A Few Tips...

After a somewhat ruff week with patients I decided to give my blog readers some do's and don't about getting on the good side of your dental office's scheduling coordinator.

1. When leaving a message don't talk for ten minutes about why you need to cancel the appointment and what day and time would work for you to reschedule. Just say this is so and so and I have an appointment on this day and time that I need to reschedule. When I call you back you can discuss the details with me. Also, don't speed through your phone number, I don't want to have to listen to your ten minute long message four times just to get all the digits in your phone number.

2. When I ask you if there is a day or time that works best for you don't in turn ask me what do you have available then when I offer you the next available say, "oh, I can't do that day." That's why I asked you what day would work for you to start with.

3. When I call you two days before your appointment because I did research and learned that your insurance had changed with out even talking to you and you say that you will bring in the information at your appointment, don't get mad when I tell you we don't accept that insurance. That's why I went out of my way to call you way in advance. It's your fault you didn't tell me then.

4. When you are asking me questions about your insurance, since that's my job to understand your insurance, don't tell me I'm wrong. I just got off the phone with your insurance company and that is what they told me. I'm sorry that you don't understand your insurance plan or don't like it but don't get mad at me for it.

5. Remember that I am not your BFF. I don't need to know every detail of your life. When you need to cancel an appointment last minute because you are sick just tell me so. I don't need to hear how you have spent the entire night on the toilet with explosive diarrhea, or you have the worst period of your life and can't get out of bed. I also don't need to hear about how you finally broke down and gave your husband that BJ he's been asking for.

6. NEVER EVER EVER reach over and take a pen or pencil out of my pencil cup, or step behind the front counter. This is my personal space and please do not invade it.

7. When I am trying to schedule you an appointment or go over insurance information with you and the Dr. or office manager walks by don't interrupt me to just chat with them about your life. I am a busy women and there are two people standing behind you that need help. I can't just sit there and listen to you two talk about your trip to Maui nor do I want to. I will move on and help someone else.

8. Last of all remember that I am the gate keeper. I am the one you have to get through to get the appointment time you want or in last minute. If you are nice to me I will remember that when you call in pain or your insurance is ending and you need in right away. I will also remember that you were a total brat and make you wait two weeks to get in.

Oh Beautiful Freeway

For the past few months they have been repaving the span of I5 from Lynnwood to Everett. I've been very impatient during this process cussing and yelling every time I stopped on the freeway when the made everyone merge into one lane or my car lurched on and off the bumpy cut up road.

Last Friday I was driving home around midnight and I was struck by the beauty of the new freeway. The road was dark black and all the new lane markings bright white. The turtles were lit up from my headlights and shined bright. I almost felt like I was driving on a plane's runway.

I would just like to apologize to all the construction workers that I have cursed at the last few months. Thank you for making my drive home a little more pleasant with the quiet and pretty road. Now if the construction workers on Broadway could just hurry up and finish already, I'll be a really happy girl.

Jury Duty

I got my first ever jury duty summons yesterday. I'm kind of sad to have to try to get out of it. My employer would be lost with out me for a week (his words not mine) and I can't afford to only get paid $10 a day for a week. It's too bad they didn't request me for the week my office is closed anyways. I think it would be interesting to serve on a jury. I also truly believe that being able to have a trial by jury is one of the most important rights this country offers and if everyone always found ways out of it then we wouldn't have that right.

Funny Stuff

Me: We could see you Tuesday, the 24th at 11:30

Patient: Tuesday, the 24th. What day is that?

Me: Tuesday, the 24th.

Patient: yes, but what day is that?

Me: The day of the week is Tuesday. The date is the 24th.

Patient: oh, so it's a Tuesday?

Me: Yes, Tuesday the 24th is a Tuesday.

I'm So Over This Buying A House Thing

So we found out Thursday night that the house was appraised at about $15,000 less than we offered on it which means we can't get approved for a loan for the full amount. Now we have to go back and renegotiate the price with the builder and there is a chance the whole thing could fall through. So lame! Supposedly we should know more about what's going on by Tuesday.

The house is supposed to be done in a few weeks but given all the hullabaloo it looks like we won't be closing until well into October now (if the whole thing doesn't fall through that is). Oh the drama of it all. I'm so over it and can't wait to not be in limbo anymore whatever the outcome may be.

Eat, Pray, Love

I just read in People magazine that they are filming Eat, Pray, Love. I'm not really sure how I feel about this. Especially with Julia Roberts as the main character. This book is in my top five favorites and I don't really think Julia Roberts is right for this role. I also think that there is no way the movie could touch me as much as the book did. I know I'll probably end up seeing so I hope it doesn't ruin the book for me.

House Pictures

I haven't posted any pictures of the house lately so here are a few. Right now they think we should close by September 30th. These pictures are pretty old. The outside has siding on it now and all the "stuff" is in the walls. They start sheet rocking on Tuesday.

White Sox Game

Russ' birthday was on Wednesday so we went to the Mariner's game because they were playing the White Sox which is his team. He got us amazing seats first row in left field just passed third base. We got there early to watch batting practice and I managed to get an Alex Rios (who just got traded to the White Sox) to sign a baseball for me. The game ended up going into 14 innings because of a tied score of zero and the White Sox ended up losing but it was still fun.

Russ took the picture just as I walked away. You can see my hair on the very far left side of the picture.

Should The Past Be The Past?

Lately I've been craving a connection to my past. A time before being the rape victim, before losing all my friends at the start of high school, before my parent's divorce, a time when I had faith to fall back on. Maybe it's just a simpler time that I crave. I don't know if it's healthy or not to be chasing a memory of my childhood but I am jumping in head first.

I went on facebook and contacted a few people that stood out in my mind from that time. I want to talk to them and maybe reconnect on the times that we were close. Heather my best friend from elementary school contacted me back and we are making arrangements to meet up. I couldn't be more excited.

Bunco Night

Tonight is Bunco night and I am so excited. I don't know what I ever did before I had Bunco night. I love this group of women and look forward to going every month. If you don't have a Bunco group you should find one. It's that fun.

I'm Bored

I am sitting at work with absolutely nothing to do. That is all.

The Old Couple At Subway

Russ and I went to Subway for lunch yesterday. An older couple walked in just in front of us. I thought they were so cute but not in the normal old couple walking down the street holding hands kind of way. They were just normal.

The lady found a seat while the man went up to order. He got a foot long sandwich for them to share but instead of having them cut it in half he had them cut it so one side was a little bigger than the other. Russ commented to me that is how we would be because I usually can't eat a full six inch sandwich.

When we go out to eat Russ always sits on the same side of the table as me. When we were first dating I thought it was really weird but now its weird if he doesn't. I noticed that this old couple did the same thing only they were on the opposite side as us so we were facing them. While we were eating we couldn't stop watching them and commenting about them. Again, they weren't being all lovey dovey and they weren't bickering, they were just being normal.

The tables were turned when Russ wanted to eat one of my cookies. I made him take part of two different ones so I could have the really chocolaty parts. Russ looked over at the couple and they were talking about us! I wish I knew what they were saying.

Something that to most people would seem so insignificant but to me it was just a really nice moment. Sometimes I wonder about me and Russ. We aren't as passionate as most couples. There is not a lot of bickering or fighting between us which usually signifies passion. We also aren't the lovey dovey touching each other all the time type. We just are us and apparently that was enough for this couple to last a long time and that gives me hope.

I Love My Husband

I keep an ongoing list on my phone's notebook app off all the books I want to read. Whenever somebody mentions a good book or I read about one in a magazine or whatever I add it to the list so the next time I go to the bookstore I can remember what it was I wanted to read.

About a month ago Russ found the list and emailed it to himself without my knowing. One day he just showed up with one of the books on the list. I was so excited not only because he did a wonderful thing for me but because I can't make a decision to save my life and the deciding of what book to read next was already done for me.

The book was "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" which is a collection of essays. There wasn't the pull of the story to keep me reading nonstop and I just finished it Friday night. Saturday rolls around and Russ gives me another book! I really wasn't expecting it at all. I guess he bought them at the same time and was waiting for me to finish the first one before giving me the second. This one is "The Time Traveler's Wife" and I am in love with it already only 150 pages in. Thank you Aimee for the suggestion it truly is a wonderful story and I can't wait to see how it ends.

Summer Rain

Is there anything better than summer rain? I think it may be my favorite thing in the whole world. I was just sitting on the couch watching TV with the windows and doors open because it was so hot outside. Out of nowhere I noticed that familiar rain smell. I looked outside and the sky was dark but no rain. About half an hour later I started to hear the rain coming down and it made me smile. Something so simple and yet it makes me so happy.

Taco Bell

I decided to go to Taco Bell for lunch today. When I got up to the window the lady went to ask if I wanted any hot sauce then cut herself off and said "mild, right." I don't know if she remembered me, my car, my usual order of two bean burritos no onions, or she was psychic but she definitely knew what kind of sauce I like. Maybe this means I go there way too much and need to cut back on my once a week (sometimes twice) visits...

Social Anxiety

Sometime around sophmore year of high school I started to develop severe social anxiety. As I get older my anxiety gets worse and worse. When I am in a large group of people I tend to just find a spot out of the way of everyone and not say a word. I'm sure most people interpret my behavior to be anti-social or bitchy but really I'm just trying to breathe and not cry.

For Fourth of July Russ' co-worker invited us over to his house for a barbeque. In the weeks leading up the event I kept telling myself that we wouldn't end up going so I had nothing to worry about. The morning of we were running errands and I told myself that we wouldn't have time to make it over to his house. We stopped by the house on the way down there because Russ forgot something. I ran downstairs to my bathroom and burst into tears. All I could think about was that I didn't know a single person there and Russ would be socializing with everyone and leave all alone. I heard Russ coming down the stairs so I threw on my sunglasses and tried to act normal. Unfortunately, when we were talking I couldn't stop sniffling and he figured me out. He told me not to go but I knew that I have to work to overcome this crazy fear of mine so off we went. Pretty much the whole time I sat in the same seat and only spoke when spoken too. I'm sure everyone probably thought I was weird or bratty but I did it.

I even was able to go to a party at Russ' friend's house Saturday. I got teary eyed a few times but never actually cried. Major improvement! Again, I wasn't the most social person in the room but I managed to get through it.

The House

We got a call last week that wood was going to be delivered on Thursday to start building the house. I convinced Russ Thursday night to go up and see how much they had gotten done. They actually did a lot and had the entire floor framed. Everyone kept asking me if I was excited that we had bought a house and I had to admit that I really wasn't. None of it was real yet. Now that they have started I can't wait for it to be done. I think about it night and day. I think I've looked at the floor plan on Regent Homes website a bajillion times to remind myself what it will look like. Russ got an email today to set up an appointment to go over colors and whatnot. I think once we do that it will become really real. Yay for new houses!

Russ Is A Genius

Yup, that's my delicious blizzard treat sitting on the table. I decided to go to dinner at Dairy Queen tonight because it was so hot inside our house. Russ got a chicken basket and I got a blizzard (don't judge, you know you wish you could have ice cream for dinner). After sitting down and eating for a few minutes I noticed that on Russ' drink cup it said that blizzards are so thick that they defy gravity. That some employees will even serve them upside down sometimes. So I asked Russ if he ever did that when he worked there. He said no that it took too much time to do that. I said "oh yeah so much time to do this" and tipped my cup sideways and explained that the ice cream was too melted by now to hold it completely upside down. He took the cup from me and tipped it upside down and said "no, see" and just as he was about to tip it back up, splat. I started laughing uncontrollably. I made like Chandler and Rachel on the episode of Friends where they eat the cheesecake that fell on the floor and ate the rest of my blizzard straight from the table.

I'm A Homeowner...Kind Of

We started looking into buying a house back in February. The first house we looked at was in Lake Stevens. It was a beautiful townhouse that was a short sale. We offered a little more than they were asking but the sellers real estate agent showed them our offer second even though ours was first. They ended up going with the other offer and since we were "second" we didn't even have a chance to counter or anything.

Several houses later we looked at house on Lake Stevens that was newly built. I loved it but Russ had some reservations. There was no yard instead you had about ten feet between the back of the house and the house behind you. We countered back and forth a few times with the builder and when we finally came to an agreement it turned out that it was kind of like a short sale where it needed bank approval. They assured us that it would only take three days. Two weeks later we decided to start looking again.

We headed up to Marysville and looked at several more houses. We found one that hasn't been built yet but were able to go through the model home that is the exact same floor plan. I fell in love. The kitchen was amazing. The master bedroom had french doors that open into a huge room. The master bath had a soaking tub with separate shower! My entire life I've dreamed of having a tub like that. There wasn't a single detail about the house that I didn't like. The only downfall I could see was that it's twenty minutes north of where I am now in Everett. Russ' only concern was that there wasn't a yard. We decided that those reasons weren't enough to not get the house. So we made our third offer and countered back and forth a few times and now it is ours...

...kind of. The house still has to be built and we don't actually close until it's done so that means it will "officially" be ours around the beginning of October. Sorry to keep everyone in the dark about this but I didn't want to really discuss it until it was official.

Selfishness

This last week my doctor was away on vacation so the office was closed. I had a wonderful time of doing nothing. I took this opportunity to treat myself to some "me" time. I slept in every day, worked out on my Wii Fit, watched a lot of HGTV and sat around and did a lot of self reflection. I didn't want to go out and be with people or talk on the phone. I wanted to really be selfish and just think about myself and do what I wanted to do and it was amazing! I was having so much fun with it all when Russ wanted to go to a card show today I told him to go alone and I stayed home and watched movies all day by myself.



Now that the weekend is winding down I guess its time to go back to my normal day to day life. I'll have to return to work on Monday and go back to my routine of taking care of patients. I love my job but it can be very tiring being "fake LeAnn" as Russ calls it. When I'm at work (and a lot of times just dealing with people in general) I have to always be "on." Always having a smile on my face and speaking in a calm soothing yet happy voice. Listening to every one's stories like they are the most interesting things I've heard in all my life. Laughing at their stupid jokes and nodding along in sympathy to what ever it is that is going wrong in their lives.



I'm a peacemaker by nature and so it's in my personality to do whatever it takes to make everyone else happy. Don't get me wrong the same things that I complain about are the things that I also love. I do like to hear about my patient that was an army nurse in World War II. I love to hear about the guy that takes soccer balls down to South America. The kid that just graduated high school and is going to Italy to learn to cook. It's just that it can be tiring always trying to please everyone all the time. So it was a much needed staycation to just be alone and relax and be able to be my true self nonstop for a whole week.