Juicing: Day One. Let's get our feet wet.

I would like to start by bringing up the topic of oral health, and I would like to add emphasis on the importance of regular visits to your family dentist. I mean, REGULAR. 

I am good to my teeth. I brush, 2x daily, floss, gargle with mouthwash, and I have even dabbled in the trendy art of "oil-pulling". I have braces, as an adult (pause for snickering), and I am pretty reliable with my ortho and dental visits. Or so I thought. My orthodontist mentioned, about a year ago, that my wisdom teeth needed to be pulled. The conversation was casual, and he suggested a handful of oral surgeons that would be a good fit for me - I left his office and never thought about it again. Wisdom teeth - what was the big deal? My current insurance plan didn't cover the extraction and if it was such a looming problem then my Orthodontist would have said so, right? My work schedule is erratic and the idea of blocking out time to get hopped up on funny gas and endure a set chubby cheeks just didn't sound like anything I was interested in. I mean come on, ain't nobody got time for that.

Well...I should have made time for that. Let's talk about how awesome my Easter weekend was! I woke up Saturday morning with mind blowing pain in my left jaw; this pain was so intense, it shackled me to the bed all. Day. Long. I googled every known toothache remedy - clove oil, tea bags, salt water, you name it! Nothing would alleviate my agony. By 10pm that evening I was seriously considering a trip to the ER; a good friend of mine, bless her sweet soul, dropped by with a few pain meds that promptly lulled me into a peaceful slumber. (I would like to insert a disclaimer here, before rumors of drug use circulate the Internet - I am NOT a recreational drug user, but sometimes you need something stronger than a Tylenol) Sunday morning I woke up with zero pain. In exchange, my face had swollen to the size of a citrus fruit and I looked like a chipmunk. I instantly thought I had inadvertently ingested nuts at some point, but my boyfriend reassured me that he didn't try to poison me while I was out. What. The. Fuck.

After several conversations with my mother, my friends, and God himself, we all agreed that I needed to get into the dentist ASAP. Unfortunately for me, my dentist is a family practice and they are not open on the weekend. It was not until Monday morning (today) that I could get in for a consult. And wouldn't you know, those evil WISDOM TEETH had resurfaced to ruin my life. So here I am, puffy faced and on an intense cocktail of amoxicillin. We have set the date for oral surgery - Cinco de Mayo, God really has a peculiar sense of humor. On another note, once these wretched wisdom teeth are gone, my braces will follow. FINALLY.

On another note, and the real reason behind this blog post, I am taking this opportunity - the one where I am puffy faced and reduced to mush as nourishment - to test the infamous "juice cleanse". I am a sucker for trendy "lifestyle" changes. I am militant with my workout schedule and I am pretty picky about what goes into my body. However, after watching 'Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead' I have decided that a little detox would do me some good.

My Goal: 21 days ON THE JUICE, to encompass my time on antibiotics and the recovery period after my oral surgery.
Plan: I am starting with the Central Market, in-house juices until I find a juicer I like. Today I picked up Beet/Apple/Orange/Ginger and it did not suck, it was actually delicious. I also bought carrot juice, and a "raw vegetable" concoction of celery/spinach/jalapeno/tomato/carrot/leek/cucumber that does NOT sound so awesome.

I will make a very solid attempt to track my progress via this blog. Let's be real, I have made that promise in the past and failed every single time. This time, (un)fortunately, I refuse to show my face in public until the swelling is gone. This Mac and I are going to have a lot of one-on-one time together to bond. Or to blog. Cross your fingers.