The Coast is Clear

Last Friday afternoon, I had my postoperative visit with Dr. Voelkert from Periodontics of Greenville. After a brief chat about the super awesome boots Santa brought me for Christmas that I was wearing we got right on to the visit. 

These are my super adorable shoes.. They apparently make my feet look REALLY small! I still LOVE them (Thanks, Santa)

 

Anyways, back to the appointment.  Dr. Voelkert looked in my mouth briefly and told me everything was A-OK! (thank goodness!) The next step was to get my stitches removed.  The first thing I asked the really sweet dental assistant (I'm not sure if that's what they are called) was if it was going to hurt.  She assured me that I would feel only some pressure as she was removing them.  YAY! So, she starts and halfway through the tugging I heard her breath deep with a UGH! I thought to myself, this can't be good.  Apparently my stitches were wrapped around my teeth so well it was hard to get the removed.  After she called another dental assistant over to help, she finally was able to successfully remove my stitches! I got word from the Dr. that I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I could keep the sharp, hard foods to the opposite side of my mouth that my surgery was performed!- Score! I've been eating won tons, chips and salsa, hamburgers, etc. etc.  It's all so bad, but so very good!  I am VERY careful when I eat, breaking everything in small pieces. 

I go back for another visit in about 2 1/2 weeks!  I'm still praying that everything continues to heal properly and that I have no complications! 

On another note, I will be going to Columbia this Saturday with Ashley & Noah.  We are going to do a little shopping and watch a baseball scrimmage that will be taking place.  I think it's a baseball scrimmage.  I am VERY excited about this! I love baseball... the players... the uniforms... ha! Seriously though, the Gamecocks have had a phenomenal run at this baseball thing and I'm excited to see them in action!

Under the Knife

I am planning on getting my teeth fixed within the next few years.  This will be a long process, but I believe in my heart that it will be something that I will be happy about and have no regrets. 

To start off, I will explain to you what I will be going through.  I still have a baby tooth.. yes, I said it.  Most people find this weird, but it is what it is.  My "adult" tooth is still in the roof of my mouth, just hanging out.  In order to fix this, it will require some maneuvering of my teeth, and so forth.  This will also take a surgery to remove the baby tooth, and to put a bracket of some sorts on the adult tooth that will slowly, be brought down. 

I had to have surgery #1 this past Friday.  What was it for?  I had to have a tissue graft, which means they took tissue from the roof of my mouth and placed it on my gums, next to the spot where my baby tooth is.  The periodontist recommended this surgery because he felt that the tissue I currently had might not be enough to support the adult tooth once it goes into place.  So, surgery #1 was completed.  How do I feel? I am in pain, sore, achy.  I am wearing a plastic retainer to protect the site where the tissue was removed and I can barely eat anything.  My saving grace has been applesauce (with cinnamon), mac-n-cheese, oatmeal, and rainbow sherbert.  YUM! I have to be on a "soft" food diet for the next 2 weeks so pray that I can make it through.  It actually hasn't been too bad, because the pain I am experiencing takes away from my appetite.

I called the nurse today, because I always think wayyy to much about stuff.  Am I taking care of my mouth? Should it still hurt? Will it get infected? I'm way over paranoid.  The nurse assured me that day 3-4 is when the pain normally peaks and that they felt that everything during my surgery was definitely a success and that I should not get any infections, whatsoever.  I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.  I go back next Friday for the postoperative visit.

After my gums heal (approximately 8 weeks) I can technically start my orthodontic treatment.  It's been a while since I went to see the orthodontist, so I may get a few things wrong, or leave out details.  But, if I remember correctly, the first thing they will do is give me a spacer (an appliance that spaces out some of my teeth).  This will help get my teeth ready for the braces.  I will then have braces put on (clear on top, normal on the bottom teeth).  Once my teeth have moved and have enabled my "adult" tooth to replace my "baby" tooth, I will then have another surgery.  This will expose my "adult" tooth, and get things rolling for it to be brought down to chill with the other teeth in my mouth. 

This process is going to take yearss, literally.  I am praying, hoping, dreaming, that it will take less time than expected, but with my luck it will take longer. 

Until I finish with all this madness, please bear with me.  Excuse my lack of manners while eating, my hard time pronouncing certain words and letters.  Please, please, please pray that everything goes smoothly during this process.  This is something that I have ignored for years and years, but to be honest with myself, this was nothing that was just going to "disappear".  Like I said earlier, I know deep down that I will be 100% happier with myself once everything is over with.  I always admire people with a pretty smile, and I KNOW that with my incredibly awesome doctors, they will do wonders on my smile!

Stella Bella... my Christmas Miracle

I always told myself that I would keep blogging on a regular basis... has that happened? Nope.  My last blog was in October and it is mid January.  Holy Canoli! Time sure does fly.  I had probably one of the best Christmas's of my life.  I got to spend it with my wonderful family, all who mean the world to me.  Not only did I just get to spend time with my family, I adopted a new family member. 

Meet Stella:

Stella is what I like to call my Christmas Miracle.  She came into my life on Friday, December 23rd.  I had been keeping up with her on Facebook through the City of Abbeville's Animal Services Page.  I had spoke with the Animal Patrol Officer on a few different occasions, checking on her progress as far as any interest from other individuals.

I had ALWAYS wanted a small dog, but just did not know if the timing was right.  I am single, working full time 8-5 Monday-Friday, living in an apartment.  Was this right for me?  A dog?  So much responsibility? So many questions, concerns.  I often doubted myself thinking that if I had so many questions, then it was obvious that the timing wasn't right.

I work for the City, so I knew that the Animal Shelter was going to be closed Friday, Dec. 23rd and Monday, Dec. 26th for the Christmas Holidays.  I also knew that Stella was still at the shelter.  Leaving work Thursday evening, I was heartbroken knowing that a sweet innocent dog was going to be all alone at the Shelter for days on end (mind you it was also forecasted to rain and be cold throughout the break).  I literally called Chris, the Animal Patrol Officer, at 5:15 that Thursday night.  My initial thought was just to get her out of the Shelter and "foster" her throughout the Holidays.  I had no intention of formally adopting her right away...I got his voicemail.  Thursday night, I finally got to speak with him and he said that it would be perfectly fine to take her for the holiday and to see if it would be a match.

Friday morning, I took a drive to the Shelter where I picked up Stella.  From there I took her to my sisters house (I couldn't take her to my apartment due to a deposit and filling out paperwork).  I also took her to the vet at Emeral City Animal Hospital, where she needed shots and a check up since she had no records or history.  While at the Vet, I was informed that Stella is around 8 years old (definitely an oldER dog) and that she has a tumor on her stomache (something that will need to be removed and checked to see if it is indeed cancer).  This broke my heart.  Again, I had many things running through my mind.  Is this something I can do?   Can I pay for surgeries and medicial care that Stella needs?  Will I have enough time to spend with her, to love her, to care for her?  After those thoughts crossed through my mind, I began to think about what would happen if I did NOT keep her.  Will anyone adopt her?  Will anyone love her?  Will they put her to sleep?  That last question replayed over and over in my head.  It was a hard decision and one that I shed many tears over, speaking to my mom about it a lot.  I needed guidance, help.  I didn't know if I could make a decision that big by myself. 

I finally reached a conclusion, thanks to my mom's help and advice.  I would keep Stella and love her and give her the life she deserves for as long as she lives.  If she turns out to have cancer, I will love her and be there for her. 

She is my heart and soul and she was one of the hardest decisions of my life, thus far.  But, one thing is for sure and that is: I have no regrets and she has been the best decision of my life.

This is Stella and Mia (my best friends dog) at the park

Family Matters

I've been busy, busy, busy so far this week, so I have had zero time to blog about my fantastic weekend.  As you know Ashley, Noah, and I road tripped it to Ohio to visit family and to attend my cousin, Amanda's, Baby Shower.

We drove throughout the night, leaving Thursday around 8:30 PM.  We arrived in Greenville around 5:30 AM.  Once we made it to my Grandpa's house, we all crashed until about 10 oclock.  We had just enough time to get ready before my Mom made it in (she flew in from Kansas).  Once she arrived, we got to visit and then later went to the Grocery Store to get items and food for the cookout that we had Saturday night.  Friday was full of visiting with all of my family.  My Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Tim arrived and we all ordered in pizza and had a great time visiting.

Saturday morning was filled with a lot to do.  It started out with going to my cousin, Jeff's football game.  He is the quarterback for their reserve team and I enjoyed getting to see him play well.. They won 20-8, I believe.

This is a picture from the game of Ashley and Noah.

We went straight from the game to Amanda's Baby Shower.  We had a great time seeing more of our family that we had not seen yet and we got to visit with them.

Me, Mom, and Ashley

Ashley, Amanda, and Me

After the shower, we all went back to my Grandpa's for a cookout.  We had tons of food, a fire pit in the backyard, and made smores later that night! 

Kristin, Me, and Ashley

I had a blast this weekend and I was very sad to see it come to an end so fast.  After two fun filled days, it was time to leave and I was NOT looking forward to the 9-10 hour drive home.  Since this past weekend has come and gone, I can now look forward to Thanksgiving, when I will go to visit my parents in Kansas!





Road trippin' it

Today has been such a great day, for many reasons.  First off, today is my "friday".  I am off work tomorrow and the reason being? I am heading to Ohio with my sister and brother-in-law for my cousin, Amanda's, baby shower, this is reason number two.  I have not seen Amanda in years, I think. 

Reason number three why I am having a great day: Not only am I getting to see family that I haven't seen in a while, I get to see my mom (who is flying in tomorrow).  I haven't seen my mom since early July and I miss her SO much! Knowing that starting at 8 PM tonight, I will be on my road trip makes me a happy girl.  Call us crazy, but we all decided to leave tonight so that we could drive throughout the night and arrive in Ohio around 7 or 8 in the AM.  We figured traffic would be non-existent and that we would have more time to visit with our family, since we would get there friday AM and not PM. 

Another reason today is such a great day is the fact that it is 56 degrees outside.  If you know me, you know I LOVE the cold weather!  I love the clothes that comes with the cold temp's... leggings, jeggings, boots, turtlenecks, sweatshirts, everything!!

Do you prefer the colder temp's or the warm weather?

Brita Pitcher- FREE + $6.00

I want to take a moment to share with you my love for couponing.  This started, oh I would say about a month or two ago, and it has progressed ever since.  Some might call me poor or cheap, but I would say that I am tight with money!  I mean, who wouldn't want to save money on things they buy on a regular basis?  In the past month, I have literally had one big shopping trip at Bi-Lo.  This means that I buy things here and there on a regular basis.  But, it is definitely worth it.  I have come to love CVS, Bi-Lo, Walmart(for the most part-ours in Greenwood is struggling) and my favorite of all Rite Aid!

I frequently visit blogs such as www.thekrazycouponlady.com, www.southernsavers.com, and www.iheartriteaid.com.

These blogs show the deals for different stores and the coupon matchups for each item.  It also addresses the deals that are must haves!  It makes things easier for me, since I literally do not have the time or patience to match up the items and coupons myself. 

Yesterday, on the KCL blog, they blogged about a Brita Pitcher at Wal-Mart.  I have wanted to purchase a Brita Pitcher for the longest time, because I drink water all of the time!  Since these are pretty expensive (at least to me) I have been getting by with just plain tap water.  Well, yesterday I found the post.  Wal-Mart has a 5 cup Brita Pitcher for only $8.97, you can find a $5.00/1 Coupon on www.filterforgood.com and that means you can get a Brita Pitcher for ONLY $3.97.  If that is not good enough to start with, Brita is running a "promotion" for a $10 Mail-in-Rebate! What does this mean?  It means you pay only $3.97 out of pocket and in about 8-10 weeks, you will receive a check for $10... SO you get the Brita Pitcher for FREE + $6.03.

Is this amazing or what?  I LOVE couponing!

Fall Shows

Its that time again.. time when all of the GREAT falls shows begin to air!  I think almost all of the shows have premiered and I could not be any more excited.  I consider myself a TV junkie and that is because I watch SO many shows! Here's a list of all the shows that you can find me watching this fall:

-Desperate Housewives (the FINAL season)
-Sister Wives
-Dancing with the Stars
-Kendra
-Glee
-The Middle
-Grey's Anatomy
-Jersey Shore

I'm sure there is a show or two that I forgot to mention, but you can tell that I LOVE my shows.. and just so you know I do not actually watch all of these as they come on but thanks to my lovely DVR they are always on my TV for when I get the chance to watch them!

A few comments to make- I cannot believe that this is the final season of Desperate Housewives.  After the first episode, I was speechless.  There is so.so.much going on already!  Kendra was amazing.  One of the main reasons why I watch her show is because she never fails to put a smile on my face (she is hilarious).  Also, Rob Kardashian is my fav on Dancing with the Stars.  I think he is amazing and in case he ever reads this I want him to know that I watch the show just for him (ha ha ha).

What shows have y'all been interested in? Who is your favorite on Dancing with the Stars?