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.

We're leaving tomorrow.

I'm off to my first Dental Convention! And, don't you even think that I am going to being exploring the town, shopping, and living the city-life while Hubs is sitting in classes. Nope. I am also attending classes, learning the ins and outs of the dental office!

Knowing me, as I do very well, I will no doubt find time to explore and see some of what Atlanta has to offer.

But, why is it that the days before leaving on a trip get crammed with a butt-load extreme amount of things to do? Let's make a list, shall we?

1. It's the busiest week at work. In spite of trying to keep up with it all, I also am determined to get the rest of my normal, everyday duties to a stopping point so that things will run smoothly while I am out.

2. I have choir practice tonight. From 6-8:45pm. Keep that in mind as you continue to read.

3. My house must be somewhat clean before leaving on vacation. The kitchen is a mess. Food in the fridge needs eaten or tossed. The laundry still needs folded. The bathrooms must get cleaned.

4. Packing? I still need to determine what I am taking with me!

5. I need to work out tonight. This task is the easiest one to skip and, have no doubt, it will be skipped. I'll walk the stairs at work instead.

6. Nail polish either needs taken off or re-done because, after packing up 150 lbs of boxes yesterday and 300 lbs today, the nails are broken and the polish is chipped.

7. Get rid of the sudden revert back to puberty, including the acne and oily skin. So much for trying to look like an adult on this trip.

And all this must be completed by 7:50 tomorrow morning so that we can leave our apartment no later than 8am to drive to the airport, park the car, and be on the plane by 10am. No sweat, right?

Gotta go.

Having some fun.

I saw a picture of the Shanle's at Christmastime. I thought it was pretty cool and went home to try and copy it. After many failed attempts, I realized I didn't look at the picture closely enough and had no idea what to do. Last night, they demonstrated the skill and Hubs went home and tried it ourselves.

I just could seem to get my arms straightened out fast enough for the timer on the camera, but you get the picture.

We had some fun with this and got to where Hubs could just balance me with his feet and I could pretend I was Superwoman. But in the Clabaugh competitive spirit, we had to try and one-up the "Shanle Stance."

So, we did it backwards!

I'm so glad you are back in town, Shanle's.

Bombarded

When are you moving? The end of May.
When's your last day? I really don't know yet.
Why don't you know? We still need to figure out some things.
Like what? Lots of things.
Are you sad to leave your job? Yes, I will miss it a lot. I will miss the people I work with and the job itself. It's been the best job I've ever had.
What will you do instead? Read this.
When's Hubs's first day? That's one of those details we need to figure out.
Have you found a place to live? Not yet.
Will you rent or buy? Rent.
Apartment? No. Duplex or house.
When will you find a place? Hopefully, in April.
How big? Hopefully 2 bedrooms and a 2 car garage.
Will you get a puppy? Probably not.
How big is the town? 40,000 people.
How far away is it from your family? 4 hours from one side, 3.5 hours from the other.
Do you know anyone there? Yes, I grew up in that town, although I haven't stayed in touch with anyone. We also have an Aunt and Uncle who live there.
Are you excited? Extremely. It will be even more exciting when we have some more details figured out. Time is flying by and we will be extremely busy until the move. I know it will be here before we know it.

Adventures in Babysitting

In the past 5 years, I have been left completely alone with a baby twice. I did not tell my friend that fact before watching her precious 1 year old last night.

It's not that I don't like babies. I do. The opportunity to be left along with them just hasn't come up for a while. So, when Steph asked me to watch Turner, I agreed and looked forward to it. I knew we would have fun.


We started off eating some dinner together. Every so often, Turner would realize his mom and dad were missing and the cutest sadest face would develop. I would divert his attention back to food and things were going well.

It was when we sat down and played for a while that, I knew a dirty diaper needed to be changed. I definitely have not done that even once in the past 5 years and found myself asking Turner if I did it okay and if it felt alright. He smiled, so I assumed I didn't mess it up too bad.

One thing I didn't think about was how strong Steph must be. My wimpy arms turned to jello very quickly. I thought I was getting a great arm workout, but am finding that my buns are more sore than my arms today. Hmm, not sure what that's all about.

Turner and I looked at books for a long while, which was great. We also looked out the window and watched the cars pass by. But, he definitely knew his parents were gone and was anxiously awaiting their arrival home.

I saw the car pull in the driveway. Turner saw his mom walk through the door and was more excited than he had been all night long. He never stopped smiling.

It was fun to babysit again and spend the whole night playing. It helped that I had such a fun boy to hang out with. I had fun and enjoyed it!

July 22, 2009

Last night, Hubs and I were thumbing through my planner, sorting out vacations, trips, events, etc.

On July 22nd I had written, 2yr Anniversary.

Hubs: Two-year anniversary of what?
Feath: Haha. Very funny. You know what.
Hubs: No, really, what?
Feath: Our WEDDING. Duh! (I didn't actually say the duh part, but I should have to make the conversation more fun.)
Hubs: Two years? Really?

The light suddenly clicked on in my brain and I realized my error. It will be our THREE-year anniversary.

Who says women are supposed to be better at keeping track of these things?

A Good Read

I cannot watch the news or hear someone talk about the news without getting frustrated, scared, or shocked. Even in our midwestern town violence has increased due to the stress of the economy. The situations seem hopeless. The circumstances look dire. The solutions are temporary. We condone murdering unborn children and using their cells for research. We encourage young teens to have sex when they are ready instead of waiting until marriage. We are sensitized to so much corruption in the world and blinded by a blanket of acceptance and political correction. I cannot watch what is going on without thinking, What is going on and What kind of a world will future generations be living in?

I bought the book, What on Earth is God Doing by Renald Showers as Christmas presents for Hubs, my father-in-law, and my brother-in-law. When Hubs opened his, it already had creased covers and pages since I was a little anxious and started reading it prior to Christmas! He hasn't seen it since, because I've been hogging it. Lately, I started reading it more and can't put it down.

I've listened to Renald Showers speak at a conference and I found that his books are as easy to read as is listening to him speak. I don't get lost in an overwhelming vocabulary; rather, he explains things perfectly & simply and gives great sources to all his facts.

Now, to the content. This book starts at the beginning of time and puts history into the perspective of what God and Satan are doing in the world. It makes complete sense and helped me sort out a lot of things in my mind. We have to remember that God is in control of what is happening, and this book helps us understand how and why. As to what is happening on earth now, that also gets discussed. He covers the past, the present, and the future.

If you are hesitant to take my word for it, here are some reviews from amazon.com:

Historical events are seen, at last, from a meaningful perspective: the long conflict between God's plan and Satan's revolutionary plan to spoil it. This is a gigantic work of synthesis of historical events, all flowing to an inevitable conclusion. But if it was (it is) inevitable then "why does God let the rebellion go on so long? Why couldn't He have demonstrated His sovereignty by crushing Satan as soon as he rebelled?" Well, the answer comes out pretty obvious at the end of the book. If you are the kind of history buff that always wonders why we still have so much evil in our crazy world -despite all the efforts against (apparently)- then this is your book.

One main stumbling block to my faith was why there is so much evil. This issue has been prayerfully answered with this book.

Did you know?

That Starbucks ice cream now makes little individual size containers of Java Chip? A great way to treat yourself after carrying 6 bags of groceries, plus 2 giant boxes of Pampered Chef items up the 3 flights of stairs to your apartment. You would have taken the elevator, but it moves at a whopping speed of .02 mph and you are just too impatient for that.

That when left alone in the apartment for an undetermined amount of time, I can read through 2 entire books and still have too time to spare?

That as a soon-to-be dentist's wife, it is completely acceptable to buy 2 liters of mouthwash in one trip to the store? It is also totally normal to have a shelf in the bathroom dedicated to random samples of toothpaste, whitening gel, and other oral care products.

Numbers

6 - the time I woke up on my day off (I just can't sleep in anymore)

5 - the number of miles I ran yesterday (the farthest I've ever run)

60 - the temperature outside when I ran yesterday morning (perfect)

48 - the number of minutes it took for me to run 5 miles yesterday

100 - the number of muscles that ache from my run yesterday

3 - the High School Musical movie that I watched yesterday (sooooo good)

2 - the number of toilets I cleaned yesterday

1 - the time when I finally got in the shower yesterday

0 - the number of hours I spent at work and thinking of work yesterday

There's no place like home

When I think of "home" I think of a few different places...

Home our apartment. After a long day at work or a long vacation, this is where I want to be. There is a welcoming feeling when I walk in and immediately I am relaxed. It's comfortable. Its having Hubs there with me. That's home.

Home is the town where we live. Knowing every aisle of my grocery store and my way around the city. Our church family. My job. Familiar surroundings. That's home right now.

Home is being with my family. Bickering with my brothers. Laughing with each other. Lots of comotion and some confusion. Cuddling with the dog. Knowing everyone cares for each other and cherishing each moment together. Just being together. That's also home.

Home is surrounded by trees and hills. Although I have come to appreciate and enjoy the wide open spaces and beautiful sky, I feel "at home" enclosed by the woods and the hills. The serenity of the forest and the calmness of a lake. That is where I will always feel at home.

Home is not here. As a believer, my home is in heaven waiting for me. It is meeting my Savior face-to-face. I will go home someday.

What is home to you?

Happy Birthday Pop-pop!

They tell me I came up with the name Pop-pop. It stuck and that is how his is known in our family. Today is his birthday.

My childhood is filled with great memories of times spent with Pop-pop and Gram. He taught me about the center of gravity while I built towers with my blocks. He took me fishing and camping and to Disney World! He tells me about his adventures and I love all his stories.

Sadly, I don't see them very often anymore. They enjoy the warm Texas weather while we freeze. I have wonderful memories of times when we all lived in the same town, though. And, I am very excited that we get to visit them over Thanksgiving this year! It seems so far away.

Happy Birthday! I'm so glad you are my Pop-pop and I love you.

A song I made up

I sometimes make up songs to sing to Hubs in the morning. It helps him get out of bed. I think it is because the songs are so pretty he wants to thank me for waking him up in that way. It's probably because he knows I'll stop singing once he's out of bed and he wants to shut me up.

I made up a song in my head this morning. It goes something like this:

Hubs passed his boards. Yeah, yeah.
Hubs passed his boards. Yes he did.

He's gonna be a dentist. Yeah, yeah.
He's gonna be a dentist. Yes he is.

I think I might just sing this one all day long.

Phase 3

I love playing games. I love playing games when I win, or at least am somewhere near winning.

I was excited for our game night on Saturday. We were playing a competitive game of Phase 10 with our flock. We set up 2 games, 6 people at each table. Each person had their own scorecard to keep track of their points, and their phase. After each hand, the two people with the lowest score from that round, switched tables - to make it more interesting.

I didn't really want to win. I bought the prize gift certificate so it would seem a bit tacky if I won. I did not, however, want to be the loser.

But, we don't always get what we want.

The theme of this scorecard is not Phase 10. You'll notice this scorecard got nowhere near phase 10. Instead, phase 3 was the game I played most of the evening.

The first 5 tries, I had a good laugh about it. The 6 & 7 times were depressing and I started receiving sympathy from the rest of the table. I became irritable by the 9th try, and I just wanted to go home after the 10 try. When I finally passed phase 3 (on the 11th time), I believe the rest of the players were at least to phase 7 and I had no chance to catch up. So, I sucked it up and had fun in spite of my pathetic situation.

Hubs, on the other hand, fared much better.

He brought home the winning scorecard by 10 points in what turned out to be a very close contest.