Holidays on the horizon...

I think my cat wants me to gain weight. Each morning, the second my alarm clock goes off for the gym, he jumps into bed and gets all cuddly with me. Last week, he won twice. I mean really, could you resist this???







So, the big 3 holidays are fast approaching: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I am not a huge candy person, so Halloween isn't as harmful to me as Thanksgiving and Christmas are. If you ARE a candy person, you may find this article interesting and helpful. This info really shocked me:

-3 miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups have more sugar than a glazed doughnut
-Half a pack of Skittle has more sugar than a scoop of Haagen-Dazs Cookies & Cream ice cream (that one really killed me!)
-9 Twizzlers carry as many calories as a Wendy's Double Stack Burger (WHAAAAT?!)

I have no exciting news on my diet/exercise front...weight has stayed the same, still exercising 4-5 times as week although not with the same gusto as during the summer triathlon training.

More teeth stuff and other news

This blog is about me being healthier all around - mentally, physically, etc. Seems somewhere in there, I forgot about your teeth. So here's my PSA: GO TO THE DENTIST. Today I got my first teeth cleaning in a year and a half, and it took forever because I had so much tartar build up (I know, I know, I sound oh so attractive right now!)

In the past, I've never really had issues with my teeth, so I was surprised to find out about a host of problems today. I had to have 2 fillings on the upper right and an old one replaced in the upper left. My gum line is not looking good - some areas (mostly the lower area) are very recessed, which is mainly attributed to aggressive brushing. This was the 2nd or 3rd dentist telling me to get an electric tooth brush, because I will likely not break my aggressive brushing habit on my own. I had to agree - I'm usually rushing to get in done and am ramming that tooth brush all over the place. The dentist's office had a deal on an Oral B brush - after my mail-in rebate (I hate those. I am hoping this one won't take forever), the brush only costs me $50. I checked online and even on Amazon, it doesn't go for less than $99. It's $130+ in most stores.



I've never tried one before, and I'm sure it will take my impatient self some time to get used to using. I'll have a review after a few uses ; )

So besides teeth news, I've been doing a good job the last couple weeks with working out in the morning. I thought this summer was busy, but the fall seems even crazier! For work last week, we attended a large trade show at McCormick Place. This meant driving on I-55 for a few days, and I gotta say, don't know how people do that every day! I swear I'd rather be unemployed then be in traffic for 3+ hours a day roundtrip. I knew I'd be exhausted by the end of the day and so I planned to get my workouts done in the morning. Even though I was tired, I did manage to work out Sunday through Thursday last week. I've kept up the morning workouts this week, and even though I hate waking up early, it is nice to have it out of the way if I don't feel like going later that night. With the season change, once it's dark outside, I tend to be a hermit and not want to leave the house for the evening.

I've continued selling items on eBay - they have FREE listings until January, so anything that doesn't sell the first time can just be relisted again. Happy to report I've maintained my weight for all of September, there was usually just a pound to pound and a half fluctuation some days.

I slept in this morning, so now it's time to get to the gym. Later!

And when you smile...

I'm a little bummed right now. I went to get a second opinion on an Invisalign consultation I had a couple months ago. I had braces 4th through 6th grade, but my parents didn't keep up with taking me for my retainer and that combined with my wisdom teeth coming at 19 moved my teeth.

See the tooth?





That tooth is the bane of my existence. Or, at least the bane of my smile. It's on my right side. I hate being photographed from the right. I hate people seeing my laugh from the right. Basically, I hate that tooth. I was very much hoping I could get Invisalign, but my 2nd opinion tonight told me the same as the 1st - I need traditional braces. Invisalign will straighten my teeth, but it's not going to move that tooth back down in line with my other teeth.

My options are:

1. Invisalign and then get a binding/veneer on the problem tooth to make my teeth appear in line. This will take longer than braces and be more costly.
2. Traditional braces
3. Leave them be. They may continue to worsen over time.

Both told me I would only need the braces for about 12 months, and then would need to keep up with a retainer the rest of my life. I am not sure what to do. A lot of people tell me my smile looks great, that they barely notice it, and so on. But my shifted teeth really bother me, and a year is not that long - hell, I don't even know where this year went. I'm sure it would be over before I know it. I really don't want my teeth like this in my wedding photos, either.

Thoughts?