March, 2013

I’m not Irish, but I love bread.  Actually I just plain love carbs, especially the Beelzebub of the food world white carbs.  White bread, white potatoes, pasta.  Surprisingly not white rice, I prefer brown.

I am attempting to incorporate more whole wheat into my diet.  But I don’t like whole wheat pasta.  It is just not right.  And whole wheat bread can sometimes be dense, dry and flavorless.  So I am making a personal compromise.  Like with this recipe.  Instead of using all white flour, I substituted half for whole wheat flour.

Also I have given up alcohol for lent.  I didn’t realize how many opportunities I have to drink.  At home with dinner, or dinner out with friends.  Happy hour with coworkers.  Celebrating good news or toasting to lost loved ones.  I say all this to maybe explain why I chose to plump the raisins for the bread in Jack Daniel’s Honey Whiskey and water, as opposed to just water.

I really like this recipe.  It is from my coworker Molly.  And it is super tasty with salted butter.  Yummy!  Butter is something I will never give up or substitute.

I have caries… dental caries, also know as a cavities.  It’s actually one cavity and another two to keep an eye on.

I’m devastated.

This is my first cavity.  I’m in my early thirties, so I know I have had a good run.  But I think it hurts my ego more that anything.

I went to a new dentist yesterday.  I have not been since summer 2011.  My follow-up in January 2012 was cancelled because of flooding in the office.  They never called to reschedule, but I didn’t either and thought to just postpone until the following summer.  When I called to make an appointment, my voice message wasn’t returned.  The office up and closed.

It is not fun looking for a new provider, even a dentist.  You have to see if they are covered by your dental insurance, if you have any.  They think about a location to look in… by work, by home?  Maybe search reviews online.

I love the dentist (and I think I lucked out with my new find).   You come out with smooth, glittering, clean teeth.  Fresh breath.  Maybe some goodies.  What’s not to love?  Also I have good check ups.  I loved going because I knew nothing would really be wrong.  Everything would be status quo.  Manchild said it is positive reinforcement.  It totally is.

It was the last physical frontier that I was holding onto.  I got my first pair of glasses twenty years ago, so the eyes are shot.  I’m not a flexible or trim as I used to be (with the same minimal effort).  But my teeth… they were my one last ‘A’.

And now it is gone.

My initial thought was ‘damn that hippie toothpaste’.  I have been using Trader Joe’s toothpaste for about 1 1/2 years.  It’s natural and isn’t jaw-clenching sweet like most others.  But I don’t think it’s the toothpaste.  It has fluoride.  Maybe not enough?  I don’t really know.

Now I will, of course, be ultra-obsessed with dental hygiene.  Brushing and flossing after meals, not just twice daily.  And maybe I should use Listerine, even though it seems to have the alcohol content of whiskey.

I will discuss it with my dentist when I go in for my filling.  My first ever filling.  For my first cavity.   Sigh…