Remember that peppermint crème coffee I mentioned in my morning post?
I’m three cups in and feeling good.
Hence the overly enthusiastic smile.
Seriously though, peppermint crème coffee is so festively fun, I can’t get enough!
I also can’t seem to get enough of the homemade Christmas cookies that are beckoning to me from the dining room. After last night’s cookie attack, I’ve done a bit better with cookie portion control today and the grand total is currently at two.
One after breakfast and one peanut butter kiss cookie with lunch!
My afternoon cookie was enjoyed with leftover lasagna (I ate it cold – love cold lasagna!), a cup of Greek yogurt and two clementines.
All those layers make me happy.
My mid-morning dentist appointment went well and my permanent retainer is back to being permanent. It detached from one side a while ago and it feels good to have it in working order again.
I got my permanent bottom retainer once I finished my Invisalign treatment. I’ve actually received quite a few emails over the past two years about my experience with Invisalign and thought a Q&A post about it might be worthwhile to get it all out in the open. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away in the comments section of this post and I’ll work on the Q&A post for next week!
Now it’s off to Sarasota!
Ryan and I have a hot date tonight to see Straight No Chaser live!
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Mmmm that coffee sounds delicious! Safe travels to Saratosa and have a GREAT time tonight!
that coffee sounds amazing! i am heading home for the holidays tomorrow, so i will also be indulging in homemade baked goodies – looking forward to it, lol!
Love Straight No Chaser – they keep popping up on my Pandora Christmas station. What a fun Thursday night treat! That Hershey Kiss cookie, oh my goodness – my fave holiday cookie EVER. And I don’t blame you for some coffee ODing – never hurt anyone every now and then 🙂
I’ve been thinking about Invisalign because my bottom teeth have severely moved after getting my braces off years ago and having my dog eat my retainer. Seriously. Three questions: Did they hurt? Are they noticable? Are they $$$?
I’ve been loving Straight no Chaser songs on pandora! Enjoy!
thanks for the questions!! 🙂 i’ll be sure to address them!
🙂 I loveee coffee!
Oh my gosh, I LOVE Straight No Chaser! I saw them live a few months ago. They’re the best 🙂
Also, EEEEW, cold lasagna!! Hahaha.
if by ewwww you meam mmmmm, i totally agree! 🙂
Bahahaha! Okay, you win. Even my boyfriend loves cold everything. I must admit I’m in the minority 🙂
Straight No Chaser is from Indiana University, a university about an hour away from where I live, and my sister went there for a little bit! You probably already know that though :). Have fun! I bet they’re amazing live!
I’m a little jittery from two cups of tea on top of a Grande Starbucks!
Haha I love holiday coffee jitters. 🙂 I hope that’s not too weird.
Your hair looks really pretty in that pic!
I ADORE the Straight No Chaser version of Mr. Grinch. It makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it!!!!!
I’m on round 2 of coffee for the day! I couldn’t resist having some after lunch on this cold, rainy day. Have fun on your date!
Have fun today!! Oh gosh~I was JUST thinking of having MORE coffee too b/c I’m still so half awake 😛
I’ve been contemplating invisalign for a while. I had retainers growing up but never braces and my bottom teeth are overlapping. I was told I would have to pull some teeth or shave them down on the side to be a candidate. Did you have to do that? Are they expensive and/or covered by dental insurance? And finally, what exactly is involved? Do you wear them all day and all night and just take them out when you’re eating?
Hi! I had invisalign, too, (well, it was the “off brand” called Simpli 5 because it’s only 5 sets of trays). I had them for about 7-8 months, but it can be shorter if you can get to the orthodontist every 6 or so weeks like you’re supposed to. Yes, I had to wear them pretty much 23 hours a day – all of the time, except when you’re eating (and then you brush your teeth and rinse off the retainers and pop them back in.) I still wear them to bed every single night, and probably will for several years.
To be honest, the most annoying part for me is still having to brush two sets of teeth 2-3 times every day, especially when it’s late at night and I just want to go to bed! I think about half of the total cost was covered by my dental insurance, but I’m sure it will vary according to insurance plans. I know they weren’t going to cover it at first because it was only considered “cosmetic” – and it was 😉 – but I guess I got lucky.
I did have to have a few teeth shaved down on the sides, it took about 2 minutes and doesn’t hurt at all. It’s just to get them to fit in each new retainer. The new retainers hurt a little bit – it’s a lot of pressure for the first 2-3 days, but then it gets better. I’ve never had braces but I imagine that they’d be much more painful than invisalign. Finally, I should mention that I am not completely satisfied with my Invisalign (Simpli 5) treatment. I had one stubborn tooth that will not move forward and align with the rest of my teeth, and that has been frustrating. Invisalign cannot give you the “perfect” smile like braces can, but my Orthodontist warned me of this from the beginning. The difference has been noticeable (to me), however, and that is all I wanted! Hope that helps.
thanks so much for sharing your experience, hannah!
Definitely be curious to hear about Invisalign. I had braces when I was younger and I wonder how it compares.
I have ‘fangs’ on either side of my front four teeth. What did your teeth look like before? I have been considering invisalign but am reluctant because I’ve heard it is very expensive and haven’t heard much about its long-term effectiveness.
I had the same issue and they wouldn’t let me do invisilgn, they said it wouldn’t do much of anything to my top teeth. I went with traditional braces which cost me about the same.
I eat food cold that is “supposed” to be hot all the time! That lasagna looks amazing by the way!
Peppermint coffee sounds delicious! I love flavored coffees. 🙂
I had invisalign. I didn’t get the permanent retainer though. I wear the last pair of my retainers to sleep every night. It’s annoying but at least I have a perfect smile now. It’s worth it 🙂
My dad always makes homemade lasagna for Christmas Eve. It’s soooo good, I can’t wait!
Have an awesome time in Sarasota! Those cookies look delicious!
Lasagna is so much better the next day!! And COLD !!!
Yay, have so much fun at Straight No Chaser!! Very jealous. 🙂
The same thing happened with my permanent retainer–so frustrating!!
Enjoy Straight No Chaser!!!
i would totally be indulging in that peppermint creme coffee too!! that sounds so yummy!
i’m glad i’m not the only one that loves my lasagna cold! 😉
That looks delicious! Man, if I had three cups of coffee, I would jitter right out of my skin!
I loved Invisalign! Did you end up doing a “refinement” at the end? I did one , and could have done another, but was so happy to have such great results at the time that I didn’t. Now I am just being a perfectionist and wishing I had done the second refinement! (Even though it would have been more time, and more $$ on the credit card!)
So jealous you’re seeing Straight No Chaser! Have a great time!
I did traditional braces (my teeth were too misaligned/bite was too far off for Invisalign) after college a few years ago & I’ve got the permanent retainer, too. It came off one side not too long after I got it, but once it was fixed, it’s stayed attached for 2 years now with no trouble. My teeth aren’t perfect, but they’re so much better than pre-braces. To have them any better, I’d have to have 2 different surgeries (I already had one involving an adult tooth that was stuck in the bone of the roof of my mouth) to break my jaw & put back together – I don’t think it would be worth it!
A friend of mine had her jaw broken for dental re-alignment and it TOTALLY changed the entire look of her face, she looks like a completely different person, it’s so weird. She REALLY regrets it because for her it wasn’t totally necessary.
Two things:
1. I have 76 posts of yours on my reader to catch up on – eek!
2. Straight No Chaser played at my company’s kick off 2011 party in January – so fun – have a blasty!
So jealous that you get to see Straight No Chaser! I’ve been thinking about doin Invisalign, so I’m going to ask away. Did you find it difficult to have to remove them and brush your teeth so frequently? Were you happy with the end results considering the extra cost?
That coffee sounds amaaazing!
And I love my Invisalign! I’m halfway through my treatment and I couldn’t be happier that I chose to go this route. Definitely worth considering and seeing if you’re a candidate!
Is Invisalign ok for teens? my teeth are straight but i have an overbite. It isn’t a huge problem but i’m not exactly lovin’ it either 🙂 I have heard that it is a HUGE improvement over the traditional a steel- factory- exploded-in-my-mouth braces ( to quote a friend with braces). I’m not worried about the cost but i would definitely like to know the pros and cons! Thanks!
It’s definitely okay for teens! I have it, I’m 18. In fact now they even have InvisalignTeen. I have (had!) quite a pronounced overbite and that’s something that will be helped but as I was told, not completely fixed. However, a huge improvement can be made if you are completely compliant with wearing your braces. I’m sure Julie will write a great post about it, but feel free to email me and I can definitely go more in-depth on the whole process! criverabrown@gmail.com
Thanks so much!!!
You are seeing them live?!?!?
Gahh have fun!!
I have a permanent retainer on the bottom too! I always wondered how permanent it is though, because I haven’t been back to the orthodontist since I was 14…
I’m on the retaining part of invisalign so I’m not wearing them during the day anymore and just at night 😀 yayyy!! I’m not sure what you had but I had top and bottom and I had quite a few “buttons” and they don’t show the “buttons” in the commericals so I am very shocked when I first saw what it looked like on me….I wasn’t prepared…I’m happy now but just was very self-conscious of the buttons and I don’t think many people know they are there and might be needed with invisalign! So I think it would be important to mention that in your Q&A!! 😀
I LOVE cold lasagna too! Cold pizza too! Delicious 🙂
Totally jealous of getting to see Straight No Chaser!! Have a blast!
Buahah! LOVING the wired-on-delicious-coffee smile! Have a rockin’ hot date tonight 😉
First, I love leftover lasagna eaten cold..jealous! But I am more jealous of Straight No Chaser! I love their Christmas album..have fun!
Very soild. Me and ol Lady went to their Christmas show in Indy two weeks ago and they were amazing. I could have not even heard the Christmas part of the show. Their covers of the 50 and 60 tunes were enough for me! Have fun
What’s funny is that I am not the biggest fan of lasagna but I LOVE cold leftover lasagna hahaha
Hahaha I love that picture! Coffee does wonders in the morning! Coma to crazy in five minutes flat.
Christmas cookies are so tempting! I have to keep them out of sight!
Peppermint coffee sounds delicious, i haven’t been able to find any flavoured beans yet in Australia so i’ve been compensating by just splashing a bit of peppermint essence in my coffee haha!
I agree about cold lasagne, it tastes amazing – just like cold pizza!
I had traditional metal braces which i got off a few months ago and now have to wear a clear mouthguard-like retainer(which i assume invisalign is like?) all the time for a few months then i will get the metal wire behind each row of teeth.. The things we do for pretty smiles!
That coffee looks good, especially with the peanut butter kiss cookie!
I would love to get invisalign, but is it expensive? I’ve seen Groupons for it, and it’s like $3,000. Crazy!
My hat’s off to you for going that long with one side of your permanent retainer detached! I have them on both my upper and lower teeth (my teeth were a NIGHTMARE!) and have had the upper one detach on more than one occasion, and it’s no picnic. It happened recently and my dentist was able to squeeze me in during a break I had from work! But I love the peace of mind of having those permanent retainers (total nerd over here!)
Sounds like good stuff. And the cookies would be calling to me as well.
The Kidless Kronicles
Have fun!!!! I just went on a festive date with my hubby–to The Nutcracker 🙂
That sounds so cool! Doesn’t peppermint ANYTHING scream Christmas? Except for the peppermint scented underwear set that one friend got. That screams creepy- like who’s gonna do the smelling? haha- awkward moment. Well anyway weird unrelated question. are any of you watching NEW GIRL? I have seen the promos but can’t find the time and am wondering if it’s worth my time. I LOVE Glee but sorta want to move to something else as well and New Girl looks nice! Any thoughts? Thx and have fun Julie!
i’ve seen new girl a few times and think it’s super cute! it’s on right after glee in ocala.
Is that a Tiffany & co necklace?? Early Christmas present? :)n
it is! but it was a gift from ryan several years ago. 🙂
Cold lasagna actually sounds bomb! I have to try that next time! 😀 I’m having a hard time with portion control + sweets the last couple of days as well. My step mom makes these peanut butter balls that are TO DIE FOR. She should have waited a couple more days to make them. lol.
I love cold lasagna too! I actually think I love all italian food cold cuz I looooove cold spaghetti! And I’m glad I’m not the only one thats been on a cookie binge lately :/