I hate my smile. Not that I don’t have a great smile, I think I do. The fact is every picture when I smile where my teeth are visible, the only thing I can see is the imperfection in my teeth.

It all started when my canine teeth grew back in. I don’t remember how old I was. My canines started to come in and it is almost as if they got stuck coming down because there wasn’t enough space.  I have had three different orthodontic consultations. The first one when I was 16. The orthodontist told me that the only way that we could fix my teeth was to break my jaw and reset it. Then I could get braces. Talk about terrifying a teenager! I am glad I didn’t go through with that option because one of my friends in high school went through with a procedure like that and she said that her jaw has never been right since (and she has recommended that I not have it done). My second orthodontist appointment. Same thing. Break and reset jaw, then apply braces. Oh and while he was at it he could fix the symmetry in my face because it just isn’t perfect and little bit off. Huh?! As if I didn’t have it rough enough, he points out that my nose doesn’t align correctly with my face. Last orthodontist appointment was the most frustrating – believe it or not. Two options – 1) break and reset jaw, then apply braces and 2) break and expand my palate, then remove bottom front tooth to move teeth around. Now you can see my frustrations. Hundreds of dollars in consultations and nothing but confusion left. All I know is that my teeth are overcrowded, my palate is narrow, and I’ve got TMJ.

I would love to win a smile makeover from Invisalign. You see once we had our son, I considered my braces long gone. I quit my job to stay home with our son because I felt that staying home with him was more important for our family than going back to work. Money is tight, but we make it work. The full cost of braces for me would be an expense we just can’t afford right now. Not to mention, I would feel guilty paying for braces when it isn’t need, but a want for me. This would be great to win, even if it is just a partial cost for me, it would actually force me to go through with my braces before our son is grown which was what I figured would happen.

I love the idea of Invisalign because of the fact that I would feel even more self conscious wearing metal braces at my age. I am almost 30! I also remember the annoyances one of my dearest friends had in high school with her metal braces. She made it looks so painful wearing them. I like that I would be able to floss and brush normally with Invisalign. This same friend had to get her teeth whitened when she got her braces removed because of the markings left behind with her braces. I would love to get Invisalign to help straighten my teeth without having to make a huge adjustment with my lifestyle. Invisalign would allow me to straighten my teeth without screaming it to the world. And I would still be allowed the dignity of looking like an adult while straightening my teeth.

A friend of mine, Lolli, at Better in Bulk is trying to win this for her teenage daughter. If you get the chance please stop by her post because if I don’t win, I would love for her to win this for her daughter.

Disclosure: Invisalign is one of the sponsors for Blogalicious. By writing this post, I am entered to win a $5000 Invisalign Treatment. If you or someone you know wants to enter this contest, it ends tonight, October 9, at midnight.

Recently I’ve been watching the Twitter stream watching tweets from others saying they got to try out the new Twitter. I’ve been a little envious of those that got to try it out before me. Yesterday, I was notified that I was able to preview the new Twitter. You bet I jumped on that opportunity! It has taken me a few hours to get used to the new look. And I’ve thought a few times that I should just go back to the old Twitter, but if I did that I would never force myself to learn the new features. It was a bit overwhelming at first. I had to change the color for my links because I couldn’t see them anymore, but according to someone else that I talk with she said she had the same problem. Besides changing my Twitter design colors which I ended up doing because once I changed my link colors I decided the rest had to change (become I am obsessive like that), I am liking the new Twitter. You can read what people think about the new Twitter by following the search on Twitter called #NewTwitter.

Have you tried new Twitter yet? What do you think about the new Twitter?

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Allrecipes. Just ask my hubby. I can’t count how many meals I have found on Allrecipes.com that I have made my hubby test out with me. My favorite thing about Allrecipes is that you can find ratings/reviews by other members on the recipes, so I know which recipes to try and which ones to skip.

Allrecipes has easy party tricks and recipes for Halloween – check out their Halloween Headquarters.

Here is one that I can’t wait to try!

Chocolate Mice Recipes by Rosina

If you are looking for something more spooky or creepy, these might be more to your liking

I’m back! We had a mini Vegas vacation this weekend!

The long and boring road to Vegas…

On our way to the Shark Reef Aquarium in Mandalay Bay

This weekend was full of excitement! My cousin got married. No, this was not one of those Vegas dares. This wedding was planned in advance. I got to experience Vegas for a second time. And the extra bonus for me is that I got to spend that time with family in Vegas!

I will admit that Vegas is very different when you have a child. You see the last time I was in Vegas, the hubby and I took a road trip on our honeymoon (5 years ago) from our hotel in Palm Springs. We didn’t have to worry about walking with a toddler or making sure our toddler got a nap. I wouldn’t change it for the world! Little Monkey loved the bright lights and all the movement. He enjoyed being surrounded by all his family and seeing all the sights. Our last night there the hubby, Little Monkey, and I enjoyed a family Gondola ride outside The Venetian hotel. It was wonderful. Although it was kinda weird to have strangers on the strip stop and take pictures of your family while on the ride. I am pretty sure we are going to end up on a stock photo somewhere.

We didn’t get to do everything I wanted to do, but spending time with my aunts and uncles was way more fun since I hadn’t seen them in a while. No worries we plan on going back to Vegas in the near future!

I would’ve kept you guys updated, but our hotel was pay by the day Wifi. Today I will be spending a good portion catching up on everything I’ve missed since we left for Vegas on Thursday.