Entries Tagged 'News' ↓

Did you know I am really bad at updating this thing? And did you also know I have about 15 drafts that I started in 2010 and never posted? Someday I should post all of the weird and wonderful things I’ve done… I need to get better at over-sharing, even if just a little bit at a time.

Here’s some over-sharing to begin with! I am missing many of my adult teeth.

(Do you have any phobias about teeth discussions?)

In fact, when I smile, what you think may be my lateral incisors are actually my canine teeth, just shaved down a little bit. Apparently the orthodontist of my youth didn’t want me looking too much like a vampire (though that really would’ve helped during my brief goth phase).

I only ever had one wisdom tooth extracted.

And, until just a few days ago, both of my first molars on my top jaw were baby teeth that have been managing to hang in there (yes, pun intended), despite the fact that they were primarily made up of fillings. This year I’m beginning the process of getting them both replaced with dental implants — one at a time. Late last week, I had the molar on the left side of my mouth pulled (it is/was apparently in worse shape than its counterpart). I was quite nervous beforehand, but this actual procedure took less than a couple minutes and then I got to stay home in my jammies for a few days, living on pudding and mashed potatoes. Not too shabby.

I’ve decided I probably shouldn’t post any of the real gory photos (like the one I tried to capture of what I’m affectionately referring to as my “tooth-hole”), but I was curious as to how the implants would change my smile. The photo above is the widest smile I could make myself give on cue, before anything was pulled, and it looks virtually the same as the photo after I got my tooth pulled:

But! I have this retainer with a fake tooth on it to wear for the next few months. It’s purpose is mostly to make sure the rest of my teeth don’t do any moving before my final implant happens, since my tooth-hole is far enough back in my mouth that barely anyone will notice it’s there (or not there?). Wearing this retainer feels a little weird, but it does make an impact on my smile:

I can feel that “adult” tooth on my cheek, but I’m sure I’ll get used to that. I’m also getting used to excusing myself to the restroom to take out my tooth. The end result will be nice: I’m sort of excited to brighten up the corners of my smile! One less thing to be self-conscious about.

Of course, this process isn’t over yet: my next appointment is in mid-March, when I get a CT scan. Since my implants are on my top jaw, they are awfully close to my sinus cavities. The CT scan will determine more specific details about needing bone grafts to help “root” the final implants. I’m not yet that nervous about this need, because I know I’ll be completely knocked out for this and then I’ll get to go home to wonderful drugs and more pudding, but I’m sure I will be in days to come.

i raked my garden today.

apparently there are a few things choosing to stay alive in this little pile of dirt, which is odd since nothing much wanted to stay alive during the whole summer.

maybe next summer i’ll only plant heuchera. this plant was the least work, for sure. it’s like a hasta, but not annoying.

more lantana next year, too.

bad news about the bleeding heart, though. bummer.

now about the rest of the yard…

hopefully most of the leaves will have fallen off the trees in the backyard by next weekend, or the following. then there’ll be a raking party. wanna come?

my other accomplishment today was getting a new floor lamp. my other lamp is all the way across the room —

— which i realized was sort of inconvenient last night, as my eyes were going buggy while i was trying to knit in near darkness.

wow, i’m exciting! i’m gonna go knit.

this is going to take all of my effort. it’s only seven o’clock and i am ready to go to bed. yaaaawn.

anyway.

i was all bloggy with it, until i went yarn shopping at needlework unlimited on tuesday night. i’m working frantically on a gift for a friend, while ignoring a ravenclaw scarf i meant to finish before starting another project. it’s always so much easier to work on projects for other people, though.

i spent too long thinking about color choices and i finally had to get one of the clerks involved. she made my mind up within 10 minutes. then i spent the whole rest of the night not understanding how to get started on this new project. i’ve got it now, though.

meanwhile, my worklife is full of sugar lately.

which is sort of inconvenient since i have two teeth that need to someday be replaced by implants and other teeth that are already giving me pain. i’d like to get rid of this mouth and start all over.

(side note: i think the implants will have to wait a couple years. that stuff is expensive!)

friday was sort of crazy day. the weather here in minnesota is extremely out of character; i think yesterday we even set a record for a new high temperature. i had plenty to keep me busy all late morning/afternoon at work, but i jumped at the chance to get out at 4.

as soon as i got home, i fell down on the couch and fell asleep for an hour or so. i guess that happens sometimes, doesn’t it?

i was a little more interesting on saturday. bertine hosted a clothing swap ( i brought 3.5 bags of my own clothes, and 4 or 5 bags of my sister’s clothes), then sarah and james hosted a birthday party for brett favre.

he’s the reason for the season, y’all.

… and for the sugar overload.

this is james, eating favre cake wreck with a side of cheesy poofs.

after the favre party, i went over to jason’s house. we decided it was a good night for the haunting in connecticut. jason’s favorite part was after the movie had ended: his cat, sio, snuck up and stuck her cold, wet nose on my foot and made me jump about a foot in the air. he actually high-fived the cat.

my tolerance for scary movies/tv shows (ghost hunters is great) gets worse and worse.

today i recovered by knitting my new project in the hammock in the backyard for two hours. it’s just completely weird how nice the weather is. i plugged my ipod into my ears and rock and rolled the stitches away.

i took a few pauses to watch the leaves fall off the branches above me. magical. is this what living in california would be like?

neighbor-dog, ziggy, came out for a visit.

what kind of berries are these?

my hands need a break now. no knitting, no typing. i’m surprised my fingertips are bruised yet.

I got a new car!

Her name is Lynda Carter* and she is a 2009 Hyundai Elantra. Thanks to Eugene Dobrolyubov at Morrie’s Subaru for helping me find her. I’m absolutely in love with this car.

* I named her Lynda Carter because she’s a wonder woman of a car and I was attending An Event Apart during my decision to purchase — so “Lynda” in honor of a great software training resource for web types like me, lynda.com.

catch up! catch up! catch up!

i added more plants and cedar mulch to my little flower garden.

carnations!

yesterday i discovered some animal has come along and completely stolen my anemone plant. it was dead anyway, but seriously? that area of the garden is totally ugly now.

bertine had a girls-only clothing swap.

this is bertine’s girl cat, harriet, so don’t worry. no boys infiltrated! (her two boy cats hid in another room.)

i saw some fun puppets from the in the heart of the beast during the annual may day parade.

this banana was not from the heart of the beast, but he was clever. and handing out bananas. like.

these two are married now! that’s another post though. back to puppets!

“year of the tiger” was the parade theme.

can you believe it? seriously. these puppets are so wonderful.

then life was quiet for a little while. i know because i’m going through my flickr photo stream and the only things i posted for a week or two are my photos of the day.

however, during this quiet time, i finally left tcf bank for spire credit union. i’ve been wanting to switch to a credit union for a while since i’m just about ready to think about buying a new car or my very own house or something big like that. i think being part of a credit union will help me with this sort of thing.

i’ve also been spending a lot of time having a big crush on my boyfriend. he’s pretty darn awesome. (he was celebrating cinco de mustache in this photo.)

and, of course, i’ve been petting my kitties. they recently received a FURminator (from me) and it’s all they can talk about (if they aren’t talking about food).

my real reason for this photo purge? i am participating in flashbelt this week and will be heading out to las vegas in about a week and a half and i just really need to clear my blog’s to do list before i can properly share these other experiences with you. there are other events coming up over the next month or two that i will be taking a lot of photos during, so purge purge purge i go! what will i post about next?!