The tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth.

Yesterday, I had my wisdom teeth removed.

Yeah, I know... it seems a little late in the game. Why? The doctors and dentists in my family have always advised against slicing and dicing when it's not necessary. But this spring, my dentist down here told me that yes- the time had finally come. My teeth were erupting, one was coming in crooked, and with thousands of dollars of orthodontia at risk, it was time to take the plunge.

Before the surgery, I asked my friends to recount their surgical stories. Most people said things were totally fine. One guy even told me he had all four teeth removed, and then hopped on his motorcycle and got back to work. Another girl said it was 10 minutes in and out and she was fine by the next day. What I've since learned is that every person- in fact, every tooth- has a different story to tell!

I like my dentist here in DC. She's got a nice office in a row house that reminds me a lot of my home dentist's office. The equipment is shiny and new and the service is wonderful. So when she referenced me to the oral surgeon I used, I trusted her. I even Googled him a bit, and read all positive things. So, I went there with confidence, sure it would be fine.

Sure enough, the people there were very kind- from the receptionist to my actual surgeon, everyone was very pleasant and comforting. But the office itself looked like a relic from the 1960's. I think I was in a Mad Men dental set, or maybe a forgotten Dharma station in the heart of DC. Here's a picture snapped of me pre-surgery while I waited. Look at that chair!!

* Gulp *

When it was time for my surgery, the dentist explained to me that he would be using local anesthesia and laughing gas to keep me relaxed. I signed my "You might die, and you enter this surgery willingly," papers, and off we went!

First, the surgeon stuck on a mask and asked me to breath through my nose. Almost instantly, I was in la-la land. It was like I had two brains- the brain that was aware of what was going on, and then the brain that was letting all these weird things come out of my mouth David-after-dentist style. I've never felt anything like it. I'm so glad I had the laughing gas on board though, or else I would have been a very unhappy camper for what followed!

The next thing the surgeon did was numb up my mouth locally. I have to say, it's incredible that they can find a way to avoid you feeling pain in your deepest of root canals. He gave me a few quick injections and suddenly I couldn't feel a thing. Before I knew it, he had one cheek pulled back and  starting pulling. The first tooth came out so quickly and easily I didn't even realize it was over. "Did you get it!?!" I asked incredulously. Yep, it was gone. But the second one was going to be a little more trouble.

The second tooth was impacted pretty deep and took a long while to wrestle out. I was so gassed-up that I'm not sure how long it took, but I do know I was asking some ridiculous questions along the way: "Is my jaw broken? Is it stuck? Is everything normal? I have to go to the bathroom!" I also have some hazy memories that freak me out, now that I think back about it. First of all, my surgeon wore glasses, and I was definitely watching parts of the surgery in the reflection of his lenses. Advice to future patients: Don't do that. It will panic you. Secondly, I was totally unprepared for when the saw came out. He had to saw the tooth, which must have been bent or buried in my jaw, three times. The sounds of that high-buzzing saw is terrifying, and the taste and smell of sawed tooth is utterly foul. I remember thinking at the time that it reminded me of the smell of my dog's feet-- like stale corn chips. But more bitter. Anyways, I was not prepared for that!

Then, without much warning- pop. It was out. And I was sitting up, without the gas mask, ready to go- silly state that I was.

The post-op recovery has definitely not been a walk in the park. One thing everyone likes to joke about is the awesome "free Vicodin" you get out of the deal. My body doesn't do well with narcotics, and apparently this has only gotten worse as I have gotten older-- they make me sick to my stomach. After two pills, I decided to quit them and try my luck with Motrin and Tylenol only. And the swelling, as you probably know, is comical. I feel like it will never go down. How gorgeous is this:

"I'm ready for my close up."

Overall, the pain has subsided a lot in the last 48 hours, which is good. But I'm definitely relegated to bowls of bland mush- yogurt, scrambled eggs, apple sauce, chicken and stars soup. Chewing seems a long way off! But- it's an excuse to eat ice cream as a form of sustained nutrition, so I'll take it!

Thanks to everyone who has been calling and wishing me well the last two days. It means the world to me. And a super special thank you to Jason, who has been a wonderful driver, nurse, chef, entertainer and comforter through this whole ordeal!

Peace and Love. 

Summer Summer Summer Time

This past week was just one of those perfect, epic summer weeks that you dream about all year. Man, summer is the best- there is just such a joy and a magic to this season…the days are so long, and everyone is happier, even if it’s a sweltering hot and humid 100+ degrees.  I just love it- I love summer clothes, summer food, summer music, summer smells, summer everything! Here is why my week was so good:

Monday evening we said goodbye to our good friend JinSoo over a Mexican feast at local hotspot Alero. JinSoo is a TFA bud who is off to bigger and better things in New Orleans- starting a new school in fact, and bringing his love of technology in the classroom to a place where he’s going to be given the freedom to implement it throughout the curriculum. Good luck JinSoo, we’ll miss you!

Bye JinSoo!

Tuesday night I had book club. Book club is one of the more delightful additions to my life this year, it’s brought a whole new group of friends into my world that I never would have met before. We just finished the read “I Suck At Girls,” by Justin Halpern of “Sh*t my Dad Says” fame. It’s a light, fluffy summer read- perfect for the beach! And let’s be real- book club isn’t really about the book. It’s just an excuse to get a bunch of hens together to eat, drink and gossip. Fun!

Wednesday was the 4^th of July, one of my most favorite days of the year. This year was super lucky. Jason had the day off of work so we just got to play, play, play all day! We started out bright and early on our friends’ rooftop for a little celebrating before walking down the street to the Nationals game. What’s more American than baseball on the 4^th of July in Washington, DC? Later that night, we went to a different friend’s balcony in Arlington, VA with a spectacular view of the national mall. In fact, the local network puts their cameras on top of his building to film the fireworks for the TV special, so I guess you could say we had a good view. To top it off, we chowed down on catered BBQ from the best BBQ joint in town. I could not have ended the day more full or happy!

Our view, through the hot and haze as it was getting dark

Baby, you're a firework. 

Thursday I finally took a little rest and used the time to cook a fresh, delightful summer meal. Thanks to Shana Fisher, I found this blog, which is ironically appropriate. It’s called “The Shiksa in the Kitchen” and it’s about a not Jewish girl named Tori who likes to cook Jewish food. Her Israeli salad recipe was delish and I munched it for days! Mmmm!

Friday Jason and I had date night and went to Jazz in the Smithsonian sculpture garden on the national mall in DC.  They sell pitchers of sangria, and everyone likes to sit around, dip their feet in the reflecting pool, and enjoy a relaxing Friday evening of free music. This was an especially fun night- a note got passed around encouraging everyone to flash-mob the reflecting pool at 8pm. (yes, this is the naughtiest thing that DC nerds can think of to do on a Friday night.) We plodded out and danced with the rest of the crowd in the knee-high water! It was silly, but so fun and such a happy date!

Splashing around with some Jazz. 

Saturday, the festivities continued with Meredith’s birthday celebrations. More food, more music, more fun. By Sunday, I was completely caput- and yet, if I could have every week go like this one, I’d be the luckiest girl in the world. Cheers to summer!!

Peace and Love.

Holy Derecho

By now, everyone reading this blog has probably watched the news and seen that the entire mid-atlantic region is in a total state of chaos as a result of the "DC Derecho," a super-violent band of storms that rolled through our fair city Friday night.

The Derecho is a storm type that they say occurs annually in the midwest, and is more like a 1 in 4 years occurrence here in the mid-atlantic. However, the weather guy on TV at the gym today said that DC hasn't seen a derecho of THIS capacity in close to 20 years.

Jason has been harassing me for not "weather watching" this huge event and telling him ahead of time that it was looming, but in my defense, checking the weather forecast that morning at work told me nothing. This bad boy began brewing at about 1PM in Chicago and bowled its way across the country in 9 hours. Derechos are often called "land hurricanes" because of their intense wind power and widespread damage, but there's one important difference- real hurricanes give you days of warning and TV hype to get ready. (cough hurricane Irene cough.) I just hope everyone in the area still had their unused hurricane Irene supplies ready to go when this storm came out of nowhere!

As for me, I am safe, have power, and thankfully, a fully intact vehicle. Seeing everyone's cars mashed to bits on the streets has probably been the worst part of the aftermath. There are still massive trees and branches surrounded by caution tape everywhere. Electric poles were bent over like twigs.

"Free Firewood. You Haul." At least they kept their sense of humor. 

Where was I when this massive storm struck? Of all places, at a pool party. We watched the horizon flicker with lightning far away for a long while before I finally got out my phone to check the radar. When I saw what was coming, I FREAKED OUT. I could see how fast it was moving and how close it actually was. I shouted for people to get out of the pool and started scooping up all of our food and garbage. My apartment building was a short two blocks away.... I figured Jason and I could make it safely back in time.

About one block into our retreat home, the storm struck with brute force. I've never been outside in wind like that. We began power walking as fast as we could, dodging small branches and other debris that was starting to swirl around. It was very scary! We jumped into the lobby of my building JUST as the rain arrived. Not a drop hit us, but the torrential downpour was amazing. All I could do was stand at my 10th floor window and watch the almost incessant lightning flash and the wind gust.

But it wasn't until the next morning that I realized just how bad of a storm it actually was. Jason texted me on his way to the hospital, reporting the downed trees and crushed cars. When I crept out myself, around lunch time, I was appalled at the state of the city. All of the traffic lights were out, entire neighborhoods were (and are still) without power. It really looked like a true natural disaster.

Bit by bit things are clearing up, but the roads were pretty empty today as the government gave their employees permission to stay home. I am thinking of and praying especially for the elderly people who are struggling with no A/C during 100 degree heat. Thanks so much to everyone who has texted or called in the past few days!

Peace and Love.