Blog #126: DUN DUN DUUUUNNN

Are you ready to know something really embarrassing about me? As in, I am totally grossed out and ashamed at MYSELF for it? The only reason I'm willing to share now is because I've rectified the situation and am back on the straight and narrow in this regard... but here goes.

Until today, I hadn't been to the dentist in 5 years.

I KNOW. GROSS.

I judge myself, so you can judge for a minute if you need to. Let it be known that while I am not the best in flossing, I brushed my teeth regularly and was not a meth addict or anything. And I only drank soda on the weekends. I go to the doctor at least once a year, and it's not like that's a pleasant thing but for some reason I am so much more averse to the dentist.

Are you still judging? I'll give you a minute to get over it before I get into it some more. Better now? Thanks. Let's move on.

How could I let this happen? Well, let's make a list:
1. From the time I first had teeth to the time I graduated college, my mom made my appointments with our dentist in Topeka and arranged for me to get to them.
2. When I got my own job and insurance, I thought I would have to go to a new dentist. And even if he did end up being covered under my insurance (which I later found out he would have been), I no longer had the luxury of being able to take a day off to go to Topeka for a dentist appointment, which if I went nearby would only mean an hour or two out of work. Since I have major anxiety about the dentist anyway, the idea of going to a stranger was very stressful.
3. After several fits and starts on finding and getting going with a dentist, I began to feel like the amount of time passed would mean that the visit would be exceptionally traumatic. Thus I put it off more. And I definitely didn't want to go to the guy I'd been seeing my whole life after that long - he'd be so disappointed in me!
4. Time just has a way of passing and before you know it... well, a lot of time has passed. It doesn't FEEL like that long ago, but alas.

But last week, I finally went and printed off my Delta Dental insurance card, called a place that had been recommended to me awhile back, and made an appointment. I contritely admitted my delinquency in tooth care and they were not phased. I had my appointment this morning and you know what... IT WASN'T THAT BAD. They took some pictures, the cleaning was gentle, and yes - I do have a couple cavities (mostly because I need to floss better.) but it was nothing like I thought would happen when I got there:

As the dental hygienist assaulted my gums with sharp objects, I hear an audible gasp. "DR. THIS GIRL'S MOUTH IS HORRENDOUS. YOU MUST COME LOOK RIGHT AWAY." The dentist comes in and roughly pries my jaw further open. "Dear Lord! I've never seen anything this disgusting. You're such a gross person! How could you let this happen? Hey, everyone - come look at how bad this chick is at being an adult human and living her life!" A crowd gathers round as the dentist tells me that I will have thousands of dollars in dental work ahead of me to make my mouth even passable as okay.


But really, the dentist was so matter of fact about it. She told me that I "had some stuff going on" but that it happens frequently with people in my age/situation (they call it "college mouth" when a person stops being enforced by their parents in the realm of dental  hygiene and lapses in some of the good habits formed earlier on so that when they get back on the wagon things are a little messed up.) But she also said that nothing was so bad that they couldn't take care of it at a surface level and that coming in when I did meant that I saved myself a lot of expense. Then she told me to FLOSS, BITCH. Okay, so she didn't say it like that, but that's what the post-it I'm going to put on my bathroom mirror is going to say.

Also, I will never again attend a dental appointment without first taking a Xanax. I barely ever need them, but my Dr. prescribed it for anxiety and you know what? I have never been more chill/at ease during a dentist visit.

So, moral of the story is - be an adult. Go to the dentist. It's probably not going to be as bad as you think it is and if you keep waiting it will just be worse. If you are looking for one in the Johnson County area, may I recommend Dr. Kelly Thompson DDS in Leawood at Leawood Cosmetic and Family Dentistry. I seriously feel comfortable and welcome there. And if you have anxiety issues and the medication available with which to treat it - do so! There's no reason to feel nervous and uncomfortable if you don't have to.

I'm back on the wagon, with my next 6 month appointment already booked as well as the appointment to fix my "college mouth" so I can start fresh. Adulthood quotient increased!

Blog #125: Embarrassing truths in honor of National Honesty Day

Since it's National Honesty Day, I figured I'd be honest. Most of these aren't going to make me look very cool.

1. I DVR over 15 shows every week.
2. Sometimes I eat peanut butter straight out of the jar with a spoon... which is something a lot of girls do but do a lot of girls also sprinkle additional sugar on the spoonful of peanut butter before eating it?
3. I basically can not keep cereal in my cabinets because if I pour myself a bowl it will turn into at least 3.
4. I don't wash my hair more than once every 2-3 days.
5. I put Spotify on "private listening" when I'm listening to stuff I don't think is cool so that only really good stuff is broadcasted on FB or Spotify Social. Brutal honesty: private listening stuff includes Ke$ha, Bieber, and LMFAO.
6. I have a hard time resisting the urge to use hashtags in texts, emails, and blog posts. #twitterhasruinedme
7. I've watched the most recent episode of New Girl FOUR times, and laughed out loud every time. Related: Every time I cut bangs, it's with Zooey in mind. She is also the inspiration behind my larger than life glasses.
8. I still don't really know how to say the word "poignant."
9. I think I might be physically incapable of keeping a clean apartment.
10. I regularly cry when my football teams lose big games.

So, there was some honesty for you. In case you thought I was cool or something. Good news, I'm not.

Blog #124: Music & Lyrics (not the crappy Hugh Grant movie.)

I don’t want to be the person that constantly quotes song lyrics on Facebook or Twitter but I really love lyrics. I get incredibly excited about cleverly used words & phrases, and sometimes I hear a one liner so good that it is truly difficult NOT to share even though I know that what is poignant and relevant to me may just seem like a cry for attention or help to others. So, most of the time, I abstain. However, what is the purpose of having a blog if not to do what I want, even if what I want to do is shamelessly quote well written songs? So, without further ado, here are a few lines from songs right now that I love (in no particular order.) I’m even including the youtube videos because I know you want to listen to these songs.

1.      Gotye & Kimbra, Somebody that I Used to Know: “You can be addicted to a certain kind of sadness.”

2.       Fun, We Are Young: “Tonight, we are young.” (says so much in one 4 word statement)

3.        Florence & The Machine, Shake it Out: “Every demon wants his pound of flesh.”

4.      The Airborne Toxic Event, “All I Ever Wanted”: “And all I can think is that it must be some kind of rebellion to arm your fears like soldiers and slay them.” (I could probably find a beautiful quote from every Airborne song because they are pure poetry, but I’ll just use this one.)

5.        Jack’s Mannequin, There, There Katie: “This world can be ugly, but isn’t it beautiful?”

6.      Noah & The Whale, Wild Thing: “The boredom stirs a rage inside her soul.” And further on “Everyone has questions, but no one wants to know how far the anger in someone can really make them go.”

7.       Mat Kearney, Straight Away: “Everyone wants to hear their story told.”

8.        Death Cab for Cutie, Someday You Will be Loved: “I know your heart belongs to someone you’ve yet to meet.

9.       The Decemberists, Don’t Carry it All: “Raise a glass to turnings of the season.” And also “You must bear your neighbor’s burden within reason, and your labors will be borne when all is done.”

10.  Something Corporate, Konstantine: “The present is just a pleasant interruption to the past.”

So there you have it. 10 songs with amazing lyrics. And that’s not even the tip of my favorite lyric iceberg, but I don’t want this to be excruciatingly long so I’m stopping. Feel free to share your own.

Blog #123: A conversation with my best friend via text.

Cate & I are very excited about the (albeit slim) prospect of Peyton Manning.

Blog #122: I found a great KC fashion blogger

And she's doing this great giveaway. But even without the giveaway, she is totally adorable and has great style that I will likely copy often. Check Kristina out!

http://simplybold.blogspot.com/

Blog #121: There's a MONSTER at the end of this blog post.

WHAT'S THAT YOU SAY?

Don't worry Grover, I'm not talking about a real monster. I'm talking about the Green Monster Smoothie and I am in love. I've only been on the bandwagon for like 5 days BUT I've already noticed some very important trends since I've started drinking them in the morning.
1. I feel energized without going nuts on the coffee. In fact, I'm working on switching to tea more and don't go for it even until around 10am.(caffeine in coffee form is typically a necessity before 8am for me.)
2. I feel full and satisfied throughout the morning. I actually am not even that hungry for lunch type things until around 1:30pm or 2... and this is with drinking the smoothie before 7am.
3. I crave fresh, nutritious foods instead of junk
4. I'm more encouraged to get back into the workout groove. Now, I haven't actually full blown gone workout crazy YET. In fact, I tried to do a 30 day shred workout with Jillian Michaels yesterday and couldn't make it through. That's what grad school will do to you. In 3 years I went from running a half marathon to not being able to complete a 30 minute DVD workout. But, I'm more MOTIVATED because I've been monstering it up and that is my point.
5. I want to tell everyone about the Green Monster. This one is a little embarrassing because a) I kind of always thought those people were annoying and b) I'm so late on the bandwagon that everybody already knows. BUT IT'S SO GOOD YOU GUYS YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND.

I have been using this recipe from my favorite food blog, Iowa Girl Eats but am going to start experimenting with other flavors because we all know what happens when I get on a kick.

For more about green monsters, go here.

Blog #120: So very cold.

We've been getting very spoiled in the weather department this winter season and today Mother Nature was all "GRAVY TRAIN IS OVER, BITCHES."

Cold. Windy. Snow. I can hardly whine about it given the weather we've gotten to enjoy up to this point, but what I can whine about is how cold it is INSIDE at work. I've been chain drinking cups of coffee not for the caffeine but just for the heat. I finally had to stop when I felt so excited and so... scared. (SBTB reference.) It was so windy last night that there was a power outage and whenever that happens the heat in our hallway takes forever to adjust. All I know is that I feel chilled to the bone which is making being motivated to get anything done that can't be accomplished from my cocoon under a blanket at my desk fairly impossible.

That is neither here nor there. Here are some things I like today:
1. These are on their way to me as we speak. I can't wait for them.
2.

3.