Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Not A SIngle One

Cavity that is. That's right! NOT A SINGLE CAVITY!!! I went to the dentist today for a follow up visit. Chad and I went to dentist a few weeks ago. He had a whopping 5 cavities, but I had 0. I found this to be impossible, because despite my best efforts to take care of my teeth (I brush and floss at LEAST twice a day!) every time I go to the dentist I have about 8 cavities(no...seriously, I think I really did have 8 the last time I went) and since I hadn't been to the dentist in three years, I knew I was glutting for punishment. When the dentist told me I didn't have any, I said, "Are you sure?" and he said, "Well, there is a hole in the sealant back here, so if you'd like we can remove that to make sure there's no decay underneath." I said, "Please do," because clearly, there were probably 8 cavities lurking on that one tooth, otherwise, where WERE they?! So, today, I went to the dentist, he removed the sealant and NO CAVITY WAS TO BE FOUND! I am SO, extremely PROUD of myself! AND I didn't even have an anxiety attack while in the dental chair. This is a big step for me. The last time I had any kind of dental work done, I burst into tears afterwards and my mom bought me a milkshake. I don't do well with dentists. I've had excruciatingly bad experiences with dentists, oral surgeons, and orthodontists.

In other news, the orthodontist/dentist who also works in the office surveyed the damage left to my right incisor by the man who pretended to be an orthodontist in Moses Lake, but who I am convinced is in reality an Italian mobster (because clearly, my mouth is evidence that the man knows nothing about fixing teeth). Anyway, he suggested that instead of trying to wear braces AGAIN (I had to wear them TWICE under the mobster's care) to go with a porcelain veneer. So, there you go, in one afternoon visit, I can undo all the psychological damage done to me by the man who attempted to console me the second time I wore braces by telling me a member of the teeny-bopper band "Hansen" wore them. I despised Hansen in all their long-haired "Ummm--bop" glory. Thanks, Dr. Mobster. That really helped. Anyway, I figure the veneer will be an option in a few years, but right now it seems a bit pricey.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Top Ten of Turkey Time

Well, we are back from a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation. My students have made me want to scream for the last two days, so I am definitely missing Arizona. We spent the holiday at the home of the superb couple I call Aunt and Uncle, Chad's Aunt Pam and Uncle Steve. Chad's parents and younger brother also flew in to enjoy the holiday with us. Here are the top ten reasons I didn't want the five-day weekend to end (and believe me...there were much more than ten):

1. Black Friday with Joycious, Pamela, and Meredith. It's traditional that I go shopping with my mom EVERY year, bright and early, the day after Thanksgiving with my mom. This year, as I was with Chad's family, I continued this tradition with them. Black Friday was completely INSANE! Don't ask me why, but something possessed us to actually make the trip to the outlet mall at midnight. When we left, I thought it would be dead, but at the exit to the mall we were greeted by a ridiculous line of glowing taillights. Bumper to bumper traffic just to get into the mall. The people were swarming everywhere. It was a shoving match just to get into some stores. As we walked into The GAP, Aunt Pam, a black Friday newbie, got in a line that wrapped about three times around the store--just in CASE we decided to buy something. A couple hours later, I had one $15 sweater in tow...I'm still trying to decide if it was cute enough to make it worth it! After the outlets, we returned home for a "nap" only to get up early and start the whole process again at different locations! The fruits of our labors were small, and I don't think Pam will be venturing out again next year. She was a real trooper though. At one point even being accosted by a makeup counter sales lady (insert panicked groan here...we all know we've dealt with them before).

2. Eighteen pies in the fridge. EIGHTEEN PIES!!! Pumpkin, chocolate, lemon, blueberry. Pies piled with whipped topping. Pies that we couldn't possibly eat...or could we? Pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Pie. I couldn't help but be surprised, even though I was warned. Pam is the Thanksgiving pie queen. So many pies. So little time.

3. Sitting around the kitchen counter and all talking about what we're thankful for.

4. PERFECT WEATHER! It's freezing in Utah, but in Arizona we ate Thanksgiving dinner on the patio. Uncle Steve grilled out for us on two separate occasions. It was just FABULOUS!

5. The FOOD. Notice this is in a separate category from the pies. Despite the fact that I probably gained five pounds from artichoke and spinach dip alone, I don't regret a single calorie.

6. Sleeping in. We didn't HAVE to get up unless we wanted to. Getting used to this is what made the alarm clock the last few days we've been home especially obnoxious, and the snooze button even more tempting.

7. Singing our favorite 90s songs until 2 or 3 in the morning. Yes. We did this. In the dark. Before we fell asleep. OH! And speaking of...how in the WORLD did we forget Ace of Base?

8. Touring Neal's house and getting very excited that Chad and I will be buying a place of our own soon (which means I'm allowed to do things like paint walls and change light fixtures).

9. Family. Even though I was far away from my Mom, Dad, and brothers, I love my in-laws so much. I think sometimes people think I lie about how much I really do love them, because you're not supposed to like your in-laws, but mine are wonderful. And NORMAL. We have a ton of fun together, and they mean so much to me.

10. The fact that Christmas vacation is right around the corner. And the beautiful 8' Christmas tree in my living room is proof!

Anyway, it was a fantastic Thanksgiving that only reminds me of how much I really do have to be Thankful for.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Assignment

Today, I did the assignment I gave my Seniors. We are reading Anthem by Ayn Rand, and I'm trying to get them thinking about the importance of the individual in society. Anyway, after our class discussion today, I had them write an acrostic poem for the word INDIVIDUAL. And, during our writer's notebook time (I give them 5-10 minutes at the end of class to write about whatever they want) I wrote my own:

Inside of me I hear
Noises trying to get out
Divine tones that make me an
Independent thinker
Visualizing the future
Ignoring what I don't want to be
Deciding who I want to become
Urgently working to stay me
Always and forever
Loving who I am

Which leads right into what I'm supposed to blog about today. My sister-in-law has tagged me. I am supposed to list 6 things about myself that you may or may not know. So, here are some things that make me...ME.

1) I love to read. I love it! I love it! I love it! This is probably why it's so heartbreaking to me that so many of my students despise it. My addiction to books is really the fault of my mother, who read to me constantly as a child, and who I never saw without a good book herself. I am a bookworm and proud of it!

2) I can't go through a day without having chocolate. This is really sad, I know, and something I may have to come to terms with once my metabolism goes out. But I seriously don't think there is a day that goes by that I don't eat SOMETHING that is, or has in it, the flavor of the gods. When I lived in London this is also how I gained a gazillion pounds. If you've never tried European chocolate...you don't know what you're missing!

3) I don't really know how to say this without making me sound schizophrenic...but sometimes I hear narration in my head. OK, so that REALLY makes me sound psycho. I don't really know how to explain it. I don't mean that I go around hearing voices, because it's my voice doing the talking, but sometimes, I'll just be walking around and I'll be composing writing in my head. I might be driving in my car, listening to Christmas music, and running the air conditioning, and I'll think what a funny scene that would make in a story, and the next thing you know I've written a paragraph in my head. Weird. I know. BUT, if I can ever get myself to compose some of these thoughts on paper, I just MIGHT get around to writing the novel I'm always telling myself I'm going to write.

4) I have almost an unhealthy emotional connection to people. It is really easy for me to feel empathy for people, but that also means that I am constantly apologizing for things that aren't even my fault. I am a blue personality THROUGH and THROUGH and therefore want everyone to be happy and feel it is my responsibility if they don't. Sometimes it can be tragic.

5) I am a perfectionist in every sense of the word. Which means, I'm a little bit OCD about having things go the way I envision them.

6) I love to sing and be on stage, and I miss it SO much. I was very involved in theatre in high school, and am just starting to realize how sad I am that I gave it up. The thing about BYU, is there are so many mega-talented people, that averagely talented people (like moi) figure it's better to sit on the sidelines and let the mega-talented (those who are so good they can make their talent their career) take center stage. And so, I think I would now be PETRIFIED to sing a solo anywhere, even though there was a time that I did so frequently without a second thought.

So there you go. That is me, or at least 6 things about me, because I sure hope that I'm more complex than a list of 6 things.

I now tag...anyone who feels up to the challenge...but don't feel obligated! Scully? Kristy? Esperanza? (Maybe it will finally make you write a blog, because I keep hoping for a new post!) Panini? Curly? (Haven't heard from you in awhile either.) Any takers???

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Music to My Ears

I LOVE Christmas music, and it's all I'm playing now. I used to be one of those people who refused to listen to it until after Thanksgiving. Not any more. My BYU years taught me that starting to play Christmas music immediately following Halloween gave me hope. See, if I'm listening to the sounds of Christmas, that means it can't be very far away. And if it's close, why THAT means vacation time! Teaching has only increased my love for the sounds of the season. The thought of two weeks with no lesson planning, sleeping in, and drinking eggnog until I have to roll myself out of the kitchen sounds pretty appealing right now.

BESIDES, one month is just not enough TIME to fully savor Christmas tunes. It just doesn't fill the void left by the rest of the year.

If you are also a Christmas music fanatic, might I suggest Pandora.com for your computer workspace? Ever since Chad's amazing Aunt Andi recommended it, I've listened to it constantly anyway, but I just discovered they have HOLIDAY stations. If you've never checked out the website, it lets you design radio stations based on your music taste. For example, you can type in "Jack Johnson" and it will create a radio station that plays Jack Johnson and other artists who have a similar musical style. It is AMAZING!!! AND FREE!!! (The main reason it is exceptionally amazing!) Well, it turns out you can type in the name of any artist+holiday and it plays Christmas music by that artist and other similar artists. So. Unbelievably. Wonderful. And now the background music during my prep period. If you're about to go try it, might I suggest the Sarah McLachlan holiday station? I can't get enough.
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