Friday Flashback - Halloween!

Like I said earlier, I'm sharing some past Halloween manicures with you today. As you can probably guess, there is lots of black and orange in today's post. Hee. Anyway, I'd better get this thing going, and then get to work on my chores. We really would like to get the new floors down before the end of the year, but the likelihood is that it will be sometime next spring before it happens. Hopefully not longer than that. So yeah, let's take a look.

Friday Flashback!

Today's Flashback is a mani that takes the form of a Funky French! So it's like, totally an F kinda mani all the way around. However, if I were grading, an F would not be happening, because this one actually turned out quite nice. Let's pop on in and take a peek, shall we?

Partly Pink

We all know what day it is, so I probably don't need to tell you that On Wednesdays We Wear Pink. But, in case you've forgotten, feel free to click the graphic and go find out about it. Then you can check out all the folks who get involved - if you like pink, then this is your chance to see all sorts of it!

So why did I title this 'Partly Pink'? Well, it's another splatter mani, so it's only got a little pink in it, but I'm counting it anyway. Mostly because I don't happen to have worn just pink recently. I have SO many colors I love, and pink sometimes get forgotten about a little bit. Anyway, let's get to the pictures and go from there.

Sunday Swatches (Quick and Dirty Style)

So I haven't had as much time for nail polish as I have in the past, in part because of all the life drama crud that's been going on, and in part because the stress from said life drama has caused my skin to really get insane so I'm a lot slower at things and it takes me much longer to do my chores. In fact, I've had to start giving up a bit on having a perfect house, and just get done what I can. That is probably part of the reason that I haven't been changing my polish daily like I normally would, if I can barely get my chores done without falling over in exhaustion, adding a manicure in there just isn't gonna happen. But please don't think I'm whining (much haha), life could always be worse, and in general I know things will get better if I just keep plugging away.

So this week I set out to do some swatches, and because I've been rearranging things, I didn't have my normal spot to do my swatching, and had to change things up a little (but my OTT light is working! YAY!). Then after I finally managed to get the swatching in, photobucket decided to be a pain my my rear and wouldn't let me upload the pictures for a day and a half! I thought about not having swatches this week at all, because my skin flaring up so much makes my cuticles look pretty awful, no matter how many times I rub all sorts of creams and oils into them. In the end, I decided that if you don't like my raggedy cuticles, then just don't look at my swatches, and we'll all be happier. After all, the whole 4-5 of you who read me all the time probably don't care about it, the others who read me sometimes are probably only interested in the pictures, and the rest of the world doesn't care one way or the other. And that's okay with me, because I'm not looking to be the next hugely famous nail blog, there are already way better ones than mine out there.

Anyway, I'm starting to babble, so let's move on to the important stuff - THE POLISH! I had a few BYS shades that I haven't tried yet, so I thought I'd give those a quick test to see how they look, and share them with you. Let's see what we've got!

Pink Skittles?

Okay, so no, not all of my nails are pink today, but since I did skittles, and at least ONE nail is pink, I figured this would qualify for the Wednesday Pink post. Right?

I sure hope so. Because really, I don't wear pink on my fingers as often as I could, because there are SO MANY other colors I want to wear as well. Maybe if I had about ten hands I could get that many more pictures of pink polish. Hee. Anyway, let's go see the pictures.

Bleah

So I'm like trying to work up draft and published a mani early. D'oh!! Here, how about a couple skittles pics?

Jack and Leukemia and Orange

So, a couple months ago, I told you a little about Jack, the little boy fighting leukemia. Well, I haven't forgotten him, and I'm sure others haven't either. Cancer is BULLSHIT. So yeah, I did a whole week of oranges for Jack, because so many of us are pulling so hard for him, and hoping things will come out wonderfully in the end. And because I'm keeping in mind all the little boys and girls who have to go through ordeals like this. If you're interested in keeping up with what's going on with Jack, you can check out his journal at the Caring Bridge.

Is It Friday Yet?

For some reason, this week is just passing by very slowly. The weather has been bouncing around all over from cold to warm, rainy to sunny to snowy, windy to calm, and it's wreaking havoc with my skin, not to mention the arthritis thing. Yuck. But what can we do, that's just the way it is. So anyway, let's take a look at another manicure, but first, a mini-tutorial of how I go about cleaning my nails when they are really dirty.

Why I...

This is a nice writing prompt that I thought I'd try out. The idea is from SarahBee at MyOwnBeeswax. The premise is to finish the following thought: "Why I...". So it didn't take me long to think about a few things I could finish it with, and that leads us to the following post. But to make it fun, I'll include some polishes I haven't shown you yet. Let's jump right on in!

Not Really About Nail Polish

Okay, so you've heard me talk about The Band before. Well, if you've been reading you have. If not, then you should certainly be checking them out. Anyway, so last night one of the band members found out her son Jack has leukemia. Yeah, super serious stuff. Now it seems this is ALL, which is one of the "better" ones to have, but still, a 5 year old should NOT have to deal with this crud. So we're all teaming up to send our best wishes to him, and he's gonna KICK ASS and get healthy.

Now, I don't have any orange ribbons, so I'll have to post some orange polish for you to enjoy while I tell you more about what you might be able to do to help. Yes, YOU.

Did that bright orange polish catch your attention? Good. One of the most important things you can do to help out folks with leukemia is to join the Be A Match Registry. It won't cost you a penny during the month of January, because American Express has given a grant to cover the expenses (it normally costs $100, which may or may not be covered if there have been enough contributions). You could be a super man/woman to somebody out there if you are their match.

It may turn out that Jack doesn't need a transplant, but even if you don't happen to help him, you could help somebody else. Somebody's son or daughter. Somebody's brother, sister, or cousin. Somebody's best friend.

So, have further questions on what you'll need to do to join, or how this all works? Just check out their Frequently Asked Questions section. It's got everything you need to know.

Maybe you are ready RIGHT NOW to possibly help save a life? Then you can go here and follow the instructions to join.

Or are you one of those people who is already signed up, and just waiting for the call that asks you to help? Are you certain your information is up to date? If not, then you should head on over and make sure it is.

Perhaps you're like me, and are unable to join for some reason. I have psoriasis, and that precludes me from being able to help in this way. But take heart, there are other things you can do to get involved.

There are even several ways to donate money if that's how you prefer to do things.

Maybe you are reading all this and just not quite sure what leukemia is exactly, or how it can be treated. Well, the Band has put up a resource page that can help.

If you'd like to learn a bit more about Jack, and/or follow along, you can visit his Caring Bridge page. He's so adorable and sweet. No kid should have to go through this.

If you'd really like to send Jack a get well e-card or an email of support, just contact me, or any of the Band members for an email address. Or just leave a note at his Caring Bridge site Guest Book.

Band members have also started using the #jackonaut hash tag on twitter to send Jack messages of hope and light.

If you'd like to stick one of the cool buttons on your blog to show your support, even for just a day or so, you can grab it from the Band post. Well, that's about all I can think of for the moment. I'm going to dig up several orange polishes and wear them this week in Jack's honor - as well as all the other kids who are dealing with leukemia in their lives.

Oh, one last thing... if you're just itching to spend some money on something, here's Jack's Amazon wishlist. How about you, do you know somebody special who is going through a rough time? Maybe you can do something small to help lift their spirits.

Going To The Movies

Today's challenge mani is one inspired by a movie. I've seen all sorts, from Harry Potter to Transformers manis, and those are all awesome, but I wanted to be different, of course. So I chose a movie that I've never seen in nail art. I guess I didn't do TOO badly on it. So, what did I choose? Click the link and find out.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow!

Oooh, rainbow nails, I love them. We're up to day 9 of the challenge, and it's time for a rainbow! I've done rainbows before, which I loved, but this time I did it differently. Let's see how it turned out!

Friday Fail!

I've seen other blogs do a fail on Fridays, so I thought I'd share one of mine today. And some random pictures just because. I was attempting to do a black and white water marble, and for some reason I just couldn't get it to marble well, and this post is here because of that. Hee.

Ooh It's Ice Cream Day!

Also, it's Day Two of the Challenge! Oh, and Violin Day. I'm just all sorts of the random tonight. Muahahaha! So, yeah, the whole Challenge thing. That's what I was talking about. Anyway, today is ORANGE! And I was lucky enough to happen to have a much-coveted (for me) orange in Lippmann Lara's Theme. But I was trying to be all inspired or something, so I added a little extra. Take a peek.

Something IMPORTANT!

Before I share my pictures for today (I'm up to Halloween - see what happens when you go missing for a while?), I've got something more serious to discuss/show you. It's about bullying. It's been in the news more and more, and it can happen to ANYbody. Over at Band Back Together, there is an Anti-Bullying Rally going on, and there are a LOT of stories being posted about experiences with bullies. If you are or have been bullied, are or have been a bully, or somebody you care about has been affected by bullying, stop on over and take a look around. The Band is taking a Stand and saying NO MORE.

And now, I'll shift back to nail polish, for those of you who only want to see that. As I said, I'm all the way up to Halloween (over a month late, go me! haha), and this year I didn't go all out as I have in the past. But I managed a few designs in amongst the regular polishing, so I'll share them now.

Monday Madness!

So I don't have a lot of time, because we have an emergency trip to Indianapolis on Wednesday. Eeep! Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to find dog boarding on such a short notice in the summer? Luckily, the vet's office just up the road has room, and isn't going to charge us so much that we have to sell the house. And they will be able to give the shots needed to bring them up to date when we bring them in, which saves me another trip to our regular vet. Who I wish had had room, that would have been awesome. Krissie is coming with us on the trip. The Mate found a campground that will be good to stay at, and we can eat on the cheap, so now it's just a matter of getting everything ready. I can do this *deep breaths* really I can.

So anyway, I figured I'd leave some pictures to enjoy while I'm gone, and we'll see if I can get in to post anything while I'm on the road. What the heck else would I have a nice fancy new phone for? Haha. Between that and my Kindle, I probably won't miss a computer much at all (yeah, right). Unless I get a power cord for my laptop. Hmmm. Stop laughing at me! Geeze, let's just look at pretty pretty polish.

Of Marbles and Mattes.

Whoo, I'm up early. Just can't sleep, I guess. Whatever. I have a billion things to do, so I'm going to sit on my butt and post. Hahaha. So I figured I'd show off some marbly and matte manis (man, I love alliteration!) this morning. Let's just get right to it, I'm not too chatty until I've had my first coffee or ten.

I've Joined The CULT!

Which CULT did I join? The one full of adoring fans of Cult Nails polish. So yeah, if you haven't heard about it, this is a quality polish that you will want to check out. I got my hands on their second collection (bought them as soon as I could), and this post is all about them. So instead of babbling for fourteen paragraphs, I'll get right into the pictures.

I Was Getting Artsy!

I love the gradient type of manicures, and so I had to try that yet again. I also discovered some nail art on DeviantArt, and thought it would be fun to try some of those out, so these next few manis are definitely nail art as opposed to just plain colors. I'm rather proud of them.

Marching Along

Oh look, Marching, March... HAHA. Anyway, let's grab a look at the rest of March once I finally took off the Clarins.