heidi's blog

Just got back from a nice, brisk walk up to the chiropractor. It's totally cool to have one just up the street. And even more to have one who offers a plan that allows me to drop in three times a week, if I want. Of course, that just means that I'm suddenly way more aware of my little aches & pains. Stuff that I would normally ignore or go to the chiropractor for maybe once every other month now has me running up there like my hair's on fire. LOL

Took my iPod along, too, so everyone would think I was singing along with music instead of simply talking to myself, which is what I normally do. *g* Then I stopped in the store (which is also right up the street, along with the post office, laundromat, & hardware store...how cool is the town I live in?!? *vbg*) for some bananas & a six-pack of Adirondack water. That's another new fave of mine; similar to Fruit2O, it's flavored spring water. In addition to the usual flavors, like lemon, orange, rasperry, peach, etc., this brand has some nifty, more unique flavors, too, like pomegranate & white grape.

So, anyway, I'm back now & have got to get some writing done. Tried to write yesterday, but ran into a minor crisis. One of my cats, Indiana Jones, is suffering from a deformed nose. LOL I noticed he'd scraped it...or more likely, he'd done battle with the little one & gotten clawed for his trouble...so I dabbed disinfectant on it & never gave it another thought. Well, yesterday, I happened to notice that the scrape is not only still there, but his nose is all swollen. No wonder he has breathing problems, huh? (And, yeah, I've already put myself through the ringer for being a bad mother & not noticing this sooner. :-p)

It's probably just a slight infection or abcess, but the vet probably needs to look at it. So I called & made an appointment, & the earliest they can take us is tomorrow. The only problem with that is that I'd had plans to run a bunch of other errands on Thursday. Of course, Indiana comes first, so I shuffled my plans & ended up running around like crazy yesterday.

And since I was already in town, I decided to stay & see Shrek the Third. Has anyone else seen this yet? (I purposely waited until after opening weekend to avoid the crowds. :-)) I loved the first two Shrek movies, but have to admit I was disappointed by this one. It was okay; there were a couple things that had me rolling with laughter. But all-in-all it just didn't feel like the same type of really cute, creative movie as the previous two. Not to mention, I can't think of any great, funny lines from Shrek's or Donkey's character that are worthy of repeating & working into my everyday conversations, which was one of the best parts of Shrek & Shrek 2. You know what I'm talking about, right?

If anyone else saw it, let me know what you thought. I can tell you this...&, yes, it requires a giant SPOILER ALERT!!!...the part that had me absolutely cracking up & was worth the price of admission was near the very end when Prince Charming's guards surrounded the Gingerbread Man with all those swords & he pooped a gumdrop. I just about fell out of my chair laughing & missed the next three or four minutes of dialogue, I swear.

Oh...& it may just be my state of mind at the moment, but I was completely distracted all the way through the movie by the thought that Shrek really needs braces. LOL

Can you say ouch? I just sliced my thumb open on--of all things--the paper insert for a zip disk. Sheesh!

But, anyway, I had another appointment with the orthodontist yesterday to further discuss my need for braces & oral surgery. (Oh, joy!) Since the problem I have is one that will only worsen over time, I figure I might as well go ahead & get this all done now rather than later. I mean, it's annoying enough as it is, who wants it to get even worse?

Did you know, though, that braces are kind of cool now? They're a bit smaller now than they were the first time I had them. And they even come in clear or 24-karat gold. I considered the clear ones, only because I know I'll be attending conferences & doing booksignings, & I'm not entirely keen on doing that sort of thing with a big mouth full of metal, but the doctor said the clear ones can actually be more problematic in some ways than the plain old stainless steel kind. And since you can still tell a person has braces, even with the clear ceramic ones, I couldn't see the point. I mean, they're not invisible, just less silver. LOL

They also have hundreds of colors now for the bands that go around each metal thingies that gets attached to each tooth. They can be changed monthly, & you can coordinate with outfits (like for the prom *g*), or for holidays, or even get glow-in-the-dark. How cool is that? Since I already gave up on the idea of the braces being completely unnoticeable, I have now decided that I'm going to go all-out on the having fun thing. I'll do black & orange for Halloween...red & green for Christmas...glow-in-the-dark for whenever... I'm going to have a blast. (Hey, if I have to have braces for a second time in my life, I might as well have a blast with it, right?)

At the moment, I have a tentative appointment for the end of July to have the braces actually put on. (My doctor was nice enough to let me have one more RWA National conference before turning me into a metal head. :-))

And before that, I have to meet with the oral surgeon who will be cutting out a piece of my jaw somewhere down the road. Eeek. Not particularly looking forward to that, especially since the orthodontist said that I'll be in pain for a week, look like a chipmunk (the post-stuffing his cheeks kind, not the empty-cheek kind) for two or three days, & will also have my jaw wired shut for two-to-four weeks. (Who the heck signed me up for this again?) But, hey, he said the jaw-wiring thing would likely cause me to lose ten or fifteen pounds, & that may just get me down to my goal weight, so I'm starting to get excited. LOL