There is a Light...

... at the end of this wire stabbing, tylenol popping, speech lisping, liquid diet, dark, dark, tunnel.

HUZZAH!!!

No the braces are not off yet. But it's so much closer I can feel it!! Just two days ago I was saying how I needed a Rally. Well, I think I got one!

Today was my 12 week appointment. For those who follow religiously, it was supposed to be Dec. 16th but they moved it. Yay for me!

Comments from the Doctor:

"Honey (he calls me that) you are doing a great job. Those teeth are really looking great!"

"Your left side is almost completely done, that's the side to cheat on the rubber bands, if you're going to."

"Maybe we should just take them off now!!"

I swear he said that last comment. I swear. I swear on my braces. And if I'm wrong, well then you'll just have to take my braces away from me, now won't you?

The lady at the front desk even said they are looking great!

To keep things moving they did tons of work today. And I am just PLEASED! First off, probably the best news ever, the news I have waited for 9 months for- THE BITE RIM IS GONE!!!!

It's so amazing! I am lisp free!! The weirdest part though is that the gum overgrew a little since I couldn't brush it but apparently it will move back.

Also, the slinky-spring thing did its' job and is off too! I am thrilled for that because that was a pretty big source of pain. Unfortunately, while doing its' job and making space for an implant, it rotated the tooth next to it, which now has to be rotated back. So I have a weird metal chain on the inside of my teeth now. More pain, and cuts my tongue, but hey, I feel like it is a trade off you know?

Ok, there is a slight negative (I mean besides the obvious, glaring, excrutiating pain that has become a part of my daily mantra). I got a new rubber band formation, back to 4 bands, and one of them is what you might say, more visible. BUT! The visible one only has to be worn at night!

So the plan for now is the next scheduled appointment - Feb 17th. And then we will check what else is to be done, but I should be close to having them off. I'm still shooting for no later than March 16th, exactly a year.

For a nice closing, I include another comparison photo. I know, I know, you're sick of my face.

So just look at my teeth, geez.

Braces are trying to Rally!

264 days have passed since THE DAY.

Isn't it incredible how time passes?

101 days until ONE YEAR.

I feel like a contestant on the biggest loser when they are under 300 lbs for the first time in ten years. And they stand there, half naked, on national television, and cry, and promise to make it to their goal.

Except I am sitting in an office, surprisingly not crying.

My frustration mounts on all accounts. I see casting notices everywhere and all I want to do is submit, but I know its a waste of paper and serious cash that I do NOT have. Speaking of, has anyone who ever entered credit card debt thought to themselves, how am I spending money that I don't have? Like WHERE dies it come from? Who did I borrow it from and is it actually just pretend money? Perhaps this is the ENTIRE reason that the economy flopped. We are all spending money we don't have because for some reason we forget that its not real.

Sorry for the sidebar, money is all I think about these days.

I feel like this is the moment in the braces career where I am supposed to rally. I need to find the energy from somewhere, build it back up, and Rally...

Oh I know I'll write a movie about my braces, fund it on kickstarter.com, and star in it!

Except, isn't the expression "PUKE AND RALLY?" Yikes. Maybe that explains the current phase.

* Stay tuned for news about my upcoming film project! And how you can donate to help me make it a reality!

Bridesmaids are Beautiful whether Blonde, Blue Eye-shadowed, or Braced

I know this may come as a complete surprise to you, but Braces do not exactly CLASS UP a formal event. Shocking I know.

Let me back track for a second. I am in my mid-20's which means most of the people in my life are embarking on huge life changes. And I include myself in that list, but for some reason my life changes are not accompanied with a registry, haha. Currently, I am in the midst of Wedding Bonanza 2010 with 2 weddings down, 1 wedding to go. I am quickly approaching the last, perhaps the most significant one of them all- my sister's. In 2 weeks I will be the only girl in my family left to bear the last name that I actually do not always bear. (bare? bear? whatever).

Last weekend I stood up as 2 of my dearest friends married each other after dating for about 10 years. They have been together for so long, the wedding almost seemed like deja vu. It wasn't until the brides Dad walked in the room and saw his daughter in her wedding dress that I realized, oh my god, she is getting MARRIED. It is actually HAPPENING.

I am having a hard time really believing that my sister, my roommate of 14 years, my best playmate, and fashion consultant, is getting married. I still remember us like this(Abbe's in green, Maggie-the bride- is in Purple, and I-the baby- am in red):

WHOA, I DIGRESS, INTO SAPPY TOWN, USA.

So where do my Braces play into all of this? (Seriously Chelsea, stick with the subject (seriously stop talking to yourself in 3rd person))

Well, getting married is a HUGE deal. SO huge in fact that in order to document it and savor the moment forever, people hire Professional Photographers!! Which means yet again these braces are famous whether I want them to be or not.

My preparation for these weddings included hair, makeup, manicure, pedicure, new shoes (Payless but still), new jewelry, Bridesmaid dresses, new undergarments to ensure you do not fallout of said Bridesmaid dress. In addition to these I am having the ties on my braces changed so my teeth look crispy clean!

For the Baltimore wedding I did my very best all week to keep the teeth clean. Drank any dark drinks through a straw, brushed constantly (although that is per usual), and carried around my picks everywhere. So the wedding comes, I jammed a toothbrush and toothpaste into my silver sparkly beaded purse, and I'm set right? Well, I would have been but there were unseen events!!!

We hadn't eaten from 11am until 8pm. I am STARVING. We are patiently waiting to do some quick wedding photos before we can finally enter the cocktail hour. THEN, the kind waiter brings some hors' dourves for the Bridal Party. The Bride and Groom are missing because the car never picked them up from the church so we have about 5 minutes to chow down, without an opportunity to brush my teeth before photos. Now what would you do? And keep in mind, YOU ARE STARVING. Well, it went something like this:

Despite the fact that Jane looks absolutely disgusted. I am pretty sure we had an awesome time. I'm looking forward to the final wedding in this series!

*AHEM! All photos in today's blog, minus my childhood sister photo cuz that would be just weird, were taken by the talented Jeff Vautin and his iPhone. For a photo of Jeff please back track to last month to see a photo of him and his Bride Jane. They are a smashingly gorgeous couple.

IT COULD BE WORSE:

Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet

I'll cut to the chase, I was Ugly Betty for Halloween:

The only people who guessed what I was had been told ahead of time by Stephan. I think this can be explained by 2 reasons:

1. These people clearly never watched Ugly Betty. Now, I also didn't watch much Ugly Betty, BUT I once played the love interest of Michael Urie in a staged reading in New York, so by default I don't HAVE to watch Ugly Betty. (I think Kevin Bacon was there too).

2. They thought I was Ugly Betty but didn't want to say it in case I would take offense re: the braces. It's like when you don't want to congratulate someone on their pregnancy, JUST in case they are fat.

Best part of the night? Someone asked me if my braces were fake for the costume!!!

Aside from Halloween, I have some braces related thoughts on my mind that I would like to get off my chest, I mean teeth, whatever. Bare with me-

Having braces is tough. Young, old, broke and paying for them or rich with insurance. It's just tough. It hurts. You look weird. No matter how much weight you lose and how sunny your skin gets, they will still be there, dropping you down a notch.

Having braces that hold you back from your career and your Passion... well thats just a b****.

Seriously, we can go on and on and on about how "you don't look that bad" or "I saw a girl on TV with braces the other day" or "you can still do theatre." But if we get real and you try and tell me I look JUST as good with the braces as without you are full of it or have really bad taste in women. AND if you try and tell me there are tons of braces roles, I will tell you they are for tweens. And there are many TWEENS who are actors in LA with braces who don't have the boobs of a 26 year old (although my chest was this big at 16, I'm just sayin).

So at the end of everyday I have to tell myself, this will get better, they will come off, and not everything will be perfect but this won't be there and you can pursue your life again like every other person trying to achieve something.

And I can perform again.

I can't believe how much I miss it. This is the longest break I have ever taken from acting since my very first play "Oklahoma" when I was 14. In 12 years, I have never stepped away from the stage for this long. You know what I miss the most? Not the dressing rooms, or the applause or the after parties. I miss those 5 minutes on stage, somewhere near the climax where you are so engrossed in the character, you forget you're not her, or that people are watching, and real emotions fly out of you at a pace that is unstoppable.

That is what I miss.

Well, onward and upward.

Slinky's and Success are not necessarily Synonymous.

Remember these? I do. I was definitely a child of the slinky age. In fact recently I was discussing with friends our jealousy of the children with the kid size range rover's and jeeps you could ride around in. We were not the rich kids with jeeps. I had toys like the wooden bowl with the string and ball. Or this slinky here. Am I jealous now of these kids with jeeps? Sure, they are now referred to as the kids with Mini Coopers and BMW's. If I had a kid would I get them a kid size jeep? Of course not. They can have just as much fun with a slinky or a basketball.

Right now you are probably wondering why I am going on a rant about slinky's. Well, the answer is because I have one in my mouth.

For real.

Except this slinky SUCKS.

Basically they put this coil looking thing to push those two teeth apart. AND IT HURTS. I need 8mm to get the implant and apparently I have it in the gum line but not at the top where the two teeth tip together.

That reminds me of a speech we use to do in high school before a show:

The tip of the tongue,

taking a trip,

of three steps,

down the palate,

to tap at two

upon the teeth.

Sorry, today is clearly a day where my mind wanders. It must be the i-buprofen. Or, OOOH something shiny...

So anyway. My trip to the ortho today was just to get my ties changed (All-you-can-eat Korean BBQ, while delicious, stains my braces) and report the info on the 8mm. I walked out with the slinky. But I also have an achievement!

I AM DOWN TO THREE RUBBER BANDS. WOO HOOO!!!!

Apparently my teeth are touching on their own on the left side so I don't need that triangle rubber band! Success!! Huzzah!! Woo Hoo!! I can officially chew with half of my mouth!!!!!

A couple new photos for viewing pleasure:

This is where my teeth touch!

You can see part of my bottom teeth when I smile!!

7 Month Anniversary!

Its my 7 month anniversary!! I realize its not as exciting as my 6 month anniversary, but it means I am over half way!!!! (I HOPE!) So I decided to show some photos!!

Day 1:

Day 210 (today):

Look at my beautiful curves!!!! Oh, I am so proud of myself. It's like I've worked out for 7 months and I'm flexing my muscles for you. Except not.

This makes it all worth it.

I think.