OMF'ingG Awesome Coolness!!!

I thought I'd have more time to post tonight ... but I have a very good reason for being distracted - I made Partner on YouTube!  I had literally this afternoon resigned myself to having to wait, after reading on the forums that people were waiting 3 months & MORE ... then I get home from the grandparent's & there's this lovely acceptance notice!  I applied in early June, so it still took like a month & a half, but quicker than I was anticipating.  LOL too bad I am not prepared! XD  I've got to make like, banners & such... which I knew, in theory, for but some reason it never occurred to me that maybe I should get on that & have them ready.

 

So I've been reading technical stuff & considering what I want my banner to look like & bouncing giddily in my chair instead of editing pics & experimenting with colors for my challenge mani - well, color, I can't decide which one I want my accent to be.  Which basically means that tomorrow will be more blogging & less laziness than planned.  Here's what I have backlogged to post:

• Haul that was a week old Thursday
• Bonsai trees from the trip to the zoo
• Garden & storm pics from last Saturday
• PHD Challenge mani which I still haven't done ... as of right now I have ~23.5 hours to get my ass in gear & finish
• New pedi because On the Wild Side chipped yesterday
• Probably other stuff I'm forgetting because I'm sleep deprived ...

Anyway, I'll be a busy girl.  I also have a book that's over a week overdue to the library, but I almost finished it today, I only have like 20 pages to go so I need to do that tomorrow also & return it before my account gets suspended LOL. 

 

Now, I was going to leave this post pic-less, then I remembered that I snapped these on the way home - another slightly wonky panoramic shot, storm clouds coming in from the southwest:

 

 

They are now overhead & rumbling most ominously =)  I think it will be good to sleep to as long as it stays on the mellow side.  Thanks for reading.

 

~Colette

NOTD: China Glaze Far Out & Branding Iron + M57

I should be in bed, so just a quick post with the pertinent details.  I started out with China Glaze Far out.  Then I stamped with image plate m57 & China Glaze Branding Iron, then used BI to do the chevron tips.  Righty will be sharing some of the modeling duties, because I think it does actually look better than my left at the moment:

 

 

I like this much better on the nubs than Kotori.  The lacy design centered best on my ring fingers, I think I'd like to try this design again, with different colors or a different image, but I like how it looks tucked up in the V of the chevron.  What do you think?  I'm going on my 3rd day of wearing this tomorrow, but then I'll be changing it for sure because I need to get my PHD challenge mani done.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

~Colette

A Day at the Zoo

Yeah, I'm big kid at heart. And as part of my birthday, I decided I wanted to go to the zoo, and see the polar bears & the butterflies ... which are, now that I think about it, about as different & far apart as animals can be LOL.  I went with Mom last Friday, and we had a wonderful time even though it was beastly hot.

Normally when we go to the conservatory it's winter, which means shorter hours in addition to lack of inclination to wander around.  Even though we were mostly there to see the animals, we had to stop & see some flowers too =)  We parked near the conservatory, which you can see in the distance here:

I thought this tree had a face - can you see it or am I loony?

There was a lily show in the sunken garden ... excuse the slightly skewed perspective, but I still liked how the stitched panorama turned out, click to enlarge & realy see more detail:

And the usual assortment of tropical beauties elsewhere:

The bonsai room was unlocked ... is anyone interested in a post just on them?  I took pics of all of them, there were maybe 15 or so, & this 85 year old tree was my favorite because it's so gnarly & off-balance looking, I can imagine it clinging to the side of a cliff somewhere:

A bonus, they have a butterfly tent set up right now!  I should have taken a picture, it was long & shaped & painted like a caterpillar LOL.  It was misting inside, which was also a nice change on this 90+ degree day.  Here are some of the prettiest butterflies.  The green one refused to perch with its wings open, you can just see how much brighter it was inside ... and yes, those moths ARE doing something a bit naughty O.o:

Como isn't a huge zoo, but it's free & it's always a fun experience.  We hadn't really gone through the zoo in years.  Here are a few of the animals we saw:

But the event that really sparked this trip, was that this summer was the unveiling of the Polar Bear Odyssey, a two-year project to turn their habitat into a world class facility for twin brothers Buzz & Neil.  You can click HERE to see the zoo's page all about it including construction photos & other stuff.  While the construction was happening, the 2 bears "vacationed" in Detroit.  It's only been open to the public for a few weeks.

When we first arrived, the bears were nowhere to be seen & I staked out a prime location in one of the windows, so when they ambled out, I was poised to capture the moments!  I felt like as much of a kid as all the shrieking children you can hear in the background LOL:



On the way out, we detoured through the Japanese Garden, which is normally closed when we come in winter.  So quiet, super peaceful, would be a wonderful place to write or meditate:

I basically took pictures until my battery died LOL.  Then I had to charge it, because the next day we went to the Mayowood "gardens" ... not quite as fun of an experience, especially since it was ridiculous hot & muggy again ... but that's a story for another post =)  Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Zoya Kotori

I thought a dark blue, which I always like on my nails, would be a good way to ease into my nubbins.  I was wrong.  I hated this mani while I had it on.  Not the color's fault.  Maybe I was still adjusting ... I don't know.  I like it better in pics that when I was actually wearing it.  I put on Zoya Kotori & was just underwhelmed.  I thought if I added a little diagonal interest, it might make my nails look a little longer ... so I added a triangle of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure.  It helped ... but not enough for me.  I'm happier with what I have now, but you'll have to wait for tomorrow to see that =)

 

 

I also have to mention, I was comparing my nails with my mom while we both had no polish on, and it was hilarious but I didn't have my camera.  Either she has little kid hands, or I have Amazon hands, or maybe both LOL.  But we talked about how 6mm of free edge on me is nowhere near what 6mm of free edge would be on her.  I'll have to try & get a pic later to post up.

 

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Belated Birthday Treat

Well, it's been a while since I teased & taunted you with deliciousness ... Diane at work was busy last week, she apologized that she didn't have time to make me a cake - but that she would make me one this week!  I was super-happy because Diane makes homemade ice cream cakes:

Mmmmm, drool-worthy deliciousness =)  They're always a little different & always delicious.  This one had graham cracker crust, cookies & cream ice cream, more crust that might have been cookies, fudgy stuff, chocolate ice cream, and somewhere in there some Heath bar I think, all topped off with whipped cream.  She's awesome =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette