It's late so probably no one will see these, but that is kind of ok. 🤣🤣🤣

It's late so probably no one will see these, but that is kind of ok.  🤣🤣🤣  I like them because I like puke colors and nature, but I know that is not everyone's cup of tea.  😜  Anyway, I've decided that these are leaf cells.  If you look closely you can see some mitosis happening.  Yay for biology!  And spring!  😄😄😄  (This totally counts as a spring mani, right?  😆)

Gradients look SO NICE, but I've never been that great at them.  The sponge method doesn't work well for me because my C-curve is so strong that the edges of my nails usually don't get coated in polish.  🙁  There is a new stamping plate out, Make Your Mark 03 by Lina Nail Art Supplies, that has a blank rectangle in it.  The first time I saw the plate was on Instagram and a girl was putting stripes of polish in it and then swiping a couple of times to mix them to create a gradient.  It turned out GREAT.  Needless to say, I had to have it.

So my left hand (my practice hand) doesn't look quite as nice as this one, but I gotta say that this method is pretty effective for gradients.  The polish that gets picked up on the stamper is super thin, so doing a few layers builds it nicely.

Weirdly, the only thing I ended up painting on these was topcoat.  I did three thin layers of white, and then 2 - 3 of my yellow / green mix, and then the pattern - ALL WITH THE STAMPER.  😳  If you don't like the feel of thick polish, then maybe you would like this, but you'd need liquid latex or tape or something to keep from having to drench your skin / nails in acetone trying to clean up the mess (which is what I did - woohoo for not planning!)  LOL

I tend to like thicker layers on my nails because they are thin and I clean a lot because of all of my ani-pals, so thicker coats protect my nails and stay on longer.  My nails feel almost naked right now and I'm not down with it.  I keep also feeling like this whole mani is gonna flake right off, so I decided to get a pic and post it before I destroyed them.

Anyway, what do you think?  Too fugly for spring?  😜😆🤣

Scooter used to do this...

Scooter used to do this when he didn't want to come in.  But then he would scream like I was killing him when I picked him up.  So dramatic.  😂😂😂  I miss that boy every day.  ❤

I took off my nail polish last night...

I took off my nail polish last night because it was peeling and I was gonna wreck my nails if I didn't.  Now I'm torn - polish or sleep?  I want both.  🙃

These are the screens of my devices currently.

These are the screens of my devices currently. LOOK HOW CLEAN AND PRETTY! I love it when things are organized and not cluttered. This is definitely how I want to start summer semester in 10 DAYS.  😃

SERENITY NOW!

Since money is tight...

Since money is tight and I can't afford (and actually don't even need) a new phone - I gave mine a makeover.  🙂

I uninstalled a bunch of apps I don't use anymore (including Reef Polling from Physics ☹️) and I bought a new high-speed HD card to be integrated as internal storage instead of using a slower one as portable storage.  I also bought a new glass screen protector since my not-glass one was peeling up and looking gross.

The Good News:  I put that fancy new screen-protector down PERFECTLY - and in record time.  No fuzz, no bubbles, nothing.  No having to peel it back up a couple of hundred times to align it correctly - just BLAM!  Done.  😮😮😮😁😁😁  It's probably ridiculous how accomplished that makes me feel, but my perfectionist tendencies are so soothed right now.  😝

The (kinda) Bad News:  I accidentally broke my case when I took it off my phone to insert the new SD card.  BUT, I've been feeling pretty unhappy with it for a while now anyway.  It's clear (was meant to have photos inserted under it, but I never bothered) so crud would get up under it and it would look pretty gross.  Since a phone make-over can't be complete without a new case anyway I found one I liked on Amazon and it should be here on Monday.  😁

Now all I have to do is change my home screen to something else and what do you know?  Feels new to me!  🙂  It's faster, it looks better, yet it has all of my apps already the way I want them - all for </= $40.  Woohoo!  😃

Despite my best efforts...

Despite my best efforts - I am up! I've been awake since 5-something. Who am I? 😳🙃😂

I am SO not a morning person, but...

I am SO not a morning person, but we got a call saying that Shadow was getting an award and to come to Awards Day if we could (and also that the award was a surprise).  He brought home the choir trophy yesterday because his choir teacher wasn't going to be there for Awards Day so I knew there must be something else he was getting.

When he brought home the trophy I asked him about Awards Day and he said that he was pretty sure he wasn't getting anything because he was "just an average student."  Gotta tell y'all - that hurt my heart.  Shadow is plenty smart, but I can tell that he doesn't enjoy school like I do.  While a lot of parents expect for their children to be miniature versions of themselves, I do not.  I love and appreciate Shadow the way he is and I am so proud of him for all of his achievements.

So aside from the choir trophy he received this Certificate of Achievement in Algebra with Finance.  Gotta say - I was not expecting that.  Not because he's not smart, but I guess it was a class that he didn't complain about nor was it as exciting as choir so it was just never brought up.  I suppose that meant he was doing well!  🙂

In addition to that he was recognized for participating in Writer's Bowl back in October.  He was on the team that won first place.  He got a neat little medal for that, but I have no idea where it is stashed now so it's not in this picture.  😕

Anyway, I'm super proud of him and that was totally worth getting up early for.  😃❤❤❤