skinny 'n' smiling with braces...

Orthodontic braces - not exactly a 'smiley' (or 'kissy') topic but just something that's 'me' right now and a topic I want to spring out there like an orthodontic elastic band :-D.

Oh, this certainly won't be everyones cup a tea but anyone who's ever had braces or currently has braces or is thinking of getting braces...read on...this might just make you smile xx :-)

not the best quality pic...sorry but since
getting my braces I 'don't do teeth smiles :-/

If I had not decided myself to get braces fitted, believe me, I would be 'blinking' annoyed at whoever did suggest them.

Anyways, for the last 8 months I've been supporting wires in my gob :-)  My reason for this, which will no doubt sound incredibly vain, is that my teeth are around 4mm off centre! Yep, 4 or 5mm off to my left.

Terrible agony in the first few days.   Awful pain in the first weeks and, to top it all off, each month (after getting the wires tightened) the pain is awfully bad for a day or so (and the cost is mounting up and up).  I can strongly recommend Ibuprofen (for those that can tolerate this medication), I was in severe pain and thoroughly miserable with 'gob ache' but luckily my cousin and a friend gave me the 'heads up' about using an anti-inflammatory drug. I really don't know how I managed without it...actually, honestly, I did not manage without it. 

Ah yes, it better had be worth it!

I'd love 'Malinda Gordon' teeth...

even the little centre gap ;-)

So, braces fitted on my top teeth (in France) and the following month we arrive in Singapore. My new found best friend Dr Choo decided the braces were fitted in a way she would or could not work with! Ok Mrs Dr Choo, so let's have these French styled wires off, next we'll extract 2, yes 2, teeth and get the more superior Singaporean styled braces fitted top AND bottom.

Without being too damn gory on detail, I developed alveolar osteitis which is commonly known as dry socket.  This is excruciatingly painful.  With my Mr Man away :-( my lack of sleep and tears dripping off my nose end :,-( I took myself into emergency at my clinic and had the 'dry socket' cleaned out, this involved lots of scraping noises (I hear those noises in my nightmares!)  Forty minutes later 'Mr' Dr Choo had finished and sent me off home with some 'extremely' strong pain killers and the instructions to rest.   Extra instructions were no food for 48 hours and only luke warm water in small sips for the next 24 hours.

Let's get ******* skinny !

Which is where the link in this blog moves to getting skinny.  Healing did take a little while and soon enough the novelty of eating jelly (the wobble on a plate kind not 'jam') does wear out.  No more can I bite into an apple let alone snack on a cheeky bar of chocolate ;-)  Prior to braces I weighed 61kg, today, I'm a little less than 54kg.  I do still eat (of course!) but the constant teeth brushing and tooth picking really does make the eating more trouble than it's worth.

Twelve more months of braces, tooth picks 'n' mouth wash. I know (truly hope) my teeth will look great when the braces are off.  It does go without saying...I'm definitely not complaining about the weight loss in fact, I'm positively 'smiling'  at my size 8 bottom :-)


Next up, smiling at my beautiful January Bellabox and loving the CNY sales...

kisses 'n' smiles from me xx :-)

VIPs in Penang 'n' extra stuff...

A little change from my usual 'all about me 'n' Singapore' blog...talking about someone 'n' somewhere else :-)

My parents-in-law broke up their stay in Singapore with a short break in Penang, Malaysia. They chose to stay in town rather than by the beach.  Their stay at at the George Town Traders Hotel with the extra 'lux' of The Traders Club meant their stay truly was perfect and a real VIP experience right from the moment of check-in. Of course, they loved it and its highly recommended...it does sound fantastic and I can't wait to try it with my 3 men.

Guests of the Hotel can 'utilize' the facilities at the Traders’s sister property at Batu Feringgi Beach via regular shuttle, so if the sea 'n' sand is your thing then the hotel in the town can still work for you.

My Parents-in-Law no matter what country they are in, near or far, like to sample the local transport and found the buses in Penang easy and cheap to get around.  Here's a few pics of the transport and some of the touristy stuff they saw...

http://www.butterfly-insect.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Chaiya_Mangkalaram

http://www.pinangperanakanmansion.com.my/

I'll leave Malaysia now but will follow up this 'change in blog style' with a little tour of Australia when I get the travel tales from my parents...

I'm off now but leave you with a couple of bits 'n' bobs to look forward to in near future blogs...

smiling as the Lunar New Year preparations are in full bloom...lion dances and dragon festivals will be a dozen a day daily event :-)

not smiling, but more ranting, that folk are carrying out their annual spring clean and deciding they no longer need a pet (or maybe just not an 'out of date' pet)...some people!  I have no tolerance for them!  The SPCA are, and will continue to be, inundated with 'strays 'n' surrenders' during this festive season :-(

On a more smiley note, I'm going to finally enjoy the opening ceremony of my January BellaBox :-)

Kisses 'n' smiles from me xx :-)

wonderful, wonderful Wicked of Oz

Absolutely fabulous :-) My boys, my Mr Man 'n' I sooooo enjoyed Wicked the Musical at the Marina Bay Sands Theatre...

Of course, in true 'me style' we were 'running' (quite literally) late. A quick dash through the Marina Bay Sands, dodging folk through the Shoppes and finally, breathlessly collecting our pre-booked tickets from the box office. In very not 'like me style', everything went smoothly with collection and we got to our seats with 10 minutes to spare...phew :-)

I love a show and especially a musical and was very much not disappointed by Wicked...it was wicked ! :-) the story worked great, and linked straight into the original Oz movie. Those of my readers in Singapore, I say "go catch it while you got the chance"!  Before booking tickets I was unsure of the suitability for my kids, but, my boys aged 8 and 10 years totally enjoyed it :-) :-)

Marina Bay Sands...the resort, the complex, the experience...whatever you call it! Really is so out of this world...I'm calling it 'Dubai-esque' :-) fabulously over the top in grandeur 'n' spendeur!  fab :-)

I'm off now to eat some French cheese with, fresh out of the oven, bread and drink a glass of Argentinian Wine :-) SPCA 'n' gym tomorrow ;-)

http://www.spca.org.sg/

Kisses 'n' smiles from me xx :-)