October

October has always been trying for me. It's my first month back in Texas after spending my summers with my family in Minnesota, so it's a little lonely, even though I have lots of friends here. My weekends no longer revolve around recipes that I can try out because I'm now cooking for one.

It's also the month of Doctor's appointments. My job has a wellness program, which goes from January 1 to October 31. I guess they think we don't do any preventive maintenance in November or December! My annual "well woman" exam is scheduled on the 24th. For you male readers, it's my opportunity to get a PAP smear, breast exam, and blood work done.

I went to see the Dentist this week for my semi-annual cleaning. That part went well. Then the doctor came in and discovered two more cavities. Sigh. She asked if I had any more concerns, and I made an off-hand remark about my crowned tooth on the lower left side never feeling right. Last summer I had horrible pain there, and saw three dentists, who all did x-rays and found nothing wrong. The final diagnosis was TMJ. I did my research, and employed massage techniques, which have made a big difference in the pain. The crown itself has been ground down several times, and it still feels too tall. That's all I told her. Really.

So she ordered x-rays...again. I don't do well with x-rays because I have an extraordinarily small mouth. Those that know me well would beg to differ, but there you go. The x-ray went fine; better than normal. The technician came in with good news and bad news. The x-ray turned out, but she x-rayed the wrong tooth. So round two with the x-rays. By this time I was itching to get out of the office - a 30 minute tooth cleaning had already turned into an hour and a half.

The technician came back with "that look" on her face. Now what, I thought.

"This time the x-ray was correct, and I'm sorry to say that you have an abscess and need a root canal."

I really empathize with people that avoid dentists for years. They're not really afraid of the pain, but they are afraid of the money it's going to cost them.

So tomorrow I'll make an appointment for a root canal. I've had two before, so I know that they're no big deal, especially with the endontist I use. And guess what...drum roll...I'm actually happy about it. This tooth has caused me nothing but problems since it was crowned. I knew something was wrong with it over a year ago. Maybe this will finally be an end to it.

So why not celebrate and spend even more money? My dishwasher hasn't worked well for more than a year, and I discovered that my oven was broke after I tried to heat up a frozen meal at 400 degrees and it was still frozen after 35 minutes. When I cook on the stove, I can't touch the metal edging or the burner covers because I'll get a nasty shock. I ordered all new appliances from Sears, then started really thinking about it. My kitchen is not functional. It doesn't have useable storage, hardly any countertop space, and appliances that don't work. So I went online to Lowes.com and used their kitchen design tool to design the kitchen of my dreams. Two contractors I've talked to say that they think it can be done for $20,000. A lot of money, but $20,000 will sure buy me a lot of happiness.

So I took out a loan, and I'm meeting with another contractor Friday. After I finally pay off the kitchen renovation, there are two bathrooms that need doing. The tiles are falling off of the vanity in one, and the other is all peach. Need I say more?

So October is stressful, and expensive. But in the end, is it worth it? Absolutely.