Thursday, January 30, 2014

EARLY VALENTINE'S DAY TUTORIAL - "KINDA" LOOKS LIKE HEARTS

I can't win this winter! Bitter cold, snow - lather, rinse, repeat. Seriously. Yesterday was freezing and Kev left; warmer today, 8 inches of snow. Come on already! Somebody up there must really hate me. I don't know what to do about that damn driveway since the hubster won't be home until next Wednesday. Can I get a break, please? I'm begging at this point.

I'll post this mani now that it's up on the NailIt Magazine website. They've put up two of my tutorials in the past week or so!! They've also requested another one from me that I need to do sometime before Valentine's Day.  I also need to buckle down and finish my latest tutorial article for Les Nouvelles, but I really have to be in the mood for that.

Sephora by OPI Ruby Without a Cause, Orly Luxe,  heart mani, Valentine's Day, dragged heart
I started off with two coats of Sephora by OPI's Ruby Without a Cause. I really could have just gone with one coat, but since I wasn't sure, I did two.  Once the burgundy was dry, I moved on to working one finger at a time. I did another coat of burgundy, and while it was still wet I used my dotting tool to put a thick dot of gold down each side.
Sephora by OPI Ruby Without a Cause, Orly Luxe,  heart mani, Valentine's Day, dragged heart
Then I immediately used my smallest dotting tool and very lightly started at the top dot of gold and dragged all the way through to the bottom dot.
Sephora by OPI Ruby Without a Cause, Orly Luxe,  heart mani, Valentine's Day, dragged heart
The dotter makes a notch in the top of each dot so that it forms an abstract heart shape, connected like vines.
Sephora by OPI Ruby Without a Cause, Orly Luxe,  heart mani, Valentine's Day, dragged heart
I love Ruby Without a Cause. It's such a nice rich color, and the shimmer in it is really purdy. Orly Luxe is a great gold, too. 

I had actually tried to do this once before without success. I had a little bit better luck this time. I don't know if I used the wrong polishes the first time or what, and even though this one turned out, I still think the hearts could have been better.  I do like it, though, so don't yell at me about how I'm too critical of myself. lol

Even though it's a bit early for Valentine's Day mani's, I did wear this for a couple of days.

See? Told ya' I like it!

Monday, January 27, 2014

JAZZ - THESE HEARTS SHOULD BE BROKEN

Those of you who have been hanging out here for a bit will remember the sadness my group of friends felt over the loss of the beautiful Jules. For those of you who weren't here, he was a gorgeous Golden Retriever that left his loving owners way too soon.

I wasn't on Facebook yesterday until late in the evening when I got a private message notification. So I picked up my laptop only to discover that this dear woman very suddenly lost Jules' playmate, Jazz.  To say we are devastated for her and her husband would be an understatement, as there simply are no words. Once again, we are all in shock and shedding tears right along with her.

If I had known, the mani shown here today would have been much different. It would have matched how I feel, which is heartbroken for her loss and for the pain she's going through. We love you, MJ. Truly.

As you can see, she was a very "chill" girl. I couldn't resist this pic, especially since I have one of my Lab in almost the exact same position. It's just cute....not very ladylike, but cute. Jazz just chillin'.

And she was patient! If I try something like this with either of mine, I just get sad eyes or dirty looks. Jazz seemed just fine dozing off with her antlers on.
I had to include this picture; it was taken at the same time as the gorgeous one of Jules that I posted. What's prettier than a Golden lying in the golden sun? Damn near nothing.
This one is a repeat pic from November just because it shows a whole lot of my fave pictures of these two all dressed in their finery. They had LOTS of finery! And they looked mighty fine in it!
And finally, just the most perfect picture. Jazz and Jules. Best friends. Playmates. The reunion at Rainbow Bridge must have been simply amazing!! I wish we were allowed to have a glimpse of that joy.  Run free, Jazz and Jules!! You now get to be healthy and happy and joyous. And together forever.
Now I'll throw in a mani just because I'm supposed to. Gotta' say I pretty much don't give a shit about it right now.
Color Club Blushing Rose, Square Hue Wartime Romance, Ninja Polish DRK-A heart stamp, Valentine's Day mani
The pink is Color Club Blushing Rose which I stamped using Square Hue Wartime Romance and my Ninja Polish DRK-A stamp.

So that's that. Sometimes I don't think I want so many furbaby friends. Sometimes it just hurts too effing much.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

BEEN AWHILE WATER MARBLE

Yes, it is still bitter cold here. And yes, I am still over it. Even though I'm happy to go to work this afternoon, the part where I have to leave the house doesn't sound so fun.

I wish I had kept the Equinox instead of Kev taking it. I swear my car has to run for an hour before it gets warm in there. The Nox heats up to a nice, comfortable toasty within 15 minutes even in this cold.

One thing I will say, the new down coat I bought from Eddie Bauer this year is super warm. Thankfully.  It's also snowing a little again, which is pissing me off. I had to shovel again yesterday and don't want to do it again today. Mother Nature is obvi not a fan of mine this year. As soon as Kev leaves, it snows. What the hell.

It has been quite awhile since I took the time to do a water marble. I forgot how much I like them! Evidently I lost the knack for it a bit because this one took me a little longer than usual. I had to redo a couple of the nails a couple of times. At one point I was getting so disgusted Kev told me to "do one hand, take a picture and then just paint them yellow or something". Where he came up with just painting them yellow is anybody's guess. I thought it was hilarious.  I also ignored his idea.  I am nothing if not determined, and once I start a marble, there's no way I'm not going to finish.
Orly Gumdrop, Orly Lollipop, Fresh Paint Coconut water marble
I started with a base of Fresh Paint Coconut which I also used along with Orly Gumdrop and Orly Lollipop.  I love all of these individually, and I like how they turned out together.

It's 12:10, and I have to be to work for 1:00. Think if I start my car now it will be warm when I leave here at 12:35?

I'm thinking I'll start it and find out.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

NEGATIVE SPACE MANI. SAY WHAT??

I can't believe we are back to negatives in the temperature. Enough already!! I don't get to hibernate all the way through this time, either. Tomorrow I have an eye appointment. I decided it's time for new contact lenses since I've been seeing double out of my right eye for at least six months. I've grown tired of squinting.

Then on Thursday I get to work in the afternoon. Woo-hoo. I should actually make it there, too, now that my car has a brand spankin' new battery. I tried starting it today without trouble. I figured I'd let it warm up a bit before turning it off.....and then forgot about it for 20 minutes. Blonde moment.

In keeping with the negative temps, today I'm showing a negative space mani. Now, I had no damn idea what that even was. I had never heard of it. When I sent over that purple striped mani to NailIt, she asked if I could do a negative space tutorial. Well, sure I can! As soon as you tell me what in the hell that is. 

I did a google search, and she sent over a couple of examples. Ahhh, now I get it. Weird. I wasn't sure how it would look leaving negative space with my Custom nails, but it worked out.
It was odd to put striping tape on my bare nail, but here it is. Before sponging on my gradient, I painted a strip of each of my colors onto my nail. Once that was dry, I did the sponging. It made getting the coverage I wanted much easier.
After the sponging, I peeled off the tape, topcoated and cleaned up the mess.
Julep Susie, Wet n Wild I Need a Refresh Mint, Julep Amy, striping tape gradient, negative space
Once again, a whole lotta' striping tape action. I practiced a couple of different things on my thumb before I finally decided on this design. Then went it came to a color, I didn't want to just do a plain color against the bare nail. I haven't done a gradient in awhile, and once I tried it out on my thumb, the decision was made.

The lightest green is Julep Susie; Wet n Wild I Need a Refresh Mint is the medium; and Julep Amy is the darkest.  I wore this for a couple of days just because it was quite a bit of work.

And I still don't know if I like it.

Monday, January 20, 2014

A SO WEIRD FAIL

It's Monday, and I'm here for my one day of work per week. I'm so torn at this point and can't decide if I'm happy to be here or if I'd like to just tell him to shove it altogether. I find it interesting that even though nobody has been here to use the computer, somebody somewhere did some documents within the past week. Actually, I don't find it interesting; I find it pretty damn annoying. Obviously there is at least some work that needs to be done on days other than Mondays.....so why am I not the one doing it?

Part of me wants to just call it a wrap and just stay home. Like forever. I know so little about the unemployment thing; like what happens when my 20 weeks are up. I honestly don't know if I want to look for another job. I wonder what would happen if I say I'm still laid off and give them a return to work date like I did before. Would they waive my requirement to look for another job, or would they deny me altogether.  I hate this uncertainty. It's making my ulcer act up again. I'm supposed to get a followup EGD in February, and I have a feeling the result isn't going to be good once again. *sigh*

Last night I had a mani that started out all cool and shit. And then it died right before my eyes when I added topcoat.
Zoya Mikka, China Glaze Stone Cold, Llarowe LeaLac XL-A stamp
I started off with Zoya Mikka which is a really great burgundy with a bit of shimmer.  I wanted that color to just show up around the edges of the stamp from the Llarowe LeaLac XL-A plate. I tried a bunch of different greys trying to find what I needed. The China Glaze matte Stone Cold stamped on it just awesome! Success!!

And then I made the mistake of topcoating with Seche Vite, and all of my lovely grey spots shrunk! What the what?? I've never seen anything like it. I ended up with this craptastic jumble. It was already 11:30 so it was too late for a do-over.

I'm also horrified at the tip wear I have today. Also strange. I seldom get tip wear on the first day even when I'm typing a ton.

I guess this one just wasn't meant to turn out the way I wanted. I'm half considering trying again tonight. It has to come off, that's for sure. And it really did look pretty neat-o before it shrunk.

Is it 5 o'clock yet? I'd like to go home now. 

Friday, January 17, 2014

PURPLE. LOVE IT.

Well, I'm officially stuck at my house until Monday. There is so much snow there is just no way my car would ever make it out of the driveway. I keep going out and shoveling the damn deck, trying to keep a jump on it, but it just keeps filling up again. 

I went out at 3:00 a.m. to shovel before going to bed last night, and it was at that point I realized I was screwed.  And once again, I got up this morning to find another few inches. I shoveled again and hopefully the snow is done accumulating because my arm has had enough.

When I did my latest CNS request mani's, they asked for stripes. They didn't really specify so I decided to do something other than just a straight single stripe.
China Glaze Harmony, unnamed Color Club, striping tape, stripes, accent nail
I actually really like how this looks. It's not often I do an accent nail, but I think it works well here.  The darker purple is a Color Club with no name on the bottle, and the lighter is China Glaze Harmony. 

I passed it along to NailIt Magazine, and they liked it so the tutorial will be showing up on the website sometime soon.

It seems I've been kind of striping tape crazy lately. If I can decide on colors, maybe I'll try something else this weekend. I do have an idea in mind so we'll see if I can actually do it.  Sometimes those things that look easy end up being difficult.

Possible frustration and excessive swearing in my future. lol


Thursday, January 16, 2014

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW....AND A MANI

Please, please stop with the damn snow already!! Kev left yesterday and won't be home until Sunday night. Before he left he had snowblowed the driveway and did the shoveling. I was not too happy when it started snowing late last night. It was a beautiful snowfall; huge fluffy flakes that look so pretty as it's coming down.

Unfortunately, once they hit the ground they stay there. I didn't sleep well last night. It was one of those nights where my dreams were horrible and weird, and I was up three times to get a drink of Dr. Pepper and smoke a cig in order to snap myself out of them. If I don't get up, I slip right back into the same nightmare. I wish I knew where these whacko dreams came from....so bizarre and random.

But I digress. The point is every time I got up it was still snowing. I had checked the weather before I went to bed at 3:00 a.m., and it said we were supposed to get an inch. Lying assmunches. There was easily four or five inches on my deck when I got up this morning, and it's still snowing off and on. 

Of course that means more shoveling for me. My arm had finally quit being sore from the last bit of shoveling and Christmas undecorating. But off I went to clear the deck and the area between that and the garage. It was the first time I actually had to pick up the snow and toss it rather than just push it where it needed to go, and I'm hoping I don't pay for it. It's light and fluffy so at least I had that going for me. 

Right now I'm sitting here debating whether or not my arm could maybe handle the snowblower or whether I should just let the actual driveway stay as it is until Kev gets home to do it. It is self-propelled and everything, but that sucker is huge, and I have a really hard time turning it.  I've lucked out in a major way for the past few years and haven't had to attempt using it. My darling hubby has been home every time we got any measurable amount of snow for those years. I guess it stands to reason that because my arm isn't normal, this would be the year that the snow removal is falling on me. 

My brother-in-law has a plow and had offered to help out this year, but right now he is laid up at home waiting for a call from Mayo which is where he needs to go for heart surgery. So I might be whining and bitching, but what he's going through now and what he will be going through puts things in perspective in a big way. Please keep him in your prayers for me! 

I did this mani on Sunday night to wear to work on Monday. And then I wore black to work! Oh, the horror of having brown nails with a black sweater! I'm ashamed of myself.
10 Professional Moonlight, China Glaze Foie Gras, Ninja Polish DRK-A stamp
My tan for this is 10 Professional Moonlight. Geez, I really love their polish. I don't know where it's sold but sure would like more of it. I lucked out on eBay last year and got 10 bottles for crazy cheap and have wanted more ever since. I tried a couple of different browns before finding one that stamped good enough to use, and it's China Glaze Foie Gras. As for the stamp,  no surprise there. It's the Ninja Polish DRK-A plate. I don't think I've used that particular design before. I like it.

Today I also completed another tutorial for Les Nouvelle Esthetiques & Spa magazine for the March issue and will also be doing a different one for NailIt magazine's website. Such fun! I'm always so tickled when they ask me for stuff.

So now I'm hoping I don't have to shovel any more white stuff and can just do some playing with my nails while I watch tv. It's nice knowing the house is clean and that I don't really have any actual "work" to do this weekend.

Lazy suits me.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

DON'T BLAME ME FOR THIS ONE

Finally found time to take down the Christmas tree and all the decorations yesterday. Color me saddy-pants. The house is spotless, but it just looks so gloomy now. It'll probs take me another week to adjust to the blah-ness of it all. I just hate this time of year right after the holidays. It's all just kind of depressing.

I guess my working only on Thursdays is now changed to only working on Mondays. That is, of course, unless I go in next Monday and it changes again. I worked on Monday a full day, which was nice once I got there. I completely forgot that I hate getting up at 6:30 a.m. I was reminded pretty quickly. Yup. Still hate it.

In the midst of all the cleaning yesterday, I did manage to snag The Brimful Book on eBay for $9.99. SOOOO happy!! I can't wait to get it, read it and then give it to my daughter's friend. Hopefully she'll be as tickled as I am about it.

Once again, I'm not sure who it is that decides upcoming trends. Supposedly this is one of them. I disagree.
Pretty straightforward. White base, striping tape and black. Whoop-de-fricken-do.  I was happy to do it as requested and just as happy to take it off. 

It's kind of sad how I sugarcoat my feelings. Perhaps I should learn to be a smidge more honest in here.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

RHINESTONED IT UP!

I'm happy to report that the cold snap has ended, at least for now. It's always funny how balmy 32 feels after a week of subzero. Of course then it snowed about 5 inches, but even that is better than the cold.

Kev is on his way home after being gone for 10 days. He isn't usually gone for such a long stretch so I'm looking forward to having him back. Poor guy won't get much of a chance to be lazy, though.....that Christmas tree needs to come down. While I do like my tree up until the week after New Year's, even I'm starting to get tired of looking at it. There isn't much I can accomplish on my own because I can't carry the storage bins in from the garage. 

For some reason I just started cleaning/rearranging random things the past few days.  I cleaned out and organized under the spare bathroom sink, cleaned out and rearranged the pots, pans and plastics in the kitchen. Today I decided to clean out the closet in the hallway, my bathroom and the spare bedroom.  I also went through my jeans and pulled some for Goodwill and rearranged all of my shoes. Just a weird, random bunch of cleaning for no apparent reason. I do feel accomplished, though!

My motivation seems to have returned. My inspiration is on the rise, too. I can thank my CNS contact person Shannah for that. I was starting to think they weren't going to use me anymore, but I got a message the other night asking for some specific designs for a print magazine I've never heard of. I'm assuming it's an industry magazine and won't mention its name for now.

It felt really good to have to do more than one mani at a time. I did have a few things already on file that I sent along, but here's one I did for them. 
Essie Muchi Muchi, rhinestone tips
I had a lot of fun doing this. Unfortunately I wasn't clever enough to make it the last mani of the night or I would have left it on. I have pretty good luck with rhinestones staying on, and it would have been fun to wear this to work tomorrow.

I forgot I had this pink, Essie Muchi Muchi. I love a good baby pink. In my stash, this one is actually the first one I numbered and swatched in my Helmer. Then I just used topcoat and applied pink and clear rhinestones. 

Super cute, I think. This is def something I'll try again, probably with different colors or maybe more rows or something. I don't know. It won't be anytime soon, but I'll keep it in mind.

I wish I had been smart enough to do a picture tutorial for it. NailIt magazine has told me to submit any tutorials I do, and I never think of it until I'm done. 

Sometimes I swear my fake blonde has gone to my real brain.

 

Thursday, January 9, 2014

CHANGED MY MIND. AND MY NAILS

Last night around 8 o'clock, I thought mabes I should just run out and try to start my car. It had started up fine last Saturday, but Kev had trouble with it one morning and had to jump it. He had planned on getting a new battery this week, but since he got called in to work and won't be home until Sunday night, that never happened.

Since it's been so damn cold, I was a little worried that it wouldn't start. I was right. I immediately called the bossman to let him know that it wouldn't start, and I told him I'd call to let him know in the morning. I knew he'd be willing to come out and jump start it so I could go in to work.

Sure enough, I was up bright and early at 6:30 a.m., got ready for work and headed outside around 8:00 to try it. Deadsville. I called and let him know, and he told me he'd come out and jump it.  Cool beans. I figured he'd be right out to do that, but he didn't show up until  after 10:00.  I wish I'd known he was going to dawdle because I could have slept an extra couple of hours.

Unfortunately, it still didn't start. So much for being able to work today.  I told him I'd go in on Monday since today wasn't going to happen. No bigs. Of course, I had a whole plan for the day; work, stop at the grocery store and JC Penney's. So much for that. I really had to get to a store and tried to think of who I could call. I wasn't going to ask my 85 year old mother to come out in these frigid temps, my brother works all day and then goes to work at his restaurant, and my sister has her hands full with a sick hubby right now. Great.

I texted a friend of mine, but she didn't see the message until late this afternoon. When I hadn't gotten a response from her for a couple of hours, I texted my ex-hubby. Luckily he answered right away, and he very kindly brought me to Walmart and the grocery store. I'm more than a little happy he was able and willing to drive out here to get me. He might be my ex, but it sure is nice that we're still close friends. He saved the day!

In yesterday's post I said I was leaving that mani on. At 10:00 p.m. last night I decided I was wearing a black/grey sweater to work today.  At 11:00 p.m. I decided I had to change my mani to match it.
Sinful Colors Smokin, Llarowe LeaLac XL-B stamp
This is the pattern of the sweater. I used Sinful Colors Smokin for the grey and Mash black stamping polish with LeaLac XL-B plate from Llarowe for the design.

It was kind of a rush job because I really was trying to get to bed at a decent time so I'm a little surprised at how straight I got the stamp onto my nails.

Now this I am leaving on for at least another day. I'm too tired to do my nails tonight, and since I have no vehicle, it's not like I'm leaving the house anytime soon.

It's funny how I'm perfectly content to just sit at home right up until the moment I find out that I have absolutely no choice in the matter. 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

AND THEN IT WAS STAMPED

When you're old as dirt like I am, you remember what children's books and stories were like back in the old days. For me, there were three books that belonged to my older brother that were read many times over by me. I loved these books as a child. They were large hardcover books with fantastical illustrations. "Stories That Never Grow Old", "The Gateway to Storyland" and "The Brimful Book", all of which were done by Watty Piper.
 
If you were lucky enough to own these, you for sure remember them.  Back then, Mother Goose and Grimm's still meant something in a literary sense rather than an NBC television show.

Back in 1988, my girls were 9 and 7, and my brother passed these books on to them. I hadn't thought much about them since then, but last year I was feeling sentimental and wanted to see them again. My older daughter has Brimful, so I leafed through it at her house.  It gave me the warm fuzzies. Then I kind of put it out of my mind for awhile until I remembered to ask my younger daughter about the other two. She has them stored away until Griffin gets a bit older, and it kind of got pushed to the wayside again.

One of Tyler's best friends is having a baby in a week or so, and for her baby shower, she asked that people give a book instead of a card. Since I hadn't really looked at the invite, that little detail slipped past me so I had no book for her. Once Tyler and I got to talking about the kind of books we should get, I mentioned that I would really love to give her these books. Her friend is a true lover of the written word, and to find these for her and my second honorary grandchild would be meaningful for me. And hopefully for her, too.

Thus began my internet search to find these books. I was hoping they were still in print, but in keeping with my usual luck, they haven't been printed for many, many years. On to eBay I go! I was lucky to find the two companion books in really nice vintage condition for not too outrageous a price. Brimful is giving me much more trouble. The pic of it above is from an eBay listing I had bid on. I'm SOOOOO beyond mad at myself today. The auction ended this morning around 11:00 which on any other day would mean I'd almost surely win. But today I woke with a doozy of a headache and had fallen asleep in my chair, completely forgetting about the auction. Even though it hadn't appeared that anybody else was even looking at this one, they outbid me by 50 cents. I'm crushed. It went for only $10.49, and the condition of the book is so wonderful. I seriously want to just cry. Any others I've found are in much worse shape and much more expensive. I guess my search will continue. I have even sent a message to the seller to see if they will put me in contact with the person that outbid me so I can see if they'll sell it to me.

In the meantime, if anybody has it and wants to part with it, please contact me! I'm desperate!

As I said I would, last night I did some stamping over the ILNP Nostalgia.  I just think black stamping over a color shifter always looks good.
ILNP Nostalgia ultrachrome, Ninja Polish DRK-C stamp
In general, this is not a fantastic picture, but I figured I would include it because it shows that vibrant green I wasn't able to capture in my indoor photos. 
ILNP Nostalgia ultrachrome, Ninja Polish DRK-C stamp
The polish is still spectacular, and as I figured, I like it stamped with black.

I actually get to work tomorrow, and I'm going to leave this one on for at least another day. 

Drivers on the road tomorrow; take heed!

Monday, January 6, 2014

HERE WE GO AGAIN - CAPTURE THE COLORS!

Have I mentioned the weather is cold? The weather is mothereffing cold. Beyond cold. Like ridiculously cold. Right now it's -15 with a -37 wind chill factor. When I looked at the weather forecast last night, they actually had the nerve to say today would be "rapidly warming to -8". Seriously? They're calling that "warming"? I'm pretty sure my definition is a whole lot different than theirs.

I didn't plan on even going down the driveway to check the mail today, but then I realized I had some nail polish coming. Shit. I really didn't know if nail polish could freeze or if it would ruin it, so I trotted my happy ass out there to get it.

I'm glad I did. For my birthday one of my nail group buds got me an ILNP polish, Birefringence. It's so gorgeous I just had to get a few more. If you're a fan of chromatic polishes, I suggest you head on over there and buy them. All of them. Immediately, if not sooner.

Of course since this one is an ultrachrome, that means a ton of pictures. Even though I took about 30 pics, I still couldn't get a couple shades to show very well, but you can still see how pretty it is.  
Ridiculous, right?? This one is called Nostalgia. In simple terms, it is amazing.

I may decide to stamp over this before taking it off. It's just one of those polishes that are fun to look at. And since it's too cold to go anywhere, the other drivers on the road are safe.

Season premiere of The Bachelor tonight! I let it record so I can fast forward through the commercials. So now I'm off to watch 27 women act crazy as they "think" they're in love within the first 24 hours and then cry hysterically when they are booted off, blubbering about how he's made a mistake and they've just lost the love of their lives.

I do love me some (almost all) reality tv.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

CHAMPAGNE BUBBLES EVEN THOUGH I HATE CHAMPAGNE

Could I be any lazier? Probs not.

So far all I've done since yesterday is sit in front of the television. I watched the entire final season of Dexter yesterday, and so far today I've watched Les Miserables and am now moving on to Frankenweenie. I do love me some Tim Burton.

I take that back.  I did motivate myself enough yesterday to venture out and fill my gas tank since it was practically a heatwave at 24 degrees. That's the warmest we're going to see for a while with some record setting cold making its way in as I type. Poor Tinlee goes outside and can barely walk by the time she comes in. She does not like the cold on her toes. Baylee, on the other  hand, does not care at all. I tend to agree with Tinlee, and I don't plan on leaving the house unless it starts on fire. And even then I'd probs have second thoughts.

I might get ambitious and soak off my nails, but the idea of that doesn't thrill me. My hands are already so dry that an acetone bath does not appeal. It does need to be done, though.

Not a whole lot to say about this mani. Simple, but it's a nice look, I think.
Essie Good as Gold, China Glaze Medallion sponge tip
I started with Essie Good as Gold because it's such a nice smooth finish and then sponged on my fave gold glitter, China Glaze Medallion.

There really isn't much more to say about it. Gold. Sparkles. Pretty.

How do all of you remotivate yourselves to do nails when you're feeling slumpish? I've wandered the interwebs looking at so many nails I'm cross-eyed but still without a plan.

For now I'm just going to sit here, eat some of the goro cookies I made the other night and watch my movie. I'm also hoping my headache will go way.....the one I got from crying so many times during Les Mis.

Friday, January 3, 2014

OH, MAN.....THE CRAZY PILLS HAVE STRUCK AGAIN!

Ohmagerd....every time I turn around lately, some new weird thing comes up.

While I've been not working, my boss has been having his daughter go in at night to type up any work he has needed done. She's an absolute doll, and if she ever has a question, we text back and forth.  A few weeks ago she advised that the computer was really acting slow, and I gave her a couple of ideas to try to help it run better. She never said anything else about it so I thought maybe the problem had been solved.

Well, on Monday she texted that she had been waiting for 10 minutes for a Word document to open. Um, that's redonk. She also said the internet was next to impossible to use. Not cool. I gave her a few places to call and told her the bossman was just going to have it brought in for a good cleaning.

In the midst of this, she brings up the fact that her dad said I'm coming back on January 6th. WTF?? I told her the entire convo I had with her dad where he asked me to keep getting unemployment for as long as possible and how it was my understanding that I was going to stay off of work until March which is when I would be required to start looking for another job in order to keep getting benefits. Of course, she had no clue about any of this. He's infamous for not passing along info. She said she'd see what she could find out.

Yesterday I got in the shower, and while I was in there, for some reason I thought mabes the bossman would call. Sure enough, I got out and Kev said the office had called. I listened to the message which pretty much just said that Dana had told him I wasn't coming back on the 6th and to please call him to let him know what was happening. Jeebus.

I decided I would go into the office to see if I could fix the computer and talk to him. I was shocked at how happy he seemed to see me. I won't lie; it felt pretty good.  After he asked about my shoulder, I asked if he was trying to put me in a loony bin. Then I sat at the computer and told him I'd try to fix it. I also walked in as he needed help with the copier, and he also needed me to open the safe because even though he has the combo, he couldn't open it. 

It took me almost 2 hours to fix the computer. I don't know if his part-time phone answerer downloaded a bunch of garbage or what, but it took me forever to uninstall all the shit that was in it, including a couple of those "go online and we'll fix your pc" programs. But it's fixed now, so he was pretty happy about that. 

I was also horrified at how all of my office stuff was moved all around like I was never coming back. Rearranged a bunch of things that were set up the way I want them. It took me a half hour just to find a friggin' rubber band. Seriously, what the hell! After 24 years I have quite a bit of personal stuff there; I really do not appreesh whoever going through and moving my stuff. AT ALL. If you know somebody is coming back to work, why would you think it's okay to go through someone's shit?

I ended up working the rest of the day, and I am now going to work on Thursdays for the time being. He'll just pay me hourly, and we'll figure out our next step at the beginning of March. I think I'm allowed to work a certain number of hours and then unemployment would pay partial benefits, but I'm not really sure how that works.

I do have to say it felt good to do some work. I'm thinking I was missing it more than I thought I was. I'm also thinking that even though being off for the past 7 weeks was nice during recovery and the busy holidays, I might ultimately get very bored not working at all. So we'll see how things go.

'Nuff of that. One of the holiday mani requests from back in October was a Christmas colors water marble. So here that is.
Sally Hansen Cherry Red, Sinful Colors Rise and Shine, Loreal Because You're Worth It Christmas water marble
I think this turned out. Kinda sorta. I only did my left hand which is what I always do when I'm doing the request mani's, and I may have redone the middle and ring fingers if I were going to actually wear it, but it served its purpose as is.

I used Sally Hansen Cherry Red, the green is Sinful Colors Rise and Shine, and the gold is Loreal Because You're Worth it. I don't much like marbling with red because I don't like how it tends to alter the other colors, but it's not too bad. I was just glad they didn't ask for white with the red because that is always a problem for me.

I really wish I could motivate myself to do my nails. I'm still wearing the black/gold I did for New Year's Eve. 

If anyone has a suggestion to snap me out of this damn slump, speak up!!