Blessed

Did I ever tell you what a great husband I have?

While I am reading blogs he is in the kitchen cleaning out the fridge of the leftover Thanksgiving leftovers.  And taking out the trash. And putting the clothes in the dryer.

I think I may have to give him a raise.

Fog

I did not want to get out of bed this morning. It is a chilly 20 degrees here in the balmy North. I was having a good dream and I didn’t want it to end. Every time the alarm would ring I would smack the snooze button and roll over and try to continue my dream. I don’t even remember what it was about now.

I drove to work in a fog. The sky was clear. The fog was in my head. Most mornings I get to see the sunrise as I drive. Today I did not even notice the beautiful sky until I got to work and one of my coworkers pointed it out. The fog of worry was too thick to see through.

I have a hard time writing here when real life gets me down. I am dealing a couple of issues IRL (in real life) right now that are just too personal to share with the world wide web. Nobody expects me to share those things but it makes it hard to write when my mind is so full.

So I am working to clear my mind of the fog. I am praying that things will be taken care of soon. I am trusting that God will answer my prayers.

The Horror, The Horror

Yesterday was D day. Dentist Day. And it really could not have gone much worse. 

Did I ever tell you I hate the dentist?

The visit started off pleasant enough. The doctor was a few minutes late so I sat a relaxed in the waiting room. When I was almost asleep the hygienist called me back. She offers to put on the massage chair. I decline because at my last visit the buzzing drove me crazy. She then offered me head phones to listen to XM radio. I could pick from 40 or so stations. I finally settled on CinemaMagic. It was Soundtracks from movies. Sounds like fun.

I should have known things were not going to go well when the soundtrack went from “When Harry met Sally” to “Apocalypse Now.”

The dentist comes in and tells me we are going to fill three cavities. He then rubs the numbing gel on my gums. I think to myself that it is not very close to where I think he going to give me a shot. It has been along time since my last visit but I am pretty sure he is going to shoot the inside of my gums not the outside where he has stuck the cotton swab.

I was right. He tries to give me the shot but the pain about knocks me off my chair. I may or may not have let out a scream at this point. He tells me to wiggle my toes. I want to tell him it’s not my toes that hurt. He insists that it shouldn’t hurt that bad. It should just be a poke. He shakes his head at me and looks at me as if I am crazy. I have probably terrified every other patient in the place because by this point I am crying.

After I settle down he tries again with some other drug. He tells me to breathe through my nose. Remember I have been crying, Crying equals stuffy nose. He finally gets the shot off and leaves to room to laugh let the shot kick in. It doesn’t kick in enough so I get a second shot.

At this point I almost get up and leave I am so upset. I am a mess. I don’t like it that he practically yelled at me and said I was being a baby. But I decide I can stick it out. I should have gone with my first instinct.

He comes back and starts the drilling. He gets about 2 minutes into it and I start gagging on snot. He stops and is clearly frustrated with me. This is when he recommends that I may need to see a dentist that will put me under. I want to recommend a few things to him. I keep my thoughts to myself. This man is going to a drill in my mouth. I don’t want to tick him off. He suggest just capping off what he has started. My mouth is completely numb by now so there is no way I am leaving until he has filled all three cavities.

I go to a happy place which was hard when the soundtrack from “Apocalypse Now” is playing in my headphones. After what seems like an eternity I think he has finished. Wrong. That was just the first one. An hour and a half later I have three shiny white fillings and a splitting headache.

3 down. 7 to go.

Bake And Rake

Last week we had a teen activity called a”Bake and Rake.” We helped a couple at our church that have a lot of leaves to rake and bag. They had already done the hard work of blowing the leaves into piles so the kids just had to bag them all. I had the difficult job of taking pictures and opening the leaf bags. After raking the front yard Mrs. Greene made us homemade hot cocoa with marshmallows. So much better than Swiss Miss.

We bagged 26 that day.

My new favorite picture of the girls.

My Husband Loves This Commercial!

Cavity Queen

Thanks to everyone that played “Guess How Many Cavities Julie Has in Her Mouth After Ten Years of Not Seeing a Dentist.” As I told my dentist I have to keep it light or I may break down into tears over my lack of dental responsibility. He was very nice and did not preach at me about waiting so long to see a dentist. Although I did see him shake his head a couple of times and I might have heard a “tsk.” 

Now for the total! I had ten cavities. A couple of them were small and a couple were forming around old fillings that were leaking. But the one between my teeth is threatening a root canal. The dentist said he thinks he can fill it, but he will know more once he goes in for the big kill. Okay, he used some technical terms, but that is what I heard. My mouth will kill.

So the winner is…Susan! She guessed 6 because all of the low numbers were taken. I am really the winner with the guess of 13, but I had the advantage of seeing all the little spots in my mouth if you want to call that an advantage.

And the prize is a $10 gift card to Target! There she can purchase all the dental hygiene products she would like! Congratulations, Susan!

Cavity Contest

I have been having a lot of headaches lately. I thought at first it was just sinus trouble being the allergy season and all, but these aches felt different. It hurt from my teeth to my eyeballs.

I think the pain is caused from my teeth. It is time to go the dentist. I have been putting it off for a few years. Like I haven’t been since the November before Emma was born.

So it’s been ten or eleven years. Who is counting? I should have been. I have pretty good teeth but not that good.

Today is the day I am going to be thankful for modern dental care. I have an appointment at 2 today. This dentist promises NO Pain! and NO shots! He uses lasers and cameras and it will fantastic! I will love him and his assistants!

Larry and I have a bet on how many cavities I will have. He says 3. I say 14. One for each girl and one for each year I have not been.

So for fun I am having a contest. Can you guess how many cavities I will have? Leave your guess in the comments. There will be a prize. And it will be sugar free.

Thankful in November

I have tried for five days to write a post on this blog. I just have not had the time or energy to do it. The Castle household has been very busy. Besides Emma turning ten and having her very first slumber party, we also had a family party, piano lessons, Spanish lessons, an office Halloween party for 100 people to plan, laser tag and seeing the Detroit Symphony play Disney songs. Whew! It has been a busy month.

Next on the agenda is Christmas shopping. I went to Target the other day (I know, what day am I not in Target?) and had a little panic attack. It was very crowded and people were tossing stuff into their carts right and left and it felt like Christmas shopping in October. I was not ready for that. And then it hit me I have to work. I can’t shop during the slow hours at the mall and stores. Aack! I will have to fight the crowds and park a half a mile away.

This will be my first Christmas with a full time job outside of the home. I know I will not be able to do all the things I usually to do at Christmas and that makes me a little sad. Nothing like your child asking when are we going to make those cookies we make every year to add to the guilt that you already feel because you have to work the day after Christmas. I wonder if I can teach Larry the House Husband how to make cookies. It may have to be slice and bake this year.

This leads me to the purpose of this post. My friend Brenda is giving thanks every day in November. And I really meant to start the first day, but I got a little behind.

Today I am thankful for my job. I know after whining about not having enough time and having to work during the holidays it is a little ironic. But I am thankful for the extra money it provides our family and for the benefits we receive. I work with a couple of lovely Christian ladies and they make it fun to come to work. I also enjoy little perks like free tickets to the Detroit Symphony and the Red Wings. Maybe one day I will score some Piston’s tickets. During the school year my schedule allows me to be home every afternoon when the girls get home from school. And I have complete confidence in Larry as he has to get them ready for school in the morning. They are old enough now that they do most things themselves. They just need a little prodding here and there.

Thank you Lord for providing for our needs with a job that fits me perfectly in every way.