A MOUSE (OR MOUSES) IN THE HOUSE AND A MANI

It's that time of year again; fall. The time when once or twice a friendly neighborhood mouse will find its way into my kitchen. 

I thought I had heard one the beginning of last week in the laundry room before I went to work, but I couldn't find any "evidence" of said mouse. I did, however, remove the two bags of bird seed that were next to Tinlee's crate and bring them into the kitchen.

 

Since I couldn't find anything to prove we had a mouse, I figured I'd just wait it out. Sure enough, the next morning I got up and found a couple little surprises on the countertop by the sink....just a couple.

Now, the weird thing about the mice we get, they never seem to go anywhere or be anywhere that has any food. Never in the food cupboards; never in the dog food...it's weird, right?  Whenever I figure we have one, I immediately go to the lower cupboard next to the stove and start removing dishtowels and my Ove-Gloves, because that is always where I find those little rice-sized remnants they love to leave behind.  And that's exactly what I did that morning. I pulled out all of the towels, etc. and grabbed one of my no-kill traps, put in a cracker with a smidge of peanut butter and set it in that cupboard. Then I did the same with the other trap and set it next to the toaster.

I swear, within 15 minutes I could hear my friend in the cupboard. Wow, this was going to be even easier than it usually is. Or so I thought. At that point I didn't realize I'm a doofus and hadn't set the door to the trap correctly. So much for day one.

On Friday I cleaned the entire house and didn't find anything interesting. Patience is key here, folks. Saturday night Tyler went to bed around 3:30, I think. I was still awake since sleeping still isn't really happening much for me, and I started hearing the familiar "oh, shit...I got the peanut butter and now I'm stuck" sound. Sure enough, adorbs little grey mouse in the trap by the stove. I kind of laughed and thought about waking up Tyler because she thinks they're adorable, too, but I decided against it. 

Then I pondered whether I really felt like getting in the car at 4:00 a.m. to bring him to the spot where I usually release them. I decided I did not want to do that. Instead I figured I'd take a chance at releasing him right off the deck. I actually did know this was not the most brilliant of ideas because he'd probs just find his way back in, but I decided it was worth the risk. I went to the top step of the deck and slid open the trap. He stuck his head out and kind of looked at me for a minute before deciding he should hightail it away from the restaurant.

Laughing out loud, for realz, I went back inside, cleaned the trap and reset it with a new cracker and peanut butter just in case there was more than one lurking around.

Less than 15 minutes later, I heard the familiar sounds once again, this time on the countertop trap.  By then I was really laughing. I went and got the trap; who knows if it was the same mouse or not because they pretty much all look the same. Once again I just released him at the house, but I took him to the edge of the woods this time.  And again, I cleaned and reset the trap.

Things were quiet the rest of the night.  Last night as I lay in the recliner, just kind of dozing off and on, I started hearing some activity on the cupboard. I think it was probs about 5:00 a.m. And oh, he was noisy! He was moving around and scratching in there. I was not going to get up and take care of it at that hour. I figured he could wait, and I'd just take him with me on my way to work and drop him off at his new neighborhood.

Finally at about 5:50 a.m., silence. Thank God. I figured he had finally given up and was just sitting there quietly like the first two. Having given up on sleep, I got up at 6:00 went into the kitchen.

NO MOUSE. What the hell?? I thought I had taken crazy pills or was delusional from no sleep. But nope; peanut butter gone, entire trap still set up the way it should be. I have NO idea how the hell he got out of there. I've never had one escape before. Even weirder, all he left behind was one little piece of poo....highly unusual since they poop non-stop. The first two I caught left a huge mess in the five minutes they were trapped. So no peanut butter, one poo, no mouse. Houdini's got nothing on this guy.

So the little bastard kept me awake for about an hour and then skipped out right when I was ready to get up.  Oh, well....both traps are still set. I'll get him eventually. Hilarious. I know some people are freaked out by them, and I know they are filthy little creatures, but seriously, they are so damn cute!

I was super lazy all weekend. Saturday I did what I did last Sunday; slept off and on the entire day. I never touched my laptop, not even once.  Finally yesterday I managed to paint my nails.

I must just be in a dark mood or something because I used Orly Liquid Vinyl again! Then I sponged on bits of China Glaze No Plain Jane, China Glaze Swanky Silk and Mentality Pastille before stamping on it with my Lealac XL-A stamp. And I love it.

As usual, the pictures aren't doing this one any favors, but it is just super pretty in person. It's for sure one of my faves in awhile.

Over the next day or two I get to have some fun swatching for Too Cute-icle and if you've never tried any of her polishes, you are missing out and should immediately go there and buy some. I have several already, and now I'm going to be showcasing and reviewing some new ones she's going to release.  Watch for that post this week. You're going to love them. I just got them today and already want to make out with them and haven't even tried them yet.

Sorry this was such a long post, but the mouse story is just too fun for me to not share. Well, I think it's fun; some of you probs disagree. At least I didn't take pictures to freak anybody out like I did with the snakes, so give me some credit for that. 

Truth be told, if I could have gotten pictures, I would have. 

You're lucky the traps are green and hard to see through or you'd have pics and possibly video up here of those cute little wiggly noses.

SMATCHES BUT NOT A FAN

Do you ever have "heavy sigh" days? Cuz' that's what I'm having today. Not for any particular reason, it just seems like at least 3 times an hour I give out the big ol' "I'm just sick of life" sigh.  I think I just want to go home. lol

My little feathered friends were disappointing last night. I had a couple of them come and eat, but nobody perched, and they didn't get all crazy and playful like I was hoping. Maybe they weren't liking the heat. I'll try again tonight although if heat was the issue, tonight won't work very well because it's hotter than yesterday.

Lest you get confused, I am not complaining about the weather. Bring on the 90 degree weather!! It feels delightful! It is probs why I keep sighing though; because I'm not outside in it or laying in the pool.

Here's my fave video so far of my hummers :)  Watch how close my girl gets to my face. She always takes the time to check me out....makes me a little nervous how close she gets sometimes.

 

I decided to do a smatchy sponge gradient last night. I think I'm getting better at them, but I do not like this one so much.  It really does go with my shirt, though.

I'm a little shocked at how much better this looks in person. None of my pics did it justice at all. I went for my fave blurple of all time,

OPI Roadhouse Blues and then moved to Sinful Colors Shock and Awe and some unnamed Color Club. 

In person the SC Shock and Awe is really pretty, and that Color Club is much brighter than it shows here.  I know this because I'm holding my hand up next to the picture to compare it. So yeah....truth.

No post tomorrow. I was supposed to post this after work and then do my nails, but I fell asleep cuz' my tummers hurt. I didn't even go sit outside with the birdies.  Booooo

SQUARE HUE FOR AUGUST - PIC HEAVY

Great start to the weekend yesterday with 3 hours in the pool, and for once Kev was home to join me.  It's not often I have somebody actually in the pool when I am. Of course, that means I can't blast the Bose and sing, but I can live with that.

After that we grilled some dinner and settled in to catch up on some tv, and then the hummingbirds started being fun to watch in the front window. And OMG, they were amazeballs!! Rather than taking turns at the feeder, there were a couple that were kind of playing....it's really cool. I was trying to get video but not having much luck.

Then I decided I would step out on the front porch with camera in hand. As I snuck out the door, there were 2 about 4 feet to my left that flitted off. I settled in leaning on the house directly across from the feeder and waited.

For like 10 seconds. Then the real fun started. One flew in and started eating, and then another joined her. All of a sudden I had 4 of them playing, darting and hovering. I've never had 4 at the same time before so when I came back in the house, I was absolutely giddy and posted it on Facebook as fast as I could.

Of course I had to go back out to see if it would happen again. This time I only had 2, but they saw me and started flying away. Or so I thought. What they actually did was come right over to where I was standing, with one hovering maybe 3 feet to my right and the other directly behind my right shoulder off maybe 4 feet.

Obviously I didn't want to move because they'd leave, but I managed to turn the camera and even though I couldn't see the viewfinder, I was able to catch the one closest to me as she hovered and checked me out.

I know they are pretty much fearless and will look at me without leaving, but damn!! My battery then needed charging, but I can't wait to try again tonight to get some more. I love those little buggers.

Onto the nails. I had bought this little sponge holder thingie on eBay from China to use for gradients and decided to try it out with my August Square Hue polishes. As I've said before, gradients are not my forte, but this little $1.00 tool made it super easy. I hope it wasn't just the polishes that made it work so well. Square Hue polishes are fantabulous, and I always look forward to getting them. 

I started off by doing a coat of white using Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in White Out. The colors are all Square Hue; yellow is Bikini Beach; the orange is Scorched Summer and the red is Surf Gypsy. The red also has a little bit of sparkle to it, but I did one coat of Orly Shine on Crazy Diamond just to add a bit more.

I really like how this turned out even though I decided to just do one hand. It was too late to do my right hand, and I think I'll probs do something else tomorrow night to start off the week.

You wouldn't expect me to wear this all the way to Monday, would you??  

"THANKFUL THURSDAY"

Fine. I confess. I ain't no artist. But that doesn't mean I can't do watercolors. Lordie, that was a weak-ass start. I apologize (hanging head in shame)

I have dubbed today "Thankful Thursday", not for any particular reason other than I'm feeling pretty peachy today. I'm sitting here pondering the fact that I have to have an ultrasound on my gallbladder tomorrow...at 7:40 a.m., no less. Bastards.  Then I need to have an EGD on the 24th because of my little stint in the emergency room a few weeks ago. AND to top that off, even though I had a cortisone shot in my right shoulder two months ago, I can once again barely move that arm. Pretty inconvenient since I'm right-handed. I don't think they'll give me another shot this soon and figure if I go in, they're going to want to do some stupid ass testing only to find out it's some stupid ass thing like bursitis or some shit they can't do anything for. So eff that noise. I'll just wait it out until I can have another shot. VOTD!!!!!!!!!!

Now....back to the "thankful" part. With all of that nonsense happening, I (just like you, probably) constantly hear/read/see so many horrible things that happen to everyday peeps. Just huge problems; depression, pain, deaths, chronic debilitating illnesses or just a general lack of supportive, loving people in their lives.  In 53 years of life, of course I have gone through several of these things myself. I'm sure at the time I felt like the only one in the world that felt the way I felt. But I wasn't. 

No matter what has gone on in my life, even the shitty stuff has gotten me to the place I am now. I'm feeling blessed to have a damn near perfect husband, one who loves me so much more than I ever knew I could be loved. Just for kicksters I decided to keep track of how many times a day he tells me....I believe the average is something like 7 times a day. Redonk, right? I love him with the very soul of my being and still can't believe how lucky I am to have him. He is completely supportive of everything about me, is completely without anger and truly is one of the nicest guys  you'd ever have the pleasure of meeting.

I'm blessed to have two of the most gorgeous daughters a mom could ever want, and they have both found themselves ah-mazing men to spend their lives with. Our closeness is unparalleled; they are not just my daughters, they are my best friends. I think they'll keep me, and I them. They have given me three spectacular, healthy, loving grandchildren who I am lucky enough to be young enough and healthy enough to enjoy.

I have a job I sometimes hate, but I know that I am extremely lucky to even have a job when so many others do not, and when it comes right down to it, it really is the job of my dreams. In lieu of being famous, of course.

I may have some stupid health issues, and I may wish we had the kind of money that would make us more comfortable and able to help others with, but corny as it sounds, my life is rich with love.

So though I may seem snarky, sarcastic and even more than a little bitchy, on the inside I'm basically a bowl of mush. I'm that person you see standing in the greeting card aisle crying as I read the cards, the one who cries at commercials on tv, the one who cries huge, gasping buckets of tears for the pets of people I've never actually met....in fact, I probably shed a few tears at least a few times a week.  And that is me happy!! lol

So that is Thankful Thursday, by Diane Graham. 

Enough cheese. Now I'm hungry.

What? You came to see my nails? Sorry.....gawd, you're so demanding!!

Months ago I had done a watercolor-type mani where I just put dots of color on my nails and then smooshed them around with a brush dipped in acetone. This time I decided to do it using a sponge to dab on the colors. Then I just let my topcoat kind of smear them together. I rather like this. Maybe I won't do my nails tonight and just keep this!

First I did a basecoat with China Glaze Cheek to Cheek. It's funny. I got this when I bought a lot of 102 CG polishes on eBay...for $100. I went through and kept what I liked and then resold the rest. It worked out great, but this bottle of Cheek to Cheek wasn't selling so I finally just decided to keep it. Now I love it!! It's kind of a sheer pink-tone, but it has a really cool shimmer to it. You can get a look of it here:  We Actually Saw Sunshine Today

Then I just randomly dabbed on CG Lemon Fizz, Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet, OPI You're Such a Budapest, Barielle Pink Quartz and Julep Jessica. I put on my topcoat before they could dry completely so that they'd blend.  The blend went better on some nails than others, but overall I think it turned out good. That ring finger could have used some work, but of course it was late and I was kind of over it.

I believe this post has been long enough to bore you, so I'll wrap it up.  Things are looking up, peeps....it's almost Friday!!  

I'm outtie!! See you tomorrow!