Two-fer Tuesday Tags

I'm baaaaaaack!!  It's been a busy couple of days.  I haven't posted anything since Thursday!  *gasp*  Life has a funny way of getting in the way sometimes.  The hubs and the besties and I escaped for the weekend and of course I didn't have internet down there (more on the trip later).  Well, we did, but I wasn't interested.  And then I was too tired to do anything when I got home on Sunday.  Monday night was spent doing my nails (they went nekkid the entire day - *double gasp*).  So, today, since it's Tuesday, you get two posts from me!!  Lucky you!

I've added a couple new bloggers to my reading list recently and two of them tagged me for an award/question session.  I love to find new bloggy buddies.  But I hate it, too.  I have I don't know how many blogs on my list and I can't NOT read them.  Each one of the blogs I follow because I love them.  And, 9 times out of 10, I comment.  What fun is posting if you don't get any feedback, right?  So now that they don't think I forgot about them, here are the blogs that were sweet enough to include me in their awards/question sessions.

The wonderful Emily from Wife, Check.  Mom, Check. Now What? tagged me for The Lovely Blogger Award.  I "met" Emily through a collection swap in September (was it September?) - she sent me an AWESOME box of red, white & blue goodies.  And now that I think of it, I never made that post, either.  Wow.  I'm really suckin in the posting department lately.  I love Emily's blog - she shares her experiences of raising her adorable daughter and she tells it like it is!  Thank you, my dear Emily, for thinking of me for this Lovely Blogger Award. :)

The award says to thank your tagger and then tag 10 bloggers.  I'm going to break the rules a little and tag only 3 because I have to tag some more here in a second.
Ivana*
Smiling Is Good For Your Teeth
Baking & Mistaking

Go check out these lovely girls and see what I like about them!  Oh, and if you decide to hang out a while, be sure to tell them I sent you.

And now for part 2!

The lovely La Tache from Smiling Is Good For Your Teeth tagged me for a question and answer session!  Ms La Tache is getting married in 7 months - she takes you along with her on her journey to become a wife of a Marine.  If the pictures are any indication, this is going to be one awesome wedding!  And she's always so positive!  Maybe, if I keep following her blog, some of her positive energy will rub off on me.  A girl can dream, can't she?  LOL  On to the questions!

1. What are you going to dress up as for Halloween?  I don't usually dress up for Halloween and this year probably won't be any different.  I wear Halloween scrub tops to work...that counts, doesn't it?

2. Do you keep your birthday and holiday cards?  Sometimes, but not always.  If they're those cool photo cards, yes.  I really need to start stashing them so I can make collages or projects with the boys.

3. Where is your favorite city?  I'd have to say that would be Santa Cruz, CA.  My family has a house on the yacht harbor (that's being remodeled by the family).  I remember quite a bit of time spent up there as a kid.  Since I moved to New Mexico, I think I've only been there once and that makes me a sad mouse.  But...we're going there for vacation next Summer!  I. can't. wait!

4. What material item do you want, but don't want to buy for yourself?  This is probably going to sound weird, but a nail polish.  Nfu Oh #61, to be exact.  (It's awesome - Google it!)  It's a little more expensive that my average bottle of polish and that's not counting shipping.  Maybe Santa will put it in my stocking this year for Christmas.

5. Coffee or Tea?  Coffee!  The hubs gave me a coffee grinder for Christmas and we've used it pretty  much every day since then.  There's nothing better than a fresh, hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning!  And just a side note: Why does everything taste better if somebody else makes it for you?

 

6. What is your most embarrassing moment? (or "laugh-at-yourself" moment, if you don't get embarrassed) OMG I have too many to list!  Let me think of something...I might have to continue this in another post because I can't, for the life of me, come up with anything right now.

7. What mode of transportation do you use to get to work?  My trusty 2007 Ford Fusion.  If I didn't live 20+ miles from work, I'd probably take the bus, but I'd have to leave the house even earlier than I do already (if I'm the early person at work, I have to leave the house by 6:45 to get the boys dropped off at Grandma's and to the office before it opens at 8)!

8. If you could be ANY animal, which would you be, and why? One of my lazy arse cats.  I swear, they don't move a muscle the entire time we're gone during the day.  The get up first thing in the morning when we do, and then they're nestled in for a long Winter's night by the time we leave for work.  They really have a hard life. *rolls eyes*

9. Why did you start blogging? Because my bestie made me do it.  LOL  Really.  She has her wonderful, beautiful blog Makeup Zombie and as I watched her put her stuff together, it made me want to do my own.  It started out as a way to share my boys with my out of state family and friends, but it expanded to include pretties and yummies.  Manicures, polish addiction, recipes, family.  It has it all! 

10. What has made you smile...TODAY? My kids, of course.  Nate, my 4-year-old, asked me this morning if I had good dreams in my head last night.  How can you keep from smiling with a cute question like that?  And Mason, my 1-year-old, points and babbles on and on about whatever like he's telling me all about whatever it is he's pointing out.  He's going to be talking before I know it!

Now it's my turn to ask the questions!

1.  Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

2.  How did you meet your significant other?

3.  If money wasn't an issue, what would you do (would you work, volunteer, etc)?

4.  What was your first concert?

5.  If you were granted a "last meal", what would it entail? 

6.  What is your biggest fear, and why?

7.  What's your favorite movie, and why?

8.  What was the best thing you ever got for Christmas?

9.  What's the meaning behind the name of your blog?
10. If you had the opportunity to know your future (with certainty), would you learn all you could or just learn as you go (and why)?

I want to know more!  I want to know about YOU!

Jess IROCKSOWHAT

Emily Wife, Check. Mom, Check. Now What?

Becky From the Kitchen of: Mrs Bettie Rocker

Wendi Makeup Zombie

Annie Nailstah

Silhouette Screams

Like the others, go check out these awesome blogs!  I love every single one of these for completely different reasons.  In my opinion, these are some of the best out there.  Please tell them I sent you. :)

I'm off for now.  I'll be posting about our adults-only weekend later on this evening while the hubs is whiling away the hours at Planet Ego.  See you soon!

They Like Me!

TGIF!!  We made it through the work week - finally.  It has been another long week (for lots of reasons) and I'm one day closer to next weekend!!  I'll probably start counting hours by Tuesday.  LOL  Mason had his 15-month check up today (even though he's 16 months).  The little guy ain't so little anymore!  He weighed in at 24.5 pounds (just under 50th percentile) and 32.25 inches (75th percentile).  He's progressing just as he should, though the pediatrician was a little surprised that he's already getting his canine teeth (one on each side), but then again, he was surprised when he was working on his molars at his 1-year check up!  Mason did have to get a couple vaccinations, but he was a trooper and was all smiles by the time we left the office.  We don't have to go back again until he's 18 months (around Christmas) and then we're finished until he's 2!

A while ago (a long while ago - sorry!), Linda at Stray Stitches, who also happens to be my Mom, tagged me for the Versatile Blogger Award.  Thanks, Mom!!

The Rules: Tell us 7 things about you then tag 12 other blogs for this award.

OK.  7 things...now for the hard part...here we go...

1.  I secretly hoped that both of my pregnancies would produce girls...but...little did I know that the hubs' family does NOT create anything other than boys.  BUT!  I love my little boys and can't imagine my life without them now (though I secretly hope for a girl *some* day - a day that will probably never come).

2.  When I was growing up, I wanted to be a teacher.  Then I had a teacher's aide class in high school for the in-school daycare.  That cured that dream!  LOL

3.  I have 3 favorite movies, depending on my mood: American History X if I'm in a dramatic mood (I loves me some Edward Norton), The 40 Year Old Virgin if I'm in a funny mood and Meet Joe Black if I'm in a romantic mood (I also loves me some Brad Pitt).

4.  The first record I remember owning was Madonna's Like A Virgin...on vinyl!  How my parents didn't strangle me, I have no idea.  This is one of the reasons I'm glad I don't have a girl.

5.  My favorite holiday is 4th of July.

6.  My oldest son, Nathaniel (aka: Nate), was named after a character on my all-time favorite TV show: Six Feet Under.

7.  My younger son, Mason, was named after a character on a too-soon cancelled TV show: Dead Like Me.


I know the award said 12 blogs, but since I'm linking to another award here in a second, I'm only going to pick 6.  So...on to the harder part (in no particular order):

Baking and Mistaking
Lindsey the Vampire Slayer
Elevation of Purpose & Desire
Libby's Pink Vanity
Wife, Check. Mom, Check. Now What?

I love each of these blogs and think you should go check them out!  If you decide to follow them, please let them know Megan at Kitschy Suburbia sent you. :)

And...for the second award!

The most awesome Debra over at Housewife Eclectic tagged me for The Desert Island Blog Award!

This award is a little different, and a little fun! If you were stranded on an island and could only read five blogs for the rest of forever, which would you pick? I love this!  It was pretty easy to pick my fab five.  And here they are, in no particular order:

Makeup Zombie (http://makeupzombie1.blogspot.com/)  

Oh, Ms Wendi...what would I do without you?  You got me in this mess and my hubs thanks you.  LOL  Wendi is my BFF, but I love her creativity and her blog - she does awesome makeup looks and posts great pics of her adorable kidlets.  I gotta keep up with the latest in indie mineral makeup while I'm stranded, right?

From the Kitchen of: Mrs Bettie Rocker (http://mrsbettierocker.blogspot.com/)

I cannot say enough about Becky's recipes.  Seriously!  This woman makes the best food!!  You'd never know she's a vegetarian - her hubs is one lucky dude!  All this and she has two beautiful little boys that she shares with us from time to time.  There is no better blog to drool over awesome food while stranded on a dessert desert island!

IROCKSOWHAT (http://irocksowhat.blogspot.com/) 

I "found" Jess' super awesome blog through Mrs Bettie Rocker.  As soon as I started reading, I was hooked.  Jess chronicles her life with her super cute 1YO son, Wyatt, and the trials of being a military wife.  Reading this blog while stranded would give me the *cute factor* that I need to get by!

Stray Stitches (http://straystitches1.blogspot.com/) 

Yes, she's my Mom, but I've really enjoyed watching her creativity with her blog.  She quilts, she crochets, she cooks!  Can't beat that with a stick.  And..she's family, so it would give me the link to the "once upon a time" I'd so desperately need.

Scrangie (http://www.scrangie.com/)

Nobody is harder on my wallet than Scrangie!  She posts awesome polish collections that make me hunt them down as soon as they're available.  Scrangie posts awesome pictures of polish and an occasional EOTD.  I loves me some pretties!

There are a couple I'd like to add to this list, but I could only chose 5.  So, there ya go!  Go check out these loverlies and let them know I sent you.  OH!  And once you've accepted your Desert Island Blog award, please link up to Just Lu to showcase your blog. :)

Listening to: Whataya Want From Me by Adam Lambert

Mood: rushed

Flower Power

Good evening, Kitschies!  I know 3-day weekends are supposed to give you a little extra break from the hum drum that is work, but I gotta tell ya, they exhaust me!  Maybe if both boys would actually take their naps at the same time.  A girl can dream, can't she?  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the extra day off and it was severely needed after the drama at work on Friday, but I swear people came back in a worse mood than they left!  I don't know what the deal is, but people need to relax (myself included).  All I can do is pray it gets better at work because while it could be worse, I really don't want to see it.

Tonight I bring you a mani I wore for a few days last week.  While on a trip to Sally Beauty a couple weeks ago, I *finally* picked up ChG Strawberry Fields.  My bestie got this a long time ago and I've borrowed it but I've never felt the need to have it.  Now that it's *mine*, I love it even more than I did to begin with.  Pathetic?  Yep.  LOL

What I used: ChG Strawberry Fields and Finger Paints Papier Mache.  After sitting at my computer searching nail art on Google and Youtube, I came across a tutorial for nail flowers.  I let it mix in my head over the day and that evening I came home and tried my hand at these simple flowers.

Taken indoors with flash, this is two coats Strawberry Fields as the base and Papier Mache as the flowers.  In the center of each flower, I placed a little rhinestone, one purple and one yellow-green.

Also taken indoors with flash, you can see the pretty gold shimmer in the bottle of Strawberry Fields.  Too fine to be glitter and a little more pronounced than your usual shimmer, the gold in this bold pink *makes* this polish.

Taken outdoors in late evening sun, you can really see the shimmer in the thumb (click pic to enlarge).  These flowers were really simple to create.  All you need is 5 drops of polish for the flowers and a toothpick to drag from the center of the dot to the center of the flower.  Top off with either a different color or a rhinestone for the center of the flower and you're finished!

One more picture to show the rhinestones.  I really like the texture the rhinestones added to the look.  I got lots of compliments on this one.  I can't wait to do it again with a different color combo!  The wear was really good with this mani (including the rhinestones).  I did this mani on Wednesday night and I didn't have to take it off until Sunday afternoon.  I had very little wear on the tips but a few of the rhinestones had fallen off.

On Monday, while I was surfing the blogs I stalk, I ran across Libby's Pink Vanity.  The sweet Kimberly tagged me for a Sunshine Award!  

Here's the guidelines:

1. Save the image above and post it on your own blog.

2. Pass the award on to 12 fellow bloggers.

3. Link the nominees.

4. Let nominees know they have won this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to the person you received this award from.

Here are the 12 bloggers I pick:

1. Polish Obsessed

2. IROCKSOWHAT

3. ANOTHER Bottle of Polish 

4. Jenilee's Beauty Blog

5. Prim & Polished

6. Stray Stitches

7. Our Life: Narrated by Lacey

8. Baking and Mistaking

9. TesJ0e's Blog

10. Poshnail 

11. Glamorous Geek Chic

12. The Art of Nails

These are blogs I look forward to every day.  I hope you'll take a few minutes and check them out.  Thank you, again, to Kimberly for tagging me with this award.

I'm hoping tomorrow will not be quite as busy at work so I can do a post while I'm there.  I know I shouldn't be blogging while at work, but it makes things move so much more smoothly at home when I can do a post there.  Have a good evening, my dear readers.  I can't believe it's already 8:45 - I want to get some reading done before I let the book hit me in the face have to get to bed!!  Until tomorrow!

Listening to: Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys (ACK!  Look at the hair styles!)

Mood: tired

Two in one day?!

No, you're not seeing things my dear readers.  I'm actually posting twice in one day!  I did Workout Wednesday earlier and now you get a polish post.  Why?  Because I love you.  LOL  It's just after 8 pm, the kids are in bed, the hubs is off at Planet Ego (read: a place where he and his bestie go to "work" on their comic book) AND I just finished day 10 of the 30-Day Shred!!  Nate, my 4-year-old, actually joined me for a little bit of it.  You should see him try to coordinate himself enough to do a jumping jack.  FUNNY!

On to the polish!  A while back (feels like forever!), the bestie and I had a girl's afternoon.  We went to lunch and the usual shops in the mall.  Of course I had to stop by Hot Topic to see what they had.  And of course I went directly to the polish section.  I found plenty that I wanted, but as soon as I saw these two, I grabbed them!  Neither of these polishes have names, so I took the liberty of naming them.

I present to you Poison Plum and Super Bad.  Poison Plum is a *super* dark purple.  The clerk who sold it to me rang it up as black, but I *knew* it was purple.  Sweet!!  But, it's a little bit of a disappointment because it's SO dark that it just looks like black when it's on the nail.  Super Bad is just that: super bad.  Little holographic stars and teeny tiny holographic glitter in a clear base.

I had a hard time showing off the holo goodness of the stars on my nails, but of course they show up nicely in the bottle.  If you click on the pictures you can *barely* see that the polish is, in fact, dark purple, but only around the very edges near the cuticles.

You can almost see the holo and the purple outside, but not really.  I really liked this mani but it lasted less than 24 hours!  And not only did it chip, it came off in half-finger chunks!!  Well, I can't just let that slide.  I had to take it off then and there.  I was so disappointed about that, but the show must go on, right?

The last picture.  I promise.  I threw this one in because I like how the star on my pinkie is glowing.  And actually, you can just barely see the purple on the pinkie, too.  LOL  I love dark vampy colors, but if it's supposed to be a vampy color other than black, it would be nice if there were a bit more of a hint of color.  Did I say that right?  In other words, I love dark jewel tones, but I like it to come across a little bit more than just black.

I almost forgot!! While I was trolling my blogroll earlier today, I rolled across Imperfectly Painted.  The wonderful Stephanie tagged me for a Sweet Friends award.  Awww - thanks, Steph!!

 

The Rules:
1. Post who gave you this award
2. State 10 things you like
3. Give this award to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment

10 Things I Like (in no particular order):
1. Nail polish.  Did you have any doubt?
2. Work.  Really.  I work with the best docs and the best co-worker!
3. Music!  As long as you don't give me country or rap, it's all good.
4. My hubs.  He's a great guy who is supportive of my workouts and my blog.
5. My family.  This includes my kids (of course), my sister (and her hubs) and my parents.  I hate that I live so far away from them.
6. Makeup.  I don't do a whole lot with it, but I love the colors and the possibilities (thanks, Wendi).
7. Rock Band.  I had to come up with something that didn't start with M.  LOL  But really.  We have so much fun with this game!
8. Peter Krause.  *sigh*  Ever since Six Feet Under, I have been in love with this guy.  My first son is named after his character in that show.  I can not wait til Parenthood comes back for its next season.

9. Red, white & blue AND stars.  My kitchen is painted RW&B.  I have a bunch of flag shirts.  I have a tattoo that's RW&B.
10. Kittehs.  I have 2: Sol and Luna (sun and moon in Spanish).  Sol is a 20+ lb lover who always has to sit on top of you even though you can't breathe when he does.  Luna is a pretty little girl who isn't a lap cat, but manages to squeeze herself between your legs when you're sleeping so you get all tangled up in the covers.

 

I'm tagging the following 10 (seriously? 10?)

Paint Away Girls 

Prim & Polished

Babbling Brooke

Getcha Nails Did

Dandelion Wishes 

Elevation of Purpose & Desire 

IROCKSOWHAT

Polish Hoarder Disorder

The Kronicles of a Konad-er

Polish Obsessed

OK.  I'm done.  Seriously.  I'm going to clean up the kitchen then I'm probably carting my tired butt to bed.  See you tomorrow!

Listening to: Just Dance by Lady Gaga

Mood: DONE!

 

*Almost* Nekkid

It's Thursday, Kitschies!  Do you know what's great about today?  I only have a half a day here at work AND I'm off tomorrow!!  Don't know what I'm gonna do with myself all day tomorrow.  I'm sure I could come up with a million things to do though.

Today I bring you a duo of manis.  The first one is what I wore late in the weekend and Monday.  I was *almost* going to wear it on Tuesday, but there was some chipping at the tips and I just couldn't bring myself to wear chipped polish to work.  That would be just plain sacrilege!  LOL  So, this is Zoya Shivon.  I got this beauty with my second Zoya exchange back in June. 

This color is very pretty - it reminds me of Fall.  The Zoya website describes Ms Shivon as a dark rose gold with hints of purple and bronze and strong gold duochrome shimmer. This color flickers and changes with light and movement so you'll never be bored.  Yep, they're right.  How do they come up with these descriptions?  Do you think a bunch of people sit around a big table and throw out ideas and then they pick the best one?  LOL  However they do it, I'm glad I don't have to do it.

Sorry about the quality of this mani.  I took this late in the second day so you can see tip wear and kind of an uneven finish.  I'm fighting with my FDTC - it made the finish all rough.  Booooo!!  I really do like this color - darkish rose with a gold duochrome.  You have to see it outside for full appreciation.

Oh.  You're wondering about the title of this post, are you?  Well...as I mentioned, I almost wore Shivon to work, but just couldn't do it.  At the last minute before I left for work, I took it off but I couldn't wear nekkid nails to work, either.  That's even worse than wearing chipped polish! 

Instead of being all-out nekkid, I slapped on a coat of basecoat and pulled out my trusty dotting tool and two nail art polishes for some quick flourishes.  Once that dried, I added a coat of Orly Glosser and I was out the door!

Quickest. mani. ever.  LOL  I got lots of compliments with this one.  People are always so impressed that I did this myself.  With the right tools, nail art really is rather easy!  I don't think my designs or my art are all that original or that great, but I usually like the end result.  And if people are impressed by my "abilities", that's fine with me!!

So, there ya have it!  One fully-dressed mani and one *almost* nekkid mani.  For those of you who obsessively polish your nails, do you ever go out without polish? *gasp*  That's kinda like going out without makeup!

One more thing - I almost forgot!!  The wonderful Becky at From The Kitchen of: Mrs Bettie Rocker was cool enough to tag me as a Blog with Substance.  How sweet is that?!

 Rules for award recipients:

• Thank the person for the award
•  Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using five  words.
•  Pass it on to 10 other blogs which you feel have real substance. 

My five words:

1. creative
2. food
3. sharing
4. family
5. love

And the 10 (10?  Really?) blogs I'm passing this out to:

Linda at More than Quilting
Debra at Housewife Eclectic
Chris at Lacquer Ware for Tips & Toes
Annie at Nailstah
Wendi at Makeup Zombie
Jacqueline at Purple Chocolat Home
Amy at Baking and Mistaking
A Family of Shorts
Ms B at Elevation of Purpose & Desire (and it's her birthday, too!)
Lisa at Rugby Beauty

I love each and every one of these blogs for one reason or another.  Please go check them out!


Listening to: Dreaming with a Broken Heart by John Mayer (what's up with him not doing videos?)
Mood: I'm outta here! 

Me? Stylish?

It's Friday!! It's really slow here at the clinic today and I'm looking for stuff to do. Sounds like it's a great time to make another post. And this way the hubs won't bug me for spending "us" time with my face buried in the computer screen. Two birds. One stone.

I was reading through my list of blogs last night and I was shocked to see that I had been presented with my first blog award!! Yay, me!


This wonderful little award was given to me by the lovely Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes.

The rules are:

Copy the award above, place it on your blog - link your blog back to me and name five things about yourself! Then pick 5 bloggers you'd like to tag with this same award.

Five things about me? I did something very similar to this earlier in the week - coming up with five more things is gonna be hard. Let's see...

1. When I was growing up, I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. Then, while in high school, I took a class as an aide to a preschool class. That cured me. Those kids were horrible!!!

2. I can tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue. You know what they say about flute players...

3. I tried to go in to the Air Force but they kicked me out. LOL I had an old knee injury that came back to haunt me and I couldn't run the distance they wanted me to run in the time allowed. As a result, I spent a couple of very hot, very long months in Lackland, TX, only to be sent back home.

4. This is hard! I collect red, white and blue Beanie Babies (and the like). I don't have a whole lot of them, but when I see one, I grab it! And run!! LOL

5. I love games!! Dominoes, Yahtzee, Cranium, Ziggity, Uno - you name it. The hubs doesn't play many with me so every time I get to spend time with my mom, we play a game.

Now it's my turn to name some lovely bloggers for this wonderful award! The envelope please...

Makeup Zombie

Elevation of Purpose & Desire (now this means you have to post more!!)

Polish Hoarder Disorder (PHD)

Getcha Nails Did

Rebellious Makeup


Now, so this post isn't just about me, I thought I'd share a mani I did a couple weeks ago. I won a giveaway from Libby's Pink Vanity and this little pretty was in the box!

I got Milani HiTech a while back and I loved it, so I was pretty excited to see HiRes in with the various other goodies. I gravitate toward purple polish for some reason, so it was perfect for me. The holo isn't as good as HiTech, but it's purple, so you can't go wrong. The above pics are 3 coats (a must with holos) and a top coat. Taken with flash. I think I had an outdoor/sun picture but it didn't load completely on to the flashdrive. Ah...technology. She is a finiky biatch. These pics make me a little sad because I've had to cut off my nails since then. Booo!!!

Listening to: (You Want To) Make a Memory by Bon Jovi
Mood: bored