If you read my Confessions post, you know that things have been pretty wacky around here lately! But here are some things that put the sparkle into my week:

The weather was absolutely gorgeous last Saturday, so B and I took a stroll up to Fishtown, which isn't too far from his apartment.There's an ice cream place there (Little Baby's--the same one we went to in West Philly) where you can buy a scoop in advance for another person, and B had bought me a scoop awhile ago, so Saturday was the perfect day to collect! Buuut I didn't get just a scoop... more like an ice cream cookie sandwich... :) I got chocolate salt malt ice cream with mint chocolate cookies, and it was ah-mazing.

On our walk back to B's apartment, I spotted these stunning tulips in a little park and totally made a beeline for them. I still can't get over how gorgeous they are! I love tulips in general, but these ones with variegated colors are just stunning!

How about "Stop and freak out over the tulips?" because I did do that!

Wednesday was a two-neighborhood-cat day! (The best kind of day, in my opinion, haha!) First up, we have Tuxedo Cat (or simply "Tuxado," ala Franck in Father of the Bride), who still prefers to gaze at me from a safe distance. After taking this shot, I stepped on a twig, and Tuxedo Cat bolted. Our relationship needs some work.

And then, later that day, who did I find rolling around our neighbor's yard but Calico Pinky!! The cats whose real names we don't know get christened with some descriptive nickname (ala Tuxado/Tuxedo Cat), so Pops shortened "Calico Pink Collar" to "Calico Pinky." He's the main one who sees her--in fact, she was just hanging out in our plants last week, much to Pops' chagrin--so you can imagine my glee at happening upon such a rare cat in my neighborhood Neko Atsume! Calico Pinky was way more excited to see me than Tuxedo Cat had been: she came right over and kept walking in circles around me, rubbing up on me and meowing. I WAS LEGIT TRAPPED IN A CIRCLE OF CUTENESS. When Pops found me, I was sprawled out on the sidewalk, squealing incoherently with Calico Pinky laying up against me. Oh happy day!!

I can't even with her little white face!

Besties <3 THIS COULD BE YOU TOO, TUXEDO CAT!

My retainer saga continued this week, as I picked up retainer #2, the one that had to be re-made. This appointment was at a different office, so I had to see the actual orthodontist who had treated me back when I had braces, and he seriously did.not.care that I hadn't worn my retainers for years. Fear of telling him that I hadn't followed the rules was partially what kept me from making an appointment sooner, and yet he was totally chill. Ugh, stupid fear and shame, you ruin everything!! ANYWAY, this orthodontist reiterated that my teeth really haven't shifted much (which I'm still in shock over!) and that they could go back to their super-straight post-braces state if I wear both retainers all the time for 6-8 weeks. 6-8 weeks?!? I thought we'd be talking six months to a year or something! So despite the lisp and general Farmer Ted-ness (ugh), I'm going to see if I can tough it out for 6-8 weeks. I had a walking boot for that long and it was nbd, so it's worth a shot. My initial goal with the retainers was just to stop my teeth from getting worse, so the potential of fixing the damage I'd already done is like hitting the jackpot!

By the way... I've gotten some logistical questions about my whole retainer situation, so I wanted to answer them here, in the hopes of helping anyone else who might be losing sleep over the state of their teeth!

My new retainer cost $150. Which is WAY more reasonable than I thought it would be! If you call your doctor's office, they can probably give you an idea of how much a retainer would cost (that's where I started out).
I was also freaked out about how much the appointment itself would cost (since I don't have dental insurance), but at my orthodontist at least, retainer check appointments are FREE! So I paid $0 at my appointment last week, and $150 at my appointment this week (to cover the new retainer cost). THAT'S IT. *confetti horn emoji*
If you still have your retainers, and they would be wearable if they only fit, bring them with you to your appointment. If you have a Hawley retainer (the typical metal and plastic kind), your orthodontist might be able to adjust it FOR FREE so that it fits the current state of your teeth. That's what happened with my bottom retainer. (My old top retainer was an Essix retainer, which is sort of Invisalign-esque and has no flexibility to be re-shaped, hence why I had to get a new one.)

Bottom line: Don't let fear of the cost stop you from seeking treatment if you're concerned about your teeth. Things might not be as bad as you think! (I was certainly blown away!!)

I promptly sent this picture to my bffl with a bunch of baby emojis, because, accurate. I already get carded at R-rated movies, this is not going to help!!

I test drove a car this week! Eeeee! I'm truly 16 years old, looking at cars and going to the orthodontist, ha! I typically drive my dad's 2012 Civic, and it just feels enormous compared to the Civics of my childhood (namely our white 2001 Civic with the black door handles that made it so easy to spot <3). So Pops' "car guy" introduced me to the Honda Fit, and I totally loved it! It is the perfect size and has fantastic visibility! AND it has a rear windshield wiper, which Pops, me, my bffl, and her mom were all psyched about, haha. Now I just need to do some serious number crunching and see if I can actually afford it...