the almost surprise

This past Saturday morning was dreadful for me. I was still at Denise's and I had just woken up from my joyous slumber. My face hurt so bad, it hurt to swallow, and I was so frustrated that I was still spitting up blood and just aching. I tried to call Burns but his phone was dead, so I just laid there crying and feeling sorry for myself. I heard Denise up, so I went out to talk to her and tell her how miserable I was feeling. She then told me I would feel way better later on. *ding*Burns?*

Throughout the day she just kept dropping hints and trying to cover them up so I definitely suspected something was up. I tried calling Burns all day, though, and he was always super busy with work or he was with someone and I just wanted to talk to him alone. I was so confused! He was still in Lloydminster and yet Denise was telling me that I would feel so much better by the end of the day! What was going on?!?

So it was around 3:00pm and I called Burns and he was rushing around and all I wanted to do was tell him how sucky my morning was (ignore run-on sentence). I was so mad that he wasn't finding the time to talk to me so I just hung up. I took a moment, settled down a little, then phoned him back and said, "What the heck is going on?!" He then sighed and explained, "I'm coming home." My reply, "Why did you tell me that???" The reasoning behind my interesting reply is that I don't get surprises very often and that's one surprise I would have very much appreciated. Oh well, after four weeks of being apart, BURNS WAS COMING HOME!!!!

I went home for a much needed shower and I wanted to look as pretty as possible with my puffy cheeks. Sooo I mixed some clear nail polish with some eye shadow to make black (a colour I have always wanted to buy but had never gotten around to it).

I curled my hair, put pretty makeup on, and then I watched "Apollo 13" while I waited for him to get home at 11:00pm. I then went to his house and we went out to Denny's.

 So happy.

We stayed out super late and then the next morning we went to Jordan Comfort's mission homecoming.

We're probably the cutest couple you know.

We spent most of our Sunday next door at the Comfort's house. They invited us over for their family lunch and then we went to the friend get-together. The food was sooo good. It took me a long time to eat it but it was so worth it!

We went back and forth between the Comfort's and Heninger's, and Burns found the time to serenade me with some "Lamb of God".

So exhilarating. 

It was such a beautiful day out so I suggested we take Georgie and Kobe out to Nose Hill Park for a cute lil walk.

Such a great day!!!

We fell asleep in the basement and Denise kicked me out at midnight, so Burns and I went to my car and we just wanted to be together, so we snuggled up with Kobe and fell asleep in the car. Honestly, I know what you're thinking, but we just fell asleep. Then we said our goodbyes at 3:00am :(

Today was a pretty good day. I noticed that my cherry tomatoes are doing very well which makes me very happy. I have eaten two so far.

I also went back to work today which was nice. After work I felt kind of sick and my face was hurting more and more as time passed. The most annoying part about it is that the bottom left half of my lip is still numb to pressure, but it tingles when I touch it. It was tingling uncomfortably. Bryanne, Haillee, and I went grocery shopping and then I came home and had a nice little nap. I felt way better after that and even made some rice pudding - something I have never made before.

It turned out pretty great. I took Kobe one a walk, mowed the lawn, and now I'm thinking about how perhaps nobody really cares about my relaxing day, but it was a good day.

Thanks for trying to surprise me Boonie! :D I had a fantastic weekend with you!

a little less wisdom

I went to Core Dental a couple months ago to get my teeth cleaned. I figured I might as well use as much of the benefits that I still had as a student before the insurance company figured out I'm not a student anymore. I think they'll figure that out in September.

So I got my teeth cleaned and everything went well, then the dentist told me that I should probably get my wisdom teeth out before I turned 24. Having a few siblings who have never had theirs out, I had hoped that mine would either never grow in or my mouth would be big enough to have all 32 teeth fit nicely inside. Not the case for me. All four were visible in the X-ray and my mouth ain't big enough for the 32 of them.

Dr. Orth referred me to some dentist so I called, but it was very disappointing. They didn't deal with insurance and the consultation alone was $90. I figured I should look somewhere else. I went to a house party a few weeks later and I talked to a friend from my ward. He recommended Brisbois Dentistry. It was close to my house so I gave them a call. I was discouraged on the phone, but the receptionist tried so hard to make it work for me, so I felt a lot better about it.

I went in for my consultation on July 14th and I had to get another pan X-ray. The dentist gave me 30% off because he understood that I can't really afford much. They asked if I wanted to be sedated for the operation. Of course I did! But alas, I am a poor student and we decided it would be best if I was awake for the procedure. Sedation costs $200 and insurance doesn't help with that. I then made my appointment for Thursday July 26. Only two weeks away!

While I was sitting in the chair realizing that I would be awake for the whole thing, I just imaged it all and I was so scared!!! I kind of teared up but I held myself together. That is, until I started driving home. I just burst into tears because I was so scared. I quickly pulled over and called Burns. I was fortunate enough to catch him when he wasn't at a job and he was able to comfort me. To make matters worse, whenever I told someone I was about to get my wisdom teeth out, they would tell me their horror stories. Remind me not to do that to anyone.

On the morning of the extraction I packed up a few things to stay a couple nights at Denise's house. I went over there, we visited for a little bit, then she drove me to the office. I took a Tylenol 3 right when I got there and Denise waited with me. We waited for about a half an hour before someone took us to the little room where my imagined torture would take place. Thankfully Denise was allowed to come and watch the whole thing and be there with me.

I was really nervous. I was scared of the needle and I was scared of the uncomfortable pressure I knew I was about to experience. Dr. Tung came in and asked if I wanted a little laughing gas. As this would cost a little extra, I refused. He froze me up real good and the needle barely hurt at all! I think I was just imagining the pain from when I was in elementary school. Everything seems a lot more painful and traumatic when you're that young. It was totally fine. I was completely frozen with a double round of freezing, but I was still nervous. All I could think of was him cutting my gums open and trying to pull an entire tooth out in one go. That's not how it works.

He stuck a wedge in my teeth to keep my mouth open and cut my bottom left gum first. It was such a strange experience knowing he was cutting me open and I couldn't feel any pain. I saw the blood being sucked up through the vacuum. That was a little disturbing at first. He cut the gums and I knew he was cutting until he hit my wisdom tooth. My tooth which I had never seen in my entire life and he was cutting to expose it. He then drilled a few holes in it, stuck a screw driver looking tool in it, and said, "Okay, you're going to hear some cracking." Then he broke it up and took the little pieces out one by one. He stitched it up and then moved on to my bottom right tooth. Same experience.

I had wondered how he would get to the top two. No wedge was even required for them, but they turned out a lot easier and faster to take out. Apparently the gums are much softer up top than on the bottom. He stitched the last one up, said thanks, and that was that.

The receptionist had given me a sheet with post operative instructions, and the dental assistant went over a couple things with me before I went to pay. I was once more surprised. The procedure ended up costing $300 less than what I had expected! Overall it was a heck of a lot better than what I had imagined.

Denise getting her blood pressure checked at Safeway.

We were waiting for my prescription of Tylenol 3. 

I felt totally fine after we got out. I knew that wouldn't last very long because I was still completely frozen. I had a pretty good night even with the unthawing of my face and Lita came to visit me. She brought me ice cream :D We had a good visit and she left at around midnight. Then I went to the bathroom and threw up. The next morning I took another Tylenol and threw up 2 minutes after. I haven't taken one since, and a normal Advil helps with the pain just fine. However, I my face is completely swollen and I look so funny.

This was the first night with gauze in my mouth:

The next morning I was a little puffy but not too bad:

And it progressively got worse:

I'm so swollen! Bryanne and Trajan came for a visit yesterday and they brought me more ice cream :D And they told me the story of how they got engaged (they got engaged on Wednesday night).

The left side of my bottom lip is numb right now because I'm so swollen. This morning was not very fun for me. I was just so swollen and there was blood in my mouth and I couldn't get a hold of Burns and woe is me and blah blah blah.

I'm fine now. I'm so thankful that Denise was able to offer her home and food to me. I really would be quite miserable without all her help.

To sum up, it was just fine. No horror stories from me. And I'm actually glad I wasn't sedated. I like knowing what's going on and not feeling groggy.

The end.

little elbow camping

Before I get to my wisdom teeth story I think I should blog about my weekend camping trip with Brentwood Ward.

Exactly one week ago on July 20th, I decided I should join my ward on the camping trip that had been talked about for a few weeks. I caught a ride out with Bryanne and Trajan at around 4:30 that afternoon to Little Elbow Campground.

On the way to the campsite.

We were one of the first ones there and Bryanne brought a 6-man tent so we set it up right away and chose the best spots in the tent for ourselves. Kobe was excited to dig around in the blankets.

Bryanne and I thought we would be sleeping on just a few blankets because she brought an air-mattress but an electric pump (no electricity at the campsite). Luckily for us, one of the girls who arrived later on brought a hand pump. Bryanne and I shared a queen sized air-mattress and Lita got the extra single mattress that Bryanne brought. Jen Kirkpatrick and Sydney Konno slept in our tent, too.

While we were hanging out by the fire with other members of our ward, we noticed some very loud thunder in the near distance. We figured we should set up the tarp over the tent so nothing would get wet inside. As we were setting it up, it started raining.

We finished and it suddenly got very windy and the tarp blew off as it started to pour, so we rushed to get it back up while we got soaked. A bunch of other people set up a tarp above a little gathering space and we all huddled there until the rain subsided. The fire was still going throughout all that, so I dried my hoodie off in time for bed.

The next morning Lita convinced me to go on a 4 mile run with her in the woods. I had had a horrible sleep (as I'm sure most, if not all, of us had) so I wasn't feeling very up for it, but I knew after all the junk I had eaten the night before that it might be a good idea. Luckily for her me I had brought my running shoes.

Exactly 2 miles into our run there was a picture perfect scene.

We turned around and Caleb Britton had caught up to us! He had wanted to go on the run with us (apparently... I knew nothing of this) and he ran with us back to the campsite. We got back just in time for pancakes and sausage.

We lounged about for a little while longer and then a few people decided they wanted to go on a hike. I hadn't planned on going hiking, so I didn't bring my hiking boots, but I figured my runners would do. The hike was called Nihahi Ridge and it was so great!

Kobe is such a trooper. He ran 4 miles with us that morning and then went on the 4 hour hike with us. As I was nearing the top of this little ridge, I couldn't wait to see the view.

I literally laughed out loud when I saw what was on the other side. It was just so awesome.

Then we had to hike up to the next ridge.

We could actually see Calgary from that little look-out. I tried to capture it in this picture but you probably can't see it.

We reached the top of the mountain to find this:

Kobe was pretty exhausted and some parts of the trail were very steep, so Ryan offered to carry Kobe in his backpack (I didn't bring one).

The next day I had a really bad sunburn. My nose even blistered up.

That hike was amazing. The burn was so worth it...but next time I'm taking sun screen.

time for an update

1. The Monday after our Confederation Park adventure was super duper hot. We were all dying from the heat, so we loaded up and went to Seebe for some much needed cliff jumping. Haillee Litousky (Bryanne's little sister) just graduated from high school and is now living at my house for the summer. It was her first day in Calgary so I convinced her to come with us. When we got there it was a lot cooler out and the mosquitoes were driving us crazy! Haillee and I ended up being the last two to jump in. I'm glad we did though.

The scenery was gorgeous.

2. Some time in the boiling hot week we had I went for a run in 30 degree weather. I have never sweat more profusely in my entire life. I was glistening and slippery from head to toe. Oh and I wanted to die.

3. Wednesday July 11 was Lita's 26th birthday! To celebrate I hopped on the train...

...and made my way to the Stampede to meet the birthday girl there. We walked around the park for a bit, got some food, then went to the Grandstand Show. Jason Lee met us there and we ended up in the standing room. It's a lot cheeper to stand than to get sitting tickets. We Lita and Jason watched the chuck wagon races (not my thing) while I sat down on the ground bored. I just took some pictures to appease my boredom for at least a couple minutes.

I was nearly stepped on several times, but that's what I get for sitting in the standing room.

Then the show began and I absolutely LOVED it! Next time I think I should either stand closer to the centre of the stage or get a sitting ticket. It was still AMAZING from where I stood.

The Young Canadians put on a fantastic show. There was only one part in the program where I was seriously concerned for those kids' safety. That was when they brought out a jump for motorcycles.

One thing is for certain, I would NEVER let my children near that jump. There were some pretty young kids singing and dancing right next to the jump and landing site. I cringe at the thought of even one thing going wrong and injuring those children.

Besides my safety concern, it was pretty cool to watch. Then Paul Brandt flew in singing and playing his guitar.

Honestly one of my favourite parts of the whole show was when some Aboriginal people performed one of their traditional dances to a slow song Paul Brandt was singing. It was so beautiful and I was seriously about to cry.

 Happy 100th Birthday, Calgary Stampede! Happy 26th Birthday, Lita!!!

4. I seriously can't get over how high the river has been for so long! It was particularly fast one day, so someone thought to wakeboard on it haha.

5. I am extremely picky when it comes to shoes (high heels are a different case) so when I buy some I try to make them last as long as possible. Like...seriously...as loooong as possible. This pair was no exception. I finally threw them away. I was so proud of myself.

6. On Friday July 13, Lita and I both bought new running clothes and we completed our first 10 mile run together.

Then we went to a YSA Stampede activity. There was a pancake breakfast and a petting zoo. So cute!

From the activity Lita and I went straight to Joey Crowfoot for some much deserved dessert.

 7. Instead of a Monday, my ward had FHE the following Wednesday (the 18th). The reason for that was Shakespeare in the Park doesn't perform on Monday nights and the FHE committee wanted to go to that. I biked down to Prince's Island Park with Kobe in my backpack. It was such a beautiful day and the play was SO GOOD! If you have a chance to go this year, I highly recommend it. They did a fantastic job.

8. For FHE on the 23rd, we played human battleship. Lita, Adrian, and I made our own little neon ship.

The game got a little lot out of hand and Lita got hit in the face with a rogue ball. After that game was over, people started playing volleyball so I joined in. We played for two hours and the next day my forearms were pretty beaten up. I still have the bruises.

9. Cats are strange, strange creatures. I was cleaning the bathroom of a family who own a really cute cat. I opened the shower curtain, and there was Rexie sitting in the bathtub. She scared me but it was so funny to see her there.

Then I cleaned the master bathroom and when I came out, she was sitting in a suitcase on the bed.

10. On Tuesday I went on a 14.8 mile run. I was supposed to (and should have) only go 12 but I wanted to make a loop and not just run 6 and turn around. Another reason I went so far is because I really love Nose Hill and I wanted to run across it. I also wanted to impress Burns because one time I said I wanted to *some day* run a marathon and he was kind of surprised that I wanted to run so far. So yeah, when I told him how far I had gone, he was very impressed.

The last 3 miles were the worst. I just wanted to get home and it was almost 5 more miles more than I had ever run. I was really hurting that night. The next morning I could hardly move and I would stretch any chance I got at work.

11. Alex wrote a blog post about Living Unbound and I was inspired. I had a huge craving for a campfire and some roasted hot dogs, so instead of waiting for a weekend like I usually would have, I decided to invite the fam to Bowness Park for said craved fire on Wednesday night. I'm so glad we were all able to make it out. It was also a great night to have before the day of my wisdom teeth extraction. That post is coming up next!

Kobe and Me waiting for everyone to get there.

Oh and we didn't think to bring a can opener so Daryn punctured the can of pie filling half way with one of the hot dog skewers. It worked out pretty well and we had cherry pies.