Sunday night blog

I thought I'd write a quick blog as it has been a while and a few of my relatives are wondering when I'm going to blog again. :-)

I have been either working (at my job) or working on Angel christmas cards the last week or so. I have over 300 cards that I need to get out.  Well I don't HAVE to send all those out but I'd sure like to try.  Throw in my exercise routines, eating meals and spending a little time with hubby and the four fur kids, and that leaves very little time for anything else.

Hubby put up the Christmas decorations, thankfully. They'd still be packed away if it was left to me to do the decorating.  We have a tiny tree (artificial) on the fireplace. It is about 2 feet tall but it does have lights and is pretty. So were just using that for our 'tree' this year.  Maybe next year we'll get a real tree.  I was driving by the boy scout tree selling area and it got me thinking about how much I love the smell of real Christmas tree.

I got a gift from my aunt today that my sister got when she was visiting her back in October.  It is a man with his face in a book and he is straddling a book. The whole piece is carved of wood that I think she got years ago. I've never seen anything like it.  So Aunt 'Babe' if you are reading this, thank you!

Oh I did have my semi-annual Dermatology appointment on the 1st. Every time I go she finds some suspicious mole.  I told her my Christmas wish this year was for her to not see anything.  No luck. There were two moles on my back she took a small biopsy of.  They both need punch biopsies so I'm going back and having those done right after Christmas.  Hubby thinks it is all a ploy to make money, but I think she is a great Dermatologist and does thorough exams and if doing these biopsies prevents me from getting melanoma, I'm fine with it. 

I have read up a little on moles that are Atypical moles. These are also called dysplastic nevi. Those with moderate dysplastia may or may not ever turn into melanoma. But why play a wait and see game with something like that. I'd rather not let them get bigger or deeper and then have something much more major and serious to deal with. This is the price for being a teen sun worshiper.  I never sit out in the sun anymore but did every summer until I was in my mid 20s'.  Yup. Damage done. 

Going to log out for the night. I will blog again when I am done with the card project, oh and getting my own personal cards out to family and friends. :-)

Angel Card Project

Every year I particpate in an Angel card project in which we send out Christmas cards to those on a list of folks who are lonely, ill, etc., who need a little Christmas cheer. This is my 5th year doing these cards I'm pretty sure.

Saturday hubby and I went to my favorite place to get cards, called the Caring Place.  Think of it as sort of a Good Will store but a slight step up in quality.  Anyway I scored as I have each year. By buying there I am helping the community and also getting a great discount on cards I need.

Here is the receipt.  I didn't count how many total cards I got but I did get 17 boxes for  less than $40. The first item is a wreath that we got for our front door and that was $7. Oh and I forgot one box wasn't priced so she just threw it in for free. Below that is a picture of the big bag of cards!! :) Not bad eh?

Well...okay..

On Wednesday I got my wires (on the back molars) for the rubber bands removed. I got all the nubby things that helped to keep the Invisalign trays in place offf, and got a pat on the back and congrats from my Orthodontist. Then I got fitted for the retainer which I picked up Thursday. 

Well it is probably hard to see from the picture below but the retainers are so much BIGGER for me to wear, so it felt like a bit of a let down being 'done' with the Invisalign. The retainers are on the left. These retainers cover a bigger area around my teeth and are taking some getting used to.  < SIGH >  I have to wear them all the time for 6 months too and then I was told I can just wear them at night after that.  Oh well.  I'll deal with it.  Next big step is to get the crowns replaced that were the reason for invisble braces in the first place. I'm waiting until after the holidays though because one of the teeth may need root canal.  So I'm just wearing these retainers until the holidays are over and then getting the crown work done.  Then there will be new top retainers after my crown work is done. Hopefully it will all be worth it. My teeth look so much better already. They are straight and lined up so much better than pre-braces.

Rare Photo

Although we have four fur kids, I wouldn't say they are exactly 'close'.

So when hubby saw them in the garage actually what we can call sharing the blanket, we just had to get a photo.  Tika is using the dolly to rest her head too! How cute!!

Nov 15th

I know....I know.. I've hardly blogged at all lately.  Well it is about to get worse as I'm gearing up for the Angel Christmas card project that I participate in every year which will take up even more of my spare time.

All in all there isn't a ton new anyway though. Hubby's back is doing better and he is getting around as he used to.  He still has some numbness in part of his calf and toes but we're hoping once his nerves heal that it will all come back. 

He got a horrible cold/flu? a few weeks after his operation and was kind enough to give it to me too. We are both pretty much over it now and I hope that is it for ailments for hubby for a long time.  He's had so many issues with that unexplained rash, Prednisone reactions, then his back, etc.  

The oldest and I just finished reading the last book in the Remnant Chronicles series.  It was pretty good.  I would say if anyone out there wants to read them, when you've read about a third of the first book, keep going.  It gets better about half way through and we both agreed the 2nd and 3rd books were the best.

With the time change last week, it has been nice walking in the morning again!  We'll see how long that will last since we'll lose some of that as the months progress too.

Tomorrow I see my Orthodontist and I should be done wearing my Invisalign. I'm not sure if she's just fitting me for a retainer tomorrow and I'll just keep wearing these last ones until they come in or quite what the next step is.  I'd love to get this little nubs (which help keep the trays in place) and rubber band wires (on bottom back molars) taken off.  That alone would be nice.  I am tired of wearing rubber bands at night and it was really hard when I had a cold.  So we'll see. 

That's it for now.

Last one!

I have been wearing Invisalign for the last year to straighten my teeth.  Yes I even had braces as a teen but they shifted since then, even though it has only been a few years - ha -ha.

The end goal is to replace my front tooth crown with one that is shorter as my other front tooth has naturally grinded down some (with use/age).  I have not liked how the crown was longer than the other tooth and also stuck out forward due to crooked bottom teeth. Rather than just get a new shorter crown that would still stick out if I didn't get my teeth corrected first, I opted for the more logical solution.

 So anyway I am on the very last set!  28 of 28 for 2 more weeks and then I should be done.  Although I'm sure there will be a retainer and still have to get the crowns but I'm proud of wearing them fully as instructed! :) My teeth are straight again!

Blimp

Let's see if this is short enough that I can post it.
The other day I was looking out our back balcony and saw
what looked like a blimp!

I grabbed my camera and zoomed in as far as I could
Could not make out the writing.. and should have zoomed back out so could
see how far away it really was. LOL.   TRIED to hold my hands steady.