FLIP + CHING

My Invisalign Journey Begins

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Ching under Health, Invisalign, Vanity.

Many people don’t realize this, but my teeth are quite crooked. A few months ago, my dentist offered a deal through Groupon that I couldn’t pass up. I got $1497 worth of value for only $49. The deal covered the initial Invisalign examination, x-rays, and $1000 toward treatment. Since my insurance covers half the cost of orthodontia, I figured this was my chance to correct my problem.

My teeth are not terribly crooked but, not having had braces as a child, I have always envied people with straight teeth. I opted for the lowest level of treatment, since insurance will only pay for half and I have to take care of the other half. The total cost of my Invisalign treatment is about $3330. Insurance took care of half so my portion was $1665. My Groupon took care of $1000 and then I had to take care of the remaining $655. Since I paid $49 for my Groupon, my total out of pocket is $704. That is, until the end of the treatment when I have to pay about $400-500 for my retainers. I think I have to take care of that on my own. I’m not sure that insurance covers it. I figured that I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

That day can’t get here fast enough. Yesterday was the day from hell. It started out great with Zumba. I look forward to getting up on Saturday mornings because of Gina Ann’s Zumba class. It is super fun. I usually stay for Group Kick after, but had to miss it this time to make our 11:30 AM dental appointment. Yes, Brian scheduled his appointment on the same day. He was supposed to get some fillings which turned out be one filling and one crown. His insurance allowance for the year was already tapped out from previous treatments so it ended up being a super expensive dental visit.

Anyway, back to my Invisalign… After putting attachments or buttons (these are installed so that the Invisalign trays can grip your teeth snugly, but they blend in with your teeth really well so you can’t tell they are there), the dental assistant struggled to put my trays in. Both the top and bottom trays were troublesome, but the top was particularly so. She said that she’d never had such a hard time putting the trays on before and that it was a real workout. Putting the trays on my teeth literally made her sweat. She said that I should take Ibuprofen right away as my mouth will be very sore. She said, “I hope you don’t plan on eating because you’re not going to want to take these off for a while.” That’s when I told her that I had my semi-annual dental check up and teeth cleaning scheduled at 1:00 PM. She was like, “Are you serious? That was a lot of work.” Right then, I knew I was up for an unpleasant journey. On the plus side, I figured that this would probably help me lose weight. That’s the optimist in me. LOL.

For my regular appointment, the hygienist asked me to take off my Invisalign braces. It took a lot of work, but I was able to do it. I was really proud of myself for being able to put the braces back on by myself afterward. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to do it without breaking a sweat. Brian and I had not had lunch yet so I knew I would have to take them on and off again when we got home. I knew it was going to be a pain, but I figured I could use the practice. Again, that’s my eternal optimism.

I decided to keep them on while I took a shower (we came straight from the gym so I was stinky from Zumba). I really should have taken them off before taking a shower, but my thought process was that I was going to have to brush my teeth after eating lunch so I would just wait to take them off right before eating. That was a huge mistake. My fingernails were soft after getting out of the shower and the trays were very tight. I ended up breaking the nails of both my thumb and index fingers. Even then, I still could not get them off. Brian was cooking our lunch, tilapia and steamed white rice, so I was on my own. I was getting really frustrated because I was starving. It was about 3:00 PM at this point and we still hadn’t eaten lunch.

In the meantime, Jan called because her car wouldn’t start. She was stranded at 21st and Rock. We couldn’t leave her there so the plan was to have Brian finish the fish, which really only takes a couple of minutes and I was going to leave them warming in the oven until he returned. Thank God, Jan was able to start her car after the umpteenth attempt so that was one less thing to worry about. Brian finished cooking lunch and hollered for me to come down. At this point, I was really contemplating just drinking a shake for lunch but I was very, very hungry and really wanted to eat. It was so frustrating I wanted to cry. Brian who had already started eating, stopped when I still hadn’t come down after several minutes. He tried to help, but he couldn’t get them off either. He was like, “I have to remind you that this was your idea.” He’s said that about half a dozen times already this weekend and is starting to sound like a broken record. Just FYI to those of you who have partners with Invisalign, that doesn’t really help.

After two broken fingernails and much effort later, I finally got the bottom set out. Lunch was getting cold at this point and the top set was still giving me a lot of trouble. I cleaned up the broken fingernails and clipped the rest of my nails to match so now I had no nails to aid me in the removal. As an act of desperation, I took the end of my comb hooked it to the edge of the top tray and pulled straight down. As luck would have it, the braces popped off just like that. I inspected them carefully to make sure that I didn’t cause any damage. Thankfully, they survived. It literally took 30 minutes to get them off that time. I didn’t understand that because I didn’t have that much problem at the dentist’s office just a couple of hours before. Then again, my nails were harder at that time. They had softened while I was in the shower and were absolutely useless to me.

I was finally happy to be able to eat lunch. I ate a lot because I figured that I probably wouldn’t be eating again that day. After that ordeal, I didn’t want to take them off again ever. After brushing my teeth, I put the trays back in. It was a huge hassle (again, I had more trouble than I did at the dentist’s office) and Brian had to help me. After our pedicures, I found out from Jen Teves that she made dinner. That meant I had to take my braces off again. Ugh. It only took about 10 minutes this time around.

After dinner, I managed to put them back on by myself without Brian’s help. It took less than a minute this time around. I had an easier time of it than I did at the dentist. I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. I did read online that the process of taking the trays on and off gets easier over time. We stayed over and enjoyed some wine while were watching the Mayweather vs. Ortiz fight (which was lame btw, and probably deserves its own blog entry). Huge thanks to Jen and Armando for letting us watch the fight with them and also for feeding us delicious food. You guys are the best!

Brian had coffee later that evening and they made some chocolate chip cookies for a late night snack. Everyone else had them but me. I wasn’t hungry and they were unnecessary calories and they weren’t worth the hassle of taking my braces off and putting them back on again (though, already I’ve realized that putting them on is not as much of a pain as taking them off; even though it did pose a major challenge of the dental assistant and of me earlier that day). I could see how they will be beneficial going forward and they’ll help me avoid unnecessary snacking at night out of boredom or while watching TV. I’m a glass half-full kind of gal so I always tend to see the silver lining of things.

It’s still a huge hassle so I’ve decided to kind of switch things around. Instead of doing a shake at breakfast and eating real food at lunch and a shake at dinner and some snacking with Brian at night, I’m going to eat real food at breakfast and have a shakes for lunch and dinner — at least until I get used to the process of removing the trays and putting them back on. I really don’t want to spend my entire lunch break trying to take my braces off. Once I get the process down pat then my eating habits can go back to normal. I did find some helpful tips online and ordered a removal tool from Amazon that will hopefully make my life easier going forward. I don’t want life to be too easy though, as I was counting on using Invisalign as part of my weightloss plan. LOL.

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My Husband is a Pretty Boy

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Ching under Things to Do.

Question his manhood all you want, but Brian is on to something. Pedicures are awesome. I’m a big fan of pedis. I just can’t get them too often, but I do splurge a few times a year. Sometimes I actually manage to talk Brian into getting one with me.

He wasn’t really a fan of pedis until he tried it at this place on the West side of town that Misty told us about. Their pedicures include a great leg massage complete with hot stones. That’s Brian’s favorite part.

His other favorite part is when they buff his nails because it makes them shine like they’re painted with clear nail polish, but they’re not. It’s all natural. Unlike clear nail polish that tends to wear off right away, the shine lasts for a long time. The last time Brian got a pedicure, his toenails stayed shiny for about four months.

The buffing costs $5 extra, but is totally worth it. So, yeah, Brian’s pedis actually cost more than mine. LOL.

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The Script – Science & Faith Tour

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Ching under Events, Videos.

Brian took me to see The Script at Hartman Arena on Friday night. We went right after work so I didn’t even get a chance to freshen up or anything. We were on a tight schedule because Brian likes to be early to everything. We barely had enough time to claim our package deliveries from the leasing office and grab a quick bite at Louie’s (our Cheers). I had an Italian sunset, my favorite drink there. Maybe Brian thought Hartman Arena is located farther away? We got there in less time than we thought and were there super early. On the plus side, we got great parking.

This was our first concert at Hartman Arena. Neither Brian nor I had been there before so we really didn’t know what to expect. After checking it out, I actually prefer it to Intrust Bank Arena. It’s a smaller, more intimate venue so you are closer to the performer – no matter where your seat is. Also the seat rows are farther apart than at Intrust Bank Arena so it’s much more comfortable to sit, stand or move around. I wouldn’t mind attending another concert there.

If you’re not familiar with The Script, here’s a song from their second album. The song is called, “Nothing.” They performed it the other night, but security kept busting me every time I tried to take video. Everyone else seemed to get away with it, though. Anyway, this video is from YouTube. Enjoy!

I first got turned on to the band back in 2009 during the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show. Their song, “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” was featured in the Enchanted Forest segment. I was trying to tell my coworker/friend Lance this because he wasn’t familiar with their music. He laughed and said he usually doesn’t notice the music when he’s watching the Victoria’s Secret fashion show on TV. LOL.

The Script put on a pretty good show. It’s not as elaborate as some of the concerts we’ve seen, but I enjoyed listening to them perform their music live. The opening act was Safety Suit from Nashville, TN. I’d never heard of them before, but they were pretty good. They were very energetic and fun to watch as well.

I think there must have been something wrong with my hearing that night. At the beginning of the night, when the 96.3 DJ was doing his announcing, I could have sworn he said that The Script was from Iowa. I knew he meant Ireland, though. So later that evening I whispered to Brian, “For a bunch of guys from Iowa they have funny accents.” Somehow, Ireland sounded like Iowa when he said it. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t mumbling. It was probably me and my problematic hearing. I mean, all night I kept thinking people were saying Safety Sue instead of Safety Suit. =P

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Some Photos from Zoobilee

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Ching under Events.

Brian and I had a blast with the Phelpi at Zoobilee last night.

Chef Jason, also known as “the good looking chef” (I heard other people at the event refer to him as that, among them this one girl in a really short dress, LOL), was there representing Taste & See.

There were thousands of people there.

I ran into Marty from Zumba. Also ran into Pam from Skin Essentials.

Brian and Cory got flowers painted on their thumbnails at the Sveta’s station.

Cory and Brian’s fingernails.

Brian, Cory and I also got free chair massages. They only had two chairs though, so we did quite a lot of waiting around. They were giving away $10 coupons to Sveta’s though, and I’m ready to schedule another appointment. That, coupled with the free chair massage was worth the wait for me.

Brian’s favorite part of the evening is the free cigars.

Me and Brian.

Brian, April and me with Chef Jason at the end of the evening.

This is right before Brian spilled water all over my shorts.

Brian is so clumsy when he is drunk. Anyway, he spilled my water on the seat next to me and soaked my shorts. It looked like I had peed my pants! So what do I do? I stomped to the bathroom, took off my shorts and dried them under the Excelsior hand dryer.

Immediately, I regretted my choice of underwear for the evening. April came in a few minutes later, found me pant-less in the restroom, drying my shorts next to the hand dryer. She said I was getting strange looks from people. I’m sure it looked like I wasn’t wearing any underwear from the backside. There must have been over a dozen people in and out of the restroom while I waited for my shorts to dry. All I could think of was, I really hope I don’t run into someone I know.

I was really mad at Brian at first but, by the time my shorts were somewhat dry (I couldn’t stand there half-naked any longer) and back on, I was over it. It could have been worse, I told myself. He could have spilled red wine all over my white shorts.

P.S. Here are pictures from Zoobilee 2009 and Zoobilee 2010. Enjoy!