Secret Squirrels

November 16, 2009 at 6:38 AM (Confessions, Family Life, Honey, Trips)

I have a confession to make. The reason that I had a lot going on last week and didn’t really do much blobbing? It was because Honey and I were in Florida.

ALONE!!!!!

Oh yes we were, and it was wonderful! We have not been away together since The Ab-Cat was 2 and The Boy was 5 months old. So, basically,  almost decades. As they are now 20 and 18.

I decided not to mention it until we got back, because it didn’t seem like the best thing to broadcast on the worldwide web that our kids were home alone for the first time ever. The very last day of the trip, I found out that Abby had  posted it on her Facebook. So much for my secret squirrel plan.

We had so much fun! We decided to go for 9 days, as opposed to 2 weeks, because we had never left them before. We weren’t sure how everyone would do. It was as much for us, as it was for them. Everyone did fine.

Except the cats. I have a feeling they were neglected in the lovin’ department. I plan to remedy that ASAP. They are already swarming me. They love the Mama, and Mama loves her kitty-witty boolie-woolies.

Here we are at the start of the trip, at Detroit Metro Airport. Or, as Mrs. Schmenkman calls it, The Armpit of The World. Because we flew Spirit, we were in the old, smaller terminal. Which was quite awesome. It’s the newer, ginormous, Northwest  terminal that you have to walk to China in. That is The Armpit.

We made both The Ab-Cat AND The Boy take us to the airport, because The Boy would be picking us up from the airport alone, and we thought it would be helpful for him to have one trip under his belt. Also, we had  to be fair. Because if one had to get up at at 5:00, and the other one didn’t, the whining would have been catastrophic.

It was a good thing they were together, because as I understand it, they took the scenic route home. Through some interesting neighborhoods. It took the two of them to rectify the situation. Ab said The Boy got SO excited when he finally recognized where they were! I was ever so glad  they were together because if you recall, Miss Ab-ra Cat-dabra cannot navigate her way out of a paper bag without explicit directions. They worked it out!

I need to explain a couple of things about traveling with Honey. He always has an agenda. Always.

He likes to be early. I don’t like to be any earlier than necessary. Honey would say that I cut things way too close. But, I must say, we were there an hour and twenty minutes before our flight.

Before we left, The Boy asked him if those were his “traveling clothes”? Now that he mentioned it, Honey does always travel in this outfit. He has his necessary traveling companions. His coffee and his paper.

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And this. His itinerary folder. I told him this was going on the blob. Because I don’t want you to think I make this stuff up. He is all about the papers on vacation. Newspapers, all those flyers in the boxes lined up on the side of the road, real estate brochures, anything that will help him learn more about his new environment. He likes to be informed. He doesn’t want to miss anything. He likes to explore his new surroundings. We call him Clark W. Griswold, from National Lampoon’s Vacation. He likes to go see The Biggest Ball of Twine.

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And one last thing, and it is the best thing. Because of his relentless exploring, he knows where everything is. He knows where the ice machine is. He knows where the pool is, where you can get the complimentary bottles of water, where breakfast is served and what time. And he remembers all the roads. This amazes me. I can go to the same places year after year, and have a vague idea of where I am, but Honey remembers the entire map, and everywhere we have ever been. He is just as amazed with me. Amazed that I don’t remember ever being somewhere, that I have evidently been before.

We were rather perky for having gotten up at 4 a.m.

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We flew into the Fort Meyers airport by 11. Honey and I just marvelled at that! We have driven to Florida at least 15 times, and it takes forever. We may never want to drive again!

We collected our bags and went to get our rental car. Honey upgraded to an Edge, because the rental guy said it was a better deal. We wouldn’t have to pay any tolls, and some other junk that I can’t remember. That guy stretched the truth about a few other things, and every time we went through the sunpass lane without paying the toll, we wondered if we were going to have  about $800 in tickets waiting for us when we got home!

The next day we took a trolley down to the beach to see a sand sculpting contest. It was the second of three days, so nothing was finished. It was interesting to watch them work, they all had their own ways and tools.

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This one took first place. Of course, it was finished then.

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This was our favorite. It was called “Food Fight”. The dolphins were tossing around puffer fish. He was an especially personable man and seemed to enjoy interacting with the people. He didn’t win the contest, but we found out later that he won the people’s choice award.

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The next day we went to Sanibel Island. We had gone there once with my Grandma Georgia when Abby was 9 months old. We shelled a little and watched a whole bunch of guys surf with kites. Sometimes they came right up out of the water! It was a perfect day for it, nice and windy.

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We then went over to another beach further down the island. There was no one in the water. Imagine that.

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Honey had the trip broken up into three parts. This was the shopping part, because our location was in a shopping rich area. I had no problems with that! We didn’t buy too much. I did score a bottle of chai!

We were in Fort Meyers for three days, and tomorrow I will tell you about the second part of the trip.

7 Comments

I’m all out of chai, I’m so lost without you….

November 2, 2009 at 7:31 AM (Confessions, Help Me Please, Whatever)

The Air Supply song has been running through my mind.

My large stash of chai, so thoughtfully found for me by Capri’s Patt and Deb, is gone, used up. Drank, drunk, drunken. I am back to the unworthy tea bag. Big sigh. Really big sigh.

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I can’t see me lovin’ nobody but you, for all my liiife.

Someone help me, help me please
Is the answer up above
How can I ever tell them
This is not a puppy love

Don’t do me like that, don’t do me like that
What if I love you baby, don’t do me like that
Don’t do me like that, don’t do me like that
Someday I might need you baby, don’t do me like that

Show me the meaning of being lonely
Is this the feeling I need to walk with (tell me why)
Tell me why I can’t be there where you are
There’s something missing in my heart

Every night in my dreams
I see you. I feel you.
That is how I know you go on.

I will survive.

I have done it before. Barely. Here we go.

2 Comments

Five Words

October 5, 2009 at 6:34 AM (Confessions, From the Heart, Honey, Meme's)

 Warren, over at My Home Among the Hills, had this meme last week. He graciously offered to pick 5 words for us if we wanted to play along. Since I seem to be fresh out of my own ideas lately, I told him to count me in. These are the words he sent over. Captivate, poetry, fantasy, drama, and people.

 This is what he says we are supposed to do with the words. “The way this works is that she gives me five words, upon which I am supposed to ponder and delight you with my expositions on the meaning to life as related to said words…” Here goes.

captivate- This is a good word. When I first read it, I was reminded of a song from the 90’s (I think) that I don’t know the name of or who sang it. It had some of these words, “I’ll be your crying shoulder”  There was also some weird line about love’s suicide or some such nonsense. But ANYWAY, he says “I’ll be captivated, I’ll hang from your lips….I’ll be the greatest fan of your life. ” That’s what I think about Honey. I am his biggest fan. One time he was annoyed with me (ONE TIME???)  because I asked him a bunch of questions. He said WHY would he know that? I told him that he should be flattered, I assumed he knew everything!  See, captivating! But I do not hang from his lips.

Those were my first thoughts. THEN, I started thinking about what captivated me. What fascinates me? So many different things at so many different times! I have been captivated endlessly by crushes. Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy, Randolph Mantooth (Emergency! anyone?), The Beatles, John F. Kennedy Jr.

Certainly captivated  by our children. Who is not completely captivated by their own precious, delicious, can’t get enough of you,  babies? Grown children as well. I can still look at them and  my heart overflows with love. Does that ever end? I can’t imagine that it ever will. I hope it doesn’t, I would be very sad to lose that feeling of pure, undiluted love.

A short list of things that have captivated my attention; books, especially my Girl, Laura Ingalls Wilder, movies, scrapbooking, Jewel Quest and Zuma, Freecell and Penguin, cards, and blobbing. January will be my second year of my in-captivation.

poetry- Not a fan of the poetry. I have no culture. I am way too literal, I don’t even get some of it. Too foofy and silly. Unless it is funny, I can get behind the funny. The word poetry looks pretentious to me. Whisper it, poetry. See? Way too serious.

 fantasy-I know that this word has connotations of Disney, and all that word incites. From Princesses to talking animals, to amazing love stories, to unbelievable inventions. But to me, it reminds me of the science fiction of my youth. I LOVED “Lost in Space”, “The Time Tunnel”, “Land of the Giants”, and “Star Trek”.  I wanted to BE Penny Robinson. 

I spent endless hours thinking about these shows and entertaining the possibility of living those lives.  My brother and I played those shows. Throwing ourselves around the basement to simulate space turbulence. Running and hiding to escape aliens, or giants. Transporting here and there. I’m not quite sure why I loved this genre so much. I am not particularly a sci-fi aficionado now. I guess I was captivated!

drama- Another word that I am not a fan of. Drama has only negative connotations for me. I do not enjoy this particular brand of People. Their philosophy is to spin things around themselves in the worst way possible. To make every life situation into something bigger than it is, or exaggerate it until it no longer is truthful. Which, by the way, is LYING.  Things never need to be worse than they are.

They live for upheaval. They enjoy ill health. Any little blip on their radar is cause to launch into their tale of woe. Do they think that when we ask how they are, we continually need to be treated to  their boring, laundry list of busy-ness? Everyone has seasons of busyness, but if your whole life needs adjusting, all the time, you need to take it to the Lord. Who is in control of their lives anyway?  Maybe they will run themselves around in circles so fast, they will turn into melted butter. Get a grip, Tigers.

I don’t  understand the need to do this. They live on a plane of emotionalism that I am not impressed with. They are not dealing with things uncommon to man. They are having life.

Oh My. That word hit a nerve. Evidently, my last one on that subject.

people- “People who need people, are the luckiest people in the world” Oh, I have hit the jackpot in this category. I LOVE my People!

 I would say that I am a people person. There are a few kinds that make me want to throw myself off a tall cliff, but for the most part, I like people.

What amazes me about people, are their different gifts. God has made us all in His image, and He has allowed some access to extraordinary gifts. Gifts of prayer, finances, sewing, organization, creating beautiful things, wisdom, cleaning, painting, compassion,  cooking, teaching, vision, gardening, encouragement, helpers, healers, servers, animal whisperers, leadership, humor, caregivers, worshippers and do-ers. This is not in any way a complete list.

People also seems to be a collective word. As in We the People. It’s who we are. We belong to this group. It’s us. A body, God’s body, with different components, with different jobs. That makes me glad, because I am not gifted in all the areas on that list above. And that’s ok. I am not the entire body of People. I am a part. I can do my part.

Hey, if you want to play along, let me know in the comments and I will send you 5 words of your very own!

We have our meeting with the city about the sewer line this morning at 10. We would appreciate your prayers.

9 Comments

Between A Rock And A Hard Place

September 21, 2009 at 6:23 AM (Around Our House, Confessions, From the Heart, Honey)

The sewer guys came on Friday to dig up our front yard.

We had moved out pretty much all we could. The rocks, the other rocks, and then we moved some rocks.

At first, all we had was this yellow thing. Honey informs me that it is a back hoe. It removed the grindstone, trees and shrubs and the dirt.

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It dug down 11 feet. The first thing the guy said was “this is a problem”.

See that guy on the cement? He went to school with The Ab-Cat. I know his Mama. Hi Daniel! Small world.

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That’s Honey with his upset stomach. Getting more upset as the day wore on.

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Then all these guys came. We had guys swarming all over the front yard. Guys doing this, checking that, blowing out this line, standing around waiting for other guys.

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The plumbers said our builder didn’t install  the sewer line properly. The city didn’t inspect  the builder’s sewer line properly. All I know is, WE  had nothing to do with the sewer line. Even if we had an opinion about the sewer line 10 years ago, no one would have have listened to us. We are not sewer line experts in any way. You would think that someone would remember that.

When Honey called the d***  builder and told him what was going on over here, all he said was that he might come by and take some pictures, “to protect myself”. He never came. He was probably too busy looking for legal advice.

The inspector from the city came by at the end of the day. All he would say was he needed to go pull up the paperwork, and talk to an engineer. He blames the builder. The builder blames them.

The Boss Man Plumber finally came to have a little chat. They have a solution, but it will make a mess of our entire basement. And that little job, added to the amount to fix the line outside of our house, will cost more than our first house.

There is another solution that could possibly work. But it would take the city stepping up to the plate to fix something that is obviously their fault. When you build a house, you pay thousands and thousands of dollars to your city to have things inspected. That is not a choice.  Our line could not possibly have been inspected. These safety checks are in place to prevent d***builders from making stupid, colossal mistakes. No matter what our builder did, the city inspector did not do his job. They need to make it right.

This is not the first time we have been in this position. Well, it is with the sewer business, but not with our life. We have been caught between a rock and a hard place before.  Multiple times. And if I am being truly honest, sometimes I feel we have been there enough.  But God is the boss of that, and He is not seeking my opinion or advice.

 And while I know that His plan for our lives is best, that doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes wish to exchange the plan. Especially in the midst of a really sucky situation.

When I feel put out  by life’s circumstances, I like to read the first chapter of James. I have a feeling that James understood the whole rock and a hard place scenario.

Here is The Message translation. James 1:2-8

Faith Under Pressure

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows it’s true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do it’s work so you become mature and well developed, not deficient in any way.

If you don’t know what you are doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get His help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

Honey and I were sitting on the couch after the little chat. I was trying to cheer him up, cause I was seriously concerned that his blood pressure was going to cause him to have a stroke. I was reminding him of many other times that it seemed like there was no hope for a good solution, no good to come of a heartbreaking blow, no possible way God could work this for our good.

And do you know what God did? He caused us to remember. We told each other of time after time when He did come through, He did make things right, He did remove truly heinous people from situations,  that in spite of being knocked down so hard  that we couldn’t imagine ever getting back up, He was there, surrounding us with loved ones to help us and care for us when we could hardly care for ourselves.  He solved problems and provided solutions that were more than we asked for. More than we could have hoped for. I am thankful for the reminders.

He didn’t always fix things the way we wanted, the way we felt would be fair, but, we believe that  He was always working things out for our good. When we get to heaven, maybe He can explain things better. I have a feeling that we might not even care then.

So, here and now, we are praying that the city will agree to fix their mistake. And if God has a better idea, we are ALL ears.

13 Comments

A Mind is a Terrible Thing To Lose

September 11, 2009 at 5:58 AM (Confessions, Help Me Please, Honey)

I have been in here on the computer lately, while Honey has been in the family room, watching every baseball game he can find.

The other night I thought I would go and see what he was up to. It seemed like the considerate thing to do. We are married, you know. We’re supposed  to do everything together.

When I got in there, I told him that I would have sat down with him if he hadn’t been watching some supernaturally boring nonsense. He said he would change it, cause that’s how much he loves me. I said, nah, leave it.

So I sat down by his reclining form and we had a chat. Because he’s a multi tasker, that one.

I commented that I had heard him making some phone calls earlier.  He said he was talking to a cement man (to help us put our poor broken driveway back together after the sewer people come and destroy everything) recommended by a guy from work. Not a cement person, but what do you call someone who does some cement work for you? That’s a legitimate question. I have no idea. A paver? A cement layer? A cementer?

That’s when he told me he couldn’t remember the name of the guy from work. And it was driving him crazy. He said he has worked with him for 5 years and he could NOT remember his name. I sympathized with him. I told him that I had been to BSF (the Bible study) that day, and had talked to many women whose names escaped me. And, while there, we talked of other women whose names I did recall, but could not picture their faces. I also had a lengthy conversation with the assistant pastor of the church that hosts our BSF Bible study. I have been there for 9 years People, have walked by his office 9 thousand times. Seen his name on the door. Had no idea what his name was.

Add this conversation to some of our other topics lately. His dry face, our weight, our sore backs, his insomnia, our failing eye sight, and all the dental work we had this summer. Oh, and  have I ever mentioned that Honey drives a Grandpa Gray Taurus?

This is what we have deteriorated to. Just call us Nana and Pops.

7 Comments

Back to Life, Back to Reality, Summer is Over

September 8, 2009 at 8:19 AM (Around Our House, Confessions, Family Life, Help Me Please, Honey, Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Labor Day is over. And in Michigan, that means BACK TO SCHOOL!

Only for Mousey, as the older ones started college 2 weeks ago. Hard to believe we have only one child left at the high school. Honey and I are flying towards the empty nest. That makes me sad.

We had a disjointed holiday weekend. We had big plans to start wrecking our landscaping, why should the sewer people have all the fun? We did have a fun get together with folks from our CareGroup on Saturday. We probably chose Saturday so we would have more uninterrupted time to move rocks.

But because people chose to sleep, and do other things that had nothing to do with moving tons of rocks, that operation did not occur until Monday afternoon, around 3. Honey, The Boy, Mousey and I worked steadily until about 5:30, when the floodgates of heaven opened on us and curtailed all the rock hauling. So clearly, 2 and 1/2 hours of hard labor on Labor Day Weekend was all we could possibly manage.

Even though that seems measly, I just now took a back pill to ward off the muscle spasms that I feel coming on. It would appear that I am no pioneer OR, demolition landscaper.

I spent the rest of my free time reading back postings of a blog that I didn’t know existed! I already read Bye Bye Pie regularly, love that June. But NOW, I  discover that she had a previous blog, Bye Bye Buy, that had been unknown to me until this very weekend! Buried like a treasure, a pirate’s booty of of hilarious gems!

Oh, I have to tell you how much I enjoyed reading this! The premise of the blog was to share, in great detail, about June and her husband Marvin’s decision to not spend any money over and above their allocated expenses.

Now, this subject interests me for several reasons. I once saw a woman on a morning news show who wrote a book about this very subject. I would tell you her name, if I could remember it, and the title, if I had a stinkin’ clue. But that information is just plain Bye Bye Bye. Complete with hand motions like N’sync.  Anyway, I checked this book out at the library and thoroughly enjoyed it. Except for her tendency to go on about her liberal political agenda, which I can’t even remember, so she made no convert here.

I really liked the way she thought about spending, and not spending. It made me think about the way I spent. Or shouldn’t spend. No hard core changes, but it made me think.

Another thing that  fascinates me on this subject. How people save money. As you KNOW, I am a devotee of The Little House Books, and their simple life has always been a source of curiosity and admiration. I also received “The Tightwad Gazette” newsletter for several years. That Amy Dacyczyn, aka The Frugal Zealot, she is a wealth of information on saving money. A good deal of it I would never do, but it is interesting to read her thought process. And I have to say, she is a very engaging writer. Oh, I was SO sad when she retired and stopped writing that newsletter. It was like losing a friend. I wish she would take up blogging.

OK, so I have established that I like to THINK about saving money. Honey is laughing his patootie off somewhere reading this.

Back to June. June Gardens, not the month. I have only read through September of her year of living without spending, but I have learned a LOT. Mostly about June and Marvin, but, hey, that’s just a bonus!  Once again, it has gotten me to think about how we can cut back, and why we spend on some of the things we do. All good information, since we are participating in the Ford Fiasco Family Budget and all.

So, even though there was not a ton of hard labor going on, it was a very productive weekend. In my mind.

What about you Guy’s? How was your weekend?

2 Comments

Who’s THAT Girl?

September 1, 2009 at 7:38 AM (Confessions, Friends, Help Me Please, Whatever)

I was having a conversation with Capri Deb last week. We were discussing our blobs. We like to do that.

She was telling me about some of the posts she was planning to do and she had all these ideas! She always has loverly posts about her family, up North, her Grandson, her gardens, all the beautimous things she is making, cause she is a super talented girl who can make anything out of anything! 

I have had days like that also. Minus the up North, the Grandson, and the super talented girl  parts. The ideas just flow and before you know it, you have 5 posts in the can. Or in the drafts folder.

The creative juices are flowing, you have eyes to see everything in a humorous light, or  something meaningful or wonderful or amazing has happened!  There is so much to tell and pictures to share. Life is good!

And then some days, you have absolutely nothing to say. Not one little scrap of an idea.  Can’t even craft a remotely interesting sentence. And you wonder, how have you ever written a post in your life? How have I managed to keep this blob going for the last year and a half?  What have I ever talked about? I am the most boring person in the world. You are flat.  No fizz, no punch, no meaning.

Why is that?

Who is that  girl? Why does she come to ruin all the fun? I wish she would go home.

7 Comments

The Care and Maintenance of the Temple

June 25, 2009 at 2:54 PM (Confessions, Friends, Help Me Please, Lists, Whatever)

I told you all of my reasoning for exercising here.It’s really very simple. Honey needs me around to care for him in his old age. Because it is generally NOT something that I enjoy.

UNTIL, I found my Walking Buddy, Keelyody. She is great. She is reliable, AND  a good conversationalist. What more could I ask for?

The last couple of years, our walking season has been from around mid April, through the end of October, or beginning of November. Basically, whenever the snow leaves, and whenever it comes back to haunt us. Because we are fair weather walkers. Things can start and end abruptly as well. Because we are both life long Michiganders and we know that one day we can be wearing shorts, and the next breaking out the Carharts and furry boots. It’s how we roll up here in The Mitten.

This year, our first day of walking was last Monday. Because Keelyody went back  to work last winter, and her job was done with the school year. Then we had VBS, and you know, now we are available!

Probably for the last couple of months, every time we saw each other at church, we took turns saying ”Oh, I need to start walking!”. We are tipping the scale into our mid forties, and my body is staging a revolt. Which revolts me.

I have a confession to make. My once reliable body is betraying me. In more ways than one. I don’t recognize this body. And I sure don’t know how to dress it. I am a stranger in my own expanding skin.

I have noticed that all the terms I use to describe myself are animal related.

1. My metabolism is as stubborn as a mule.

2. When did I start sporting a kangaroo pouch? I can see exactly where all three of our children resided for all 27 months while I carried them. Make that 28 1/2 months. They were all 2 weeks late. None of them wanted to leave me, I was a good hostess.

3. I am tired as a dog lately. Sometimes for good reason, sometimes not.

4.Who tied that soft, squishy, flabby cat belly around my torso? Upper belly, lower belly, upper and lower BACK! Who are you???????

5. What up with the Rhino b*tt???  Or as my Grandma Georgia would so lovingly say, “she looks as wide as Africa”.

We were both very pleased to have squeezed in two days of walking this week. I feel very thankful  to have done that because her son’s graduation party is this Saturday and she has had one or 4000 things to do this week.

Plus, as an added bonus, we can now start discussing and solving all of the world’s problems again. Because as you can see, things are spiralling out of control all over the world  without us.

2 Comments

King Me

June 12, 2009 at 4:15 AM (Confessions, Help Me Please)

Going to the dentist has always been a trial for me.

 I did not like our childhood dentist. He creeped me out.  I think he was a little too fond of his drills. He filled all my baby teeth. He filled all my adult teeth. I think he was an over zealous filler.

I was not lacking in my dental hygiene. I have always been aware that my teeth preceded me. They are impressively large. Hello, I am Capri Kel, and these are my teeth!

I brushed and flossed regularly, because I remember my GrandParents removing their teeth  to brush them, and telling me I had better take care of mine, or else I would have to to the same. I was not going for that  look.

There must  have been other dentists after The Over Zealous Filler, but they do not stand out in my museum of recollection. I do remember about 17 years ago asking my friend, The Saint, where she went, and she said she really liked  her dentist. REALLY LIKED him. And since I really like her, we gave him a try.

For the last 17 years, we have really liked this dentist. He has taken such good care of our whole family and I am quite sure I will cry when he retires. Because, People, this dentist knows me, and appears to  like me anyway. I may never find that quality in a dentist again.

I have a confession to make. I am a dental weenie. I would rather go to the Ob/Gyn than have work done on my teeth. And that right there is saying something, because I am not fond of  going to the Horse Dr. either. Not a fan of the stirrups.

I am a white knuckler in the drill chair. And this lovely man knows this, and tolerates it and tries to make me as comfortable as possible. He is ever so patient, and thoughtful. He gives me options, which I always appreciate. Even if it is only the illusion of  my being somewhat in control.

I had to go for a crown last month on a tooth that he had been suggesting needed a crown for a couple of years. I had previous problems with the tooth, but he had fixed it, temporarily. In my book, that was good enough. Because it would be unlike me to willingly expose myself to The Drill Chair. 

He would suggest it, and I would nod my head and affirm that I had heard  him. And then I would go home.

The last time I had my teeth cleaned, he brought it up again, during “Dentist Chat” time. This time he casually mentioned that if this tooth broke, it would be “catastrophic”. YES, that was the word he used!

Let me just say RIGHT NOW, that I am going to do my very best  to ensure that there will be no catastrophic dental work going on in MY mouth. Just say NO to casastrophic dental events has always been my motto.

I made the appointment.

I arrived with my bag that held the rubber dog nose mask for gas, that our family shares. I wanted to be prepared, in case I couldn’t handle the fear. I really don’t like to use the mask either, because the gas makes me feel like I will die if I don’t make myself breathe. That is more control  than I personally feel that I need.

He gave me the option of using the mask or not. See? Options! He said he would numb me and if that wasn’t enough, I could always put the dog mask on. He then offered to put the mask on the counter. I said no, I would like to hold it. It would be like a tiny bite stick, clenched in my hands.

I am proud to tell you that I did not need it! And I only gagged once, when they used the stuff that smells like acrylic nails! Maybe a couple more times, I’m not sure, I was distracted, and clenching.

Evidently, the entire office is aware of my weenie tendencies. Several complimented  me on how well I had done!

All of the above enabled me to leave, in no danger of catastrophic tooth failure, with my temporary crown. Which was a GREAT fake tooth by the way. My only complaint was my gum stuck to it.

I went back this week to get the permanent crown. I was feeling a little cocky. I left the dog mask at home.

He asked if I wanted to be numbed. Honey, who also had a crown last month (because we are married and we have to do everything together), said he didn’t even get numbed. I asked the dentist, what did most people do? He said most do not. So we decided to try that. For 3  seconds, until he blew air onto my super sensitive teeth. Then, he numbed me. He said he had fully expected to. Because he KNOWS ME.

It really wasn’t that bad. But there was a drill involved, and some tugging on and off of the crown until it was situated and I was extremely glad we went the other route. Because the anticipation of a zing is what causes the weenie in me to stress.

After all the “bite down” and the “tap, tap, tap” instructions, we were finished. And I thanked him most sincerely, for having the faith in me to think that I could have possibly done that without the numbing!  Bless his heart, that was SO sweet of him!  I am a weenie in progress.

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This and That

May 2, 2009 at 2:43 PM (Confessions, Family Life, Muggins Q. Mouse, Our Boy, The Ab-Cat, This and That)

Yesterday morning was a gorga-mous! Everything spring should be. Which was a welcome respite from the previous day, when we had those May showers that you hear about.

It has been a busy week and I am looking forward to just hanging out with Honey and The Girls. We went to see “Wolverine”, or whatever the name is.  We all liked it a LOT! Honey said 3 1/2 stars, and Abby said that’s what she had been thinking too.

We actually have an extremely busy movie calendar for the next 3 weekends. Next week is “Star Trek” and the next is “Terminator”. Abby says we are just world class geeks.

Personally, I am ok with that. And, I have to confess that I am MOST excited about seeing “Land of the Lost” with Will Ferrell later in the summer. Because anyone around my age knows about the perils of Marshall, Will and Holly, Chaka and the Sleestaks, and knows there is no such thing as a routine exhibition!  I could sing you the whole theme song, right now. Ah,  Saturday morning television in the seventies. Good times.

The Boy is on a Super Secret Senior trip with his youth group from church. To Scranton Pa. to visit all of “The Office” landmarks. He is going to LOVE that.  Actually, the cat is out of the bag now, and it is no longer a secret. Because they are there. We can’t wait to hear all about it, because our whole family is into The Office. If I am lucky, he will take some pictures. And if I am luckier, he will let me post them on The Blob!

We have been watching old videos of our babies. You people with young children? Take movies, NOW and always! They are a treasure! We just laugh and aaahhhh, and “weren’t they adorable?” through the whole stinking thing! It’s also especially good to remind yourself of such pure sweetness when you have ornery, snarkey teenagers. Helps you remember why you loved them in the first place!

I especially love to watch the ones of The Ab-Cat before the accident. Watching her run and dance and flit about is very precious to Honey and I. And she was a world class flitter! She was so full of  animation and joy!

Mousey was watching with us. She asked if our clothes were “cutting edge”. Well, we thought we looked alright. Those 90’s were a tricky time. Lots of cringe inducing outfits. And hairstyles. And you all have seen my huge glasses.

One of the things that surprised me most was how tidy and uncluttered our house was in these videos. Now I am certain that was not always the case, but in my minds eye, I seemed to remember that things were always chaotic and looked as if a bomb went off. It was certainly not the disaster that I was sure it was.

Have a good weekend!

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