We went to see Julie & Julia on Monday night (I needed to reset my brain after having a complete and total meltdown that lasted most of the day) and I have to say that I loved it.  LOVED it.  It was an absolutely charming movie and, like most of the reviews I have read, I would kind of like Nora Ephron to write a biopic of Julia Child’s life and cast Meryl Streep in the role because seriously?  She was fantastic.

The other thing about watching the movie that I loved was that it sort of re-inspired me to blog.  It is no secret that I’ve been scarce around these parts lately what with working like crazy to pay the rent and the bills and taking care of all of the last minute wedding details.  But watching this movie made me remember a little bit why I blog: to put myself out there, to be read (and, lets face it, judged) and to have this little piece of internet real estate that is just for me.  And I won’t lie, since watching the movie I’ve been trolling around the internet looking for different types of blogging platforms, trying to figure out my next step and how to take my blog to the next level.  So when I got the chance to do a review of Thoughts.com’s blogs site I jumped for it.

Thoughts.com looks like it is supposed to be a sort of facebook-meets-regular-blogging kind of platform.  It is meant as a social media site on which users can post blog posts and interact with each other in a safe and “one love” protected environment.  One Love is the company’s philosophy of treating other users with kindness and not trying to pick fights or be too judgmental when commenting on someone’s post.  In addition to blog posts, users can upload photos and videos much like other social media platforms.  They can add friends and receive updates about those friends when they log in.  It looks like it is trying to merge blogging and other forms of social media into one neat little package and I admire the effort.

Some of you might like the idea of keeping everything in one place but I kind of like having separate things for separate areas of my life.  Facebook and Myspace are 99% made up of people I know in real life already in some form.  Twitter, on the other hand is more about my blogging world (though I did just follow Will’s sister today.  Hi Will’s sister!) and while I know that there are people in my three dimensional world who read my blog, I kind of like keeping the two crowds mostly separate for now.

Still, as far as blogging platforms go, Thoughts.com looks like it is on the right track.

Meanwhile, I get to jump right back into work and affix my nose firmly to a grindstone so that I can get our rent paid on time.

So wedding dress shopping was not the disaster I had feared it would be yesterday.  The place I went was far better than the first shop.  I even found four dresses I really liked, and put two on hold so that my Mom can see them when she gets to town next week.

It’s hard though–being in a big ol’ dressing room, with a big ol’ mirror and standing there in a bustier (the first time I’d ever worn one and I am not impressed, though I do understand now why women used to pass out in similar contraptions) and slip.  All of a sudden, every single flaw seems like it has a big neon arrow going “look!  Look at this scar on your leg!  And look! Look at this friz on the top of your head!  Look! Look at your GIANT BUTT!”  Even when I smiled I thought “ew, are those really my teeth?”

The thing is, there are all sorts of things that I want to fix and things that I could fix if I took the time to worry about them on a day to day basis.  I *could* start wearing makeup to cover up the blotchiness of my skin and the dark shadows under my eyes that are there even when I’m not tired.  I could go lay out by the pool (slathered in sunscreen of course) and try to even out my skin tone and lessen the chances that I will have a farmer tan at my wedding.  I could go to a proper stylist and use higher end products on my hair instead of buying the cheapest shampoo and conditioner and going to Great Clips (though, honestly, I haven’t had a haircut since 2007, no lie).

The one thing I would absolutely change, if I had the disposable income, would be my teeth.  While I am kind of opposed to cosmetic surgery in a vague way, I am absolutely in favor of cosmetic dentistry.  No joke.  Look, I’ll freely admit that until I hit my late teens I was more than lax in the dental hygiene department.  I HATED brushing my teeth (no, I do not know why, but seriously? I hated it).  I would give them a quick swipe and call it good.  So, you know, I’ve had more than a normal person’s fair share of cavities.  Most of my teeth have fillings in them.  On top of this, I had braces TWICE, which made them very weak and even more susceptible to damage.

Once I hit my twenties and realized that “oh crap, I totally can’t afford a dentist anymore, I need to work to keep these choppers healthy or I’m screwed” I went to town.  I use two different types of extra healthy care toothpaste–one for daytime, one for nighttime, both whitening.  I have a special “extra clean” toothpaste that I use the recommended once a week.  I have a waterpik.  I have Listerine and Act.  Really, sometimes I feel like I’m overdoing it.  And yet–there are still spots on my teeth and spaces where, because of the damage done by years of poor habits and orthodontic glue, dirt and other buildups are happening and I can’t do anything about them.  Frankly, it’s embarrassing.

I know that fixing my teeth completely is going to cost a zillion dollars and I know that I should start saving now but sometimes, sometimes I think, why not just get them fixed cosmetically?  Why not just get dental veneers?  Would it be so bad?  Wouldn’t it be nice to smile big and not immediately think “oh shoot I don’t want them to see my crappy teeth!”

I know that cosmetic fixes like veneers won’t totally fix the problems, but it would be nice to smile and know that my smile is nice and white and free of ickiness.  I would like to see a photo of my smiling face and not immediately zone in on the problems. I would like to smile and not worry that the person sitting opposite me is thinking “ew, what is WRONG with her teeth?”  My friends insist that they don’t even notice the problems until I point the problems out to them.  But you know, they’re my friends.  They have to say that.

What about you?  If you had the money would you go the cosmetic dentistry route?