wow

>> Sunday, December 30, 2012

I haven't updated wince July...wow. I can't promise posting will become incredibly frequent with a new baby on the block but I can always see what I can do right? There is always a chance! post signature

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What’ll ya have?

>> Saturday, July 14, 2012

We found out on July 6 that the mini-me inside of me is actually a mini-D inside of me!  We’re having a little boy!  I am excited to meet him and learn more about his personality. 
21 weeks.jpg 
Since The Mr. has been traveling, he hasn’t gotten to “experience” as much of the pregnancy.  Fact of the matter is that nothing has really been different over the last few months.  I get tired earlier, hungry faster, and drink a ton of water.  Otherwise, it’s life as usual here at the house.   

Over the last week, I have started feeling him move more.  It’s pretty cool to feel him squirm in there. 

I’ve also started to show more and pack on a couple of extra pounds.  While The Mr. was home last weekend, he got to feel him move.  I was very excited about him being able to feel him, too. 



22 weeks 
Check it out – there’s a little bump there!  I’ve been working hard for 22 week to get a little something to show for it!



As far as the rest of the pregnancy goes, I feel like I should do a run down of the FAQ’s I get pretty often.

I feel great.  I have actually felt pretty great all along.  I have had a couple of days of just extreme tiredness – especially in the first trimester.  I have also had a few episodes of incredible headaches with only Tylenol to help me cope.  I still can’t exactly figure out what the trigger for them is – but chugging water, rubbing my shoulders, and sitting in a dark place don’t help.  The headache just has to pass on it’s own free will. 

The only times I thought I was going to toss my cookies were if I took my vitamin on an empty stomach or if I got too hungry.  That and the shear exhaustion from jet lag on the way back from Malaysia.  I was pretty sure that Monday was going to result in some lost lunch.  I also caught a little stomach bug and was green for a few days….but I don’t think I can blame that one on the boy. 

My skin is a zit factory.  There’s no controlling it.  I give up.  Welcome to the teen years.

Still running.  I am not exercising quite as often – but I am still exercising.  I think if I made it more of a priority, I could still exercise as often as I was.  I just remind myself that I  have a lot of things I’d like to do around the house before the little one arrives and I am only one person.  I can still do 5 milers – but only about one a week now instead of multiple times a week.  That’s fine by me.  I just want to be in shape and have a little bit of endurance for when the laboring time comes.  For some reason in my head, I think that it’ll help.  I’m probably really just fooling myself.

I can’t say I’ve had any true cravings.  There are times when things just sound good…but if I don’t have it, I don’t feel like I’m going to wither and die or anything.  Sometimes things just sound good.  I’ve been trying not to feed the sweet tooth as much as it’s asking to be fed.  That’s really my biggest food complaint.  Pre-pregnancy, I could keep this sweet tooth in check.  Now it’s tough! 

I am going to try to keep checking in and documenting all of this for the future…  I can’t let life get in the way of stepping back and reflecting!

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The mini-me inside of me

>> Sunday, July 1, 2012

The Mr. and I found out we were expecting a miniature version of us mid-March.  We both didn’t really believe it.  Let’s face it, who would want to take up residence inside of a body that has been popping 800mg ibuprofen two or three times a day and consuming only liquids or mush?  This kid is either going to love smoothies or be glutton for punishment.  Hopefully they love smoothies (because we do, too!)

So here I am – pregnant and can’t chew.  Then I get cleared to chew (hooray!!).  And then I get my book full of things I can’t eat.  (sad face).

So I’ll go ahead and put it out there now.  Top three things I want to eat after baby:
1. egg over easy


2. Jimmy John’s sub
3. sushi

I am going to chew all of that glorious goodness. 

Even though I haven’t talked much (at all) on the blog lately – there’s really not anything exciting going on with the bump.  Photo evidence: 

16 weeks.jpg
Taken June 2 at 16 weeks.  This was our “Facebook official announcement”.  We had told a lot of people in person already but never went live on Facebook.  I felt silly telling folks I was 16 weeks pregnant looking like that.  People didn’t believe it.

Speaking of not believing it – here’s the photo taken yesterday, June 30.  

20 weeks.jpg
20 weeks and I don’t have much to show for it. 

It’s great for me!  I probably don’t have enough fingers or toes for all the women out there who hate me…

I am still wearing non-maternity clothes and feeling like a normal human being.  Sometimes I do have to jog a little to the bathroom if I wait too long – which is probably pretty funny to see.  I also no longer bend in the middle anymore – which actually feels funny.

A lot of folks have asked me if I was sick at all.  Many of these people are my coworkers…I sometimes answer their question with the question “Did you notice me eating differently or scampering off to the bathroom looking green?”  The answer to that is no.  I’ve felt great.  I was pretty tired in the first trimester, which is to be expected.  I was also super hungry.  I often called myself the Hungry, Hungry Hippo.  Now I call the little one the hippo – because I’m pretty sure it’s the one that is always so dang hungry! 

My memory seems to be going down the tubes.  I was outside yesterday thinking about a grocery list while pulling weeds.  I came inside to write it down and thought “What was the other thing I needed that started with a ‘B’?”  Took me 5 minutes to remember “bananas”.  Wow. 

So there’s that.  I will post and discuss more often.  I’d like to document some of the things I experience along the way – so hopefully writing it down will help me remember.

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Food is good.

>> Monday, June 18, 2012

Nothing like being able to chew again and going back to work to make things go dark on the blog, right?

 



Right on.

Well it hasn’t exactly been quiet over here for that whole time – I just have been preoccupied with so many other fun things!  All of which should get their own post – and will hopefully soon!

The Mr. and I found out we are expecting a little butterball in November.
DSC_0011 


I went to Malaysia.
Kuantan, outside the Hyatt resort
The Mr. and I went to Cancun for my brother’s wedding.
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My niece got baptized.  (Oh – I guess I also didn’t mention that my sister had her 2nd baby!) 


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Staring down the barrel...

>> Sunday, March 11, 2012

Tuesday marks six weeks since surgery.  It’s also supposed to be the day that I am allowed to chew again.  I am getting excited – so I hope Dr. D doesn’t let me down!

One could probably infer that I am feeling more like myself since I haven’t been updating quite as often.  I decided since it’s been almost six weeks since the surgery that an updated photo was needed. 

Forgive the poor lighting… look at the progress and not my poor photography skills. :-)

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You can’t see it – but my chin still feels a little swollen to the touch.  I also still don’t have full feeling back in my chin and lower lip.  The right side is coming back much slower than the left.  As The Mr. has said, at least I’m not a drool factory.  So things could have been a lot worse.

Aside from chewing, the second highest thing I am looking forward to is getting the hooks out of my mouth.  With my jaw moved forward, the lower hooks really dig into my lower lip.  When my jaw wasn’t fixed – none of them bothered me at all.  Interesting how that works, huh?

Let’s hope for a good report on Tuesday!

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As if I weren’t random enough

>> Tuesday, February 21, 2012

This is all about the randomness…

The February birthdays and anniversaries were celebrated yesterday at work.  I went to hear what they had to say and was honestly pretty excited about getting some cake or a cupcake.  Imagine my disappointment when I’m standing there all hungry and hoping for a cupcake and they handed out candy bars…   I came back to my desk and ate my cottage cheese instead.  Not nearly as good as a cupcake. 



I had the pleasure of stopping next to a Maserati on an exit ramp waiting for the light this morning.  I will say that I’m not impressed with how the car looked.  I’d relate it to a Nissan 350Z.  Not exciting for the amount of money that woman paid for it… I’d keep my money and just drive a Nissan.

I had a good update with the doctor today.  I only have three weeks and two doctor visits left.  We are making progress with teaching my muscles to relax and just go where they should.  Also my teeth are coming together on the sides so that when I am finally ready to chew there are teeth there to do some chewing.



I learned the hard way today that I am not ready to chew.  I heated up some lasagna that I made last night and without thinking I started to bite down on a piece in my mouth.  I caught myself and stopped but that small amount of pressure now has my jaw aching.  Lesson learned that three screws holding my bones together isn’t enough support for pasta. 

I am going to nurse my aching jaw and get some rest.

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Three weeks in & three to go

>> Monday, February 20, 2012

First, let me start off with the fact that I am painfully aware of the fact that I have gone over a week without updating the blog… but for those who have been following for any length of time realize that this kind of progress… no?



Tomorrow marks three weeks post surgery.  It also marks three weeks before I can chew again.  What do I want to eat first?!  I feel really good.  My energy feels good.  I went back to work last Tuesday.  I did pretty okay energy wise at work but after I got home, ate my Valentine’s meal (more about that in a second) and went out for a B1G1 free Sonic sundae – I was totally spent. 

For Valentine’s Day, I decided I was going to have a hamburger cheeseburger with mushrooms, pickles, ketchup, mustard, lettuce & tomatoes from Five Guys for dinner.  But how does someone who can’t chew eat a cheeseburger with toppings for dinner?



Five Guys Burger - right out of the food processer! 
Uh, well, you put it in a food processor!  I know that looks disgusting but it tasted good.  I’ve had to learn to look past what the food looks like in the bowl or cup or whatever container I choose to eat some mush.  So don’t judge me.  Maybe you should try it.

I finally made it back to the gym today at lunch.  It felt good to get back there and get sweaty again.  I started slow and just lifted weights.  I did realize that it’s hard to sit back up after doing crunches and other ab exercises on the floor.  Think about it next time you’re laying on the floor and need to sit up (or even laying in the bed).  I don’t know why but apparently I do some major jaw clenching when I try to sit up…  kind of aches a little bit tonight.

I’ve got some hesitation to getting back to running.  I know my teeth are sore so it’ll hurt a little if they knock together.  I may give a slow run a try this week… we’ll see.

Here’s a mirror picture of me after my workout today.  Slightly hot mess, but not too bad.  Check out how good that lack of swelling looks!  It’s not all gone yet – but it’s getting better by the day.  
photo
I took this in the ladies locker room… and for the record, I double checked that there were no naked women in the background.  Trust me – no one wants to see that. 

But since we’re talking about hot messes – here’s a more up close, hot mess photo. 
DSCN0078
So that’s a little update for how I’m doing these days.  I have more I want to talk about…but if I talk about it all now, what would I talk about later?  Ha! 

Tomorrow is my follow up doctor appointment…I’m sure it will be just fine.  Maybe my mouth will open more than 22 centimeters tomorrow.  Apparently 44 centimeters is normal?  …or at least a large enough opening for a hamburger or a sub sandwich.  mmmmm!

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Some "Befores" and "Nows"

>> Sunday, February 12, 2012


The Profile:
DSC_0655 DSCN0066



From the front:
DSC_0659 DSCN0062



I am quite pleased with the results of the surgery.  Now I am just in the mode to retrain my muscles for what is the new normal.  I spent so many years with my muscles putting my jaw into one position and now they are having to learn a new position.  It’s like jaw boot camp.  Practice makes perfect, right?

 



The swelling is almost totally gone.  You can tell in the front shot that my face still has some swelling down towards the jaw line and in the neck.  Basically right now my face looks as if I am 10-15 pounds heavier (which is fine).  Funny thing is that I’ve lost about 6 pounds going to this liquid diet.  I haven’t continued to lose weight now that the swelling has decreased, my mouth is healing nicely, and the raw feeling and huge taste buds are subsiding.  So all in all I can eat “normal” foods again – just not chew.

People do keep asking me what I’m allowed to eat.  The answer to that is truly anything.  There aren’t any forbidden foods except the foods that are “no-no’s” because of braces.  I’m just not allowed to chew anything.  I can’t put anything between my teeth and gnash it.  Not for another 4 weeks anyway.  In 4 weeks, I’m going to eat a hamburger or something. 

So in an effort to break out of drinking all of my meals, I have upgraded to scrambled eggs, avocados, Sheppard's Pie, chili, vanilla wafers in milk, cottage cheese, cream of wheat cereal, oatmeal…  so soft things, but manageable things.  Things small children with no (or hardly any) teeth would or could eat.  That’s me…minus the baby food and formula/milk. 

I am planning on heading back to work on Tuesday.  I have to get a note from Dr. D tomorrow to get released to go back to work.  Plus someone once told me that you should never return to work from an absence (vacation or otherwise) on a Monday.  Sounds good to me!  Ha!  I’ll use the extra day to check a few more things off my random house project “to do” list. 

Friday was the first day that I had the itch to get back into the gym.  I was hanging around Friday morning and thought to myself “Man, I want to go to the gym!”  That was honestly the first time I had thought that since my surgery – so I must be feeling better!  I decided to hold off on reacting to that itch until sometime this week.  When I asked when I could be released to exercise – I was told that I could exercise whenever I felt ready and that one women who ran 5 miles/day was back to running after 2 weeks.  Since it hadn’t been quite two weeks yet – and I think that lady is more hardcore than I am – I decided to continue to park my behind on the sofa and chill.  Actually, I just ended up running errands and doing chores around the house…but that’s neither here nor there. 



I do have some more good smoothie recipes to share.  Those will be coming soon! 

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One Week Out

>> Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Let’s just show some pictures here first… 

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Super Bowl Sunday – around half time
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I was trying to get a good shot of the sexy green bruise on my neck. 
 

One Week Out
This was one week out from surgery.  Feelin’ good!

That thing that looks like a shadow on my neck is some bruising.  It doesn’t hurt, it just looks ugly.  Yesterday was the first day that I just felt really, really good.  I had energy and was laughing and joking at the doctor’s office.  It felt so good to feel like I was getting back to normal again. 

My biggest complaint yesterday was that the rubber bands were just digging into my cheeks from the swelling and it was painful – so it’s like a Catch-22 because the pain was causing it to swell more.  The other biggest complaint was that the inside of my mouth was just so.raw.  As in it felt like I ate an entire pineapple in one sitting raw.  I stuck to creamy, easy, bland food yesterday.  I did take a sip of wine that The Mr. was bottling and it burned like hot alcohol or mouth rinse.  I am also keeping wax on the spots that are problem areas to help out also.  Getting the swelling down will help me keep things clean easier plus keep all of this stuff in my mouth from digging in. 

My appointment with Dr. D went really well yesterday.  He adjusted the rubber bands to get them out of my cheeks.  It puts them more towards the front – so it limits my bite and being able to get forks & spoons into my mouth…but hey, if it means that my cheeks are getting a break, I don’t care if it takes me 30 minutes to eat a plate of eggs.   He said that the swelling looks great and my muscles are calming down and allowing my jaw to come into alignment where it’s supposed to be.  I got a homework assignment to stand in front of the mirror and work on my bite.  I have to retrain the muscles for what is correct and normal. 

The Mr.’s new running joke is coming home and asking me what I did that day.  Whomp, whomp!  He’s funny.  I should make him leave me a list of things he wants me to finish that day before he goes to work…  Actually, now that I think about it – he did leave me a list and I did everything except for one (the taxes).  I did those this morning plus a bunch of other things on my “to do” list… I’ve kept the list so I can tell him everything I did today…  which really isn’t A LOT because I’m trying to hold myself back so I can make sure I get better quickly. 

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Monthly Goal Refresher

>> Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Let’s revisit the January goals I set for myself:

1. Jaw surgery. Get it done. Survive it.  This one came in under the wire for the January goals.  Surgery happened on Jan. 31 as you have seen based on my updates.

2. Run the Greenville News 5k on January 21.  I completed this in 30:53!  It was a fun run to do as my first 5k.  I enjoyed it and I’d do another one but I’m not so sure that I’m “addicted”.  Plus, I’m not running anywhere until I get over this jaw surgery bit.

3. Finish 3 books.  I didn’t so much read any books in January.  I did *start* a new book though – which is good.  So that’s positive.

February Goals:
I am going to make these easy so I don’t push myself too hard recovering from surgery.  Plus it’s a short month…and it’s already 7 days in, so there.


1. Finish my puzzles (3 total)

2. Go back to work. :-) This should be easy since it’s bound to happen at some point during the month!

3. Start exercising again.  



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Super Bowl Sunday! (and Day 6)

>> Monday, February 6, 2012

I will preface this with this post is pretty bland because things have been pretty quiet and boring around these parts.  More of the same, basically. 

Yesterday (Day 5) was a pretty busy day.   We had some friends visit after they went to church.  They brought The Mr. (and themselves) bagels for brunch.  I was brought a smoothie from Smoothie King.  They brought me a large and told me it was the smallest one they had. :-) 

They stayed and visited for a bit and then we headed out for our weekly Costco trip.  It was nice to get out of the house and go poke around Costco.  They were handing out samples and some of them I could even eat! It was exciting to be able to try some of the things there in the small samples to see if I could handle it or not.

The afternoon was pretty uneventful.  I napped and laid around in general trying to rest up for the Super Bowl party at a neighbors later that night.  The Super Bowl Party was fun.  I was a little tired and felt a little light headed – so I sat on the couch for most of it.  There were some people there that I hadn’t seen in a while and/or didn’t know I was having jaw surgery.  They, of course, wanted to chat about it which is difficult in this condition. haha.  We left after halftime and came home to watch the rest of the game from our bed.  It was a nice night overall.  It felt really good to get out and do something different. 

I ate something before we went down the street since I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat most of the food there.  I did eat some cake, a brownie, and some dip.  It was good.  Things that are a little spicy have been tasting very spicy to me because the inside of my mouth is so raw.  The dip was a bit spicy – so I am paying for it today.

Today, I guess I could tell that I did a lot yesterday.  I slept pretty well but woke up several times during the night.  I had to get up before The Mr. went to work so I could shower before he left – just in case.  We don’t want to risk me getting tired in the shower and falling.  Could you imagine? Wow. 


Pretty lazy day overall.  I lounged around and got pretty bored.  I needed a quiet day though because I felt “off” all day.  Every time I got up to move around my heart rate would go way up and I felt pretty light headed.  I thought it was associated with the food or calorie intake – but I ate quite a bit today, actually.  I feel better tonight. 

Overall, I feel good.  The swelling is coming down slowly but surely.  Besides my braces and rubber bands digging into my lips and cheeks, the pain isn’t too bad.  I have been putting wax on my braces to keep the appliance pain at bay.  I hope that all of that is gone by the end of the week?  Here’s hoping…  this whole thing is totally manageable if you’re not in pain from things digging into you.

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Day 4

>> Saturday, February 4, 2012

My face looks a little bit smaller today.  I wasn’t so convinced just looking in the mirror but after comparing my photo from yesterday and the right photo from today, I think it does look better.  I decided to take a photo with a smile, too, so people don’t think that I am just miserable and hating life. 

Day 4 SmileDay 4 Thug

My right cheek looks puffier than the left – but I think the left cheek is all swollen inside my mouth and between my teeth.  It kind of sucks, really.  The corners of my mouth are cracked so I just keep them coated with chaps stick.  It helps some but I’d like for it to go away.

Most of the day was uneventful.  I worked on my puzzle quite a bit and watched some TV.  I had a smoothie for breakfast (strawberry-blueberry…it was pretty good) and another for lunch – the Skinny Green Monster – from Skinny Taste.  I’m only linking you to it – I’m not even going to post the recipe.  In my opinion, it was “meh” at best.  The first glass was…well, fine.  The second glass, I had to choke half of it down and then I just couldn’t do anymore.  I think it was the slightly bitter after taste from the spinach that was getting me.  Maybe if I had added an apple to it or something – but it just wasn’t cutting it for me.  Especially not when I was hungry and my husband was eating boudain.  Lame. 

We did go out on an adventure today.  We went to the library (I got asked to leave because I had a drink and no food or drink are allowed apparently?) – whatever. I just say in the lobby.  I was tired anyway.  Then we went to the grocery store and found some other food for me to eat that was a little different than what I had been eating.  With all of the Super Bowl Parties and shows and food clips on TV, I had been craving some meat or chili or salsa.  We picked up some avocados and a few more cans of soup. 

It was a nice pick-me-up to make guaco-salsa that I can eat for part of my dinner tonight (1 avocado, some diced tomato, onion powder, salt, pepper and cilantro).  Oh my wow – it was so good!  Then I had some French Onion soup with cheese on top – delicious!  So I am branching out and finding ways to satisfy my cravings. 

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.  A friend of ours from work and his wife are going to stop by tomorrow after church.  They said they are going to bring bagels for everyone but gobstoppers for me. Ha!  Actually, I think I’m getting a smoothie…  We also need to make our weekly trip to Costco – hopefully I am up for it.  Then later on one of our neighbors is having a Super Bowl get together. I will have to eat up before I go and then maybe take something with me to eat while I’m there.  People will be chowing down on things like wings and such.  Hopefully I’ll be able to make it to all of these things tomorrow without being totally wiped out.  I have Monday to recover, right? 

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What One Eats When They Can’t Chew.

Part 1 of many, I am sure…

A question on so many people’s minds, right?  Right.  And I make a promise to you that it’s more than just smoothies and ice cream.  I can hardly get a spoon in my mouth – plus ice cream with chunks would also prove to be difficult since I’d want to munch them up!

I found an insert in one of my old Real Simple magazines (dated Feb. 2011).  It was 10 Ideas for Smoothies.  How appropriate!

Banana-Cashew Smoothie
from Real Simple
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Recipe:
1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews in a blender.  Cover & refrigerate until cashews have softened, at least 6 hours (we did overnight)
Add 1 cup ice, 1/2 banana, 1 tbsp maple syrup.  Blend until smooth.


Nutrition: 301 calories, 16g fat, 6g protein, 38g carbs, 21g sugar, 3g fiber

This one was good.  Very good, in fact.  It does take some forethought though since you have to soak the cashews for 6 hours (or overnight).  It would be a little high on calories, sugar and fat for someone who were to be dieting.  Since I’m interested in higher calorie and high protein items – this fit the bill for me.  Maybe I’ll get a photo next time it gets blended up – but for now, this is the one off of the Real Simple webpage.  Accurate depiction.

Raspberry and Nut Smoothie

from Real Simple
image 

Recipe:
3/4 cup low-fat milk, 3/4 cup frozen raspberries, 1/2 banana, 1 tbsp almond or peanut butter, 1 tbsp agave nectar or honey
Blend until smooth!

Nutrition: 355 calories, 14g fat, 10g protein, 53g carbs, 40g sugar, 7g fiber

This recipe was also great.  It says it serves one person – but we also use a whole banana (instead of a half, in both) so for us it really makes like 1.5 servings.  Neither the raspberry or the peanut butter really jump out and claim the stage – it’s a nice blend of them both. 

This recipe and the previous recipe are so high in calories and fat because of the fresh nuts that are added in. Again, maybe not the best for someone on a strict calorie count – but great for someone who is trying to maintain their weight with a strong workout routine or gain weight even. 

Avocado Smoothie

from All Recipes

image 

Recipe: (2 servings)

1 ripe avocado, halved and pitted,

1 cup milk,

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt,

3 tbsp honey,

8 ice cubes.  Blend until smooth.


Nutrition: 370 calories, 18g fat, 9g protein, 7g fiber

I know what you’re thinking…avocado smoothie?  Gross!  But it’s so NOT gross – it was very good!  The texture was very light – reminds me of key lime pie or instant pistachio pudding. Yum!  I’ll definitely make this one again. 

I don’t think my calories were as high as what are posted on All Recipes.  I used fat free milk and Greek yogurt…so it may have been more like 300 calories instead of 370 – but neither here nor there.

More to come…I am having some fun keeping my diet interesting.

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Day 3...

>> Friday, February 3, 2012

Today was eventful – I actually got to leave the house! 

Last night was fine.  I slept through most of it and took my ice off my face around 2am or so.  I slept for another four hours after that – it’s the little things, right?  I feel like such a six month old (have I mentioned that already? I think so…moving on).

Here’s my face shot for the day – this was before we went to the doctor’s office for a follow up.  I actually got up, bathed, got dressed and combed my hair.  Woah!

OMG - my face feels huge!

The swelling on the right is worse than on the left.  This same phenomena happened with my wisdom teeth.  If I were a betting person and had someone to bet with – my right side will go down in the next day or so and the left side will flair up.  That’d be my guess.  If I blew the picture up some more, you could probably see the green-ish bruising on the sides of my chin.  From the surgeon’s big ol’ man hands. 

I got a good report at the doctor’s office today.  They cleaned up my teeth and said that I had been doing a good job keeping them clean.  It makes sense because I don’t like feeling like I have a nasty mouth!  They took an x-ray of my mouth when I got to the office.  It’s so wild to see the “blank” places in my mouth where the jaw moved forward.  The estimations are on the left about 10mm (or 1 cm) and the right 7-8 mm.  Think about that – one centimeter?  That’s like >___< that far…or so. Whatever.  Apparently I look great as far as the swelling goes and I’m “leaps and bounds” ahead of most other people who go through this.  I suppose I am just an overachiever.  My bite is a little off to the right – but with some muscle training we can fix that.

It’s supposed to be downhill on the swelling from here.  I can tell a difference already between how I feel tonight and how I felt this morning when I woke up.  Each day should be easier and I go back for another appointment with the doctor on Tuesday afternoon.  Then he will take out the stitches on my face (which the tape is starting to itch a little now) and I’ll get inspected and cleaned up again. 

Besides the doctor’s appointment today – I also started on one of my puzzles.  I took a much needed nap.  I also went for a walk in the neighborhood and saw a few neighbors.  It was nice to get out and get some fresh air.  I hate sitting around all day – but I know I need to right now. 

Our next door neighbor, Cara, stopped by today with a little gift bag.  She’s so sweet – she brought me some supplies to make some strawberry-blueberry smoothies.  She knows how much I enjoy a healthy little smoothie! :-)  She brought enough for three and I said “Yay! Three smoothies for me!”  The Mr. says, “Three?  I get one of them!!” ha.  He’s so funny.

This weekend will probably be slow.  I have no real plans for the Super Bowl – obviously.  I thought one of the neighbors was going to do something so then at least he could get out of the house and be social.  I am sure he’s tired of just looking at me all day.

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Day 2: Post Surgery

>> Thursday, February 2, 2012

I didn’t take a picture today.  I could take one now but it may as well apply to “Day 3: Post Surgery” at this point, right?



Nothing new to note today.  My jaw doesn’t ache like it did a yesterday or this morning – so that’s a positive.  The pressure in my face and neck is really what’s getting to me.  My mouth is so swollen that the braces and rubber bands are digging into my lips.  Apparently most people are still numb at this point.  For me, the left side of my face started waking up shortly after surgery.  Today was full of the “pins and needles” on the left side of the face.  My right side of the face looks like a victim of some sort of abuse.  It’s rough. 

I felt pretty crummy this morning – but I think that was in part of still getting all of the hospital drugs out of my system and my body trying to overcome that hump.  The day passed by just fine.  The Mr. and I hung out some this morning at watched some TV.  He ran to Wal-Mart pretty early looking for a few things to make me more comfortable (like something better for me to take my antibiotic and some more ice packs).  I sat downstairs some while he watched a movie.  I tried to watch the movie but my body wanted a nap – so I napped instead. 

The weather outside was beautiful – so I sat outside for about an hour and a half or so.  Who’s ever heard of the temperature at the beginning of February having a high of 73?  The groundhog apparently decided we’re going to have 6 more weeks of winter.  Do you think that means we are going to now have 6 weeks of winter?  Or will it be more of the same?  I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!  Six weeks from now I’ll be able to chew again – so that’s just a hop, skip and a jump away! 

Food today went okay.  Breakfast was Muscle Milk and Orange Almond Smoothie.  Lunch was some apple juice and a bowl of Chicken Tortilla Soup (blended up quite nicely).  I had some juice and coffee in the afternoon.  Then for dinner I had a Raspberry-Nut Smoothie.  All were very good.  I’ll have to blog the recipes for these when I feel a little more up to that kind of a task.

Frankie D came for a visit after work today.  It was good to see him.  He brought me some things to occupy my time – like a couple of puzzles and the old classic book “Men are from Mars, Woman are from Venus”.  It wasn’t until that book was sitting on my coffee table that I realized that it was written by a man… what’s a man know about a woman anyway?  :-) 

Cleaning out my mouth is tiring in and of itself – but I always feel so much better after I have cleaned it!  My lips are chapped like crazy but thankfully I can’t feel it.  If I could, I can’t imagine how bad it would hurt with all this skin just schleffing off of them. 

I think that’s a pretty good recap of my super-duper exciting day.  Tomorrow I have an appointment with Dr. D.  We’ll see what he has to say about how I’m coming along.  He’ll probably call me sweety a few times and tell me it all looks good.  Then I’ll ask him why he did such a number on the right side of my face…  we discussed my bite not being aligned exactly right yet – so maybe we’ll work on that tomorrow or Monday as well.

Onward and upward!

…for the record, I can’t imagine being in some kind of accident and then waking up like this with my jaw wired shut.  It’s mentally taxing enough to do it all with a year’s notice – but to get slammed in the face and bam – you’re on a liquid diet and miserable?  That would blow

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