Random Thoughts

There is nothing exciting happening in my world right now so, here are some random thoughts and goings on:

--I drove two hours and spent the weekend with my in-laws sans husband since he has been working 14 hour days lately. They are looking for a new house, so I was able to learn a thing or two regarding house hunting. It was a lot of fun!

--I have been wondering whether or not my friend Melissa is around town or visiting family. Sure, I should pick up the telephone, but I'm lazy. This week I will.

--I want to go dancing. This hit me on Friday night on my way home from work and I almost called Robin to see what she was up to. But, I'm lazy. I think I see a night out on my horizon soon.

--I just caught up on everyone's blogs...I think. Nope, didn't comment anywhere, but I read them. And, I just have to state how thrilled I am for my friend in the Monkey House regarding her loss. She looks terrific!

--I still have holes in my mouth. I have been paranoid about how I eat, sucking on anything (if you went there, get your darn mind out of the gutter), and making sure I rinse my mouth often. My mother-in-law gave me the all clear and say they just need to fully close and I am past the point of worry about dry socket. I am going to choose to believe her.

--I just found out that I still own someone money that I borrowed in 1998. I have no record of it, although I kind of remember doing it. This is the first reminder that I have had, ever, and it was through a third party. Funny! (Really, it made me laugh.) But, it is Grandma that I owe, so no biggie, I trust her, and the check will be in the mail today.

--I am sick of hearing about Anna Nicole Smith. Get DNA tests done, give the baby to the father and stop speculating on it. She was a drug addicted party girl who really didn't contribute anything to the society that she lived in. Move on.

--I can't help but go hear since I hear about it every morning on the radio. Britney Spears, I feel sorry for her. And, I never though I would say this, but Kevin Federline is the man for doing what seems to be in the best interest of those children. She needs to stay in rehab and get the help that she so obviously needs. But, again the overwhelming coverage on the situation, not necessary.

--I have been looking at furniture for the master bedroom, but can not decide if I want to spend the money or not. What I have liked thus far is rather pricey. Solid wood, but expensive, which brings me to my next random thought...

--I have been frugal franny lately. Not quite down to eating beans and mush, but I just don't want to spend any money. I am on a mission to save enough to pay cash for a car as well as have a nice down payment for a house in the next year and a half. The only splurges I am willing to make right now are on a few long weekend trips and maybe a "real" vacation if I can talk Husband into it.

Like I said to begin with, not a whole lot of excitement happening in NC. But, things are sure to pick up in the next couple of months. Mom & Dad are coming to visit. Sister-In-Law's birthday is on a Saturday this year, so a big Irish night out is on tap. And, work, well there is so much happening through June that I am not going to have to wonder what I am going to do with my time. Plus the big October goal...it will keep me on my feet and I can't wait!

Four Teeth none the Wiser

I had all four of my wisdom teeth extracted last Friday. I was all prepped and psyched myself up that it really wouldn't be all that bad and I would be at the gym by Tuesday. That didn't happen. Here is what happened instead...

I recall the doctor telling me that the medicine worked really fast, that I would start to feel dizzy and then tired. Well, I remember the dizzy and the next thing I know I am semi-awake with someone holding down my head and someone else pulling and drilling and tapping on my bottom right tooth. I willed my eyes open so that everyone in the room would be fully aware that I was awake. They were very kind, talking to me and telling me that I would feel pressure but they were almost done. Yep, a couple of my teeth were so impacted and it took so long to get them out that the anesthesia wore off before they were finished. Thanks to the drugs, I don't fully remember the experience, however I remember enough of it to know that it wasn't pleasant.

Once husband got me home and I began the recovery process, I thought all would be okay, and I was still holding on to the "I'll be in the gym by Tuesday" goal. But, over the weekend, it seemed that every time I stood up, I would almost fall over because I was quite weak and dizzy. The drugs they gave me were good though, so I wasn't in too much pain even though I looked like a chipmunk stockpiling nuts for a blizzard.

My Best Mother-in-Law in the Whole Wide World came down to help "baby-sit" me since husband had to work all weekend. I finally got around to watching Gone With the Wind along with Little Miss Sunshine and The Lake House, so it was a great "girly movie" weekend, although I wasn't overly impressed by any of the films and really wished that I had rented The Notebook, which I still haven't seen. It hurt to talk too much, but Mother-in-Law was a Godsend in helping me eat and it was nice just having someone around.

As for my Tuesday at the gym goal, that did not happen. Right now, I am thinking a more realistic goal is a week from this coming Tuesday. I received some workout essentials in the mail last week that I had ordered pre-surgery, and on Thursday night, I played dress-up by trying everything on. Well, there were some never-tried-before sports bras in the mix and my test for any sports bra is the "bounce" factor, so I was hopping up and down in front of the mirror, and though the lack of bounce was commendable, my face hurt quite a bit as it was jiggled, so I know there are a few more recovery days left before I run again.

I did make it to work every day, although I was too heavily medicated to drive myself. Husband and co-workers have shuttled me to and from the office and meetings in Raleigh. I have to admit that not being able to drive, even after just one week, is frustrating. My sympathy goes out to Dad who wasn't able to drive himself for six months last year. Not fun! But, after a full day's work, I was exhausted and the night that I actually had to lead a meeting, my jaw throbbed and hurt so badly I wanted to cry. But, in true Army Wife spirit I pushed on through the pain.

Yesterday at my one week post-op appointment, the doctor said that everything was healing fine. He also told me a bit more about the surgery since the left half of my bottom lip and chin are still numb. The roots of the lower left tooth were actually straddling the nerve that runs under it and that they probably touched the nerve a little bit. He said that the feeling should come back eventually but it could take months. He said that the lower teeth were very impacted and that it will probably take at least a month to fully recover. That too is the reason I have so much along my jaw line and in my bottom teeth, lot's of digging.

The swelling is almost all gone, so my face is close to normal size. I am also looking quite lovely with a nice new shade of yellow-green bruise around my mouth and jaw line. (Nope, no pictures, this is one experience that I am not sure that I want to remember in that great of detail.) It is still uncomfortable to talk for long periods of time and I can't open my mouth wide enough to get a normal-size bite of food into it or a normal spoon into it for that matter. Thank goodness, a great friend of mine bought me a set of espresso spoons (picture a baby spoon) for my birthday last year. They are the perfect size to fit in my mouth. Because it hurts to bit down on my left side, I am still eating soft foods, so the staples in my current diet are hot oat bran cereal, yogurt, pudding laced with protein powder, cottage cheese, baby food carrots, baby food green beans, baby food peas, Kraft Easy Mac, and ice cream. The nights that I just can't take it any longer, I have eaten instant Hamburger Helper and then had a very tired jaw from the increased chewing on the right side. However, all is not bad, the mouth trouble was a great excuse to order cheesecake (after I ate my soup) during a business lunch at The Cheesecake Factory last week!

This weekend is all about rest and recovery. I am still drugging myself at night to sleep (don't worry, it's just Percocet) and don't want to risk over taxing myself so that I am in a lot of pain or get into an accident. However, we are in dire need of some groceries...maybe I will venture out with my Motrin tomorrow afternoon to get some necessities (we have no back-up TP in the house). None of my normal phone calls to gab with friends and family will happen again until at least next week, so don't think that I have forgotten about you. I have simply had my teeth ripped out of my head and can't talk right now! (You've got to love my drama!)