There have been a lot of them these past few weeks, and while I fancy myself someone who is becoming a bit jaded and therefore not often surprised, I have recently really enjoyed the unexpected, which includes but is not limited to the following laundry list of both little and big things.
I had a tooth extraction and bone graph this past week. Long story short, a root canal I had a couple of years ago didn't do the job, so the tooth had to come out and my jaw bone had to be prepared to take an implant. As my dentist so gleefully explained (as I became more and more nauseous), a titanium post substitutes as the "root" of the fake tooth--and titanium is the only metal that actually binds with bone--this was discovered during numerous tests on rats when scientists discovered they couldn't remove a bunch of rods they had stuck through those poor test animals. *Gag*--totally gross. Although, thanks to my unfortunate friend, Ratatouille, in about nine months I get a nice shiny fake tooth that will hopefully last me for the rest of my life. That's way cooler than a rodent that can make a vegan gourmet peasant dish, yeah? Anyways, the nice surprise was that it wasn't nearly as horrible as I had feared (I was seriously terrified) and hopefully pretty soon the pain I've become quite used to will become a distant memory. Oh yeah, and Valium before dental procedures? Definitely my new friend.
Salmaan and I finally took the plunge and committed to a vacation in Portland at the end of April to visit my best buddy, Mandy. It was a little scary to commit to such a big trip amidst budget cuts, but once the tickets were booked, we each got incredibly excited, and I think that feeling of anticipation hasn't subsided, despite it having been a few weeks since we committed. PDX, here we come!
On a related note, a wonderful surprise came along the day I had my surgery--through pain-killer haze I received a call from Mandy (yes, Portland Mandy) asking if she could crash at our place THAT NIGHT!!!!!! She had come into town just for a few days, and we were lucky enough to see her, which was really awesome. It was July since we saw her last, and while the visit was short, it just reaffirmed that she's one of the most strong, beautiful, intelligent, and courageous people I know, and we're lucky to know her.
We made apple pie for the first time ever. It was good.
We also made incredible Coq au vin, a new chili recipe, and there are more new recipes in the works, including some type of granola to be featured sometime soon.
My sister, brother-in-law, and Little Niece came for a visit this past weekend. In a word, it was awesome, and just seeing Avery so much bigger, and more developed in her speech and motor skills was incredible. Not to mention the fact that she's absolute PERFECTand beautiful. She seriously redefines the word Precious. I made her a new hat for her first visit to Auntie Lala and Uncle Sully's, and thank goodness it fit! (Baby Thorpe was quite the failed experience over Christmas, although Amy very sweetly stuffed it onto her head so that they could have a Mommy/Daughter Thorpe picture to share with me):
This is much improved, and quite adorable if I do say so myself:
We had a great visit, and it was really fun to share the new house with them, and of course, cousin Mardi (their boxer, who gets along really well with River). Here are some more shots from the visit.
Btw, this is a sneak peek at the kitchen, which is really pretty much finished. Salmaan and I spent about three days in HGTV HELL painting that room, as we discovered that the pale yellow we chose to cover up our initial choice of Eastern State (a mental hospital Salmaan worked in) grey, would take not two, not three, but FIVE FRIGGIN' coats to cover. Ouch. More pictures to come of that, and a couple of other rooms that are nearing completion!
Some sweetly surprising things about that visit were when Gary looked at Amy and tenderly said, "Avery looks like you today." and kissed her head. And when Avery laid her head down on Amy's shoulder, needing comfort as she was sleepy and it was time for her nap, and watching Amy melt as Gary dove for the camera to capture the moment. Parenthood suits them, really well.
And lastly, the most recent surprise was a Snow Day on Monday. We got 8-10 inches, and I got the day off! I haven't had a snow day since HIGH SCHOOL, so it was a pretty big deal. AND, I got some more knitting done, which will be posted just as soon as it is blocked....Adios--hope you've had some pleasant surprises lately as well!