same ol’, same ol’

I went to the orthodontist this week for the first time in, oh, a long time. I had braces as a kid, then had a removable retainer for my top teeth and a permanent one for my bottom teeth. I think by the time I got to college I had started not wearing the removable one very much. The permanent one was, well, permanently in there. I probably hadn’t been to the orthodontist for two reasons. One, I wasn’t having any problems so I didn’t feel an urgent need to add yet another appointment to my life and two, my dental insurance didn’t really cover orthodontic procedures. Or even visits, I’m guessing. So, since my teeth seemed to be fine and not becoming crooked and since the permanent retainer remained permanent and didn’t get loose or anything, I just kind of let it all go. None of my dentists ever strongly urged me to get a check up (although, sometimes they would ask if I had been seeing an orthodontist and I probably lied and said I was) until recently when my new dentist (at the dental practice that makes me wait an hour every single time I have an appointment) gave me some sort of guilt trip about still having a permanent retainer. Like she was appalled at the medieval dental device in my mouth and that caused her to chastise me and tell me that there was new technology that could be used. Never mind the fact that she talked to me like I was 12. Then, this lady comes in and tells me I can visit their orthodontic practice for a consult and just see what they recommend, at no charge. Since I’m tired of all this fuss anyway, I agree but am already thinking that it’s going to cost way more money than I’m willing to spend on something that is working just fine.

To make a long story short, getting a retainer removed and being fit for a lower removable one is not nearly as expensive as I thought. Plus, just the fact that I have dental insurance at all brings the cost down, even if insurance doesn’t cover any of it. They removed the permanent brackets and wire (and the assistant commented that it was really well-done and fitted perfectly and there was no decay on my teeth) and now my teeth feel eerily non-bracketed while I’m waiting for the retainer to be made. One more visit for a fitting (and a fitting check of the upper one) and I’m done with that entire office. Which is kind of a shame, because the orthodontist is really nice, but even there I was left waiting for 40 minutes.

So, I’m looking for a new dentist. One that doesn’t make me wait 30 minutes after my appointment time and one that doesn’t talk to me like I should have a parent or guardian present. I really miss my old dentist who sold his practice.

Our friends have moved into their new-old house. I’m a little jealous that they get to decorate with a blank slate (and before fully unpacking) because once your home is furnished and lived in it gets a little harder to paint the walls and such. But it makes me want to freshen up my house, so I’m trying to convince T to completely redo the master bathroom. Nothing like knocking down walls or anything, just ripping out the built in cabinets, the sink, the flooring, and the toilet and putting new stuff in. Maybe rewiring a couple of switches. I think if we can pull that off ourselves, he might be more willing to tackle the kitchen. I already have it all laid out and priced according to the Ikea cabinet catalog. I think it’ll take about $1,000 for the bathroom, which sounds like a lot (when you consider how small the bathroom is), but I think it’ll be worth it. The kitchen will be quite a bit more, so it may make sense to wait on that, anyway.

I also made cabbage rolls this week, mainly because I had three heads of cabbage sitting the fridge. They came out pretty good, considering I just threw things together and then mixed it up. One pound ground turkey, an egg, some cooked brown rice, a handful of pinenuts, another handful of dried cranberries, and then it all got rolled up in parboiled cabbage leaves. Into the crockpot, topped with a couple of boxes of Trader Joe’s starter sauce, and dinner was ready by the time I got home! That’s how I’ve been cooking lately – no recipes and hoping for the best.