Second opinions. Second chances. Second uses.

Yesterday, I visited a new dentist for the first time. The office was clean. It smelled like toothpaste and metal. That’s pretty normal I guess. The hygienist and I became BFF’s real quick. I talked about my business, Madilyn and my new quest to run daily. She talked about her upcoming wedding and her 3-month old baby boy. We chatted about losing the “baby weight” while she took x-rays, cleaned and flossed. We shared pictures of our offspring. She told me numerous times that I have beautiful teeth. I gave her my card. We laughed together.
An hour later, the doctor comes in to take a final look. I figure that I am good to go. Wrong! He proceeds to tell me that I need to replace all 9 of my fillings because in his office “he shoots for perfection.” I am in awe. I haven’t had a cavity in like 10 years. I understand that my fillings are old and “not using current techniques” but I was shocked. He says that I have decay in my mouth. Yikes! I admit that I was totally embarrassed and wanted to cry. Was I overly emotional because I just shared my story of my miscarriage on my blog? Could it be because I was caught totally off guard? Could it be because my new BFF didn’t even give me a warning? Could it be that I don’t want to go through all of those procedures because frankly I don’t even know this guy? Maybe it is because I feel like this is just another damn thing I have to deal with? Sure, add it to the list. I feel like I was dooped.
I quickly rush home and call the hubster and start drilling him about his dental insurance. I am on a mission to get a second opinion. Of course, that can’t be easy because I am limited to one visit every 6 months so I gotta pay out of pocket to see if this first doctor is right or wrong. I got a taste of what is so messed up with our medical system.
I know this isn’t the biggest deal in the world but it set the tone for me for the rest of the day. I was pissed. I kinda wanted to watch TV and eat ice cream. Real, fattening, dairy filled ice cream not my banana “ice cream.” You think I have bad teeth now? I’ll show you new doctor!
I am in charge of my mood for the day. I am in charge of my life. I remembered what Oprah said during her final shows. Instead, I made a conscientious decision to not let this doctor who I met for 15 minutes of my life decide my dental future or set my mood for the day. Not going to happen. I’ll get a second opinion and go from there. No big deal. My teeth don’t even hurt. I haven’t had a cavity in years. I just saw a different dentist 6 months ago and he said I have a “beautiful mouth.” This experience was another great life lesson for me: I am in charge of my life. I am able to question what a doctor says to me. If it doesn’t sit well, I am able to get a second opinion. It is my life. I decide to spend the $2 for my gym day care and drop Madilyn off there and I go for a long run.
Getting a second opinion on my dental work reminds me of second chances. I have a second chance. It is not a death sentence for my teeth. I got to get creative and see what option works the best for me. Hey, every doctor has his or her own opinion. Second uses. Kinda like getting a second use out of food. Time to get creative.
I am a big fan of having a plan around meals. Some weeks, my meal plans work perfectly. Some weeks, life happens, I have a shitty day at the dentist and we go out to dinner and I waste food. I hate that. The other day, I open the fridge and realize that I have multiple boxes of half used herbs that have gone bad. I am mad at myself. Not only are these damn things like $3 bucks each, I let them go bad. Don’t worry environmentalists out there. I dug out the plastic containers from the trash and recycled them.

I am in charge of making my food dollar stretch. Healthy food is a top priority for me. Instead of letting food go to waste, I gotta get creative and save these damn organic herbs!

I busted out my baby food trays that I used to freeze Madilyn’s homemade baby food and froze some dill that I had that hadn’t gone bad yet. These will be handy for soups and stews.


I also made a really yummy parsley pesto that I froze and can easily serve over noodles or rice with some fresh veggies. This could also be used as a topping for fish or chicken. Hells yeah!
Quick Parsley Pesto
Ingredients:
1 bunch of parsley that is about to go bad
1/2 cup of almonds
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup of olive oil, depending on thickness you like
Directions:
Blend the hell out of it and serve.



Are you a fan of second opinions? What about second uses of food?