Have Yourself...

Diana Krall -- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

Picked up 1.54 inches of rain since I last updated. Total rainfall since October 1st is 23.80 inches.

Saw the dentist again today for another fit tweak. I think we have (hopefully) resolved the majority of the gagging problems I have been having with the new upper plate. Turns out I need to use that fixodent glue stuff at certain spots around the plate (and avoiding other spots) to hold it completely up against my palate. The slightest movement of the plate against the palate and I start gagging.

Wore the plate from the dds office to the Safeway across town where I shopped with teeth. I even had to talk to the cashier while wearing the teeth. Oh my, do I ever need to work on enunciation.

I just gotta figure out what it is that I do that causes me to start gagging as soon as my tushkie hits the seat in my car. It happened when I got in the car in the dds' parking lot -- had to do a lot of breathing and gagging spit into my hand full of Kleenex but I was able to work through it. Then it happened again as I got in the car in the grocery store parking lot. Sigh. I had no more Kleenex and the urge to get them out was incredibly strong. I removed them and drove home. Put away the groceries and have been trying to build up my tolerance wearing the plate tonight.

There is a huge improvement in my tolerance with the glue stuff holding them firmly in place. I've gotten some great tips from a buddy who recently went through this and will start trying to improve my speech by singing songs on the radio, reading emails out loud, etc.

Baby steps but still making progress. Tonight, I was singing along with Diana -- no where near being in tune, probably in the wrong forking key, and I bet no one could understand a word I was singing but... it didn't feel like I was working towards something. It was just fun.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.