Week 8: Celebrations! (and acne)

(July 27th, 2016) 

Celebrations! 

Happy anniversary to my hubby! Well, not today, but sometime last week. We've been married for... wait for it... nine years and we've been together for... wait or it... SEVENTEEN! Like, seriously, that sounds crazy right? Seventeen years is an almost-adult! I've been with my husband for longer than most of my students have been alive. (So. Old.) I wanted to post a picture of us at dinner, but I think they're all on his phone. Oh well.

And then it was my dad's birthday! While I didn't end up buying him anything ("Don't get me anything! I have too many clothes already!") I did make him his favorite noodles. Well, his favorite noodles that I make. Haha. It's just this Chinese cold noodle sauce with egg noodles and julienned vegetables. My dad used to make it when I was little, but I think he forgot how cuz he said he tried to make it recently and my mom said it turned out terrible. :P I've been making my version for a few years now - it's a recipe I got from (omg, so embarrassing) Andrew Zimmern. It's pretty tasty, though. And super easy. I add more veggies and baked tofu, though, since it's so carby. Anyway, here's us:

(So I think my sister might make me remove this animation if she ever finds my blog, but it's SO CUTE I had to include it. Hehe.)

Ice cream cake, of course.

Acne (mostly on my chin, but sometimes above my lip as well)

I am not going to post a picture of my pimples (cuz eww) but I'm telling you they're there, okay? I started noticing them about a month after the surgery and then it's slowly gotten worse. And, by worse, I mean that at any point in time I usually have 2-3 little whiteheads and about 10 either forming or healing. It's not the worst thing ever, by any means, but I've also never had "acne" before so it's totally new to me and annoying as heck. I'm required to cover them with foundation and concealer every day - it kinda reminds me of those "before pictures" that Katy Perry or Brittany Spears would use in Proactive commercials.

So I was feeling a little more irritated about the whole thing... until I found this blog post. DO NOT click on that if you don't wanna see the worst reaction to a facial EVER. It's reeeeally sad (I feel for this girl) and it's really sobering (I no longer feel sad about my measly little pimples). On a side note, she recently had to take down a blog post where she basically mean-girl live-blogged a wedding and she got totally roasted for it. Comments included something like, "what a terrible person...maybe that's why she was punished by the facial experience" which is also totally mean-girl! Jeez.

Back to my acne. Haha. It may be getting slightly better. I went crazy researching skincare and acne products and decided to change my entire skincare routine. Drastic, I know. What I found was that the only products that are proven to change the texture of your skin, unclog pores, and stimulate new skin cell growth are alpha and beta hydroxy acids - things like vitamin A (retinoids), vitamin C, glycolic acid, salicylic acid, etc. Fruit enzymes (ferulic acid), antioxidants, blue light, and whatnot are cool, too, but more like "extras." What I was using, La Mer (I know that sounds uber-fancy but my aunt bought me a little starter set), was fine, but it's kinda froufrou. Oooooo, miracle seaweed. Before that, I used Algenist, who's claim to fame is also some kind of secret microalgae. The new skincare products are mostly from Drunk Elephant. I would tell you exactly what I'm using, but... let's see how it works first and I'll keep you updated...

I don't wanna be bagging on Algenist, though - both me and hubby really like their Triple-Action Micropolish & Peel. And I still really like their Ultra Lightweight UV Defense Fluid SFP 50. So there. :)

Video and Compulsory Face Pics

This video is about how and why I chose my oral surgeon, some insurance considerations (in the USA), and what I paid for the surgery. While the hospital costs were relatively minor/non-existent, since the hospital was in-network for my PPO, I did have to pay for most of my surgeon's costs, the assistant surgeon's costs, and some x-rays. (That's on top of my orthodontics costs, which my dental insurance chipped in $1500 for. Ha. While appreciated, that's a pretty minor contribution.) If you live in the states, definitely look into your company's "flexible spending plan," which takes a predetermined amount of pre-taxed money out of each paycheck that you can then use for medical/dental/vision/childcare reasons. It's kind of a pain, but totally worth it when you're saving thousands of dollars.

Random update: I can open my mouth 2.5 fingers now!

And here's me at 8 weeks... someone told me last night that I look "ten years younger." That's sweet, but I sort of hate those compliments. Unless she was trying to tell me that I now look like a teenager. :P

(Once, in college, an acquaintance I hadn't seen in two years told me that I "got so pretty" after I lost a few pounds and grew out my hair. She was seriously like, "oh my GAWD" and she obviously really meant it, but... Not cool, girl. Not cool.)

These are kinda fuzzy, huh? Sorry.

Unless something interesting happens, I don't think I'll be updating the blog for a few weeks. My summer vacation is ending, so I'll be pretty busy for a while...

Pain: 2/10

Numbness: Bottom gums numb on the outside portion. Chin area and right side of jaw very very slightly tingly.

Discomfort: I still hate rubber bands. I still have to wear wax/silicone 24/7 on all of my molars.

Weight: -4 lbs

(Black items stayed the same as the last post. RED items changed slightly.) 

~m