Eye of the Tiger

Since I've groaned about TMJ here, I thought it would be courteous to give you an update. I cannot say that I enjoyed the entire dentist appointment; one fun game was to open my mouth as wide as possible several times while the dentist took measurements. But he was a kind man and gave me good news (plus, Johnny kept me entertained). The actual bones of my jaw are not dislocated, praise God, but my muscles are sorely inflamed. I have to take 6 days of steroids and perform jaw exercises while rubbing ice on my face. The other fun event during my visit was taking gloppy molds of my teeth for a better nighttime mouth guard made of harder plastic. The dentist said I most likely clench my teeth at night, not grind. All in all, this was very good news and the dentist believes I will feel much better quite soon. If you have prayed for me, I thank you, and don't stop now, please!

The only downside is that the steroids make me feel batty - up and down - and I'm already moody. And the ice is really freaking cold. To top that, during the jaw exercises I'm supposed to open my mouth wider than is comfortable. Poor me, right? I muster every coach's gene passed down to me from my Dad and remember his mantra, "No pain, no gain!" All of this temporary discomfort will be for my good in a few weeks. I look ahead to apples, carrots, almonds, and steak. For now, I'm enjoying softies like Laloo's goat's milk ice cream and frozen yogurt. Yep, goat's milk! You may read about it at The Sustainable Scoop.

Now Johnny and I have a date at Pier 1 to find bedside tables for the guest room and finish cleaning the house because my parents arrive this evening! We're pretty giddy they don't have to stay in a hotel anymore and it's been fun to set up space for guests.