// 20 Random Facts

First off, just let me say WHOA! in regards to yesterday's Honest To Blog post and all of your amazing replies. Seriously, the comments were amazing, the emails that flooded my inbox were amazing (I'm working on replying to everyone!), and the tweets/texts/etc were all so so wonderful. Thank you for making me realize that I'm not alone with my feeling. It's such a strange, crazy world, right? The people who you assume have it so together are just as messy at life as you are. It's a breath of fresh air, and so reassuring to know we're sort of all in this together. Now to today's post...

I love random facts posts. Seriously. I love to read about people's unusual traits and quirks. Before this list I never realized how difficult it is to sit and come up with 20 facts that aren't super obvious or boring. Of course I'm not 100% sure that I've succeeded, but here's my list anyway!

1. One of my biggest pet peeves (right after loud chewers and random, repetitive noises) is "the obviously empty cup" on TV. Anyone know what I'm talking about here? When a character on tv has a coffee cup or something and just starts wailing it around... it's quite obvious that there's nothing in it! Why don't they just put some actual coffee or water in those things? The movements and mannerisms of the characters always give it away and I spend way too much time ranting about it.

2. I'm a self-described pen snob. I don't mean my pens have to be expensive (it's usually quite the opposite, especially since I lose them so often), but they have to write a certain way. A pen can make or break any list or notebook, I'm sure of it.

3. My life literally depends on Zyrtec. I take it every day like clockwork. If I'm so much as 15 minutes late, my allergies go haywire and I drive Mike nuts.

4. Speaking of allergies - I also have asthma. Ever since I was a teensy tiny baby. I hadn't had any flare ups in the past 5 years or so, but this Autumn has been awful. I started back on 2-3x daily breathing treatments and I carry a Dulera inhaler everywhere I go. 3am is the most popular time for my attacks and I have no idea why. Awesome!

5. One of my very first jobs in high school was at The Elephant Sanctuary. I was the only juvenile on the grounds, and it was one of the most amazing jobs of my life. I worked up in the office above the Quarantine Barn and would handle daily donations for the Sanctuary. I parked next to Delhi, who was in quarantine at the time, and she was my favorite of all the elephants. I cried like a baby when she passed away. I had to wear a TB mask after we received 2 elephants who had been exposed to tuberculosis (Lola + Misty) and I still remember the snarky comments from the health professionals who tested me. They thought it was irresponsible for a 16 year old to work in those conditions. That job was insanely amazing and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

6. I hate voicemails. If you leave me a voicemail, I will most likely not ever listen to it. I hate them. I used to not even have my voicemail set up and I'm determined to turn it off again. I don't know why I hate it so bad, but I do. Just call me back!

7. I also hate thick straws. Has anyone else noticed how the taste of a drink is totally altered by the diameter of the straw? Skinny straws (hey, Taco Bell!) are where it's at. Mike thought I was crazy until I made him compare. He's all about the skinny straws, too.

8. I have a specific (ultra soft) toothbrush in our bathroom dedicated to my engagement ring. It's probably not the best way to clean it, but man that puppy sparkles afterward!

9. I have to cover my ears for loud noises. Like starting the vacuum or bath tub. Even the hair dryer or commercial toilets (Why are they so loud?!). I don't know why I do it, but I always have.

10. I do not personally own a single pair of socks. Not one. I'm constantly stealing Mike's when my feet are cold, but otherwise I really really hate socks.

11. Every night I pull up Desiderata on my computer so it's the first thing I read in the morning. At this point you are tired of hearing about Desiderata. I'm sorry.

12. "Strong Female Lead" is the perfect Netflix-given theme for my music and movie choices. Mike likes to poke fun at me for only listening to female vocalists and watching movies or tv shows with a great female lead. Hey, I just think women are awesome! We deserve some love, okay?!

13. I have to sleep with my head under a blanket and pillow at night. I have very specific rules for each of my 4 pillows and where they go at night. I also cannot fall asleep if my head/face isn't fully covered by a pillow, and then the pillow covered by a blanket. This lead to many parents of friends to think I was trying to suffocate myself at night. Nope, just staying cozy and warm.

14. I always sprinkle a little sea salt on my ice cream. It makes the ice cream so much better. Seriously, try it. 

15. I experience a quarter life crisis almost every day... or maybe it's just a really, really long one. (See yesterday's post as proof)

16. I no longer pay any attention to my blog stats (unless a sponsor inquires or I update my media kit). I've found that watching stats hinders me from writing a blog *I* would want to read.

17. I find it impossible to say no to stray animals. It just hurts my heart way too much. Hence why we're currently feeding 3 full grown cats and 6 kittens... despite 7 out of 9 being strays.

18. I'm blind in my left eye. I can make out differences in shades/light, but that's it. I've never been able to see out of my left eye (for as long as I can remember at least) so I don't see it as much of a hindrance.

19. I never pulled a full all-nighter in college. I studied until 6am one year for finals, but went right to sleep. My classmates regularly pulled full fledged all nighters on projects and I always wondered if I was just being lazy and if I could've benefitted from a few myself.

20. I was voted "Best Dressed" and "Most Likely To Be Famous" my senior year of high school, and I think that's the funniest thing in the world considering I was decked out in head to toe Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister and I wanted to be a fashion designer. What?! High-school-me confuses me so much. But I genuinely really enjoyed high school, so go figure.

Now it's YOUR turn! I'd love to read 20 (or however many) random facts about you! Feel free to share in the comments or write your own post and drop us a link! It's so fun figuring out things you have in common with other people!

Cheek Piercings 101!

The day I had them done

Someone asked me in my FormSpring if I could make a post on my cheek piercings and all that jazz because they're quite the complicated piercing and they were looking to have theirs done. First and foremost, let me just say, this is a piercing you should REALLY think about before having it done. You should think about any and every piercing beforehand, but the common misconception with these are that you can just take them out and all will go back to normal. They won't. Cheek piercings are something that more likely than not, you will be living with for the rest of your life (much like a tattoo!) so think long and hard, and research, research, research!

I've wanted cheek piercings for years. I've always thought they were so super cute and I loved the thought of having dimples (I had one... but it was a silly little thing). So in this little entry I'm going to go through the most commonly asked questions I get and then give you a few links to read up on!

Q #1: Do those hurt?

A: No. Neither the piercings nor the aftermath (currently) hurt. I was actually shocked at how painless the actual procedure was. I was very very nervous but the needles went straight through and that was that. However, the next few hours/days following the piercings were a bit rough. Mainly because my face was swollen and it was hard to eat/smile/laugh. That soon faded but for about a week it hurt pretty bad to laugh hysterically. And I really like to laugh. But that too went away.

Q #2: Do you ever bite down on the balls on the inside?

A: Sometimes. I'll catch myself just grazing them but I've never done a full CHOMP on one. It's important to have the balls on the inside (as opposed to a flat-back labret like on monroes) because the moist tissue in your mouth regenerates so quickly... if the flat back is against your cheek, you can almost guarantee that your cheek will grow over the flat back and you'll need to cut it out. I just find it better to forgo that all together and have a ball. Right now my balls are steel but I'll be trading them out for acrylics to minimize the chances of tooth chipping in the future. [Edit 10/16/10: It's 6 months later and I currently have gem discs on the inside. They're much less cumbersome than balls, and I've never once bit down on them. They don't ding on my teeth either. I highly recommend them. They can be purchased at BodyArtForms.com]

Q #3: What size bars do you have?

A: I'm still wearing the ones I had from day one, the 3/4" bars. I could size down to 5/8" or to 1/2" but I have yet to do so. Mainly because the balls are VERY tricky and I need Mike's help to change them out. That is not fun! [Edit: 10/16/10: I now have 1/2" 14g bars in my cheeks with 3mm steel balls on the outside and 4mm gem discs on the inside. This is the perfect size for my cheeks, but it varies with each person.]

Q #4: Did you have dimples before the piercings?

A: No. I had one little dimple on the left cheek but I decided to go for the piercings because they'd give me dimples.

Q #5: How does a piercing give you an actual dimple?

A: Your cheeks have 18 muscles that run through them... When you put a hole in a muscle, this causes a dip in the tissue, therefore leaving you with a dimple.

Q #6: If you take them out, will you still have a dimple?

A: More than likely, yes. The likelihood is heightened with time.

Q #7: Will they scar?

A: YES! This is the most important thing I think everyone needs to think about before getting them. 99% of the time, you WILL have a scar as a result of these piercings! You need to make sure you can live with this for the rest of your life! Depending on how your body/skin reacts to breaks in tissue will be the defining factor to how noticeable this scar may be. I do know people whose dimples fill out but they still have little dark spots where the holes were.

Q #8: How high maintence are they?

A: VERY! These piercings generally take a very long time to heal (8-10 months usually). You need to keep them clean at all times! I'm lucky because I've always had really great reactions to piercings. I've hardly ever had to do anything to make sure they heal properly. Even with my cheeks, after a while, I did very little, if anything. Mine have been great, but I know so many who have had the exact opposite happen.

Q #9: What about those little lumps that people talk about getting?

A: Those are lymphatic lumps (and/or hypertrophic scars). Caused by trapped lymphatic fluids in your cheeks. They develop pockets around the piercings. Sometimes you can drain them (either inside your mouth or outside) and they're much like cystic pimples in a way. I've had them. Almost everyone gets them at one point or another with these piercings (but it is so very very possible to avoid them! Keep your hands clean, don't fidget with the jewelry, etc). Some are much larger than others so they're actually visible. I've been fortunate enough in the past to be able to drain mine and they go away. I've never had a full-on infection, thank goodness!

Q #10: Do all piercers do cheek piercings?

A: No. In fact, this is a relatively *new* piercing in the world of body modification (It's been around a very very very long time, yes, but not all piercers are familiar with the muscle structure of the face or how to position them correctly). My suggestion is to go to a piercer who has done this well over a few dozen times, and even better if they have theirs pierced, too! I went to Betty Ann at Icon in Nashville for mine. She had hers pierced for 7 years already so she was great.

That's not even remotely all of the questions I get but you get the idea. I figured 10 was a good number and I'm going to link you to a few great articles on what could happen (and does!) if you're not totally thorough in planning and piercing! Click the following links to read along:

• Cheek Piercings (great article!)
• Cheek Piercings Gone Wrong! (read the comments!)
• Cheek Piercings

Also, it's a good idea to check out the Cheek Piercing videos on YouTube to see how it's done. This can put your mind at ease when you're thinking about having them done. Hope that was the slightest bit helpful! I think they look super lovely, but at the same time I don't recommend them because they're a pain in the butt to deal with. 

xoxo