Yay for Spontaneous Root Canal!

I can't remember if I mentioned it, but Mike and I went to the dentist in Nov, and as a result, I had a filling right before Thanksgiving. I was told at the time that the tooth would be sensitive, for up to a month, but that the sensitivity is normal and would go away. By "sensitive" did the dentist mean "pain so bad it wakes you up at night?"

I sat on the aches for a while, because I was told they were "normal" and they would only happen at random. Then, finally, they did go away (or I stopped noticing the pain...). However, on Sunday, at church, the tooth started aching again. I resolved to call the dentist and they made an appt for me right away. Apparently aches lasting this long is not "normal."

My appt was today, just an hour and a half ago. And it was...interesting. (Please excuse my wonder at the world of dentistry. I am just so new to it, that everything is weird.)

The dentist decided that I did, in fact, need a root canal. While the filling was good, the bacteria had already made a home in my root so the whole thing needed to go. YAY! He puts the numbing cream on right away so he can then give me the numbing shot. (It stung a little more this time).

Then the drilling. Oh, the drilling...and the agony! Ouch!!! It did not feel good...and I had to explain the pain through the mouth stuff they had already put in. So I told him that "it was ok, until they hit the nerve, and then it was a sharp, cold pain." "Well, I haven't even touched the nerve yet" informed the dentist. So he gives me another shot, on the other side...for "those extra nerves that sometimes are around."

Then the drilling, Oh, the drilling...and the agony! It still hurt! So I got a THIRD shot, at the top of the root. Geesh! But at least it didn't feel so bad after that.

After about 45 minutes of two people just staring at my mouth...and seemingly doing something with those 100 tools, I hear them talking: "are you just going to have her come back?" WHAT!?! Yep, I bleed too much so they wouldn't be able to get a proper seal on the tooth yet. They instead put some medicine in the canal to plug up the bleeding and are having me go back on Monday to get the "real" tooth stuff. (I remember, after my wisdom teeth got pulled, having to change my gauze very frequently because I bled alot after that procedure too. I guess I have 5 times the blood vessels, or pressure, as the normal person).

As a result of the THREE numbing shots, I feel like a stroke patient. Half my face is numb...even my eye (I think). As I write this, my nose is plugged by kleenex because it's running, but I can't feel it; I just noticed it in the mirror! I just had to take pictures!
I'm trying to open my whole mouth...

In this one I am trying to pull up my nose...you know, what you do when something is gross... (I am not doing just one side on purpose.

And the smile...I cracked up when I looked at this picture. I am trying to give my biggest smile.

Benefits of living in Utah

I have been pondering the lack of snow recently and have been torn. I have very much enjoyed the snow-free commute and snow-free blustery days of winter. However, I very much am aware of the danger of drought if we don't receive enough moisture. Needless to say I was excited to see the rain yesterday. We got the moisture without the snow!! I could live every winter in Utah like that! But then, when I was at the gym last night, I looked out the windows and saw that the rain had turned to snow. After just 45 minutes in the gym, my car had about a quarter inch of snow gathered. My dreams of a snow-free commute have to be put back on the shelf...

Regarding the title of this post, I have started teaching Utah History at school. We started out by talking about the good things about Utah--and they aren't few. I think the residents take advantage of the great things about Utah and bemoan the fact that there's "nothing to do." But people come here from all over the world to enjoy our backyard. So, I have two positives about Utah this week. (and they may be a stretch...but oh well!)

*Utah Grizzlies games. I mentioned before that Mike and I got a "Pass of All Passes" that allows us to enjoy several venues of entertainment in the Utah and Salt Lake Counties. One such form of entertainment is the local hockey team in Salt Lake. Mike and I went with Jeremy and Erin for free! When we got there, our seats were taken by another family. Is it just me, or is that a very dreaded conversation!?! Who knew it could turn out to be a GOOD thing? The family had been on the third row, right next to the visiting team's "box(?)" and had decided to move back...and wanted to switch with us! That means we got to see the squished faces of the players when shoved against the glass! We were THAT close! Jeremy was sure the puck had his name on it and was coming straight for him...several times. We also got to hear the season pass-hecklers the whole game. At first it was annoying, but as time went on, and they got more drunk, it got more entertaining: "Fight! Fight! Fight!.... For America!!!" Speaking of fighting, the refs were, unfortunately, on their toes and stopping fights before they began; all but once. And the one fight was a sore loser sucker punch from behind. Lame. In the end, we enjoyed the game, our seats, the hecklers, and the win (further affirmation that we are good luck for any team because we have never been to a sporting event when the team has lost, and baseball doesn't count because we rarely are there for the whole game).

*Celebrity sightings. I have mentioned Kid History (look it up on YouTube) in the past, and just recently found an excuse to show it to my kids at school (you know, demonstrating how the story can change, based on who is telling it). Well, Mike and I were at Shakey's (a local pizzeria--not as good as Pizza Pie Cafe), when all of a sudden I see the main guy from Kid History (the taller, skinnier one)! I was near the dessert, waiting for an Oreo Cookie pizza and looked over at the salad bar and recognized him instantly. Mike was sitting down, but I just HAD to tell him! So I texted him... (I couldn't get out of the dessert line because there was another lady who was planning on getting two plates full for her and her family). Mike took FORever to view his text (he was watching some football game...psh!) and finally turned around to look. BUT looked in the wrong direction! So I called out his name, and failingly tried to subtly point/throw my head in the direction of the guy...and he finally notices. It's so weird when you see someone "famous"...what are you going to do? Especially at a restaurant!?! We did go over and ask for a picture...but we didn't notice that it didn't save on the camera (which is ok because we don't even have a way to hook the phone up to the computer to save/share the picture). It's memorable for us, even if he's already forgotten about it!

Oh, and by the way, I am finally going to get my pottery back soon (I signed up for February) so be looking for pictures of my newest pieces soon!

Christmas Card Edition

Merry Christmas from the Jenkins!

Ok, so I know this late...but better late than never.

Mike and I don't send out Christmas cards/letters and we probably won't for a while. And with our blog and Facebook, I just can't justify going through that extra bit of work around the holidays. It's still fun to get them, so I do apologize that you don't get one extra card in the mail.

2011 was pretty good to Mike and I. Here's some highlights:

*We both got jobs!! Here's to hoping that in 2012 I get that much closer to getting a full-time contract and that I'll be able to renew my license in 2013!

*We went on a fabulous vacation to Sacramento and San Francisco. We got to spend wonderful time with Desiree, Scott and Kai and Mike got to see the Golden Gate for the SECOND time!! (He still hasn't walked on it yet...so we'll have to go again).

*I got to go to San Diego while Mike worked (but I did miss him!) and visit my parents while they were taking care of grandkids.

*We accomplished our goal of running 5 mile legs in a 40-mile relay race, which prompted our 2012 goal of running 10 mile legs this year, and eventually maybe working up to a half-marathon. (We don't yet have the marathon in our sights yet).

*We got a fabulous pet.

*I successfully made cinnamon rolls! (This isn't really that great for our letter, but I wanted to show off what I did during my Christmas Break).

And here's just some more fun pics of Falkor getting real cozy: