My Birthday Wishlist

The ole birthday is in 11 days so I think it's about time to announce what I want would greatly appreciate. So here is what I am wishing for and to make it a little bit more exciting I'm going to tell you why I want it!

1. Josie Maran 100% Argan Oil in LIGHT

I want this stuff because I am almost out of the original Josie Maran argan oil. Since my skin is super oily, I want to try the light version.

2. Two 10lb hand weights

I'm tryin' to pump some iron and my 3 pounders ain't cuttin' it anymore.

3. Oakley Holbrook in Matte Black / Positive Red Iridium

These things are just BAD ASS. Red/pink/purple lenses? Yes please!

4. Clarisonic Mia 2

This girl needs Skin Rescue 911.

5. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

Apparently this palette is amazing so apparently I need it.

6. Jilbere Tourmaline Blow Dryer

My blow dryer sucks balls.

7. Nike Free 5.0+

I need some new errand runners. (Haha get it?)

8. Frye Harness Boot in Black

I wanna be a cowgirl. Kidding. Every time I see someone wearing a pair of these I fall in love!

9. Clinique Exfoliating Scrub

This stuff is my holy grail exfoliator. I use it almost every day and it definitely helps control my acne and blackheads.

10. American Eagle Artist Crop in Destroy

These crop jeans fit me great and are very comfortable! Gotta have this destroy medium wash.

11. Louis Vuitton Speedy Bandouliere 30 in Damier Ebene

I need a new purse really bad and I have totally been lusting for a Louis for about 9 months.

My Dental Implant Experience

I had two dental implants placed on July 23rd by Dr. Curry at Arkansas Periodontal and Implant Associates. This is my journal for the week following the surgery.

Tuesday, July 23
My appointment was at 10am. When I got there, Dr. Curry's nurse took me back to a room that looked like a normal dentist room. Not like a scary operating room or anything. There was an IV bag and some instruments laid out. She asked me if I wanted a blanket and a neck pillow as it was rather cold and the chair had no neck support. I said yes. Anything to make this procedure more comfortable, I'm in. She took my blood pressure and left the band on my arm. She also took my pulse with the finger thing, which she also left on. Dr. Curry came in and I joked with him about who got to put my IV in. I have deep veins but he did well. Very minimal pain putting in my IV which was the catheter type so I could still bend my arm. They taped down my IV and Dr. Curry began telling me funny stories. It was nice to have something else to think about than what was about to happen. He instructed his nurse to take two x-rays. After about 15 minutes, he began.

He started by numbing the left side of my mouth. After that, I don't remember much. I'm a light-weight when it comes to those "calming meds" so I basically fell asleep. He woke me a few times to ask me if I was doing okay, which I was. I also woke a few times to them talking about the procedure. I also woke when he was drilling in to my jaws. Overall, the procedure was very easy on my part. When she leaned the chair back up I saw that it was about 12:30pm. The procedure took about two hours. The nurse put my Invisalign back in, ensuring that it did not interfere with where the implants were placed. She then took two more x-rays. The nurse explained to me that they grafted bone in two places and also did a sinus lift. She retrieved Tyson from the waiting room and gave me a few instructions... don't blow your nose for 24 hours, change this gauze after it fills with blood, and go get something to eat like a milkshake so the IV medicine doesn't make you sick. As she was telling me these things I noticed a lady was being walked out a door near me and I said "What did you do to that woman?" (jokingly... as she needed help walking). He said "Way more than I did to you!" Oh. Well that's a relief. Someone has it worse than me? Can't be true!

Tyson and the nurse helped me out to the car and I gave Tyson a few directions to get on the highway and then I fell asleep. I woke when we got to Joplin, about an hour later. I was moderately uncomfortable when we got home. I took out my Invisalign, which was half-filled with blood. Very gross. I changed my gauze and left my Invisalign out for a few hours. I was hungry so I made some soup. I waited to eat it until it was luke-warm. A numb tongue and hot soup does not mix well. I also ate some ice cream. Afterwards, I rinsed with a salt-water mix and then with the oral rinse they prescribed me. I laid down in bed and rested for a little while with a cold-compress on my cheek. When I woke up I was in a little bit of pain, but not bad. Mostly just uncomfortable from the strange sensations in my mouth and the numbing wearing off. I took some of my medicine and went back to bed. When I woke I made myself dinner which was more soup and ice cream. As I was finishing dinner Dr. Curry called to check on me. I told him that my face was really starting to swell. He instructed me to take 600mg of ibuprofen between my pain pill doses. I did as he said and noticed it really helped with the sore feeling in my mouth. I rinsed with the salt water and then carefully brushed my teeth. I also rinsed with my mouthwash and put my Invisalign back in. Afterwards, I went down to the office to get online. After a little bit I got so sleepy I nearly fell asleep in my chair. I went upstairs and laid down. I was asleep for about two and a half hours. When I woke I noticed the swelling was still pretty considerate. I kept the cold compress on it and prepared for bed time. I fell asleep around midnight and woke around 2:30am. I was very uncomfortable. My mouth was sore, I felt pressure, and the swelling was very bothersome. I began to cry a little, which was not good. I took my pain pill and fell back to sleep about 30 minutes later. I slept from 3:00am until about 7:00am.

Wednesday when I woke up, I looked like a chipmunk packing nuts for the winter. My face was very swollen. I could feel it in my eye. Luckily, I had very minimal pain and discomfort and very little blood. Dr. Curry's nurse called right as I was about to get out of bed. She asked how I was doing and I told her about the swelling. She said it's different for everyone, but noted that if I didn't sleep upright, then it would be worse. I slept semi-upright so I did the best I could. I took out my Invisalign to clean my mouth and did not put it back in... my poor mouth needed a break. I packed up my goodies-- phone, iPad, ice pack and went down stairs to get out of bed. I set up camp in the living room recliner. I spent most of the day laying in the recliner with my ice pack. I ate soup and ice cream for lunch and snacked on pudding and jello throughout the day. I continued with the 600mg of ibuprofen every 5 or 6 hours to help with the minimal pain and swelling. I left my Invisalign out until afternoon. I brushed and rinsed and put it back in and went back to my spot in the recliner. For dinner I was sick of soup so I had Tyson get me KFC mashed potatoes and mac-n-cheese and pintos and cheese from Taco Bell. I was soooo full after eating all that food. Afterwards, I brushed my teeth and relaxed for a bit then went to bed.

Thursday when I woke up my face was still very swollen. I managed to take a shower and then most of the day I just sat in the recliner and watched TV. I retired my ice pack around noon that day. I had been using it religiously. I also took my Invisalign out for most of the day. I was very inactive and mostly just napped and relaxed. By afternoon, I felt some of my swelling had subsided. I did take another 600mg of ibuprofen so I'm sure that helped. I watched My Girl which I hadn't seen in years and it made me cry. Not sobbing just a few tears. This caused my sinuses to fill with snot. Lovely, right? I was completely full of snot so I very carefully and lightly blew my nose. My snot was mixed with a little bit of blood which I'm assuming is because of my sinus lift. I ate a late lunch of soup and ice cream and for dinner I had rainbow sherbert. My appetite was not quite what it had been the previous day. I didn't get to sleep until 1am.

Friday morning I woke around 8:00am feeling much more like my normal self. It was also the first night I had slept without waking up in the middle of the night. I got up and did some laundry and picked up the house a little. I didn't want to be too active too soon so I sat down for about an hour to rest. After I rested for a bit I took a shower and ventured out of the house for lunch. My face was still swollen but I sucked it up and put on a hat. We went to my favorite Mexican restaurant and I ate guacamole with a fork and ordered rice and refried beans. It was delicious! Much better than my Campbell's soup diet. After lunch I sat down at my desk to do some filing and noticed I had a runny nose. I blew my nose and had more blood mixed in with my snot. I tried calling Dr. Curry but their office was closed and he didn't answer his cell phone. I'm sure it is not a big deal but I just want to ask him. The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful. I didn't take any of my pain medicine or Advil at all that day.

Saturday morning I woke up after a terrible nights rest but I was on a mission! I got so much stuff done that day! I don't know how people go to work the day after dental implant surgery. Saturday was the first day I had felt well enough to function. I had no pain at all and swelling had gone down more since Friday. I did feel a little tight in my neck. I'm not sure if it was from poor sleeping positions (I'm still not sleeping on my left side) or that my lymph glands are swollen. My surgical site still felt different... hard to explain but definitely not "back to normal". I have also not chewed anything on that side of my mouth yet. Saturday for lunch I ate pasta and soup and for dinner I ate blueberries and yogurt. I took two Advil before bed to combat any residual swelling.

Sunday I woke up feeling great! I felt about 99% back to normal. Went about my day as I normally would and finished up my rounds of antibiotics. By Monday I was back to my normal routine.

Here are some photos showing my swelling.

My tips for an easy recovery...
- Relax and rest. Don't do house work or anything that raises your heart rate for at least three days.
- Get a pill box to store your medicine. I had to take four pills a day for my antibiotic. This box helped remind me to take the pill and how many more I had to take that day.

I had my stitches removed exactly two weeks later.

This is the upper implant.

Lower implant. Hard to see it because the gum tissue is growing over.

Today I am feeling great. I have had zero issues with the implants. Absolutely no pain, irritation, bleeding, or any issues for that matter. Sometimes I even forget about them! My next appointment is on November 14. He will be taking x-rays to make sure they are fused to the bone properly. I can't wait to see those x-rays and move forward with the crowns!

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks for reading.

DIY Scrunch Butt Bikini Bottoms

If you haven't jumped on board the scrunch/pucker/cheeky butt bikini bottom train yet, CLIMB ABOARD! This my friends is the best thing you can do to your booty. It will make your butt look more defined and perkier! It will also eliminate that awful "saggy butt" look.

These bottoms cost anywhere from $25-45 dollars at Victoria's Secret, about $30 from Chynnda Dolls, and up to $85 at Beach Bunny. Why pay so much when you can just scrunch the bottoms you already own?!

Items You Will Need

1. Bikini bottoms

2. Thread to match

3. Sewing Machine

4. Scissors

5. Elastic, 1/4 inch wide

6. Pen

7. Ruler/Straight Edge

8. A butt

Instructions

1. Set-up your machine (straight stitch, length 2, width 3, tension 4) and load your thread and bobbin.

2. Lay your bikini bottoms flat with the lining facing up. Find the middle of the bottoms and mark the center.

3. Cut a piece of elastic the length of the bottoms.

4. Place the bottoms and the elastic under your presser foot and lower the foot.

5. Lower the needle in to the elastic and fabric.

6. Manually walk the needle through the elastic and fabric for about 3 or 4 stitches.

7. Reverse stitch over those stitches back to the top.

8. Now pull the elastic straight down. The harder you pull the elastic, the more scrunch your suit will have.

9. Hold the elastic in place with one hand and guide the suit from behind the presser foot with your other hand.

10. Sew all the way to the seam where the crotch of the bottoms begins then back stitch 4 or 5 stitches.

11. You should have some loose elastic... trim that elastic and loose thread and you are done!

It took me a couple of tries to get this right and I consider myself an "okay" sewer. I can sew basic things and mend clothing but working with delicate, stretchy fabrics can be pretty advanced. If you are a beginner at sewing, ask someone who knows how to sew for help. If you are a moderately good sewer, find an old bathing suit to practice on. You will most likely mess up the first time. Do not try this on an expensive suit on your first try! I bought a pair of bottoms from Wal-Mart for $5.00 to experiment with.

A few tips and tricks...

-The more you pull the elastic, the more scrunchie the bottoms will be. Don't pull too hard or the suit won't lay right. For the gold suit I started with about 8" of elastic and cut off 1" after I sewed it. For the teal suit I cut off about 2".

-If you have a pair of bottoms that are saggy in the butt or are one size too big, pull the elastic really hard and it will take the bottoms down about one size.

-This works best on tie-side bottoms. I haven't had much luck with band-side bottoms.

-You don't have to scrunch the whole bottom of you don't want to. If you just want to add a little "touch of scrunch" only do the very top like this...

or go about halfway like this...

Final Thoughts...

-Sorry you had to stare at pictures of my butt. I was the only model available... Tyson said he wouldn't do it. HA!

-If you don't have a sewing machine or aren't any good at sewing, just take your bottoms to a local seamstress. Show them this blog post and they can do it for you for about $5.00. Definitely worth it if you have a cute suit that needs an update!

Now get to scrunching! Good luck, ladies!

Confessional Friday: {Link Up with A Blonde Ambition}

Today's topic is Q & A. I love these fill-in-the-blank questionnaires. I used to do these all the time in high school and college. Let's begin!

1.  My worst fashion offense of all time has to be these awful navy blue with hot pink detail cargo pants. I wore them once a week in 8th grade. Imagine something Sporty Spice would have worn. I also had JNCO Jeans in 6th or 7th grade. I can't remember.

2. The most embarrassing song on my iPod is probably this S Club 7 number. Mallory and I were obsessed with S Club 7. Why do I still have this song? I have no idea...

3. The last white lie I told was when someone asked me "How are you?" and I said "Good." I'm not good. I just had two screws drilled in to my jaw bones and I can't eat mexican food or any good food for that matter. That makes me very un-good.

4. The celebrity I most wish would disappear is Katy Perry. She drives me nuts.

5. Sometimes, I wish that I could be 13 years old forever. Life was perfect when I was 13! I had my own personal driver (my mom), I got to see all of my friends every day, we got to have sleepovers and pool parties, we got to go shopping and spend our parents money, we got to eat whatever we wanted and not worry about our weight. My only worry was what I was going to wear to school the next day.

6. My childhood crush was Chris Kirkpatrick from N'Sync.

7. I've never turned down chips and salsa.

8. Rushing or hurrying makes me a nervous wreck.

9. I'd rather watch paint dry than watch golf on TV or any country music awards show.

10. Much like a train wreck, I can't turn away from watching Real Housewives of OC, Honey Boo Boo, and Keeping up With the Kardashians.

That is all for today. Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

Confessional Friday: Guilty Pleasures

Aloha ladies! Today is Confessional Friday: Guilty Pleasure edition. Let's get to it!

-Sales. When I see a sale and I know I am going to get something for next-to-nothing, I will buy it. 

The VS Semi-Annual sale. Oops.

-Bathing suits. Holy shit I can not stop buying swim suits. I have held off for almost a week but I'm about to give in for this one:

-Dogs. If I see a dog out in public, I pet it. I love all animals but dogs are my favorite!

Bonzai, my ride-or-die lil dog man.

-Balloons. I love balloons. Get me a balloon and I'll be happy all day.

In college, my boyfriend filled my apartment with balloons. We waited about a week before we popped them all.

-Giving gifts. I just love the feeling when I give someone they like and can use.

-Dolphins. I love real life dolphins, not silly dolphin figurines. I love to see them swim and jump. They are so graceful and beautiful!

Well that it for my guilty pleasures. Go link-up with Leslie and share yours!

How to Keep Invisalign Clean

Here are some tips and tricks for keeping your Invisalign clean. I have learned a lot over the passed four months and want to share. I hope this helps you and good luck with your treatment!

1. Don't eat any food while your aligners are in.

2. If you drink anything other than water, rinse with water directly afterwards.

3. When you remove your aligners, put them in a dish with warm water and denture cleanser. Leave them to soak until you are ready to put them back in.
I use the plastic cup that my nurse gave me for my Invisalign when I had my septoplasty.

I use this denture cleanser from Target. It is $2.89 for 108 tablets.

4. Avoid letting your aligners dry out. When the aligners dry out it is harder to remove the plaque.

5. Get an end-tuft toothbrush to clean the nooks and crannies in your aligners. I use this one from Gum.

6. Use a wet toothbrush to clean the aligners when you remove them before eating. Don't use toothpaste as it can scratch the aligners.

I hope my tips help you keep your aligners clean! I am currently on #20 out of 53 aligners.
Here is my progress so far. I'm changing my aligners every week.

Please keep in mind. I am not an orthodontist or a dentist. I am simply writing about what works for me. Consult with your ortho/dentist before you use these techniques.

Summer is in Full Swing!

This summer has been so busy. I can't believe it's already July. Summer is flying by. I rarely know what day it is. Last time we talked was over two weeks ago! Let's catch up!

I went home to see my mom weekend before last. Good thing because I haven't seen her in almost two months. It was nice to get away from the office and be out in the middle-of-no-where for a few days. I also got our lawn mower running. Since my dad passed away in January, our "lawn" (weeds with rocks mixed in) has not been mowed. I got this sexy beast running and mowed the lawn!

On Saturday I went out on the boat with some friends.

I love this boat for a few reasons...

1. It's huge.

2. The owner is a HUGE Mizzou fan!

The day started out beautiful but in the afternoon we got caught in a rain storm. Afterwards, we were blessed with this rainbow!

Last weekend was 4th of July! Tyson and I hauled our boat up to the Lake of the Ozarks on Thursday for some fun in the sun!

We watched fireworks out on the water with our good friends from St. Louis.

Being goofy!

We might have had a little fun...

Here is a video of us jumping a cruiser wake. We got some good air!!

Saturday we went to Coconuts for lunch and some pool time.

Saturday afternoon was the famous "Rehydrate" party at Lazy Gators!

Sunday we came home... back to the daily grind!