Gabriella's been doing fantastic and I need to brag on her a little. She's always been somewhat of an over-achiever, so it didn't surprise me at all to walk into her school recently and see her picture on the wall. My baby's picture is on the wall at her school for this:
Pretty awesome, huh? Then, this week her name was called with the morning announcements because she is Citizen of the Week!
My little citizen of the week was given a packet with a card, signed by all the 6th grade teachers, crayons, pencils, pens, a Power Pass and a certificate. Plus, she gets a pizza lunch with her favorite teacher (:
I love you so very much and I am so proud of you mija!!
Well, I made it to the dentist's office on Saturday and had two of the three teeth extracted. Thank God! I have to go back on Friday to have the third one finally extracted. I can't wait. Friday is also Gabriella's birthday and my birthday. Should be interesting.
The pain levels have subsided some, but the remaining tooth is still doing one heck of a job in kicking my butt. My prescription of vicodin has become my best friend, that's for sure. My Saturday appointment almost didn't happen because we got some pretty strong winds Friday night and it apparently messed something up at the dentist's office. Someone from the office had the task of calling all Saturday appointments to cancel them. I was asleep when I got the call from the hubs and I may have pleaded for a little mercy and it worked because they told him to have me get down there right NOW. I called my mom and she had me there in probably 8 minutes flat. I appreciate that lady so much.
The pain was incredible by the time I got there, but I didn't want to take any more meds because I had taken so much medicine all week and I figured the teeth would be gone shortly and then I could take pain meds afterward. After about 10 minutes in the waiting room in sheer agony, I was called back. By this time, I was ready to pass out from the pain as I was directed to an examining "room." I sat down and could not believe my luck with dentists. Now, remember I told you of this experience? Well, this time, as I sat down with the the pain levels completely off-the-charts, I was a slobbery, pathetic mess and I expected some soothing music in the background (or better yet, NO music in the background.) HA! Instead, I literally had to listen to this (or something pretty similar):
Sheer tortute!! After sitting there waiting for someone to put me out of my misery, the dentist walked in and it took all my willpower to refrain from grabbing his hand and "helping" him give me my shots a little faster. The 5 needles were HUGE, but I welcomed them with open arms! As soon as the Novacain or whatever "ain" they used started working, I didn't give a damn about the music noise coming from the speakers. I knew relief was coming very soon. Afterward, my mom took me to pick up my best friend Vicodin from the pharmacy and brought me home and I slept most of the day.
The hubs has been wonderful in pampering me and babying me big time. Thanks Babe. I really appreciate it. The kids have been helpful with lots of things too. Here is what I caught Marko doing while washing dishes yesterday:
He may have gone as as far as having to remove his T-shirt because it was soaking wet by the time he finished with the dishes (!)
But the dishes were washed. I can't complain (:
I am thankful for my kids' help too. I'm blessed.
Oh, and I'll let you know how it goes on Friday. Hopefully, it will be a much better experience. Right now, I gotta go study for finals!
I have one last class today and I am finished until I return to school at the end of next week for my finals.
I'm excited!
But I think I'm even more excited at the thought of tomorrow at this time, my teeth that have been literally kicking my butt will be extracted already.
Thank you Jesus for all of the wonderful blessings you give me and my family.
I have always loved shoes. Always have and always will. Shoes, purses, scarves: they just hold a very special place in my heart.
Well last week, I found these darling little wedges and instantly knew I just had to have them:
Aren't they adorable?! I think YES!
I wore them to classes today and was amazed at how comfortable they are. And I think they are just so darned cute. (: I got so many compliments on my shoes today, so apparently, I am not the only one that thinks so.
Today was the last time two of my classes met. Happy Day!! Next week is finals week, so after tomorrow's class, I just have to study, study, study for next week's finals at the end of the week. Did that last sentence even make sense?! I know what I'm talking about, hopefully you understood it too.
I have to say that today has also been good because the pain levels of my stupid wisdom teeth has been managable. Thank God! Plus, my darling hubby brought me my Ibuprophen to school. Thank you hubs, you have no idea how much that meant to me.
If I'm MIA this weekend, it's because I'm going to be busy studying like crazy, or recovering from a sore mouth. That's because my appointment to have these damned teeth pulled is now Saturday, rather than next Tuesday. Yay!!! Am I the only one who thinks it's weird to be so excited to have someone literally yank, tug and pull three teeth out of your mouth?? Because I totally am!
First of all, let me clarify that I have a very high tolerance for pain. I always have. Well, many years ago when I had my first wisdom tooth pulled, I was in a lot of pain because the damned tooth was growing sideways, right into my cheek! It was very painful.
I hadn't lived in the city long, so I didn't have a dentist yet. Every dentist I contacted couldn't see me for at least three weeks. There was no way I was going to wait that long. Then, someone at work told me that their dentist could possibly see me sooner, so I called on my break and was told by the man that answered the phone that I could come in in an hour and a half. I was so excited! I did the happy dance right there at work.
I remember I had a hard time finding the address and after driving around the block a few times, I finally found it. It was a tiny hole in the wall and the door had the dentist's name on it. I should have listened to the little voice in my head that told me to drive away when I saw the name. I actually typed it in this post, but then took it out because I don't want people to google him. HA! I'll just call him George. Anyway, I showed up and I was greeted by this strange little man who I thought was there to clean the office. I told him I had an appointment, and he told me to have a seat in the dentist's chair. I kind of wondered where everyone was. When I say everyone, I mean a receptionist, patients, a dental assistant... a dentist, maybe. I again started having second thoughts when I asked for the paperwork I needed to fill out and was told that I could do that later (!) Ummm ok. Good thing I don't have allergies he should probably know about BEFOREHAND, huh? And have I mentioned that all of the equipment in the office was hot pink?! Yeah. Weird. I would have walked right out of there if I wasn't in such pain though, so I stayed. This little man WAS the dentist (at least, I think he was..) and he started to pry my tooth out. He was about half way done when the phone rang. He suddenly stopped working on my tooth and said "I'll be right back!" And he left.
REALLY??!!
I remember I had a mouth full of bloody slobber and nowhere to spit it. (sorry for being so graphic).
So that's why I never saw a receptionist...because there wasn't one.
I waited and waited for him to come back and finally had to get up to look for something to spit into and I couldn't even find a trash can, so I ended up spitting in something (not sure what it was), but it was part of the hot pink equipment thing dentists use.
He finally came back and finished taking my tooth out. Thank God. George told me how much I owed him, I paid him and left. I didn't realize until later that I never filled any paperwork out.
About a week after I had it taken out, my friends ordered pizza and I ended up getting a whole sausage ball wedged into the hole where my wisdom tooth had been! I'll spare you the details of how I managed to get that out..
All of that to tell you that I have had a week from hell. I have been miserable. Seriously, it's been one of the toughest weeks of my LIFE. It has been so tough, in fact, that I have actually cried myself to sleep a couple of nights. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. The reason for my misery is that the remaining three wisdom teeth are kicking my a$$. I have taken approximately 30 acitaminaphen pills and about 25 ibuprophen pills in the last 5 days. The pain is so bad sometimes I take 4 ibuprophen at a time. I've even chewed the aweful-tasting pills in an attempt to get faster relief. Not pretty. I finally went to the dentist today and learned that the reason my mouth is in such pain is because the other three wisdom teeth need to come out NOW. I ended up having to make the appointment for 8 months from now. Well, actually, my appointment is next Tuesday, but I promise I am not exaggerating when I say it will feel as though it were 8 months away. I ended up making the appointment next week because this is my last week of classes and next week is finals week. I don't have a final on Tuesday, so hopefully I'll be ok for the final I do have on Wednesday. Fingers crossed.
Just a little FYI: Did you know that if you gargle with tequila it helps dull the pain? I may or may not have gargled a few times while writing this post (:
Man, I'd give just about anything to see George and his hot pink equipment right about now!
Thursday evening I took Tita, my mom and my brother to see a presentation of Marion Blumenthal Lazan at the university I attend. What a privilege it was, and what a horrific story she has to tell.
For those of you not familiar with her story, she is a Holocaust survivor. This is her website.
She also co-authored this must-read book:
We arrived and my brother and Tita went to find us a seat. Marion was sitting in front of a HUGE line of people waiting to have their copy of "Four Perfect Pebbles" signed.
When we got to the front of the line, we purchased our books and handed them to her to sign and my mom asked if she could have her picture taken with us at the end of the night. She stopped what she was doing and said "Come on around the table and we can do it now!" I took this pic:
Then she asked "What about YOU?" and invited me around the table too (!) How awesome is that!? Her husband, Nathaniel, who is equally awesome, took a photo also.
My brother and Tita did a fantastic job in finding us some great seats.
What an inspiration and what a beautiful woman she is, inside and out. She travels the world, speaking to people of all ages of the horrors she and her family endured. If you are lucky enough to have her come speak at a city near you, I encourage you to go.
I am so glad this event wasn't on one of the nights I have class until 8 p.m. and we had the opportunity to go. I will never forget it.
Thank you Marion, and God bless you and your family always.
I remember growing up watching all of my favorite singers, like Michael Jackson, Wham!, Donna Summer, Shalamar, Bryan Adams and even Madonna and all the others on American Bandstand. When I was very young, I would join my aunts as they copied the dancers' moves and it was so much fun. After my aunts had married and moved out, I would watch it by myself. I loved it.
Who could forget hearing that old, familiar tune by Barry Manilow at the beginning and end of the show? And AB would not be what it was without it's host, Dick Clark.
Years later, those us who chose to stay home on New Year's Eve rang in the new year with Clark on his Rockin' Eve program, anxiously anticipating the ball drop, meaning the new year had arrived.
Today I reminisce of my youth, American Bandstand and Clark's Rockin' Eve because, unfortunately, I just read of Clark's passing.
The world truly lost a legend. Clark suffered a massive heart attack and died today at the age of 82.
Here is clip of American Bandstand:
I remember he'd always end with "For now, Dick Clark, so long."
I woke up from a nap on the family-room couch Sunday evening to the hubby flipping channels. Like a high powered radar, I spotted this movie listed on the guide:
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. The hubs knows it, so he set it to record and off we went to McDonald's for an ice cream cone and a pie for everyone.
I love the soundtrack to this movie too. 80s music baby. The best!
Now I have to clarify that this eye candy has N-O-T-H-I-N-G to do with it being one my favs! Absolutely nothing.
This is Mark Ruffalo, and OK, I admit it! He's the reason for my obsession with this movie. But it's ok...the hubby knows. At least, now he does. And I also want it known that Ruffalo has NOTHING to do with me naming my son Marko (:
My favorite song from the soundtrack? This Billy Joel classic, Vienna:
With only a couple weeks left of school, I had lots of homework this weekend. But even so, I managed to make a throw pillow. Now, if you personally know me, you know that I L-O-V-E pillows. I always have, but I'm too cheap to pay lots of money for them. So what's a girl to do, but make them? (:
I started with this fabric that I have had for months:
I originally bought it on sale to make Marko some new pillow shams for his bed. His comforter is navy blue and I always wanted some white in his bedroom. I tried a duvet cover for a while that was mostly white, and it just didn't work because it was white. I still wanted white in his bedroom, but again, it needed to be just a little because, well,:
Marko is a boy;
A 13-year-old boy;
Marko is a boy.
I pulled it out of my fabric drawer last week and laid it in a ball on my table and walked away to get my scissors. When I returned, I instantly got excited because I saw something I liked ALOT. A light bulb went off in my head with the way it was just casually thrown on the table. I started cutting strips and ended up with this:
After they were sewn together, I ended up with this:
And after I sewed the white back to it, my pillow ended up like this:
I just had to be careful that the strips ended up exactly matched up:
Isn't it gorgeous? I think Yes.
I ended up cutting long strips of only the blue stripes for the edges:
Here is a side view:
And a front view. Can you tell I'm obsessed? Naaah!
So there you have it....a couple pillow shams that ended up being a Chevron pillow.
There are two parts to this post. Part 1: The most impactful news story this week, in my opinion, is of baby Luz Milagros. For those of you that don't know of this miracle baby, she was born three months premature in Argentina, and she was declared stillborn. This precious baby's parents had the worry of delivering her prematurely, and after enduring the labor, the doctors could not detect a heartbeat and they were given the horrible news that their baby was dead.
I know how it feels to dream about your baby while you are pregnant and then to have those dreams stolen from you in such a cruel way.
Ten hours after their baby was taken to the morgue at the hospital, the baby's mother insisted on seeing her baby and taking a picture of her with a cellphone. The baby's father pried the coffin open and imagine their disbelief when they heard a slight cry from the baby (!) She was alive! She was rushed to the neonatal department where she is now being cared for. The last I read, she is in serious condition. I have been praying for this little miracle (Hence, the name) and her family since I heard the story. God is good. I honestly believe she will survive.
Here is the video clip of her story:
Please include this baby and her family in your prayers.
Part 2: For those of you in other countries that are not aware, there is a morning show here called "Good Morning America" that I always respected because everyone was very professional in broadcasting the news. Until weatherman Sam Champion did this stupidity:
Really?!
Shame on you "champ," what a cheap shot.
That is probably the worst thing this "professional" could do.
He's as "professional" as the "professionals" at union Colony School...my kids' old school. I wonder if he used to work there!?
I was absolutely blown away by the dazzling duet performed by Joshua Ledet and Jessica Sanchez. Absolutely blown away. What a beautiful combination: Joshua/Jessica + 80s song+ a brilliant performance = Perfection
They performed owned Aretha Franklin & George Michael's 1987 hit, "I knew You Were Waiting For Me"
Absolute Perfection. The chemistry needed to be able to pull this song off was incredible also. Wow.
It's hard to believe these are just a couple of kids. Even singers you see at the awards shows, with years of experience singing and touring, etc., lack the stage presence these two have.
Seriously, they both are too damned talented for American Idol. I predict Ledet and Sanchez will be the two finalists, and I really don't know how you can choose one over the other. That's going to be a very tough call.
Anyway, in case you missed it, or perhaps you did see it and want to enjoy it again, here it is:
Uh-mazing.
I seriously think American Idol needs to change the rules this year and crown them both this year's winners.
You know how I've told you that my kids started a new school back in February? Well, everything has been fantastic for the kids, except for one thing. The only negative thing that has happened since starting there was Marko's Ipod was stolen by this kid in Marko's PE class. Marko got it back, the kid got into trouble at school and everything has been good, and forgotten.
Until today.
During PE today, Marko and his friend were listening to Marko's Ipod (remember Marko's injured foot? He has been excused from participating in PE until it heals.)
Anyway, the kid that stole it in February had the nerve to ask Marko: "Dude, can I use your Ipod again?"
Marko: "What do you mean, can you USE my Ipod?! The last time you HAD my Ipod was because you STOLE it!"
I am a full-time mom, wife and student. I really enjoy cooking and I LOVE any arts & crafts projects. I usually have quite a few projects going at the same time.
I live in a never-a-dull-moment household that I will randomly write about. Thanks for stopping by. I welcome comments: vimex09@live.com :) God bless you! =)
