November was so incredibly busy. We had our house painted, my circle planned out our 2017 year and I've been trying to get on top of health stuff I've neglected for the past couple years with all the moves. After this month, life should (hopefully) settle into more of a routine. I gleefully look forward to normalcy and routine; those are luxuries my husband and I haven't had since our first couple years of marriage. However, I can feel it around the horizon. I'm excited for 2017!
Home: Rhoeas Hearth
Obviously, I made a full post about getting our house painted so I won't elaborate too much. I'm still shocked we could afford it. I will say that owning our home has already given us stability we haven't seen in years, something I'll expand on more in Health. That being said, here's some photos from the in-progress of painting:
For better before and after photos, click here.
Getting our house painted was actually pretty awesome. I'm glad we had pros come in rather than trying to do it ourselves. We could have spent weeks painting the walls and had all the same problems we've already had. The people who flipped our house rushed spackling the drywall and it's been causing superficial cracks. Having Certapro come in and do it meant that they patched all the cracks and spackled it properly - something Aaron and I aren't really experienced enough to do, nor do we currently have the time or health to devote to it. So yeah, super happy!
I'm starting to accessorize. We're going to set up our front room a bit more tomorrow as well as get some holiday decorations up. And then some new furniture starts coming on Wednesday! I'm so excited, guys. Truly. I can't wait for our home to feel like, well, a home.
Familiars
The animals are enjoying the house. Of course, during the painting process, the cats were locked in the bedroom and Artie could only move between the office and the bedroom. That was a bit frustrating for everyone. But, in the end, it was worth it. I think having paint on the walls has symbolized something more stable than a temporary rental. They've certainly gotten comfy here.
This month we had... Ugh, how do I say this without sounding awfully privileged?
We had a birthday party for my dog.
Artie got a new comfy bed, which he absolutely loves.
He also got a new collar (same as his original, just not dirty and worn out) and a toy birthday cake that, when squeezed plays the Happy Birthday song.
My mom got him this adorable birthday suit and birthday bow tie, and circlemates brought him tons of treats.
We decided to throw him a birthday party after watching his demeanor change post-move. This is the first move where Artie truly seemed distraught. I took him to the vet and he physically checked out but he still seemed upset. Artie loves nothing more than having people over, so throwing him a party was an effort to lift his spirits and it absolutely worked.
So yeah, a birthday party for my dog is utterly ridiculous but I would do anything for Artie to be happy and this made him happy. No regrets.
I have no other familiar updates, so photo dump:
This derp. This derp has cerebral palsy. This derp went to paw at my bun and wobbled off the back of my chair. This derp pulled my hair. Look at this derp's face after pulling my hair. This derp.
Yes, Zeus is using Artie's butt as a pillow. My animals, man. My animals.
Long cat is long.
They pinned my arm while I was sleeping. I woke up to this.
Clearly, the only reason I own furniture is for the pets.
I currently have no updates for the circle.
Our next meeting is tonight where we'll be delving into public class and ritual planning.
I'll update more on that next month!
Health
In the effort of getting on top of my health that I've been neglecting the past year and a half or so, I made appointments with a new dentist and eye doctor. Both were wonderful. Despite not seeing a dentist for three years, I have zero cavities and minimal bone deterioration for my age. He commented that I take spectacular care of my teeth (and my brain went, "Well duh, I'm a Virgo."). His only concern was an undiagnosed grinding of the teeth (also a "Well duh, I'm a Virgo" moment). The whole reason I went to see a dentist three years ago was a pain that comes and goes in my teeth, not temperature or pressure sensitive. That dentist said there was nothing to do for the pain - pah! This dentist knew exactly what was going on. I was fitted for both a soft and night guard, both of which are actually just temporary to train me not to grind my teeth when I'm stressed.
However, I've been putting off getting my wisdom teeth out.
Yes that's right, I have four extra holes in my head as we speak right now. My wisdom teeth were vertically impacted with no crowding or infection. I probably could have done nothing for a long time about them but, in the interest of preventative care, I went ahead and had it done.
That uh, might have been a bit of a mistake?
I was told three days for recovery. As I'm writing this, it has been five, almost six days since my surgery and I'm still swollen and raw. We called the surgeon on Friday and he said this is typical of someone with my health issues. I'm prone to bad inflammation. All I can do is take NSAIDs, ice it and rest up.
This has certainly been some of the worst pain I've had to deal with though and it has wore on me. Yes, I've been using tea bags. No, I don't have dry socket. Yes, I'm taking it easy. In fact, last night, I did do a gig I had contracted myself but, when coworkers of mine saw how awful I felt, they offered to take my gigs for today - and I let them. My nickname at my job is Moneyetta. If Money passes, well, money, she clearly doesn't feel well. So I stayed in today and tried to take care of other things that were less involved.
Phaedra and her husband bought me this wonderful scarf in "the color" and it's come in extra handy during my recovery...
It allowed me to ice my jaw and still gave me hands to work on our year-in-review infograph for our holiday cards, which will obviously be going out rather late this year because of said surgery. It also gave me a chance to write this blog entry. That's why I'm updating today rather than after my circle's meeting. After all that talking, I may not feel up to anything for the next few days. At least you guys get something now.
Admittedly, I kind of feel like a wuss. I take pain like a boss. You kind of have to when you have autoimmune issues and high rates of inflammation. I think, somewhere in my brain, I was like, "Everyone gets their wisdom teeth removed so it's not real surgery." Oh my sweet summer child. I whined a bit about my, well, whining, on Facebook and many of my friends said wisdom teeth extraction was also some of the worst pain they'd dealt with. One of my friends said it was worse than ACL replacement. One of my friends said it was worth than medicated childbirth. My circlemate Abby said that her dad was an active duty marine who had hernia surgery and her dad still said wisdom teeth extraction was the worst pain he'd ever experienced. Guests at my gig last night were amazed I was even functional and my coworkers offered to help. So maybe after all of that, I don't feel like such a baby for being laid up for a week and tearing up a few times. I feel like someone cracked my jaw in two places - mostly because they pretty much did all but that.
On the bright side, once you get your wisdom teeth out, you never have to do it again. And my healing is apparently going pretty routine, despite being extended, according to my surgeon. So I'll survive.
I just hate it. </wahwah>
I finally had a decent optometrist check out my eyes since my scleritis flare up in 2013. My vision has technically improved, which is the weird thing about scleritis, but that means it's time for both new contacts and glasses. Contacts, I was aware of. I've been out for about a month. Glasses, not so much. So I guess I'm stepping out of the thin wire-rimmed frames of the 90s that I've had my whole life and into the modern plastic rims of current day.
I just don't want to feel like I've left the house in my underwear when I have to wear glasses due to scleritis flare ups. I hope these give me that at least.
These are all things I've desperately needed to take care of for years and just haven't had time because life and moving. I'm impressed that the house has already given me the freedom to do that. We've only been here since late August yet, in three months, we've recovered from moving faster than I think we have at any other given point. It makes me hopeful to see what the next few years bring. If I can get all this done three months after purchasing a house, imagine what I might be able to do in three years, or a decade!
I think that's the sum of it for now, folks. Catch you on the flip side!