There are so many reasons to love Alaska, but this tops them all. Last night we drove up to Flat Top to watch the sun not set. This pic of the city was taken about 2 a.m. while we were waiting for it to get dark (it never did). The sun rose about 3:30.
I may not be your mother, but you’d be better off to take my advice on this one: GO TO THE DENTIST REGULARLY!!!!
Why do I say this? I spent two hours at the dentist today and they didn’t even get to the actual cleaning part. I was being scraped for an hour and then xrayed and dentist-slapped. What’s worse, I have to go back tomorrow for another hour of cleaning! Oy. Still, the hygenist (sp?) said it wasn’t as bad as it could have been for not going to the dentist for 5 years. I only have 3 cavities and two of them I already knew about.
So why was I stupid enough to go 5 years without seeing a dentist? If you knew Dr. Koutnik, which actually you two people who read my blog do, you’d know how extremely frightening it is to change dentists. He was the best dentist ever. Still is, I guess. He was so careful, actually cared what happened to me, and never kept me in the dark about what he was doing. The ideal small town dentist. In fact, I’d make appointments to see him during my college breaks because I didn’t want any other dentist. I even made an appointment to go to him on one of my short vacations back home after I moved to Alaska! You just can’t replace a dentist like that. But, turning 31 somehow made me feel adultish (though not quite totally adult) and I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment to go see a very strange, very expensive Alaska dentist. Now I must suffer the consequences of not going to the dentist for that length of time.
Bummer.
Well, hopefully. Today I applied for a sales and service rep. position at the company where my husband works. I surprise myself at how much I really want this job seeing that right now I’m a housewife that teaches piano and voice lessons on the side. But with a full time job comes debt reduction and money to adopt, so I have persevered through the job application (sent off today), typing test (65 wpm with 5 errors), and sales aptitude test with really weird questions. Now comes the wait for the call that says, “Come interview with us!” Keep shootin’ ‘em up for me.
At my Bridal Shower my best friend, Maid of Honor, and future sister-in-law Elle wrote down everything I said while opening my gifts. Then she read them back to me as “Things Rachel will say to [BDK] on their Wedding Night.” I was totally, utterly, wholly embarrassed by the whole thing. Apparently one of the things I said was “That’s so big! Where are we going to put it?” (We’ve long since solved that one!)
Last night I had to do the same thing, of course, and since you all missed it, here are
THINGS ELLE WILL SAY TO DAN ON THEIR WEDDING NIGHT
1. This makes me nervous–I know you people!
2. Ohhhhh…hoho!
3. Ooooooo…I like Walmart!
4. I was thinking about those…
5. There’s something soft in here.
6. This is awesome! Thank you!
7. Here, little man, I’ll take that from you.
8. (smile and nod) Walmart!
9. I got bored with it.
10. Keep going, it gets funnier.
11. I have so much to do!
12. This is cool!
13. Oooo, this is nice stuff, too!
Tonight I was able to pull off the impossible for a second time: a surprise party for Elle. I managed a surprise birthday party in college in 1998 so I thought I’d try again–this time with a surprise bridal shower.
I had wanted to do an Afternoon Tea for my birthday back in March, but was in the midst of moving when my birthday came around. Then came a two week trip down to Montana which delayed it further. I finally was able to schedule it for this afternoon for family and friends. When Elle told me she would be moving to Kansas earlier than expected I changed the invitations to a bridal shower for everyone but Elle and my mother-in-law, and through my husband’s connections at work was able to get the secret invitation out to her coworkers. The Shower was a success and although there weren’t as many guests as I had hoped, Elle was surprised and had a great time. I was able to do my fancy Afternoon Tea with cucumber sandwiches, scones, and lactose/gluten free cheesecake all served on antique china inherited from my Grandmother and Great Aunt. What a great day!!
I had this adorable phone conversation with my two-year-old nephew today who, by the way, still thinks I’m on an airplane:
Nephew: Hello
Me: Hello
Nephew: Hello
Me: Hello
Nephew: Helloooooo
Me: Helloooooo
Nephew: Hello
Me: Hello
Nephew: Hello
Me: Hello
Nephew: Hello…