One Month Post Surgery

Hello, friends! I apologize that it has taken me so long to update this...the past couple of weeks have been a little crazy! I'll first update you on the "how's your face?" question I've been getting, then I'll give you a brief update on Christmas/New Years/new job/etc.

Tomorrow is monumental to me- it's my one month post surgery anniversary! That's right kids, one month ago tomorrow I was laying in a chair having my jaw sawed apart from my skull. Crazy. I had my third follow-up appointment with Dr. Lewis this past Tuesday, and I'm happy to report that he believes me to be one of his poster children for orthognathic surgery. What does that mean? I'm doing great! I can now easily get two fingers into my mouth without cheating, I can talk without mumbling, I don't drool when I drink from a cup, I don't have any stitches hanging off of my sutures, my nose is back to normal, I'm allowed to softly blow my nose, I have very little pain and I have much more energy. As far as eating is concerned, I've eating MUCH more now...anything that I can chop up really small so that I don't bite to tear apart. This means that cut up pancakes, taco salad without the shell, pasta, rice, scrambled eggs, french toast, etc are all fair game! It's a whole new world. Dr. Lewis gave me permission this past week to begin chewing very soft things now, with a rule of "If it hurts, spit it out and don't eat anymore." To get use to this I've pretty much just been eating the same foods I had been, but am trying to chew some of the pieces up. It doesn't hurt really, but it feels really weird since I don't have feeling in my mouth. For example, I can take a bite of pancake and chew...but I can't really tell if it's between my back teeth or not. If that sounds weird, it's because it is. Really weird.

One thing that I haven't mentioned before is that with my lips and cheeks so swollen, my braces actually rub and touch my lips/cheeks at all times. If I take my bottom lip and try to make the top of my bottom lip touch the bottom of my chin (go ahead, try it), I have groove marks all over the inside of my mouth from my braces. A few days ago, a few of these grooves were really inflamed and gross looking...and I never even knew they were there since I have no feeling in my lip at all! I've started wearing a lot of wax on my braces now so that those indentions don't get really bad or leave permanent marks. I don't mind the wax that much, except that it makes me look like I have something in my teeth at all times. Whenever I see someone I know I just open my mouth really wide and say "it's wax, don't worry" so that they don't stare the whole time. =)

So yes, my mouth is doing great. For now I am working on stretching my jaw (hoping to get to three fingers within the next few weeks) and getting use to chewing again. I have no complains. Below are pics from today:
I told you about my Christmas with the Hottinger clan, but I believe that's my last update. Chris and I (and the pups, of course) went to my parents' house on Christmas Eve to spend the night and day with my family. I made dinner on Christmas Eve, then made four pies and some cookies for Christmas Day. After dinner we did gifts- and all I can say is that we were very, very spoiled this year. We are very blessed in all ways...we are so thankful for our families and friends! My parents got us several things, but our favorite was definitely the Wii and the Wii Fit- we have both been sore for days from playing! You think I'm kidding? ;) My biggest surprise of all (probably the biggest X-Mas surprise EVER) is that my Aunt C had sent a gift for me and Chris from TX to my parents' house. She got us......drum roll, please.....A DYSON VACUUM! I've been wanting one forever, mainly to help with the dog hair and perhaps keep me from having to vacuum every single day, so I had asked for giftcards for gifts for a while since I could never let myself spend so much money on a vacuum. I had no idea that she would get us the vacuum...we were both shocked.

Christmas day we did a nice breakfast and then we had cooked and cooked. We had about 12 family members and friends join us for Christmas lunch, and it was very nice. I was worried about having both of our huskies there with everyone, but they did great and were well behaved. The weekend following Christmas, Chris and I went with my parents and some of their friends to some cabins at Keystone State Park in Oklahoma. The weather was very nice and we had a great time. It sure was nice to get home, though!

This week has been awesome- my hubby and I have had our first whole week off together to just hang out since our honeymoon! We've cleaned and organized and re-arranged...and now we're just hanging out and being lazy- it's great.

New Years Eve was amazing...one of my favorite parties ever, in fact. The group was perfect...the weather was perfect...and everyone looked great and truly seemed happy. My night was REALLY made when several people told me that I was looking good....it was really nice to feel somewhat normal and not be self-conscious anymore. Thank you, girls....here are a few pics:

I start my new job on Monday, and I'm excited. I'm finally done with my old company and I couldn't be happier to not have to deal with some of the lying, sneaky and arrogant posers anymore. It's crazy...I wasn't really happy with the way that things went down there, but in the end it couldn't be better because I got a much better job....with a better company...for more money...in a nice office...with better people! Yay for karma! I am now the Project Manager for the Wal-Mart/Sam's accounts for XXXXXX company. Anyone who wants to know all the details about my new job just comment or email me and I'll email you back...I don't want to tell all the details on a public forum. =) I will be getting my new BlackBerry and laptop this coming up week, so I should be able to post more often after next weekend. Wish me luck and enjoy your week!