Before I get into the DIY, I am going to get a bit mushy for a minute. So I apologize haha! If you want to scroll on past this part, the DIY is below.

So as you have probably noticed in my recent posts featuring photos of myself, I have had braces on since January of this year. I had a sever case of TMJ, my bite didn't align anymore because of it, so my jaw bone became displaced (super fun). I wasn't a case for surgery, the only way to realign my bite was to put braces on. I will say that I put up a fight. My fear was always having to have adult braces. Like who wants braces when they are 25? Certainly not me. My doctor told me I could forgo the braces and live with a splint (sort of like a retainer) in my mouth indefinitely, with the possibility of the pain becoming chronic. So that didn't sound fun either.

Cleary I decided to go in the right direction with the braces but it wasn't an easy road to get there. Long story short, insurance was not on my side. I wasn't a dependent under the age of 20, and I didn't have an "accident" which caused the displacement. And of course, these weren't considered "normal" braces because they were not for cosmetic reasons so that means they were more expensive. I petitioned for my insurance to cover costs (at least some) and in the end, they covered nothing. My doctor was nice enough to give me the clear braces for the cost of the normal metal ones (of course the clear are more expensive). I had to drain my savings to pay for them. I worked pretty hard at saving the first 2 years of my big girl job. So it was really tough watching all that go away instantly.

One day in the middle of it all, I was kind of at my breaking point. I threw up my hands and said you know what, whatever, it is what it is. When I got home one day, there was an envelope underneath my door with my name on it. Inside was an anonymous letter saying that they knew I was struggling financially and God placed it on their hearts to pitch in and write me a check for over $600. Here comes the mushy part, I just broke down and cried. It was an answered prayer. To this day, I still don't know for sure who gave it to me. But I will be forever grateful. If you are reading this, just know that your gift helped me so much and I am eternally grateful for your kindness.

I am in month 7 of anywhere between 12–18 months of the braces process. I won't lie, it sucks. But I try my best to be gracious about it. It could be worse. I am lucky and blessed enough to be in a position where I was able to get the problem fixed. I could just not smile in pictures, and not go out and talk to people in fear of embarrassment. But I have chosen to own them. The people in my life have encouraged me so much. We laugh at times when I eat things like sprinkles and there are a rainbow of little guys in every single bracket (yeah won't be doing that again lol) but everyone has been gracious and encouraging. It might not seem like much, but it has been. I'm glad the pain has finally started to subside a bit, and i am about half way(ish) through the process. I decided to write this little story in this post because its important to be kind. You never know what people are going through. Calling someone too fat or too skinny can be detrimental for someone going through a disease. Or making fun of someone for things they can't control about who they are or about where they came from. Or judging people because they are different from you. In a world full of bullies and narcissists and womanizers, to name a few, its so important to be show kindness to others. Okay, thats all. If you got all the way through this little mush, thanks for reading. Now onto the DIY!

To start, I washed and air dried my shirt. Then I ironed the area I was going to put the letters on to make sure nothing creased. Then I followed the directions on the pack of iron on letters. So whichever ones you get, it might depend on those directions. But essentially, I cut out the letters from the pack, and placed them on the shirt where I wanted them to be. Lining everything up took a bit of time.

Once everything was in place, I simply iron on one word at a time. Carefully making sure the letters weren't moved in the process. I held the iron over the letters for about 20 seconds each time. Again, follow the instructions on your pack of letters.

Let the shirt cool, and well-ah! Pretty dang simple. The t-shirt was $8 and the letters were $5. So in total, this DIY cost around $13 dollars!

So remember friends, don't take yourself too seriously. Laugh and have fun when you can. Life is short and full of hardship, appreciate the good times and the people in your life. In the words of one of my favorite people, Ellen DeGeneres, "Be kind to one another"

Much love friends!

<3 A