my pink toes

I've always had good teeth. They had even been a source of pride for me, until I got my very first cavity at the age of 25. With all the other freakish medical issues I have, it was nice to have actually WON the genetic lottery in a part of my body.

Since my demoralizing cavity, I have flossed every night. That's every night for 12 years. I even buy the special floss because my teeth are tight at the tips and loose at the roots. And until recently, I had my teeth cleaned every six months, regular as rain.

I finally changed dentists about 8 years ago to find one in my city. I'd been driving too far to see our old "family dentist" I'd seen since High School and came to the realization that I did not want to use my "alone time" on teeth cleaning. My first experience here was with an office with a very weird vibe, staffed by perpetually annoyed hygenists who would read my chart and sigh. I seriously expected them to start popping their gum, and talk like Valley Girls, "OMG! You are like, so way too sensitive in your mouth! It makes my job too hard! I'm so sure!".

I finally made another switch, only to go from annoyed to alarmist. You may remember that my last dentist was so sure I had advanced tongue cancer, that she got a busy surgeon to get me in for a biopsy that very week, and she called me at home to make sure I'd followed up with that appointment. So the surgeon punched a giant hole in my tongue (I named him "Floyd") and sent it off to the lab. It was exactly as much fun as it sounds like. Good news: no cancer! Bad news: there wasn't really any danger in the first place, so the whole exercise was unnecessary. My doctor says I have "geographic tongue", which means my tongue always looks like it has teeth-prints in it.

So, I couldn't bring myself to go back to alarmist doctor, but it had been a year and a half and I really needed to see a dentist. I finally found one who seemed promising (and who actually answered the phone..but that's another story).

Two hours and fifteen minutes later, I have been cleaned and examined and billed and fluffed. And informed that I need 2 CROWNS, 3 FILLINGS, and a NIGHT GUARD. Apparently, I grind my teeth (I've chipped one already and 2 have hairline fractures). This all will take 7 (yes, 7) appointments and three thousand dollars to fix (but lucky me, our insurance will pay 60%).

Either I'm really getting old, my genetic luck has completely run out, or Floyd is out to get me.

Filed Under "Medical Freak(out)" at 04:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Henry starts at my bathroom and takes a long running leap onto my bed. He turns to me, smiles, and proudly says, "I do that jump over Petey all the time, and I hardly ever land on him."

Filed Under "Kidlets" at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

See previous edition here (at least this time, all the objects of desire are actually human).

• Dayton Duncan – This earnest-looking, droopy-eyed sweetheart is one of the “talking heads” behind the famous Ken Burns videos. How can you possibly resist someone who is so giddily eager to talk about Lewis and Clark? His humble, boyish manner and exuberance about history is IRRESISTABLE. It is only because of him that I will be able to survive the Civil War video series. And apparently he is a past politico (former governor's chief of staff, and a deputy national press secretary!). He has a passion for National Parks and WRITES BOOKS. Swoon!


• ER doctors – And not the show, I mean real-life ER docs (with the medical luck I have, I've seen quite a few...) Ok, so this is a generalization, but wow, they are hot. What is it? They don’t usually have the swoony biceps of the firefighter/EMTs nor do they have the world-weary look of the white-coated pediatricians. Most ER docs I’ve seen have worn glasses – hot! The glasses say, “I work such odd hours saving the world one patient at a time that I couldn’t possibly take contacts in and out”. And the srubs, whew – let me catch my breath! The scrubs say, “If you go to college for 8+ years and can make life-or-death-decisions in the blink of an eye, then –and only then – you too can earn the right to wear glorified sweats to work every day. And, have your employer WASH THEM FOR YOU.” So yeah, I find ER docs pretty alluring. But then again, it could be the massive pain meds I’m getting through the IV’s….
  

Filed Under "Shiny Things" at 08:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

° cold hands & hot coffee °
from di+mars photostream

Filed Under "Everything Else" at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tired-Out Kids

We got back from our amazing trip to the Philippines and Hong Kong early Wednesday morning. I tumbled into bed at 9am PST, and didn't get up till midnight! Henry and I were up half the night together, then got back to sleep around 5 and up at noon. Friday I managed to get myself to work and then crashed again at 8:30pm. I didn't get up until 4pm yesterday! Dave thought I might sleep 24 hours straight through.

So anyway, dinner was in the crockpot by 3am; my Bible study is done for the week. I graded a bunch of papers and made 2 batches of scones, all before church this morning. I fully expect to crash hard around dinner time, but it sure feels good to be coherent again. The fatigue this week was so all-encompassing. When it's so bad like that, I start to worry if I'll ever feel good again - if I'll ever manage to DO anything again. One dinner and an empty dishwasher later, I am reassured.

The trip was worth every bit of exhaustion. I can't wait to tell more about it. Now that my brain is working again, hopefully I'll be able to put some thoughts together.

Filed Under "2008 - PI and HK" at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Foot thong in the PI
These are my toes, in a "foot thong".
We were all barefoot on the beach
for the wedding, and this is what
we wore. Shanti's best friend made
them for all of us. They're really cool!

After the ceremony, we danced on the beach in the rain. It was fabulous.

More photos here.

Filed Under "2008 - PI and HK" at 05:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So here it is, a day late, but it brought a couple extra dollars with it! It didn't really start until 3 am, and our district waited until 5:45 to make the call, but the right call was made.

We had about 3 inches by 9am, and it's snowed steadily ever since. We rarely get this much snow here, but when we do, I always think about Pooh-Bear:

[Pooh] jumped up and down to keep warm, and a hum came suddenly into his head, which seemed to him a Good Hum, such as is Hummed Hopefully to Others.
            The more it snows
                (Tiddely pom),
            The more it goes
                (Tiddely pom),
            The more it goes
                (Tiddely pom)
            On snowing.
            And nobody knows
                (Tiddely pom),
            How cold my toes
                (Tiddely pom),
            How cold my toes
                (Tiddely pom),
            Are growing.

Filed Under "Everything Else" at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)