Today was pretty good. 🙂

Today was pretty good.  🙂  Did some nail stuff (see previous post for pic of chrome / holo nails), saw some friends and family, and I STUDIED.

Watch this.

Five Things Osborn Wants me to Know About Calculus:

1)  Calculus is a way of measuring change, including change in time and space.

2)  Calculus can help address counterintuitive notions in physics and economics.

3)  Calculus is effective in "managing infinity."

4)  Calculus problems tend to lead to algebra and / or basic math problems.

5)  Calculus is a set of procedures which convert any function or combination of functions into a derivative, which describes the relationship between the variable at at particular point.

BOOM!  ^^^  All that from memory - as required on my next test.  I also have 18 graphs that I need to be able to label, but I feel pretty good about them.  I ALSO have one more page of things to learn word for word, but I had to start somewhere.  I have 6 more days to get that locked in.  I think that if I put in some effort every day, I can do it.

Anyway.  Guess I'm going to get ready for bed.  Tomorrow starts early!  First Aid class meets at 8.  That's too early for me, but it's a fun and informative class, so it's cool.  🙂

Y'all. 😳

Y'all.  😳

So I did my nails again last night.  My first application of gels on myself was a complete fail, as all but 3 had pathetically peeled off within in a few days.  Since I am a bad person and did not remove all but those last 3 properly my nails took a little bit of damage, but nothing major.

I'd cut my nails down after the photos of the scale chromes because I figured I wouldn't be taking pictures for a while.  Well, obviously I was wrong.  So, bask in the glory of my silver chrome and holo nubs!  LMAO  Seriously, the chrome is so reflective you can see the reflection of the rainbow from the holo nail next to it.  WHATTT?!?!  😳

I took my time and did it correctly last night - buffing and all.  I used SUPER thin layers of polish so that I didn't flood my cuticles and overall I think this is better.  Hopefully this time they will stay on for more than a few days.

Y'all know I can't just have a hand full of matching nails, so I tried out my new holo powder as an accent nail (ring finger, if it isn't obvious.  LOL)  All I can say is "DAMNNNN."  I have some holographic polishes, but NONE of them compare to the strength of this powder.  I am in shock and awe.  The holo is even visible in regular lighting inside the house, which isn't always the case for holo polish.  Also, it's not completely visible here (because certain angles turn it back into a rainbow), but the center line down the holo nail looks chrome to my eyes IRL.  I just don't even have words for how amazing I think that is.  😳

Another great thing about the powder is that it can be used over any color (as can the chromes, actually), but I only have black gel for now, so that's what I used last night as a base for all.  I've seen photos online that show the base colors peeking through when used under the powders, so that is something to try another day.  I also need to see how I can mix and match gel with regular polish to extend wear, but I don't have the time for that right now, unfortunately.  😕

ANYWAY.  It was super hard not to stamp over these because that is just what I always want to do, but I think that my scale stamping actually took away from the beauty of the chromes on my last paint job.  Who would ever guess that less can be more?  LOL  Since these are true gels TECHNICALLY I should be able to stamp over them and even straight up paint regular polish on top of them and then be able to remove it with non-acetone remover without damaging the paintjob pictured.  When this mani starts wearing out I might try it just to confirm.  But not yet.  SO NOT YET.  I'm hoping to enjoy this one for some days.  😃

I'm THRILLED to report that this day sucks less...

I'm THRILLED to report that this day sucks less than just about all the rest of the days this week.  I am still congested and coughing, but it's much less bad than before and I have no terrible headache to go with it.  Woo!

I slept SO MUCH between last night and this morning.  I really think I just needed a bunch of extra rest to kick this crud.  When I finally got out of bed after 11 I sat around for a while having cereal and playing on here and generally just taking it easy.  Then I got up off my butt and the kid and I cleaned the house.

I think I'm about to dig into my next Psychology assignment, then the rest of my weekend can be devoted to Calculus definitions.  I have 2 typed pages of things that I need to know for the next test, word for word, plus 18 graphs that I need to be able to label.  Not to mention that I need to be able to do the math that goes with it, but I'm less afraid of the math than I am the definitions.  LOL

Anyway.  Happy Saturday, friends.  I hope your day is going well!

For a long time...

For a long time I couldn't think of anything I cared enough about to make into a cover photo.  But, this is one of my favorite pictures of me with a rescue dog (from October 2011).  It is a candid shot of me saying goodbye to Olive, (now known as Hazel), who was one of my foster dogs.  We were dropping her off at the transport to head up north to her wonderful forever family.

I was happy for her, but saying goodbye is never easy.  We went through a lot together and I loved her.  That is the case for most of my fosters.

I always feel so sad when I send them away.  They don't know why I'm suddenly putting them on a big scary truck for a long journey.  They can't possibly understand why they can't live out their years with me despite our bond.  How do you ask them to trust you that this is for the best when there is such a language barrier between you?

I feel that this is the part where they feel betrayed by me.  I always hug them and tell them I love them and I'm sorry for this, but that the journey will be worth it and life will be better.  I sincerely hope they come out on the other side knowing that I wanted great and beautiful things for them; that I was not simply discarding them as many of them had been done before.

I've loved animals all of my life, but...

I've loved animals all of my life, but I've been a volunteer in the animal rescue community since 2007 - almost 10 years now.  The things you see and hear, and some of the choices you have to make - it does change you.  I am 100% sure that compassion fatigue is a major contributor to my battle with depression now.

"One of the hallmark signs of [compassion fatigue] is that you cannot undo what you've been exposed to, and your worldview is forever changed."

https://www.thedodo.com/compassion-fatigue-working-animals-1986934409.html

Gel Nail Chrome Scale Fail.

Gel Nail Chrome Scale Fail.

Try saying that 3 times fast!

So these were done with the chrome powders I got last week. Chrome powders only work on certain types of gel polish, so that's what got me to FINALLY try gel polish.

UNFORTUNATELY I haven't had much experience with gels... literally, this was my first attempt at using real gel polish. I did a good bit of research on it several weeks ago, but by the time I sat down to try it out last night I guess most of what I'd read had gone out the window. 😕

First, I forgot to buff my nails. Then, even though I knew that thin coats were better when using gels - old habits die hard. I did ok, but gel flows easily and I flooded my cuticles. 😕 With regular polish I would just use an angled brush dipped in acetone to fix that, but that doesn't work on gels once they are cured.

So... my terrible solution to that was to clip the polish off me with cuticle nippers... while I was tired. Hence the chunk missing from my ring finger. LOL Since you can't just swipe a gel off and start over, it's on there for now. I'm sick and I have to study for another Calculus test, so it is what it is and that's ok.  Gotta keep my priorities straight (yay for adulting).  😛

I mostly wanted to try out my new stuff and now that I see how beautifully chrome and color-shifting these powders actually are, I'm happy.  I have never seen a nail polish that can achieve this effect quite so well, so these are pretty cool.  Also, if you're experienced in applying gel polish the chromes were super easy to apply.  You just buff it into your gel topcoat and seal!

Pardon my wonky camera angle, but it's hard to get a good pic when you have an interesting finish.  There were 8 powders in the set I bought.  These were my favorite 5 all used over black.  I also bought a silver for Shaun, of course.

I woke up on the edge of a migraine.

I woke up on the edge of a migraine. I am still coughing, congested, and blowing my nose. This feels AWFUL. 🙁

Yay, Friday. 😕