Life from the Dentist Chair

So I went back to the dentist today. For the second day this week. To spend another three hours. And no, in case you're wondering, like my Auntie Theresa, I'm not having an affair with my dentist. Even if I wasn't happily married and even if he wasn't hopefully happily married and EVEN if he was Ryan Gosling from The Notebook, I'd have to pass on that one.
After all I've been through, I just couldn't be married to a dentist. Yeah, you're right. If all of the above were true, and he looked like Ryan Gosling, I'd forget about him being a dentist.

But I am so happy to say that I think I have turned the curve. I am FINALLY feeling more like my old self. Not that that was all that great, but hey, it's me and I'll gladly take it.

One can find the strangest things to do while waiting an extremely long time for the dentist to come in.
The room I was in today was what they call "The Florida Room." It looks out of these ginormous windows. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. "The Florida Room" was a perfect place to be if you had to be at the dentist at all. I felt like a lizard tanning on a rock.


My dentist office plays CNN constantly on TVs in every room. The waiting room included. After this experience, I am pretty caught up on all current affairs.

For example, did y'all hear about the little girl who had a cold a couple of weeks ago and now she can't stop sneezing? She sneezes about 12,000 times a day. Can you imagine? She's perfectly healthy otherwise and the sneezes don't hurt or anything. She's a quiet sneezer too. Not the loud, lung clearing, earth shattering sneeze you hear some people do. Hers is a quite little achoo.

And did you know that NASA has reported that there is water on the moon? Interesting. Balloon boy's parents pled guilty today.

There were so many other headlines and news breaks that were sad and a few that made me disgusted and mad. I really don't know how they stand to listen to that all day.

While I was waiting I was listening to my iPod. Martina McBride's song, I Have Been Blessed came on. What a beautiful song. I think that sometimes I take for granted so many things. Most of all I take for granted feeling good. Do you? I am a horribly impatient patient. I don't suffer well.

From this experience I have learned that if I want to take a day or two -- or seven -- to just lie around and do nothing, I don't have to be sick to do that. Whoever said you have to be sick or in pain to rest was nuts. And probably extremely ridden with OCD. Rest is one of life's pleasures. You can't enjoy it if you're not feeling well, so take time and enjoy it when you can.

I was feeling so guilty that, since work's been slow the last two weeks, I didn't spend my days doing something productive. But then I realized I should be thankful that I wasn't having to turn away good work because I was sick. Another lesson learned. Enjoy the moment. Next week looks to be very busy. And I will try to enjoy that moment too.

Most of all, I've learned that my life is good. It's so, so, so good. Even the everyday little things are good. If you can drive to see a play, be thankful. If you can eat chips and salsa, be thankful. If you can make it through the day without taking a pain medicine, be grateful. And I am.

So I will close by saying, till next time, LIVE, LOVE and LAUGH!

Fits Like a Puzzle

Yesterday I went back to the dentist. After at least eight Novocaine shots to deaden my mouth, SUFFERING through a series of very painful tests on several of my teeth, he concluded that, not only do I have an abscess and infection in my gum, but am also SUFFERING -- and I do mean SUFFERING -- from TMJD. It was an AH-HAH moment of epic proportions.

I went to the ear, nose and throat doctor once before complaining of an earache. He didn't find anything wrong with my ear and thought it could be TMJD. Each and every time I have a migraine headache, I also get very bad ear pain. The pieces fit together like an ugly puzzle.

I came across this article and thought it was so interesting. It's kinda boring, but you never know, by sharing it I may help some other poor soul get a diagnosis.

This article was printed in Oprah Magazine.

Frequent headaches? Ear pain? The cause may be a TMJ disorder, a condition that often goes undiagnosed.
The sufferers are primarily women, and there are 10 to 30 million of them: They develop a snap, crackle, or pop in the jaw—and it isn't their cereal. They have a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. If any part of the TMJ system of muscles, tissues, ligaments, and bones dislocates or becomes inflamed, the disorder can result. Experts aren't completely sure what causes the problem. It may be a chronic clenching or grinding of teeth, or trauma to the jaw from, say, a root canal (when you have to keep your mouth open wide for an extended period), or whiplash. Arthritis may play a part, yet for a significant number of people, TMJ disorders begin for no obvious reason.Some of the symptoms—headache and ear pain, for example—can be mistaken for migraines or ear infections. Other symptoms include neck pain, a clicking or popping sound when you open or close your mouth, and jaws that catch or lock up. You can do a simple self-diagnosis by using the test on this page, suggested by James Fricton, DDS, a professor in the division of TMJ disorders and orofacial pain at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. Most of the time, sufferers can find relief by reducing the amount of wear and tear to the joint. Your dentist might suggest avoiding chewing gum and may prescribe a nighttime bite guard to minimize clenching and grinding. Some people find relief with muscle relaxation techniques, but for chronic sufferers, prescription drugs or even surgery (to repair or even replace the joint) may be recommended.The Test: While opening your jaw slightly, place a finger over the joint in front of your ear, and then open wide until you can feel the joint move. If you feel the joint click or if it's tender when you press, you may have a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There has been one shining spot to all this SUFFERING. Suz and her family sent me the most beautiful, cheery flowers yesterday.

I have found myself moving them from room to room so that I can enjoy them wherever I'm at.

Alayna was in a Shakespeare play last night. It had been postponed twice. She was soooo excited about it and knew that, of course, I wouldn't miss it for anything. Except maybe excruciating pain. When I called her to tell her, Suz had already told her and she was sobbing. She was soooo disappointed. She knew I was hurting and she didn't want me to come if I couldn't, but she was so sad. I pulled up my boot straps, asked Cam if he'd come along for the ride, and off to Buford we went. In the pouring down rain.

She was beautiful. And, get this. Her mom made her dress out of a Goodwill find! She made the hairpiece too.

Couldn't resist having my picture made with the beautiful "Hermia".

By the time we left to come back home, all the shots of Novocaine had worn off. I couldn't take any pain med because I was driving. It was a rough ride home. But I made it to her play. And it was worth it all.

It's nice to be loved. Especially by a child.

Till tomorrow. . . Have a good Wednesday!

Make It Four Out of Seven

Four visits to the dentist in one week. That's crazy. I had to go to the emergency dental office this morning. My tooth has been hurting so bad since I got the root canals on Thursday. I have been in excruciating pain. I think the medication I was given for pain was as effective as a Flintstone vitamin would have been.

When I went back today, they had to open the tooth up again and get some of the infection out. He put some medicine in it and closed it up. I've got to go back next Friday and get it cleaned out again. Hopefully, it will be all better by then. It's still swollen and very numb from the five Novocaine shots I got. I dread the minute the feeling comes back. I have a new prescription for pain medicine and I'll bet you can guess what it does to me. Yep, that's right. Itch. But maybe I won't be in agony anymore. Or maybe all the places I've scratched raw will divert my attention from my tooth. Either way, not a good day for me.

Went shopping with Suz and Nan yesterday. We ONLY shopped for five straight hours. I wasn't feeling all that great, but thought I could handle it. What's the difference really, walking in pain or lying down in pain? And like my favorite Bible verse says, A merry heart does good like a medicine. With those two I got a heaping dose of laughter and it did my toothache good.

I had planned on going to Jeff's last regular season football game today, but that didn't happen. His team finished the season undefeated and they'll be in the playoffs next Saturday. I'm so proud of him!

Can't dig up anything else to say, so I guess I'll just say. . .

Till tomorrow. . . Live, Love and Laugh. It really is the best medicine!

Amaryllis by Christmas

This time of year I force amaryllis bulbs so they'll be in bloom by Christmas. Last year it bloomed on Valentine's Day. It grew as tall as a cornstalk and only had one flower. I check on their progress every day and you can literally see them grow. They're fun and beautiful, especially when they do right.

I remember one year I had forced one and it was absolutely gorgeous. My PaPa Howell was at my house for my dad's annual birthday supper. He commented that he had never seen a flower so pretty. It was a dark red one.

I checked a to-do off my Holiday To Do List. I bought these amaryllis bulbs Sunday and started them today.


The last two years they haven't done well for me. In the past I've planted them in a pot with the dirt supplied with the bulb. This time I'm doing something a little different. I read that you can force the bulbs without dirt just by using these.


I'm using tall vases hoping that they'll help support the tall stem. I put about three inches of the river pebbles in each vase.

The bulbs that you buy have lots of dead, dry roots on them. Pull those off.

Then set your bulb down in the vase, root first. Duh. Sprinkle a few more pebbles around the bulb for support.

Then add water. Very important for the water not to touch the actual bulb. It could cause it to rot.
Place them in a warm, sunny window. At night I'll probably move them away from the window because I don't want them to get chilly.

Hopefully, if all goes as planned, I'll have three beautiful amaryllis by Christmas. I like the vase on the left in the picture. The one without the ripples. I like the look of the bulb in the glass.

Oh, and don't worry. I'll keep you updated on their progress. I become a little obsessed with them. Okay, so a lot. Gah. So easy and so beautiful!

On another subject. Have any of you ever been to a dentist office three days out of five? After tomorrow I will have. As y'all know, I get migraines. They've been coming a lot more frequently and I couldn't really understand why. I also have this tooth that's been bothering me, but I put it way back on the back burner. I have a severe phobia of dentists. That's another topic for another day. Maybe one day I'll really elaborate on that phobia. It's pretty funny actually.

Anyway, the tooth that's been hurting is a tooth that has had a root canal and a crown on it already. If the root canal had been done correctly, I shouldn't be feeling anything in the tooth, especially PAIN.

The dentist told me Tuesday that the root canal wasn't done right and that there are still nerves in there, thus the pain. And upon his examination and x-rays, he discovered that the tooth two away from it is abscessed. Say what? It has a crown on it, but not a root canal. So today I get the pleasure of having not one, but TWO root canals. This isn't good news for a girl who breaks out in a cold sweat merely walking in the door of the dentist office. I've had two C-sections, a hysterectomy and kidney stones. I do believe going to the dentist is worse than any of those.

On the positive side, I'm hoping that maybe my headaches will let up and I'm excited I'll be able to drink cold drinks without feeling like someone's drilling through my skull.

Haven't gone out for any jobs this week. It's been uncharacteristically slow. I've learned to enjoy the slow days because they give me a chance to catch my breath.

I've got a fun day planned for Friday. Suz, Nan and I are going to Lenox to shop and have lunch. I can't wait. With those two I know it's gonna be a blast! We're going to do our part to stimulate the economy. Hoping to buy a few Christmas gifts.

Till tomorrow, when I'll have full details of my dentist visit, Live. Love. Laugh. I'd rather be going for a pap or mammogram. Ugh.

Crazy

Yesterday I went crazy.

And that caused me to do something, which I wrote of here and declared never to do again.

But the paint was so irresistible. It looked like melted caramel in the bucket.

Deer Path it was called. I learned of it from a fellow blogger, who inspired me to do some improvements in the boys' bathroom.

It is a small room, of course, so it should be such an easy project. I went at it with a good attitude. Optimistic I was. Eager. Excited. All of which were short lived. After about 10 minutes, I was wishing I had never started. A ladder in a room that size isn't safe. Painting in your slippers isn't safe either. I am learning lessons all along the way in the course of my painting adventures. Some things I have learned are:

1. Never ask for the opinion of your kids. They will vary greatly and all will be intended to discourage you. Example: I asked Cam what he thought of the paint. He replied that he would like it more if it were darker. Before I could even ask Ross what he thought, he asked me why did I use such a dark color. Help me.

2. As I said before, never paint in your house slippers. Especially brand-new ones that you bought while you were out shopping after a depo wearing shoes that were killing you.

3. Always wear something to cover your hair. After many washings, you will still have paint in your hair if you don't. BTW, my scarf had a big paint spot on it when I took it off. Some lessons I do learn.

4. Get rags for mistakes. In my case, get MANY rags. Wet ones and dry ones.

5. Make sure you have everything you need before you get stuck in a small room with a ladder.

6. Remove everything from the room, if possible. I found myself moving things from one place to the other. Finally I just put it all in the tub. Which was great until I needed to get in the tub to paint around it.

7. Stretch. You will inevitably find yourself contorted in the most unusual positions.

8. Take a nerve pill before beginning any paint project.

Look closely at the picture below. It further proves that yesterday I went off my rocker.

Yes, you are correct. That is a whole chicken in that pot. I don't really DO whole chickens. I only eat white meat. The mere thought of handling a whole chicken grosses me out. But yesterday, while I was temporarily insane, I bought a whole chicken to make chicken and dumplings.

I called my mom and asked her how she made hers. When she was going through the whole spiel about how she makes her dumplings, I asked her if she'd ever used these.

Her reply was that she didn't even know they made them. My mama rolls hers out from scratch. What a woman.

I made semi-homemade chicken and dumplings. Ross said they were almost as good as my mom's. Jeff thought I should've broken the dumplings in pieces. I said I hoped they enjoyed them because I won't be making anymore anytime soon. BTW, if someone ever serves you chicken and dumplings, consider yourself loved. They are a lot of work. And I was so sick of that chicken, I didn't eat a bite of them.

Today I'm back to my old self again. I have a few other rooms I'd like to get painted before the holidays. I think I'll call my dad. He's a professional, you know. He doesn't even have to wear a scarf.

Till next time. Happy Tuesday!

Halloween Past

Happy Halloween! It looks like it's gonna be a rainy one for us. The weatherman says it may stop in time for trick-or-treating. If not, I guess umbrellas will have to be included in the costumes.

I don't have any little ones to dress up anymore. Mine are too old. Heaven knows, though, they can be just as scary as any ghoul out there. I bought a pumpkin, but no one carved it. I decorated the house, but I don't know if anyone, besides me, cared. All in all, Halloween past was more fun than Halloween present. Does anyone else feel that way? I guess it's just the point in life that I'm at. No little kids, no little kid fun.

Here's a glimpse of Halloweens past.

First, is Ross the football player. He was almost three months old.

Ross the skeleton in '89. My dad always liked for us to empty our trick-or-treat pumpkins out and let him pick out the candy that he liked. Then when we I had kids, I always took them over to their house and they'd do the same thing. My dad likes Almond Joys and Mounds. Not many kids like those.

Ross the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in 1990.

Ross the hunter and Cam the pumpkin in 1992. Cam was only two-and-a-half months old. And obviously not happy with the way the hunter was holding the pumpkin.

One of my very favorite Halloween pictures. This is Ross the indian and Cam the cowboy in 1993. Where Jeff used to work back then had huge Halloween parties for the kids. They could trick-or-treat all the cubicles and they'd get so much candy they wouldn't need to go anywhere else. But, of course, we always did.

Another favorite. Ross the hunter (again) and Cam the Dracula. 1994. This year began the years of buying Cam expensive costumes. The most expensive one, the Star Wars one, I couldn't find my picture.

Ross the hunter (yes, again) and Cam the fireman. 1995. Typical Ross. He still makes faces for most all the pictures I make. I always have to make at least two.

Now we skip to Halloween 2000. Ross the hunter (can you believe it?), Cam the football player, Reid the football player, Joseph the Frankenstein, Ethan the pumpkin and Alayna the Teletubby.

In 2001 Ross is finally something other than a hunter. Cam is in the Scream mask. Reid is a skeleton, Joseph is a zombie, Ethan is Blues Clues and Alayna is a ballerina.

Halloween 2002. Cam, Reid and Alayna.

2003. There is an extra kid in this picture. It's Cam's good friend, Justin.

2004. Cam and a few friends and one of the friends brother.

Great costume for Cam in 2005. He actually trick-or-treated wearing that thing! It was great.

2006. Cam was an old lady and Reid was Elvis. In this pic, Elvis is singing to the old lady. I don't' think she's gonna live through the song.

Here's the rest of the gang in 2006.

Isn't Thomas adorable?
Ethan was an amazing Dracula.


Joseph was the creepy guy from Kiss.

Halloween 2007. This was the last year Cam dressed up. As you can see from his costume here, he had already lost interest. Tear.

And here's last year. I just borrow Suz's kids to substitute for mine since hers are still little.

Can't wait to see all the pictures of the costumes. And I'll have some great ones to share with y'all tomorrow of Crystal and Suz's kids. I don't know if Joseph will dress up or not, but I know Ethan will. And Suz's kids had a party to go to last night, so they've already done the dress-up thing once. They looked UNREAL! I tell ya, Suz really missed her calling in life. She should have been a costume designer or something.

Till tomorrow, hope you get all the Reese cups, Snicker bars, Twix, Paydays, candy corn, bubble gum,Tootsie Roll pops and Smarties your trick-or-treat pumpkin can hold. And no apples or raisins, please.

Gators Eat Boogers

Excuse the crudeness of the title of today's post. That's what's on my mind right now. Georgia plays the booger-eating Florida Gators tomorrow afternoon at 3:30. I'm looking for Georgia to upset them. They're due a big win. I've got a $50 bet riding on it with Ross.

Bandit had her bath this morning. She's all ready for the big game. Or Halloween. Doesn't matter to her. Just give her her bone and she's a happy dog.



Sometimes having ADD can be a good thing. It keeps you from being grumpy for too long. You sorta forget why you were grumpy in the first place. Anyway, I got my comforter washed, gave Bandit a bath and did lots of other things that have made me feel more productive and better. (And skip this part, Jeff.) I turned the air down to 69 degrees this morning. I've turned it back to 73 now. Sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and do it.

I have a job today at 1 o'clock near Perimeter Mall. And, of course, it's raining. What, we've been two days without it? It was time I guess. Anyway, I'm sure that with it being a Friday afternoon and raining, plus the day before Halloween, there won't be any traffic at all. YEAH RIGHT!!! I'll be lucky to be home in time for supper!

Guess I better scoot. I don't want to be one of the nut drivers rushing to get somewhere. Y'all have a good Friday.

Till tomorrow,