Okay, I did Biology for hours...

Okay, I did Biology for hours then started on Trig. Then Shaun brought dinner over so I took a break and ate with the guys and watched an episode of TV. And I also did this. I wanted to test out a new plate that I got in the mail. 

This legit took about 5 minutes to do. The plate works well even though I used a crappy polish that wasn't meant for stamping. The plate was also super cheap - it came from Ali Express and took forever to get here, but it was worth the wait. I really wanted some swirly floral-ish images and this hits the spot. 😃 I bet this will look stunning with some color. Maybe even over nude nails again. Or not. Who knows?  😂 

Anyway. I'm off to get to a comfortable place in Trig then I'm calling it night. If I'm not exhausted I'll check my notifications before bed. It drives me crazy to leave things unanswered. 

Later, friends. ❤

I have 30-something unseen notifications...

I have 30-something unseen notifications and while I love y'all - I cannot check them right now.  🙁  I will probably not be around much until after Monday if I know what's good for me.  As we all know, social media is a huge time-suck and I have not only a Trig test on Monday, but another Biology test, as well.  I feel slightly overwhelmed at the moment, but the best way to get rid of that feeling is to accomplish something.

So on that note, I'm off.  If you need me - LEGIT need me - for something send a message.  But I absolutely cannot let myself get sucked into conversations on posts, or, worse yet, mindlessly scrolling through here "just because."  I've really got to get my ass in gear and keep it that way or I'm going to disappoint myself - and that's the worst.

I love you and I miss you.  Everyone have a good rest of the week and WISH ME SOME LUCK AND BRAINPOWER!  ❤

Busy busy day today.

Busy busy day today.  Just wow.  I'm exhausted, but I'm about to have to get ready for class!

I took Storm to have his ears checked.  I tried to swab them myself, but he was NOT having it.  😂  The vet had to muzzle him and someone had to hold onto him and he growled the whole time.  Bad boy!  😂😂😂  He was otherwise super sweet and good, though.  He politely greeted everyone who entered the vet's office and was well-behaved.  He still has a little bit of yeast in his ears, but we have meds and we'll get him worked out tomorrow.  Shaun is still at work today and I'm about to leave... and there is no way for me to flush and medicate that boy's ears by myself.

Other than that I did talk to my biology teacher briefly today.  She said that she thinks I'll make a B in her class, if not an A.  😳  I was shocked, but we do have some points left to get and so I'm going to give it my all.  I've got a high B in Trig and an A in History so I'm otherwise doing ok.  Phew!

I also saw my adviser today and I really had no idea, but it's entirely possible that I'll be ready to graduate at the end of this year.  😳  Whattt?!  We have summer planned and a good idea of what I need to take in the fall.  If GSCC offers Calculus II in the Spring next year then I'll stay there for that and my last elective.  And if they don't - well, I'll throw my last elective onto fall and call it done.  Since I haven't taken many computer classes yet, I'll graduate with an Associates of Science with a concentration in Mathematics.  Geez, that sounds fancy!  😲😂

Anyway, one last thing before I go:  Dad was supposed to be getting his mobile home moved today.  I haven't talked to him yet, but I'll text him soon.  I hope he did and that it went smoothly.  Maybe I'll get to see him this weekend in his new place.  Super thank you to everyone who has helped us during all of this.  It's really the worst and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.  ❤

Another late-night Sunday post...

Another late-night Sunday post that probably no one is going to see, but it's ok.  I'm doing it anyway.  😃

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but this weekend I got some stuff done.  I did homework, studied, made nail decals and actually put them on my nails... I even finished a necklace for Emily and started a new one for a friend of Shadow.  Did a load of dishes and cleaned the kitchen, got together the recycling with the help of the kid, and even put away my laundry.

That might sound like just normal life stuff that most people do all the time, but for me it felt amazing.  I hadn't realized how little I was able to accomplish before until I was able to do things again.   I can't say with 100% certainty that it was due to my arthritis meds, but I really believe that's what it was.  In its list of known side effects were fatigue and brain fog - not to mention nausea and migraines... the last two on the list being the reason I quit taking it a few weeks ago.

On the bright side I feel more energetic and able to think, but the downside is that my skin is starting to break out and the joint ache is settling back in.  It's not terrible yet, but if it gets as bad as it did when I decided that I needed to see a doctor I'll need assistance getting up stairs, at the very least.  School has elevators, and at work I have Shaun, so I guess I'm covered.  But it really sucks living with pain like that.  It wears you down.  😕

Since I am uninsured this year probably the only medication available to me will be the one I just quit, both because it has a low risk of major side effects and because it's the least expensive.  Thankfully, I have some left if I need to go back on it and I honestly imagine that is how I'll get through this year - on and off methotrexate.  That is not my favorite way to do things, but I don't have a lot of choices right now.

Anyway.  Just my thoughts on things right now.  If any of you have any OTC ways that you deal with arthritis pain, let me know.  Mine is caused by inflammation (my body attacking my skin and joints), so NSAIDs are my go-to.  I don't feel great about taking an ass-ton of Ibuprofen, but I've been told that I could take up to 800mg at a time if need be.  Maybe I will start there and see how it goes.

Well, ❤ to all my friends and goodnight.  Tomorrow is a busy day.

Just a test decal I started.

Just a test decal I started. I saw the idea of a butterfly over lace on a YouTube video. The person was using a different method, but I think I can make it work in decal form. All of the previous decals I made only required stamping once, but doing it this way will require stamping twice.

Biggest mistake? Not using holo pink and purple on the butterfly because holo makes everything better. 😃 The polishes I used on the butterfly were actually too sheer, but that's the purpose of a test. I'll know better when I actually start making these for real. I think it will look nice over a nude pink.

You can see a glimpse of my new mat and ever-messy work space. Also, check out the rainbows on my thumb, even in indoor lighting. Woo! 😃

I've been working on Trig homework today.

I've been working on Trig homework today.  At first I was like "OH NO!!!," but now I'm like, "I'm ok.  It's ok.  I think I get it."

We are graphing Trig functions.  SOMEHOW, I went from hating graphs to loving graphs in Ms. Wheelers class over the past two semesters.  I am so grateful for that.  And now the graphs are getting more interesting!  Curvy lines, woohoo!  😃

I feel like I started off really shaky in Trig, but the longer I go the better I feel about it.  I'm sure that my teacher is saying things, but a lot of it I don't feel like I get AT ALL until I get in there and start doing it.  That's a very scary way to get through a class, but I'm making it.

I went over my newest set of Biology notes yesterday and I plan to do it again before the weekend is up, too.  Now that things are levelizing in my life back to some sort of normal I need to super focus and get back on top of things.  No more failed Biology tests and no more B grades in a math class.  😉

Ok, so this is definitely not my most fabulous photo.

Ok, so this is definitely not my most fabulous photo.  I know that you aren't really supposed to take pics in full sunlight - BUT THE RAINBOWS.  😳

I am not even about to admit how late I stayed up doing my nails, but I was having a lot of fun.  I finally ended up getting the nail art mat I wanted, so I was dying to play with it.  The holo swirls are actually more stamping decals, but instead of being made on a stamper they were made WITH a stamper, ON the mat.  Which for me - since I don't have quite a thousandy stampers yet - meant that I could make enough decals for all of my fingers at one time.  And I did.

So why only 3 on this hand?  Well, the time was getting ridiculous and since it was my first go at making them, not all of them turned out perfect and that's just not gonna cut it.  LOL  On my best days I have perfectionist, OCD, tendencies, but in times of stress it gets worse.  MUCH worse.  I have a ton of homework this weekend, so I couldn't be using some ugly, janky decals on my right hand.  LOL

So my left hand is fully adorned in decals, but mostly because I was making sure I I was doing a great job at getting them put down without messing them up.  These were a little thicker because you had to start with two coats of clear, unlike the ones made on the stamper where you start with the stamp only.  I used some of the less-great ones on that hand (because it's the test hand!  LOL), but it's ok.  Lefty is allowed to be janky, for some reason.  I can't explain it.

Anyway.  I used 8 different holo polishes to fill in the swirls and I love how in the sunlight the holo-ness sometimes makes them blend, like you can't tell where one color starts and the next stops.  Might be a thing that only happens in person, but dang - I'm really happy with these.

So the stars?  Yeah, I can't even fathom the idea of having all matching nails. I can't.  I just can't.  I mean, with all of the choices of things you can do it almost seems wrong to make them all the same.