Merry Christmas!

Hi Everyone!

This will be my last post until the new year. I fly out tomorrow and will return on the 1st. It's laundry/cleaning day and I'll finish my packing tonight.

Anyways, got all my running around done. Went to the dentist and found out some expensive news. I need to get 8 fillings. Luckily (relatively), 4 of them are to replace fillings (silver fillings have a lifespan of about 15 years) I had done as a teenager. 1 is a serious cavity and the other 3 are small but are between my teeth. Since I grind/clench my teeth, I will also need a mouth guard for when I sleep (to prolong the life of my fillings and to prevent more stress lines from forming). I've done it for years (my previous dentist mentioned it) but I didn't realize what it actually did to my teeth. The guard is expensive however so I likely can't get one until next fall. The hygenist also told me I have gingivitis and that my lack of flossing is causing huge problems. Luckily, I'm still at the stage that it can be reversed and no permenant damage has been caused yet. Quite a wake-up call for me - I've always had bad teeth but this was the first time I was explained everything that is happening.

I now have a nice electric toothbrush that has 3 settings (clean, soft and massage) with a timer so I know how long to brush. Every 30 seconds, there's a pause to let you know when to switch to the next quadrant of your teeth. As well, the hygenist gave me a tool to help me floss (a longer handle than most you get at the pharmacy) and some nice minty floss. It's pretty sad that at my age I wasn't very sure how to floss - I didn't learn as a child.

Note to all parents: teach you children how to floss and make sure they do it every day! This will save hundreds of dollars in future fillings. The dental office does have a payment plan so hopefully I'll qualify. I'll find out on the 2nd when I go for my fillings. Despite the large bill on Monday, they did spend a lot of time with me. They worked on my teeth for 1 1/2 hours (doesn't include wait times or x-ray development time) which included a cleaning.

Been having fun this week playing with my household. Mike's been waking me up when my downstairs neighbour's alarm clock goes off (6:30 am) but Whiskers has let me cuddle with her on the futon while watching/dozing through the morning news. I got Gilbert a new water bottle and so far he hasn't been playing with it as much as his last one. Guinea pigs often like to play with the ball at the end of the spout even when they aren't thirsty.

Got my Chrisco hamper yesterday. It was rather exciting to open the boxes and pull out my treats. I was a bit worried about groceries in January but I'm all stocked up for when I get back. They also included an extra box with candy canes and little treats for Christmas as a present from the company. I thought it was a nice touch. Although it more expensive than the grocery store, I just order again because it was nice to open it and generally, I find the pocket book's rather tight in January/February. If anyone else is interested in them, their website is www.chriscohampers.ca The downfalls are you have to be at home on the day they deliver, they can't narrow the time down more than 7am to 7pm and you don't have a choice of the delivery date. For those of you not familiar with Chrisco, you have a choice of many different hampers (depending on your taste) and instead of paying for it all at once, the cost is split over many months (the earlier you order, the longer you have to pay and the cheaper the weekly payment). You can pay weekly, every other week, or monthly and the money's automatically deducted from your bank account. If anyone does decide to order a hamper (they can also be sent as gifts), you can use my agent number (87751). This way, I make a little money for Christmas.

I wish for everyone to have a safe and happy holiday season!