Updates, blending and guitars

First, the most important news for my prayer warriors:

My surgery time has been moved up to NOON tomorrow, instead of 3 pm!

This is very good news! I won’t be quite as hungry, and the chances of my going home same-day are much better. I’m very grateful for the earlier time.

I spent my last day with my current face getting surgical hooks added to my braces (Pokey little things. They feel like a picket fence inside my mouth.) While they were wiring everything in place, I joked that I felt like a guitar whose strings had just been changed. Mary Ann, my tech, was amused by my desire to take a picture of my guitar-mouth. 🙂 But, as promised, I’m eager to share all of these embarrassing photos with you…so here you go.

Isn’t it just lovely? 🙂

After lunch with my parents, I spent my afternoon blending some “meals” for tomorrow, and creating a vat of homemade applesauce (that is,  apple/strawberry/blueberry sauce!) Now, the house smells like autumn, my penultimate load of laundry is about to go in, the dishwasher is humming and filled to the brim with my Magic Bullet parts, and the fridge is stuffed with pre-made smoothies, and a variety of liquidy snacks. Life is good!

Here are the smoothies I created this afternoon, for those of you with an interest in my brilliant weight-loss plan of 2012. 🙂

• Blueberry/strawberry/yogurt/honey/fiber supplement (almost 2 qts in the freezer. Just need to add a banana and re-blend!)
• Blueberry/strawberry/spinach/banana
• Spinach/orange juice/yogurt (very smooth and liquidy. The flavor is more citrus than anything, and the spinach keeps it smooth and syringe-able.)
• Spinach/mozzarella (to be heated with chicken broth for a warm soup. Very thin. Added salt, pepper and some oregano…but I’m not the best with spices, yet. It’s tasty, though, in these early stages.)
• Banana/orange juice/yogurt (a little thicker, but a good, tasty filler.)

My surgeon also gave me the book, Dinner Through a Straw (Without the Straw). The marketer in me cringed at the very unattractive cover and mildly depressing title. BUT, the content is pretty good, and offers clear, easy recipes and ideas. I recommend.

The plan tomorrow:

I’m to be at the hospital by 10:30 am. My mom and husband will be with me, and my dad will join us later. I get to do fun things like sign waivers that say, “If I die, I won’t sue you,” and give my husband POA so he can tell them when to take me off of life support. (Yeah…not funny at all. But the medical world makes you read and sign all sorts of scary forms, so at some point, you gotta start laughing about it.)

At 12 noon, Mountain time, I’ll head in to the OR, only to emerge 1-1.5 hours later with a new lower jaw. Complete with titanium bolts. (Which means if my body is discovered inside of a giant chocolate bar someday, and is unrecognizable, Dr. Temperance Brennan at the Jeffersonian will be able to ID me by the serial numbers on the bolts in my jaw.)

Once I’m awake, mobile, eating and generally feeling somewhat human, I’ll be discharged and taken home by my favorite caretakers. I do plan to come back to our apartment, which means three flights of stairs (which means my husband and dad might be carrying me), and will have the bedroom all set up and ready for my convelesance. (That is, TV with Google TV box, books, copious amounts of pillows, clean sheets, a “come take care of me!” bell for beckoning, tissue, washcloths, and a menu of items that will give my husband a hope of being able to understand me when I’m drooling and mumbling all within arms reach and ready to go.)

Brandon will be updating my blog tomorrow, so stay tuned here for the latest news. He’ll also be calling and texting a few of you with updates. (You know who you are!)

And so, I bid you adieu with my current face! I shall come bumbling back into the blogosphere with many a narcotics-induced witticism and insight for you in a few days!

Until then, enjoy your chewing for me. I shall miss it dearly.

Much love!