I Can Haz Gumdrops?

On my fingertips, that is. ;)

I couldn't bear to wear that awful polish any longer and got busy and changed my mani. I haven't worn Orly Gumdrop, yet so I decided to take it for a spin. I like. :D

Gumdrop is a pastel green blue creme. It applies very nicely and is opaque in two coats. It was a little streaky in a couple of spots but I think that was due more to my application, not the polish. Any draggy spots smoothed to nothing with a nice topping of good old Seche.

This colour reminds me of China Glaze For Audrey. I don't know how close they really are. Maybe I will do a side by side, before I do a new paint job. Swatch them together.

Picture taken indoors in natural light not flash. Seche... Sooo shiny. :D

With flash. The flash really picks up the white base of these pastel cremes.

In other news of the day... I am having a good day. I am on track and in control and happy to be that way. Staying on an even keel continues to get a little easier and I have to think about it less and less. I know that this is no guarantee that every day will be the same but for right now it is good and I'll take it and be grateful.

I have come to accept that this is how I will have to eat for the rest of my life. I will have to keep my calories at a certain level while the weight is coming off and then at a certain level to keep it that way. I will always have to be mindful of what I am putting in my mouth and why and I will most likely have to track my food in one way or another, for always. And I am perfectly okay with that.

I get that I will never be able to eat like a "normal person"; whatever that means. If that means pounding double cheeseburgers and chocolate milkshakes whenever I want, then no. I will never be able to eat like a normal person. But I will be able to eat like a normal person. For my "normal". Whatever that normal is going to look like. Right now, in this moment my normal looks like it does, right now. As I change, so will my normal. And, when that day comes that I get to transition to maintenance, I will have a normal for that, too. It should be interesting to see how this all develops over time. :D

I kind of get a tickle out of knowing that my normal will not look like anyone else's normal. I am unique, I am different and special and I will have to have my own personal, fabulous normal. Custom designed just for me. :D :D :D

I wonder when I am going to be ready to get on the scale, again? The thought has begun flitting, oh so briefly through my brain, lately. Perhaps, one day soon, that little flitting thought will become action. I'll just let it happen when it happens. :D

Another Day in Paradise

Uh, you do hear the sarcasm in my fingers, don't you?

My day is going well. I am on track. In fact, I am way low. My calories are sitting in the 600's right now. I just haven't been all that hungry, today. And my gallbladder and pancreas are bugging me. I am tired of the discomfort and am looking forward to getting something done about it. I just need to hang in there and get more weight off. Surgery is safer when one weighs less. And I would like to be as far below 300 as possible, if things hold out that long. And yes, part of my reluctance is my attitude about being fat and asking for medical help. lol

Anyhoo. I need to be sure to get a good, nourishing dinner and I will have plenty of calories left that I can indulge in a Skinny Cow for dessert, maybe.

Today was kill my French manicure day. Normally, French manis die fast and quiet on me. I chip the heck out of the white tips and it looks like crap. This time, a little minor touching up and the thing was ready to go on and on. lol I did it in because I was tired of it.

First, before cleaning off my polish, I swatched Orly Lemonade. Pretty, pretty polish. Lemonade looks like sunshine and happiness in a little glass bottle. It is a soft, medium yellow creme. Application was not too bad, for a yellow. I have read a lot of complaints about yellow polishes and expected this one to be a real battle. I did have to apply three coats to get it smooth and opaque and top coat did improve it further. But, with a little care, Orly Lemonade is fairly easy to apply and is easy to clean up, too. I liked it when I swatched it and I will definitely be wearing it as a full mani. :D

Orly Lemonade, three coats with top coat. Indoors, in natural light through my window. No flash.

With flash. It is like having sunshine on my fingertips. :D

Am I the only one who thinks that the Orly Sweet collection polishes are like milk paints?

Maybe I'm koo-koo. lol

I did a mani today with Sinful Colors What's Your Name? It is black with teal blue shimmer/glitter. It's pretty. Not as exciting as say, Lubu Heels, but still a great looking polish. It applied very nicely. Two coats to smooth opacity. I was feeling very good about my application and applying Seche to my right hand when I somehow did a Doctor Destructo on my ring finger nail on my left hand. Dented that bad boy right down to the surface of my nail. I considered taking the whole thing off, as I knew that there was no way I could just clean off that one nail. More skilled polish divas could have done it with their eyes closed and one hand tied behind their backs.

Not I.

So, I licked a finger and smoothed the damage the best I could, and started to repair it. I applied a full coat of colour to the nail. Then I dropped a drop in the crater, smoothed it and let it sit a minute. Then did the same thing, again. A thick coat of Seche and you could hardly tell that minutes before the polish had a huge hole in it.

I took the usual pics, then thought about what to do about the flawed nail. Should I leave it? Change my polish? Uh, hello! You have decals! Nail art decals! :D Perfect cover for the spot. So I applied them and top coat over and Poof! Gone. :D I can live with it for a few days, now. :D

Sinful Colors What's Your Name? Indoors, in natural light through my window. No flash. Look at that teal shimmer just dying to burst free.

Outdoors in direct sun. I was trying to catch the sparkle and scintillation. Epic fail. This stuff dances in sunlight.

After adding decals to cover the covered crater. I like those decals but I am thinking that they don't really go all that well with this polish. Maybe I should have put some clear jelly "rhinestones" over the purple flower centres. The clear might have been better. *shrugs* I need to go shopping for more decals. :D

My nail post for today. :D

I didn't chip my polish when, earlier I tried with the aid of a circular saw to transform my big, hulking oak monstrosity of an entertainment centre into a stand for the flat screen. Epic fail. I got the initial cuts made, Husband and Son lifted the top off and the whole thing fell to pieces. We are borrowing Son's TV stand until we can afford a new one.

A good idea that just didn't work out. Not a big loss, really . We hated the big old ugly thing. And now, my living room looks and feels bigger and brighter. :D

Ick. I have fine sawdust on me. And I itch. I might have to take another shower. lol

A Couple of Manis and a Really Pretty Day and Stuff

Hi everyone. I hope that you are all well.

I am feeling a bit better. My migraine has calmed a bit and I am doing better, today. I am planning to get out for my walk in a little bit. I am just waiting for the sun to go down, I'll take off around a quarter to seven.

I am on track. I am doing better calorie wise than yesterday. Thursdays are always a bit high for me. Not drastically so, I don't go off the rails or anything. I just don't keep it as low as I like.

I have noticed that my binge impulses are coming on less and less often. Will I ever be completely free of them? I don't think so. I think, to a certain extent, things like that become hard wired and can't be completely shut off after they do. I know that I have ot, even now be vigilant about my occasional impulse to smoke. I quit smoking sixteen years ago and I am happy that I did and I have no desire to ever return to that pattern of behaviour. But, I do admit, that when things get rough or I need to calm down, I think, briefly and longingly of having a cigarette. Just one, to get me over the hump. Yeah... Not going to happen. Ever. But I do have the thoughts, now and again.

Hard wired.

I haven't given in to a binge impulse in a while, now. I don't like to count days... It makes me feel pressure and then I want to alleviate that pressure by binging. lol How effed up is that? lol But even tho I am not giving in, I know that if I do, it could cause me to spin severely out of control. And I don't want to go there. I am hoping that as time goes by and controlling the urge becomes easier, something I just do, rather than have to fight, I won't have the feeling that I will go off the rails. I am trying very hard to learn to trust myself.

I don't want this to be a fight. I don't want to have to white knuckle it and works so. damned. hard. in the future.

Does that make any sense?

Okay, so... Nails. I haven't posted a couple of mani pics so here they are. :D

This was my mani for the last few days. Orly Snowcone topped with China Glaze Fairy Dust. This mani was a lot prettier in person than it photographed. Snowcone is a beautiful Summer sky blue and Fairy Dust is a magical silver holographic glitter. You can see the holo in the pic of the bottle. :D

I am currently rocking a French. Sally Hansen White On for the tips and OPI Hearts and Tarts for the pink. This is my all time favourite sheer pink. It is very soft and natural looking and has the barest hint of opalescence in the right light. I love, love, love this polish. If I have to do a fast one coater to get out the door in a rush, I reach for this one. I wore it while rehabing my nails after I destroyed them and I love it for a French. My little heart will break if OPI ever discontinues this colour. Methinks I need a backup bottle. :D

I like this manicure but, boy! What a pain in the ass it was to apply and to get dry. Frenches always are. One big reason why I so rarely do my own. I did this mani this morning and it is still a tad dentable. And it won't last long, either. My French always chips madly and fast. *sigh* So much work for such a short life. lol

Forgot to mention what a gorgeous day it is, didn't I? Well it is. In the seventies, a breeze to keep one comfortable and brilliantly sunny. The birdies are chirping like crazy and keeping my cat endlessly entertained. :D

China Glaze Golden Enchantment

What pretty, pretty stuff! I had to do a quick repair job on a chip on my right middle finger polish, last night. So, I decided to go ahead and top my mani with a coat of China Glaze Golden Enchantment.

So. Pretty. Clear jelly packed with micro glitter. Micro glitter that fires every colour of the rainbow whenever light hits it. Micro glitter that just dances and flashes and makes me so. Happy.

These pics were taken at night with flash. Sadly, my camera batteries are deader than a doornail and I need to go buy more, so no sunshine pictures. Just imagine the sparkle you see in the flash magnified. A lot. And you will get how this looks in the sun. :D

I think that this is definitely an over another colour type of glitter. I couldn't imagine that it would be possible to apply enough to wear it alone and get it opaque. I rather like it as a one coater, myself. :D

Piccies. Sorry, they are a little out of order and I don't feel like re doing this post to put them in order so... Please enjoy the random. :D

Super up close sparkle. Whoo hoo! I shouldn't be allowed to play with photographs. ;) lol

Orly Enchanted Forest with a coat of China Glaze Golden Enchantment. How enchanting. *Boo! Hiss! Dodging tomatoes.*

A nice, blurry shot to show the sparkle and colours. :D

One last blur-fest. Ooooo! The colours... Cool, man. Peace!