Merry Christmas To You All!

Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes...

I got to play this popular children's game at my Ortho Appointment on Tuesday! ~*claps enthusiastically, jumping up and down*~. How often do YOU get excited enough to break into song while sitting in that chair with someone elbow deep in the bowels of your mouth?

Ah blast~ I'm yanking your chain. The game WAS played.... albeit in reverse fashion... but was neither fun nor exciting. In fact, more than bringing back delightful childhood memories it more closely resembled doing a reverse crunch: Knees pulled up tight to my chin, rocking back on my shoulders till all that was in contact with the chair is my head, trying with all my might to accomplish 3 things:

• keep head immobile
• ensure plumber butt has not become a wind sock
• keep knees out of poor technician's face.

They love me. All she was doing was trying to close my bracket doors. Freakin' Frick that hurt!

For whatever unknown reason it was decided to put the powerchain under the wire which made for a tighter fit to get the brackets closed. Couple this with teeth in active movement (particularly around the "thing" we're trying to close up) equals: For cryin' out loud, lend a lady some support behind the teeth you're pushin' on! I want the recently-debraced-tech next time. She KNOWS!

Children in the chairs to my left & right leapt up (remembering some essay they forgot to complete the night before? a spelling bee they just couldn't bear to miss? A reenactment of the latest Bratz episode at recess?), ran out the door in search of these educational pursuits, yelling "Mom! We're outta here!"over their shoulders, mumbling about rescheduling as soon as they could fit it in.... pansies!

I might play again next time, just for fun!

On This Day...

1732 - The original Covent Garden Theatre Royal (now the Royal Opera House) was opened.

1431 - In Paris, Henry VI of England was crowned King of France.

1796 - John Adams was elected to be the second president of the United States.

1836 - Martin Van Buren was elected the eighth president of the United States.

1842 - The New York Philharmonic gave its first concert.

1926 - The gas operated refrigerator was patented by The Electrolux Servel Corporation.

1941 - Pearl Harbor, located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu was attacked by nearly 200 Japanese warplanes. The attack resulted in the U.S. entering into World War II.

1972 - Apollo 17 was launched at Cape Canaveral.

1987 - Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev set foot on American soil for the first time. He had come to the U.S. for a Washington summit with U.S. President Reagan.

2008- Kate remembers that she neglected to celebrate or otherwise mark her 1 year brace-aversary....

Yep, one more footnote lost in the annals of history.

I'm still not naming 'it' (no power, no power, no power) but 'it' is still there, still ticking me off and still closing ever so s-l-o-w-l-y.

What else have I learned lately?

• Procrastination is BAD and ultimately ends up being much more time consuming than the original chore would otherwise entail.
• Our farm aced the full 'On Farm Food Safety Assurance Program' audit (Wahoo! for us)
• Carbon Monoxide poisoning kicks your hooey, is helped wonders by pure oxygen, but still leaves you feeling like a space cadet for a time.
• Taking 3 kids to the dentist simultaneously means signing over the last piece of your soul that the ortho's haven't already claimed
• My next date with the primary 'soul-holder' is on Tuesday.
• It's cold, snowy, blowy and alot like winter out there.. I've got a good book and Bubblebath calling my name....

Survival Skills 101

Everyone has their own little bag of tricks for getting by and that bag ,whether simple or of seismic proportions is pretty important to how you present yourself. It can include things, actions, attitudes: A go-to outfit for an important meeting complete with that underwear which refuses to budge. An album or playlist that is sure to inspire whatever mood the occasion calls for. The friend whose number is on speed dial that you know will say just the right thing. A Tide-to-Go stick stashed in the bottom of every purse ...


Near the top of my list is the 'head-tilt'. (The top spot being reserved for my favourite personal mantra ~"shut up, shut up, shut up..." yes, I talk to much and am trying to recite this internally BEFORE I actually say something ~ still working on it).

Allow me to demonstrate:

The grin stays the same, yet by merely changing the angle of my head I go from looking like I have an underbite (though portraying a strong, confident exterior ) to being able to mask it quite well (this gets you called 'cute' once in a blue moon, which is the risk one takes...)













I've noticed some references to how people are perceived on first meeting based purely on initial response. It's been found that irregardless of actual personality or other characteristics, those with underbites are frequently viewed as strong, stubborn, confident, even grouchy. I plead the 5th on all above.

Obviously this is not an exact science, and varies a bit between the sexes. (severity of the bite has to play in as well). I find interesting that chin implants are a frequent request of men visiting their plastic surgeons ~ it's felt they look weak and overlooked, and want a stronger look assuming it will serve them well with the ladies & in the workplace.

I'm not going to draw many conclusions on this and would have to think if you spend much time with a person the truth will out. However, on aesthetics I wouldn't mind a happy medium. Less bull dog, no pushover, just, just..... hmmm.

Sharing time, folks. What's in your bag?

Blowing Bubbles

In case you were wondering, my skin is still plagued with the curse of delayed adolesence. (That or poor lifestyle habits.... but that's neither here nor there.)

Today was another mundane Ortho adjustment that, shock-of-shocks, was yet more snappity-snap! elastic wrangling to continue addressing that which I prefer remain nameless for this post. ( i'm going the reverse psychology route. Perhaps denying it a name will rob it of power?) Replaced the powerchain configuration & added a new band back to the next molar back to try and keep thing moving.


What's interesting is how my bite has changed in the >10 hours since the appointment. The visible underbite discrepancy is much smaller all of a sudden; hardly any space between the top & bottom teeth. Mind you I can't bite all the way down now, either so it's hard to be very accurate.

My guess: lower arch was expanded as all were ordered to "pull your shoulders back and stand up straight!" (don't forget the nameless thing) and the doubling up of bands is now yanking everything back in tight.

What I know: holy twinkies, batman, I'm feeling this one.

And I neglected to suck spit bubbles off my teeth before taking this close-up.

Confirmation: Head Not On Straight.

I don't believe I mentioned previous assumptions about a 2 piece Lefort I were bang on?

If you hadn't noticed in the paint-shopped midline pic, I've added this one to further illustrate how my upper jaw isn't an even horizontal plane but on an upward cant to my left (right in picture). This means the upper palate gets 'sawn in twain' as well as the whole thing being removed from my supporting skull. In this way Dr. Sawmaster can lower and rotate each section independent of the other to level this out.


Noooooo, not exactly a$$-backwards..... but proof enough should I ever need an alibi for unclear thought process......


*Sighhhhhh* The latest gap picture. I shouldn't complain actually; it is surely and slowly closing. I'm still mildly annoyed that in spite of the power chain, this space is closing at the peril of new ones opening up on the opposite side. My only comfort is new little spaces should close up faster, Oui?

Grrrr...

I'm throwing my camera across the room and stomping on it as soon as it lands. You'd think, given the high-tech world in which we live, they could produce a camera with a little longevity. But with all the constant additions and upgrades available, I'm assuming these things are programmed to require replacement every other year.

Lack of photo documentation aside, there's not really a whole lot of difference to highlight anyways. The gap is still a gap & still sporting an elastic to span that space. The only addition being that it's attached to a power chain to keep everything else together. (As I pointed out in the previous midline pic, any lessening of said Gap is largely due to spaces opening up elsewhere.)

Yes I'm tardy, tardy, tardy in the updates. I'm trying hard to just ignore the fact that I even have braces and carry on, carrying on in attempt to make time go just a wee bit faster. Picture me running in circles with fingers in my ears singing ~lalalalalalalalala!~ in a complete state of blissful ignorance.

*Sigh* Not working.

Ants In My Pants

'Cause all I really want to do is tell you the smashing progress to report from my latest Ortho appointment... But I can't do that as the (I'm thinking positive thoughts) impressive appointment in question isn't until tomorrow. Hmmmph!

I do know time is moving along WAY to fast, irregardless of how it comes across on a day-to-day basis. I look at my chillun's latest 'back-to-school' snap and I want to scream "STOP!!!!!"

Stay tuned.... we now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Relevance of Shakespeare & Teeth

"'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;" (excerpt from Romeo & Juliet)

According to my Oxford Thesaurus:

Gap n. 1. opening, space, aperture, distance, hole, void, crack, split, division, cleft, rift, rip, tear, rent, interruption, interval, lacuna (this is my new word for the day!), hiatus, discontinuity, disruption, lull, pause, rest, recess, halt, stop, suspension, delay, wait, intermission, respite. 2. difference, divergence, disparity, disagreement, inconsistency, discrepancy, division, distinction.


If the text included visualization for clarity, this might be a suggested example. I do find it interesting that the entry following 'gap' is 'gape' ~as this seems to be the natural progression incurred from the former. To completely go off on a tangent, the next words in sequence are garble, garish, garland....otherwise known as talks funny, looks funny, slap some braces on 'em...

My humble conclusion; it doesn't matter WHAT I call my gap, it still is one. *Sigh* I'd like to call it 'HISTORY'!

Diagnostic Relevence Aside...

Given that "Open up and say 'Ahhh' " trumps "Bend over and cough" on any given day, I can at least share with you the outcome of 'ahhh'.

Lower: Before & at 9 Months

Upper: Before & at 9 Months

Midline situation: OOOOO.... ahhhhhh... (click to enlarge if reading is difficult...first endeavour with 'Paint'....I'll learn! Also please keep in mind this pic doesn't have my mouth in 'square' , to which my carpenter husband gasps in horror..)


I'm operating under a lot of assumptions right now. (And if it weren't for my car ~figuratively speaking~ blowing up the day before my last scheduled appointment -which I therefore missed; facilitating the need to reschedule said appointment to a later date -which is coming up on the 16th *takes a breath*) I will hopefully have a few of these assumptions clarified or mooted when I next see Dr. K. I'll give you an example:

As of my June appointment, I was told molds were to be taken late July and sent to OS for progress report. This didn't happen which was a bit of a let down. Instead all energies have been focused on closing that dreaded gap 'downstairs' with the comment that when this was closed, THEN we'd do molds for OS. My question: What changed? Was original plan to carryout Operation Jigsaw first, then close spaces? (Irregardless of answer, it is obvious that plan now is to close all gaps before OJ)

It doesn't really matter in the end except that I like knowing - I'm part of this team, right? I think I'll (politely) request more information, and reassure that there's nothing they can say to creep me out or scare me sleepless. Got that out of the system checking out some of the scary links (do not underestimate the power of images!!!!). It bothers me much more not to know. At least give me something to be looking for as accomplishment, no matter how small or seemingly irrelevant, to cheer along the way.

That and I REALLY want to see my OS again; our little 'love triangle' is much cozier when the other two aren't doing all the yacking behind my back~ Share the love! I felt prepared when I met him the first time, but now I have better, more numerous and much more specific questions to ask.

Guess we'll find out on Monday!