Dentist @ MindSay

funny.

 

He just came from the dentist......

As I type this my background noise contains a mixture of sounds from the Spore game and general rummaging through cupboards. The Spore noises are quite amusing even though I am a room away.

It's all okay though. I don't mind at all.

So today I had I dentist appointment. I had to get a filling on one of my wisdom toofies. I must be strange because I enjoy going to my dentist. I didn't even feel the needle prick my cheek making my face feel chilled and huge. Truly it wasn't as bad feeling, the numbness, as it normally is. In fact when I was done the dentist said I could eat or drink anything at any time.

What's really rockin' is in their lobby they had fresh baked cookies, coffee, apple cider, chai and tea! Perhaps they are ensuring return visits in many different ways. I took two cookies, one cranberry oatmeals and one chocolate with chocolate chips & butterscotch chips, both were gooey and yummy.

So, talking about sweets, here is the promised recipe for the apple dumplings. I added some notes to the recipe on what I did.

Baked Apple Dumplings Recipe

* 2 cups sifted flour(I used self rising flour so I omitted the baking powder & salt.)
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 6 tablespoons shortening (I used the omega 3 oil instead)
* 1 egg yolk, beaten
* 1/3 cup milk
* 6-8 apples, pared and cored
* sugar
* cinnamon
* butter (I also added lemon zest & nutmeg.)
* 1/2 lemon, juice of
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 3/4 cup water
* 1/4 cup corn syrup (I didn't have corn syrup so I used maple syrup. It worked just fine and tasted yummers.)
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
2. Add shortening and mix lightly with a fork.
3. Combine beaten egg yolk and milk.
4. Add to flour mixture. (Or you can use pre-made pie crust, croissant or even buttermilk biscuits batter to save time.)
5. Place dough on a floured board and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick.
6. Cut into 6 inch squares.
7. place an apple in the center of each square.
8. Fill center of apple with sugar, sprinkle with cinnamon (This is where I added the lemon zest & nutmeg.) and add a small piece of butter Pinch edges of dough together on top.
9. Place in a well greased pan.
10. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
11. Bake in a preheated 450 oven for ten minutes.
12. Combine the last five ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil; cook for five minutes When dumplings have baked for ten minutes, pour syrup over them and reduce heat to 350 Bake 25 more minutes, basting occasionally with syrup.
13. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, or cream if desired.

extremely slow...

I guess it made up for the HUGE day that I had yesterday.

I went to the dentist this morning, and I was going to take the day
off until my supervisor called me and asked me to come in, now she
is saying that I might get to go home at 12:30...

I average about 120 calls a day, well yesterday I took 543.
and today my computer-phone logs show that I have only
taken 34, and 2 had to be turned over to the supervisor.

so yeah slow.

I can't wait to here back (if I do) from the insurance agency
that I sent my resume to.

.A gift bag from a dentist and/or oral surgeon really says, "We're sorry for making your gums bleed profusely with a tiny, sharp hook during the routine cleaning, but it was really your fault because you don't floss enough."

.I read that Georgia is claiming that its airbases have been attacked by Russia. My first reaction was, "Georgia is so stupid. What? Do they think they aren't sharing the ungodly heat and humidity with the rest of the world?" Then I thought about this and realized something. It's Georgia the country in Eastern Europe. Right...

.But I still think they're just making it up.

.I suddenly had this realization of how much I like calling things "money." As in, "I am so money right now."

.And finally, after a long and happy two years with my phone, Marxbury, I'll be getting a new phone soon. Sadly, Verizon doesn't carry iPhones, so I'll probably get the iPhone knock-off that was rated higher than the iPhone. Yay/damn.

Personally, I've little issue with the dentist.

My biggest problem is usually what book to bring.

I'm giving Mere Christianity another read-through. I don't remember if I actually finished it last time. If you're in an ethics class (or you just like debating ethics), but you really don't like anything about Christianity, read just the first half. C.S. Lewis has a gift for putting kind of complex thoughts into metaphors that a fifth-grader could understand. (The problem, of course, arises when you start talking to anyone who HAS taken an ethics class, because they can refer to particular conundrums by name, and you still have to explain everything. On the other hand, I know a couple of male fluffheads who have the impression that if they know the name of something, and you don't know what it is or how it applies, they don't have to be able to explain it (or, for that matter, have a clue what they're talking about, on occasion.)

It's also good if you're not a big reader, because it actually started as a radio show C.S. Lewis had. He had a 5-7 minute time slot to discuss a concept, and that was the show. And when you put it in book form, that's the chapter. Time to expand on a theory, not too much time for tangents, and it's actually wrapped at the end, instead of trailing off into oblivion.

The nice hygienist and I got to talking about this book, and the one she just picked up the other night but hasn't had a chance to read yet. Yes. I go to the dentist, and focus on the books. I usually have some kind of goofy question for her, too. Last time it was a question about whether certain bodily fluids were harmful to one's teeth. For anyone who knows me well, you know that wasn't building to practical application, but definite curiosity. "Hey, this concept just occurred to me - I wanna know!!"

Today we got into why they always ask if you're on oral contraceptives. I had X-rays again - I can't believe it's been five years since I had my wisdom teeth out. Five years? Where have they gone? What have I done in this time?? Sometimes it scares me that we (this started in our circle of friends in high school - I don't know if the rest of the world does it) use relationships as landmarks. It also makes me want to take off for some country where I don't know anybody, have to learn the language, spend a lot of time working very hard, helping people, totally not caring what I look like - in effect, doing something substantial for people, where no one will want to date me and I won't have time to care about dating.

Yes, I know, Love Actually, the one couple didn't speak the same language but fell in love anyways. Engaging discussion forms another level of the relationship in my world - I can't yet discuss philosophy in Portuguese. I can define in my own terms whether another person is physically attractive, and I can see if they're kind, care about people, and enjoy life, but relationships are based on communication.

Something is seriously tugging on my arm, and saying, "We need you over here." The motivation towards the third-world country is getting strong. Sigh. We'll see what life brings. I want to, but there's too much here that I'm tied to and can't abandon at the moment.

Nice pretty dentist comes in, we exchange names, she pokes everything in my mouth once, announces, "Perfect," I hop out of the chair and get another toothbrush. And, hey, dude, what is with not getting to pick your toothbrush color anymore? I know I'm a legal adult, I don't care - I want purple!! And I kind of wonder if there's an arbitrary age when they stop asking you, or if it's just based on how old you look. Or maybe what kind of discussion you had. Or maybe thirteen-year-olds don't read ethics in the waiting room.

It's become a ritual. I always forget that the door is to be pushed out, not pulled. And I can't go straight out of the dentist building, I always have to turn and go check out the work in the bathroom. This is primarily because I had braces when I was a teenager, and every month I'd have to pick a new color, so I'd always want to go see what they looked like right away. The orthodontist and dentist are the same, just not the oral surgeon.

And now, I smile, and there's a very faint, *ping!* Shiny now!