I forgot...

days FIFTY SEVEN, FIFTY EIGHT and FIFTY NINE.  I've taken a picture of myself everyday since my surgery up until this Friday.  It didn't even cross my mind to take my daily picture... Friday was a really long day!  I really do look the same in every picture now, so I guess it doesn't really matter.  So I followed the trend and didn't take a picture of myself today (Sunday) either.  I took one picture with a friend on Saturday night, so I stole it off her facebook (not great quality), cropped it, and I'm using it as my Friday, Saturday and Sunday picture. 

On a completely different note, GO GAMECOCKS!!!  Not only did USC beat Clemson, we killed them!! The final score was 34-13, which doesn't necessarily reflect a "killing," but we looked SO good.  I'm so proud to be a Carolina Gamecock.  Now if only the regular football season wasn't over!!  I'm hoping we'll get a good bowl game!!

gummy

So I've noticed that my smile looks lopsided.. kind of like I've got more gums showing on one side of my smile than the other.  I zoomed in on one of the more recent pictures of my smile, and you can really see the difference.  I'm really hoping this will, and can be, fixed!! 

THANKSGIVING!

days FIFTY THREE, FIFTY FOUR, FIFTY FIVE and FIFTY SIX.  My grandma's funeral was yesterday, Wednesday, November 23.  It was very sad, but I know she's at peace now.  Grandma was loved by so many people.  There was a really good turnout, and I got to see a lot of friends and family that I hadn't seen in a while.  I wish she could have spent Thanksgiving with us today, but I know she's in Heaven looking down on all of us!! 
Today we ate Thanksgiving lunch at my parents' house.  There was a total of 17 of us eating today!  My oldest sister, Denise, her husband, and children, Madison and Christopher drove down from Tennessee for the holiday!  I hadn't seen my niece and nephew in over two years, so I was very thankful that I got to see them.  I wish they lived closer because I love being with them and watching them grow.  Maybe one day!!
I would love nothing more than to go shopping tomorrow on Black Friday.  I love the crowds and the deals and just the rush in general.  Unfortunately, not only do I have to work tomorrow, I have to work all weekend.  I'm also sad about missing all the big football games.  Luckily, the Carolina/Clemson game starts right after I get off of work on Saturday, so I will get to watch the most important one!!  I'm really hoping the Gamecocks can get another win!!!

And now for picture overload!!

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday was a very chaotic, long day.  I only took one picture of myself, and I took it just for my blog.

Thursday I didn't take any pictures of just my face, but I took a lot of pictures with family, so I'm just putting those pictures up!

I LOVE a jumping picture!!

We took about a million!!

Sister, me, cousin Katie, niece Maddy, nephew Christopher

one million and one

aunt Lindsey & Ashley!

my fav cousin Katie

thanksgiving jack!!

I actually put up all of my Christmas decorations last week, but I haven't gotten around to take any pictures of anything.  I did take one picture of my tree today, so I wanted to post that!  My tree looks a little puny, but its really cute!!  Pictures don't do it justice!



before braces

days FIFTY, FIFTY ONE and FIFTY TWO.  I was looking through my computer today trying to find pictures of my grandma and decided to post some everyday pictures of me before I had braces (well, really just two pictures but you'll still get the idea).  I posted one picture of myself the day I got my braces on, but that was the only one of me without having braces on.  My gums were so big when I smiled, but you couldn't tell I had the big gap between my teeth; however, when I talked, my tongue would slip through my front teeth and I had a slight lisp.  I hated that so much!

December 2009

May 2009

Ok so now my daily, my face looks the same in every pictures, pictures!!

Friday

Saturday

*these pictures were taken after everything happened with my Grandma. There are definitely some makeup smears.

Sunday



11.19.11

grandma -- January 2011

Saturday, November 19, 2011... a date I will never forget.  My sweet, loving, amazing grandma passed away late last night.  We're not exactly sure what the cause of death was, but we're thinking pneumonia was the culprit.  She didn't have any signs or symptoms of having pneumonia until yesterday.  She passed in her sleep and as far as I know, she was in no pain.  Praise God!  I'm surprised how well my entire family is holding up.  I've cried but not as much as I would've thought.  I think reality hasn't really hit yet.  Grandma lived a long and fulfilling life.  She's now with my Grandpa and their son, which is exactly where she belongs now.  I already miss her like crazy, but I know she's still here watching over me.  Please keep my family in your prayers!

I love you Grandma McKinney!!!

SEVEN weeks!

days FORTY SEVEN, FORTY EIGHT and FORTY NINE.  I cannot believe that it has been seven weeks since my surgery.  Tomorrow will be 50 days.  That is craziness!!

Tuesday --

Wednesday --

Thursday ---

I don't know why I still take pictures of myself.  I really do think that I look the same day in and day out now. 

before, during, and after -- BITE and SMILE

This is the whole reason I started this blog...

 

 

Looking at these different pictures is crazy to me.  My bite has changed so much!  I've blogged all four of these pictures individually, but I still like looking at my changes side by side. 

The first picture is my bite right before I got my braces on.  The second picture is my bite exactly six months of me wearing braces.  It was a little over a month prior to my surgery.  The third picture is after my surgery, so I can bite together, but my splint is still on.  And finally, the fourth picture is my bite after my splint is off.  My teeth are still crooked, but I can bite together!  So far, I'm loving my results!!

And my smile...

 

I've already blogged two of these three pictures side by side, but I decided to put up another picture with my splint off.  The before picture is obviously a picture of me before my surgery.  The during is a picture after my surgery during my recovery.  I've still got my splint on in the during picture.  And the after picture is me still with my braces on but no splint!  I've come a long way just in 6 short weeks!

I realize that I did two separate posts about my bite and smile yesterday, but the pictures didn't show up.  I've deleted those two posts and re-posted them as one longer post.  I didn't want these pictures to not be seen because, like I said at the beginning of this post, this is the reason I started my blog!!

**I've also done two other posts today, so IF anyone even reads my blog, don't forget to read those as well!! :)

untitled

day FORTY SIX.  I was off today, so I did several loads of laundry, picked up my messy house, unpacked from this past weekend and paid bills.  That doesn't make for a very exciting today, so I think untitled is a very appropriate title for today's post!

I look weird in my not smiling picture.  Oh well!!  I am loving that you cannot tell, for the most part, that I've got braces on.  Obviously in person you can tell a lot more, but as far as pictures go, you can't see them all too well!!  No complaining there!!

While I was just hanging out today, I decided that I am going to start working out again.  I always have workout spurts then burn myself out.  Last time I was really into it, I did Insanity with Shaun T.  It was such a good workout, but I dreaded doing it every single day.  My new plan, starting SUNDAY, is going to be to workout on my off days and days that I work 8-4.  I figured that would be eight days every two weeks.  I think I can handle that.  Hopefully I'll be able to stick to that!!



CAROLINA

days FORTY THREE and FORTY FOUR.  I'm kind of back tracking , but I definitely wanted to blog about my weekend in South Carolina.  Almost all of my closest college friends and I met up in Columbia this past weekend for the USC/UF football game.  The Gamecocks won 17-12, which made the weekend even better!! 

I didn't take any pictures of just me on Friday or Saturday, but we did take several pictures of us all together, so I'm just going to post those!!

We all got into Columbia late Friday afternoon.  We went to dinner at Miyabi's, which is probably our favorite place to eat in Columbia.  After dinner, we hung out at the hotel for a little bit before going to bed.  This is the picture that I talked about (in an earlier post) where I can tell that I'm still really swollen.  From the side, I think I still look very strange.

I am NOT a fan on this picture, but its the only one I've got for Friday!

We got up early Saturday morning and headed to the fairgrounds for some tailgating.  Daniel and Levi never let us down.  They always have an amazing tailgate with lots of yummy food!! 

Later that night, we went to dinner in Five Points at Harpers then we went dancing at Liberty in the Vista.  We spent many, many nights back in the day at Liberty.  It was just like old times, except the DJ played horrible techno music!!

We all woke up early Sunday morning, ate at Cracker Barrel then went our separate ways.  I hate that we all live so far apart, but just being able to see my college friends puts a big smile on my face. 

I cannot wait until our next vacation together!!!

close ups

day FORTY FIVE.  I typed a really long post about this past weekend with lots of pictures, and it didn't save!  I'll rewrite it tomorrow!!  I've already done three posts today, but I wanted to do one more.  I took some close up pictures of my teeth, and I wanted to post them. 

I want to apologize for the yellowness, calcium buildup on my bottom teeth.  I guess I need to floss better or really just floss period!  But, look!! My teeth touch together when I bite.  I dind't know if I'd ever see this day!!

 This picture shows how far I've still got to go.  I've got these gaps on both sides of my teeth, so my orthodontist is going to have to fix that.  I ate right before I took this picture, so it was necessary to be black and white.  You still get the picture though!!

And since I didn't really take any pictures of just me on Friday or Saturday, I'm going to go ahead and post my Sunday pictures.  Today was a long day.  I was in the car almost six hours, and my pictures definitely reflect that!!

Okay! I think four posts in one day is enough!!  Goodnight!



six weeks

day FORTY TWO.  I've noticed that I'm no longer numb above my lips.  My right cheek is still numb but barely.  However, the roof of my mouth where my splint was is still completely numb.  I'm still super swollen.  I'm putting up a picture in the next post of me from the side, and you can really tell how swollen I still am.  The red spots above my lips are still there, but they are slowly fading.  I don't even really notice them anymore.  My back teeth now touch.  It only took me wearing my rubber bands in the box shape for a couple days for my teeth to shift.  I've noticed from taking pictures of myself everyday, that my smile and eyes are crooked.  One of my eyes is slightly higher on my face.  I know that's not fixable, but I'm hoping that my smile will even out.  I smile much bigger on one side of my face.  I don't know if it's due to swelling or if it's just the way I smile.  Only time will tell...

it is O-U-T!

days FORTY and FORTY ONE.  My splint was removed yesterday morning!!!  I didn't think it would be any big deal, but I was so wrong.  It hurt so, so bad.  My mouth was stretched out so big that both corners of my lips cracked open and are still bleeding off and on almost 36 hours later.  As they were taking the splint out, they were tugging and pulling and pinching.  Luckily, the whole process only took five to ten minutes.  It smelled SO bad, so once it was out, I got to brush my teeth.  I brushed for about 5 minutes, and blood literally poured out of my mouth the whole time.  Gross.

@ the doctor's office -- last picture with the splint!

After I left my doctor's office, I went to my orthodontist where they took even more out of my mouth!!  I got one new wire that goes across all of my teeth instead of the usual three different wires. My orthodontist also repositioned my rubber bands.  Right now my front teeth touch, but my back teeth don't touch at all.  The rubber bands are in a posterior box formation.  That basically means all my back teeth are being pulled together by my rubber bands that are in the shape of a big box.  I'll try to get a pic of it soon.

first picture post splint removal

I ended up brushing my teeth a total of seven times before noon yesterday!  I wanted everything as clean as possible, and I really didn't want stinky breath!  The roof of my mouth that was covered by my splint is really numb and feels weird.. don't really know how to explain it.  Now that my splint is off, I do think I look different.  I'm actually a little self conscious about my teeth right now.  I feel like they're really pointy, and I've got lots of gaps.  My orthodontist has got some major work to do now!!

I tried to find a picture of the characters' teeth from the Coneheads movie.  I feel like I look just like them.  Maybe I'm just being weird!

So here are my Tuesday and Wednesday pictures.

Tuesday

Wednesday (super long day = lookin' roughhhhh!)

**I'm wearing my pink sweatshirt in so many of my pictures.  I come home and just throw it in.  I really don't wear it out in public a lot!!

The nurse that helped remove my splint told me that my swelling would go down a lot more now that it's out.  There were huge hook like things pushing way up into my cheeks and gums in the very back of my mouth, and now that's all gone!  I'm also really hoping the corners of my lips will heal soon.  I'm putting neosporin on them as much as a can. 

I asked a tech at my orthodontist's office yesterday how much longer I'll have my braces.  She said no longer than nine months.  That's a long time.

Here's to hoping the next nine months fly by!!!