What a terrible 8 months that was. I don't regret it.

Forgive me for my lack of photo progress, I focused more on recording video which you can watch below

I wanted to write this blog, to tell you more about what it was like going through the Six Month Smiles treatment - why it took me more than six months - what it cost and all this fun stuff, that only really matters to people considering going through something similar!

Let me start by saying I DIDN'T HATE ALL MY TEETH BEFORE! I hated one on the top row but I really didn't mind the rest. I have always been obsessed with straight teeth though. I remember going to the theater to see the movie 300 and I feel in love with Gerard Butler because OMG HIS TEETH ARE SO PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL! Yeah, while all the other ladies were swooning over his meaty man muscles, I couldn't look away from his pearly whites. Super unrealistic to have such nice teeth back then but WHATEVER THAT DOESN'T MATTER... CLEARLY I'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS TOO MUCH.

Everyone. Is. Different. I cant stress that enough. No two experiences will be the same, so keep that in mind when reading.

I have a very deep over bite, cross bite, and extremely tiny mouth (The dentist once said it was a child's size mouth, so I feel bad for my boyfriend) I had gone in for braces consultations in the past but back then I still needed to remove wisdom teeth and it just seemed like way more than I was ready to take on, all at once.

I finally got my wisdom teeth removed. One removed randomly, because it was popping through the gums. I got it out in Regina, and I was awake for that. Not my definition of a good time. When I moved back home to Ontario, I started having problems with my jaw, and pains... and I eventually went in for the wisdom tooth surgery. Had the last 3 removed while I was put under. Here was the X ray of my head while they were still hangin' out in there...

So after those came out and I was all healed up *that's a story for another time, my god*

I was getting my teeth cleaned and my dentist asked me "Is there anything you'd fix about your teeth?"

Great Sales Tactic. I Bit!!

They told me about Six Month Smiles, which was a procedure they just started to offer and since I had benefits with work at the time that was going to help cover some of the cost, I was all for it. I believe it ended up being somewhere around $3,500

Yes it hurt. Wax. Wax. Wax. I got many canker sores and mouth boo boo's... Getting them put on hurt, getting the wire replaced hurt... It all was kinda owwwwie. The best way I can explain the pain, sometimes it feels like you have cavities in some teeth, but its not a cavity, its just the teeth moving/pulling in directions that are new. This comes and goes. Getting them cleaned was a great feeling!!

Yes It was hard to eat. You constantly get food stuck in them, you don't want to eat out in public because its gross... Sometimes *If you don't clean them properly after eating* you can end up with food that's been stuck somewhere for hours and its NASTY. Keep them as clean as you can. There's an intense cleaning process after ever meal and before bed.

Oh yeah, you cant eat a lot of normal foods, I lost 15 pounds... Braces diet is posted below

I know these aren't the best pics *I look super tired and have no makeup on
But I don't have many photos of me smiling "before" because I never really liked showing my teeth. Now, I cant stop smiling

You sign a contract to get the procedure done, which says it can take anywhere between 6 to 12 months to complete. For me, it took 8 months however my dentist hurt her back and had almost 4 weeks off which delayed my treatment. If you decide to get this done, make sure you ask the dentist office that is looking after you if they have more than one person that is qualified to do what is needed, just in case your dentist takes time off or gets sick!

Here was the information sheet they gave me on the day my braces were put on

I'm really stubborn and as I read this, on my way home I thought "I can eat spaghetti with red sauce, wtf they cant tell me what I can and can't eat" I didn't really care about stains either. After cooking a huge pot of spaghetti that evening, I couldn't properly chew it and I sat at my dinner table crying because I was so hungry.

There ARE THINGS YOU CAN AND CAN'T EAT. Spaghetti is on the "can't" list sadly.
Mac N Cheese is OK though!!

Some of my favorite foods to eat when I had my braces:
Greek Yogurt, Apple Sauce, Soft Breads, Strawberries, Bananas, Soup, Chicken Soup, Tomato Soup, Any and All Soups, Any Soft Cookies, Jello, Pudding. Cheesecake. Soft boiled veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots - Did I mention soup? LOTS OF SOUP. MASHED POTATOES AMEN, Lots of baked salmon and chicken for dinners, pancakes, smoothies *I dont like eggs*

Basically you are avoiding anything hard or sticky. *Sigh Again, My poor boyfriend.

Check out the video below to see my full progress and feels on the entire situation...
Here are a few more pics!!

What it looks like with ONLY the clear brackets on the teeth (Not the wire)
First photo was from the first day getting them put on - Second photo was before getting them removed!

And a photo of what it looks like to have the wire ON the brackets

The last photo is of me at the dentists office holding the mold of what my teeth looked like "before" SUCH A HUGE CHANGE!! My teeth look like dentures. They look fake. THEY LOOK TOO PERFECT. THIS IS SPARTAAAAA!!!

I'm happy to answer any *non dentist* questions you may have about the process, leave a comment!

If you haven't seen the first one I did with my sister, CLICK HERE! But there are many others in this series...

Banana Bunch members can watch an extended version of this video! Sign up via Patreon to get website access

Okay... I think I need to clothes shop for my mom. She looked adorable in everything I had!! Who do you think wore it better?

Watch us swap some FORMAL OUTFITS in the 6min EXTRAS video for Banana Bunch members! Sign up to get access via Patreon (If we reach 250 Patrons I'll start releasing 2 FREE videos a week, with even more stuff for subscribers)

I love you, Banana fam!

I feel like I have SO MANY PROJECTS on the go but I love it... Being busy means summer has arrived. In the winter, I become a shut in and am usually pretty bored so I am very excited to get outside and get dirty - IN THE GARDEN!

I have a big gardening video coming up but I wanted to show you guys what I've been working on. The little plot I made in my backyard! I'm really picky with where/what I wanted to plant. Abra uses the grass/yard to #1/#2 so I didn't really want to be planting FOOD where he was doing that business. Last thing I want is dog shit strawberries... whatever maybe it doesn't matter but I was concerned.

The previous owner of my house had a hot tub (which unfortunately they didn't leave for me to enjoy) BUT they had a stone area with some other bricks set up in the yard. Since we weren't using that area and Abra had never peed or pood there - I figured it was the prefect spot to dig up and start a little garden.

In this photo, I had already started digging up the patio stones. You can see the difference between the left (stones removed) and the right (untouched)

I did this all on my own. I had never done something like this before and It took me pretty much all day to set up... Here's how I did it

Removed all the stones & dug out the junk! Cleared the area of the weeds/plants that were already growing there and moved the dirt around a bit...

I used dirt from The Big Yellow Bag *Not sponsored*
I ordered a few weeks ago to fill it in and create a bit of a raised bed.

Once I was happy with the amount of dirt and height of the garden I covered it with a black mesh to keep in warmth and make it look super professionallll. I used the left over bricks to hold it all in place...

NOW THE BEST PART! BRING IN THE GREENS!
I was posting progress on Instagram and asking you guys what we should plant here! We decided to go with the things we eat/use the most that are fairly easy to grow. Again, this is my first time doing something like this.

I cut holes in the mesh and planted... from left to right: Zucchini, Rosemary, Thyme, Swiss Chard and Two Strawberry Bushes (Hopefully not Dog Shit Strawberry Bushes)

I noticed immediately the robins taking a liking to my new garden and I wasn't having the birds benefit from all my hard work so I got a few U shaped bamboo sticks to wrap some mesh around to keep away anything that is also "hungry"

I carefully cut small holes in the mesh and pushed the sticks firmly into the ground... I used more than I probably needed to, but I wanted extra support just in case, I donno, Wind? Or a bird (fat robin) actually does TRY to land on it *sigh*

Here's what it looked like before adding the plastic chicken wire

I used zip ties to fasten the mesh to the bamboo sticks... I didnt tighten the zip ties all the way, so I could later adjust the mesh if needed. I had to cut 3 strips of mesh, One for each side and one for the top.

The side facing the grass cant be accessed. I mean it can be, but it'll be difficult. The mesh is placed under the stones (in hopes that the animals stay away too) The side that we are looking at CAN be lifted up so I can tend to the plants inside. It can be watered easily from above, without having to move the mesh.

Overall this project cost me about $120
I had some free materials like the stones and used some things from the dollar store (the black mesh for the soil/plants and the zip ties)
I got the plants, bamboo U sticks and plastic chicken wire from Canadian Tire
I didn't use all the soil from the Big Yellow Bag - I still have enough to do this two more times if I wanted to. Oh and the zucchini was grown from a seed in my laundry room (who knows if it'll grow or give us hini's, its an experiment)

I love my garden - I've got other grow projects on the go! Check my Instagram story for daily updates and keep an eye on the site for more updates!

Let me explain my plans with this weird thing in the background of all these photos...

I deserve a detention for these... heh
Sexy video and over 80 pics for Peeled Banana members, sign up via Patreon for website access!

We need to find someone in Niagara to tackle this KICK ASS project we've come up with... Check out David White Design on Facebook and Instagram

Brittany's (Left)      -      Amanda's (Right)
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