Well, once again, I find myself at the end of August realizing that we have been to busy to share about our lives or keep this blog up to date. I think the summer that we keep on top of things will deserve some kind of reward. Possibly involving ice cream.
Here’s a snapshot of what was happening with us during the end of May and the month of June.
This year we had a mustache themed birthday party for Matt. Mustaches are always fun!
Then of course, there was the senior trip to Croatia, but you already know about that.
The day after we returned from Croatia, I turned 40. Yes. 40. Sigh. Matt and some of our friends threw me a 39.39393939… birthday party. Matt said I don’t I have to turn 40 if I don’t want to. I kinda don’t want to.
Then the seniors graduated! Wahoo! You can see by all the smiles that they were definitely ready for this day. More pics here: Graduation 2010
During the month of June we had a few friends visiting. Sally, Bekah, and Becca are some of our favorite people, so it was great to see them.
On June 19, our friends Felix and Leslie got married. They asked me to be one of the wedding photographers. Lots of pressure, but I learned a ton. I especially learned that this is NOT what I want to do for a living. Yikes!
We spent the rest of June helping our friends Jeff and Bethany get moved into their new apartment. This was super exciting for us because now they live in our building. Yay!
Stay tuned to for stories from July and August. Things did not slow down. I need a nap.
Do you ever have one of those days where your soul desperately needs a word from the Lord and He sends it to you and you’re kind of blown away? Well I’m having one of those days today and this is the song I’ve been listening to over and over and over.
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Take Off Your Shoes by The Marty Ford Experience
You can download it for free here:
NoiseTrade
If you like it, I’m sure they’d appreciate a tip. 
So, I’ve had my new teeth for a couple of weeks now. They are getting to the point where hot and cold drinks/food aren’t painful, so I’m super excited about that. They are also kind of pretty. I mean, as much as teeth can be pretty. They look like the real deal, which is great. In the end the dentist did not feel sorry for me, at least not enough to lower my bill. The final tab was €1,900 ($2,526). Ouch! This is a good advertisement for dental insurance. While I’m excited about my new teeth, I’m a little disappointed that with a price tag like that, I don’t look like this:
Today was my second visit to the dentist. He removed the bad fillings then took impressions and ordered my new inlays. As usual, I took more novocaine than should be necessary. He said it was enough to numb a crocodile. Also, as usual, about halfway through it started to wear off. He said he was amazed at my bodies ability to “eat drugs.” The same thing happened when I had surgery. The doctors had to give me crazy doses of morphine, and they were amazed it didn’t work. I’d like to believe this is some kind of superpower, but I don’t really see how it’s useful for anything. On the plus side, the dentist felt really sorry for me and kept stroking my head and saying, “Oh, you poor thing.” Maybe he’ll feel sorry enough to lower the cost of my bill. Hmmm…
Pros:
- I now have clean teeth. Yay!
- The hygienist who cleaned my teeth was amazing. The best cleaning I think I’ve ever had.
- I really like the dentist.
- Everyone spoke English, but was willing to teach me dental words in German. (dental floss = die Zahnseide)
- I got a new toothbrush.
- I don’t have any cavities.
- The dentist and the hygienist both said I have very nice teeth.
Cons:
- On the way to the dentist, I had to watch a woman on the u-bahn continuously take out her dentures and play with them. Not encouraging.
- While I don’t have any cavities, there is a reason for my toothache. The three fillings I do have are all loose and have to be redone. Ugh!
- The brown spot that showed up on my crown a few weeks ago is actually a scratch that has to be filed down.
- No dental insurance means we have to find a way to pay the €1.400 ($1,900) bill we are going to get next week.
Anyone getting a tax return that they don’t know what to do with?
Each year our librarian creates a huge advent calendar in the library. She photoshops fun Christmas pictures with the faces of staff and students. It’s my favorite VCS tradition. Here’s what she did to us this year:
Merry Christmas!
One of the problems I have with Christmas shopping every year is that I find so many things that I want for me. Not exactly the point of Christmas, right? Anyway, in shopping for my very cute, very geeky husband, I came across something that I love.
Can you guess what they are?
I like the green ones.
Have you figured it out yet?
Yep! Lightsaber chopsticks! For real. I think I need the green ones because Yoda is my favorite – we kind of see eye-to-eye. Literally. I think Matt should have blue because, well, he’s my hero.
You can get your own set here: Lightsaber Chopsticks
I’m definitely putting these on my birthday list. It’s acceptable to find gifts for myself on that holiday, right?
I have a tendency to be a little clumsy. This can be a bit of a problem in the kitchen. Last week I accidentally stuck my finger into boiling water. OUCH! It instantly began to blister and hurt like the dickens. I called my wonderful hubby to tell him that I had burned myself. Well, that I had burned myself again, but that it was a doozy. He came home with these Brandwunden-Pflaster (Burn Wound Band-aids). They are miraculous! A few seconds after I put one on I could no longer feel the burn. After two days of wearing these my burn was completely healed. I mean gone. You couldn’t even tell it had been there. Not only that, but the gel in the band-aid is so thick that I couldn’t feel any bumps to the blister while I was wearing them. Given my tendency toward accidents in the kitchen, I think we’ll be keeping a box of these close by.
