One in a Million

GUYS.

Last time we saw each other (not including my lame Year in Review) I was still daydreaming about the day when I could eat pretzels again without being scared of disturbing the holes in my gums. Fortunately after just a few weeks I found myself eating whatever I wanted again, and it was glorious.

I actually remember the first time I felt normal, as I ate Rosemary & Olive Oil chips on my lunch break (which btw, you gotta try those they are AMAZING). As I crunched away in the otherwise silent office, I thought to myself about how I had finally arrived - as in I am now living a life that will (most likely) never require a tooth removal again! I am truly living the dream.

So it had probably been 10-12 days since I had gotten my teeth pulled when I was supposed to start wearing the trays again. I showed up and they once again started gluing various bits of plastic to my bottom teeth. And again they used some foul tasting glue substance which I definitely ate by accident. Then finally they snapped my new bottom trays on!

I worried that I would have to get used to it all over again, but it actually felt pretty normal which I saw as a good sign. So far, so good! Like, here I am, finally on my way to that perfect smile!

Then just for fun, or something, they decided to try on the top trays before even attaching the plastic things to those teeth. I couldn't see what was happening, but I had a pretty good indication that it was not going well, seeing as she was trying to shove the plastic aligner down on my teeth as hard as she could without any success.

They called the orthodontist over and he tried too, which was unfortunate; it does NOT feel good to have someone try to force one of these things on your teeth. When he finally stopped he just looked down at me and said,

"This has literally never happened before. This is like one in a million."

Oh. Cool. I feel so lucky.

In all honesty I don't really know what happened; the scan could've been weird, or the manufacturer might've had an error on their end - or some freak with the same name as me and only slightly different teeth got their trays sent to me by mistake!

Unfortunately, this meant they had to scan my teeth yet again and send them off to get new trays that would actually fit. I then had to wait...for like a month and a half. UGH.

My next appointment kept getting pushed since the shipment took ages to arrive, and finally mid December I went in to start Invisalign yet again! I took home trays 1-10 of 50, and time has actually been flying by!

I am on tray 9 as I write this, and next week I have another appointment to make sure this is working like it's supposed to (and to pick up more trays). It actually felt silly saying I'd see them in February as I walked out before Christmas, but we're already almost there!

I figure I still look pretty much the same, though my bottom teeth are nearly perfect now. Looking at my photo from the day I first started in 2016 is crazy to me! I can't believe they ever looked that bad!

I'm not sure when I will start feeling like I'm almost done; it's hard to pick out a day when I won't feel embarrassed about smiling in photos. I don't necessarily think it will take until the very end of this whole process, but I do still have a ways to go.

Outside of my teeth life has been pretty decent. As of today I started exercising again, though I technically canceled my workout by immediately ordering a pizza and eating 3 slices. I still really want abs. Or to be able to do more than 3 push ups. Or both.

If I could get back into blogging more regularly that would be good too. I'm still feeling a little rusty as I write this out. My phone is filled with notes of things I need to write about, and honestly I'm actually excited about some of my upcoming ideas~

To wrap up I'll say this - thanks for reading, and thanks for bearing with me through my more nonsense-y posts. Someday soon this will become less of a confusing mess and more of what it was meant to be...even if that is yet to be determined.

GOODBYEEE.


Recommended Listening: Staring Contest - Mates of State

PS If you haven't already please watch The Room. Half the gifs in this are from that movie and if you haven't seen it yet you are MISSING OUT.

Year in Review: 2017

Hey everybodyyyyy.

So maybe you've noticed (or more likely, you have not) that I haven't posted anything here since October. Hahaha, oops.

I actually wrote out a full post in November, and then never got around to editing it, and now it kind of makes no sense to post as is. There were a lot of what if's since I wrote it just a few days before I started on my braces again. So someday soon I will grab some pieces of that and update you all on the exciting movements of my teeth.

Til then...

It's time for my annual year in review post! This is obviously a little late since it is now 2018, but I couldn't just skip over my tenth year of reviewing my (mostly) boring life! So let's get to it!

Overall I wouldn't describe 2017 as terrible, even though it was weirdly a really difficult year for me. There was so much good to outweigh the bad, but then again it's a proven concept that people look back on things fondly even when they totally sucked.

ANYWAY

I kept my goals fairly vague last year, because honestly I have no idea who even reads this besides my parents, and I like to remain ~mysterious~

Really though, it's all typical stuff, and I mostly never accomplish any of it!

1. I wanted abs. 
I did not get abs. 5 years ago started my obsession with getting abs, but I just love eating pasta too much. I did buy an exercise bike, though I mostly just hang my laundry on it...

This year I'm not going to force the abs thing, but if I can somehow gain some self control when it comes to carbs maybe I will get them.

2. I wanted to do more art. 
So, did I? I kept up with my blog fairly often, and I did some drawing here and there. Whenever I say I want to do more art I picture myself quitting my day job to wear those flowy pants all day while I paint masterpieces in my non-existent flower garden. 

I have accepted that if I want to actually paint something good I really have to practice drawing again. It's a tough habit to create but maybe I'll do it this year??

3. I wanted to do more "grown up things" aka pay off my braces/car or learn to make real meals.
I haven't paid off my car, but I'm pretty damn close, which is actually so exciting! 
I also didn't really get too adventurous cooking-wise either, but I did start making my food more often than going out!

This year's goals are going to be basically the same as last year's, and I think that's fine. I know it's like a clean slate or whatever but I also try to remind myself that you can make changes any time you want, so see you in May when I start working on those abs!

I will be skipping the top 5 formula this year, and decided instead to share a few photos that stuck out as I looked through them. Not to say I did nothing fun this year, but I do think it was more defined by some smaller moments:

My baby, who wakes me up on the regular

my heroes, ben & jerry

This photo warms my heart every time I see it.
Just some innocent cows hangin' out, gonna go cry about it!

Admiring nature in true 2017 fashion

me and dat boi 

my dearest sibs

this one made me laugh out loud for real

There's probably a lot more I could say, but a picture speaks a thousand words, and my hands are so very cold I must end this soon!

To wrap up I'l give some good tunes that got me through the year:

1. Runaway - Matt Corby

2. Drought - Andrew Belle

3. Wishing Well - The Oh Hellos

4. Past Lives - BORNS

5. Cut To the Feeling - Carly Rae Jepsen

I'd be lying if I said I was going to miss 2017. I feel like 2018 has a lot more to offer; I have learned so much about myself in the last year, and for once I feel like I have some direction! Again, vague vague vague; someday soon I'll write a real blog about it. Until then, thanks for reading my ramblings about my teeth and my journey~~~ 

I'm not one for being sincere, but I'm looking forward to -- ehh, never mind.

BONUS here's a recent pic of me SMILING u guys. S M I L I N G. By the end of the year (for really real) I will have the best damn teeth ever, and I will never* frown again!

*most likely untrue

BYE

Recommended Listening: Delicate - Taylor Swift

The whole album is amazing of course, but this one is officially my fave