I THINK THESE ARE PRETTY GOOD....JUST SAYIN'

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally!! I had put out a couple of old catch and release traps that I used to use because of my sneaky little escapee. I had quit using them because I can't see inside and they open way too easily when trying to move them.  But I caught me a mouse around 10:30 last night in one of those different traps I put out. I didn't even hear it snap shut, and he hadn't even eaten the peanut butter so I don't think he was in there for very long.  I checked the trap and saw it was closed, and since I can't see inside of it, I had to pick it up and kind of shake it. They weigh next to nothing so even then I wasn't sure. Finally I set it on the cupboard and put my ear next to it and finally heard movement.

And then I laid the trap in a bowl, snapped a cover on it and handed it to Tyler and said, "go for a ride".  So I'm sure he won't be back. Now I just have to wait and see if any others show up or if this little guy is the Houdini that's been laughing at me for the past three days.  Time will tell.

I ordered a sleep wedge the other day to hopefully let me sleep in bed again and still be able to after surgery on the 13th. They recommend sleeping at a pretty decent incline and actually say to sleep in a recliner, but since I've been failing at sleeping there I was kind of concerned about the next 2 months. Tyler suggested a sleep wedge which had never even crossed my mind. That girl is pretty smart sometimes. I'm looking forward to trying it.

I also finally convinced the damn doctor to give me some pain killers to help me at night. He prescribed me 30 Tylenol with codeine, one or two at bedtime. Hopefully they'll knock my ass OUT.  At this point I've kind of been wondering who I have to sleep with to get a good night's sleep.

Here's the mani I did last night. I decided I had to wear something for Halloween even though nobody will even see it.

My grey here is American Apparel Factory Grey and then I used Konad black with my Messy Mansion plates HD01 and HD04 for the tree and for the gravestones stamps. I was really not having an easy time trying to think of something to do, but I am pretty happy with this look.  

This next mani is my all-time fave Halloween mani I think I've done. I just think it's really striking. 

For my gradient I used Orly LA Sashay and Square Hue Iron Horse. Then I stamped over it using my Bundlemonster BM213 stamp and the Messy Mansion HD01 stamp for the bats. I topped all of that with my fave matte topcoat from Butter London.  I used a dotting tool and went over the bats with Seche Vite to make them shiny so they would stand out more.

I completely stole this idea from Makeup Withdrawal. As soon as I saw it on Pinterest I knew I had to try it. I love the burgundy/black gradient.

And there you have it. Another October come and gone, and now we can sit back and whine about how cold it's getting.

At least that's what I'll be doing. Wouldn't want to break a lifelong tradition.

YOU NEED TO SEE THESE! TOO CUTE-ICLE ROCKED IT!

The time is near; very near. At 12:01 a.m. on Halloween, these great polishes will be up for sale. These 3 beauts were sent to me for an honest review, and that's what you're about to see. I strongly suggest you buy 'em over at Too Cute-Icle.

Let's get right down to it, shall we?  First up, Green Tea-Ni!

How pretty is that?? If you have holo polishes, you probably know how sometimes the application can be kind of "patchy" on the first coat? None of that with this one. This sucker goes on beautifully! I have three coats here and topcoat. I actually didn't need three coats, but after two I thought, what the hell, let's see if three makes any difference. It didn't. Two coats was plenty to show off this beauty, and I didn't really see much of difference after topcoating.

Hopefully you are clicking on these pics to see them bigger. The holo effect isn't "super" strong, but it's definitely noticeable and has a nice shimmery effect to it as well. I had a pretty good time looking at this one all day yesterday.  I was really hoping for some sunshine the past couple of days so I could get some sunlight on them, but naturally it's been dark and gloomy for days. These were taken in my kitchen like most of my photos and are damn near perfection for color accuracy.

Final thoughts on this one? Really purdy, great formula and application. I was typing like a crazy woman yesterday, too, and no tip wear at all. On to the next!

This gorgeous gold is "Butter Schnapps" (detecting a name theme here).  I'm not normally a fan of true gold colors on me, but I have to say, this is one of the best tones I've seen on my "tan pretty much gone" fingers.  I kind of ran around the house taking pics for this one because I could see a stronger holo with my nekkid eye than I could catch. The kitchen shots show the color more true, but the lighting in my bathroom was better for catching that holo "line" down the center that I love so muchly.

Now, this one is a bit different from that green; it's got more "frost" to it. Sometimes I hate frost polishes because they almost always have that pronounced brush mark nonsense going on. Not so with this one; I don't know if the holo pigment is what corrects that or not, but whatever it is, it works.

Once again, application was super smooth. It dried quickly, and shown here is two coats without topcoat. I'm impressed.  Now for my personal fave of the trio, "Kahlua Sour".

This is what I have on today. I love, love, love a good brown. The fact that it's holographic just makes it yummier. This one is two coats and a topcoat of Seche Vite. Once again, I didn't really notice a difference when I topcoated it. It's another one I'll be staring at all damn day. Luckily it isn't sunny so my driving won't be affected. It sure would have been nice to photograph it in the sun, though, because I'm guessing it's going to be fantabulous!

Pretty great holo effect on this one, and the application again was awesome. None of the patchiness or streaking that I find annoying with some, like Nfu Oh, which is much pricier and always makes me do three coats to make the coverage acceptable. I'm liking that these go on more like a "traditional" polish, two coats and done.

They will be up for sale tonight at 12:01....be there or be square. A 15ml full size is priced at $8.00, and the 7ml mini is only $4.00. Worth every penny.  IMHO you should get your fingers typing to the Too Cute-Icle site and snag yours. Jess is great to deal with and ships fast, and I'm sure you'll be a happy camper once you get them.

And hey, is there anything better than nail mail? I think not. 

All polishes were sent to me for an honest review by the maker.

HALLOWEEN PAST AND MORE MICE TALES (TAILS)

So after the dramatic mouse-capades from Sunday night, I was really looking forward to what last night would bring.

Kev was home and since he sits closest to the kitchen, I swear every time he heard a noise he said there was a mouse. I'd jump up and look; nada. Finally around 10:00 he said it again, and he was right! A cute little friend under the cupboard. I volunteered him to bring him somewhere so he took him down the road. I'm not sure how far he went, but around 1:30 I again heard mouse noises from the kitchen although I never saw any droppings. Once again, I wish I knew if it was the same one that keeps coming back. I wish I could tag their little tails when I catch the bastards so I'd know.  

When Kev gets back home Friday, it's time to put some poison under the house, I guess. I don't like it, but even I am not up for an actual infestation of a bunch of meeces.

This morning when I got up I opened the cupboard, and the trap was moved and there were 3 little "gifts", but no mouse. When I got ready to leave for work, I opened the bedroom door like I always do when I leave so the dogs can go back to bed. Kev was super pumped to tell me we have a mouse in the walls. Fan-frickin-tastic.  It makes me glad I'm spending my nights in the recliner; it is not fun to listen to a mouse scratching around behind your head when you're trying to sleep.

That has happened a couple of times in the past. I hope this idiot is smart enough to figure out that there's food in the kitchen and then find his way to it. One year we had one that must have died in there because our bathroom smelled SO HORRIBLE for almost a month! I actually had to keep scented candles burning almost non-stop it was just so gag-inducing.

So the mouse shenanigans continue, and I'm less happy about it now that it has gone from fun to tomfoolery.

Last night I started working on the Too Cute-Icle swatches so I didn't do a "fancy" mani.  I didn't want to just post about mice so I dug out some old manicures from last fall. Just for you. Cuz' I'm nice like that.

It's anybody's guess what I used for this one. Um...black, orange and white? And a stamp? That's just my opinion, of course, but I might be correct on that.

This one isn't really Halloween, but since it's candy corn colors I'm throwing it in. And at least I know what I used; Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hard to Get, Orly Lemonade, Wet n Wild Club Havana and I'm going to guess a Sally Hansen white. I was mostly using Sally's for my whites in my marbles last year.

Since last fall was my first year of playing with nails, they aren't necessarily perfect stamping efforts, but hey...I was still mostly a beginner back then.

Tomorrow's the day! There will be a whole bunch of pics and reviews of the very purdy polishes from Too Cute-Icle. Methinks you're going to like them. A lot.

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.

EVERYBODY FAILS SOMETIMES

I've been quite the busy little bee the last couple of days. I went to Walmart after work yesterday, and I am proud to report that I did not spend $100. Go me!! I actually only spent a smidgen over $30, and I didn't buy a single polish or polish-related item. Shocked? I am.

What I did buy was a frozen Marie Callendar's Dutch apple pie. If you've never had one of these, you are missing out, people. I grew up eating my mom's homemade Dutch apple pie, although I didn't know it had any name other than just "apple pie". I thought all apple pies had no top crust, just a yummers crumbly topping. I did try to make one myself many, many years ago, but I didn't put enough apples in the pan so it was kind of a flop. 

A couple of years ago I saw the frozen Marie's and figured I'd give it a try. OMG. I will never need to attempt a homemade one again. This pie is sooo good! When I got home I immediately baked that sucker up, and it is a delight. I actually just finished eating a piece.

I've also been dying for something pumpkin so I grabbed some of their sliced pumpkin cake. Also yummers, but it is a smidge dry. I should have grabbed some cream cheese frosting for it. Still good, tho!

Today after work I decided to clean the house in preparation of Tyler coming home tomorrow. She and the Griffster will be here for a whole week, and I am really looking forward to it. I feel like I haven't seen them in so long.  Cleaning was slow going with my arm, and it's nice that Kev has been doing the vacuuming for me. My house is now clean, and my arm now throbs.

Last night I also didn't start doing my nails until way after 11; not sure what I was thinking. I decided I would just do some kind of French mani because I haven't done one in awhile, and they're easy.

Oh, lordie almighty.  This is awful!! And since I started too late it was also too late to remove it and start over. I'm just glad nobody saw it today. I'll be taking it off tonight and hopefully doing a soakoff and reapplication of my nails.

Gawd, just looking at the picture irritates me. The light grey is Revlon Timeless, and I have no clue what the OPI is. It's one of those stupid-ass mini bottles that I hate and are even more annoying because there's no name of the color on it.  Suffice it to say it's almost black without actually being black.

I decided to throw on Essie Matte About You topcoat just to try and save this sucker. Fail. There is just no saving this horror.

I think I'll go eat a couple pieces of pumpkin cake and take a nappy-nap.  I'll just consider it dessert to the piece of pie I ate 1/2 hour ago.

Dinner of champions!

OH, I REALLY LOVE THIS ONE!

I would just like to state for the record that I think it is super lame that the damn doctor won't give me anything for pain to get me through until the surgery. Weak sauce, doc...weak sauce.

It seems I am learning to sleep in the recliner a little better. I think I only really woke up once last night around 4:00 a.m. We'll see how things go all next week since Tyler is coming home on Saturday. Hopefully me sleeping in the living room won't freak her flow too much since she has a tendency to stay up later than me on weeknights.

Lately I've been so uninspired and lacking in manicure ideas. Any time I come up with a brilliant idea, it's something that will take too long to mess with on a weeknight. I mean, it must be time for at least a marble, right? I've always wanted to completely cover all ten nails in glequins, too, but that is really going to take awhile. I can just picture starting that in the evening and having to stay up all night to finish.....def a weekend idea.

This didn't turn out quite the way I was hoping, but I love it anyway.  The goal was for that green to show up a little better on the black, but it turned out a bit more subtle.  I tried a few different greens. I even asked Kev for his opinion while I had a couple different greens on different fingers, and he chose this one. Smart guy; he agreed with the one I preferred.

Love it! My Orly Liquid Vinyl has been getting a workout lately. There's just something about this shimmery green on top of black that I think looks amazeballs. After trying out a few greens, I ended up with my Julep Megan. I had actually stamped three fingers before realizing I was using the same stamp as the light pink/darker pink floral one from a few days ago. OMG! Obvi I couldn't wear that same flower again so soon so I went through my plates for the 89th time and got this flower off of my LeaLac XL-A plate.

I was planning to leave this on until tomorrow, but I don't know if the tips of these are going to hold out while I work the rest of the day. I already have a little chip off the very ends of two nails, and that will drive me crazy if it gets any worse. Right now the spots don't show from head-on; it's just the black part I wrapped over the very tip.  We shall see, I guess!

Oh, for crumps sake; my bossman is too redonk sometimes. I'm not even on my 8 week "vacay" yet, and he's already asking if I can come in to do certain things. He is hilarious. He's all concerned about doing a mediation brief. I told him I would be able to come in; I just won't be able to type as fast. He said that's good because then he doesn't have to hire a "legal" secretary. 

I hope I didn't shock him too much when I advised him that I was not a legal secretary when I got hired. I had been transcribing/typing depositions as an independent contractor, but that was the only legal-type training I had. I told him I would also be available for phone calls from his new secretary, and she can text me if she has questions. I also told him (for the umpteenth time) that a lot of what we do I have forms I use in the computer.  It's pretty comical that he's already starting to worry.

Hell, he even offered to pay me to come in if he needs me.  Gee, thanks, bossman. You'll actually pay me to work? Seriously?

What a guy!  lol

WHAT'S BETTER THAN LAVENDER? LAVENDER + BLURPLE!

I thought maybe I'd just be lazy today and not post, but I knew I'd feel bad if I didn't. For all I know people prefer it when I take a break, but I already feel guilty when I don't do weekend posts.

I have several backup mani's waiting to be posted, but the damn things are mostly Christmas ones now.  Last night I had planned to do nails, but I had to take pictures of spilled nail polish for Bridal Guide. That was a lot more difficult than it should have been.  First off, I obvi didn't want to waste a lot of polish, nor did I want to ruin any surfaces in my house when cleaning up that polish.

The back of a black plate served my purposes, but lordie!! Who knew it would be so impossible to get my camera to focus on a splootch of polish. I did four colors, and I bet I had to have taken 50 pictures just trying to get the focus and color right. By the time I finally finished that up, it was too late to do a new mani on myself.

This one I actually did a couple of weeks ago. I seriously dare someone to find me a lavender polish I like better than this.  I have more than a "few" lavenders.....this one has been my fave since I first bought it.

Of course, I'm also sure I've shown it here before, China Glaze Agent Lavender. This time I stamped using my Ninja Polish DRK-C plate with OPI Road House Blues, which just happens to be my very favorite blurple. I also really like this stamp. 

With all of that goodness rolled into one manicure, I should probably love this one more. I mean, I do like it; I just don't love it. I'm actually not even sure how long I wore it. 

I just think you can't go wrong with pretty much any color purple. Or blurple. The hubby and I were looking at vehicles just for shits and giggles the last time we were in Marquette, and they actually had a light blurple Outback on the lot. The salesman looked at me like I was insane when I called it blurple. After I explained what that was, I showed him my nails because that just happened to be the color I was wearing. It I were buying an Outback right now, I would really be tempted to get that color. Kev wasn't really a fan of it, though.  

I figure the sales guy thinks I'm some ditzy dumb blonde after that convo. I am, however, 98% sure that salesman will be using that word from now on when talking to his customers.  Because blurple is a real thing, dammit! 

If they can add the fake word, "conversate" to the dictionary, they should also add "blurple". Just sayin'.