Stuck on a tonsil

I just finished eating some strawberries, blueberries and kiwi. Now, I have a strawberry seed (or kiwi seed) stuck on the top of my left tonsil.

I've tried swishing water back there.

I've tried reaching my finger back there to scrape it off.

It's still there, tickling my throat in a not-so-funny way.

Things get stuck on my tonsils all the time, especially popcorn and seeds. Do you struggle with this?

Well, you are probably fortunate enough to have normal sized tonsils whereas I have the extra-large sized version. Hubs thinks they're gross and mentions it when he looks in my mouth, which is more often than you'd think. He's a dentist almost a dentist, you know.

I am very fond of my tonsils, though, because they tell me when I am sick. They get white spots on them and grow even larger so that I can feel them touch the roof of my mouth. Hubs really thinks this is gross.

Back when I was a kid (Great. I've started using that phrase already), they weren't so casual about taking out tonsils. Or, at least in small town Pennsylvania they were so casual about it. I remember going to the doctor for tonsillitis all the time. But, I had to have it 7 (I think) times in one year before they'd yank out the silly things. I got it 6 times. The tonsils wanted to stay with me.

Now, I hardly ever get sick. Maybe it's cuz I still have my tonsils. Do you have your tonsils?

Man, this seed is really aggravating.

Historic travels

I love traveling to places of history. Specifically early American to the Civil War time period. And, ancient history! Thinking about different peoples in different times walking on the same ground as I am, gets me so excited.


I think about what it was like then. How was it different? What did it look like before all the modern conveniences were around? What did they struggle with? How did they live? What did they think about? It adds a dimension to travelling and it makes history seem more real to me.


I experienced this in Rome, especially at the collesium and walking through the Roman Forum. I remember thinking, People actually came here. They walked these streets hundreds of years ago living a life completely different than mine.

My dad is in Israel right now. How amazing would that be? To be in the middle east where civilization actually began. To realize that so much of the most important historical events took place all around you. To see places that the Bible actually refers to would put a visual perspective on what we read and believe.

Am I just crazy to enjoy this stuff? Is there anywhere you want to travel purely for historical purposes?

Faint with Excitement?

Professionals Day is an annual event at the dental college. There are awards. There is a lecture. And, this year, we were invited to the luncheon. Seniors are especially recognized on this day, and for that reason, I took the afternoon off.

Hubs was 1 of 3 finalists for the Practice Management Award, which included a cash prize. So, this was pretty exciting stuff.

After the luncheon, we headed down for the lecture part of the afternoon. We were seated about half-way from the front and we were going through the program to see if Hubs won any cool awards. I counted his name 8 times besides various awards!

We decide it was a great picture opportunity, and pictures always make good blog posts.


So, here we are before the lecture. Yes, that is my new cute scarf! Thanks for noticing!

We both look healthy in that picture, right? Nothing out of the ordinary? About five minutes later this is how I looked...


In the midst of a sentence, the room spun around me and my vision narrowed. I fell on Hubs and passed out almost passed out. Hubs was quick enough to lay me on the filthy ground and put my feet in the air. The room continued to spin for a while. When I finally opened my eyes, I could see people trying to find their seats and became very aware that I was laying on the floor for all to see.

So, like any normal person who almost fainted, I get up and sit down on my seat only to realize that I still feel pretty funny. Hubs suggests that he carry me out of the room. As valiant as that sounded, I was not interested in drawing even more attention to myself and insist, as a clear-headed individual, that I can walk.

Well, as expected, that lasted about 10 steps and I started dropping again, so Hubs ended up carrying me to a chair outside the lecture room where he was joined by our friend, Dr. Howe, and I ended up doing this:


It was determined that I could have been hyper-ventilating. Then, I got myself so worked up over the fact that I was in the midst of hundreds of people while lying on the ground and being carried out of the room, that I began having some crazy shudders in my arm. It was like I was shivering, but I couldn't stop them and I was not cold at all. Hubs rubbed my back and arms and held my hand. He was a great comfort.

About 20 minutes later, I felt fine and was able to attend the awards ceremony. Unfortunately, We all missed the lecture, which I believe everyone ended up thanking me for. It was fun to see Hubs get recognized for his achievements and I felt completely normal for the rest of the day.

And, Hubs DID win the Practice Management award! So, to prove that I was indeed up and moving around after the ceremony, we took another picture. Because, as you know, pictures make for better blog posts.


Congrats Hubs, for all your hard work has paid off. And, thanks Hubs, for taking such good care of me.

Retail Therapy

Some of you may wonder, What exactly does the spouse of a dentist do at a dental conference? I actually wondered the same thing, but I have always been able to keep myself pretty occupied, so I didn't spend too much time fretting over it.

It turns out that we attend session just like everyone else. I was surprised and excited to see many other people with yellow name badges (they color-code you based on your position, ie. dentist, hygienist, assistant, office staff, and spouse). Immediately, I knew we had a bond. We were in the same position - supporting our husband (or wife) and their career, their practice, their team.

Most attendees are there to get credit for their continuing education (CE). Although we should definitely keep up on what is going on in the dental world for the ability to have a conversation with our spouse about his day, it is not mandatory for our job. We signed up for 4 sessions, however, and I was delighted to see that 3 classes were on health and nutrition!

The routine was as so: Take the shuttle to the convention center, get a latte, go to the first session. Eat lunch and bask in the sunlight for 2 hours. Go to the second session, take the shuttle back to the hotel. Eat supper. Two days of this = great information (which will be shared in later posts), a reboost in my excitement to go back to school and learn, and a very tired bottom.

But what does all this have to do with retail therapy?

At these conferences there is usually one more day of sessions. I learned that this is the day that dental spouses, and others who have enough CE, go to retail therapy. I had not heard of this before, but I found that it is a definite highlight of the trip.

It goes as so: Find the best mall in the area. Take the subway to it. Divide and conquer the mall. Meet for lunch and find out where the best deals are. Take off again for round 2. That's retail therapy.

The particular mall we went to was ginormous. I was not able to even experience half of it, but I did take in the 2 story versions of Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel.


I had a great time shopping, but even more so, getting to know the people that Hubs will be working with. They were so fun to hang out with.

I find myself looking forward to the next dental convention (and the retail therapy).

How many is too many?

How many shoes should you bring on a 4 day trip?

Two...?
Three...?
Four...?
Six...?


Seven. I knew you'd agree with me.

*The pair that I was wearing is not pictured. Nor is the pair I bought while shopping because my feet hurt so badly.

Stretching our boundaries

I could be called a picky eater. Hubs is also a picky eater. We both have certain foods we will not even touch (mayo, mustard, stewed tomatoes). However, in the past few years, we have both become better at trying new foods. We are more than willing to try what others have ordered, however, we would never order those foods for ourselves. Seafood is one of those foods we never order, but are willing to try.

Our first dinner in Atlanta was at McCormick and Schmicks: a well-known seafood restaurant with some non-seafood options. Hubs had eaten there before and I had heard of it. I had just sat through a 3 hours session entitled, Eat well! Live well! and one of the main themes throughout was that we should really eat at least 3 servings of omega-3 rich seafood each week.

So, when Hubs asked me what I was going to order, I proudly announced "The blackened mahi mahi from costa rica," although inside I was as nervous as could be. A whole meal of fish? What was I thinking? At least it came with potatoes and green beans!

I didn't choose this dish without thinking it through. I had tried mahi mahi in Hawaii (I didn't order it) and it did not have a fishy taste. I had narrowed my options to the tilapia or the mahi mahi and chose purely because of the word, "blackened." I love blackened chicken and figured cajun spices could cover up any fish-taste. The only thing to overcome was the texture.

Well, the mahimahi came and it really looked delicious. So, I dug right in and to my utter surprise it actually was delicious. Hubs asked, "How's it taste?" and I responded, "Just like chicken. Really." He tasted mine and said, "It really does taste like chicken." So, I have stretched my seafood boundary further than I thought possible. I actually ordered seafood and I would defintely order it again.

And to any of you who are like us and steer far away from fish, seriously try mahi mahi. If you hate the fish taste, there is none. If you hate the texture, it really isn't bad. And, if you are scared of the mercury level, mahi mahi is one of the safest fish to eat.

We both also tried oysters, crab cakes, and calamari on this trip. Hubs and I are continuing to stretch our boundaries.

Traveling Suprises

You know when you get to that point on vacation when you are ready to be home. You're sick of eating out. You're tired of the being in the airport. You are anticipating unpacking and being comfortable in your home.

That's how we were yesterday afternoon at the Chicago airport. We had just seen one of Richard's professors stranded at the airport. He had been at the same convention and was having traveling woes. It looked like he was stuck in Chicago until the next morning.

Thankful that it wasn't us, we went to board the plane. When they scanned our boarding passes, it made an awful beeping noise. Not good. The plane to Nebraska had been switched to a smaller plane for reasons unknown to us. I choose to believe that the plan would have crashed unless switched. Unfortunately, our luggage (which included every personal and clothing item both of us had packed) was already loaded on the plane and would arrive in Nebraska at our originally scheduled time.

So, the next available seats were on a 6am flight the next morning (today). For the inconvenience, were given 2 free round trip tickets to use in the next year, $30 worth of food, and a very large hotel room at a nearby hotel. Pretty sweet. We weren't bummed at all.

The sweetest part, however, is that 2 of our favorite people and our 2 favorite twin boys, took a road trip and spent the evening with us!

We picked up some food at Chili's, came back to our hotel room and hung out. The boys explored and found lots of fun interesting things to play with.

Martha and I both noticed the Starbucks that was a block away and snuck away for a quiet walk. The visit was short, but oh so sweet. I was so excited that this worked out because it had been too long since we had been together. Richard and Ryan got in as much dental chatter as they could and we got to enjoy laughing and enjoying friends. Thanks for making the last minute trip!

We made it home this morning. The trip was a great success - more to come later.