It has been 128 days since surgery. Whoa.

I saw Dr. Sletten this morning. Last appointment he had suggested I wear elastics on the furthest back molars on both sides to help bring the molars closer together. He also put adjustments on the wire in that area. Well, I would put the elastics in, the right one would snap off because the bottom hook was turned a little, and I would leave the left one on. Obviously, now my left side molars are closer together than my right. Oh well. He gave me two options-- he could continue working to bring the molars closer together (he said he had a few different things he would try) OR he would bring them as close as he could get them until my next appointment in a few weeks and I could get my braces off then. I chose option #2. I really am kind of over caring about my molars anymore. I just want these braces off. So....

OCTOBER 25

is the big day! Wee! I am so exciitteedd I could pee :)

He put new adjustments on the wires to work on the molars a bit more. I have FINALLY graduated to wearing elastics only at night! Most of the time, this is what I have been doing anyway (shh...) but now at least I don't have to feel so guilty about it :)

27 days until I am DEBRACED!

I thought it was going to be a bit sooner than that a few months back, but because I was worried about my molars, I requested to leave the braces on a bit longer. I am not sure how I am even going to wait 27 more days. To everyone who still has months in braces, I know 27 days seems so measly, but uh, it seems like it's going to take foorevverr to get here.

Some new picturess...

This is what I look like when I go camping. and get all sweaty hiking during the day. Then eat pigeon over the fire and have some drinks. So cute. But hey, I have a chin!

xoxo

I say "3 months post-op" in this video, but it's definitely 4 months post-op TODAY! I can't believe how quickly time has flown by!

I move my lips really weird when I know I am talking on camera. and I squint my eyes and scrunch up my face. I'm odd.

I will post another video when I get my braces off!

My absolute favorite part of reading all about surgery prior to having it was seeing the before and afters. I think it really gives you that extra boost of encouragement you need when you see someone else's results and you want them too! SO, I am probably going to continue posting before and after pictures until people have seen enough of me and are no longer excited about how much my face and teeth have changed.

SO, the TEETH pictures! WEE! It is almost embarassing to look back at my pre-op pre-braces photos. I still can't believe my teeth were THAT bad. I was always self-conscious about them, but I really thought there were so many people whose teeth were worse than mine, and that mine weren't terrible. Well, now I know, they were definitely terrible. Not good. At all.

Before: August 2010

After: Sept 2011

Before: August 2010

After: Sept 2011

Before: May 2011

After: Sept 2011

Before: August 2010

After: Sept 2011

A guy told me last night he likes the way I look now better than the way I looked before.

"It's like, okay, say you have a Broncho... and then you put a brand new shiny grill on the Broncho, and then it looks even prettier!"

Men certainly have a way with words, don't they?

His first analogy was using a Kia.... Uhm...

:-P Love it.

I get people coming up to me all.the.time. saying 'Something looks different about you...' or 'I didn't recognize you until I heard your voice!' and I then have to explain the whole process of having surgery. It is crazy to me that 3+ months post-op, I am still going through exactly what I had done. I feel like I have told the same story hundreds of times, from months pre-op, to months post-op. It is so odd to me how many people can't quite figure out who I am. I am sure there is so much gossiping (not in a hurtful way) about my changes in appearance in my sorority house. I have had many girls come up to me and say 'I didn't know who you were, and I turned to so-and-so and asked them 'who is that blonde girl?'. I did my best to tell a majority of my chapter about the surgery, but most of them didn't realize there would be changes in my face. I really have confused a lot of people.

Day 110. I can't believe it has been 1/3 of a year already. It sounds completely impossible. I remember every moment from surgery day and each day for weeks afterwards. I certainly still think about surgery a lot, as I am still dealing with braces, elastics, and people having trouble recognizing me.

My sister had a genioplasty yesterday. If you look back on the post I did on her wedding you can see she has a very little chin that looks recessed, although there are no issues with her jaw and her bite is right on. She opted to have a genioplasty after YEARS of being so self-conscious of her profile and the way her chin looked. I know that jaw surgery is not a cosmetic procedure, but there are many of us who have opted to have a genioplasty, which IS cosmetic, to get what we feel are the best results, and I am so happy she is able to get the same thing for herself. We got mistaken for twins countless times before I had surgery, but since the surgery I know we didn't look as similar. WELL, now she is my little twin again :) Our chins look so much more similar! Yay! I love that we look alike, it makes me happy.

Do you ever have moments where you love life even more than normal? I am in one of those places right now. I am so happy with where I am at, how the surgery turned out, the way I look and feel, and where my life is going. In the last few weeks, I have made a group of friends that I can see being life long. I have had so much fun even in the first week of classes, I got an internship (YAY!) and although I don't have a job after graduation, I do have a place to live in California, which is where I have wanted to move to foreverrr. My friends are beginning to move away, but now I have so many places to visit :) I realize this isn't really jaw related, but I am a happy girl and needed to share with you!

I went pigeon hunting yesterday (my life is weird) and a friend snapped this when I wasn't paying attention. I like sharing these pictures because everyone can make themselves look a certain way when posing for pictures, but this is what I look like in my normal life (minus the ridiculous ponytail and camo gear)

Before

After

My big sister got married Saturday night :)

(How cute are we?)

I really think she was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.

And this little man was definitely the star of the show.

The wedding was perfect. SO many tears were shed. She is my only sister and I can't believe how much the two of us have grown up. I was such a sobbing mess during the ceremony, but managed to hold it together during my speech.



So many people came up to me to tell me they didn't recognize me! I think the fact that I was the Maid of Honor was the only obvious clue that I was ME.. some people were so lost as to why I looked so different. It's still weird, because I feel like surgery is so far behind me, and there are still so many people who have to get used to my new look.

My new brother-in-law :)

I was so worried about having braces in my sister's wedding, but I think I am okay with it now. A month ago, I was still really unhappy with my smile and was super worried about it, but there weren't any pictures that I saw of myself that I thought 'my smile looks weird!' .

I AM SO HAPPY WITH THE WAY EVERYTHING TURNED OUT! :)

Best. Wedding. EVER.