Today, I’m letting y’all get up close and personal. With my teeth. Quite often, I am complimented on my smile and I LOVE that, so please keep doing it, thanks :). Inside my mouth, I do have a few offenses, besides the numerous fillings from childhood, that I am looking to correct. I have an overbite and some crowding.

Exhibit A (Awkward!)

Not bad, but I want them fixed stat. I’m not self conscious about my teeth, I am just a teeth girl. I love seeing people with great teeth. I know how hard it is sometimes to maintain perfection, so when I see a person with a great pair of choppers, I’m like, “Wow, that’s hot” in a platonic kinda way. I’m not one to judge or favor someone because of their teeth, but I do believe that my teeth are an important part of my presentation. They speak my health and habits. And I’m about due for a whitening. Often times, I have dreams that my teeth are falling out and I’m freaking out and crying in the mirror. Don’t laugh at me. I am SO serious right now. Losing teeth at an early age has run in my family, so I obsess just a teensy bit about mine.

Getting braces is on my life list and I’m hoping to get them on soon. My goal is no later than late 2012. Since I’ve never had braces before, I didn’t have a preference over metal braces or the Invisalign treatment when initially deciding to get them. Appearance wise I didn’t care because I knew that the end result would be the same. When I met Greg, he had metal braces and I thought they were so sexy. I know, I must be a weirdo, lol. For a while I was team metal braces because I assumed that they were cheaper than Invisalign, but it all truly depends on the condition of your teeth and doctors in your area. So I could actually be able to get Invisalign for around the same range as metal braces. The cost of Invisalign treatment ranges from $3,500 to $8,000, with the national average at about $5,000.

I think what really caused me to cross over to team Invisalign was the fact that Invisalign doesn’t require any painful tightening. The Invisalign G3 makes it easier for orthodontists and dentists to treat people with complex cases so they can enjoy the benefits of straightening their teeth without the discomfort and embarrassment often associated with metal (or fixed) braces. Greg told me about the days he’d get his braces tightened and how it left his mouth so sore and unable to chew food. I like to eat and I am a beast when I am hungry. So I don’t know about all that tightening talk. Mommy need not be a beast.

Not only does Invisalign cater to adults, but teens too. They are ideal for teens because besides no discomfort, they are virtually invisible, so teens can feel comfortable around their peers. How many of you heard phrases like “brace face” or “metal mouth”? Yeah. No child wants to have to deal with being called those names. Or how about getting food stuck in their teeth and trying to find time to pick it out in between classes? Greg went through that. Invisalign allows teens to maintain normal, healthy hygiene during treatment and they can eat what they want. They can remove them and pop them back on whenever they would need to. Invisalign Teen treatment is ideal for busy parents too because there are never any emergency appointments caused by broken wires or brackets. And children spend less time at the orthodontist’s office, with fewer appointments. Teens can resume normal activities such as sports or band practice without discomfort. I think I am sold on Invisilgn for myself and Jayden when he gets older. It would be cool to document my progress and share it with him once it’s his turn! Of course there’d be like Invisalign G6 with Terra Nova-like laser coating by then :).

This post has been sponsored by Invisalign Teen. All words are my own. Read my full disclosure policy here.

© Sophistishe 2011 | Permalink | 3 comments - Let's chat!

Did you know that latest research suggests that bathing daily can actually be bad for you? While it’s important to wash wounds clean and keep the soot of the day from building up and attracting colonies of bacteria, the chemicals inside even the most sensitive of soaps and body washes have been shown to do a considerable amount of destruction to the epidermis. The reason soaps do such a great job at getting you fresh and clean is the same reason they’re so corrosive on the top level of skin; soap molecules glob onto loose pieces of dirt and dead skin and carry them off with hot water. While this mix gets you squeaky, it also removes the majority of the epidermis, which consists mainly of dead skin that acts as a sort of hardened shield against the elements. Once removed, the skin underneath becomes susceptible to infections and other ailments.

You have to remember that the daily bath is a relatively new concept for human beings. Once upon time, and we’re only talking the first 180,000 years of humanity’s 200,000 year existence here, we bathed as often as we encountered sources of water that weren’t immediately used for drinking. In other words, hardly ever if not never did prehistoric humans rub-a-dub-dub. Flash forward to recorded history,– the Roman Empire with its famous baths and indoor plumbing – and humans are bathing on a once-a-week basis if they’re of privilege, and typically in the same vat of water that hundreds of other dirty bodies had washed in previously. It sounds disgusting, but you have to keep in mind that this was the majority of our existence. Our DNA still thinks we’re being born and bred on the plains of Africa, and so as much as our modern society promotes the idea of washing up once a day, our bodies don’t like it very much. Our bodies want to be dirty.

But this is the world we live in. Even if the idea of going a day or two sans douche sounds appealing to you, it probably won’t smell very appealing to anyone around you. Body odor is another relatively recent human experience. Beforehand, you kind of just got used to people smelling bad before you could talk and then didn’t care about it until you died. That’s neither here nor there however, so if the only way to preserve our epidermis is by being funky, what can we do to save our skin and our social lives?

Instead of washing up vigorously at the end of the day, simply run some warm water over your body and if you must, use a gentle soap conservatively. Afterwards, pat dry with a towel, don’t rub as this kind of abrasive motion is likely to do further damage to the epidermis. Use a natural skin care lotion or cream to replenish the protective oils and particles that kept your skin healthy. That way you can avoid harming the forgotten human organ while also smelling good.

We’ve come a long way from the Sub-Saharan land of our genesis, but societal impositions on our bodies have oftentimes moved at a pace independent from both practicality and rationality. Our society is one where smelling good is more important than ever before, even if, strictly speaking survival, smelling bad isn’t that big a deal. Once you understand these wayward dynamics weaved into the story of the human experience, you can begin to see how humans “are born free, yet everywhere they are in chains.” Your chain may simply be the one attached to your bath plug.

© Sophistishe 2011 | Permalink | 9 comments - Let's chat!

SUBWAY’s Orchard Chicken Salad Sub. Read my review here.

You’re Invited to the Subway Twitness Party!

SUBWAY invites you to a Twitter Fitness Party this Tuesday, May 10th at 8:00pm EST/7:00pm CST—where they’ll discuss all things fitness. They want to hear about your goals, how you keep yourself motivated and overcome hurdles—they’ll even throw in a few challenges. The party will take place during the new episode of Biggest Loser, so it’s encouraged you tune in! To participate and follow the conversation, use #commit2fit in all your tweets. Additionally they’ll be raffling off prizes during the party: two “Commitment Kits” and one grand prize: a Play Station Game Console with EA Sports Active games!

Commitment Kits contain:
- $10 SUBWAY card to try May’s featured sandwich (Orchard Chicken Salad) and 6″ Fresh Fit option with 8g fat and 376 calories

- Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 DVD

- $25 Champs gift card

RSVP

RSVP on co-host, Leah Segedie’s (a.k.a. @bookieboo), Mamavation blog.

Winner: Jeff (hellrzr)

To Enter

Let me know what your favorite SUBWAY sandwich is!

Extra Entries

Leave a separate comment for each entry you complete.

• Become a Facebook Fan of Sophistishe.
  
• Follow @sheenatatum on Twitter.
• Subscribe to Sophistishe’s RSS feed.
• Like this giveaway on Facebook.
• Tweet about this giveaway. You can tweet daily!

Comments will close on May 17, 2011 at 7PM CST. A winner from the U.S. will then be randomly selected and announced at the top of this post. Check out my Giveaway Rules if you have any questions. Good luck!

© Sophistishe 2011 | Permalink | 233 comments - Let's chat!

I’m turning into a healthy living nut and I may go out of my way to do some things that others may view as crazy and inconvenient, but the health of my family is oh so important and the positive results received from the craziness are for more rewarding than shortcuts. Some of the healthy choices we make are simple and less over the top, like limiting fast food stops and cooking from scratch, and avoiding cheap filler foods.

While I don’t make a habit out of eating frozen meals on a regular, I love Healthy Choice meals. Although they are seen as a meal that dieters turn to (and I am far from trying to diet), I can’t resist them. I’ve eaten them since I was a little girl without question. I love their blends of pastas/rices, meats, veggies, and sauce. I know I can whip them up from scratch, but they are a treat to have when I don’t feel like cooking or if I’m on the go.

Did you know that brands with “healthy” in their name are held to a higher nutrition standard set by the FDA? Healthy Choice is the only major brand in its category that can call 100% of its products “healthy” as defined by the FDA. This means that each meal must be:

• Low in fat
• Low in saturated fat
• Controlled in sodium and cholesterol
• Supply at least 10% of the daily value for three beneficial nutrients (calcium, protein, fiber, iron, vitamin A or vitamin C)

I had the opportunity to try Healthy Choice’s new Cafe Steamers. I chose to try Cajun Style Chicken & Shrimp. I usually get chicken or shrimp, rice, and veggie blends, so I was happy to see shrimp and chicken in one meal with rice and veggies. Enjoy the product photography below. Need I say it was delicious?

Frozen

Steamed

Served

Healthy Choice/Congra Foods is currently partnering with Feeding America, so if you see the Child Hunger Ends Here logo on the box, be sure to check the back of your box for the code that can be used to donate meals to hungry children. Don’t throw out (recycle, shall I say?) that box ’til you donate!

I have been compensated for my time and honest opinion by The Motherhood and Healthy Choice.

© Sophistishe 2011 | Permalink | 1 comment - Let's chat!

32 & 33 Weeks Pregnant With Jayden (2008)

And the winner is… taylorbagels! Congrats!

As we wrap up April, which happens to be Pregnancy Awareness Month, I am thinking about my pregnancy cravings. Now, just as we should live every month as it’s Earth Month, we should do the same for Pregnancy Awareness Month. So now that you know that I’m not making a big deal out of the specific month/event, let’s talk pregnancy cravings.

When I was pregnant with Jayden, I remember eating alot of burritos dipped in salsa and I craved milk and everything lime/coconut; lime/coconut popscicles, body spray, lotion, you name it! According to Greg, he made countless runs to the grocery store for yogurt, oranges, and Honeycomb cereal too. The Honeycomb cereal, I don’t remember. I do remember finding countless Cheerios that had fallen down my shirt, lol.

Coconut Water is definitely a drink I’d want to crave during my next pregnancy. And as it turns out, replacing juices and other beverages with coconut water can be very beneficial to pregnant and nursing moms. Besides being refreshing, O.N.E Coconut Water is 100% natural and organic, pure, and packed with five essential electrolytes, more potassium than a banana, no added sugars, or fats. Drinking one 11.2-oz. container of O.N.E. Coconut Water has the same short-term hydration as drinking one full liter of water, but one should note that drinking coconut water does not eliminate the need to drink plain water.

To Enter

Tell me about your pregnancy cravings OR let me know which flavor of O.N.E. Coconut Water you’d like to try!

Extra Entries

Leave a separate comment for each entry you complete.

• Become a Facebook Fan of Sophistishe.
  
• Become a Facebook Fan of O.N.E. Coconut Water.
• Follow @sheenatatum on Twitter.
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• Like this giveaway on Facebook.
  
• Tweet about this givewaway. You can tweet daily!

Comments will close on May 7th, 2011 at 7PM CST. A winner from the U.S. will then be randomly selected and announced at the top of this post. Check out my Giveaway Rules if you have any questions. Good luck!

© Sophistishe 2011 | Permalink | 173 comments - Let's chat!

As we wrap up Breast Cancer Awareness month, some thoughts run through my mind. Thoughts that bug the heck out of me actually. Those thoughts include the cosmetic companies (who are known to use cancer causing ingredients) going pink for the month of October. They are doing great things… BUT I mean, what is the point? Why not use the money spent campaigning for the month to go towards removing the harmful ingredients in their products? Wouldn’t you think the threat of breast cancer would be minimized in doing so? To me, it just doesn’t make any sense. Contribute to causing cancer, then turn around and donate to Cancer research. :-/

Take a look at this video. It explains the whole bruhaha against parabens and icky chemicals found in mainstream cosmetics. I hope it sheds some light on this heated topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq000AF1i8

Convinced that you need to give your cosmetic cabinet an overhaul? Visit the Cosmetics Database to see how potent your cosmetics are and start replacing them now! I’m not demanding, I’m just sayin’.

Paraben-free cosmetics (of which we personally use):
St.Ives
Episencial.com
Weleda
Bee Mine Hair Products
Tarte Cosmetics
Eyes Lips Face Cosmetics (some do, some don’t)
Zoya Cosmetics
Diamond Cosmetics
Vitacost Health & Wellness

Thanks to the following sponsors who’ve supported the Click It For Breast Cancer campaign:
Fast Fixin’ (main sponsor of this campaign) coupons and gift card to participating bloggers.*
Sonic Drive In gift cards
Mrs. Renfro’s delicious salsas*
Otter Box waterproof cellphone cases*
Ju Ju Be Packa Be awesome clutch for grabbing on the go*
Sketchers Awareness Shoe
Mabels Labels gift pack
Candle Moods Pink Candle*
Signify Pink Fight Like a Girl rhinestone mug and blanket*
Hanes #Click It 4 BC tees*
Beijo Bags (Lucky In Love)*

* When I volunteered for this campaign, I didn’t expect to receive anything in return. Thanks, Melissa, for arranging these surprises to be sent to us!

© Sophistishe 2010 | Permalink | No comment - Oh, I see how it is...

Taken May 2010 – See the sunscreen?

I have a grudge against suncreen. It takes forever to rub in and it is almost impossible to do when applying on a toddler who hates it. Jayden gets enough of being rubbed down daily with his Eczema remedies, so when it comes time to apply sunscreen, he throws a hissy. Because of this, I cannot throughly rub it in resulting in an ashy glow. *points up*

I received an invite to participate in a blog tour for Shady Day Daily Sun Protection Wipes. I read over the key selling points. “Sunscreen wipes? Seriously? Paraben free? Water resistant? Why am I just learning about these?”, I thought. Immediately, I agreed to join the tour.

Daily Sun Protection Wipes are gentle and provide extra moisture, which is very beneficial to Jayden’s Eczema ridden skin. Using these wipes make applying sunscreen on my antsy toddler much easier. Jayden loves wiping himself with wipes, so I am able to give him a wipe to occupy himself as I’m applying with another. Now, he and I don’t have to fight anymore and he no longer has to walk around with a an unattractive white glaze over his skin. They smell good too; clean and citrus-y. Satisfied I am. Now if only his Eczema remedies came in wipe form…

Get your own Daily Sun Protection Wipes at: Diapers.com, Ulta.com, and Shadydayinc.com.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Shady Day and received a sample package of SPF 30 Shady Day Daily Sun Protection Wipes and a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.

© Sophistishe 2010 | Permalink | 2 comments - Let's chat!