Friendly Advice

If you go to the dentist for any kind of detailed dental work - say a root canal - and they ask you if you want gas (or nitrous as my dentist calls it); with feeling and emphasis, say, "Yes, oh yes!" Then when they put the ugly rubber gas thing over your nose, breathe in deep.

Does the gas kill brain cells? I don't know, and in my opinion, it doesn't matter if you are at the dentist - you need this stuff (disclaimer: you need this stuff if you are under medical supervision and it is legally being administered)!

Soon, they will be in to give you a shot, many shots if you are getting a root canal so remember to breathe deeply all you can before they arrive. Also, remember to take a deep breath through your nose while they are giving the shot - not just because of the gas but because it helps. It just does!

To increase your relaxation while the dentist is drilling and asking for various instruments, KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED. It helps. It just does. Why? Because when you open your eyes, you might see various instruments pass through your line of vision (they really try not to do that though, I think they teach that skill in dental school). It is actually a wonderful thing that the dentists use bland words for their instruments (such as "a 308") because you really don't want to hear, "Hand me the root-ripper-outer" or "I need the canal digger" or "Let's use the bigger nerve-destroyer."

And also, when your eyes are open, you invariably stare at the overhead light, the dental light, and anything else on the walls and those things cause you to stay in reality. While getting a root canal, you really want to escape reality. Even though you will still hear all the noises, it helps to let the gas work to get you to a totally relaxed state of mind. So keeping your eyes closed and sucking that gas through your nose in great quantities is the best advice I can give. (Of course, if you start feeling paranoid or your fingers and toes get way too tingly then you need to tell the dentist and he/she will adjust the gas.)

Now, even though I've given this helpful advice, did the root canal hurt? No, it did not (and they did not give me any high powered pain medication and I only took a few Tylenol on the day of the root canal because I was afraid it would hurt even though it never did and it did not hurt the next day either). Shots are never enjoyable, but even they were not too bad. But even though I did not experience any pain, I would not wish a root canal on anyone. It is an experience to be skipped if possible. It's weird. It just is.

Earth Day

Annie called me at 11 am today to tell me that there would be a special show on Oprah in honor of Earth Day. There would be a particular segment on composting which she knows I am interested in trying. Thanks, Annie!

I picked up Abbie at school at 3:15 today. Two minutes after getting into the car, she told me the following facts with a grave tone:

"They are cutting trees down in the rainforest, enough to fill a football field, every second.

100 miles of ice has melted in the Arctic.

In 10 years, the Earth will not be as healthy as it is now.

Did you know that, mom? We need to make signs. We need to act now. We have to get the word out. Are you scared, mom?"

So I gave Abbie some paper and she made a list of the things we can do to help. I explained to her that each person can do something to help, no matter how small. She wrote down:

Don't waste water. Don't waste paper. Make compost. Start a recycle box. Plant a tree, etc....

As soon as she finished her homework, we watched the special Oprah show and really enjoyed it. We plan to start composting soon. Since we live in the county, we do not have a recycling program like city residents have. I use to have a clothes basket in the garage for plastic and cans and bottles and paper. But I was the only one schleping all this stuff into town to the recycling center. No one helped me. So I finally quit. But now that Abbie is interested, I think we could start again.

Annual Photos

Every year, there are many fields full of wild mustard (that's what my mom says it is). And every year, we try to find a field with easy access so I can take some pictures of Abbie. These are some of my favorites.

Pig Update

I have not eaten pork for over a month! Yee-haw!

I absolutely KNOW that I made the right decision.
#1 I know God was talking to me
#2 Paul supported my decision
#3 I blogged about it
#4 I told my mom (who I thought would not understand), and she understood
#5 I told a friend (and I didn't feel like a freak while I was telling her, and I don't feel embarassed about the decision or shy about telling people that God was talking to me or that I know what my purpose is in life)
#6 I have not craved it or wanted it despite eating at a kick ass barbeque joint (I ate barbeque chicken)

I have used the phrase "kick ass" in two posts now. Hmmm. Just making an observation.

Chili

We like to watch Food Network. I have many favorites, but for some reason, I like to watch "Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives." Paul and I watched an episode the other night and one little dive had a secret chili recipe.

Paul has always wanted to be able to make kick ass chili. Stuff that just tastes awesome, that makes you say "ummmm" while you're eating it, stuff that you crave and that you can make better than anyone else. Obviously, my chili doesn't cut it. I don't really follow a recipe. I just dump a bunch of stuff in and taste it and add stuff, and taste it and add stuff until it tastes right.

A few years ago, we researched some chili recipes and found one that we thought would be a winner. It seemed different than what we currently make because it had cumin in it. We thought maybe that was the key ingredient - the thing that was missing from ours. Well....I didn't like it. The cumin made it taste weird. To me, anyway.

Paul has found a new recipe that he wants to try. It has cocoa powder, beer, and coffee in it. We shall see if it is any good.

*I just scanned the recipe and saw 1 Tbsp cumin seeds - yuck!* Maybe I'll give it another shot and see if my memory is wrong.

In the above pictures, Abbie and Paul are spreading mulch. Abbie loves to spread mulch for some reason. I think she just loves using my little "lady rake." It is a pretty awesome rake!

Dream update - Last night, I dreamed about Paul's family again! I tell ya, it happens often!

Conversations with Abbie

Abbie likes to discuss social issues and have deep conversations. I often have to pause and search for answers and explanations. Lately, she's asked me about China and communism. She also likes to discuss the people who make cigarettes. She can't understand why someone would want to make a product that is harmful to people's health. We talked about it for a while and then I explained that there are all types of people in the world and she will meet many people in her lifetime. She will have to decide if each person is someone that she would like to have as a friend or husband, etc. When she meets someone, she'll have to ask herself, "would this person help someone in need? would this person stop to help a lost animal?" After I said this, she said, "You made the right choice." She was talking about me marrying her dad.

Abbie made up the following joke:

"How does a cowboy laugh?"

I don't know, how?

"Yee Haw-Ha-Ha-Ha!"

Acolyte

This is a picture of Abbie acolyting for the first time at church. The other little girl is Camille. I was really proud of Abbie because she's been afraid to try it. She is also scared of the flame when the wick is lit. But she was ready and real trooper! She had a big smile on her face the whole time so the whole congregation was smiling too. I wanted to take more pictures, but I wasn't really sure of the "taking pictures in church" etiquette. Next time, I will ask the preacher ahead of time if I can take more pictures.