The cute little Caitlin tagged me last week in her 7 Random Facts posts. I started thinking about it and figured why the hell not.

Seven Random Facts about Heather:

1. You all have to know by now that my nickname is Heatha. It’s really not a spelling error, it’s meant to be that way! One of my best friends, Jen, got married about 10 years ago and we all got pretty smashed (that’s what you do at weddings, right?). Anyways, I was in the bathroom and she came in there looking for me screaming Heatha! Heatha! and I yelled back Jenay! Jenay! (I’m pretty sure I was sticking my arm out under the bathroom stall waving to let her know where I was, too – because, you know, she wouldn’t be able to find me in the small, 3 stall bathroom). And that’s it. The nicknames stuck and we still call each other those names to this day.

Jen and me on New Years Eve a few years back – I swear we do a lot more than just drink together.

2. I sucked my thumb until I was 6 years old. This is why I now have Invisalign (and a lot less money in my bank account). I remember my mom and dad put this hot pepper liquid on my thumb one time to try and get me to stop. Well, I forgot it was on there and I had to run to my neighbors house for water because my mouth was on fire and I knew my parents would not have been happy with me. I can’t remember the outcome (if my mom and dad ever found out about this), but I remember being so embarrassed. Maybe this is what finally made me stop?

3. I worked at McDonald’s for 7 years (all through high school and then college). I was even employee of the year one year, which got me nothing but McDonald’s stock that I still have and know absolutely nothing about. I eventually became a manager and would come home from college (University of Toledo) every other weekend to work. It was a pretty sweet job since I was in charge and mostly everyone who worked there was my friend (C’s dad worked there, too!).

4. I’m a landlord. When C’s dad and I got divorced (we were only 27), C and I moved in with my parents for about 6 months. And as much as I love my parents, their house was just too crowded (C and I were sharing a bed at the time!). So I bought a condo and C and I lived on our own until we moved in with J a little over a year later. It was quite possibly the best year of my life – I loved living with my little guy by ourselves. I swear it’s why we’re so close today.

One of the few pics I could find from the condo. It doesn’t show too much of the place, but it was too cute not to post!

5. J and I met playing on a Cleveland recreational kickball league. A good friend of mine worked with J at the time and asked us both to be on the team. Holtz didn’t know it at the time, but he was playing cupid! J and I had a lot in common (big breakups) and we pretty much hit it off immediately.

Me with the matchmaker, and a horribly old, bad picture – sorry, Holtz.

6. I would much rather eat cookie dough than actual cookies. I have all the will power in the world when it comes to cookies, but that will power doesn’t even exist when there’s cookie dough around. I’m a total addict. That’s why I don’t bake as much as I’d like to – I seriously end up eating my weight in cookie dough. I always end up with a horrible stomach ache but it doesn’t matter. It’s too good NOT to eat!

7. I secretly hate that I am so tall (5’9″). I’ve ALWAYS been the tallest of all my girlfriends and I’m usually pretty close to the height of the guys, too. I can never wear heels without being self conscious and lower heels are definitely not as cute. It pretty much sucks. I’m always in the back of pictures or the silly girl in front with her hands on her knees because if she stands up straight her monster height will block everyone else. The only person who I’m never taller than is my dad (who I obviously get my height from).

This is me, my dad, my mom, and sis on Christmas day. I’m so much taller than both my mom and sister and I’m not even wearing shoes!

And here’s me, Andy, and Christina. Check out Christina’s feet. She’s on her tip toes and I’m still towering over her.

I can still remember being down at the Basement (hell yes, went there every weekend!) many many years ago and some random guy at the bar saying to me “What are you, like 6 feet tall?”. Ughhhh……still gets under my skin.

Damn, that wasn’t easy to come up with!

Now, tell me one random thing about you……………..

Sounds like most people work out better with a plan – glad I’m not the only one!!

So, it’s been 10 months since I started my invisalign “braces”. It’s always hard to see progress when you see yourself in the mirror every day, but check this shizz out:

December of 2010:

January of 2011:

Gross, gross, gross. Don’t know why I didn’t get braces sooner.

Because my teeth look SO MUCH better already, and it hasn’t even been a year!

End of October, 2011:

Christmas Day, 2011:

Crazy difference, right? I’m so, so, so pleased with how this process is going. I used to think that the best money I ever spent was when I had lasik done back in 2005, but I think the invisalign may actually take over as the winner of this!

Though, lasik was much simpler. The surgery literally took 10 minutes and I was in and out in no time. Invisalign is a pain in my butt. It’s no fun wearing the aligners and I have to take them out every time I want to eat or drink (except water). After I’m done eating I have to brush my teeth, along with the aligners, and put them right back in. Needless to say, sometimes I “forget” to put them back in right away. And I definitely don’t wear them when I go out to dinner or events with friends. But I’ll deal with the annoyance and pain every two weeks (I get a new pair of aligners every two weeks) as long as I keep seeing these results!

Plus, it’s fun telling J “I have to put my teeth in” after dinner or before bed. I always love the horrified look on his face.

Did you have braces as a kid (or an adult)? Any funny stories about them?? Anyone out there have invisalign like me???

You’re probably wondering what I mean by that title, huh?? Hehe.

Well, it’s not exactly new TEETH, but I got braces!! And not just any braces, I got invisalign!

If you’re not familiar with invisalign, it’s a newer approach to straightening teeth, using a custom-made series of aligners created specifically for you. The aligner trays are made of clear plastic that you simply wear over your teeth. You simply pop in a new set of aligners approximately every two weeks until your treatment is complete!

Here’s a side by side comparison:

(I know, I know, me and my horrible pictures!!)

But it’s the best I could find with a close up of me smiling (sorry, Mandy!).

The picture on the left is without invisalign and the picture on the right I’m wearing them. What do you think? Can you tell?

I’ve always wanted braces – my teeth have always been a sensitive subject. Probably the body part I’m most self conscious about (besides my azz!)! I sucked my thumb until I was almost 7 years old and my teeth got jacked up. My parents tried everything to get me to stop sucking my thumb but I just wouldn’t do it. I remember they used to put that black pepper tasting stuff on it and one time I was playing outside and had to ask my neighbor for water because my mouth was on fire and I knew I’d be in trouble if I went in the house for a drink! I’m not even sure what broke the habit, I’m just glad it did.

Anyways, after a few months of consulting with the dentist and orthodontist, my aligners finally came in!

This is embarrassing, but here is the computer generated before and after of my teeth:

Ewwww, just looking at that before picture reminds me why I’m doing this. And if my teeth look like the after picture in 18 months, I’ll be ecstatic!!!

It’s a bit of a pain having to take them out to eat (though, it has helped cut back on the snacking!), because you have to brush your teeth after you eat every time before you put them back in. I’m essentially wearing them 22 to 23 hours out of the day. The first few days were pretty rough – my teeth actually felt like they were throbbing at times, but every day seems to get better.

The one really bad thing is that I feel like I have a slight lisp. It seems to get worse when I’m teaching and shouting orders at my step class! The number 6 isn’t so fun to say right now. Hehe.

Did you have braces as a kid? Or are you lucky like my sister and just have naturally perfect teeth??