As I celebrate, I also mourn

I bought a new car today.
I have been saving for this car for the past 3 years.
I have looked and test drove and haggled.

Finally today, I bought...

yes... a shiny, silvery, smelling good car.

Yet as I drove this new car off the lot, my eyes weld up with tears.
For I will be leaving a dear friend behind.
My red Chevy Cavalier.
My very first and only brand new car.
It was the showroom floor car.
It only had 26 miles on it when I drove it off the lot.
I bought it as a graduation present to myself. (of course it came with 5 years of payments... but they were my payments)
It (still to this day) has birdseed lodged in it from my wedding.
It brought both of my babies safely home from the hospital.
It was the only thing I could say was definitely mine before my divorce was final.
It served me well over the past 12 years and 207,000 miles.

I would be lying if I said that I didn't shed a tear and have a tightness in my chest as I drove away...for this new car:

... doesn't have a fancy story about how it came about to be mine.

... even though it is shiny and new, doesn't give me the comfort my old car did.
...sits in the spot my Cavalier once did and that is hard to get used to.

I would have never guessed on the day I finally got my new car, this is how I would feel.

The choice is yours...Laugh or Cry ~Post-It Note Tuesday

Just what the doctor ordered

Last night
I had my new guy, E., and his daughter over to my house for dinner with my boys and me. It was the first time that all five of us were together. I couldn't have imagined it better!

Dinner went without a hitch (even though I was late getting it started.)
E's daughter knows my boys from school and from their little league ball games so they played really well together.

Surprisingly, Sam warmed up quickly. I mean, like talking to E within 15 minutes of him arriving! This is a monumental thing! For those of you that don't know my son, he doesn't grace everyone with the presence of his speech. If he doesn't know you (or doesn't want to get to know you), he won't talk to you. It doesn't matter if you directly ask him a question, he just hides his face or turns away (or just down right IGNORES you). So I was tickled pink by the fact that E asked who was winning the game they were all playing, and Sam turned and answered.

After supper, we all played kick ball together. When the heat got to us (and we decided that may not have been the smartest idea right after eating), we headed back inside. The kiddos played tag and E & I sat and talked and enjoyed our time together.

When they left, I was on cloud 9.

today
I had my yearly check up and physical today.
Let me just tell you how much I hate loathe could do without those.
(I have been known to skip them in the past... Now, now, don't get all preachy on me about it!! My RL friends do a fine job of that.)
My purpose of actually making my yearly appointment this time around was because of my hearing. I had started to notice that when there was a lot of background noise, I had a hard time always hearing the conversation in front of me.

First of all, let me say that I am only going to be 35 this year!
Second of all, I have always had excellent hearing!
So, needless to say, I was more than a little freaked out!!

So, I mention it to my doc.
She looks in my ears.
Right~okey dokey!
Left~"It's got a little wax, let's flush it." she says.

After flushing my ear (and yes, it does feel like the worst case of swimmer's ear you can imagine!), doc checked again.

"Hmmmm... I still see some wax. Let me see if I can get it with these tweezers, if not, we will flush it again."

OMG!!!!
I don't know what shocked me more... the pain or seeing the amount of wax that came out!! Seriously, it was almost the size of a marble!

Doc said, "I bet you'll be able to hear better now!"

I was appreciative and wanted to take her down (due to the pain she had inflicted upon me) all in one.
I decided it was best to tell her "That REALLY hurt! But thanks!"


So... I guess, I the weekend can come now... I'm mentally and physically well!

Sharin' the... love????

Can I tell you how grossed out I am right now??


My ex just called to say he has scabies.
...and since we share custody with our boys, he could potientially share them with me!

I don't know if it is all children that get these things, but I have just about had my fill!!!

In the past 3 years, we have dealt with pinworms, Molluscum Contagiosum, and now scabies.

BLECH!!!

Yes, I am taking today to sanitize my house ...just in case.

I teach...I blog... Therefore, I am.

Sure. I teach on a daily basis.
Sure. I blog at least one a week.

So, you wouldn't think it would be that big of deal for me to mix the two...

So on my first day off from teaching for the summer, guess what I did??
Go and lay at the lake?? No.
Sit out in the sun?? Nope, wrong again.

I went and taught teachers how to use blogs in their classrooms. Neat, huh?

Normally, I am very nervous when I go and teach my peers, but I guess I was truly in my element.
I know what it takes to use and manage a blog.
I wasn't having to come up with content for them...they already had that in mind when they signed up for the class.
They were all beginners to blogging ...and just like kids, I loved watching their wheels turn!

Who knew I would ever mix two of my passions?

Trust me... I'm a dentist

Okay... I can honestly say going to the dentist is not my favorite thing to do. It doesn't even come to a close second... or five hundredth.

See... as a kid I had a horrible dentist!
He would numb me... but not wait until I was numb... and then he would start drilling.

Ugggghhhh! The sound of a drill is like finger nails down a chalkboard to me. It shakes me to the core!

So, here is my childhood masochist dentist drilling away, while the whole time I'm writhing in pain.

And what could I do?
I mean, he would have his hands all up in my mouth!

So, I would do the only thing I knew to do. I would moan and twist my eyebrows and forehead into a topographical map of pain.

He would look at me and laugh and say "Now... what is that all about? That doesn't hurt, does it?"
"Uh huh." I would mumble.
"No, it doesn't!" he would snort as he would teasingly elbow me.

When I went to college, I found a dentist that that understood my previous dentist horrors. He was gentle and doubly numbed me so I would for sure not feel any pain. I had that dentist till last year.
I had to move on as my insurance had changed. Actually, I went to him a full year after my insurance changed because I couldn't bare the thought of having another horrible dentist. But the growing cost of dental work did not justify my fears.

I had to get all of my old fillings replaced today.(Hence the reason for having to find someone in-network)
I had came and met this dentist before-hand. I had him fill my boys' cavities (Yes, I made my babies his guinea pigs. - He did a wonderful job with them.)

As I sat in the dentist chair, I did my best to keep calm. I took deep breaths.
The dentist sat down beside me and said, "These don't look like they will be too difficult. Do you want to try and go ahead without being numbed?

"Absolutely NOT!"

"Alrighty then... I guess we will numb you up." he replied.

"Make it a double!"

He laughed. "Don't worry you won't feel a thing!"

The feeling in my mouth is just now coming back around... 5 hours later... I think I like this guy!



“Happiness is your dentist telling you it won't hurt and then having him catch his hand in the drill.” ~Johnny Carson