Tuesday, January 29, 2013
To Travel- Disneyland: Budget Eats
One of the highlights of our trips to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure is the food. Yummy, delicious, oh so amazing FOOD! (insert grumbling tummy noise.)
We rarely eat outside of the parks and Downtown Disney on our trips because the food options are so great. When people think of food at Disneyland, they might think of greasy, gross carnival food. This is far from the truth- although the standard churros, popcorn and pretzel options are still available.
Everything listed under "budget eats" are places that have meal selections ranging from $5-$15 per person, depending on what you select and how you decide to share!
BUDGET EATS:
Disneyland-
California Adventure-
We rarely eat outside of the parks and Downtown Disney on our trips because the food options are so great. When people think of food at Disneyland, they might think of greasy, gross carnival food. This is far from the truth- although the standard churros, popcorn and pretzel options are still available.
Everything listed under "budget eats" are places that have meal selections ranging from $5-$15 per person, depending on what you select and how you decide to share!
BUDGET EATS:
Disneyland-
- The Golden Horseshoe: We found this walk up restaurant on a really hot summer day because we could feel the amazing AC being pumped out of it as we walked by. We didn't even know that there was a restaurant inside! The counter service has staples like chicken fingers, chili cheese fries and some really tasty desserts. We were also surprised by the show that took place while we were there... Nick even got selected to be a part of the performance!
- Hungry Bear Restaurant: This outdoor restaurant was renovated a few years back and is also a walk up. You can get burgers, sandwiches and my personal favorite... the honey lemon cupcake.
- Plaza Inn: Two words- Fried Chicken. This place has a few meals and desserts to choose from. The portions are HUGE and enough to share at a great price. I love the dining areas and I know that they do a character breakfast, but that may not be as affordable as lunch and dinner.
Tiki Juice Bar: They don't serve meals, however, I consider soft serve to be a substantial snack! The stand serves Dole Whips and Dole Whip Floats (I prefer the regular Dole Whip which is just the soft serve). You can even bring the treat inside the Enchanted Tiki room.
Tip: If the line is long, enter the waiting area for the Enchanted Tiki room and make your purchase from that side of the stand.
- Corn Dog Castle: If you think corn dogs are no big deal, you obviously haven't visited the Corn Dog Castle. For around $6.00 you can get a huge corn dog (they have a spicy variety and I think a cheese dog now too) with a bag of kettle chips or an apple. I also like to head across the way and grab an iced lemonade and Nick grabs a beer from one of the other stands... and voila- lunch for $10/person!
Fiddler, Fifer and Practical: There was some worry when it was announced that Starbucks was coming to DCA. However, I have to admit that it was pulled off seamlessly! I love the magical Starbucks cup design for Disney and the huge cinnamon bun is perfect for two as a quick morning meal. Starbucks gift cards can be used here as well, which is a bonus for those of us who like to rack up stars.
Flo's V8 Cafe: This restaurant, located in Cars Land, surprised me in a good way. We had breakfast here one morning and while the selection is limited, it did not disappoint.
Downtown Disney-
Rainforest Cafe: If we don't use our magic morning entry on the first day, we are guaranteed to end up here for breakfast. Actually, regardless of anything, we always eat here for breakfast on our first day because we love it so much! You can't beat the price and taste of the food. I love the french toast because it doesn't come with disgusting fruit compote, but fresh fruit instead! The atmosphere is great for both the kiddos and adults. Our favorite spot to sit is by the fish tanks so we can watch them swim around and round...
Earl of Sandwich: We have not been here yet, but I hear it's fantastic and quite the deal. I am a fan of the sandwich shop Capriotti's and the menu seems quite similar! I plan on trying the earl grey lemonade and I'm hoping the holiday sandwich is something they offer year round.
So there you have it! A few of the key places to eat without having to stray from the fun of the parks!
Check out my last post here to find out more about booking hotels for your stay at Disneyland, or go back to the beginning of these posts here.
Next time around, I will cover the splurge meals you can grab at Disneyland, DCA and Downtown Disney.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
To Travel: Disneyland- Hotels
In the previous travel post, I mentioned that I really love booking my hotels on Hotwire. Since I am familiar with the area around Disneyland and all of the surrounding hotels, I feel comfortable booking a room this way.
If you don't want to risk it, but still want to save, check out betterbidding.com for some help in determining what hotel you will be purchasing your room from. The people on those forums are really good at what they do!
Here's a quick overview of some of the hotels I have stayed at in the past two years:
The Disneyland Hotel: $$$$
This hotel is more of a splurge, but definitely worth it for the full Disneyland experience. We stayed in early 2011 when the hotel renovations were still in progress. The rooms were amazing (it was a family trip, so we had 3 connecting rooms and a "living room").
Prices for the Disneyland hotel vary by the season, of course. There is an added convenience of being right at the entrance of Downtown Disney, the Disneyland tram is not too far and the hotel staff is always willing to help make your stay more magical.
If you don't want to risk it, but still want to save, check out betterbidding.com for some help in determining what hotel you will be purchasing your room from. The people on those forums are really good at what they do!
Here's a quick overview of some of the hotels I have stayed at in the past two years:
The Disneyland Hotel: $$$$
This hotel is more of a splurge, but definitely worth it for the full Disneyland experience. We stayed in early 2011 when the hotel renovations were still in progress. The rooms were amazing (it was a family trip, so we had 3 connecting rooms and a "living room").
Prices for the Disneyland hotel vary by the season, of course. There is an added convenience of being right at the entrance of Downtown Disney, the Disneyland tram is not too far and the hotel staff is always willing to help make your stay more magical.
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| The entrance into Downtown Disney (from the DD angle). You can see the construction walls at the hotel in blue. |
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| The wall behind the bed is so amazing! It lights up and plays music. |
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| A piece of art in the room. Love you Walt! |
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| Room service. |
I also made a brief tour/vlog of the room back in the day that you can watch here or down below.
This hotel is definitely amazing and I would stay there again in a heart beat if budget allowed it! There are also tons of hidden Mickey's in the room which I can really appreciate!
Anaheim Courtyard by Marriott $$ (if you're splitting the room rate with others)
We love staying at this hotel when it's more than just the two of us and we are willing to share a suite with the others. Typically, the suite we book has two rooms (each with its own bathroom) and a common room with a TV, kitchen and desk area. The best part about this hotel is the free breakfast! It's hot and delicious... you just have to make sure that you wake up early or the dining area gets crowded quickly.
The room is clean and I have literally zero complaints.
This hotel is not within walking distance to the parks... or it would be quite the trek if you opted to try it out. Shuttles are offered in front of the hotel. However, we do prefer to drive over instead.
Anaheim Marriott Suites $$$ (if booked on a normal website)
We really lucked out in August 2012 and booked this hotel for about $74/night! The normal rate right now appears to be around $140/night. Valet parking is $12/night and we opted to use this service every day that we were there.
A room here is perfect for two people with a living room area with access to the bathroom, and a room that also leads into that same bathroom. It has by far been our favorite place we have stayed with just the two of us and I'm hoping the chance to stay there via Hotwire pops up again! There is a restaurant in the hotel, but we did not check it out since breakfast is $16.95/person and we can find a better deal elsewhere. A Starbucks is also located in the hotel, which was an added convenience on the morning we left. It is also worth noting that the front desk staff is superb and so incredibly nice! There is often a stigma out on the interwebs that booking through discount sites will lead to lower rate service as well. This was not true here! We got an early check in on our first day with zero hassle.
I wish I had taken some photos, but the website above does have some great ones to provide a better idea of the hotels ambiance.
The rates for this hotel are funny. Sometimes they are a steal on hotels.com... other times they are through the roof. Last February, I was able to get a room for $50/night (this was before I tried out Hotwire), because we were aiming to super budget our hotel in order to have three nights of nice dinners.
I'm not going to lie- the exterior appearance of this hotel made me cringe. Nick and I even considered booking a different hotel at the last minute, the moment we pulled up. However, the interior was not too bad for what we paid. The room was pretty big and appeared to be clean. Our biggest complaints were the huge gap under the door (it made nights pretty loud with the freeway right next door) and we also found a few drops of blood on a pillowcase (eek!).
But, really- it was a place to sleep and you get what you pay for...
We have stayed at other hotels on trips to Disneyland, but really it was at the luck of the draw with Hotwire.
Overall, the best tips and questions you should ask yourself when booking a hotel are as follows:
- Determine if you need to be within walking distance of the parks, or if driving over and parking ($15/day) is an option.
- Determine the size of the room you will need and how much time will actually be spent there.
- Will you be eating at the parks? Does your hotel need to be near the Target or restaurants so you can stock up on items or eat outside of the parks?
- What kind of experience do you want on this trip? Is it worth it to book a high end hotel because this trip is a big deal? Or is a budget room better so I can put my money toward things like food and souvenirs?
Make sure you check out my last To Travel post where I break down my normal budget for a 3 day trip to Disneyland!
In the next post, I will discuss the best food options at Disneyland in both the low and high price ranges!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
To Travel: Disneyland- Budget
Each time I plan a trip to Disneyland, the first thing I think of is the budget for the trip. There are a few main categories to consider when planning out a budget:
Tickets: We typically take a 4 day trip in total. 3 days in the parks and the last day to drive home and relax. This means that no matter what, we will be spending around $250/each for tickets.
Currently, Disneyland has a 3 day park hopper promo for $220 that is good until March 11, 2013. This is a savings of $30 per person which might seems small, but is a good deal in the whole scheme of things! That's a days worth of meals if you're going cheap or a nice lunch/dinner.
So, for this trip, we will pay $440 for two 3 day park hopper tickets.
Hotel: This is where things can get tricky. Hotels around Disneyland range from $50 to around $500 a night, depending on where you would like to stay. In the past, we have stayed at the Disneyland hotel as well as some nice, moderate and less than ideal establishments. It all depends on how much you want to spend. I aim for hotels that are anywhere between $64-$80 a night. It is really difficult to get a "nice" hotel room in this range which is why Hotwire is my friend. There is always some excitement in not knowing what hotel you will be staying at until you've already purchased the room. However, there are forums out there that will try to help you identify the hotel if you're a little worried. Recently I have discovered the website lastminutetravel.com which is similar to Hotwire, but also has some named hotels that have a great discount.
Other things to consider are parking and resort fees. These charges vary by hotel and if you are not within walking distance of the parks, you may want to use the hotel shuttles or drive over and park in either Mickey and Friends or the Toy Story Lot (parking is $15 a day for regular vehicles, with re-entry). Most often, we like to drive over.
So, assuming the hotel is not within walking distance, the total for a 3 day trip (3 nights) would be around $345.
Gas: This of course depends on where you are coming from. For us, we typically spend around $100 round trip on gas, and my vehicle takes premium. (266 miles to Disneyland, one way.)
Food: I will go into more detail about this subject in a future post. There are so many delicious things to eat at Disneyland on a budget... and even more so with a bigger pocket book. In general, we like to estimate around $150 per person for a 4 day trip in total, with meals at the park for 3 of those days.
This would mean $300 would go toward food.
Souvenirs/Misc: At this point, for us, we usually buy an antenna ball and a new coffee bug each when we go. However, there are those times when we (read: I) see a t-shirt or awesome Disney Dooney bag. But, it doesn't happen very often.
I would estimate around $50 for this category.
GRAND TOTAL: $1135 for two people.
Of course, there are cheaper ways to do things. But, as far as hotel and tickets go- this is about as good as it is going to get. Stay tuned for more detailed posts about our favorite places to stay, eat and play at the Disneyland parks!
- Tickets
- Hotel/Parking Fees
- Gas
- Food
- Souvenirs/Misc.
Tickets: We typically take a 4 day trip in total. 3 days in the parks and the last day to drive home and relax. This means that no matter what, we will be spending around $250/each for tickets.
Currently, Disneyland has a 3 day park hopper promo for $220 that is good until March 11, 2013. This is a savings of $30 per person which might seems small, but is a good deal in the whole scheme of things! That's a days worth of meals if you're going cheap or a nice lunch/dinner.
So, for this trip, we will pay $440 for two 3 day park hopper tickets.
Hotel: This is where things can get tricky. Hotels around Disneyland range from $50 to around $500 a night, depending on where you would like to stay. In the past, we have stayed at the Disneyland hotel as well as some nice, moderate and less than ideal establishments. It all depends on how much you want to spend. I aim for hotels that are anywhere between $64-$80 a night. It is really difficult to get a "nice" hotel room in this range which is why Hotwire is my friend. There is always some excitement in not knowing what hotel you will be staying at until you've already purchased the room. However, there are forums out there that will try to help you identify the hotel if you're a little worried. Recently I have discovered the website lastminutetravel.com which is similar to Hotwire, but also has some named hotels that have a great discount.
Other things to consider are parking and resort fees. These charges vary by hotel and if you are not within walking distance of the parks, you may want to use the hotel shuttles or drive over and park in either Mickey and Friends or the Toy Story Lot (parking is $15 a day for regular vehicles, with re-entry). Most often, we like to drive over.
So, assuming the hotel is not within walking distance, the total for a 3 day trip (3 nights) would be around $345.
Gas: This of course depends on where you are coming from. For us, we typically spend around $100 round trip on gas, and my vehicle takes premium. (266 miles to Disneyland, one way.)
Food: I will go into more detail about this subject in a future post. There are so many delicious things to eat at Disneyland on a budget... and even more so with a bigger pocket book. In general, we like to estimate around $150 per person for a 4 day trip in total, with meals at the park for 3 of those days.
This would mean $300 would go toward food.
Souvenirs/Misc: At this point, for us, we usually buy an antenna ball and a new coffee bug each when we go. However, there are those times when we (read: I) see a t-shirt or awesome Disney Dooney bag. But, it doesn't happen very often.
I would estimate around $50 for this category.
GRAND TOTAL: $1135 for two people.
Of course, there are cheaper ways to do things. But, as far as hotel and tickets go- this is about as good as it is going to get. Stay tuned for more detailed posts about our favorite places to stay, eat and play at the Disneyland parks!
Friday, January 25, 2013
"The Land"
For the past year, every 6-8 weeks or so- Nick and I get the itch. The Disneyland itch, that is!
Right now we have a million things to be saving for... moving out (we're going to look at houses this weekend- hooray!), the wedding and honeymoon.
But, we just can't help it! And every time we plan said trip, we try to do it on a budget. I've gotten pretty darn good at picking out awesome Hotwire hotels. Yet, we always manage to squeeze in an expensive dinner and can't resist the ridiculous $50 wine and cheese at DCA. Eeep! (It's tradition!)
We just love the way the parks make us feel. It's really hard to describe, but I know that there are thousands of other people out there who know the exact sensation I am talking about.
I have to say that Walt Disney definitely succeeded in building a place that both children and adults will fall in love with. Of course, his predecessors continue to shape the Land in this way as well!
So, through the chaos of the next few months, we've decided to plan a trip for the beginning of March and I couldn't be more excited! I wanted to start a mini series chronicling how I plan for a quick and last minute trip to a place that we've come to know so well. When I planned our first "solo" trip as a couple last February, I had no idea what I was doing. I got better through reading blog posts, Disney boards (which I'll talk about more later) and scouring hotel websites for great deals.
Yaaaay, Disneyland!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Denied.
Although the wedding planning is in a state of limbo, I've still been looking at wedding venues around town and I actually found one that was off the beaten path and I just fell in love with it via photos online. There wasn't much information out there, but I knew that they did weddings from some reviews and blog posts that I had read.
So, I called them up for more information and the lady who answered sounded a bit surprised. She told me that they had not really done weddings since 2009 and she would have to speak with the owners of the restaurant portion of the hotel to see if they could accommodate me.
It sounded doubtful, but I didn't know why. If they had hosted other weddings in the past, what would be so different about mine? I was willing rent out all 20 of their hotel rooms for the night and I had it all planned out in my head... it would be the perfect spot for the elegant/vintage wedding I am aiming for. Plus, it's a little silly, but the town that the hotel is located in is also the town that my grandfather is buried. So, in a way, he would kind of be nearby.
The owner of the hotel side of things called a few days later to say that they had recently had a meeting to discuss whether or not they could have the wedding there and that they would get back to me. Again, I was a little dubious... I wasn't planning on throwing a rave at this hotel. Just a nice wedding.
TAKE MY MONEY. PLEASE.
Ahem. So, I waited a week to receive a voice mail today from the restaurant owner letting me know that although they do host events at the hotel, they are not staffed enough to host a wedding of my "size" (60-80 people). And that was that.
I'm baffled and sad. Dramatic of me, yes- but now nothing else seems to measure up to the plans I had for this venue. Should I call her back and ask for more details, or just drop it completely? I suppose it's back to square one...
So, I called them up for more information and the lady who answered sounded a bit surprised. She told me that they had not really done weddings since 2009 and she would have to speak with the owners of the restaurant portion of the hotel to see if they could accommodate me.
It sounded doubtful, but I didn't know why. If they had hosted other weddings in the past, what would be so different about mine? I was willing rent out all 20 of their hotel rooms for the night and I had it all planned out in my head... it would be the perfect spot for the elegant/vintage wedding I am aiming for. Plus, it's a little silly, but the town that the hotel is located in is also the town that my grandfather is buried. So, in a way, he would kind of be nearby.
The owner of the hotel side of things called a few days later to say that they had recently had a meeting to discuss whether or not they could have the wedding there and that they would get back to me. Again, I was a little dubious... I wasn't planning on throwing a rave at this hotel. Just a nice wedding.
TAKE MY MONEY. PLEASE.
Ahem. So, I waited a week to receive a voice mail today from the restaurant owner letting me know that although they do host events at the hotel, they are not staffed enough to host a wedding of my "size" (60-80 people). And that was that.
I'm baffled and sad. Dramatic of me, yes- but now nothing else seems to measure up to the plans I had for this venue. Should I call her back and ask for more details, or just drop it completely? I suppose it's back to square one...
Recovery: Days 6 & 7
This will probably be my last post about my wisdom teeth recovery, because I am feeling better... and if I do start feeling bad again, it will probably be much of the same.
On day 6, I intended on going into work, but again- I woke up early and in tears. I really did not want to take my pain medicine because I knew that would mean I couldn't work because of how drowsy and dizzy just one pill makes me. I took 2 Advil and sat for awhile. Nick got a little frustrated and told me to just take the pain killers. So, I did and fell back to sleep for a long time.
When I woke, Nick brought us some food because I had taken the pills on an empty stomach and needed something because they made me feel sick. This helped a lot, but made my mouth really gross so I had to complete the 20 minutes process of cleaning my teeth/mouth out (I had been doing it every time after I ate). I went to take a shower and noticed a wash of hives all across my stomach. I assumed it was from the pain meds because initially it had just made my skin really dry and itchy. Since I had taken 2 at one time the night before, I'm thinking this was the result.
The day went on and I slept some more. I started to feel really bad again in the evening and took more pain medicine. Nick looked at my hives again and was completely freaked out by the way they looked. He made a paste out of baking soda and we let it sit on my stomach for 20 minutes. I know it's really gross, but when I washed it off, the hives had turned into weird, gross open sore type bumps. Ick. So, we put some aloe vera gel on it and went to sleep.
I woke at 6 am this morning. Took an Advil and tried to mentally visualize myself feeling better. This did not work, so I took a pain pill. :( I only meant to sleep until 8 am, but since I had taken the pill on empty stomach it seemed to make me even more tired and slept until 10 am! I went to the dentist around 10:30 am and the doctor confirmed that I did have a second dry socket on the left and he re-packed both sides. I also mentioned the hives and he prescribed Motrin 800 as an alternative and told me to throw away the other pills (they are a generic of Lortab which is codeine and Tylenol).
I felt amazing after (and right now as well). We went and had the RX filled, picked up some Benadryl cream at the suggestion of the pharmacist. We grabbed some coffee from Starbucks (I'm having another unmentionable side effect from the pain pills which I won't go into detail, but I'm hoping coffee will solve), and some lunch to take home. I successfully ate part of my burger and a few fries. It's very irritating right now because I can't clean my mouth since it will take the medicine out of the sockets. But, I have not needed to take any of the new pain meds so far which makes me happy! I hope that things continue to progress in this direction... I feel as though with this entire experience I would have been just fine had I not developed dry sockets. My word of advice to other women who get their wisdom teeth out is make sure you're not on birth control at the time because it increases your risk of dry sockets immensely and is not worth it!
On day 6, I intended on going into work, but again- I woke up early and in tears. I really did not want to take my pain medicine because I knew that would mean I couldn't work because of how drowsy and dizzy just one pill makes me. I took 2 Advil and sat for awhile. Nick got a little frustrated and told me to just take the pain killers. So, I did and fell back to sleep for a long time.
When I woke, Nick brought us some food because I had taken the pills on an empty stomach and needed something because they made me feel sick. This helped a lot, but made my mouth really gross so I had to complete the 20 minutes process of cleaning my teeth/mouth out (I had been doing it every time after I ate). I went to take a shower and noticed a wash of hives all across my stomach. I assumed it was from the pain meds because initially it had just made my skin really dry and itchy. Since I had taken 2 at one time the night before, I'm thinking this was the result.
The day went on and I slept some more. I started to feel really bad again in the evening and took more pain medicine. Nick looked at my hives again and was completely freaked out by the way they looked. He made a paste out of baking soda and we let it sit on my stomach for 20 minutes. I know it's really gross, but when I washed it off, the hives had turned into weird, gross open sore type bumps. Ick. So, we put some aloe vera gel on it and went to sleep.
I woke at 6 am this morning. Took an Advil and tried to mentally visualize myself feeling better. This did not work, so I took a pain pill. :( I only meant to sleep until 8 am, but since I had taken the pill on empty stomach it seemed to make me even more tired and slept until 10 am! I went to the dentist around 10:30 am and the doctor confirmed that I did have a second dry socket on the left and he re-packed both sides. I also mentioned the hives and he prescribed Motrin 800 as an alternative and told me to throw away the other pills (they are a generic of Lortab which is codeine and Tylenol).
I felt amazing after (and right now as well). We went and had the RX filled, picked up some Benadryl cream at the suggestion of the pharmacist. We grabbed some coffee from Starbucks (I'm having another unmentionable side effect from the pain pills which I won't go into detail, but I'm hoping coffee will solve), and some lunch to take home. I successfully ate part of my burger and a few fries. It's very irritating right now because I can't clean my mouth since it will take the medicine out of the sockets. But, I have not needed to take any of the new pain meds so far which makes me happy! I hope that things continue to progress in this direction... I feel as though with this entire experience I would have been just fine had I not developed dry sockets. My word of advice to other women who get their wisdom teeth out is make sure you're not on birth control at the time because it increases your risk of dry sockets immensely and is not worth it!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Recovery: Days 4 & 5.
I know these posts might be getting a bit dull, but I really do want to document what this entire process has been like. I'll try to sum it up as quickly as I can...
On Day 4 of recovery, I was feeling "eh". Not great, but not terrible. The pain in my mouth was pretty constant. I woke up at 4 am again and took an Advil, went back to sleep... same routine. Nick had to work, so I managed to get ready and drive to a friends house just to get my body used to being out and active all day again. We got some food which I had a hard time eating (note- cheeseburgers are really hard to chew after wisdom teeth removal). I went home that evening and felt so bad I took one of my pain medicines. I took another before bed and hoped for the best.
Day 5, 3:30 am and I woke up in tears from the terrible pain on the right side of my mouth. I felt like I had an ear infection. Took another pain med and googled the symptoms for a dry socket. I matched with it and dread came over me. I called the dentist in the morning and they had me come in for treatment. The dentist irrigated the right side of my mouth and packed it with some sort of gel that tasted like medicine and ginger to me. He also poked at the other areas of my mouth and they all felt fine.
Back at home, I took a pill and was up and down all day until the other side of my mouth began to hurt too. Terrible... just awful. Now I had a headache and felt nauseous, so I drank a bit of Coca Cola. After a shower, I was feeling better for about 30 minutes. Then, it hit me again. My head, ears, jaw... everything hurt. I started to cry a lot. I had never felt pain like this before. Nick came in and gave me two of my pain pills (I had only taken one at a time up until this point) and forced me to eat 2 bowls of oatmeal so my stomach would not get upset. He left to get some clove oil which is supposed to help with the dry sockets, but by the time he returned the medicine had kicked in and I was left with a headache and no mouth/ear pain.
And... that was all about an hour ago, so I'm just waiting to see what is next. For the record, dry sockets are no fun at all. In fact, the pain is one of the worst I've experienced in life so far. I have to work tomorrow, so I'm not really sure how that is going to work. Hopefully the clove oil will help out. I definitely just want my life back!
On Day 4 of recovery, I was feeling "eh". Not great, but not terrible. The pain in my mouth was pretty constant. I woke up at 4 am again and took an Advil, went back to sleep... same routine. Nick had to work, so I managed to get ready and drive to a friends house just to get my body used to being out and active all day again. We got some food which I had a hard time eating (note- cheeseburgers are really hard to chew after wisdom teeth removal). I went home that evening and felt so bad I took one of my pain medicines. I took another before bed and hoped for the best.
Day 5, 3:30 am and I woke up in tears from the terrible pain on the right side of my mouth. I felt like I had an ear infection. Took another pain med and googled the symptoms for a dry socket. I matched with it and dread came over me. I called the dentist in the morning and they had me come in for treatment. The dentist irrigated the right side of my mouth and packed it with some sort of gel that tasted like medicine and ginger to me. He also poked at the other areas of my mouth and they all felt fine.
Back at home, I took a pill and was up and down all day until the other side of my mouth began to hurt too. Terrible... just awful. Now I had a headache and felt nauseous, so I drank a bit of Coca Cola. After a shower, I was feeling better for about 30 minutes. Then, it hit me again. My head, ears, jaw... everything hurt. I started to cry a lot. I had never felt pain like this before. Nick came in and gave me two of my pain pills (I had only taken one at a time up until this point) and forced me to eat 2 bowls of oatmeal so my stomach would not get upset. He left to get some clove oil which is supposed to help with the dry sockets, but by the time he returned the medicine had kicked in and I was left with a headache and no mouth/ear pain.
And... that was all about an hour ago, so I'm just waiting to see what is next. For the record, dry sockets are no fun at all. In fact, the pain is one of the worst I've experienced in life so far. I have to work tomorrow, so I'm not really sure how that is going to work. Hopefully the clove oil will help out. I definitely just want my life back!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Recovery: Days 2 & 3
On day 2 after my wisdom teeth removal, I woke up multiple times during the night in pain. Finally at 4am, I got out of bed with my pain pills, went to the bathroom and took one. The pain was so excruciating that there were tears coming out of my eyes (I wasn't exactly crying, it was just that kind of pain). Nick woke up too and got me some yogurt to eat and frozen vegetables for my face. I couldn't fall back to sleep, so I watched Marley and Me on TV and finally dozed off around 7:15 am.
My pain pills wore off around 8:30 am, so I woke again to take another and my antibiotics. Nick cooked an egg for me and I tried to eat most of it. He had to work, so I was set to fend for myself all day until about 7:30 pm when he would be home. The whole day consisted of me trying to make simple meals for myself, shower, rinse with warm salt water and apply heat compression on my face every 20 minutes. It was basically very exhausting in conjunction with the pain meds. And the fact that the medicine kept wearing off so quickly was really terrible. It was probably the worst day of pain so far. But, it could have been worse!
Day 3, I felt much better. I still woke up at 4am, but I refused to submit and take more pain killers. I spent the whole day taking Advil instead, which simply dulled the pain but did not take it away completely. We actually left the house for about three hours and I had some rice, beans and half of a cheese enchilada It was like heaven!!! I would have scarfed the whole thing down if I had been able to.
My mouth then started to really hurt again when we got home, so I napped and took more Advil and then napped again. I waited all the way until 10:30 pm to take a pain medicine before I fell asleep because I couldn't take it anymore. I'm trying to imagine what work will be like on Monday because I absolutely cannot take the pain killers since they make me tired and dizzy... hopefully Advil will be enough by then!
My pain pills wore off around 8:30 am, so I woke again to take another and my antibiotics. Nick cooked an egg for me and I tried to eat most of it. He had to work, so I was set to fend for myself all day until about 7:30 pm when he would be home. The whole day consisted of me trying to make simple meals for myself, shower, rinse with warm salt water and apply heat compression on my face every 20 minutes. It was basically very exhausting in conjunction with the pain meds. And the fact that the medicine kept wearing off so quickly was really terrible. It was probably the worst day of pain so far. But, it could have been worse!
Day 3, I felt much better. I still woke up at 4am, but I refused to submit and take more pain killers. I spent the whole day taking Advil instead, which simply dulled the pain but did not take it away completely. We actually left the house for about three hours and I had some rice, beans and half of a cheese enchilada It was like heaven!!! I would have scarfed the whole thing down if I had been able to.
My mouth then started to really hurt again when we got home, so I napped and took more Advil and then napped again. I waited all the way until 10:30 pm to take a pain medicine before I fell asleep because I couldn't take it anymore. I'm trying to imagine what work will be like on Monday because I absolutely cannot take the pain killers since they make me tired and dizzy... hopefully Advil will be enough by then!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Goodbye Wisdom Teeth: Day 1
For days (okay- really weeks) before my wisdom teeth surgery I researched the experiences of others looking for the positive stories and trying to give myself hope for the day that I was terrorizing myself about. I was convinced that the actual surgery portion was just going to be awful, when really it was not too bad at all. So, I just want to share my own experience so that maybe others can find comfort and reality in the whole wisdom teeth removal... journey.
I really wanted to eat all of my favorite foods the week before the procedure... however, life decided to give me food poisoning instead so I was unable to eat a real meal until the night before the surgery. My last meal consisted of half a Bobbie and half a Philly from Capriotti's, plus brownies with vanilla ice cream (that was a little over kill considering my stomach was recovering).
I was super nervous the night before, especially since I was not able to drink any water after 11:30 pm. I have always had a really weird thing where water calms my nerves... or sometimes it makes things worse. When I was younger I would drink so much water that I would end up throwing it up. Really strange, but it's a mental block that I have. So, I went to sleep early and tried not to focus too much on the water obsession! The morning of the surgery I was a nervous wreck... my stomach was even more upset than it had been when I was sick, but thankfully Nick was very calm and we left the house at 7:15 am since my appointment was at 7:30 am. When we arrived, we had to watch a video about wisdom teeth that was made back in the 1980's... more than anything, it scared me all over again because it really emphasized the risks of surgery. But, again, Nick reminded me that thousands of people have this procedure done every day and are just fine. Then, there was MORE waiting... and I really just wanted to get back there and get it done and over with. Finally, at about 8:10 am, they called me back and I kissed Nick goodbye. They took my blood pressure, which was of course sky high. In fact, they took it multiple times to see if it would go down. My medical history was reviewed... and then they made a huge deal over the fact that I have mild asthma. I did not bring my inhaler because I have not used it in months, and my asthma is typically brought on seasonally with allergies. So, they had an inhaler on site and asked me to take a puff before they would do surgery because they were afraid I would panic and have an attack. In addition to this, the oral surgeon confirmed with me that I really wanted all four out at once because I had 2 partially erupted teeth on top and 2 impacted teeth on the bottom, one of which he said had grown in sideways and may be difficult to take out. But, I definitely wanted them ALL out. I was not going to put myself through this again. He also warned me that women generally always get a dry socket and they are not sure why, and that I may wake up weepy and/or hysterical. Super- this was also a big fear of mine!
I waited some more. It felt like days until someone finally came to get me. Everyone was generally nice, one nurse even complimented me on my shirt (Walt Whitman FTW). The room that the surgery was performed in was far smaller than I had expected. I sat in the chair and they hooked me up to the heart monitors, the blood pressure cuff and that little monitor that goes on your finger. Then came my biggest fear- the IV. Not because I am scared of needles, but because my veins are super tiny and nurses always have a hard time finding one to stick. But, surprisingly they found one right away and started me on a saline drip.
Oh, and then more waiting.
I remember looking at the clock on the computer monitor in front of me and it read 8:47 am. I know there was some fuss because they had run out of paper for the machine that reads my vitals, but one of the ladies left to go buy some more. An oxygen tube was put in my nose which felt really weird and I did not feel loopy from it as most people described. The surgeon came in and told me that he was going to put something in my IV to make me relax. I watched him inject my IV line with two different syringes (I'm assuming one was an anti-nausea medicine and the other the general anesthesia). Someone asked me to open my mouth as wide as I could, and they put a foamy block thing in to hold it open and then I was out. I don't remember feeling sleepy or closing my eyes. Nothing.
The doctor had told me before the surgery that I would be able to follow their commands and answer questions during the surgery, but the anesthesia would cause an amnesia affect so I would not remember later. However, I do remember some of the things that went on during surgery. None were really bad and I was so out of it that I did not care.
At one point, I remember gagging and hearing an assistant say, "She just gagged" and the surgeon replying, "Did she? I didn't see." Then someone called my name and told me to take a deep breath through my nose, so I did and it made me feel better. Later, I remember hearing a tool in my mouth on the lower right side, but then I fell back to sleep.
Toward the end, when I had gauze in my mouth, they began asking me questions to see if I was waking up. I remember being asked "Do you know where you are?" My reply, "Dentist." "Do you know why you're here?" My reply, "Wisdom teeth." "How many teeth did we take out" My reply- I held up four fingers. "Do you know what day of the week it is?" My reply "Thursday" "Who is here to take you home? My reply "My fiance" "What's his name?" My reply "Nick."
My eyes were not open at this time, but I remember this all very clearly and I must have fallen back to sleep for a bit. Then, someone came in with a wheelchair, helped me put my sweater on and into the chair. I did not cry or fight like most people said I might. I just felt very serene and like I had waken up from a night of deep and pleasant sleep (with my mouth packed full of gauze). She took me into the x-ray room, helped me put on the vest and took an orbital x-ray of my teeth. I remember her handing me back my glasses and I said, "Thank you." and she looked quite surprised and responded with the standard "You're welcome." Maybe recently drugged up people are generally not so nice afterwards?
Then, I was wheeled out to the front, through a different entrance/exit and Nick was waiting for me with the car pulled up and I hopped right in. I felt great, coherent and immediately went for my phone to spread the good news. We went to Walgreens to fill my RX and grab some soups and drinks. I didn't go inside, because while I felt quite awake I was still a little dizzy.
When we got home, it was a rotation of gauze, ice, jello and pain meds. I did accidentally pull out a clot when changing my gauze, but it re-clotted itself soon after. The whole day was breeze until I got a killer headache in the evening that not even the medicine could take away... and that leads us into day 2 which I will conclude tomorrow!
The moral of it all- the surgery and general anesthesia were not so bad. I wouldn't want to do it again, but I'm glad it went well and it's over now!
Disclaimer: This post was written after recently taking a pain med. Sorry if parts are confusing!
I really wanted to eat all of my favorite foods the week before the procedure... however, life decided to give me food poisoning instead so I was unable to eat a real meal until the night before the surgery. My last meal consisted of half a Bobbie and half a Philly from Capriotti's, plus brownies with vanilla ice cream (that was a little over kill considering my stomach was recovering).
I was super nervous the night before, especially since I was not able to drink any water after 11:30 pm. I have always had a really weird thing where water calms my nerves... or sometimes it makes things worse. When I was younger I would drink so much water that I would end up throwing it up. Really strange, but it's a mental block that I have. So, I went to sleep early and tried not to focus too much on the water obsession! The morning of the surgery I was a nervous wreck... my stomach was even more upset than it had been when I was sick, but thankfully Nick was very calm and we left the house at 7:15 am since my appointment was at 7:30 am. When we arrived, we had to watch a video about wisdom teeth that was made back in the 1980's... more than anything, it scared me all over again because it really emphasized the risks of surgery. But, again, Nick reminded me that thousands of people have this procedure done every day and are just fine. Then, there was MORE waiting... and I really just wanted to get back there and get it done and over with. Finally, at about 8:10 am, they called me back and I kissed Nick goodbye. They took my blood pressure, which was of course sky high. In fact, they took it multiple times to see if it would go down. My medical history was reviewed... and then they made a huge deal over the fact that I have mild asthma. I did not bring my inhaler because I have not used it in months, and my asthma is typically brought on seasonally with allergies. So, they had an inhaler on site and asked me to take a puff before they would do surgery because they were afraid I would panic and have an attack. In addition to this, the oral surgeon confirmed with me that I really wanted all four out at once because I had 2 partially erupted teeth on top and 2 impacted teeth on the bottom, one of which he said had grown in sideways and may be difficult to take out. But, I definitely wanted them ALL out. I was not going to put myself through this again. He also warned me that women generally always get a dry socket and they are not sure why, and that I may wake up weepy and/or hysterical. Super- this was also a big fear of mine!
I waited some more. It felt like days until someone finally came to get me. Everyone was generally nice, one nurse even complimented me on my shirt (Walt Whitman FTW). The room that the surgery was performed in was far smaller than I had expected. I sat in the chair and they hooked me up to the heart monitors, the blood pressure cuff and that little monitor that goes on your finger. Then came my biggest fear- the IV. Not because I am scared of needles, but because my veins are super tiny and nurses always have a hard time finding one to stick. But, surprisingly they found one right away and started me on a saline drip.
Oh, and then more waiting.
I remember looking at the clock on the computer monitor in front of me and it read 8:47 am. I know there was some fuss because they had run out of paper for the machine that reads my vitals, but one of the ladies left to go buy some more. An oxygen tube was put in my nose which felt really weird and I did not feel loopy from it as most people described. The surgeon came in and told me that he was going to put something in my IV to make me relax. I watched him inject my IV line with two different syringes (I'm assuming one was an anti-nausea medicine and the other the general anesthesia). Someone asked me to open my mouth as wide as I could, and they put a foamy block thing in to hold it open and then I was out. I don't remember feeling sleepy or closing my eyes. Nothing.
The doctor had told me before the surgery that I would be able to follow their commands and answer questions during the surgery, but the anesthesia would cause an amnesia affect so I would not remember later. However, I do remember some of the things that went on during surgery. None were really bad and I was so out of it that I did not care.
At one point, I remember gagging and hearing an assistant say, "She just gagged" and the surgeon replying, "Did she? I didn't see." Then someone called my name and told me to take a deep breath through my nose, so I did and it made me feel better. Later, I remember hearing a tool in my mouth on the lower right side, but then I fell back to sleep.
Toward the end, when I had gauze in my mouth, they began asking me questions to see if I was waking up. I remember being asked "Do you know where you are?" My reply, "Dentist." "Do you know why you're here?" My reply, "Wisdom teeth." "How many teeth did we take out" My reply- I held up four fingers. "Do you know what day of the week it is?" My reply "Thursday" "Who is here to take you home? My reply "My fiance" "What's his name?" My reply "Nick."
My eyes were not open at this time, but I remember this all very clearly and I must have fallen back to sleep for a bit. Then, someone came in with a wheelchair, helped me put my sweater on and into the chair. I did not cry or fight like most people said I might. I just felt very serene and like I had waken up from a night of deep and pleasant sleep (with my mouth packed full of gauze). She took me into the x-ray room, helped me put on the vest and took an orbital x-ray of my teeth. I remember her handing me back my glasses and I said, "Thank you." and she looked quite surprised and responded with the standard "You're welcome." Maybe recently drugged up people are generally not so nice afterwards?
Then, I was wheeled out to the front, through a different entrance/exit and Nick was waiting for me with the car pulled up and I hopped right in. I felt great, coherent and immediately went for my phone to spread the good news. We went to Walgreens to fill my RX and grab some soups and drinks. I didn't go inside, because while I felt quite awake I was still a little dizzy.
When we got home, it was a rotation of gauze, ice, jello and pain meds. I did accidentally pull out a clot when changing my gauze, but it re-clotted itself soon after. The whole day was breeze until I got a killer headache in the evening that not even the medicine could take away... and that leads us into day 2 which I will conclude tomorrow!
The moral of it all- the surgery and general anesthesia were not so bad. I wouldn't want to do it again, but I'm glad it went well and it's over now!
Disclaimer: This post was written after recently taking a pain med. Sorry if parts are confusing!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
my week in photos: #1
Here's what I've been up to this week...
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Brunch last Sunday was delicious! This is the Venecia Benedict with potato pancakes.
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On New Years Day, Nick and I had dinner at the Mad Greek Cafe. These zucchini sticks were tasty with the homemade ranch.
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I received a post card for the Winter Bridal Spectacular! I immediately bought two tickets for one of my bridesmaids and I to attend! Can't wait!
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I got my last Caramel Brulee frapp of the season. Starbucks ALWAYS spells my name wrong.
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I saw this post on Instagram and loved it immediately. It definitely explains my feelings.
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Before my deep dental cleaning, Nick and I had a yummy lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant. This is the Sausage Tortiglioni that I always order. It has pasta, spicy sausage and peas with a delicious creamy tomato sauce.
I hope everyone has a great rest of their Sunday and an even better week to follow! I am nervous as can be about Thursday and I really cannot wait for it to all be over. Can someone please tell me a good wisdom teeth removal story to help calm my nerves???
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Let's be rational.
I'm writing this right before I have to leave for the dentist and it got me thinking... what irrational fears do we, in a first world country, have that others would covet?
I am terribly afraid of the dentist. High blood pressure, gagging... ugh I am NOT looking forward to the next 3 hours AND my wisdom teeth removal next week. No sir. Not at all. But, the pain I feel from my wisdom teeth is an everyday occurrence for some people who are not fortunate enough to have access to a dentist. With some money and a little (I hope) bit of pain, I will no longer have to suffer. Right?
It's pep talks like these that keep me grateful for what I have and hopeful that everything won't hurt as badly as I think it will. Brush your teeth, kids.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
chapter 1: january.
I just realized that I forgot to mention something extremely important that happened in December! Nick graduated from college with his BA in Criminal Justice.
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It was incredibly exciting to see him walk across the stage. I thought I would be emotional about it (I even brought Kleenex just in case!), but I was too busy filming the moment so that his mom and aunt could watch it later.
What a whirlwind this year has been! I can't believe that it's been 8 months since college for me...
FYI- it took me more than 9 hours to bedazzle my cap and it weighed a ton! Think twice if you plan on doing something similar yourself! Haha.
Anyway, I can't believe that chapter 1 of this new year is already here. Although I've already made my top 3 resolutions, I feel the overwhelming urge to eat healthier, workout and spend more time with loved ones. It's just something about a seemingly clean slate...
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i'm angelica. a twenty something, newly engaged, lover of literature and coffee.
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