Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Laughing Gas is Not That Funny

Last week, when I went to my biannual dentist appointment, I found out my crown was leaking and needed to be replaced.  And that the tooth next to it had a cavity.  Eek.

So for the past week, I've been dreading the appointment to replace the crown and fill the cavity.  Mainly, I was dreading the shot (or as it turned out shots-- there were 3!) but also the sound of the drilling.  I haven't had that done in many years, so I had forgotten how much it hurts and how bad it sounds.

Fortunately, although I hadn't had it since I was a kid, I did remember laughing gas, and as soon as I arrived at my appointment today I requested it.  I was hoping to just feel loopy, the way I remembered it from when I was a kid.

But the laughing gas barely had any effect at all.  I could tell at the very beginning that I was getting a slight all-over-tingly-feeling, but that was gone in about 30 seconds, and I just kept wondering, "Do I feel different?  Is this working?"  Such a disappointment.  I had set my expectations of laughing gas way too high, no pun intended.

Fortunately, the shots weren't that bad.  Being that I give myself 4 insulin shots a day, shots are really not that big of a deal to me, as they were when I was a little kid.

And although the drilling was loud, the laughing gas mask was too, so it helped drown out the noise.

The worst thing about the day, was after the anethesia wore off and I was eating my dinner, avoiding the worked-on side of my mouth, I realized how sore my tooth and gums are now.  And it's all very sensitive to heat and cold.  EWW.

The best thing was that I brought home my old crown, and plan on putting it under my pillow tonight.  I'm pretty sure the Tooth Fairy pays a premium for porcelain crowns...
old crown, for Tooth Fairy


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

There She is...Miss America!

I used to watch Miss America, as a kid.  I loved it.  It was always so exciting to see how pretty all the girls looked in their gowns and swimsuits.  My favorite part was the talent portion of the show.  Each year,  as the final glorious moment of the show approached, Mom would always ask me, "What do you bet, whoever wins is gonna cry?!"  We thought it was so funny that every single time, the winner cried!  The host would sing that infamous song, "There she is.... Miss America", and all the other girls would run out and hug the crying new Miss America.

That song represented the show perfectly!

I hadn't watched the show in over 20 years, but I recorded Sunday's show and just watched it last night.  It was still just as funny as ever.  The girls did some bad singing and dancing, they showcased their talents, walked around in bathing suites, and answered questions as diplomatically as possible.  And when Miss New York was crowned Miss America, of course, she cried.

But you know what was missing?!  THE SONG.

What?!  What kind of show was this without the iconic song?

I googled it, and found out that due to copyright licensing problems, we may never get to hear that song again.  BOO HOO.  Maybe that's why Miss NY was crying. 

* Footnote: While doing my research, I learned that the man who wrote the theme song to Miss America, Bernie Wayne, also wrote "Blue Velvet". 

Monday, September 16, 2013

Music Monday- MTM

Happy Monday!  Which means, today is Music Monday here at the blog. Today, I'm choosing one of the most memorable television theme songs ever.

I've been listening to the audio book Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted by Jennifer Keishin Armstong, which is all about the making of the brilliant Mary Tyler Moore show.  Over the weekend, I was enthralled with the talk about the theme song, so today, I just wanted to post that video and remember that great song.

Of course, my favorite part of it is the very end, where Mary throws her hat up into the air.  The director of the video told Mary to throw the hat up into the sky, pretending it was the absolute best day of her life.  She did it in one take.  That hat represents Mary's optimistic outlook, but also, her rebellion.  She's gonna make it on her own!

I knew the logo of the Mary Tyler Moore show they show at the end of the song, and I remember the little kitty meowing. But as I kid, I never got the reference they were so cleverly making.  I learned from the book that the creators were being funny, mimicking the MGM logo and it's roaring lion.
MGM, roaring lion
MTM, purring kitty
Have a happy Monday, and I hope, like Mary, you can go turn the world on with your smile!

Sunday, September 15, 2013

My Brother, My Neighbor

Growing up, I had a great relationship with my big brother.  Although he was (and still is!) 6 years older than me, he never seemed to think of me as a burden.  He and I played together, laughed together, and he even made all his friends be nice to me as we grew up.  When we were really young, we even told Mom that when we grew up, we planned to get married.  She explained to us that no, you can't really get married, nor would you want to, if you're brother and sister.  So, we agreed but compromised with, "Ok, then we're going to live next door to each other."

And that was that.

Obviously, as we grew older, the marriage idea totally went out the window, as did the next door neighbor idea.  But we've remained close our whole lives.  I think my brother is THE most fun person to hang around.  I laugh with him like I laugh with nobody else.  And I realize how lucky we are to be such great pals!
my bro and me, being stupid

If only my Mom were around still, she would be laughing hysterically that my brother is house hunting, and it's looking like the house he will likely get is 4 streets over from mine!  Both his potential house, and me and Fermin's house are one block over from the neighborhood school, just in opposite directions.  And to top off the coincidences, our house humbers are the exact same!

So, it just may turn out that the thing we said about living next door to each other may just come very close to being the truth.  

Friday, September 13, 2013

Estate Sales In Dallas This Weekend

What I learned yesterday was if you have a headache and don't feel well, going to estate sells feels more like a chore than a whole lotta fun.  I didn't even feel like getting my phone out for picture taking.  And unbelievably, I didn't find one single thing I wanted to buy even tho I stopped by 4 estate sales!  The one on 13421 Flagstone was the only memorable one. Partly, because it seemed to be in a sketchy neighborhood, making me a little nervous walking down the street and also because it had clearly been a hoarders house.  So much stuff.  Some of it might have even been interesting, but I was really in no mood to browse.  Had I gone back today, who knows what I might have found and fell in love with.  But yesterday?  No, there was no love...

I told myself last night I wasn't even going to waste my time with estate sales today.  But those were just my famous last words, in my head, as I feel asleep last night.  Today was a new day!
the road to estate sales, and a brand new day!
The estate sales were much better the following morning--No headache, and I stopped for a Starbucks refresher on my way, which equals clear-headed fun!

There was one on 618 Hambrick that was pretty good, and even better was one a few doors down that was a last minute surprise.  I didn't see it listed, and hadn't written it down as one I wanted to visit.  But it was definitely worth a stop, and the prices were pretty fair-- at both!  On the same street!  SCORE.
vintage butterfly pin and gold chain found at the unlisted estate sale

Ahab Bowen had a sale at 2451 Pinebluff.  Ahab use to have a vintage clothing store I LOVED.  So anytime I see they are hosting an estate sale, I'm there!  This one didn't disappoint. I found lots of vintage jewelry chain for great prices, an old jewelry box, and a sweet little decorative dish. 
vintage bling and a few other things!
Side note that wasn't great tho-  Some horrible dog owner had the cutest little white dog she just left outside while she browsed and talked on her sell phone. The Ahab Bowen people had to nicely convince her to please see about her dog, because from the window, we could all see it running around in the street, nearly getting hit by cars!  So she went outside, put it in the hot car (with the window rolled down, but STILL!) and went back in to the estate sale.  URGH.  I wanted to take the dog home and give it a loving, safe, and air-conditioned life.  But, I guess that would be stealing.  But, in that case, doesn't stealing seem like the right thing to do? 

After I left the Ahab Bowen sale, I saw signs that led me to a JLA estate sale just a few streets over.  But note to self:  JLA is way overpriced.  They had $35 tags on things that should have been less than $5.  Total and complete rip off.  It's just so hard to resist those signs, especially one that says, "Treasures await..." when I'm already in the area!  I don't know what the address was on that one, but it was near the one on Pinebluff, and this mornining, there were signs leading to it on Ferguson Rd. IGNORE THE SIGNS. 

So there you go-  Just a little enticement if you needed any, to hit a few estate sales this weekend.  Just make sure you don't have a headache! 

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Hold On, Barbara Walters

The 17th season premiere of The View was on Monday. It was also the start of Barbara Walter's last season...

Which for me, isn't a bad thing.

She just seems like a stuffy older lady, trying to occasionally act like she's not so stuffy.  Oh, I GET IT... she's a pioneer in women's broadcast journalism.  It comes up often on The View.  But sorry, I'm just not a fan.

On yesterday's show, the crew surprised her by having Michael Buble come out and serenade her.  (Apparently, she really likes him.) It was so uncomfortable to watch because Barbara was just so awkward.  I found myself liking her a little more, the way I liked my Crazy Aunt Fran, who was a very old woman when I was a young girl.  She seemed like someone who needed to be looked after, that shouldn't necessarily be surprised- by Michael Buble- on live television!!!  I tried to find that awkward moment from Monday captured on YouTube, but last time I checked, it wasn't there...  Try to find it tho, if you like watching uncomfortable moments like I do.

Barbara talked about one thing she did on her summer break, saying "I tried to learn to meditate. They said that it makes you centered. I feel very centered -- I love you all, I'm very happy."  She went on to say she has a mantra, but she can't tell anyone what it is, because that's suppose to be a secret.  Um, okay!

Then, again, on Tuesday's and today's show, I saw her as a little old, slightly crazy, lady, as she came out to the stage with a maniacal smile on her face as she held on to Jenny McCarthy's arm.  Either Jenny's her new BFF, or Barbara's just a little more unsteady on her feet than she's been in the past.

Yes, Barbara Walters is stuffy, sort of like the American Queen Elizabeth.  And she doesn't seem like someone I'd ever want to hang around, and she's not even someone I like to listen to-  BUT,  I can tolerate her a whole lot better now that I'm seeing her in this new light.  My Crazy Aunt Fran, a.k.a. Barbara Walters.






 

Monday, September 9, 2013

First Holiday Bazaars Coming Soon!

How exciting!

My friend Allyson and I are planning to have a booth to sell our jewelry at a couple of Holiday Bazaars in just a couple of months.  I just dropped off our applications at the post office.
checks in the mail!
We're really excited to see what the craft fair world is all about.  

Have a happy Monday!

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Splat and Run

There are just so many books I want to read, and there's never quite enough time to read them all.  I downloaded Julia Sweeney's audiobook If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother.  Ricky and Lucy were in full support of me listening today, so I put on the headphones, and we were out the door for our hour long morning walk.
Put on the headphones and let's go!
I have to add, my head phones are really nice.  My sweet brother who always gives me great gifts gave them to me last Christmas.  They're those noise-cancelling type headphones.  Because of that, I could barely hear anything besides Julia's voice in my ear.

All of the sudden, I felt something falling.  I thought it was a short branch and a big clump of leaves and pecans from one of the many self-pruning trees in my neighborhood.  SPLAT.

As soon as I looked down to see what splatted, it ran off.  It wasn't a tree branch.  It was a squirrel.  And part of it brushed against my shoulder/head as it fell.

I've heard if bird poop falls on you it's good luck.  I figure if a squirrel falls on you, that must be something really special.

It's going to be a great day!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Colorado or Bust

I should be in Colorado right now. With Fermin, Lucy and Ricky.  Hiking in the cool temperatures, checking out a new scene, and living the high life. 

That was the plan.  We recently got a new car and figured, what better way to break it in but to use it for our transportation to get us out of this brutal Dallas heat?

It was going to be about a 12 hours drive, but that didn't sound too bad.

Until it got closer to our departure date. 

My husband realized he had to be back earlier than he originally thought due to work obligations.  Ug, work- always getting in the way!  So, we considered going somewhere that didn't have quite as long of a travel time to get to.  We thought about northern Arkansas, in the mountainous area.  That sounded like a good enough plan B for me and the Ricardos!
"We have done 5 hour car rides before, and we're willing to do it again!"
It wasn't going to be as cool, or as cool, but still, it was a getaway! But, no one in this family plans ahead.  So the night before we were set to leave, Fermin was on the internet trying to find accomodations.  And obviously, these accomodations had to be dog friendly.  Or bust.

It was just too late.  It didn't pan out.

Oh well.  Next time.
It's all good in the 'hood.