Frisky Update

So, I've been posting periodic updates on my Facebook page, but I decided to post this one here because I know not everyone follows the fan page.  

To try & summarize - a few weeks ago Frisky got quite sick and after taking her to the vet for what appeared to be a bladder infection the blood tests that we did found extremely elevated liver enzymes.  She's always been small but had gone down from 5.9 to only 4.6 lbs. because her body is basically not absorbing calories properly.  She was very lethargic & refusing to eat, dehydrated even though she was drinking a lot - we honestly weren't sure if she would last the weekend.  She got an antibiotic shot at the vet as well as fluids for the dehydration & we took her home.

She got a bit better, then a bit worse, back & forth for a few days, before starting a steady upward trend.  By the next weekend we'd realized she wasn't leaving us quite yet & decided to start the long-term supplement the vet recommended for her liver.  She is HELL to pill, I feel so bad but she forgives me right away - she doesn't run off once I'm done almost like she knows I'm trying to help.

She's still very picky what she will eat, flat out refused the special diet that the vet initially sent home, so we are experimenting to see what she A - will eat & B - can eat without throwing up while C - trying not to give her too much protein in consideration of her liver condition.

This past weekend she started having trouble again, roaming the house from cat pan to cat pan but not really doing much but sitting in them.  She was dehydrated again & this seemed to constipate her, plus there was a little bit of blood clot in her urine which showed the bladder infection wasn't quite gone.  Saturday morning was another trip to the vet, another round of antibiotics & some more fluid - & mom learned how to give the fluid at home to keep her hydrated.  Mom is awesome by the way - I'm not quite sure I could do it, even for Frisky.

Today was the first time we gave her fluid here instead of at the vet.  It was actually not traumatic, although it's handy to have more than one person.  One to handle the needle & the injection site, one to help hold her & manage the fluid bag.  Frisky sat still & polite through the several minutes it took for her little transfusion.

At over 20 human years old they said she is about 100 in cat years - and at an age that less than 1% of cats live to reach.  I really like our vet, they didn't even charge for the most recent office visit, just for the supplies - I think they were glad to see her still around too & probably a bit curious as well.  We got a pill-popper to save my fingers being bitten as well as the fluid which is good for 10 "doses."

Anyway, all that to say, the outlook right now is actually pretty good.  With the supplement to help with her nutrition & giving her fluid subcutaneously a couple times a week to combat the dehydration, who knows how much longer she'll stick around =)  She's sleeping on her blanket in the chair behind me right now, something like this:

I am still doing my nails as I have time, & I actually have still been doing some vids even with all this going on, but something about editing pictures is just not that inviting to me lately & I apologize I haven't done the catching up I keep talking about.  When it comes it will be like an avalanche or a tsunami of NOTD pics LOL.  

So stay tuned, thanks for sticking with me - and as always, thanks for reading.

~Colette

Meet Frisky =)

Well, I think most of you have already met her on the blog, but I've been getting a lot of requests on YouTube.  I'm telling you, that evil little inclination to name this vid something naughty - I'll let you use your own imaginations - was strong, but I kept it G-rated:

 

 

Maybe Dude will get a vid next =)  Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Guest NOTD: China Glaze Delight + Something Sweet & Matte Magic

Mom's evolving manicure - she wore China Glaze Delight on its own for a few days, and I didn't get a pic of that, but then she decided to cover up the tip wear with China Glaze Something Sweet (sponged) - I actually kind of liked it, even though it's not a combination I would pick myself:

 

 

She told me she loved it ... and then she began to have doubts.  And then she decided she didn't like it LOL, but it was quite late.  I suggested she matte-ify it, and she liked it again:

 

And a bonus pic for you guys!  I coaxed Frisky outside, it was nearly 60 - what's considered "warm" after winter in MN LOL.  She didn't stay out too long but how adorable is she?

 

 

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

A Day Off ... Kinda

Thanks to everyone for the kind wishes on yesterday's post =)  I am kind of taking a day off today, at least in regards to actually answering comments, editing pics & etc.  But just so you know I love you guys, a couple pics to tide you over of one of my favorite "people" - Frisky.  Here sleeping on my bed & practically sliding off head first LOL:

 

 

And here she looks like she's seriously stalking something - really she was just getting up & changing lounging positions outside XD:

 

 

I'll have pics edited for Ulta Envy (awesome duo-chrome goodness, best I've worn in a while) tomorrow.  Thanks for reading.

 

~Colette

My Zoya Exchange Haul!

Before I get to the pics, I'd just like to touch on just a couple things I learned doing the exchange:

#1 - shipping polish is hard.  Well, maybe not hard but annoyingly rule-bound.  How do you people who do swaps - especially international ones - handle it?  I went to the post office to ask what I had to do, and you have to mark the box specially, it has to go ground, not air since it's "hazardous," and they told me they won't ship internationally.  Are Fed-Ex & UPS different?  What a freaking hassle.  BUT:

#2 - I don't know why I don't see more people talking about the donation option of the swap?  You don't HAVE to mail your polish to Zoya.  It states in the exchange rules (once you actually start the exchange, not just on the front kind of promotion page):  "The Zoya Nail Polish Exchange is simple. Just gather your old used or unused bottles of nail polish (any brand) that are laying around, collecting dust and send them to us or donate them. In exchange we will send you an equal number of brand new Zoya Nail Polishes. All you pay is $3.50 per bottle for shipping and processing. There is a minimum of 6 bottles and no maximum (exchange or donate as many bottles as you want as often as you would like). We will send out your new polish immediately, you can donate or send us your old polish anytime"  I also emailed them, asking if it made any difference where the donation is made & if they require anything sent in as proof of the donation.  This is the response I got:

"Hello Colette:

Thank you for your interest in the Polish Exchange! You can donate the polishes where ever you would like if you do not want to send them in for us to dispose of properly. Many people are donating to the Salvation Army, women’s shelters, girl scout troops, etc. We do not need proof of donation. Your order will automatically be processed once submitted if you are paying by credit card. If you are paying with a check, your order will be processed once we receive confirmation that the check has cleared.

Thank you"

So, I'm saving myself the cost & hassle of mailing in my 12 bottles & I'm going to donate them.  It's almost too easy - seems like this would leave the way open for a lot of scammers?  I may even do another order before the end of the month since I saved money on the shipping.

Anyway ... on to the polish!  That's what you're really here, for right?

From left to right, top row:  Dovima, Harley, Jinx, Kalista, Rihana, Elke.  Bottom:  Jo, Malia, Pinta, Mimi, Ivanka, Charla.  Mom is hot to wear Harley.  I've already worn Mimi & loved it =)

Since I only took one pic of the haul, I thought I'd post up a couple of bonus pics.  Frisky, in the middle of polish-land between my untried shoeboxes & my Helmers:

And the sky last night, after a series of quite serious severe storms the sky was still doing some pretty ominous-looking cool stuff:

That's all for now.  Going to try & get the pics of the 4th of July water marble edited... At this point I'm actually finding editing the videos for YT easier than the pics LOL, because it's just the video & like 2 pics, vs. all the pic reviewing, picking & choosing, cropping & etc that goes with a full blog post.  So if I don't get it up tonight, if you would like a preview, you can check out the tutorial on YouTube HERE.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Fireball Water Marble + Tutorial

This wasn't my original color scheme, but I like it =)  For Polish Hoarder Disorder's Analogous Color Challenge, I chose yellow, yellow-orange & orange - Sally Hansen Hue, Orly Glitz (which standing alone I would call gold, but which fit the bill for yellow-orange when paired with the other 2 colors), & China Glaze Free Love:

Mmmm, swirly goodness =)  Here is the tutorial:



And last, a bonus pic for my animal-loving readers - you may be familiar with Monorail Cat of LOLcats fame.  Well, Frisky does a pretty good impression:

My cute little old princess (she is 19).  Seems like all she ever does is sleep but it's usually close to where I am.  If you listen carefully, you can hear her waking up shortly after I took this pic & meowing in the background of the tutorial LMAO.  Thanks for reading.

~Colette

The Hauls

So, I know I said I'd get this up yesterday, but ... well, I fell asleep LOL.  Usually if I do that when I wake up I'll stay up a few more hours but last night I just put on pajamas & went back to sleep.  Here's everything all laid out, with Frisky surveying the bounty:

The first few were from Sally's, buy 2 get 1 free plus one of the Sallys near me moved & sent out a $10.00 coupon for the new location:

Left to right:  China Glaze Solar Power (which I already used, in the Lava Lamp mani), Turned Up Turquoise (Neon) & Secret Peri-wink-le.

Next is Ulta, I had a coupon here too but I don't remember how much it was for:

Left to right:  from the Passport to Paradise collection, L'Oreal High Tide, Ocean Breeze & Waters Edge.  From the Salsa Sun collection, Maybelline La La Lime ... which is very close color-wise to Icing Jens Pick:

LLL has a hint of silvery shimmer that JP does not, but the base color looks almost identical in the bottle.  Sorry I don't have time to do a real comparison swatch, but if you can't find the secondary Salsa Sun display that LLL is part of, JP may be an acceptable solution.

In my search for Hidden Treasure, I ended up bringing a few other polishes home with me - this batch was from a Walgreens, Sinful Colors were buy 1 get 1 half off:

Left to right:  Revlon Minted, Sinful Colors Mint Apple, HD Nails, Let's Talk & Let Me Go.

A quick stop at a CVS:

Wet 'n' Wild Night Prowl (which I've been hunting for a couple months) & Rain Check.

An equally quick stop at Walgreens:

Sinful What's Your Name & Wet 'n' Wild Blackmail.  Both of these are much more interesting that the pics show, the sinful has this really pretty duo-chrome glitter in the black base, shifting between turquoise & purple.

And finally, FINALLY, my hard work & persistence paid off, at a Walgreens I normally have crap luck at.  Sally was buy 1 get 1 half off & this display also had some $1.00 off coupons:

From the Tracy Reese Spring 2010 display, Sally Hansen Silver Lining, Dive Depper, and Hidden Treasure x2.  From the core line, Thinking of Blue & Midnight in NY.

Happy as I was to finally track down Hidden Treasure, that display was missing Sea & Be Seen ... so my search continued.  The Walgreens near work was a miss, but as I was getting into my car I noticed this nail salon next door.  Hmmm ... I wandered in, & came out with 3 old black label OPIs:

I'd never heard of any of these so I have no idea if they're HTF?  Right to left:  My Fave Wave, Ocean Love Potion & Sun Streaked.

Finally, tracked down the last color I was really lemming for, at a Walgreens near my grandparent's house:

Sea And Be Seen & Ring My Shell.  One of the reasons I wanted S&BS was because from pics I thought it looked a lot like one of my favorite blues, Sephora by OPI Underwater Fantasy.  Turns out it's a bit darker but they are very close cousins:

Again, sorry I don't have time for an actual swatch comparison!  But I hope you all  enjoyed seeing my hauls. I think a no-buy may be in order now LOL.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Tag Catchup

I've been tagged quite a few times recently ... well, in some cases not so recently & I have to apologize because I really think some of these are fun =)  & I totally don't have time to do them justice, but I'd like to catch up a little bit, and if I miss any I apologize in advance!

To start (I don't remember if this one was actually first LOL) I was tagged by Angie over at Pandaphilia for this Beautiful Blogger award:

And this comes with telling you guys lots of things that I like, in 8s ... but since I'm short of time, I kind of just picked the ones I liked LOL =)  And didn't make it to 8 on all of them ... but it's the thought that counts, right?  I should also say these aren't like, in order of priority. 

8 TV shows I like to watch (& yes, I realize it's a little reality-TV heavy LOL):

1.  South Park

2.  True Blood

3.  America's Next Top Model

4.  The news - I'm almost a junkie LOL, I usually watch local every night at 5, 6 & 10 in addition to national

5.  American Idol

6.  So You Think You Can Dance

7.  Project Runway 

8.  Hoarders - if you haven't seen it, it is morbidly fascinating.  Something I sometimes feel like I watch the whole show with my jaw dropped wide open

8 favorite places to eat & drink:

1.  Home or family's home - you guys know I love to cook & so do Mom & Grandma =)

2.  Jamba Juice - if there was one closer I'd probably be there every day

3.  Chinese buffets

4.  Athens Cafe

5.  Truffles & Tortes - well, only desserts, but you've seen what I bring home from there!

6.  Salad bar

7.  Oak City

8 things I love about winter:

1.  Snow - on the weekend though please, so I don't have to drive in it LOL

2.  Beautiful Ice

3.  No bugs!

4.  Being snuggly & warm inside

8 things on my wishlist:

1.  A new camera

2.  A laptop ... usually I love being at my desk because I can multi-task, but when summer comes I wish I could take it outside

3.  A 3rd Helmer ... this should be coming true pretty soon =)

4.  A DVR - yes I am old school & actually record things on tape if I can't watch them

5.  A boyfriend ... no seriously, I'm sick of being single LOL

8 things I'm passionate about:

1.  Well, apparently blogging =)  I never thought I would last when I started

2.  Writing

3.  Reading

4.  Family

 

8 words/phrases I often use (several of which may make no sense if you don't watch/listen to the same things I do):

1.  Respect my authority!

2.  That's absurd

3.  For the win

4.  I'll do what I want

5.  Meh

Thank you Angie for this award =)  Sorry I'm so late putting it up.

I was also nominated by Kelsealaurel for this Happy 101 Tag:

So I'm supposed to put 10 facts about myself.  I have a feeling I'm going to come up short, I'm feeling kind of brain dead at the moment (I slept 13 hours last night, but I really only got up because I thought I should do so while it was still light out ... I kind of wanted to roller over & snooze some more LOL).  So some of these are on the easy-out side =)

1.  Along those lines, I'm always sleepy.  I short myself during the week, and I'm working on that, but during the weekends I sleep until I feel obligated to get up.

2.  I have a cat named Frisky, who hasn't made an appearance on the blog lately, but who does happen to be sleeping nearby on my bed ATM.  I know most of you guys like animals, I'll take a pic:

3.  I am really enjoying the whole YouTube thing more than anticipated (much like blogging LOL).  I reached 200 subscribers today - a feat that my blog only managed to just reach in January LOL, and I've had my YT channel lass than 4 months ... so I must be doing something right =)  I'm so glad people are enjoying it.

4.  I'm hoping to hit the lotto tonight - LOL not something I usually participate in, but we put together a pool at work, 30 people each put in $2.00 for a total of 60 tickets for the jackpot that is supposed to be over 200 million.  LMAO if we actually won, I don't know what our company would do since it's literally almost half of our Minneapolis office that would be rich.
5.  A good way to gauge how much I'm exercising is how messy my room is - I have to have an open area to do my yoga, which equals a pretty clean room, but if I've skipped a few days shoes, books, boxes of polish & other stuff start to create a lot of clutter.
6.  My desk is the same way - I clean it off when I do a video tutorial, but it soon fills back up with polish, Konad plates, nail files & other nail-related clutter =)

One more, and this one came from Mari & Lissi over at Nail Addicts Anonymous, the Best Blog Award:

Technically I'm supposed to tag some more people, but I'm ducking out on that responsibility because if I wait until I have time for that I'm afraid this would never get posted LOL.

Thanks to everyone =)  & Thanks for reading.

~Colette

National Cat Day!

I know I have a lot of readers who are animal lovers in general & cat lovers in particular =)


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I'll have to find a special treat for Frisky today ... not that she's not completely spoiled 365 days a year =) I think this pic of her would be perfect for a LOLcat caption - it's just begging for a text bubble hehehe:


Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Ulta Haul

Usually, Ulta is a little spendy for me, even if it is the only normal store I can reliably find OPI at. But since I'm part of their little reward program, I get their monthly flyer, and October's has a $5.00 off (any purchase over $10.00) coupon, plus OPI is buy 2 get 1 free. So I thought I should take advantage, and this is what I got:


(Yes, that's Frisky's tail ... um, in the way much?) Top: Suzi Skis In The Pyrenees Suede, Russian Navy Suede, OPI Ink Suede. Bottom: Lincoln Park After Dark Suede, You Don't Know Jacques Suede, and DS Extravagance. Very pleased with this haul, I can't wait to try the suedes although I admit I'll be wearing them with topcoat =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Awesome? Me?

Well, Diana of Painted Lady Fingers thinks so, and so does Chocaddict of Mon Coin a Moua =)


The rules are to give 10 random facts about me and select 10 blogs I read regularly. Hmmmm, seems like I only get a chance to really catch up on blogs on the weekend, I don't know if I can claim to read any regularly! But I highly advise checking out my blogroll, because when I do catch up, I go down the entire list =)

On to me ... well, I guess I've gotten more comfortable talking about myself, having 2 blogs, but this still was kind of tough.

1 - I'll start with a fact most of you already know, since I have an adorable pic to post - I have a cat, Frisky, who is 18 years old & what I don't think I've posted before is that I found her as a kitten in the tree in our front yard when I was 10 years old. She's a polydactl spoiled princess (poly-what? take a look at her feet here) and has made several appearances on the blog.



2 - I can't stand coffee - which is fine since caffeine has absolutely no effect on me anyway - but I have almost an entire drawer full of tea at work. Off the top of my head, flavors include: Plantation Mint, Peppermint, Vanilla Chai, Chocolate Caramel Enchantment, Acai Mango Zinger, French Vanilla, Tangerine, Apple Cider, Madagascar Vanilla Red, & Eggnog - and that's maybe about half of them LOL.

3 - I am sadly the most extremely single person I know ... 3 years & counting. I guess by choice, since I'm not exactly looking at the moment, but I really wouldn't object if I happened to run into someone oh ... tall, dark, handsome & rich at the grocery store or something =)

4 - I have pretty severe asthma, which is under control currently but has put me in the hospital 3 times in the past. Nowadays all it really does is keep a serious dent in my wallet paying for the meds that let me keep breathing.

5 - I (luckily? unluckily?) live with my parents. On a good day I know that it's logical & everyone wins with our resources (money) combined in one household ... on a bad day I think maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be stuck in a crap apartment living on ramen & Kool-Aid just to have more of my own space.

6 - I'm allergic to tree nuts. That means I can eat peanuts (which grow underground I think) & cashews (which apparently grow on some kind of bush) but have to stay away from walnuts & pecans unless I want to swell up & get itchy.

7 - I love cooking & baking but don't do either very often because I hate cleaning up =) Although I do have plans to make cake balls for Halloween ... I'm thinking chocolate cake with orange coating & maybe ordering some better food pens & turn them into little jack o lanterns.

8 - I have a lot of hobbies I don't indulge in very often because I just don't have time for everything ... for example I've started drawing more often since I started my other blog, but I can't remember the last time I finished a cross-stitch.

9 - I enjoy yoga. I have DVDs of the series Namaste Yoga, which is a style where the movements flow tidally with your breathing. I don't do it as often as I should, even though whenever I do fit it in I'm happy that I did afterwards.

10 - Because it all comes back to the polish =) My stash recently passed the 700-bottle mark. I finally got around to adding my last hauls to my spreadsheet (yes, I said spreadsheet), and they put me at exactly 700 ... and then I kind of bought some more & now I'm at 708 =) I know I'm on a no-buy, but does it really count as breaking it if I kept it under $10.00?? Pics of that little haul coming later of course.

Well, hope I didn't bore anyone too much with the long, picture-lacking ramble of a post LOL. Maybe more than anyone wanted to know but then again maybe not; I know I am always interested to know about the people behind the nails of the blogs I read.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Awesome Day On Schedule

OK, so here's my recipe for today's awesome day:

Get out of work - check. Since the 4th is on Saturday, we got today off! Which means not only did I not have to suffer through 8 1/2 hours on the job, but I got to sleep in!

Wake up leisurely - check. In addition to sleeping in, I was able to relax for a while in the backyard before I even had to bother getting out of my robe. Took a few pics of the animals, plus there's always something blooming in my mom's garden:


Have an awesome mani - check =). Having nails that make me smile at a glance is always a bonus. I've got a ton of comments on this that I don't have time at the moment to respond to, but I will say that I saw this design in a tutorial & as soon as I find it again I will post so you can see how easy it is. Here's a sun shot, or check out yesterday's post for the rest of the pics:


Spend the day with people you like - check. Friday is family day & unlike some unfortunate people I do actually get along with mine. Headed to grandma & grandpa's for lunch & staying through at least dinner, with the next "ingredient" in between.

Do something you enjoy - check. Well, I actually don't normally enjoy shopping, but since the trip down to Rochester to visit my cousin didn't work out, I suggested we go shopping ... at Ikea =) Yes that's right I'll be coming home with my Helmers today if all goes well!

I'll be sure to post up pics as soon as I have them assembled. Which will probably be soon given my lack of holiday plans. Until then, thanks for reading.

~Colette