I saw GirlRay's play on Friday night and happened to go the same night as a few of her other friends. I sat next to a girl whom I had met once before--pre-braces. She started asking me about my braces and then was showing me her teeth. She said that she had a triangular bite. We all have something, huh? It seemed that she had thought about getting braces, too, but something was holding her back. Then she asked me, "Were you ever worried about not being attractive?" I think this is the worry of every single female adult who is contemplating braces. Will I look like Ugly Betty? "Yes," I told her. I really wanted Invisalign, but the cost and length of time (over double the time of what regular braces take) made me choose my present situation. "The funny thing is," I said, "I feel so much more attractive now with braces than I did before." I feel empowered somehow. I found myself becoming a braces "pusher." Come on, you'll love them--don't worry, they're great! But, seriously, they're SO worth it. And they can drastically imrove your dating life! Maybe they should come up with "fake" braces--like fake eyeglasses...for when you want a new look.

I'm ready for my close-up

This is a picture taken at my company's holiday party back in December. I had brought my camera just in case, but never thought it would be turned around on me! Cab and I were sitting at the table and he took a photo of the two of us. Without thinking, I smiled big, and then there it was...my big mouth! I kept looking at the picture saying, "my mouth is so big." But from there, I just kept going, smiling big for tons of pics. It was so liberating because for as long as I can remember, I always had these close-mouthed smiles--like I was hiding something, which I was. Hopefully I'll learn to open up and smile big in other ways, too.