I'm Still Alive

Helllllooooo, Kitschies!!  Hold on to your hats.  It's going to be a long one...

Have you forgotten about me?  I haven't forgotten about you...promise!!  I can't believe my last post was in MARCH...where has the time gone?!  I have been really super busy with...life...but I'm taking a break and going to get you caught up a little on what I've been doing.

And before I forget...thank you to those of you who've sent me emails recently.  It's you who've *inspired* me to post tonight.  As always, all pictures are click-able to make big-able!

So...last time we talked, I was getting ready for my first derby bout.  That was March 19th.  The season opener was a blast!  We had a packed house and DIA (my team) won their first bout.

That's me (in front) and Carson B Demented (our team captain).  Man...that first bout...I just felt lost through the whole thing.  Well, the first half, anyway.  Then just before the first half was over, I jacked my knee and had to sit out the rest of the time.

I believe this was during the intros...they pronounced my name (Sinestra) wrong...they always do.  LOL

Me after my first bout.  I wish I could've skated more but there was no way my knee was going to cooperate for that!  After about 2 weeks of rest, I was back on my skates, ready for another go at it!

I don't have many other pics of anything else in March.  Oh!  Easter!  Or was that April?  Either way...here's a few from Easter.

I love all three of those pictures!  We had Easter at my MIL's house - always good food...always a good time!

We took the boys to ABQ Jump for Mother's Day...and even I got to jump!  We had a nice lunch and the kids had fun and that's what really matters.

Nate graduated from Kindergarten in May, too!  Awww...my little Monkey is growing up so fast!  They had a cute little ceremony for all the "graduates".  I remember his first day like it was just a month ago...next thing I know, he'll be graduating from high school.  *sigh*

We had our second bout on May 19th - there weren't as many people but we skated great!  I didn't feel like I was completely lost the second time around and my knees held up.  I even got a couple of good blocks in there!  Oh...and we beat the HoBots.  Yay!

This is my current favorite picture of the boys.  It's so hard to get them to settle down long enough for a good picture, but I lucked out on this one!

We celebrated Mason's 3rd birthday on Memorial Day weekend because I was out of town on his actual birthday.  We had family and friends gather at a park and had cupcakes to celebrate!

And...I think you're up to date.  The hubs and his hetero life partner have their first ever COMICS booth at Albuquerque Comic Expo this weekend!  This is at least 15 (probably more like 20) years in the making.  I am proud of them for finally getting their stuff together and presenting their baby to the world!  I can't wait to see how it goes.

I've still been doing my nails and take pictures from time to time, but I haven't done any prepping.  Maybe some day (soon) I'll post a "highlights" post of the best ones from the last few months.

I promise not to be gone so long this time.  And I need to give my blog a facelift.  It hasn't felt like winter here in New Mexico in a long, long time!!

Laters babe.

I'm Baaaaack...Sorta

Good morning, Kitschies.  Long time, no post, huh?  I returned from my vacay with my family late last week.  I had a great time (GREAT time!) and I was sad to come back to Albuquerque.  I came back to a very excited 5-year-old who proceeded to Velcro himself to my arse the following day.  It's nice to know I was missed, but c'mon!  LOL  Anyway...I'm back in to the routine, but...and this is a *big* but...I exploded my computer at home yesterday.  *sigh*  I'm only connected at work now and it sucks.  Seriously.

So, I don't have much of a post for you today.  I do, however, have a few pics to share with you.  The biggest reason I went to Cali was to participate in the Walk to Defeat ALS.  My mom was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gherig's disease) 10 years ago.  She is doing remarkably well considering ALS is usually terminal within 3 years (average), so every moment we get to spend with her is a blessing.  I hate when we miss the walk and the hubs could tell I was getting depressed over it, so he told me I should go.  Let me tell you...I am so glad I did!  So. glad.

All pics are clickable for better viewing.  This is part of the gang - family and friends.  Oh!  And I even got to skate the walk!  More on that in a second.

I got to take Mason with me - he had a blast with everybody (even though he was being insanely shy that morning).  Mason found a buddy with my dad (Beba) - they both loved it!

My mom and Mason.  For some reason, it was all Mason could do to keep from smiling.  Silly boy!

Auntie Chicken with Mason.  I wish she could've stayed home longer but a double-header softball game called her and Uncle Ryan away the next day.

The night of the walk, we had a BBQ at my parents house.  It was much warmer than we're used to this time of year and Mason was all sweaty!  LOL 

While I was there, I was able to skate the walk which was a nice bit of exercise.  But...I managed to break a toe and let me tell you it sucks.  It hurts.  A lot.  I wasn't even doing anything exciting - I was going over to pick Mason up out of a chair and I jammed my toe against the corner of the wall.  It was all I could do to not scream obscenities (being in the presence of my son and my parents and all).  I got to skate with the league in Bakersfield and in case you were wondering, skating (well, trying to skate) with a broken toe does not work very well.  That practice KICKED my butt and the side of my foot went numb!  Went to work on Thursday and had them take a picture of my toe - yep.  Broken.  So, I'm on orders to give my foot a break and even though I *really* don't want to, I didn't go to practice on Saturday and I probably won't skate tonight.  Having a broken toe sucks WAY more than I thought it would.  LOL

So, there ya go.  You're updated.  I missed you all and can't wait to get back to blogging.  Cross your fingers that I didn't really explode my computer.

WWtKW: Faves & Hates

Good morning, Kitschies!  How can it possibly already be Wednesday?  Unbelievable.  Anyway...since I'm too lazy busy to get more pics prepped for my blog, I decided to hook up with We Want to Know Wednesday again.


This week's questions come from Janette.

1.  What game show have you always thought you could be on and totally WIN?
I think I would totally rock (pun intended) Name That Tune.  It hasn't been on in a REALLY long time (like, 1985), but for whatever reason, I can remember melodies and lyrics like nobody's business.  That, and I think my hubs and I would dominate Survivor.  What I wouldn't do to get on a show like THAT!  

2.  Do you have a tattoo(s)?  What are they and what made you chose them? If not, would you get one, yes/no/why?
I sure do!  4, to be exact.  I got #1 (a band of music notes around my right ankle) when I was 18 - I was engaged to a musician at the time and music was (and still is) a big part of my life.  I love it, but it needs some touch-up work.  #2 (a red, white and blue tribal scarab on my low back) came about shortly after I moved to Albuquerque (maybe around 2000?).  I'm patriotic and I liked the design.  There's a bit of a story with #3 (a faerie with a vine around her).  I was scheduled to get her done on 9/11.  Yes.  THE 9/11.  Of course the shop was closed so I rescheduled for 9/18.  I wanted a faerie for a long time and the guy who did #2 drew #3 for me and she is so pretty.  #4 joined me in October 2007 and is the letter N (for Nate) on my left wrist.  I want to get at least two more....some day.

3.  What is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own?
That would have to be my wedding and engagement rings.  I did a post on my rings a while back as one of "My Favorite Things".   We ordered the band out of a catalogue (how romantic, right?), but it's the inscription of "A blessing on the soul" in Ogham that makes my ring special.

4.  What is your driving pet peeve(s)?
Ooooh...I have a BUNCH of driving pet peeves but I'll go with the two biggest ones.  Not using turn signals and speeding/swerving through traffic just to get one car ahead.  I swear, it's like when people come in to New Mexico, there's some secret switch that automatically turns off their turn signals.  It's horrible.  And the speeding/swerving thing?  How far ahead do you ever really get?  If I can look over and see you sitting RIGHT NEXT TO ME, there's no point.

5.  What was your favorite sitcom growing up that you wish was still on?
I have a few.  Cheers, The Cosby Show, The Facts of Life...the list could go on and on and on!  But, of those, I think I miss The Cosby Show the most.  What a great family!


Check out the linky at the top of the page for lots and lots of other WWtKW memes.  It's always fun to blog hop and get to know new bloggy buddies!

We Want To Know Wednesday

Good morning, Kitschies!  We've made it to another Wednesday, and you know what that means, right?  It's We Want to Know Wednesday.  Today's questions come from another awesome blogger (who also co-hosts this weekly meme): Impulsive Addict.  Stroll with me, if you will...

1. If money didn't matter, where would your perfect vacation take place?  Briefly describe.  I would either choose a tropical destination like the Caribbean or Hawaii, or I would tour Europe...all with the hubs, of course.  Why not the kids, you ask?  Hmmm...a vacation is away from your regular life, right?  Having the boys with me, as much as I love them, would kinda be a mood killer, if ya know what I mean.  Besides, I know a certain set of Grandparents who probably wouldn't mind watching the boys while we're off gallivanting across the countryside. 

2. What's a bad habit that you have {or ha} that is/was hard to break?  Bad habits?  I don't have any bad habits.  LOL  Ummm...I remember I used to bite my fingernails, but I don't any more (as you can probably tell).  Other than that, I can't remember anything that I've had to break.  Maybe that means I need to pick something to change.  Nah!

3. If you weren't on a diet or counting calories, what would you like to have for dinner tonight?  I would either have Chinese from Rice Bowl and ice cream from Dewars in my hometown or I'd have El Pinto (New Mexican) or Rudy's (Texas BBQ) in Albuquerque.  Ugh.  Now I'm hungry.  Oh, and Thin Mint cake for dessert.

4. If you had the chance to interview anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what's one question that you would ask?  Ooooh!  This is a hard one!  I would love to talk to some of the medical pioneers: Madame Curie, Alexander Flemming, the guys who invented the ultrasound machine, etc.  The list could go on and on.  I would ask them what made them think those things were possible?  In other words: how'd you come up with that?

5.  Describe yourself in six words.  6 words, huh?  This is like one of those dreaded interview questions.  These are according to the hubs (Yes.  I cheated.)  Lovely, sweet, stubborn (I don't know what he's talking about), "ruff & tumble" and capable.  Humph!  I like to think of myself as a little bit more than capable, but I guess that's what you get for asking somebody else.  LOL

Wow...this took me over 3 hours to put together and complete.  I guess that's what happens when you actually have to do some work at work.  LOL  And now I'm having formatting issues.  Just ignore that and pay attention to the awesome words.  kthanks. I'll probably be posting a pink mani later on today for On Wednesdays We Wear Pink.  See ya!

We Want to Know Wednesday

Good day, Kitschies!  Welcome to the inaugural edition of We Want to Know Wednesday.  I'm linking up with Impulsive Addict, Mamarazzi and two other great bloggers for this fun weekly Q&A session. 

 Welcome to our very first edition of WWTK!  This weeks questions have a theme: FRIENDSHIP.  We all have friends that we can brag about, right? 
Here are the questions:{1} Do you make friends easily?{2} What 3 qualities are a MUST in a friend?{3} What makes YOU a good friend?{4} Have you ever met a bloggy friend in real life? Yes? Tell us about the meet up. No? Who would you love to meet?{5} Who is your best friend?  Tell us about them. 1.  Kinda not.  I'm usually kinda standoff-ish at first, especially at work, but once I get to know you and you get to know me, I'm usually pretty easy to get along with.   2.  Must-have friend qualities?  I don't know that I have any specific qualities, but lemme think.  Anti-drama fo sho.  Seriously.  I have enough damned drama in my life, I don't need to deal with another person's shite.  Sense of humor.  If I can't laugh at with you, what's the point?  Gotta get sarcasm.  This kinda goes along with the sense of humor thing...if you don't get sarcasm, you won't get me.  
3.  I was thinking about this question on the way to work and I'm having a hard time coming up with a good answer.  It's like those loaded questions you get asked at an interview.  I'm there if you need me.  I'm always willing to listen.
4.  The only bloggy friend I've met IRL is my bestie, but it doesn't really count because I knew her before I started blogging.  Oh, and my mom blogs, too, but that doesn't count, either.  LOL  I would LOVE to meet Mamarazzi, Myya from Myya Says, Rebecca from Mrs Bettie Rocker and Emily from Wife, Mom, Check, Check...just to name a few.  
5.  My bestie is none other than the goddess Wendi from Makeup Zombie.  I met Ms Wendi when the hubs' bestie brought her over around Christmas 2003.  Funny thing...I didn't care for Mistress W that night, but there was a pretty good reason for that, but that's a story for another day.  Anyway...we ended up becoming pretty close; we even shared our last pregnancies (her 3rd, my 2nd) - our littles were born about 6 weeks apart.  She's funny, sarcastic, beautiful, way talented, a great mom and a general pain in my butt.  I say that with love and respect, of course.  

This was taken on our adults-only weekend to Ruidoso, NM back in October.  Yeah...it was a good time.  She's the one to blame thank for getting me hooked on this blogging thing and the whole nail polish thing.  
But, let's not forget my *other* bestie: The hubs.  He really is my best friend.  But, you can't really talk about the gossipy goodness with the hubs like I can with my bestie.  He puts up with my crap.  And, boy...can I dish it (but so can he)!

This was also taken on our adults-only weekend in October.  He's good to me, even when I don't really deserve it.  And I love him.  Mostly.  LMAO
Thanks for coming along with me.  Won't you be a bloggy friend and hook up to the first We Want to Know Wendnesday?  C'mon...you know you want to!

Flashback Friday: March 30

Happy Friday, Kitschies!!  I hope you made it through your week relatively unscathed.  It was another busy week at the clinic.  And now I'm home with Nate because he's a sneezing, whining, boogery pile of goo.  Joy!  He's eating lunch and I'm taking a moment to do my flashback post.  I'll be eating soon, too, but I have to wait for my artichoke to finish cooking (which will be another 30 minutes).

March 30th.  That date holds special meaning to me.  Twice.  Well, kinda three times, but we won't talk about that.  We'll talk about the good things that happened on (or very close to) March 30th.

First up is March 30, 2002.  On that date, I met the hubs for our first "date".  We had been talking emailing for quite a while and finally decided to meet.  How'd we first "meet"?  Through match.com.  Seriously.  And this is the picture he had on his profile (only in black and white):

Nice, right?  LOL  I figured he had a sense of humor if he used that as a profile pic, so I responded.  We traded lots and lots of very long emails before we ever decided to meet.

Anyway...our first date was awesome, though not your typical first date.  We met at Alameda Open Spaces and went for a long walk.  We talked and talked and walked and walked.  And then...when we got back to our cars...my stoopid ex-boyfriend was there.

Long story short, the hubs got him to leave (he protected me, but not in a physical kind of way, you can see he looks kinda threatening with that light saber - LMAO) and we went on our way.  We stopped by my house so I could change shoes (my Docs gave me a wicked blister) and then we went to McDonald's (how romantic?) for ice cream and then went out to the mesa to look over the city.  It doesn't sound like much, but it was really nice.

I kept him around.  Actually, we were together pretty much 100% of the time after that first date.  He kinda moved in and didn't leave - until I had to leave that house rather suddenly, but that's another story.  A year goes by and things are awesome.

Then...on March 29, 2003, he proposed!  Of course I said yes!  And do you know what's extra awesome about that?  He asked my Dad's permission first.  He scored extra brownie points with that one! 

To top off the end of March that year, my first day at the clinic was March 30, 2003!  As of 2 days ago, I've been with Southwest Integrative Health Center for 8 years.  8. years.  I can't believe it's been that long!  I love the docs I work with - they're great docs AND they're good people.  So, between the two of them (the hubs and the clinic), they're my longest running relationships and I hope they stay that way.

This is a pic of the hubs and the boys on top of a dormant volcano on the outskirts of Albuquerque.  The hubs is a great Dad and a good husband.  I love them so, so much!

One more pic for good measure.  This is the hubs and me at a friend's wedding a couple years ago.

I love you, hubs!  I'm so glad I found you and I hope we have many more anniversaries of our first date to come! 

Flashback Friday: I Used to Go Out

TGIF!!  This week kinda just flew by.  Don't know why because it wasn't any different than any other week.  Went to work.  Did stuffs with the boys and the hubs.  Watch the regular TV shows.  All the usual stuff.  And now that probably means that the weekend is going to fly by, too.  On the docket this weekend is a birthday party for my co-worker's son (his *first* birthday), start painting the sideboard (we started this project when we moved in to our house 4 <or is it 5?> years ago!), do laundry, make a menu for the week, various chores.  *sigh*  Not enough hours in the day.  Oh, and don't forget that we LOSE an hour between Saturday night and Sunday morning.  Woo.

ANYway...I'm participating in Christopher & Tia: Flashback Friday today.

I went digging through a very large box of miscellaneous pictures a couple weeks ago in search of a specific picture and I ran across this little beauty.  This wasn't what I was looking for, but I like it, so I'm sharing it with you today.

From left to right are me (pre kids!), my good friend Amoie, Robyn and Irene.  I met these lovely ladies at the first job I had when I moved to Albuquerque in 1999.  I worked with Amoie (Annie) at the front desk; Robyn was transcriptionist extraordinaire and Irene was the super awesome office manager.  Every once in a while we would all get together at St James Tea Room for tea and crumpets.  OK, maybe not crumpets, but I do remember them having awesome snacks (including some delish clotted cream - sounds gross, but tastes good - you'll just have to trust me on this).  Apparently, it was the *thing* to borrow one of their hats while having tea.  I'm not exactly sure when this picture was taken, but I'm pretty sure that it was before I got married, so I'm gonna say it was 2003...maybe 2004?  I stopped working with these girls some time in 2002, but I've kept in close contact with Amoie and still "talk" with Robyn and Irene on Facebook.  Ah, the power of Facebook.

So, girls...when are we gonna do it again?  This lady is in serious need of some girl time!

Ten on Tuesday: What's in a name?

I saw this little meme on Myya Says... and since I didn't post yesterday, I thought I'd grace y'all with my presence twice today to make up for my absence yesterday.  So, here are 10 questions for you!

1.  How did your parents decide on your name?
They had never heard the name Megan before (or any derivative of it) and just happened to find it in a name book about a week before I was born. 

2.  Do your initials (first, middle, last) spell out anything fun/funny?
Nope.  MMH.  Neither did my maiden initials: MMG.

3.  Did you take your middle name from childhood or did you take your maiden name as your middle name?  (If you're not married, what do you plan to do?)
My middle name is the same today as it's been since birth.  I was planning to take my maiden name as my middle name when I got married this time, but I didn't (though I can't remember why I didn't just do it). 

4.  Did you, or will you, name your children thematically (ie, the same first letter, all the same origin, etc)?
Kind of.  My first son, Nathaniel, has the same first letter as his dad and my second son, Mason, has the same first letter as me.  And coincidentally, they're both named after characters from TV shows we really liked.  We didn't plan it, but both of those shows happen to be about death.  Nice, huh?

5.  Did you decide on baby names as a little girl?  Did you stick to them or change your mind?
I had decided on a name (I named my health class walnut and liked that name - it was a boy), but I changed it - thank jeebus!

6.  Does your family have any names that have been passed down through generations?
Yes!  My middle name (Marie) comes from both my grandmothers.  Nathaniel's middle name (Edward) is the same as the hubs' and his grandpa.  Mason's middle name (Gregory) is my Dad's first name. 

7. Do you look at the meaning of a name or just the name itself?
Both, though if the meaning of the name is bad, I probably wouldn't pick it.

8.  Do you name pets with human names (Sally, Henry) or with pet names (Fluffy, Mr BoBo)?
More like characters than actual names (Tor, Tyr - both Norse gods, Jabba).

9.  Are there any names that you have an affinity or dislike of based on a childhood experience/someone you once knew?
Totally!!  There are a couple names that were crossed off the list before the list was even started because I didn't want to be constantly reminded of that person when I said my child's name.

10.  What are some of your favorite names?  Why?
We had a girl name picked out with both pregnancy and really like both of them.  Natalie (Nat for short) and Madeline (Maddie).  Why do I like them?  They're pretty and I like the short versions, too. 

What About Me?

Good morning, Kitschies!  It's Friday - finally.  After my super easy week at the clinic last week, it feels like this week has dragged on forever.  *sigh*  And I know it's Friday, but it just doesn't *feel* like Friday to me and I just can't get excited for the weekend.  I hope it changes by the time the day is over because I want to enjoy my weekend.  I want to enjoy the time I spend with the hubs and my boys.  C'mon, Megan!  Get your butt in gear.

Back in early January (see...I told you I was behind), Sara over at Unofficial Mom shared a "Mosaic About Me" which she stole from another fellow blogger.  I liked it, so I stole it from her.  LOL  Isn't it nice how we're all so comfortable with each other that we can steal things off their plate?  Here are the rules.

Do a Flicr/Photobucket/whatever search for the answer to each of the following questions. 

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite food?

3. What is your favorite color?

4. Favorite drink?

5. Dream vacation?

6. Favorite hobby?

7. What you want to be when you grow up?

8. What do you love most in life?

9. One word to describe you?

 

I liked what I found and put it together...wanna see...?

 

*click to appreciate the awesomeness of my collage* I'm giving you express written consent to steal this from me.  The only catch is that if you do, I wanna see what you come up with!

Ugh...things at the office just turned crazy (again), so I have to get back in to work mode.  Enjoy your weekend!

Hearts & A Smile *pic heavy*

TGIF, Kitschies!!  Do you have big plans for the coming weekend?  Do you get Monday off for President's Day?  I don't have a whole lot going on this weekend other than a haircut *squee* and a birthday party for my nephew.  Other than that, we're supposed to have rain on and off so I don't think we'll get outside like I'd like. 

I know I'm a little late to the party to share my VDay mani with you; better late than never, right?  I had just finished my Two Weeks of Pink manis and it was time for a change!!  I still stayed with a traditional VDay color.

This beauty of a red creme is Zoya Alix.  The Zoya website describes Alix as a vibrant medium true mid-tone red with a glossy creme finish and I agree.  This is one HOT red - not too bright, not too dark.  Just awesome sexy red.  I love this color but I have a love/hate relationship with red.  It's a total PIA to clean up and remove AND if it chips even one teeny tiny place, it *has* to come off.  Am I alone in this?

After trolling My Simple Little Pleasures, I saw her tutorial for this cute nail art and had to give it a try.  I started off with alternating white and red nails but I couldn't get the white to look just right so I gave up and went with all red.

Collette at MSLP does great tutorials (awesome water marbles) - if you have some time, you should definitely check her blog out.

We were up in the mountains on VDay where there was *plenty* of snow.  You know I *had* to take a picture against the stark white of the snow. 

Now for the fun!  The hubs and I had a rare kid-less day together.  What did we do?  Like a couple of teenagers, we went sledding!!

The hubs caught some air!

I got a nice action shot of *him*, you'd think he could've done the same for me. *sigh*

But, he did get a decent close-ish shot of me.  Like my knit cap?  He gave that to me "just cuz" a couple months ago and I <3 it.

After we'd had enough sledding, we went for a little hike up on the peak.  Lots of snow!  I stepped off the path and sank to my KNEES!!  Lesson learned.

The view was awesome!!  This is looking southeast from the top of the mountain.  The city you see in the distance is Albuquerque.

Awww...the two lovebugs.  It was pretty warm, considering it's still only February and there was so much snow around. 

I like this one because I didn't mean to get the hubs in the background...I was trying to take a pic of myself.  LOL  Yay for happy accidents!

A big thank you to my hubs - I had such a great time!  I used to not like VDay (for a couple reasons) but he's changed my mind on this.  He goes out of my way each VDay to make sure we enjoy it.

I will announce the winner of my giveaway either tonight or some time this weekend, so be sure to keep an eye out!  Have a good weekend and if you're traveling for the long holiday weekend, be safe!

Two Weeks of Pink - Part 3

TGIF!  It has been one heck of a week.  Bustin' my booty at work.  Corralling the boys when I get home.  Making dinner.  Cleaning up.  Trying not to pass out as soon as my butt hits the couch.  *sigh*  I'm glad it's the weekend.

I know it's supposed to be Flashback or Family Friday, but since I'm on this Two Weeks of Pink kick (you have the bestie to blame thank for that), I thought I'd share the mani I wore for most of the week.  Pink mani #2 was pretty subdued, so it was time to kick it up a notch or two for the next mani.  I hope you're ready for a lot of pictures!

This bright, in-your-face pink is Color Club Electro Candy.  A neon pink with a purple-ish (or was it green?) flash.  I never liked neon polishes until I got my hands on the Electro Candy collection.  This pic was taken outdoors in bright sunlight.

This is indoors with flash.  I started of with three coats (because it's a neon) and while I liked the color, I didn't want to leave it quite that bright.

Outdoors in direct sunlight.  I grabbed my striping brush, black acrylic paint and a silver glitter striping polish and striped away!

This design was super simple.  It was enough of a design to break up the OMGTHATSBRIGHT, but not so much that it hid the awesomeness of the polish itself.

I applied this on Sunday evening and it had awesome wear.  I didn't change my mani til Thursday night and I didn't have any chips and barely any tip wear.

I'm ready for my closeup, Mr Seville.  My striping brush is one of my favorite tools (thanks, Mom!) - you can do so much with it.

Like I said, I wore this mani for 5 whole days without any problem...except that I got bored with it.  I had a patient ask me why I "don't just get those gel nails done".  She meant gel polish that's cured under a UV light.  For a few reasons.  #1: They last at least 2 weeks.  If I had to wear the same polish for 2 weeks, I think I'd go insane.  #2: To get a gel mani at a salon costs money.  Money I don't have.  #3: I don't have a UV lamp and I don't want to buy a UV lamp.  So, yeah.  No gel manis for *this* girl.  To break up the boredom, I grabbed my bottle of OPI Black Shatter that my most awesomest bestie procured for me (you ROCK).

This is one coat of OPI Black Shatter over the already pictured Electro Candy mani.  If you click on the pic, you can see some of the silver glitter peaking through a couple of the cracks.

I liked the neon pink mani, but I liked the switch up the Black Shatter gave it.  See how good this wore?  I took these last two pics the same evening I took the polish off.  I was afraid the Black Shatter was going to be a total PITA to remove, but it wasn't any more difficult than regular polish.  I know you've seen the shatter manis all over the place, but you hadn't seen mine.  Now you have and now you can go back about your business.  LOL

The other day, somebody commented that I didn't post enough pics of myself on my blog.  I hate taking pictures of myself, but since they said that, I thought I'd make it a point to add one.  This is me modeling my new scarf that was included in the Pinktastic Swaptastic package from Christi at g r e y u m b r e l l a.  Thanks, again, Christi - I love it!

So...happy weekend!!  Next week I'll have at least another mani to share as well as a recipe (or two).  I'm hoping to have an Etsy shop to review by Thursday of next week, too.

Don't forget my giveaway.  I've picked up a bottle of Revlon Perplex to add to the giveaway - you know you want it!