I Got My Braces Off!

Today I feel like an eighth grader.

I got my braces off!!! 😀

No More Brace Face

(The cup I’m holding is the awesome eco-friendly reusable coffee cup from my orthodontist that I got back in December. LOVE it. Best promotional item everrr.)

Bright and early this morning I headed over to my orthodontist’s office to get my braces off!

For those of you who are new to the zee blog, I’ve been going through Invisalign (clear braces) treatment since April 2009 and now, 15 months later, I’m D-O-N-E!

I can’t help but  remember the days when one of my friends from junior high or high school got their braces off.

“My teeth feel so slick and slippery!”

They always seemed so happy and relieved to no longer be a metal mouth.

Though I never had a “metal mouth,” I am happy that I will no longer have “attachments” on my teeth that stick out awkwardly. I’m happy that I will no longer have to brush two sets of teeth (my real ones and my aligners) every day.

Just in case any of you out there are considering Invisalign, I do want to add that overall my experience was very positive. It probably helps that my orthodontist was basically the jam and promised me she would work with me until I was 100 percent satisfied.

As far as pain and discomfort are concerned, I honestly experienced very little. Overall, I’d highly recommend Invisalign to anyone who is a candidate (unfortunately Invisalign is not right for everyone, such as those patients with serious crowding, etc.).

Workout + Breakfast

Before high-tailing it to my orthodontist’s office, I hit the gym to take my usual 5:45 a.m. BodyPump class.

It was a doozy! I’m not sure why, but I’m really feelin’ the song played during the squat track. It’s so flippin’ catchy!

After pumpin’ it up, I headed home to shower and make myself a super-speedy breakfast.

Friday Breakfast

On the menu today was a banana and a veggie bacon and cheese English muffin sandwich made with MorningStar Farms veggie bacon strips and a wedge of Laughing Cow light original Swiss cheese.

Simple 'n' Speedy

“Git in mah belly!!!”

Question of the Day

If you had braces, do you remember the day you got your braces off? How did it feel?

Brace Face

I never had braces growing up.

I was given the option to have braces, but being 14 years old, I figured it didn’t matter and I decided against being a metal mouth.

Fast forward 10 years and I was self-conscious about my “fangs.” I had two teeth on either side of my two front teeth that stuck out a bit. It bothered me for years, and once I saved up enough money, I paid a visit to the orthodontist to see if I was a candidate for Invisalign (clear braces). Thankfully I was, and now, a little more than a year later, I’m almost done! Phew!

This morning I have my last appointment before we enter the “refinement” period where my orthodontist said she’ll work with me until I am 100 percent satisfied. She’s the best!

Workout

Today’s workout was all over the place! Clearly my mind was racing this morning and I couldn’t stand to do one cardio machine for more than 15 minutes at a time.

Here’s my cardio breakdown:

• 15 min. stairmaster
• 15 min. elliptical
• 1 round of the At Home Cardio Blast circuit
• 5 minutes arc trainer
• 5 minutes elliptical

I was hoppin’ around like a crazy lady!

Breakfast

Post-workout I came home craving a hot breakfast which was odd considering I was sweating like mad.

I guess the body wants what it wants!

A bowl of strawberry shortcake hot cereal sounded perfect.

Frozen Strawberries

Dry Ingredients

Into the mix went:

• 1 serving Flax-Z-Snax butter pecan hot cereal (Just FYI, according to Netrition.com, Flax-Z-Snax’s nurtitional information is a little sketchy…)
• 1 scoop All the Whey cup cake batter protein powder
• Three large frozen strawberries

After adding water and microwaving the mix for a minute (stirring regularly to prevent overflow), my breakfast was ready for eatin’.

Strawberry Shortcake Hot Cereal

Yummy Berries

Thursday Breakfast

I wolfed this down in quite the un-ladylike manner. 😉

Aaaand I’m off to my Invisalign appointment. Catch ya lata!

Question of the Day

Did you ever have braces?

Extra Credit

As Ryan and I were walking to the gym this morning at 5:40 a.m. (which was really like 4:40 a.m.), I said that I think that anyone who goes to the gym the morning after the time changes deserves extra credit.

Ryan said he’d give me a gold star. 🙂 So, for those of you who got your booties out of bed and to the gym this morning, here you go:

For You!

See, wasn’t it totally worth it? 😉

Workout

When I got to the gym, I was really in the mood for BodyPump since it was early and I didn’t feel like putting myself through a quality workout. Unfortunately the instructor overslept, so the class never happened. 😦

Luckily, after joking around with other gym-goers, I felt much more awake and managed to get a decent workout.

Today I did 25 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical before completing a total-body weights routine that looked like this:

(3 sets of 15 reps of each)

• Leg extensions
• Leg press
• Deadlifts
• Hamstring curls on exercise ball
• Shoulder raises
• Bicep curls
• Tricep dips
• Abs

I hauled my booty home to take Sadie on a 20 minute walk before showering and heading off to my orthodontist’s office for an early morning Invisalign appointment.

Reppin' College Park Orthodontics Promo Mug!

I technically only have three aligners remaining. I wear each Invisalign aligner for two weeks, but we’re extending my time with my current aligner to make sure my teeth aren’t pushed too quickly. Slow and steady wins the race (Just ask the tortoise)!

Breakfast

Breakfast today was a blended success!

I used my immersion blender to blend 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin with a little bit of  sweetener, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon to make a pumpkiny dip for a toasted waffle.

Cottage Cheese, Pumpkin, Spices

Blllllended

Toasted Waffle for Dippin'

The combination was yum-may!

Action Shot

Even though I look like death in the following pictures, I wanted to share some action photos with you from Saturday’s 10k race that a friend took!

Intense, Huh?

Sadie can’t be the only one with action photos on this blog!

Annnnd if you’re like me and severely neglect blogs over the weekend, here are some weekend highlights for ya:

• 10k Race
• Bowl-a-Thon + Date Night
• Pumpkin Protein Oats
• Shopping!
• Dog Park

We Got It!!!

We got the apartment!!! HOORAY!

Sign Here, Please!

I actually think the place is more like a “mini house,” as it is a stand-alone building, with a fenced-in backyard. The house is actually about five houses down from our current place!

Ryan and I are thrilled and will be meeting with our new landlord tomorrow or Wednesday to officially sign the lease.

What is something you absolutely need when looking for a place to rent?

I need a washer and a dryer. That’s a must for me.

Here are the aspects of the house that really attracted us to the place:

• WONDERFUL location (safe neighborhood and within walking distance of our gym)
• Fenced in backyard
• Washer/dryer
• Dishwasher
• Large master bedroom, plus two smaller bedrooms (one will be made into an office/study)
• Great price

We will officially move in April 1, but since it’s ready right now, our new landlord said we can start transferring stuff earlier if we want. That should make the whole moving process a lot less stressful!

Work out

Unfortunately our alarm was still set for 6:30 a.m. from Friday, not 5:30 a.m. as we typically do on Monday mornings so I can make BodyPump and Ryan can get a workout in before work. We woke up a little before  6a.m., but Ryan still missed his workout. 😦

I was able to get to the gym and did a modified cardio/total-body weights workout. Not too shabby!

After a quick walk with Sadie and a hot shower, I headed to my orthodontist’s office for an Invisalign appointment. I have about two months to go, and then we’ll do “refinement” to get my teeth exactly the way I want them to look. I’m happy to be on the tail end of this process!

Breakfast

I was excited to dig into my hot breakfast sandwich today since it’s still so cold outside. I made an easy sandwich with cheese, Canadian bacon and a whole wheat sandwich thin.

Breakfast Sandwich

It was hot ‘n’ yummy.

Happy President’s Day!

Presidential Seal

A Fetchin’ Good Night

Orthodontist Appointment and Wedding Talk

I left work a little early today for an invisalign appointment with my orthodontist. Yes, I am 24 and am going through braces (albeit clear ones) for the first time.

My orthodontist is awesome (she went to Haaaa-vard) and is a fellow bride-to-be. I ended up staying after my appointment for half an hour or so chatting with her and oogling over Orlando wedding photographer’s photo albums online. All the wedding talk made me super excited for this weekend when Ryan and I head to St. Petersburg to stay with my parents and check out some venues. We’re not sure whether Orlando or St. Pete will be our location of choice, but I am ready to start lookin’ at some places!

Entertaining the Pup

Sadie was ready and rearin’ to go when I got home. I tossed a load of laundry in the washing machine and leashed her up for a trip to the dog park.

Don't Forget

I loved that sign posted on the doggie bulletin board. Nice and to the point. Pick up the doodie people!

Sadie took off and found a ball within 2.5 seconds of our arrival to the park.

"This is the best ball EVERRRR!"

She enjoyed several rounds of fetch and lots of time in the lake.

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming...

Got it!

I love watching her run around and just be a dawg!

Regal Sadie

Dinner

Dinner was a remix of leftovers. I used the roasted butternut squash and onions from last night’s butternut and apple pizza and tossed them with broccoli florets and portobello mushrooms.

Lots of Veggies

I added some yummy egg noodles to the mix to create a tasty pasta dish.

Pastafied

Yum!

Tonight I’m off to continue checking chores off my to do list… laundry, dishes, paint my nails… fun!