by the citizens of Boston in 1958, when the wrecking ball threatened, the Freedom Trail today is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution and beyond.
They have a red trail going throughout the city. Sometimes it is a painted line, but the majority is red brick. It was pretty cool thinking about all the history that took place where I was walking. I think the Paul Revere house along with the Old North Church, where he hung the signal lanterns, was my favorite.
Near Boston common, where the trail begins, is the Park Street Church. 
Next to the Church is a very old cemetery, the granary burial ground, where many famous people are buried, including John Hancock (I think). 
The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in Boston and the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the U.S. — the doors have always been open to diners since 1826.
Often referred to as “the home of free speech” and “the Cradle of Liberty,” Faneuil Hall hosted America’s first Town Meeting. Built by wealthy merchant Peter Faneuil in 1741, this imposing structure is the place where the Sons of Liberty proclaimed their dissent against Royal oppression
The trail ends at this monument to the Battle of Bunker Hill:
"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" This order, found in a German Manual of Arms and believed to have been uttered at the battle by Colonel William Prescott, has come to immortalize the determination of the ill-equipped Colonists facing the powerful British Army during the famous battle fought on this site on June 17, 1775.
The Battle of Bunker Hill marks the first time Colonial forces held its own against the British army. Today a 221-foot granite obelisk denotes the site of the first major battle of the American Revolution.
I took the boys on a walk this evening. It was very cold, but we all had fun...until they both started crying from the cold as we reached the doorstep. I took these pictures while they kicked ice into the water.
This was a little toy I found on the beach. I like it!
...well not that secret...
I recently read one of my high school friend's, we'll call her Sara, Christmas Letter. I was totally jealous. Sara is attending culinary school. I love cooking and already have culinary plans for my retirement, in fact I might do it now if it wasn't for this dentist thing they have me doing right now!
So here is the plan: Upon retirement I want to buy a house on Clarendon Ave in San Francisco and attend the California Culinary Academy. Or maybe we'll buy a house (again) near the water in Rhode Island and I'll train at Johnson and Wales.
The point is I love to cook and have an underlying desire to become a chef!
*way to go Sara!
For sometime now I have been meaning to write about something that annoys me i.e. the blogs that have the word verification for comments. 
It is so annoying to have to type all those funky letters just to post a comment. Come on people just lighten up a little and make it easier for me to post a comment. You do want comment don't you!?* Plus, on an ADA (Americans with Disability act) note, people who are visually challenged and/or blind can't leave comments when they run into it. Yes, they have programs that can tell you what letters are present, but my sources say it doesn't work well. So lets all make a new year resolution to remove the word verifications from as many blogs as possible. (Plus half the time I enter in the wrong letters, and I think its making me a worse speller!)
*More than once, I have been discouraged from leaving my witty comments.
**I do like the wavy pattern the letters come in!
Emily did an excellent job filling my Christmas list. My favoritest one so far is my new camera tripod, it even comes with a little tripod in the big tripod's handle. So a few nights ago I went to Temple Square and took some picture of the SLC Temple. It was soo much fun! and cold. It was nice to have the tripod so I could experiment with different shutter speeds and aperture settings without getting blurry pictures. These are a few of my favorite ones.
