I got braces (finally) on September 21st,and since then it's been two weeks full of major transition. Case in point:

• I wish they made soft chips. True, it would defeat the purpose of having chips to crunch, but at least us poor braces-folk would have the ability to enjoy the flavor of chips without risking a bracket emergency.
• An upper arch isn't fun, and a lot harder than I thought it would be. Especially when you get food stuck up there. Which happens often. Too often.
• I look better with braces than I thought I would.
• My orthodontist and the hygienists are the nicest people ever.
• Despite being paid less, the ortho-hygienists do most of the work. It's nice to talk to them while they do. I even have a favorite now. (Hi, Megan!)
• People with braces should have some kind of superhero status among the rest of the world. I have solved this problem by assuming my new superhero idenity: Metalmouth. Nice to meet you, folks.
• Having a bunch of metal in your mouth isn't very cool. I wonder if I'll set off metal detectors at the airport now.
• It's harder than you think, having braces (hence the whole superhero point I made above). You have to brush your teeth after every meal (something that I forgot to do today...oops) and you can't eat certain foods. Oh, joy.
• But in the end, it will be worth it. My teeth are already much straighter now and I'm happy with this fact.

P.S. - I reached my 6-year-anniversary of blogging yesterday. Yeah, I'm ancient. Thanks, guys, for making my blogging experience so awesome.

There are probably several reasons I haven't blogged in a while.

1. I rather enjoyed having Liam Hemsworth at the top of my blog this whole time. *awkward confession* No, really. My Ryan is pretty cool.
2. I've been lacking inspiration. Seriously. Let me know if you find him.
3. And last but not least, jaw pain.

I've had chronic pain for my whole life and was recently diagnosed two years ago. One of the symptoms that has recently reared its ugly head is jaw pain.

At first, we thought it was TMJ. It may in fact be TMJ. However, I went to the orthodontist about two weeks ago, and we had a startling revelation.

My jaw is severely misaligned.

The diagnosis?

I need braces.


Since then, my jaw pain has increased for some reason. Today I could not chew anything. I ate yogurt for breakfast, had two protein shakes for lunch, ate soggy corn flakes as an afternoon snack, and then had sweet potatoes and tiny tiny pieces of pork chop for dinner. *sigh*

Anyway, I'll try to put up some new material on the ol' blog soon. And if you see Inspiration, please hog-tie him and send him my way. Thanks!