My daughter is really into black and white right now. It's her favorite "color". She loves it so much that when I saw Hard Candy's Black Tie Optional, I just knew I had to get it!!
I knew it would have the biggest impact over a bright color. Of course she wanted black or white, but I was able to convince her to go with a fun color.
She chose neon green!
I did two coats of the green, L.A. Colors Color Craze Mint and one coat of the Black Tie Optional. I think it turned out really cool!
I knew I'd be redoing things pretty quickly so I didn't bother with a top coat, just one coat of my normal base and two coats of the polish. It's a jelly or gelish, whatever they call it. A semi-sheer color with glitter in it. I didn't do the normal daubing technique like I usually would with a glitter, I just brushed this one on like a normal polish. It worked fine that way, and I am pleased with the polish. It didn't last very long before chipping, but without a top coat I don't know if it's the polish that's the problem or just lack of top coats.
Speaking of glitter polishes, they are a giant pain in the butt to remove. The polish remover can't penetrate the polish under the metal flakes, so it just doesn't come off as easily. Pinterest (the place I love) is full of pictures of people wrapping their hands in aluminum foil to remove gel and glitter polishes. I thought I might as well give it a try!
You can see how well it took the polish off my thumb and forefinger, pretty much one swipe and it was gone.
It works great!
It feels a little weird to have alien-robot hands, and I only do one hand at a time so I can still do things. It also gets weirdly warm. I'm not sure if it's the chemicals in the polish remover or just the cotton and foil insulating things. It doesn't hurt, it's just weird.
First, I tear five strips of aluminum foil and get five cotton balls. I apply polish remover to a cotton ball, put the remover side to my nail, then wrap the foil around it all. I've started with my thumb and I've started with my pinkie, there really doesn't seem to be a difference. I just have to keep it on long enough. I keep forgetting to time how long I leave it on, but I'd say it's between 5 and 10 minutes.
Now, the reason I didn't post all this earlier is because Tuesday was a bit of a crazy day.
First, I met up with my friend Tiia Lin at Ulta. Where my weakness is nail polish, Tiia's is makeup. Unlike me, however, she has actual training. I highly recommend you check out her Facebook, her blog and her videos.
Tiia helped me pick out colors, let me hold her adorable baby, and as we were checking out she said she had a present for me! When we went out to her car she handed me a bag full of nail polish!! I love this woman!!
L to R: Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Whirlwind White, Color Club Dark'n Stormy, Color Club Mod In Manhattan, and Nail Rock Nail Velvet Navy
In addition to those polishes Tiia gave me, I bought a bunch of my own. With the sale going on and the coupon I got 5 polishes for under $9!! It was great!!
L to R: Essence Colour & Go 147 Miss Universe, Ulta Salon Formula Diva, Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear 481 Breezy Blue, Ulta Salon Formula Indigo-Go Girl, Pixel 233 Oh Golly Gee!!
I'm already working on a new look with my new polishes, I'll post more soon!
The other thing that kept me busy is that we welcomed a new addition to our family.
She's still scared and spends most of her time hiding. We've seen her out to eat and drink though, so that's good.
This little lady is named Summer, and she belongs to my middle kid Joshua. He's been working his butt off this summer, helping his dad with side work and helping me here at the house. We ask a lot of him, and he rises to the challenge.
My husband and I decided that he's shown enough responsibility to be in charge of another life, so we agreed he could get a guinea pig. I had guinea piggies growing up, so I know what kind of challenges he's likely to face. He did a lot of research and decided that he wanted a female and a baby. He thought about adopting, but he really wants to train it and the sites he visited told him that starting with a baby is easier.
He's doing really well so far, and going very slowly with her. He had me scoop her out of the carrying box and into her cage so that she won't associate him with anything negative. He left her completely alone for 24 hours and even then all he did was lay his hand in her cage with a treat for a few minutes. For an 11 year old kid with ADHD, this shows a remarkable amount of restraint! I am completely proud of him!
If you've read this blog at all then you know this to be a fact.
Part of Geekdom is the Gathering of Geeks known as Comic Con. From what I can tell this is a convention where many people from all the many fandoms come together to celebrate their geekiness with like-minded geeks, meet the people who create the subject of their geek-love, and attend panel discussions about different geeky subjects. 2013 was the first year that such a convention was held in my area.
This year I really wanted to go. I started following the 2014 Comic Con Fan Xperience on Facebook, I was plotting what kind of Cosplay I would do, dreaming about who I'd meet, generally geeking out over the whole thing.
Then in December it seemed all my dreams would come true! I won a free pass!! I cannot tell you how excited I was.
Then I got sick. This winter was a bad one for illness, so I didn't get any kind of costume done. I was a little bummed, but I just thought I'd make myself a Deathly Hallows shirt and still have fun.
The closer it got to the big days, the more information I was getting. Wonderful news about what stars would be there, what the panels would be about, great things.
Then I started to realize that the logistics of actually going were pretty difficult. The day I wanted to go, to see the people I wanted to see, was today: Friday, April 18. This is, of course, a school day. I spend most school days commuting back and forth to my kids' school which is 15 minutes away in each direction. Half-day Kindergarten is the bane of my existence. In order for me to use my free ticket I'd have to make my husband take the day off work. Not only would that mean I'd have to go to Comic Con alone, it means that we'd lose the money he would have made by working. We're po' folk, we can't afford to be losing pay like that!
Then I started looking at the prices. These people are asking quite the chunk of change for an autograph and even more for a photo op. I'm the kind of person who wants photographic proof, so I'd need lots of money. Add in my transportation costs, food (if there was anything gluten free I could eat), and the physical issues I'm having.... Well, it all adds up to a great big Nope.
I ended up taking that free ticket and transferring it to my cousin's name. I get to cuddle her puppies while she's away and Eric says he'll take me on a trip to IKEA to ease my disappointment.
Of course, there's always next year! Now I have lots of time to save up and really plan an excellent costume!
My cousin Shanon just moved here to Ogden. I've been driving her around bombarding her with "You should eat here!" "You need to try this!" "This place is so cool!" and she suggested that I put it all down in a blog post. (Probably in an effort to get me to shut up and pay attention to the road while I'm driving.)
This is partially a love letter to my town and partially a list of things I want Shanon to check out. I will probably update it more than once.
Historic 25th Street. Just walking it is fun, but it's good for shopping and eating as well.
Ogden Union Station. If you feel like a museum, they have a couple. I think you'll have fun just taking pictures of the trains that are outside and free to explore.
Pineview Reservoir. Technically it isn't in Ogden, but I claim it any way.
Things to do:
Alleged. It's a club but they have Geeks Who Drink every Thursday. I will happily introduce you to people who will let you join in the fun. You might even be able to convince me to go some time.
Ogden Nature Center. It's not just for little kids. Sure they'll educate you if you want, but just wandering around is peaceful and sometimes you can get pictures of the wildlife.
Ogden Mustangs Hockey. The season is over for now, but isn't it nice to know we have a team!? YAY HOCKEY!!
Peery's Egyptian Theater. Lots of different kinds of performances. They even get some of the Sundance shows!
Ogden City Dog Park. To let the pups run! While you're in the area you can also look at..
Ft. Buenaventura. Totally cool that it's an old (reconstructed...) fort in the middle of the city. When you're there it feels like a forest in the middle of nowhere.
Sweet Pop'n Cafe. Okay, they only have different awesome sweets and popcorns but hey, you eat it! I'm addicted to their Kettle Corn.
*Places that I have not personally eaten at because of stupid Celiac Disease. I recommend them because they have been recommended to me. Or, like Slackwater, it's just an awesome place. Shopping!!
Only in Ogden. This is where you can go to get local things to send to your out of state friends to make them jealous that you live her now and they don't!
The Queen Bee. Chocolate. They have other stuff, but chocolate. Things Shanon might not actually like but I have to write them down anyway because they are awesome:
Sandtrap. Karaoke with Jackson the Karaoke Dude on Wednesdays. Very fun crowd. I've also been told the food there is pretty darn tasty.
I have so many plans for this vacation! Camping! Hiking! Swimming! I've been planning for so long and now it's here!
Actually, a lot of those plans are going to have to wait because on Saturday my adorable baby sister is coming to visit!! We are only two years apart and we fought like cats when we were younger. Age and having kids has mellowed us a lot. Now we're really close. Emotionally that is. Physically we're around 750 miles apart. She lives in the Phoenix suburbs and I'm way up here in O-Town.
That will change on Saturday when her and her four kids will be invading our 3 bedroom one bathroom house for a few weeks. Logistically I'm not sure how well this will work, but we are sure as heck going to try it.
This week I have to spend as much time as I can cleaning up the house. I wrenched my back and spent most of last week laid up, so the house went down the tubes. Luckily my sister doesn't expect the house to be spotless, she's got four kids after all! She knows what a lived in house looks like!
If anybody wants to come over and help me, you are more than welcome. Even if you just want to come chat with me. For some reason when I am chatting I get more done. It's probably because I'm an extrovert, I get energy from social interactions.
Wish me luck and send me your good, clean house vibes!
Today is the last full day of school for my kids. Friday and Tuesday are half days. The school year was actually supposed to end tomorrow, but we had a Snow Day and needed to add another day to make up for it. One of the cool things about my kids' school is that they sent out a survey asking when we'd prefer to have the extra day added.
Here I am, sitting in the living room trying to motivate my kids to get dressed and ready for school. They're dragging. I keep chanting to myself, "It's almost over, it's almost over..."
I'm looking forward to this Summer Break. I have all sorts of fun stuff planned! My sister is coming into town at the beginning of June, and I'm super excited about that. I've also been compiling a list of things I want to do with the kids. I've been working on it since January. We're going to build a solar oven, and attempt to cook a meal in it. We're going to pitch the tent in the back yard and camp out a lot. I'm going to teach my kids part of my vast knowledge on how to start and maintain fires. We'll be Letterboxing and using the compasses the kids got for Christmas.
Joey had his Kindergarten evaluation and didn't do very well, so a lot of this break will be dedicated to getting him ready for school. I have an idea in my head to do my own little Summer Camp for the kids and the idea is evolving to include things Joey needs to be familiar with. Maybe a number, letter, and shape of the day? I have to ponder that one some more.
Actually it's 3:16. I woke up around 12:30 for a trip to the bathroom and just couldn't fall back to sleep. I am normally a very sound sleeper, but when I get disturbed I have a really, really hard time getting sleep to come around again.
Since it's the middle of the night and there is nothing to do I'm here on my blog. Rambling about nothing.
Let's see, what should I tell y'all about this time.... Oh, I've got it.
I'm going to tell you about the time I got pneumonia (Holy Cow I spelled it right on my first try!)
When I was about 10 my parents took us on a great winter vacation to some kind of hotel/lodge. I don't think it was a ski resort but I remember we went tubing. What I do know is that the hotel had an indoor heated pool and hot tub. We got a big kick out of that and I think we spent more time in that pool than anywhere else. My sister and I especially had fun in the hot tub, going under water and playing with the jets.
About a day and a half into our vacation I started feeling sick. Really sick. I started running a fever and I was hot enough that my parents decided we'd better go to the hospital. As we were leaving the hotel we happened to pass by the hot tub and for the first time since we got there it wasn't running. It was nasty. There was some kind of green film on top of the water. I don't remember it, but I've heard the story. My mom says it looked like pond scum or algae. If she'd seen it first she never would have let us in that thing.
When we got to the hospital after a torturous car ride I had the pleasure of having my ears scraped out and trying to stand still for X-Rays while I was freezing and weak. Turns out I had an infection in both ears and full-blown pneumonia. I was given a prescription and my mom filled it there in the hospital. I had to take one of the pills right away, so she got me over to a water fountain and I took it.
I got about four steps from the fountain before I 'unswallowed' all over my little brother. He was about four years old at the time and had a beloved Care Bear, Grumpy. I covered this poor boy from head to toe in sick and all he did was stand there, bottom lip quivering and said the words that would soon become family legend,
"She trew up on Drumpy!" (My Joey sounds a lot like Dan did at that age!)
He didn't care at all that he had just been covered in vomit, his only concern was for his precious Grumpy. Sweet kid. My poor dad had to take my little brother into the Mens room to try to somehow hose him off while my mom took me into the Ladies to clean me up. I don't remember how they cleaned him up, but I think having vacation clothes in the car probably helped.
When we finally got home I was put to bed. The next bit of my memory is really hazy. I had a waterbed at that time and I remember that every time I rolled over or moved the waves made me nauseated. I also remember feeling so thirsty but the only thing I could hold down was ice water. If it wasn't absolutely freezing cold I couldn't stomach it. I was so in and out of reality that I would pick up the cup next to my bed thinking it was just a few minutes old when really it had been filled hours before. I'd take a huge gulp of lukewarm water and that would start the fireworks all over again.
When I finally started feeling better I asked what day it was. My mom told me it was Wednesday, so I thought I'd been out of it for three days, since I'd gone to the hospital on a Saturday. Apparently it was Wednesday of the next week. There is a whole week of my life that I have absolutely no memory of. My fourth grade class even made me a Get Well Soon card, but I don't remember seeing it. I heard about it when I got back to school.
My lungs have never been the same since then. I've been told I have permanent damage from the pneumonia. I'm not sure exactly what that means, other than I get winded a little more easily. I was never a very athletic kid, so it didn't matter much.
There you have it, the story of how I single handed-ly ruined a great family get-away. You've got to admit, I really did the job thoroughly! I not only puked on my brother, I'm pretty sure I gave my sister a phobia of hot tubs. I don't know how long it took her to get over that. Yep, when I ruin a vacation I do it with flair!
Well, it's 4:06 now. I'm still wide awake but I think I'm going to try to go back to bed. I've still got a couple hours before I have to get the kids up. Maybe I can get a little sleep. Good night!
I spent hours last night chatting online with my cousin Shanon. Lots of fun. She's technically my cousin, you know, biologically and all that. In reality though she's much more to me.
When I was a teenager Shanon came to live with us and we went to High School together. Shanon is three years older than me, she was a Senior while I was a lowly Sophomore. She welcomed me into her group of friends and made my whole High School experience so much better.
Since we weren't exactly sisters but cousin seemed too distant to fully explain the relationship, Shanon came up with the term "Sister-Friend". That pretty much sums it up.
Even though Shanon is older than me I've always felt like the Big Sister. It's just my personality. I like to take care of people. I worry, fret, mother, and if we're being perfectly honest, probably smother people too. It's just how I am.
I'm actually trying to convince Shanon to move here. Not only since I think she'd like it here and my town is just amazing. I really, honestly just miss her. My sister-in-laws are awesome, they really are, they're just too normal. I need the color in my life that only Shanon can bring and my kids are seriously lacking in the 'Crazy Aunt' department. My little sister Heidi's kids get Crazy Aunt in spades. Not only do they have me, they've also got my sister's best friend Kim. My kids are pathetically neglected in comparison. Crazy Mom they've got, Crazy Aunt they lack. (By the way, I too have a Crazy Aunt. When we tell crazy relative stories I always win because of her. For those relatives who are reading: I'm not talking about Jeanne, Joanne, or Kitty. Although you all are pretty nuts...)
And now, since she'd have to be here in person in order to murder me with her bare hands, I present embarrassing pictures from High School!!
Summer 1995 at Disneyland. Left to right: Shanon, Heidi, Me, and our little brother Daniel.
Shanon and I in the Fall of 1995. She was blessed with adorable freckles and dimples. I just got zits.
