All that glitters - which is suprisingly little

Alright, per usual, I haven't blogged in awhile.  Things have been hectic, but pretty good - all things considered.  One thing I haven't really talked about is my new hobby - nail art.  I have looked at a lot of different nail blogs and have a board on Pinterest with all the interesting ones I want to try.  Here are pictures of all the ones I've done so far (with some in between I didn't get pics):

stripey and fun

These are my first attempt at tape lines.  I did candy cane striped nails for Christmas before this look, but didn't get a pic of those.  Tape designs are probably my favorite because I have tape readily available.

Hearts for Valentine's Day

 This design was fun - I got the hang of the hearts by the time I did the second hand, so it all worked out.

Shamrocks (never say clovers)

Irish Pride!

 I did 2 designs for St. Patrick's Day because my husband is Irish and I wanted to celebrate.  Plus, the clover ones were bugging me, so I wanted to change the look.  I had to look up the Irish flag so I knew which order the colors went - even though I see a tattoo of it pretty much everyday on my husband's arm lol.  We also have a flag pinned up on our ceiling, but when I sit at my desk, it's upside down, so that didn't work.

It is always a timing thing when it comes to doing holiday nail art.  Paint a theme too soon and it could chip and be dull by the time the holiday comes around.  Paint it too late and people might not know what theme you've done.

It makes me look well read

 Since there aren't really any holidays coming up - according to my "office closed" list - I decided to do a design I've been wanting to try for awhile.  This one is known as "newspaper nails" because you literally put newspaper print onto your nails.  It was totally easy and I got a lot of compliments, so I will definitely be doing this again.  I think the gray nail polish was a bit of a problem, so I need to try a different base color.  Funny bit - I had the word "Google" on my thumb.

 These are my nails currently - in celebration of Emerald City Comic Con.  I asked my husband what he wanted to see on my nails and he requested Wolverine, so I took a look at some nail designs online and came up with the look you see above.  I also found a cool explosion looking design, so I wanted to do that - hence the two different designs on my hands.  I will definitely try the explosions again with different colors.

That's it for now.  I have a lot of fun with it and a lot of people notice and comment on my different designs.  I'm hoping to try more complex techniques, but that comes with time and practice.  Right now I'm wondering what I should do for my auditions coming up in less than 2 weeks, but it's more about what will stay on for awhile and not be too distracting.  I should be focusing on memorizing my music more than what my nails look like :).

Anyway - that's some of what's been going on with me.  I didn't get many pictures at comic con, but I'll see what they posted on the website and add what I can to a blog about this last weekend I plan on doing.

I hope everyone is enjoying Spring :).

Thanks for checking this blog out and hopefully staying around awhile.

My thoughts are being processed . . .

I have been reading The Bloggess a lot lately and am trying to push through all the ideas I have to start blogging differently . . . or maybe more realistically.  If you've ever read her blog or seen any of her online posts and know me, you know that this is right up my alley.  I tend to try to make things "fit" a little too much when I write things down.  I think it's the idea that I get a chance to proof read and change things to make them sound the best they can.  Well, after reading posts from The Bloggess like this one, which everyone should read, I think I should write more "stream of consciousness" rather than like I'm writing a short story.

So look out . . . I have a few things in mind and I should just put it to post instead of brooding over what to write about.

Also, there will probably be more "conversations" (if I can remember them, or maybe I'll make up what I don't remember lol) because I like that format a lot.

There I go, like I should care about a "format" anymore .  . . I don't think my stream of consciousness would really care.

Anyway, so that's my update for now.  Hopefully you will see a lot more blog posts in the near future.

And check out The Bloggess if you haven't . . . and why you haven't, I don't know, nor do I care . . . just do it!

Thanks!!

Breaking the Silence

It has been almost 2 months since I've posted on here.  I went pretty silent for longer than I had anticipated, but it's for a good reason . . . well good if you are in my life, bad if you're reading my blog.

It has been almost a month since the last time my husband was admitted to the hospital through the ER.  Per my last post, it has been almost 2 months since his surgery to help him stay out of the hospital. It seems to be working.

Since the surgery I've been busy at home and at work doing what I can to make what was only a dream into reality.

The rest of December was tough . . . even though we both had great plans for Christmas, they didn't really end up the way we wanted.  I did get to spend the holidays with family and friends, my husband was not yet well enough to spend that time with them also.  The last of the year was spent a lot like the beginning of the year, but I was hopeful it was just a hiccup to what was going to happen in the new year.

Our New Year's Eve was celebrated with a pop rather than a bang as we have had enough excitement for awhile.  It was spent at home, which was great compared to almost all the holidays of 2011.  It is still strange for me to have my weekends at home, the entire time, and including my husband.

As I look back at last year and also look ahead to the coming year it always hits me that what was "normal" for me over the last 2 1/2 years or so is no longer what will be "normal" going forward.  Also, what was "normal" to me is not at all what should be normal in my life.

I got so used to living life day by day and not scheduling farther than a few days in advance - always knowing that I might have to cancel any and all plans that were made.  It's sometimes hard for me to commit to any plans farther out than the coming weekend - and even then I hesitate.  It's all feels so new to me.

It feels so good to not have somewhere to go or places to be on the weekends.  It may sound so boring to some people, but my best time on the weekend is sitting next to my husband watching a movie.  How simple that is, but yet how new and vibrant it seems to me these days.

We are still in transition and are learning limitations.  I have to remind myself that it hasn't been that long since the surgery and it will take up to and including a year for everything to stablize.  This doesn't include emotions and actions, just the physical healing and stabilizing itself, which doesn't include my healing and changing.

We are having a party this month to celebrate my husband's birthday, but I think it's much more than that.  It's been so long since we could truly enjoy having our friends over to hang out and have fun.

I think we are both a little hesitant still about planning things too far in advance, but we long for things to look forward to and goals to accomplish.

I can now shift my focus to a few other things in my life.  I need to start looking at my own health more and really getting things accomplished there.  I should write about all that has changed there, but that is for another blog - this one is getting pretty lengthy.

Overall I'm thinking 2012 is going to be a good one, if not great :).

I will update more often - truthfully - now that I have some of the time spent on worrying freed up for other things.  It's amazing how much energy and strength it takes to sit in a hospital room watching tv or reading.  Time to get my booty into gear and get active :).

Thank you for sticking around.  I'm hoping to post more upbeat and interesting posts soon.

It's personal

Again I have been spotty with my updates for a week or so.  Just to let you know . . . my husband goes into surgery in just over 12 hours.  I am home to take care of our furry babies before getting ready for an early morning of waiting around . . . then more waiting around to see the surgeon and have him tell me my husband is okay.

I've been quelling my feelings because my husband has a lot to think about - he is the one going under the knife afterall.  My role is to truly be the supportive wife, for real and not just in words.  I have made it this far with few tears and no breakdowns, but I am not sure how tomorrow will go.

I just thought I would update a bit and let you know I hope to get to more light-hearted topics soon.  If all goes well I will have almost 2 weeks of time to write on here . . . which might be too much after such sporadic blogging as of late lol.

I love my husband very much and I just want us to be able to move on and work on all the wonderful things we have been planning for.

More on that next time - I should be in bed.

Thanks for reading.

Five on Friday - Girlie Style

1. Auditions - It may sound weird that I'm happy/thankful/glad for auditions, but I am.  As stressed as I get about doing well, I know it gives me that much more practice to getting where I want to be.  We'll see what happens after Sunday, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

2. Memories - I'm having to pull from my experiences lately and it brings up a lot of my past.  I find myself telling stories to my coworkers a lot these days (remind me to tell you about the blanket at work story).  I'll have to remember to write them down so I can post some here.

3. Being crafty - I finally got a chance to pick up some things for making Christmas presents and I can't wait until I can work on them.

Not my machine, but it's a Singer :)

4. Nailpolish - I have an awesome new polish on my nails right now and I totally think they look beautiful.  I've really gotten into nail blogs lately, so hopefully I'll be able to do some cool stuff and show everyone.

Orly Rock Solid - I have it on my nails now

5. Pink! - I love the color pink.  It took me a long time to admit to that, but once I did it was all over.  I have a lot of pink things and I even had a pink car at one time.

Pink hair!

It's kind of truncated today because I've been busy with work and life, but when am I not? lol

Have a wonderful weekend!  Only 15 more days until Christmas!!  Ahhh!!

You like me! You really like me :)

Maria Callas and Marilyn Monroe

Welcome to any Cheesy Bloggers visitors :).  I got some traffic last month when I got a post for the first time over there and now I'm back with another one about my horrendous commute.  I hope you stick around and take a look at some of my past posts :).

I promise, I will get to writing the second installment of my Gamer Girl story soon.

Let me take a bit of time and ask this - what would you like to see me write about?  Any subjects or thoughts you want to see on here?

I can get a little scattered and I've learned I have an absolutely horrible memory these days, so I'm just wondering what the visitors and readers of my blog want to read about.  Feel free to suggest anything and I'll take a stab at it and give you credit for the idea :).  You can find a bit of what I focus my blogs on here - for a look at what makes me who I am.

I received a Versatile Blogger Award from my lovely friend Jaime awhile back, but honestly, with only 5 followers, I didn't feel at all worthy of the award.  I really should award others though, but most of the blogs I have in my sidebar have already won the award or even better awards.  That's partly why I follow them - to read great stuff and hopefully get some insight on how to blog better.

For now I think just being honest and real is the best way to go.

So let me know if there's anything you want to know about me or my life.  I try to be as open and inviting as I can.  And please let me know about your blog too.  I would love to read what you have to say :).

Thanks for stopping by and I hope it's not the only time!

Commuting sucks my soul

Thanks to the theme this week over at Cheesy Bloggers, I can expound upon my daily commute.  The gist of it is, I have a 4 hour commute to and from work each day.  Yes, that's right, 4 hours total a day I spend commuting.  Here's a breakdown:

1. I leave my house at 6:05ish to get down to the train station early enough to get a parking spot.

2. I park in my "hidden" parking spot and put in my contacts and make myself presentable at that ungodly hour of the morning with makeup.  The parking on the street near the station went to 4 hours only a few months ago, so many people are scrambling to find parking these days.  Either that or they do the park and ride and take a bus to the station.  I won't even talk about where I park to anyone near the trains because I don't want to lose my spot and have to take just one more means of public transportation to get to work - you'll see how many I now have as you continue onward.

3. At 6:45am I get out of my car and wait in line (right now freezing my ever lovin' ass off) in order to get a seat on the train.

4. 7am the train leaves for its city destination (with 4 stops in between).  If it works out I get to sit with my best friend and others - sometimes her husband, sometimes our train friend.

5. The train arrives around 7:48am at the station and everyone files out and up the stairs.

6. Next I go back down different stairs to the bus tunnel and wait for whatever bus happens to come by first (or our light rail train, depending on what time I get across the street and down the stairs).  Meanwhile, my best friend and her husband take a shuttle to the same end destination and catch it just up the street from where I take the light rail.  The reason I can't do that is because they work for a different company and they check all employee badges at the door of the shuttle.  My commute would be so much better if that were it, but no this is just the second stop on the way.

7.  After the bus tunnel I then get off and have to go up out of the tunnel and walk to the streetcar stop.  I normally just miss the 8am streetcar and so must wait for the 8:15am one.

8. The 8:15am streetcar comes and I take that to a block and a half away from my office building.  I walk there and usually get to my desk at about 8:25am.

So that's just over 2 hours ONE WAY to work each day.  I honestly try not to think about it or I think I would end up killing someone.  And, that is just if everything runs smoothly, which it tends to not happen, somewhere in the chain of public transportation vehicles.

To get home, I hope like hell I catch the streetcar close to 4:40pm in order to get off the train by 6:40pm - and then drive to the gym (or home depending on my mood and what I remembered to bring with me that morning).

Why do I put up with this you ask?  Well, apart from the fact that I must be slightly insane, I get paid the most I've ever been paid, have the best health benefits (which are much needed), I have a flexible schedule and can work from home if needed, and the work environment is the most open and friendly that I've ever been in.  Every office has its politics, but overall I can see myself growing within the company for quite awhile.

Does this make up for the horrendous, almost life wrenching commute I go through each week?  I hope so . . . because we plan on possibly moving farther away when we buy a house (but I'm trying like mad to get my husband to reconsider).

I would not wish this on my enemy, but I put myself through it each day.  Luckily my boss and coworkers are understanding and know I'm going to have some crappy days because of my commute.

Teleportation cannot get here fast enough.