Update- Week one #invisalign

Hi. Ok so I've had my braces in a week now and I have to be honest it's been a rather testing week! I hadn't really heard anything about how painful invisalign could be and whilst I expected some discomfort, I wasn't prepared.

I think days 2-5 were possibly the worst. I'd go so far as to saying that I was in agony. I didn't know what to do with myself at times, although I didn't cry so that says something!

Although the dull aching of my teeth wasn't pleasant (ibuprofen helped there), my main issue was mouth sores. I developed a HUGE ulcer on the bottom right of my mouth under my lip/cheek area. The brace/tray seemed extremely sharp there and as I had been talking on day 1 it had literally scratched away at the flesh. I had to ask friends and google to see if this was normal. Apparently it is. I also read about using a nail file to soften the edges, so I had a little go at doing this but I hardly noticed a difference. The damage had already been done!

 

I found my Aloe Gelly became my best friend as it helped to soothe and numb the parts of my mouth that had developed ulcers and cuts, including my tongue which had took quite a battering too! Then I bought the Bongela Complete to cover the large ulcer on the bottom right of my mouth. Wow did this sting!!! The first time I applied it I actually shouted in pain and my Mum came to see what was the matter...assuming I was being murdered haha! However I have to say, it's helped immensely since!

Around day 4 I did start to wonder what the hell I had done and that I'd paid over £4000 for sheer pain! I did wonder if I had known how much it hurt whether I'd have gone ahead with them.

However, over the last 2 days they have started to feel somewhat comfier and I did wake up yesterday and check I still had them in! Definite improvement. When I woke up on day 2 the pressure of them really surprised me and I couldn't wait to have breakfast so that I could take them off. Also to point out the pain on the first few days when eating. My teeth felt extremely delicate and I found it hard to chew.

After wearing them now for 8 days, I'm getting there I think. There still is however the issue of my speech. I find it really difficult to speak properly. I have a definite lisp and find some words, particularly S's hard to say. I am very conscious of it and I have to tell anyone I speak to that I've recently had Invisalign!

Also for important parts of my work, like for someone's business launch I do find I have to remove them. Talking through the products and their benefits for 30 minutes in front of a room of strangers just isn't feasible at the minute to do with them in. My speech is THAT bad! However I'm hoping this improves!!

For now I'm happy that the soreness and pain is dying down and I can already see slight movement in my teeth which makes me confident that it'll all be worth it in the end!

As for the maintenance, it's not been too bad. My life now consists of eat, drink, brush, repeat but I can manage! I keep a foldaway toothbrush, toothgel, dental floss and my invisalign case with me at all times! 

So far my only complaint is the fact I can't drink anything but water with them in! I'm really not a plain water fan so this is difficult for me. I have to ensure I have a 'nice' drink whilst I have them out to eat or otherwise take my braces out in aid of a juice or something, which to be honest is more hassle than it's worth. I may just learn to enjoy plain water yet!

Anyhow, that's my initial experience. I will provide updates along the way! Here's to week 2! :)

Sunday thoughts

As I am writing this I am watching the amazing 'Fringe' series on Netflix. I discovered it just before Christmas and I've been hooked ever since! If you're into your sci-fi gory futuristic genres then it might be worth a watch :)

I'm actually doing everything I can in order to tame my excitement. Even as I type I feel so excited and have butterflies. Why? This week is a very big week, as it is for a fair few 3 year olds across the country. It's my first day at school!

It's funny because you'd normally only have to start school once or twice in your lifetime, at primary and then secondary, but as a teacher it happens a few times more!

Starting a new job is a big thing for anyone. No one likes being the newbie. Getting lost. Repeatedly asking people's names that you can't seem to remember. Feeling a bit awkward. Overwhelmed...But the good news is you only have that one first day. And chances are you weren't as hopeless and you'd imagined. 

Today hasn't been a bad day. It's been rather lazy, granted. Yes I'm still in my pjs, my hair needs watching and I've been considering the treadmill since waking up...but it has been rather productive in other senses. 

I sent my business messages and chatted to a team member. I then found a new contact that wanted a call (via my website. www.ellie.flp.com if you care to look). I stepped out of my comfort zone and decided to call this complete stranger. This is not something I'm used to doing. In fact I've found Facebook to be so amazing for me getting contacts and arranging to show people the business that I can count one one hand how many times I've had to pick up the phone and actually speak to someone. 

But I felt confident in my abilities. I'd been advised on how to go about it by my fantastic team and you know what, I thought what is the worst that could happen? They say no thanks and hang up? My New Year mentality isn't about making excuses, but getting stuck in and doing something!

Anyway...how did it go? Better than I could have hoped for. After asking her if she was able to chat for 5 minutes, our conversation ran away with itself and after 29 minutes I ended the call with an appointment with her booked in for next week. I felt pretty happy and continued to organise myself for the week ahead. 

I think Christmas and New Year, whilst good, felt very strange. To not have anything in particular to do. No messages to send. No meetings to attend. No real tasks. I felt a bit lost. Prior to Christmas I was so stupidly busy that I had got so used to the fast-paced, coffee to go lifestyle. It was normal to not have a minute where my phone wasn't buzzing, and finding time to watch Hollyoaks on catchup a real mission! 

But then it just stopped. Stood still. Hence my 'Fringe' discovery. 

I suppose it is nice to have some downtime sometimes but I think perhaps a day or two for me would have sufficed. My Dad hit the nail on the head when he called it 'Crimbo limbo'. The days between Christmas and New Year did very much feel like I was in limbo. I hated not having any real purpose! 

Thankfully New Year did eventually happen and I could resume some activity within my business. I'm now pleased that is tomorrow isn't far away and I can get back on track with everything. Sure the alarm is going to kill me. I've become somewhat nocturnal lately and it's highly unlikely I'll be able to get to sleep quickly tonight. But my bodyclock will adjust. Thankfully it doesn't take long to switch back. 

Another important change next week is that my weekend begins on Thursday evening. Working a 4-day week rather than the standard 5 is going be such a help! My theory in teaching is that full-time actually means life and part-time actually equates to full-time. But aside from that it has been tough juggling a new business around such a full-on job. I did it and managed but long-term it just might have killed me! 

Having Friday's to do with as I wish will be magical. It hasn't actually sunk in properly yet. How amazing it is going to be knowing I've nearly finished my week on Wednesday. TGIF can go swivel it's all about TGIT lol...not quite the same ring to it ey?

But Fridays are still going to be productive. Sure on occasion I might treat myself to a lie-in, but mostly I'll be starting my day with a good Spin class at 9:30am. In fact I've already booked myself on for this up and coming Friday :) Then I can start my day positively with a great workout and have the rest of the day to do business things, any school work that needs sorting and just spend the time wisely! If by chance I take a nap, well why not! Haha. 

I suppose I better run my bath...my hair is a disgusting mess! First day, first impressions as they say! Wish me luck! :)

X

A good busy week

Hey. So I guess I'll start from the top, with Monday.

My week didn't begin too well as I woke up absolutely shattered with the onset of a migraine. I returned back to bed and called in sick at work. Was definitely for the best. Children and bad heads are never a good combo!

After dinner I came round a bit and later managed to do my standard core class followed by body pump. Smashing sess!

Tuesday. Back to school. Highlight of the day was being reunited with my bed and napping! :)

Wednesday (like most days to be fair) was all about the evening. I hosted a Christmas gift party for my best customers. Was a nice night and I even got to dress up! So did my sister bless her. Check out my Christmas gift page.

Thursday...I got through the school day, as long as it seemed, and headed to a team member's house to do her a launch party for the business. Again a lovely evening!

Friday! It always makes me smile. After school I got to see my little pidge...

Also known as Brooke my niece. I love her to absolute pieces. After cuddles and as tired as I was I didn't stop and instead made the most of the evening and showed the business to someone interested in earning an extra income like myself. It went really well and she is going to be in my team! :P

Saturday. I slept in until 8am! Wow :) Caught up on Hollyoaks and cried my eyes out! I went Christmas shopping. Then did a party for another team member over Skype! Love technology. Was really fun! Then I got dolled up for a night of clubbing...

Was a great night and I'm sure I'll be finding glitter for the foreseeable hehe! :P

And today, Sunday. Supposedly the day of rest...but been quite busy! After getting in at 3am I didn't wake up until around 9am. However I felt pretty fresh. I headed straight for a Mcdonald's breakfast and then went to visit my Grandma! I then returned some products I'd borrowed to my team. About 1pm I decided to take a nap. I LOVE a good nap! Woke up, had lunch and then went with my family to see the new hunger games film. I really enjoyed it! Worth a watch I say :)

I hope next week turns out to be as good as this one! I sometimes feel like a rest but I genuinely enjoy being busy and being busy in my business always leads to good things! I just watched some fantastic training online tonight. Truly inspirational. Feeling very positive and ready for the week ahead.

Have a good one everyone!
x

A perfect Sunday to a perfect week.

Hey... Can I just say how nice it was to have the clocks go back and gain an hour. Sure many would have spent it in bed but I got up early and got a few jobs done. I also woke up thinking wow, what a great week! :)

In case you missed it, see earlier post, I got a new job last week and I'm still beaming about it. As you can see I did have some celebratory chocolates (from my lovely mum) but I've devoured the lot as they're my absolute faves!

So Sunday was a great way to end a great week. I headed off to sunny or not so sunny Skegness to visit one of my best friends. It was a pretty steady drive down. I've loved driving ever since I got my Mini Cooper Automatic and I love singing along to my iPod :)

Arriving at Abi's, we decided to hit the shops...After my retail therapy the day before, I wasn't quite done with the spending it seemed! I picked up the above shoe/boots and considered them a bargain! Very comfy!

Later we went to the cinema to see the very long titled PG comedy film. It was actually really good. Worth a watch for sure! Of course no cinema trip is complete for me without popcorn and an ice blast. YUM.

We got back to the best Sunday roast :D Her mum is a great cook! And then chilled with a film- 'The Heat'. The more I watch that film, the more I love it.

As the title suggests, it really was a perfect Sunday to a perfect week.

x

Sunday Chat #1

Hello!

I felt like writing, and figured I may do this sort of post more often...so here goes...

Today is Sunday and for me that means one thing...Sunday dinner or Sunday roast! :D Whatever you like to call it.

Indeed, I get rather excited at the thoughts of a good dinner. A plate full of a variety of vegetables, a helping of mash potato, perhaps the odd roast potato, my favourite meat (pork chop) and maybe a cheeky bit of yorkshire pudding, all covered with meat infused gravy. Yum, yum, yum! Call me biased but my dad's roasts are amazing!

Being a uni student I don't always have the luxury of eating a Sunday dinner. Sure I could probably cook-up my own rendition, but it seems like a lot of hassle when cooking for just me. And let's face it, cooking is not one of my strong points...Quite honestly I don't enjoy it and tend to avoid it as much as I can!

However, I'm still home today...after a very 'mixed bag' kind of a week...

It started with day-old sick in my hair and a much needed shower. I was still hungover from Saturday's antics. Sunday was possibly the worst day of my life, taking the horizontal position in bed for the entire day. Yep, it was disgraceful and I aim not to repeat. EVER.

Monday came to a close with a meal at Slug & Lettuce...to feed my alcohol induced hunger pangs. The Ultimate Stateside Burger was demolished along with half a Cookie Cup dessert.

o0o scary picture! Perhaps a little dramatic but...

Tuesday's are generally the bane of my life. It's a Uni day which, quite frankly, are wearing very thin on me now. I feel perhaps there is a reason most people coming up to the age of 24 are no longer pupils...I would have said are no longer in education but seen as I still will be when I get a teaching job, I'll refrain from that wording.

Apologies for the creepy images. Uni must have this affect on me 

Draining is what it was...to be in a room for 2 hours...essentially trapped. To listen to, in my opinion, often irrelevant information. Needless to say, I napped afterwards. Boy, it was a good 1.5 hour sleep! I then got sucked into having a chinese with my housemates. I was relatively good though and just had a chow mein, as opposed to my usual duck starter and chips :)

I awoke with nerves on Wednesday. It was the day of my literacy skills test. I was fairly confident but the sheer unpredictability made me uneasy. My body is literally the worst at coping with any kind of stress or upheaval! Any butterflies and my stomach is a mess, my appetite is gone and I feel sick.

Gladly, I passed the test! Yayy! And treated myself to a few bits, which I showed in this post. Sadly though, all of the adrenalin and nervousness from earlier completely took its toll on my body. I had a massive blood sugar dip (perhaps I'll do a post about my issues with this soon) and despite a rushed Gregg's cheese cob/roll and a Millie's chocolate chip cookie the damage had been done and I started to feel really poorly. A bit like a migraine kind of ill but a little more woozy...Anyway after packing my bag (to go home) in a daze, I had to lie down and awoke to my parents telling me they were outside to collect me (from my student digs).

I finally came around to feeling better a bit later. It was nice to be home and I tucked into my dad's homemade shepherd's pie. YUM.

Thursday was one of the saddest days I've had to witness. Back in Sixth Form, I was part of the school choir. We were very well received and sang all over the place, even touring in Germany and Kent. I loved singing in our concerts and I was sad to have to leave it behind when I finished in Year 12.

On Thursday the choir reformed, which would have made me very happy in different circumstances. Sadly, we reunited to sing at a very talented and loved young man's funeral. Luke was only 20 and had tragically suffered over a dozen heart-attacks, fallen into a coma and subsequently passed away. Luke was once a valued member of our choir and it seemed only right that we would give him the best send-off we could vocalize. His mum requested us and it was an absolute honour to be there. It was heart-breaking all the same.

It's funny how on occasions like those you think more clearly and assess your own life and what's important. For me I realised that my family mean everything to me and that really nothing else matters in the grand scheme of things. So when I get stressed about Uni work, applying for jobs and even get caught up in the waves of sadness that I sometimes suffer with...I need to remember what I felt in that instance.

That evening I did my much-loved exercise classes: Boot Camp and Step n Core.

Friday I awoke a little stiff from the workout but also quite excited to visit a local school. If you don't know any teachers etc...when it comes to applying for a teaching job it's obligatory to look around a school before submitting your application...Well, that's if you want your application to be considered! For me, I got that 'wow' I'd be waiting for. The school that I could imagine myself working at. It ticked all of my personal boxes and I'm hoping I'll tick some of theirs and get invited to interview. Of course I'm not stupid enough to assume I'll get it...I'm one of many...but for now I have a chance...so cross all of your fingers and toes for me!

I believe that everything happens for a reason...which is pretty hard to maintain when faced with tragedies like Thursday...but I think fate is a very powerful thing and if it's meant to be it'll happen.

So, excluding a lot more of the really painful sore muscles;  singing alone on the karaoke like a 'saddo' on a Saturday evening, in the comfort of my own home; starting The Host book; oh and, devouring a lot of biscuits dipped in tea...we are back to me having had Sunday dinner and writing this post.

How was your week?

Ellie
x