Just a few comments

I was going to post a few more examples of my nail art but the batteries in my camera are dead. I'll put them in to charge and try to get the pictures posted tomorrow. I might even get a couple more painted. I have the polish on the nails, but still need to add the "art".

I went to Dillard's yesterday and picked up a new lipstick, MAC's "Lickable" cremesheen. The website says it's a "bright clean blue pink", but I think it's a gorgeous shade of fuchsia. I'll wear it with a MAC Dazzleglass creme "My Favourite Pink". I wish I could take a pic so you could see how beautiful these two colors are separately and together. I forgot to get a lip liner, I'll try to go back next week, or maybe order one off the MAC site. I also got a tube of prep and prime with a 50 spf sunblock. I already use Sanitas sunblock, so next time I think I'll get the prep and prime brightening serum.

I don't enjoy shopping the way I used to. I barely walk into a store when I begin to get muscle spasms and pain in my lower back. Walt and I used to go shopping, walking the malls and stores, tiny shops down town, antique stores, etc. And I also now have a strained deltoid muscle, and I'll be getting physical therapy next week. The muscle relaxer and pain meds put me to sleep so I can only take them at night. I feel bad for Walt because he doesn't like to go shopping by himself. He has stepped up and is doing most of the house cleaning, and what he doesn't do, won't matter until I can start cleaning again. I mean, seriously, who is going to notice if the top of the doors and the light switches have been cleaned in the last week. Yes, I'm obsessive compulsive when it comes to cleaning. Everything, and I mean everything in the house has to be cleaned. The outside not so much, I used to wash outside windows every month, but it's been probably 8-10 months since they have been cleaned. And gracious the world hasn't stopped turning and I don't really care if people are talking about me. LOL I remember my Mom working so hard in the house to keep it clean and tidy. She didn't get to enjoy herself as much as she could have. She was so afraid that someone would come to visit and the house wouldn't be "spic and span" and they would talk about her. Seriously. But it wouldn't have mattered because everyone loved my Mom, I don't ever think I heard anyone say anything bad about her. I have a need to keep a tidy house because it is small and I have "a lot of things" as Walt puts it. So everything must be in it's place, and it doesn't take much for the house to look cluttered. He goes so far as to "suggest" that we have a yard sale. Are you kidding me? When I'm dead and gone, and won't have to watch someone pick over my belongings like they are castoffs, my Vermont Teddy Bears, my dolls, my books, stuffed animals, magazines, etc.....no thanks, I'll just keep the house tidy! LOL

Yesterday we went to the Sunset Grill and ate lunch. The weather was beautiful. It won't be long before it will be too hot to sit out and enjoy a lunch or dinner.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Boo Hiss LOL

Well, the Saints let the Bucs win yesterday. Quite frankly, I AM disappointed. The Saints should have won that game. Garrett Hartley should have made that 37-yard field-goal. But no one can blame him for the lost game. You play as a team, win as a team and lose as a team.

This week I'll be:
1. knitting
2. listening to the new Adam Lambert CD (Am I the only one who is disappointed he will not be on ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve?)
3. reading The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart by Julia Cameron
4. AND waiting for the apple to drop in Times Square!


I'm trying to make a few changes to my blog for the new year. Just a few sutble changes. You'll notice my signature line will be changed due to changing my name. Several of my friends call me Tesla, due to my obsession with Nikola Tesla. So I thought what better way to honor him, and all his contributions to society. (I'll elaborate on him in a later post. I recommend reading Tesla: Man Out of Time by Margaret Cheney.) I think Tesla will better suit the person I have become over the past year. I'll also change my divider to pink lips. I love these lips! LOL It's in honor of my love of make-up and beauty.

Through out the holiday season I've had music on this blog. Now, I LOVE music, as I've posted about in the past. The latest playlist was several versions of Auld Lang Syne I enjoyed. While making the changes on my blog, I would click back and forth testing and it finally just started getting my last nerve, so I just deleted the play list. I'm sure it will be less annoying to the few very nice people who read my blog. Each and every one of you is appreciated very much.

This is the time of year that most people get nostalgic. Thinking back over the past year, remembering the highlights, births, deaths, and other things in the news. I always intensely dislike when the news runs a list of everyone who has died. It's just so very sad. It also reminds me of people who we hold dear in out hearts but no longer have contact with. Co-workers we promised we would keep in touch with when we left the job. Teachers, fellow students etc......

This is also a time when we make resolutions for the new year. I think pretty much all of them are forgotten by March. I rarely make New Year resolutions. I do make goals thought. Some I meet, some I don't. I don't see myself as a failure if I don't meet them. They have nothing to do with my value as a person. I have my 101 Things that I work on a little at a time. Some are long term goals, some are short term goals. Some things are serious, and some are silly and fun. And some will definitely get carried over to my next 101 Things list in 2011. However, I've decided that I am going to make a few specific goals for 2010. They are:

00001. Sew a well fitting white shirt (I LOVE a white shirt with jeans or denim skirt.)
00002. Make a chainmail bracelet (I have several patterns to make a chainmail bracelet, now to decide which one to make.)
00003. Smock a dress for my "Big Girl" doll (I have a small collection of Sew Beautiful magazines I can choose a pattern/design from.)
00004. Make matching aprons for me, my "Big Girl" doll, and AG Molly (I already have the patterns for these, Simplicity 3746.
00005. Start and continue taking yoga classes (I am a member of two gyms. Surely I can get the schedule and attend the classes.)
00006. Find a hairstylist that can cut my hair the way I want it cut (I'll elaborate on this in a later post.)
00007. Make a wardrobe scrapbook (I've actually already started this.)

That should do it. Seven things to do in 12 months. Yeah, I might have enough time. LOL

More about the Trade-show

A list of vendors at the IECSC trade-show can be found here. There were numerous booths selling LED machines, permanent makeup tools, instruments and classes, microdermabrasion machines, tanning, jewelry, and too many make-up and skin care companies to list here. I'm only going to highlight the ones I was interested in and bought something at. I could have spent a lot more money than I did, but I wanted to keep myself in check since I'm not working and I don't have an unlimited budget. I got oils, lotions, and creams massaged onto my hands, nail art on my short nails, and fuschia glittered eye liner applied (it co-ordinated nicely with the top I was wearing.

And speaking of the top I was wearing, it was a dark fuschia/purple color. I love this particular shade. In class, it was explained to us that most estheticians wear black. No explanation why, they just do. And there was a sea of black at the trade-show. And high heels, very high heels. I love my high heels, but I don't want to stand/walk around in them for 8-9 hours.

The first booth that caught my eye was Lalicious. I love bath oils, body butters, creams, lotions, scrubs, etc.....I bought Sugar Kiss Body Butter. OMG! The scent is to die for. I LOVE it. It sort of reminds me of cotton candy. You can order products from their website.

I am not an "eyebrow" person. When I was younger I didn't spend hours tweezing my eyebrows to get the perfect arch. I just never thought I could find a flattering shape, plus, I wore bangs most of the time that covered my eyebrows. So I bought an "eyebrow kit" in the wine color (which is more brownish, than the picture on the website appears) from Lizette Cosmetics. I tried it this morning and voila! I had a beautifully shaped brow and it looked very natural.

I bought a felt tipped eye liner from a booth I don't even remember the name of, but how can you go wrong for 3 dollars? I also bought an 88 palette matte eye shadow. It looks exactly like the one shown here, but doesn't have that brand name on it. In fact, it doesn't have a brand name on it at all. I don't really know why I had to have it. I don't wear eye shadow very often. But, it makes me happy to look at all the pretty colors. It's like....oooohhhhhh pretty! mine! LOL I still have to do my ethnic make-up and a couple of evening looks, so, I'll be using it in class.

I got information on advanced medical aesthetic classes, permanent eyelashes, and permanent make-up classes that I want to take and I got tons of fliers and brochures. I still haven't gone through all of them. I'll start using the samples I got in a few days. Although, I doubt I'll like them as much as I do Sanitas. I'll report on them when I use them.

I do have to tell about this skin care line, although I didn't buy anything there, called Repechage. I was just impressed with the esthetician's knowledge and the information she gave regarding the products. She was demonstrating a four layer facial was was very interesting. She allowed us to feel a bit of the seaweed mask and the mineral mask. The seaweed mask was very very cool to the touch and the mineral mask was very warm to the touch. The products came premeasured in small packets, with a consistent result each time the product is used. The mineral mask "hardened", was very firm to the touch and came off in one piece that retained its shape. The seaweed mask also came off in one piece, but was more of a gel texture and did not retain it's shape. This particular skin care line does not advocate the use of machines, such as brushes, suction, or the use of hot towels. There was a noticeable difference in the model's skin tone and texture. Unfortunately, the closet salon that uses this line is a couple of hours away, and since I won't drive that far for one, no matter how fab I think it is, I don't think I'll be getting one soon. LOL

The Weekend

I received an email a week or so ago informing me that the magazine "Threads" is now available on DVD. From 1985 to 2009. One hundred forty-six issues on one DVD. LOL It comes out bi-monthly. Back in the late 80s I had several issues. I decided that I would clip the articles that I wanted to keep and get rid of the magazines. Boy, did I regret that. Later on I got another subscription and I replaced all the ones I had clipped from and thrown away. I had all but a few of the first few issues that were hard to find and were no longer being published. I monitored e-bay for months until I was able to complete my "Threads library". I'm proud to say that I have every issue of Threads and duplicates of some of the copies. They have been invaluable for my sewing. The earlier issues didn't focus just on sewing, but had articles on other fiber arts. I frequently pull out a random issue and read it. This is probably the finest magazine published today for home sew-ists.

I went shopping at the MAC counter at my local Dillard's yesterday. I just LOVE MAC cosmetics. I got the "Pink Swoon" blush, a "Snob" lipstick, and Dazzleglass Creme in "My Favorite Pink". It was a toss-up between Pink Nouveau and Snob, but after swatching, Pink Nouveau seemed a little too bright. Snob is a little light for me, but I'll get a different lipgloss to wear over it or mix it with a darker shade of pink. I love the Pink Swoon blush, it's such a pretty fresh shade of pink. But I think I could have worn "Coygirl" or "Well Dressed" just as well. All the associates were really busy. A LOT busier than at the other cosmetic counters. They were all gorgeous and their make-up expertly applied. I would have loved to have taken a little more time and just looked at and compared the different shades of lipsticks and eye shadows and such, but my back was killing me after just walking a few minutes to get to the counter.     :(     Oh, and I got a pump dispenser for my bottle of foundation. You can be sure that MAC cosmetics are going to be on my Christmas list this year! LOL

I've been taking a half an hour or so most days and knitting on the Irish hiking scarf. I have about a quarter of it done. I'm such a slow knitter and if I don't pay close attention I make a mistake and have to frog it and reknit it. Looking at it I can see a couple of places that should have been reknit, but I'm not going to reknit it. It will take me too long. I'm amazed at the knitter's who are almost finished with something and frog all of it and restart it. Anyway, I'll keep knitting away and it should be done soon.

Ramblings

I haven't felt like posting lately. Not much is happening. I'm just trying to get the esthetician class finished. My back is preventing me from doing as much as I would like to. I'm doing about two services a day. I love doing microdermabrasion. I like doing body waxing, but not so much waxing eyebrows. I've done a Hot Stone Facial and I loved doing it too. I'm looking forward to actually getting to start working in the field.

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. There isn't a dramatic change of seasons here in Florida. This past week we had some cooler temperatures and it was really nice. (It has since returned to 90 degree weather though.) When I was younger I loved getting new clothes and starting back to school. Most of the time my Mom drove me to school. I have some nice memories of waiting for the bus with Nancy and Jesse, who were neighbors. Nancy was a year older than me but was in the same grade and Jesse was a year younger. We were neighbors for only a short time. Nancy got married, I think she was about 16. I believe Jesse is Jesse Morehead from Stayin Safe, and also an internationally known archery champion. Just a walk down memory lane.

The last time I blogged I did an update on the NailTech products I was using. I'm happy to say they are still doing an excellent job of making my nails strong and healthy. I got a gorgeous light pink nail polish and I'm now using it.

As I mentioned autumn is my favorite time of year and I think I enjoy Halloween as much as I do the Christmas season. I love all the decorations and dressing up in costume and doing make-up. The young man in this youtube video is an amazing make-up artist and has several tutorials on youtube. I'm going to use one of his tutorials to do my make-up for Halloween.



My ex and I have decided to get married again. We'll go Monday and get the license. We're getting married on Halloween. Again. LOL I think we both should have our Halloween make-up on. It won't be a huge deal. We will go with some friends, get married and go to an early dinner. They have younger children and need to be available for trick or treating or a party or what ever they have planned. I would like to go to Guavaween, and see the Mama gave Stumble Parade, but I don't know if my back will "let" me walk around. I would also like to go to Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando.

Probably we will end up watching classic horror movies, such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Mummy, and their sequels. Although there are other good horror movies, I love these movies and never tire of watching them. I don't care so much for the newer stab and hack movies. Although I do like the original Friday the 13th. Walt and I watched The Ring. Immediately after watching the movie, our phone starts to ring. I answered it and immediately start laughing, explaining to my friend that we had just watched the movie. LOL

Make-up and nails

This is what my nails look like after a week of using Nailtek products. They are about the same length, but I have filed them a couple of times to get them to the proper shape. My nails do feel stronger and healthier though. You can see a couple of blemishes on the nails, but I'm not motivated enough to change my polish and reapply everything today. Tomorrow is Friday and I'll do it tomorrow night. The nail polish I'm wearing is a frankenpolish I made several months ago. I added what was probably some shade of red to Sally Hansen's Sheer Beige Gloss. It's such a pretty shade of pink. I'm gonna try to find a commercial brand as close to this shade as possible. If you're interested in making up your own colors of nail polish visit Amanda on her blog Dr. Frankenpolish. She has some gorgeous colors of nail polish. I've loved almost every color she has created. I'm going to get a pedicure tomorrow from on of the students in the nail class. I can hardly wait! It's been ages since I've had one. I usually just polish my own. It's nice to be pampered a little. LOL



One of the things on my 101 Things list is to buy myself a right hand ring. Back in March, I finally found one that was exactly what I was looking for. I wasn't looking for an expensive ring. Just a little something that I thought was pretty and had some small diamonds in it. So, here it is....isn't it pretty?











I have recently become a MAC convert. Last weekend, I got a make-up primer, Sheertone blush in blushbaby and Amplified Creme Lipstick in Craving. Blush baby is a very beautiful shade. If you look closely at my ring finger you will be able to see it. It's slightly darker than my skin tone and I love the way it looks. It's a beige-pink color. The next blush I want to get is blushcreme in the color posey which is a rosey pink. When I went to MAC for a makeup demonstration I saw a beautiful color called Daft Pink, but I can't find it on the MAC website. I don't know, I might change my mind....LOL...all the colors are so beautiful!

3D Movies

On Tuesday, Walt and I went to see Final Destination 3D at Baywalk 20. We enjoy watching 3D movies and I thought we would enjoy seeing this one. I haven't seen any of the previous Final Destination movies. It had more gore than I thought it would. Maybe I should have at least watched the trailers? LOL



This obviously is a picture of my left hand. Why am I posting a pic of my left hand? Well, as you can see, I have very short nails, my hands are very dry, to the point of my fingers cracking open and bleeding. Not good if you want to look your best, and work in the "beauty business." My right hands looks pretty much like my left one except I have a bruise underneath the nail on my thumb. I was half asleep and closed the door on my thumb one night 4 weeks ago. Fortunately it didn't get sore just bruised. As a nurse, I washed my hands constantly and it has taken a toll on my nails and the skin on my hands. When I first moved to Florida in 1980, I had beautiful long nails, they looked like expensive well done acrylic nails. But, I digress.....LOL Anyway...my POINT is I am using three new products on my nails and I want to log the progress. I'm using Nail Tek III: Protection Plus for dry brittle nails and Nail Tek Hydration Therapy, and Beauty Secrets Nail Matrix cuticle oil/instant polish dryer from Sally Beauty. I also use several different lotions and creams. I can't grow my nails long due to the nature of the "beauty business", (at least the part I'll be working in), but I can grow them healthy again. I look forward to being able to wear pretty nail polish and possibly some nail art.

In class at Lorraine's we're focusing doing makeup right now. I've got to practice doing eye shadows. I didn't wear eyeshadow much in my younger days. I would just apply fake eye lashes, be done with it and go on my way. LOL We will be certified makeup artists on completion of the esthetician class. But, I want to go the extra mile and get the paper to prove it, so I'll need to do extra work. Anyone want to volunteer? Next week we'll be learning nutrition (who woulda thunk it? LOL) and Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we'll be learning bodywraps. woohoo! I LOVE body wraps! LOL

#s 44, 66, 67 and 68

I've always been a girly-girl. I love make-up, clothes and shoes, especially high-heels. Always loved dressing up.

I'm doing a What Not to Wear type wardrobe. I want to love and wear everything in my closet. I want to look great in everything I have. I also want to have clothing appropriate for every occasion. I've already purged almost everything I can't/won't wear. I have a few things that have sentimental value. Things that my Mom bought me. I'll never part with those. I'll keep them put away. So I consider #66 completed at this time. As I lose weight I'll get rid of the clothes that no longer fit and they will be replaced. As I sew and replace those items I will put the reviews on Pattern Review.

I watched a Tyra Banks' show a couple of weeks ago. A guest's makeup and brushes was cultured. OMG!!! You wouldn't believe the vermin growing there! It was truly disgusting! So, I decided right then to replace all my make-up and brushes. Currently I don't wear make-up very often. I used to wear "full face" every day. But I will when class starts. So looking forward to that!

LOL I comment on that paralegal class in almost every entry.