Tagged - because I wanna be. :)

Seen this one on a few other blogs so I thought I'd copy and paste from Landa's blog and do it too.


1. Innie or outie?
Innie...way innie

2. Unlimited wealth or unlimited health?
Wealth, so I can pay for health. :) So many things I would fix could I afford to!

3. What is your favorite book?
as a child it was Hans Christian Andersen's Fairytales. Now I have a few, but I'll just go with "The Truth Machine" for now.

4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?
Where ever I could be close to family and friends. I love Santa Barbara, but I miss having loved ones nearby.

5. What is your security blanket?
No such thing as Security...so I go with the flow and roll with the changes.

6. What is your mode of transportation?
I prefer my bicycle, but that will have to wait a few weeks...so a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee or my hubby's 1994 Honda Shadow.

7. What is your signature scent?
I love Burberry's of London, just their namesake scent, but lately, I can't wear scents without having trouble breathing.

8. If you were at Hogwarts, what house would you belong to?
There would be a new house created for me and my kind. Black Beaked PinkMingos. :p

9. If you could be any Disney princess who would you be and why?
Giselle, Facebook already told me I am her. LOL. But really, I did love her character. She's open and vulnerable and has a childlike outlook on life. Not a bad thing to have I think.

10. What is one of your bad habits?
I am disorganized. Hey! I'm creative...we don't have time for organization. :)

Nubar Sale Starts November 15th

Straight from their website:
November 15th- 30th, nubar offers 30% off retail orders of $30 or more !  The code required to take advantage of this offer will appear here prior to November 15th, so check back soon.


And they're releasing a special collection for the holidays on the same day. Go visit The Hungry Asian for swatches of the "Holiday Jewel Basket" now!!
Or maybe you've had your eyes on the new Finest Silks collection?

Or maybe you've been thinking over the Venetian Glass collection?

(all images taken directly from www.bynubar.com)

Oooh an award!

Dear Kimberly at Libby's Pink Vanity  passed this on to me. Thanks a bunch Kimberly...I love your blog too!

Kimberly has the cutest ragdoll cats too. I think that may just be my next cat if I ever have another one. I'm allergic so there would be an adjustment period. Either a ragdoll or a snow bengal...maybe I could get a crossbreed of both!

I think I've seen this one everyone's blog that I read now...but if you don't have it yet, I pass it on to YOU! I don't read anything BUT lovely blogs anyway. :)

I'm home, I'm good!

Everything went well! I got a little scare when they mentioned I'd have to stay overnight IF the doctor had to put a pacemaker in. He had told me that but I conveniently forgot it probably so I'd show up this morning. :)

I'm ok, resting. Just wanted to post this up. More to come.
~Lizard

My Stash, My Heart, My Passion for Polish!

I know I've told most of you, and it's no big deal (I thought it was when I first got the news but I've adjusted since) but I will be going into the hospital on Wednesday, November 10 at 6:30 am local time for a procedure in my heart at 8:30 am. It's called Cardiac Ablation. It's not a "surgery" per se but a "procedure" LOL... they'll go up thru my artery (from my groin) to the heart with three skinny wires: one to stimulate the suspect problem and cause the problem reliably...one to see what they're doing, and one to do the freeze burn of the offending cells. Takes a minimum of 1.5 hours, maximum of 2. Then I'll be in the hospital for the rest of the day under observation to make sure they didn't break anything. They say I should be able to return to work the next day and I won't have to take medication for this problem EVER AGAIN!!! I am soooo looking forward to that, the meds make me retain unhealthy amounts of water and I have fat lower legs, ankles and feet. I'll probably lose 20 lbs the first couple weeks just from water retention. :)

No more meds, no more worries about SVT, hiking and biking can resume without worry, (just attention to injury prevention) and that will be a very very good thing.

So that is what I'm focusing on, but once in a while...the scary stuff creeps in and I just remember that there are good people out there thinking happy thoughts for me and it helps calm me down. Odds are in my favor, not fantastic, but not bad. So keep a happy thought for me tomorrow, okay?

After the Nail Polish Party with my co-workers, I had to reorganize my stash. So I dumped it out, sorted it and took some photos. I have not yet taken photos of my organizational choice, I guess I need to get to that next.

I do sort by color family, I find it easiest for me in my super tiny space. I have no need to sort by brand then color, just put the color families together and I know where to go for a purple, red, pink, blue or whatever thank-you-very-much.

Here begins the spam...bail now if your computer is slow. :) Remember: all of my pictures are clickable for your viewing pleasure. :)



So here's the stash in all it's not so organized glory: I sorted them by brand first but here's the whole shebang!

 Then we have all the China Glaze

 Followed by the lovely Zoya

 The nail polish pile of a price I swore I would never pay for a bottle of polish...and a stray bottle of Poshe?

 My beloved Essie collection.

 The "not found in drugstores but maybe sometimes in other lands" pile

 The Diamond Cosmetics pile...oh so small

 The "what I can get at my local drugstores" pile (lots of Orly in there)

The pathetically small OPI collection. (Told you, I am NOT a fan.)

 My Del Sols. I love these...I live where it's more sunny than anything else...except for the odd 10th year or so. These polishes belong here. It's just too bad that so many of them just turn the same shade of purple.

 Ahhhh, Nubar, my loves

 Sweet Color Clubs, such a great formula, such great pigments, so affordable!

 My favorite treatments, base and top coats (the rest were in the drugstore pile)

Then I sorted thru some of the piles, starting with the "I will never pay that much for nail polish" pile

Here are my Lippmann's, but one of them (the one beside the box) isn't really mine. I just took it out of the box to get a bottle shot. That's "Don't Tell Mama" and it belongs to someone else..yeah, you know who you are! The rest, left to right: Hit Me With Your Best Shot (I had to, I am a HUGE Benatar Fan), Wicked Game, Across the Universe (LOVE), Bad Romance (meh)

 My Rescue Beauties. 3 I won, 1 I got in a swap. I'll have a few more soon! Not many though...just um...6 I think?

 Who doesn't love Nfu Oh?

 Models Own...purchased during the 50% off sale. So far, from the ones I've tried, I like them. I think Peacock Green is my favorite. It's the exact color of that 'eye' of the peacock feather. 

 Assorted others that I only have ONE bottle from the makers. I think it's pretty funny that the one color I did bring home from my trip to Seattle last April out of all the polish I bought up there, I brought home the SH LE dupe. I didn't even know it, just really liked it and hadn't worn it yet. :) 

After I pulled out the Models Own, Miss Marion (you've seen that entire collection already) The 3 Misa's I own, the Gosh and the Finger paints, this is what was left. (I thought I took pics of those too, but apparently not.) Many of these were attained through swaps with some really great new friends. I wish I knew where my H&M Bella's Choice went off to...I'm sure it's around here somewhere.

There you have it, my stash. So far. I don't need a Helmer...don't have the space for one. As it is, this is too much for my little home, but I love them and so I let them crowd me a little...for now. But who knows? Maybe there will be an amazing blog sale at some point. I have to say, probably 50% (or more) of these are untried!  Do you see one I should try soon? Which one?

Nail Party with co-workers and PICTURES this time!

We had so much fun the first time around, we decided to do it again. This time with some from the last party, and some couldn't make it, but new faces joined in this time. Everyone who was at the first gathering was in awe of the increase in the size of my collection.
We had good eats:

Good drinks and a fabulous bartender

and lots of fun learning how to Konad.

We even had a professional but didn't try to get her to do all our nails...though she couldn't stand some of our sloppy applications...Her nails are here: (she had the BM plates within the week.)

and some close ups:

 Pretty sure this was Zoya Anaka with China Glaze Millenium

 Hrm...don't remember this combo...Will update if/when I do.

 Zoya Mimi

 All together now...the Bad Fairy nails are mine

Have you shared your passion for polish with any non-lacquerphiles?

On Beauty (and some nail spam)

So I was talking to my BFF yesterday after a rather upsetting meeting with the cardiologist and during our conversation she mentioned that her hubby had found photos from when they were really young. Long story/"Reader's Digest Version": She married her half-sister's cousin on the side of the parent they don't share. (they have the same Mother.)  They've known each other for YEARS and finally realized that this love they've always felt for one another isn't forbidden or incestuous after all. And I am so happy they are together, as I see them both glowing from a dream fulfilled. But I digress.

Upon her mention of the photos, I asked her if she could look at her younger self and see the gorgeous young woman she was, and she said yes. (Actually she said Hell yes! Damn! I was fine! lol)  And I asked her to remember how unaccepting she was of that young woman when she inhabited THAT body. She remembered, (think about it, we all do). So I asked her then if she could take that knowledge and allow herself to believe that she is still that beautiful woman, just older and wiser - and she said no. :(  She did add that her husband thought she was and that that was good enough for her.

But I have been pondering this since we had that conversation. Why are we so unaccepting of where we are RIGHT NOW? Why do we focus on our flaws rather than show off our beauty? Why don't we love ourselves as we look NOW the same way we love those old pictures of the younger version? Why are we still having trouble being comfortable in our own skin?

I don't have the answer, this is just what I'm pondering right now, and working on changing within myself. Yes I am carrying extra weight, and the current stress I'm under sometimes has me reverting to old habits of reaching for easy, bad choices for food.  But that doesn't change that I am a beautiful person. I have pretty eyes, amazing cheekbones and my hair can look amazing when I take time to style it. I have pretty feet! I do! And my legs aren't bad either. Even at this larger size, the legs seem to keep their shape and I'm proud of them.

So, I may not be perfect but, parts of me are excellent. I'm a work in progress and I'm working on allowing myself to realize how beautiful, talented, caring, funny and kind I am.

I know this is a blog about nail polish, so I'll share some spam now. :)

 A Lovely H&M polish which I don't remember the name of and I am in bed now so I'm not getting up to find out and Orly Rage on the tips (ala EvilAngel)

 In the shade

 Lippman Across the Universe. (LOVE)

 Shady close up...such depth. Love this so much.

 Sunny shot. This is definitely up there on my list with ChG Atlantis.

 China Glaze Crystal Ball - A lemming fulfilled. Sooooo pretty!

 Halloween Nails I did for a friend/co-worker during lunch one day last week. Used Miss Marion Ebony (black creme) and Sally Hansen Insta Dry white for the stamping. The Jewels were sent to me from KONADomania a long time ago in a fantastic swap that I didn't take pictures of but am enjoying so very much. In fact, the H&M pictured at top was part of that. (I cannot find the blue!!! *cries*)

 Close up of thumb. She has tiny hands.

 Blurry close up

One more to show the horrific job I did at applying the black. Oh well, she loved it and it was pretty too!

So, find a picture of yourself and post it up on your blog or send me a link here. Let's learn to treat ourselves now as we would have treated that younger woman. And for you younger woman reading, pay attention to us older ladies. There's a good lesson here and you'll be ahead of the game if you get the hang of this now.

Here's mine:

 Taken in 1983 or 1984...Summer time. I was in a dear friend's wedding.

The night before at her Bachelorette party. 

A few sheets to the wind, but having fun.

Alright, your turn! GO!