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Updates And Blog Sale

Posted on 28 December, 2012 by Cynthia

Hello my fellow polish sisters…and brothers? I’m sorry that I haven’t been online much the last couple of days and haven’t posted much here and on my other social media accounts (youtwitfacerest). This is mainly because I’ve been having some issues, and I didn’t want my posts to turn into a pity party of one, but I do want to let you all know that I am hoping this is just all a temporary setback.

If you have read my posts in the last month or so, you probably know that I’m looking for work–like a million other people. The holidays have been tough because it seems that employers have been on hiring lockdown for a while and maybe they are also on vacation mode. I’ve been trying not to let the lack of job prospects to get me down, but it really is a huge effort on my part not to flip out every day. I don’t think I have *EVER* experienced this level of financial strain in my life so it’s something that I am learning to deal with and handle in the most level-headed way possible. I’ve been trying to put a positive spin on every new setback, and I think I have been doing pretty well. I have plenty of things to be grateful for so I want to keep focusing on the positive and continue to get my life in order.

One of the things I am beyond grateful for is that I am no longer struggling with the horrid pit of depression that took hold of my life for the past 2 years. I feel good in my skin right now, and that’s not something I have felt in a long time so I am extremely grateful for that. I don’t think I would be able to deal with stress of my current financial predicaments if I was still struggling with debilitating depression and anxiety. I still have my days where I am feeling really down on myself, but the good days far outnumber the bad so I am hopeful that my positive attitude and outlook will guide me through this rough patch. Money is just money at the end of the day. Yes, we all need it to live, but how many people have struggled through similar situations and come out stronger on the other side? YOU might be going through something similar now so just remember that you are not alone and that things can and will improve.

When I first started my blog sale, I wanted it to be a purge of sorts. I wanted to get rid of some of the over 1,000 bottles of nail polish that I had in my stash because I found that I wasn’t really using them much. I had purchased a huge chunk of them while I was going through my depression because pretty shiny things made me feel better during that time. I never thought I would sell so many of them in such a short period of time!!! Now, that money has gone to my savings account and has been extremely helpful in giving me a little cushion so I don’t feel so stressed out about my finances in the coming months. Thank you so much to all of the lovely ladies who have purchased from my blog sale–some of you more than once, twice or three times!! You don’t know how much that has helped me.

This post is in no way intended to be whiney nor am I asking for pity or sympathy. I’ve always been pretty transparent when it comes to my personal struggles because I know there are other people out there who understand and may need a little pep talk themselves. My blog has never been about sharing misery, but about letting people know how I deal with things. If I have brought a smile or thought of understanding to anyone out there, then I know I have achieved one of my goals. 🙂 So many of you have reached out to me privately to offer words of encouragement or to share your personal experiences and that means the world to me.

And finally, since I am still trying to find new homes for my oodles of polishes, please check out my blog sale. (Yes, this is a shameless plug!) I’ve added so many new items so you may find something you like.

Thanks for reading and talk to you soon.

China Glaze I’m Not Bitter

Posted on 15 December, 201215 December, 2012 by Cynthia

I wasn’t planning on doing any blogging for a while for a few reasons, but I decided to just throw that idea out the window because I realized that whenever I am stressed or having a rough time, I can usually just escape into the color-filled world of nail polish for a while. All of my current problems/stressors have solutions. Every single one of them. I think that it’s important to remind yourself that most problems have solutions because we always need a healthy dose of perspective in our lives. I was looking through my stash and decided to use one of my untrieds: China Glaze I’m Not Bitter.

China Glaze I’m Not Bitter is another scorching red from the 2005 Voodoo, That U Do Collection. I can’t tell you enough how amazing this shimmery and glowy red is. It applies like a dream, and it is the perfect one-coater!! Unfortunately, this polish was discontinued long ago, but the good news is that it is still available online at a few online retailers. And in case you were wondering, the formula is NOT big 3 free. China Glaze describes this as a beet red shimmer, and that is a perfect description.

Being that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away, I decided to make this a festive type of manicure.

I used a design from Konad plate M79 and Konad special white polish. I don’t know about you, but this looks like pretty wrapping paper. I always enjoy wrapping presents, don’t you?

Because I wanted a little more bling, I applied silver holographic hex glitter over the dots. It doesn’t look that interesting under these lighting conditions, but it looks amazing under sunlight when all the holo shines.

On a previous post, I wrote about New Year’s Resolutions and the like. I’m not really making any but I do have a few goals for next year. I stumbled upon a blog about travel last night and all of a sudden I was so bummed out because I haven’t been on a trip in eons. (Btw, the travel blog I mentioned is called Traveling Latina and she is hosting a giveaway for a $25 Walmart gc so check it out!) I spent my early 20’s pretty much going anywhere I wanted to because I spent a year studying abroad and then ended up working for the airlines for a few years after that. The one place I would kill to go to right now is Florence. Looking back, I think I have made about 10 separate trips to Florence and I never tire of it. Maybe it’s because I am a huge lover of Renaissance art and architecture, but it’s probably more due to the fact that it was the first city in Italy that I ever visited. When I think back on that first trip, I always laugh because it was really a comedy of errors. Daniel and I had finished up the semester and he called me to see what I was going to do that night. I told him that I wanted to take a trip and he said he would come with me so we packed a bag and an hour later we were at the train station looking at all the scheduled departures. We had no idea where to go so we just took the next available train which was going to Italy. I won’t get into all the shenanigans that happened during our stay in Florence because, frankly, it’s embarrassing. When we were ready to leave, we randomly decided to go visit our friend who was in Aix-en-Provence for the year…well, that was another nightmare. We had to take multiple trains to get to Aix. Since our train was delayed in Milan, we almost missed our train going to Marseille. Daniel never forgets how we were running like maniacs through the station trying to make the train which was about to depart. By the time we made it to the platform, it had started to pull away so we literally did a miraculous flying leap onto a moving train. Why we didn’t kill ourselves right then and there, I will never know. I wish that had been the end of our mishaps, but then something else happened: my wallet was stolen.

If you’ve never really been on a train for a long trip, you’re really missing out because it’s just such a cool experience. Daniel and I ended up in a 6 person compartment by ourselves so we were just enjoying getting some rest. He decided to go to the dining cart and left me alone while I slept. I was startled awake and I saw a kid walking out of our compartment and I asked him what he was doing. He mumbled that he was looking to see if there were any empty seats but he kept walking out.I was so groggy that I didn’t think much of it so I went back to sleep. When we finally got to Marseille, I wanted to buy something to eat and that’s when I realized that my wallet was gone. I was fuming and poor Daniel got to experience my misplaced wrath because I blamed him for leaving me alone while I slept since I suspected that kid stole my wallet. We had to catch one last train from Marseille to Aix which was just less than 30 minutes away. When we finally got to Aix it was late at night and the train station was about to close. I told Daniel to call our friend since we didn’t have her address. He didn’t have her phone number because his phone’s battery had died and he forgot the charger. The train station closes and we are kicked out into the street with our loaded backpacks and me without any money. I was tired, annoyed and on the verge of tears when our friend walked by the train station with a couple of her friends. It was the most random thing ever so all things ended up well.

So why did I blab on and on for eons about Italy and traveling? Because one of the things I am looking forward to next year is to go on a trip to Italy. I don’t know how I’m going to do it. I may have to sell my soul to the devil for it, but I will go on my trip!!!! What are some of your favorite travel destinations? Thanks for stopping by and talk to you later!

P.S. Have you entered my giveaway? This is the last week so don’t miss out on the chance to win some awesome prizes!

Disclosure: All items featured in this post were purchased by me.

Winterlicious Tag

Posted on 2 December, 20122 December, 2012 by Cynthia

I was almost forgetting to post this. I got tagged by Amanda and Siobhan and since they are like two of my favorite blogger friends, I decided to go ahead and do it. (Remember when I said I got tag teamed on one of these tag posts and I got all sorts of unsavory visitors? tee hee)

Anyway, here are my answers to the Winterlicious Tag

1) Favourite winter nail polish? I honestly don’t have one. I wear all colors pretty much year-round.

2) Favourite winter lip product? This is an easy one. I am a Jack Black lip balm whore. I have about 10 of them all over my apartment. I also like Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment.

3) Most worn winter clothing piece? I guess a light jacket? lol

4) Most worn winter accessory? I like scarves…so I will say scarves even though we don’t really need them in Southern California.

5) Favourite winter scent/candle? I love candles but most scents make me sick. The only candle I am loving right now is White Barn Mahogany Teakwood that I got from Bath and Body Works. I love spicy musky scents and can’t stand any candles that are food scented or super sweet.

6) Favourite winter beverage? I love a good Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks but they taste extra good when it’s cold.

7) All time favourite Christmas/holiday movie? That’s an easy one: It’s A Wonderful Life

8) Favourite Christmas/holiday song? I love Jingle Bells because it’s the first Christmas song I can remember singing, but I also like Jingle Bell Rock and All I Want For Christmas Is You.

9) Favourite holiday food/treat? I like making buñuelos and churros at home…and I don’t feel guilty for eating them because it’s the holidays!

10) What is your favourite Christmas decoration this year? I’m liking my tree even though it’s small and Charlie Brown-ish.

11) What’s at the top of your wish list? I really hope that 2013 treats me better than 2011 and 2012. 🙂

12) What are your plans for the holidays this year? I am not sure yet. Probably just spending it with the fam.

Now, it’s your turn! I tag the entire world. 😛

1) Favourite winter nail polish?

2) Favourite winter lip product?

3) Most worn winter clothing piece?

4) Most worn winter accessory?

5) Favourite winter scent/candle?

6) Favourite winter beverage?

7) All time favourite Christmas/holiday movie?

8) Favourite Christmas/holiday song?

9) Favourite holiday food/treat?

10) What is your favourite Christmas decoration this year?

11) What’s at the top of your wish list?

12) What are your plans for the holidays this year?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on 23 November, 2012 by Cynthia

This being the first Thanksgiving that my blog has seen, I was wondering if I should do anything “special.” What does special mean? I have no clue. So instead, I decided to just let all of you know how grateful I am for all the wonderful support I have received since I started my blog. Whether this blog continues to exist in the future or not, I will always love it because it gave me the opportunity to meet some amazing bloggers (and non-bloggers!) whom I am fortunate enough to call friends. Around this time last year, I was dealing with so much crap that I could barely get my head wrapped around it all. While I still have a lot of not so pleasant things going on, I feel light years away from the horrible pit of depression I was in for most of 2011. In fact, the reason why I even started this blog was to VENT out into the void since I refused to go to therapy regularly. Of course the venting also included my love for nail polish and here I am almost a year later still talking about nail polish…and food…and UPS men…and pervy postal clerks. Ahhh…I have a wonderful life!

I really really hate turkey. I mean I really hate it because turkeys are ugly and they taste like feathers. Since I’ve always had an aversion to birds and poultry, I’ve always had to come up with something else when it comes to my main Thanksgiving protein so I decided to make some tri tip and it came out perfect! Since my parents weren’t able to join us for Thanksgiving this year, my brother and I are celebrating at my bro and sil’s house. We had a great time eating, eating and eating some more.

That’s my plate with some delicious tri tip. This year I decided not to eat so much that I felt like dying afterwards so I didn’t eat everything on my plate. Get ready for my brother’s plate:

He ate TWO servings like this. TWO!!! Ahh…to have the metabolism of a 22 year old guy. I told him that he eats like the apocalypse is coming.

And because this post wouldn’t be quite right without a mani picture, this is what I decided to wear on my nails today.

I didn’t want to do anything complicated so I am happy with the simplicity of this. Jessica Pumpkin Spice seemed very appropriate–even though I prefer apple pie to pumpkin pie.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family and thank you for always being here–reading, commenting, lurking…whatever! THANK YOU!

Sation Gimme Jimi

Posted on 21 October, 201225 October, 2012 by Cynthia

A few days ago, I had a dream about my cousin. In my dream, she was her usual loud, boisterous and animated self. We all knew that she was gone, but she was still there talking to everyone and she was castigating us for being sad. I do believe in my dreams and maybe it was her way of saying that she was ok. I wish I had spent more time with her. I wish I had known her better. You always think that there will be more time to make it to the family get-togethers. You always think that there will be more time…until there isn’t.

A month ago today, we lost her. We lost a daughter, mother, grandmother, wife, cousin and friend. My cousin had a lot of stories regarding dragonflies and how they showed up at random times that ended up being not so random. I decided to do my own dragonflies today.

I used Sation Gimme Jimi from their limited edition Nailstock Collection as my base color.

The dragonfly design comes from plate MASH 41, and I used Konad special polish in black for stamping.

These are my dragonflies for her. Her passing has left a big hole in our family, but I am grateful for having known her. She will live on in the fabric of our family’s love that will weave us all together always.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Posted on 21 October, 201224 October, 2012 by Cynthia

“Es tan corto el amor, y es tan largo el olvido.” – Pablo Neruda

That quotation comes from one of my favorite poems by the great Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda. It roughly translates to “Love is so short and forgetting is so long.” It is part of his work, Twenty Love Poems And A Song Of Despair which fed my soul through much heartache. A breakup can be such a traumatic event and today I am going to tell you about the breakup of a 13 year old relationship. Yes, you read correctly: 13 years!! Today I decided that my love affair with Sephora has come to an end. Why, you ask? Let me tell you…

I still remember the first time I saw the black and white signage for Sephora on the Champs-Elysées. I was a 20 year old student who had never left the confines of my cozy Southern California existence for an extended international experience. I instantly fell in love with Sephora. I loved everything about it. I especially loved how I was free to peruse without feeling like the salespeople were giving me the evil eye. Yes, everything you’ve heard about “customer service” in Paris is true. When my year abroad was up, I was sad to leave Sephora behind since I didn’t know if we had one anywhere near me back home. Soon after, I started a job that allowed me to travel a lot internationally so I never forgot Sephora and visited every time I was in France. Eventually I started ordering from them online and then a store opened up near me…I was in heaven. Since then, I have been an extremely loyal customer and always tell friends and family about the amazing products and service…until today. Over the last year, I have seen the perks and customer service decline and decline, the worst offenders being those responsible for the moderation of the Sephora Facebook page.

If you’ve never visited the Sephora Facebook page, consider yourself lucky as it is usually quite a mess. If you ever post anything that isn’t completely praising them, they will usually either delete or filter out your comment so no one else can see it. It doesn’t matter how politely you state your issue, feedback or question—if it’s not praise, chances are that it might get censored. This recently became very personal when a friend of mine was BANNED from their Facebook page for asking for help when no one was really making an effort to solve her problems in private message conversations, emails and phone calls. Not only did they pretty much continue to ignore her request for help in solving her customer service problems, but they also made her feel like she didn’t matter. That is not cool with me at all.

In the last year, I have noticed a steep decline in perks for VIB’s as well. VIB (Very Important BeautyInsider) is a level you reach in their BeautyInsider program once you spend $350 in one calendar year which means that you spend a decent amount of money at Sephora. Anyone who is a VIB can tell you that we spend enough money at Sephora to become VIB’s a few times over each year. This year, they created quite a stir by NOT offering their Friends & Family Sale discount to the public. Before you say that we shouldn’t feel entitled to a discount, I feel that if they had communicated this properly to their customers, many of us would have purchased directly from all the other brands that recently had their Friends & Family Sales that were open to EVERYONE. Many of us waited because we wanted to purchase from Sephora and instead we are now being given the boot. Let me make this clear: I don’t think Sephora owes us any kind of perk, but it is obvious that offering perks benefits them in the end. If you are a VIB, there will be a 20% off sale in November, but that is a whole separate thing from the F&F sale, and most people won’t be able to take advantage of it anyway. And don’t get me started on the joke that was the spin to win game…

Am I saying I will never again shop at Sephora? No. I am saying that because of their hit or miss customer service, the ridiculous handling of their Facebook page and the lack of communication with their loyal customers, I won’t be recommending Sephora to others nor will I purchase anything from them that I can easily get somewhere else. I’m sad that it had to come to this, but it’s time for me to find another main squeeze that will truly appreciate my business.

So, in order to commemorate a love affair gone wrong, I am having a Sephora breakup giveaway. Up for grabs are three sets of some of my favorite nail polishes:

Prize #1 Jessica Pumpkin Delight, Jessica Cinnamon Kiss & OPI On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Prize #2 Sation Oh My Oceania!, Sation Rock-a-Guy Blue & Sation Power To The Purple

Prize #3 essence Fame Fatal, essence Gorgeous Bling Bling & essence Chic Reloaded

All polishes are brand new and purchased by me. This giveaway is open worldwide.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Again, I am not telling you to never shop at Sephora again. What I am saying is that Sephora no longer holds a place of esteem for me. These are my personal feelings stemming from what I have seen from the company lately. I have had many pleasant experiences with Sephora over the years so it is truly disheartening to see their customer service and overall attitude circle the drain. Feel free to leave comments below–whether you agree or disagree. I won’t be censoring comments. 😉

When there are so many choices out there for us, you would think that a company like Sephora would make customer service and satisfaction a top priority, but I guess we—the customers—aren’t as important as we thought we were. Thank you, Sephora, for the wonderful years. Too bad it had to end this way.

Smile

Posted on 9 October, 2012 by Cynthia

Any other Lily Allen fans out there?

I love this song. In fact, it’s my favorite song to sing when I’m playing Karaoke Revolution or when I go karaoking with my friends (hey Nancy!) The reason why I started with this song is because the title of the song is Smile and that is a loaded word for me. Let me explain to you why…

I’ve had parts of this post in my drafts since June and I kept wanting to post it but then would hesitate and just banish it to the limbo of wordpress drafts. First I have to say that this is a very difficult topic for me to talk about because it’s such a huge source of insecurity for me. Someone asked me if I consider myself “handicapped” and I said no, of course. I guess you could consider depression a disability because it certainly does incapacitate you, but I am thinking more along the lines of an actual physical disability. I am able-bodied; I can run (if I try real hard lol); I can do anything…except smile. I bet that sounds weird, but let me explain a bit. About 10 years ago, I came down with a case of Bell’s Palsy. I had never heard of Bell’s Palsy before my doctor talked to me about it. At that point, I was working 2 jobs and going to school full-time so I was basically working myself ragged. One day I woke up and couldn’t move the right side of my face. I remember getting up and going to the bathroom to wash my face and taking my face wash and lathering it up before massaging it onto my face. OUCH!!! Why is there soap in my eye?! Why is there even more soap in my eye now?? I rinsed off my face and I knew water and soap were all over my eye. What the hell is going on?? I looked up and saw that half my face was sagging. I looked like one of Salvador Dalí’s melting clocks.

I wasn’t as concerned about it as you might think because beside the sting of the soap in my eye, I felt fine. Of course my mom ran around the house screaming that I had a stroke so we headed over to the ER. The doctors assured me that it was not a stroke and that it was actually Bell’s Palsy.

Bell’s palsy causes sudden weakness in your facial muscles. This makes half of your face appear to droop. Your smile is one-sided, and your eye on that side resists closing.

Bell’s palsy, also known as facial palsy, can occur at any age. The exact cause is unknown, but it’s believed to be the result of swelling and inflammation of the nerve that controls the muscles on one side of your face. It may be a reaction that occurs after a viral infection.

For most people, Bell’s palsy is temporary. Symptoms usually start to improve within a few weeks, with complete recovery in about six months. A small number of people continue to have some Bell’s palsy symptoms for life. Rarely, Bell’s palsy can recur.

They gave me some information, a prescription for prednisone and an anti-viral and sent me on my way assuring me that Bell’s Palsy was not life-threatening and that most people recover after a few weeks. By that point, I was unable to close my eye so I had tape it shut at night and had to wear an eye path during the day since I couldn’t blink. I had no control over the right side of my face including my mouth. Imagine drinking something and the liquid dribbling out through the right side of your mouth. Yeah…comical. As the weeks passed, I started seeing small improvements which reassured me that things would continue to improve until I recovered. However, that was not to be the case. 10 years later, I am still dealing with the physical remnants of my bout with Bell’s Palsy. Physically, I am able to blink, close my eye but I still have residual weakness on my eyelid and on my mouth which means that when I try to smile, my eye and mouth don’t fully cooperate. One of the more annoying things is that when the inflamed nerve regenerated, some cross-wiring happened and I now have something called “crocodile tears” which means that my affected eye tears up when I am meant to salivate. So basically my eye will tear up whenever I eat. How annoying do you imagine that being? These are just some of the physical effects which are nothing compared to the psychological effects.

What does a smile mean to you? To me it means friendship, like, acceptance. Imagine not being able to fully convey those feelings. Part of me feels that this is just a question of vanity and that I should be grateful that I don’t have a “true” disability, but it doesn’t feel that way. I miss my old smile. I miss my old face! It always makes me so self-conscious when I meet new people and I find myself always looking down….looking away. I try so hard not to let people close to me know how much this bothers me so I almost never talk about it because I don’t want to bring more attention to it. Whenever I am already feeling down, this is a big source of what pushes me to feel even worse about myself. I think we are always very critical of ourselves–more than other people would ever be–so I always imagine the worst of myself and how others see me. I had a co-worker who came down with a case of Bell’s Palsy so she came to me to ask questions. We talked about it and she was relieved when, a few weeks later, she had recovered 100%. She then said to me: “Oh my God, I would have killed myself if I hadn’t recovered!” Gee, thanks. Sometimes I wonder why people don’t think before they open their mouths.

I don’t know why I decided to write about this today. I guess that on the heels of writing about Depression Awareness Month, I wanted to just have a little episode of verbal diarrhea to just get it all off my chest. If you’re still with me, thank you for reading all the way through. Sorry to disappoint: no Bell’s Palsy Awareness Nails. 🙂 Hey, at least I can laugh about it…even if somewhat lopsided.

Sation Hot 4 Teacher + OPI Spotted

Posted on 23 August, 2012 by Cynthia

Young teacher, the subject
Of schoolgirl fantasy
She wants him so badly
Knows what she wants to be
Inside her there’s longing
This girl’s an open page
Book marking – she’s so close now
This girl is half his age

I am a rabid The Police fan so I don’t need much encouragement to burst out into song whenever something reminds me of one of their songs. When I got Sation Hot 4 Teacher, I started singing “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” at the store. Seriously. I’m not lying. People already know I’m a little “whacky” at my usual nail places so they didn’t think anything was out of the ordinary.

My freshman year of college, I was hopelessly in brain love with my literature professor. His class was at 8:00 am. and I never missed a single session despite the fact that it was 3 times a week. I would sit in the back of the class and literally swoon when he would regale us with his stories or get into deep discussion about Mark Twain, Emily Dickinson, John Dunne, Baudelaire or TS Eliot. I found ways to take more of his classes which I did. One year, in his American Literature class, we had to write a paper on Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. At the same time, I was reading Jean Anouilh’s version of Antigone in my French Literature class so I incorporated both books and heroines into my paper. The reason why I still remember this is because he wrote such glowing comments on my paper that I felt I was walking on air for the rest of the week. So while I really was “half his age,” I wasn’t some ingenue. I don’t even think he was extraordinarily handsome when I look back, but he was so intellectually stimulating that I was so into him. Sadly, not that it mattered because I wouldn’t have done anything anyway, he was happily married. So, Dr. B****, I really wanted to brain bone you. Oh yeah, really badly. (Yes, I’m a nerd. SHUT UP!) Now, if only he had been the one to compliment me in class all the time and act creepy when I went to his office hours for help instead of my Comparative Religion professor…no, the irony is not lost on me.

Talk about tangents…back to the nail polish. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I LOVE SATION. Hot 4 Teacher is another polish from the Class Of Sation Collection, and I am in love with its radioactively bright magenta goodness. Like most neons, this dries to a satin finish which I like but much prefer it with a coat of Seche Vite.

Here are some shots of Hot 4 Teacher with and without topcoat:

And now for the polish I was super excited to receive…OPI Spotted!

I received OPI Spotted courtesy of the lovely Sabrina from Polish In Paris. (Merci ma belle! Merci mille fois…tu n’imagines pas combien j’adore ce vernis!!!) I had already read online that it’s important to apply this very thinly or else you won’t get many spots. As you can tell, I applied it too thickly on my pinky so I didn’t get much of the spotted effect. You really have to apply the thinnest coat possible if you want a lot of spots. And just to make you more jealous, she also sent me 3 other polishes that look amazing and that I can’t wait to try. Eat your heart out:

Ok, so I really didn’t mean to rub it in your face, I just feel like I won the polish sweepstakes. 😀

So what do you think of Hot 4 Teacher? What about my inappropriate obsession with my lit professor? What are your feelings on OPI Spotted? Is it something you would wear?

Thanks for stopping by and catching up with me. I hope you will be back. I swear I’m not psycho. Really, I’m not…….

Thank You!!!

Posted on 1 August, 2012 by Cynthia

When I first started this blog, only about 2 people knew about it and they were my only readers because I was writing mostly personal stuff. I needed to get it out of me so that it could stop torturing me. I started writing about my issues here about 6 months after being released from a psychiatric hospital, and it turned into a cathartic exercise since I was still resisting any kind of therapy. Since then, I have met some of the most caring group of women I could ever hope to meet. Not only do they listen and offer advice, but they share their own experiences and make me feel like I’m not alone.

Once I started blogging about nail polish more regularly, I would get so excited every time I got a new follower or a new person who would comment on my posts. I slowly started to see my readership grow each month and this made me feel like people were actually interested in my opinions and thoughts about nail polish, make up and just random topics. I saw a nice jump in blog visit for the month on June so I told myself that I would LOVE to reach a few milestones for the month of July:

1) Reach 300 published blog posts

2) Reach 100 followers

3) Reach 10,000 views for the month

Well, I managed to reach all of those thanks to all of you who take time out of your day to check up on what craziness is going on in my head. The most exciting part was that not only did I reach 10,000 blog views in July, but I actually got a little over 16,000! For a little blog such as mine, I feel like that was such a huge accomplishment. Nicole from Polish Me Please! had been encouraging me to use twitter and when I finally did, that’s when I started seeing an increase in traffic. So thank you Nicole and thanks to all the lovely twitter ladies who always make me laugh!

I was so happy to have hosted 2 giveaways last month for 2 sets of the Wet N Wild Saved By The Nail, Saved By The Bell inspired nail polishes. I would have loved to give out more sets but they became pretty impossible to find as a lot of you noticed. If I randomly find more, I will be sure to add them to my next giveaway. I am planning to hold another giveaway in the near future as a thank you to all of you who have made me feel so welcome in this lovely nail blogging world. Once I figure out what the prize will be, I will let you all know.

I posted last night how I received my MASH plates and how excited I was to try them out today. I am happy to report that these plates are awesome!! I used a few of the designs to see how well they stamped. I have to say that Wet N Wild I Can’t Stand Up Straight is my favorite silver to stamp with. Look how great the designs turned out!

My brother is taking me out to dinner tonight (for once!) so we’re headed out in a little while. I hope I can control myself and not stop at any place that sells nail polish on the way back home. Uggghhhhh! Wish me luck!

Just Another Day In Polishland

Posted on 31 July, 2012 by Cynthia

Today was such a weird day. I couldn’t fall asleep last night so I read until about 2:00 am and ended up waking up at 6:00 am. Grrrrr! I got up and started doing some cleaning and wanted to do some laundry but I got in bed to read a little and fell asleep again around 8:00. I took a long nap until about 10:00 during which time I missed 10 calls on my cell phone. 10 calls?!?!?! What the hell? All the calls came from an “unknown” number and there were no voicemails so there wasn’t much I could do. A few minutes later, my phone rang again and it was my dad. I should have known it was him. He always calls me a million times and he never leaves a message. Him and my mom were convinced that something had happened to me because I forgot to call my dad for his birthday, and I never forget his birthday. I don’t know what happened this year, I just completely spaced out and feel terrible about it.

This incident also made me very sad because my parents are NEVER at ease about my well-being. They no longer trust me or my brothers to tell them the truth about anything because we kept the truth of my hospitalizations from them last year. My first hospitalization happened around mother’s day so I was unable to talk to my mom, and I asked my brothers to tell her that I had the flu and was just resting and that I would call her soon. Well, her spidey sense perked right up, and she knew something was going on. I called her after I came home and assured her everything was fine. Then a few weeks later, I was hospitalized for a longer period of time, and that’s when my brother pushed me to tell them I was having issues so they could come and stay with me while I got better. Because of that whole episode, my parents are now always thinking that I keep the truth from them. It’s suffocating, but I know they do it because they care about me. How do I let them know that it drives me bananas that they call me a million times or start calling my brothers and friends if one day they can’t get a hold of me right away? That’s kind of crazy, right?

I spent most of the day with L. because she was having a really bad day and she needed some company. She is a good friend and was always there for me when I was going through my stuff so I want to be a good friend and be there for her as well. We went to the mall just to walk around and because I needed to return an eyebrow pencil at Sephora. So my reasoning is that if I return an item, I have to purchase one to replace it…right??? Well, that’s how I ended up with a new Illamasqua polish. Later in the day I also went to Ulta and I cleaned out their Essence polish section. Oh, and I also got my MASH plates in the mail today!!!!!!!!!

This post has been way talkier than most of my recent posts, and now it’s going to go the other way. Get ready to get photo bombed!

This is Illamasqua Swinger which I picked up today at Sephora. I really didn’t think I was going to like this polish but when I tried it on, I loved it. L. wasn’t that impressed with it, and I know she thinks I’m crazy for buying polish this expensive. I also took every essence polish they had left at my Ulta which was just 6 bottles, and I also got Zoya Marina. It’s an ok color that was on sale, but I got it mostly for the name because that’s my mom’s name. Best of all, I only paid $8 for all 7 bottles of polish after the discounts and my coupon. I am a coupon savant when it comes to nail polish…no joke. I’m adding most of these polishes to my future giveaway stash. 🙂

I am so excited about these plates…I can’t wait to try them out tomorrow. I hope they all stamp well!!!

And lastly, here is my dinner. Ahhh…..so good.

This delicious and humongous grilled steak salad is from Café Rio. The first time I ever ate there was during a business trip to Utah, and I was hooked!!!! Then, last year I heard that they were opening up a few location in So Cal!!!! Luckily (or unfortunately for my hips), they opened up a location a few blocks from my place so the temptation is there. Ugh!

Today was definitely a weird day. I can’t wait for tomorrow. New month, new day…another opportunity for me to mess up my life royally. Ha! I’ve got some fun news coming soon so make sure you stay tuned.