A few pages ...

Bath Time

Our son's best friend in Fiji, named his first nephew after our son. In Fijian, this makes Andrew Ho our son's Yaca (pronounced - ya tha), which means our son's name sake. It's a great honour, and I spent a wonderful 2+ weeks with Andrew, his Mum, Grandparents and other family members when I returned to Lautoka for a holiday in 2006.

Yaca

Photos of Andrew ... with his Aunty Stephanie and his Grandmother Rachel.


Girl's Night In - 2006

This was of 2006's scrapping night to raise money for breast cancer ... we had a great time making money for a great cause! I'm yet to scrap the photo's for 2007.

Gaps

The lower extraction gap ... a first molar ... appears to be almost totally closed. Even though it's been slow ... it's gone a load better than the closing of the gap over my upper right impacted canine. I can see a definite improvement ... but I'm nearly at 30 months and that gap is really starting to p1$s me off!

Lower left gap – extracted first molar

January 2008


July 2007


August 2005




Upper right gap – over impacted canine

January 2008


August 2005

Interproximal Reduction

It's 4 1/2 months since I had IPR (shaving) done between my lower front teeth. Here's the progress ...

October 2007 - Day IPR was done


Close up of the shaving done on either side of my lower right lateral


November 2007


January 2008

A few pages ...

I love scrapbooking ...

I don't think I have a style ... just a passion to record memories and a love of writing!

Are You My Dog?

This shows Milo before and after her pre Christmas 2006 hair cut!



Licks of Love

I love this photo! Andy took it while he was visiting in 2006 and it shows the love between these two members of my family!


Graduation

My girlfriend graduating with a bachelor of counselling.

Zombie Flesh Eaters

My son and some of his friends in Sydney have formed a band. They describe it’s genre as ... Metal / Death Metal / Grindcore ... which all sounds a tad scary, but having spent a few hours at an Irrelevant show, when they toured Adelaide in 2007 and our son was acting manager and their merch guy ... or something like that ... I quickly realised they’re just all noise and the band is a bunch of sweeties!

I’m excited that he’s planning to write again and will get his creative juices flowing. When we lived in Fiji, he used to write reviews for music websites and mags most days. He became real good at getting demo’s from publicists, as he couldn’t buy the type of music he was passionate for, in Fiji.

I never tire of reading his work ... bias I know, but he has an earthy visual style, very similar to my own, just loads better!

Here’s the banner that the band want to advertise their MySpace ...

...too fast moving for my eyes, but I’m sure many will like it.

Here’s the pic I’m more comfortable with ...

My son has a zombie bride and groom tattooed on his feet ... and she’s similar, although not the same, as the bride.

There’s a demo song on the site ... and that’s my boy! I am concerned about his vocal cords, but my wish is that he’ll have fun and enjoy his passions!

European Holiday - Draft One

On Saturday we went to a travel agent to begin formulating the plans we’ve been making to have a holiday in Italy later this year. My hubby has talked about to visiting Italy, Greece and the Greek Islands for some time, and last September I suggested that my income be put in a separate bank account to pay for this adventure. This we did, and we started stage one of planning our holiday. We’ve done loads of online research and also talked to people who’ve been to Italy, and we felt it was time to start getting it together.

We went to the local flight centre, and the assistant manager Jo (Jody) started to put our plans together. She agreed that three weeks made our ideas doable, but obviously if we could sneak an extra day or three, it would be even more fun. My hubby has told his companies directors he’ll be taking time off for this holiday, and they’re okay about it, but he’s unsure of how long he should be away for … annoying, but understandable.

This is our current plans … nothing set in concrete, but a definite start!

We fly from Adelaide to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) by Malaysia Airlines on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday … after 7 September 2008, so we can get special air fares for September. We’ll probably have a one night stopover then fly to Rome (Italy). It will take 7 hours 30 minutes to get to Kuala Lumpur and 12 hours 10 minutes to get to Rome … that’s a long time!

After a day or two in Rome, we’ll do a 12 day Greek Isles Cruise, with the Carnival Cruise Lines. This cruise sounds great …
Depart Rome – 7 am
Day 1 – Naples, Italy – Arrive 7 am, depart 6 pm
Day 2 – ‘Fun Day’ at Sea
Day 3 – Marmaris, Turkey – Arrive 11 am, depart 6 pm
Day 4 – Izmir, Turkey – Arrive 9 am, depart 4 am
Day 5 – Istanbul, Turkey – Arrive 9 am, depart 8 pm (Scenic cruising of the Dardanelles)
Day 6 – ‘Fun Day’ at Sea
Day 7 – Athens (Piraeus), Greece – Arrive 6 am, depart 5 pm
Day 8 – Katakolon, Greece – Arrive 8 am, depart 3 pm
Day 9 – ‘Fun Day’ at Sea
Day 10 – Livorno, Italy – Arrive 7 am, depart 7 pm
Day 11 – Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy – Arrive 6 am – Overnight aboard ship
Day 12 – Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy – Debark 8 am

Maybe a night or two in Rome, then fly to Venice for a couple of nights and then to Tuscany for the final 5 or so days.

We may turn this trip around and start in Venice (or Rome then Venice), then Tuscany, then the cruise … not sure … but we have a plan … sort of …

Then on the way back to Adelaide we'll spend a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur. Then home!

We chose the month of September for this trip, as it will be autumn in Italy and the weather will still be warm.

... Still have to make plans for our beautiful 10 year old Milo. We have two choices ... leave her at home and have her visted at least once daily from a pet and house care agent, or have her holiday in the local kennels. I think I'll ask her vet for advice on that one!

Christmas 2007

We had an amazing time!

We flew to Sydney on 22 December and stayed at the Four Points Sheraton on Darling Harbour. That night our son joined us and we had a lovely time together ... which included a great meal in one of the many fabulous restaurants around the harbour.

The 23rd is our daughters birthday, so we took her for a day out to Taronga zoo. It was great to be able to go out as four adults and have so much fun! Our daughter's flatmate joined us, and we had a great day. That night we met up at the Star City Casino for a fabulous meal. Our son brought his girlfriend and my two nephews (my brother's sons) joined us. It was great seeing them, as all the next generation on my side of the family (mine and my brother's children) currently live in Sydney. We had a huge night.

On the 24th we chilled ... enjoying fine dining around the harbour and rests in our hotel room.

Christmas day ... well it arrived and Sydney was dull and cool. We wandered around the harbour for a while and found ourselves sitting in a cool breeze by the water with takeaway cups of coffee and tea. It was a bit like ... 'is this really Christmas?' ... but more was to come.

Next we walked to a train station ... and got lost. When we found a station, we were told to take the train on the yellow line ... which we did. We were soooooooooooooo proud, as we could easily see the stations we had to pass through to get to Westmead Children's Hospital, where our daughter is a nurse. We watched them pass ... until we realised that the last two weren't on the map ... damn! Then we realised this wasn't the right train and had taken a turn to the right, instead of the left. At the next station we got off, called a taxi and paid $30 to get to the hospital. It was great to see our daughter at work and spent time meeting other staff and being shown around the hospital. I loved the Japanese garden that children and family can sit in, as it has water moving gently around ... very peaceful.

When our daughter finished work, she drove us to our son's place and they both joined us in our hotel room for presents. Then it was to the hotel bar and then to a wonderful Christmas night meal ... it was fabulous.

On Boxing Day our son had a party at his flat, so we spent a few hours there, but decided to leave and let the 'real' partying begin. We chilled back at our hotel ... and enjoyed another night of fine dining at a restaurant on the harbour.

Our final day ... damn ... it always goes too fast, but we'd had a fantastic time. Our daughter picked us up and drove us to where our son works, so we could see him and his friends in action. Spent some time with him and then it was to the airport!

We arrived back to a heat wave in South Aussie ... phew it was hot with day after day over 40!

Our beautiful 10 year old Milo was thrilled to have us home!

Week 122 - Adjustment 18

6 December 2007

My orthodontist was pleased with my left side, as it's now getting close to having a class I molar relationship. Unfortunately my right side is still class III ... I wasn't pleased to hear that.

Uppers
* Wire tie put round left canine bracket
* To continue with class III elastic on the right side - minimum of 23 hours a day, change once a day
* No ligs changed

Lowers
* Strong powerchain removed
* Archwire removed
* Ends clipped on archwire, to prevent poking over the next three months
* Archwire replaced
* A new strong, 13 link, grey powerchain added across all lower teeth

My next appointment is in three months! My orthodontist is hoping the upper right impacted canine gap will be closed by then. Here's hoping it is ... as it's been a long wait ... around two years!

I'd hoped to get new upper ligs, so I could do my christmas colours of black and purple, but my orthodontist didn't want them changed. So have black for another three months ... plus the wire tie ... which will be okay! Had to get the boring grey powerchain again, as this is the only colour Con has in this strong chain. Here's hoping the gaps resulting from the IPR I had eight weeks ago, will be gone by my next appointment!

I enjoy my appointments and after discussing some general orthodontic stuff, it was holiday wishes and two more bags of 3/16" elastics (red bag) ... and I was gone!

Photos - 26 1/2 months - 15 October 2007

Front - 26 1/2 months ago

Front - biting the way my Ortho says I should

Left - there are bends in the archwire on either side of the first premolar

Right - there are bends in the archwire on either side of the first premolar

Lowers - after IPR and with boring strong great powerchain


NOTE ... when I hold my bite the way my Ortho wants me to ... uncomfortable due to only one tooth touching, but the side pics do make it look like I'm in class I. Kinda cool, coz I've never been class I before ... just wish it was class I when more teeth were touching ... but here's to that happening next!

At least now I have the feeling it will happen and I can see what it might look like ... the excitement is building.

Week 115 - Adjustment 17

15 October 2007

I had a busy adjustment, which was fun!

First Dr C removed the upper black ligs and archwire. He cleaned the bonding resin off my front left incisor ... and it was painfree ... which was great! He then bonded a new bracket on that tooth.

Next the purple powerchain came off the lowers and the archwire was pulled out ... but not removed. Dr C used a machine to do IPR between my front lower teeth. I couldn't feel anything, although there was a nasty smell a couple of times. Next the archwire was pressed back in and Dr C said I had to have a new tighter powerchain that he only has in grey ... boring ... but no choice about that one. I could feel the effort he put into getting the powerchain on ... so I was looking forward to seeing the how well it works.

Back to the uppers! A new archwire ... same size as the one I've had for the past 19+ months. Dr C put bends in the new one ... on either side of the first premolars. Wow ... I was feeling really excited ... so much new stuff ... He said these bends will start to help my bite come together. I chose black ligs again, as I like them on the ceramic brackets ... the three I have left!

Elastics ... I only need to wear one on the right side ... class III ... 23 1/2 hours a day, change daily. My left side is going to feel naked, as I've had elastics for 14 months on both sides.

Neither gaps are closed yet ... but they continue to get smaller ... just very slowly! My next appointment is in eight weeks.

Photos - Black Triangles - 5 September 2007

Week 109 - Adjustment 16

5 September 2007 - 25 Months

After nearly four months ... I finally had another adjustment ... it was good to see my ortho again!

My ortho is pleased (finally) with the progress of the two major gaps that are closing ... one over the impacted canine and the other over the old extraction site of a first molar.

He pulled the lower archwire forward and did some manual sanding between my lower front teeth. This is to reduce the 'black triangles'. I don't remember feeling anything ... we were chatting about hypnosis ... so it must have been good. In six weeks (cool a close appointment, finally) I'm to get IPR done by machine, but todays is to check on sensitivity. After the sanding I had a new 13 loop purple powerchain put on the lowers ... and all felt great.

The lower archwire ... left side ... was clipped and my ortho was impressed by the amount removed. This represents the closing of the old extraction gap.

• Uppers ... a wire tie was put on my upper left canine ... the rest left as is.
• Elastics ... continue the same as previous 13 months.

... and with that we said goodbye!

Two years - 3 August 2007

Front

Left Side and Right Side

Upper Arch and Lower Arch

Photos - 23 Months - 3 July 2007

Front - the way my ortho wants my bite to be ... but as there's only one tooth touching, it's not comfortable -

Front - 23 months

Front - 6 weeks

Left - 23 months

Left - 6 weeks

Right - 23 months

Right - 6 weeks

Upper Arch - 23 months

Upper Arch - pre braces

Lower Arch - 23 months

Lower Arch - pre braces

A photo of what was once the extraction gap of my lower left first molar. It's taken a long time, but it's nearly closed ....

Week 97 - Adjustment 15

13 June 2007

A good appointment ... starting with the usual, bite, open, bite ... now open and relax your jaw ... now bite again ... while my ortho has his hand on my lower jaw pushing it gently back. This always feels strange, as I only have one contact in my mouth when I have this bite, which is supposedly my correct bite. My ortho says I have a 'premature connection', and not to be concerned ... it will get sorted!

My ortho was pleased to see the progress of my upper 'impacted canine' gap. The gap over my lower 'old' extraction site for a first molar had stopped closing ... the powerchain had come off the hook on the second molar ... oh well ... so much for my skills of observation. It wasn't an issue though, as both gaps need to be closed for the next stage of my treatment to be started.

I asked about IPR ... and my ortho didn't sound too keen. I then said how poppy seeds seem to fit perfectly between my lowers and he said he'd put it on my file for next time! Finally got a new powerchain on my lowers ... after five months of the other one, I was pleased to have it changed. I chose my favourite grape shade again ... unexpected I'm sure! I could feel my lower left second molar ... it was obviously feeling the pull of the powerchain and not so keen to move.

Elastics the same ...

• 1/4" on the left ... change when break
• 3/16" on the right ... change daily
• Wear 23 1/2 hours a day ... remove only to clean.

My ortho reminded me that my class III will not become class I until these gaps are closed ... and this is the order the work needs to be done in. I left with a reminder that at this stage my treatment is all about elastics ... geepers I've had these things for over 10 months now ... let them finish there job ... please ...

Final farewell and a request to see me in three months! Damn ... why couldn't it be six weeks ... or eight or ten ... But he's the professional ... so here's to my gaps being closed before that appointment!

Photos - Adjustment 14

Here's my 20th month photos ...

Front

Left - trying to get a class I bite ...

Right - the gap over my impacted canine has closed a little ...

Right - before treatment

Open mouth ... see the neon elastics

Neon Elastics - a gift from a friend in America ...

Week 87 - Adjustment 14

4 April 2007

My ortho said there's been some progress on my right side ... fantastic!

He’s concerned about the way my molars are coming together on the left side … the upper arch is out in front of the lower. He considered stopping my left elastic, but then decided it was too important to wear it to keep my bite working towards a class I. Said I’m to continue putting a ¼” elastic on the left, and only replacing it when it’s broken.

He also commented that it’s great to see my back lower molar has closed mostly over the gap, but he needs it to slow, as it’s angling. Therefore to keep the same powerchains as I’ve had for the past two months for another 10 weeks.

My right side … there has been progress … the impacted canine gap has closed a little, therefore he wants me to continue doing what I have … with 1/16” elastics on that side, changing once a day.

He asked if I wanted my upper ligs changed … said I’d like black, as the NZ 7’s rugby team will be in town for Easter. The black ligs look good.

He reminded me again … my treatment is all about elastic wear! He said to come back in 10 weeks. A fast adjustment ... and best of all, with good news!