Through the years I have always had a bit of a buck toothed situation going on. I also had a gap on each side of my upper four front teeth. It never bothered me while growing up but I noticed as I got older that the gaps were increasing and I was possibly starting to look like Howdy Doodie. Many of you may be too young to know who that is.

My dentist told me that as we get older teeth shift. Several years ago I had looked into getting braces. I was going to have to wear them for a while and I am talking the full metal package. I decided against them. I could deal with the spaces.

My dentist retired and I have a new dentist. When I went for a cleaning she mentioned Invisalign braces. These are clear flexible trays that fit into your mouth. You can barely see them.

I said I would think about it. I have been through a lot this year and just didn’t want to make any big decisions. Plus they are not cheap. That was last year and I said I would think about it after the first of the year.

Fast forward to May and another cleaning. The lady cleaning my teeth, who I love, asked me about Invisalign. I told her I was still thinking. She said she had them and was in her fifth week. I couldn’t believe it. You could not tell she was wearing them. She went through a bit of the process with me. You have to wear them 20 to 22 hours a day. You cannot eat while wearing them and you can only have water while wearing them. It is a commitment. You get a set of trays based on X-rays of your mouth. You switch the trays out every week. The number of weeks you have to wear them, and the number of trays, depends on how much correcting you need. I said “sign me up!”

I got the ex rays that day and the braces were ordered. It took a few weeks to get them in.

I had my appointment to get them and everything went smoothly. You actually have to have these little buttons put on several of your teeth. Again, the number of buttons corresponds with the severity of the correction. The buttons help guide the teeth to straighten and shift them where they need to be. I received a box with 13 trays, numbered by the week.

One of my buttons kept popping off because it was being placed on a capped tooth. So the tooth was smooth and the button didn’t adhere well to the tooth. I have already popped it off a couple of times and had to return to have it put back on. I have 13 buttons total.

Now, what do I think of these? I can let you know more in a couple of months. I am starting my sixth tray this week. You change each tray every 7-10 days. You can tell when they are ready to change out because they get loose. I suddenly start having a problem pronouncing my s’s.

I have my 2 hours a day down to the minute. I usually have them out for an hour in the morning while I have coffee and eat breakfast. I then take 30 minutes at lunch and 30 minutes when I get home for dinner. It is a bit of a pain to have to brush and floss after every single meal or snack so taking them out is a decision to be made.

A plus to all of this is that I have lost 9 pounds. It really makes you realize how much mindless snacking you do. Or let me say that I did.

I know this is a commitment that will last forever. I will have to wear a retainer at night. I am okay with that because I have been wearing a bite guard for years.

I am sharing a couple of very candid photos of my teeth. It is a bit uncomfortable to put them out there but I want you to know the full process.

I will have to wear these for about 16 weeks. I have read that the shifting mostly takes place the last few weeks. We shall see. I am also using a whitener that helps but some of this is just from the photos.

Most insurances do not cover this procedure. But it never hurts to try. Mine did not. It is about a $5,000.00 investment.

I know that sounds like a lot of money but I had become very self conscious of smiling. I hated the gaps on the side of my teeth and these photos don’t do them justice. So I decided before they got any worse I would try the Invisalign. There are days I wish I hadn’t started it. No sipping on coffee on the way to work unless I am prepared to take them out. I think in the long run it will be worth it. I will keep you posted. Pictures were taken on the sides and I can share those at the end of the process.

That is just a little about what has been going on with me. How about you? Have you ever tried Invisalign or know someone who has?

I am not receiving money for posting this but if any of the Invisalign sponsors would like to pay me for my opinion I am willing. Ha!!

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

I am currently sitting in my living room where I just saw a huuuuuge spider around my fireplace grate. I grabbed bug killer and sprayed but he got away. I am sure he will be back to get me while I sleep. Darn cats and Bunnie I thought they took care of these creatures. That is my current Thursday evening.

Hello friends, you may have been wondering if I would ever return. I have wondered myself. I love my blog and sharing with all of you. I also enjoy reading all of your posts. I am getting caught up. It is just that I haven’t been myself. I guess I never will be that person that I was before my husband passed seven months ago. I actually had to go back and read that sentence again because it is so hard to believe that it has been seven months. Sometimes it seems like only yesterday. The pain feels like it was only yesterday.

I have been trying to keep busy but it doesn’t really matter, the grief is there, always, like a new unwanted friend who has moved in with me. She sits beside me and walks with me every step of every day. She is like a shroud that covers me and keeps me from being myself. That is the only way I can explain it.

I get by day by day and that is all I can do right now. Sometimes only hour by hour and even minute by minute.

I am back to work mostly full time. I usually work four days a week. The babies and I have developed somewhat of a routine. I guess it is that routine that has kept me somewhat sane.

I worked out in the yard for a bit on Saturday and it was great being out in the sunshine. I had to thin my irises. I took out about twenty before the spade I was using broke. I will have to get back to it next weekend. These are Irises I got from my mama’s house many years ago. I share them with all of my family so we will always have them. Bunnie stayed close beside me. Bunnie is my big dog that came to us last year in June. She is still so terrified of people. I am trying to work with her and help her adjust but she does not like me out of her sight. And the poor baby only has one good eye. I know she spends most of her time terrified unless I am right with her. Bunnie is a work in progress.

I bought a porch goose. Lucky for me I found one nearby for only $29.99. You may not be familiar with these cuties but they are very popular right now. I named mine Millie. I think she is a Canadian Goose. We have a lot of those on our lake right now.

I have been spending some of my Saturdays going to estate sales in our area. I go with my nephew and his wife. We have had the most fun. Look at these two chairs I got for only $25.00 each. They are in great shape and very sturdy. I am going to paint them and put them at the lake. They have a very beautiful flower pattern on the arms.

I can’t remember if I shared my photos of my crocheted sweater that I finally finished.

Most of the Daffodils came and went. But aren’t they beautiful.

I am busy making my sweet goose Millie an Easter outfit. I will show you when I am finished.

I am watching closely and still haven’t seen the spider.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Hello friends how is your week going? I apologize but this post was for last week . I meant to post it last week and didn’t get around to it.

We made a quick overnight trip back to Nashville last week. My husband had to have a follow up on the procedure he had a couple of weeks ago, the kidney biopsy. If you missed that post and want to read about it you can read it here We left out on Wednesday and returned Thursday evening. I was coming off of a six day work week which included the Fourth Of July holiday, so it was a bit tiring. Fortunately I had a long weekend off to catch up. As I said this check up was just a follow up to make sure the biopsy site was still looking good.

For my long weekend off I would like to say I had a lot of down time and read and knitted but that was not the case. A lot had to be done around the house. After the kidney biopsy hubby had to take it easy and could not lift over ten pounds for two weeks. Because the kidney is located in his abdomen, and had just gotten a couple of good pokes, he couldn’t bend or twist a lot either. Fortunately after our visit on Thursday he can return to normal activities.

On Sunday I decided to hang some mini blinds I had bought for my bedroom. I figured I could knock that little project out in about 30 minutes. Wrong. I was not paying attention when I bought the blinds and the box read “cordless” Now, I haven’t bought mini blinds in a long time. And to be honest I went a little cheap with these because I was in a hurry to get them up. I just like having my blinds pulled at night. I guess cordless is the latest and greatest of the mini blinds. They are not a favorite of mine. I know how to measure the blinds and put the little insert boxes on each side at the top. But these were totally different. When I asked my husband to borrow his drill he decided he had better get involved. He said he would help me and we would get them put up twice as fast. Not.

We started by putting the new hardware onto the window frames. These were totally different from the other blinds I had hung previously. We actually did this, putting the three brackets up, three times before we got it right. We argued, we were hot, we were sweaty and I think the word divorce may have been tossed out. And if you have ever done a small project with your husband you know what I mean. This 30 minute project had already taken over 2 hours. I was feeling very much like Homer Simpson. I call times like this “The Homer Simpson Chronicles.” You can read my post about me often feeling like Homer here. Homer is a goofy cartoon character who makes tons of mistakes and can’t get anything right. I was Homer that day.

We finally got all of the brackets put in correctly. When I went to hang the blinds I noticed the right side of the blinds was hanging at an odd angle. The string was broken. Yes, the little string in between the blinds. I’m pretty sure it was my fault. I think I did this when I was getting them out of the box. So I did the only thing I could do, I ripped those blinds down and pulverized them. And that is all I am going to say about those blinds. But I will say I bought another pair and it was very easy hanging them because the brackets were already in place.

Lots of work and living have been going on. Since we now have a large inside (mostly) dog and still the five kitties life is very busy. We call our home the Zoo Crew. It seems like something always needs to be cleaned up after, fed, watered or walked. My work has still been very busy with barely a break to breathe. I feel like my house and yard have been neglected but with the heat and humidity, being outside has been almost unbearable.

I leave you with a picture of our newest family member, Bunnie. She is a ball of energy and demands pets and kisses hourly.

Have a wonderful rest of your week

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!