"I Cannot Text You with a Drink in my Hand, eh"

If you haven't talked to me in the past few months, you are totally unaware of my obsession with ANYTHING Lady Gaga. I think she's beautiful, intriguing, fascinating, entertaining, and just an all-around amazing individual that I would probably give my left arm to have lunch with. 

I am a full fledged "Little Monster", meaning I practically follow anything she says or does religiously. So, when I heard that she was endorsing designer condoms by Jeremy Scott in association with Opening Cermony, I was stoked.

Where can I get my hands on these condoms? Anything she endorses is like glitter to me!!


Well, I can't. Unless... I go to the Opening Ceremony website!!! So keep that in mind... next time you buy condoms, that is.


BREAKING NEWS: Last night, Lady Gaga released the full version of her "Telephone" video which stars Lady Gaga and Beyonce with a cameo appearance from Tyrese Gibson. It's amazing, just like every other video she's released so far.


This video continues the story from the "Paparazzi" video which left off with Lady Gaga being put in jail for poisoning her boyfriend. "Telephone" continues the story with her awesome outfit selections, a kick-ass fight scene, those amazing Gaga moves I love so much...


...and practice my mastery of them by dancing to any Lady Gaga song I hear at any given moment throughout the day...


... and the best part about it: It's fascinating to watch. The whole video shown below spans about 10 minutes, but I can safely guarantee it's been the best 10 minutes of my Friday so far. 


But don't take my word for it: Click HERE to view the entire video on the Official Lady Gaga website.


And just in case the above link doesn't work for you, copy and paste this into a new browser window:


http://www.ladygaga.com/telephone/#


AND AND AND!!! I will have this: The Official Lady Gaga "Telephone" Ladies T-Shirt.

I'm the BEST Patient Ever!

So.... I had my root canal today!

It fascinates me that everyone cringes when I say "root canal". It's a vacation for me. 


And it was awesome!!!


And no, I wasn't on any type of medication besides Novicane. That's right. No IV or gas.


My appointment was at 12:45, and I would say I got the first shot around 1:15-1:30. And my lucky ass was out of there by 2:45, and back to work at 3:00.

Yeah, that's what we call making things happen INTENSIVE.


And to top off the AWESOME root canal, my endodontist said I was by far the most accommodating patient he's ever had because I was so fascinated with the whole root canal process. He actually offered me a job as his dental assistant!! But I love my job WAY too much to leave.

Then again... I LOVE going to get my teeth worked on.

And I'm thinking... I'd get all my teeth work done for free!! 


Seeing as how I'm just about maxed out on my insurance, which by the way, came into affect 9 days ago... it might not be such a bad proposition.

But...


Then I realized I'm probably the only person on the face of the planet that LOVES root canals and LOVES fillings and LOVES cleanings... and pretty much anything that doesn't involve an IV being stuck in my arm. And I don't have much patience. And I believe I might have to have patience for those people who aren't as lucky as me.

So yeah, I think I'll pass on that for now.

And for those of you who don't really follow the blog: Thursday, March 18th at 11:00am is going to hopefully solve all these problems once and for all. This is when I'm going back to my dentist... Feel free to flip through some older blog posts to know what ALL I'm having done :)

Workout Motivation

Alright. So the workout regime has begun.

I started about a week ago doing the same type of exercises I did last year to get ready for bikini season. Then, I was looking through the Seville Quarter website, and I stumbled upon some pictures from when I did Miss Seville a few years back:

Ka-bam!!!

God I miss looking that that. But I'm working on it. 

Get ready people. LaSha is back.

Starting a New Day!

Have you ever woken up in the morning, looked at your life, and realized (in that exact moment), that what you thought was wonderful and perfect in your life really isn't?

Because that happened to me a few weeks ago, and I'm still having a hard time dealing with it.

It all started  a few months ago when I realized I was not in a happy, healthy relationship. I've tried expressing my points of view, but since our relationship lacks some basics (specifically: trust and respect), most of my opinions have been brushed off, not only by myself, but by the other party as well.


And all of our issues boil down to a lack of trust, and a lack of respect. Because you don't say certain things to someone you love, trust, and respect. And when those certain things come out of someone else's mouth in your direction, your only option is to assume they don't love, trust, or respect you. And what's a relationship without love, trust, and respect? It's not a relationship. It's a roommate situation. I've been living with a "roommate" for 4 years.


And for those of you who know me... this is NOT like me at all. But I have, since moving to Charleston, become completely dependent on him. Not just financially: emotionally, physically, and mentally. And this is NOT like me at all. And I hate it. And I can't live like this anymore.


So I was ready to leave: I have somewhere else to go, and I have the means to leave. And for once in my life, I had the desire to live a better life, the life that I wanted to live, and I wanted to leave. I thought things were hopeless, because after months of saying the same things over and over again and nothing changes, why would this time be any different?

Then I realized that I'm not the kind of person to give up on something that I have invested so much of my life into. The past 4 years of my life have been completely and utterly consumed in this relationship and him, and it's really pathetic for it to take 4 years to make me realize that this isn't a healthy way to live my life. Since moving to Charleston, the fun in my life has come to a screeching halt. No partying for LaSha. No bars for LaSha. No bikini contests or modeling for LaSha.

But since I'm all alone up here, there's no one to tell me (from an objective point of view, and what I rely on my friends for) that I'm not happy. Because I've been so worried about making everyone else happy, meaning him, I forgot about myself.

Until that one day when I woke up and everything hit me all at once.

Even though I've been trying and trying and trying, I'm not one to give up on something without a knock-down drag-out fight. Or someone. Especially someone that I love and care about as much as him. So this is my last change, last-ditch effort to save this relationship. I may regret this later on, you know, staying here like I am, but it feel like the right thing to do right now. So I'm staying. And waiting. And hoping. And praying for an answer.



But he has made somewhat of a change now that he finally realizes that I'm serious and I don't need to put up with this shit anymore. So I can't be a bitch and not give him a chance, but this is the last one. I'm going to be 30 before I know it and I can't let this time of my life slip through my fingers.

So don't ever settle. Because I have "settled", and it's the biggest regret of my life. Hopefully I don't have to "settle" anymore.

Oh There's Lots More to Come...

The plan for yesterday, obviously, was to do an "suicide" on my mouth - getting everything done at once.

Well... that didn't happen.

You know the molar I broke last Friday?  Well come to find out, that molar has been in bad shape for a while. As a matter of fact, it's been broke for quite some time and I just never noticed it enough until that MUCH larger piece broke off.

After the first X-Ray to determine how we'd fix the top and bottom molar, my dentist discovered a horrible tragedy:

I need another root canal.

Fuck, can you be serious? Just when I thought I was done with Phase I (teeth), it has turned to Phase 1A and 1B. Phase II is Wisdom Teeth, and I am totally farther from that than I thought I was.

So this means I will have had 2 root canals in less than one month... one on the right lower, the other on the left lower. So here's the new plan:

Tuesday, March 9th at 12:45pm: Root Canal on lower right molar.

...antibiotics for a week...

Thursday, March 18th at 11:00am-4:00pm: Finishing Phase 1:

a: Permanent Crown on bottom left Root Canal.

b. Permanent Crown on bottom right Root Canal.

c. Filling on #14.

d. Permanent Cap on #15.

e. Filling on #26.

But I didn't leave there empty-handed: I got my teeth fully cleaned, whitened, and a fluoride treatment. It was quite nice to finally go to the dentist and get pampered instead of having major work done.

Oh well... we'll see... and I'll keep everyone posted! 

My Wonderful Dentist Doesn't Know What's Coming

So those of you that know me... you know that I've done nothing but visit the dentist for a whole slew of dental problems since I've been in middle school. It all started with me needing braces in the 6th grade...

And I wish I could find some "before" pictures of how my mouth was before I got braces (so word to anyone that has OLD SCHOOL pictures of me... I'd love to see myself in my pre-braces days). But anyway, the braces got put on in the 6th grade and stayed in until the summer before 9th grade. My parents made sure that we would have the braces on long enough for them to do their thing, and still have them off before high school. Oh if only we knew at the time what would come....

So, after having braces, I still had lots of problems: over-bite, shrunk pallet, overcrowding...  you name it, I've had surgery or some kind of device for it. I'm actually required to wear a retainer at night for the rest of my life. 

Now here I am... done with everything... and my assumption was totally wrong.


It started with my wisdom teeth back in high school. My dentist saw that a teeny tiny cavity on my back molar was probably caused by my wisdom teeth coming in impacted instead of straight up like most people's. Of course, I've heard the nightmares of wisdom teeth and getting mine taken out - all four at once - was not on my list of priorities.


Since high school, I have taken meticulous care of my teeth: mainly because I feel if my parents can pour over $10,000 in my dental work; the least I could do is continue the process. I've done my annual cleaning and whitening since I've moved out of the state on top of basic fillings and what not. Then all of a sudden... disaster strikes: I wake up in the morning and my face is swollen five times it's normal size. I can't open my mouth and even trying to leaves me doubled over in agonizing pain. Fuck!! Time to go see a dentist.


And keep in mind that during this time... I'm in-between insurance coverage from my current employer, and my previous employer through COBRA. So... of course... I have NO INSURANCE. I walk into the dentist and after countless X-Rays, it has been determined that I had an abscess tooth. 

Why has this never happened to me before? Oh yes... and a side note: 

Due to my wisdom teeth coming in sideways, I've had to deal with the constant battle of overcrowding. Two of my four back molars are actually crowns because my wisdom teeth have literally broken my back molars into pieces. If I just pull the tooth, I have to get braces put back on because of shifting... so getting any teeth pulled for the rest of my life is 100% out of the question. 


Anyway, the abscess was located on tooth #17, which is of course, a crown. So doing a regular root canal wasn't an option. I seem to have found myself in a rather sticky situation. But I love the dentist, endodontist... whatever. We're buds - and if you're ever in Charleston and need to see a dentist, don't go anywhere else but Dr. Morrison on Rivers. He does wonders, his staff is AWESOME, and most importantly: he's a good, Christian man.

So, after a first round of Clindamycin, and a second round of Amoxicillin (both spanning over 2 weeks) combat with Percocets and Lortabs every 4 hours, my infection was gone and my tooth was ready for a root canal!! Finally!! Based on X-Rays from the first visit, we were unclear if the abscess was caused by my wisdom teeth finally saying they've had enough and they're ready to come out, or from the molar. Thank God it was the molar, and thank God it was a root canal. Never before have I been so excited about a root canal, knowing that removing the wisdom teeth was the alternative.


I walked in the endodontists office as chipper and positive as I normally am, so I was rewarded with the huge, private corner office covered in windows overlooking Ashley Phosphate morning traffic. Not trying to be conceited, but I'm a dentists dream patient. I had my own flat-screen TV and massage chair... I was practically falling asleep waiting for the doctor to come in.

First Novicane shot: done. 

He started working... and I felt it. I could go into descriptives here, but I'll save those with a weak stomach from the torture. If you want the details of what I felt, just let me know :)

Second Novicane shot: done.

I was feeling pretty good, and I actually dozed off here and there during the whole three hour process. And no: I didn't receive any type of anesthesia!! I drove myself back to work when it was all said and done.

I've battled with TMJ since middle school (for those new to the concept of TMJ or TMJD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporomandibular_joint_disorder), and if it wasn't for the bite rest they gave me, it would have been a nightmare. I left there with a numb mouth and $1,000 poorer, but no more swollen face, and no more pain medication every 4 hours. I was under strict antibiotic orders, and I had rules of what I could and could not do with my root canal. I was also told to make an appointment with my dentist as soon as possible, so I could get a permanent crown to replace my temporary root canal.

So I called my dentist immediately after my root canal, and today at 1:30pm is the soonest that I could get in. But last Friday, all hell broke loose.

I was eating hibachi for lunch and I bit into something hard. Harder than my hibachi was supposed to be. My mind starts racing as I head to the bathroom. "Oh God, not again. If I just broke my root canal my dentist is going to kill me!!" I run to the mirror with my rudimentary dentist tools (a Mag-Lite and a paper clip) and take a look at the damage.

Awesome!! I just broke my molar in half!! Of course, this is the the last real molar I have left on my bottom jaw. I called my dentist right away and told them to add a broken #32 to Tuesday's to-do list. Here's what we're getting accomplished today:

1. Permanent crown on #32 (root canal).

2. Permanent crown on #17 (broken crown from Friday).

3. Filling / Crown (not sure yet) on #1 (another broken crown on the top).

4. Filling on #23 (ha ha... my mom just had the same one done last month).

5. Regular Exam to see what other damage needs to be handled.

6. Regular Cleaning.

7. XTreme Whitening. 

So wish me luck, people. I'll report back with the damage / good news :)