Day 96 - My Life Compared to Liz Lemon

Alllo! I'm sitting here on our new love seat watching Liz Lemon's sad portrayal of life in 30 Rock, and I thought, well, if I remain on this path I am on, I could turn into Liz Lemon one day! Just kidding. I sure hope that isn't true. Although Liz is my idol, her role on this show makes her out to be a poorly dressed, routine woman. I like to think of myself as well dressed. I also would like to think that I will be successful one day. But Liz is successful. Baldwin is just busting her chops.

Back to my point. I realized I hadn't blogged in a while so here I am! Doug and I moved into our first apartment on November 15 and we've been slightly busy with moving and lugging all of our belongings up three flights of stairs with no elevator. It wasn't as bad at it sounds. Both sets of parents were along for the ride and to lend their hands. Everything is moved in and unpacked. Wednesday our remaining furniture will arrive including our dining room table which we will be serving our Thanksgiving meal on. I will be preparing all of the fixens, however, the guest of honor will not be present. I've never made a turkey before and therefor the guests and I deemed it not necessary. Alternative meats will be present by the mothers of the new apartment holders, and I'll be making a whole slue of yummy sides, treats and scrumptious things.

My jaw is doing good but I'll be back in a few weeks for routine check up. My last appointment (on move-in day) went well, however, my surgeon and ortho would like my mouth to open wider. I would like this too. Daily exercises have not been helping much. I'm back to only wearing the elastics at night but I have not noticed any difference in being able to open more since I've decreased my time wearing them. Surgeon mentioned physical therapy if my jaw doesn't open more. Our insurance ended and I'm now on a swell payment plan to knock down my current balance of my twenty four thousand dollar surgery. Fortunately I'm only responsible for about 3% of that and although that is a wonderfully lower amount, my pockets are still burning a whole with all these bills!

In efforts to save money we opted for basic cable. I must say I'm taking advantage of the channels we get as I never used to watch these low-number channels. Shows like 30 Rock, According to Jim, Terra Nova, House and Big Bang Theory, supply quality background sound while cooking or lazying around the apartment. It's all we need for now at least and it's much cheaper. Our wireless allows me to work comfortably from the couch and write my articles. Well, chao!

Doug and my office, sunny and bright and welcoming of our desk and my makeup table.

Day 81 - Update!

Currently there are a few things going on in the world of my post-surgery jaw, eating habits and overall health and well-being. I've been slacking with keeping my blog up-to-date. The problem is that I have somewhat of a life and my time must be managed properly. Between watching Mrs. Doubtfire and drinking Bosco chocolate goodness I somehow struggle to find the time to type up this here blog post. But, since we gained an hour today with Daylight Savings Time, I thought I now have no excuse and that this one extra hour should be spent in total productivity.

First, I've recently developed an odd pain in my shoulder/neck region,  similar to what dad experienced a few months ago when he was being irritable. He had a problem with his rotator cuff, the group of muscles that act to stabilize the shoulder. He messed it up when he tried lifting a tree singlehandedly. My pain began in my back as a mere dull ache a few weeks ago. I stand for several hours each shift at work and the hard cement floors certainly cannot be healthy for ones posture. As it progressed, my pain worsened and transmitted down my right side to my arm and shoulder. So what did I do? I didn't go to the doctor because last time I went to find out why I was tired, achy and had persistent headaches around the clock, tests were performed and one large bill was issued. Our insurance didn't cover the tests that were conducted. Results came in and I was told I'm normal and only a few hundred dollars in the whole.

After leaving the doc's office I did what anyone would do after receiving no helpful pieces of information in regards to making me healthy. I did my own research and discovered a lot of good information on TMJ. I subsequently decided it was a potential cause of my headaches as there's sufficient evidence to back up that claim. I self-diagnosed myself with TMJ. I figured that even if I didn't have it (although there's a great chance I do since uncle Pete says it is genetic as he also has it) my surgery was necessary due to my enormous overbite. Well, guess what folks, my headaches are back. I'm not jumping to conclusions as surgery was only two months ago and I'm still healing. Feeling is still coming back in different areas of my face and perhaps that explains the small, short, jolts of mild pain I've been receiving in my jaw area this past weekend.

So today I am at it once again, typing away on WebMD.com and it appears I have one of three things: a rotator cuff problem, a slipped disc, or frozen shoulder. Personally, all three of them sound very similar and I'm having trouble self-diagnosing my condition any further. All three of them say to rest it away and take anti-inflammatory medicine. Rest has helped a bit and I've been utilizing my left hand and neglecting my right for the time being. I'll also mention that my mild backache first began on my first day back to work. I figured my body wasn't used to work as it had been through so much trauma during surgery and afterwards I was use to resting all-day with no physical, heavy-duty movement. Standing for a long period of time can be especially rough for people in recovery.

On another note, I'm sick of wearing these elastics to keep my mouth closed. I'm back wearing my elastic bands 24/7 and removing them for a few hours each day. Orthodontist appointments have been less than ideal as my mouth isn't opening wide enough and my jaw is being "lazy" - according to my orthodontist. Apparently my jaw is much stronger than the bands that hold my mouth together, and I should bounce right back upon removing the elastics each morning and be able to open much wider. Currently one and a half finger widths can fit in my mouth but two would be more ideal.

Don't worry though, I have no problem with shoveling food into my mouth. I had a salad a few nights ago. I didn't think I could do it but I attempted, as I was in public and thought total regurgitation might be an unfortunate sight for fellow dining patrons. Besides salad I have been mowing down foods such as beef stew, chicken parmesan, and delicious cookie treats like the one below.

Not quite as good as Uno, but Applebee's Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae hit the spot!

Yum.