Manicure

My nails are terrible. They are extremely thin and brittle, and they have unsightly ridges. My cuticles peel. It doesn't help that I have a tendency to bite my nails when I'm stressed, which is too often the case.

To remedy a recent bout of nail-biting, I had acrylic nails applied. (Because I can't stand long fingernails, I asked the nail tech to cut them really short. Shorter. Shorter than that. Yep, that's perfect. I thought she'd give me a look, but she didn't really seem to care. I guess short nails really are the new long nails?)

Anyway, the acrylics stayed on for a long time. Like 4 weeks. And they only came off because I took them off. Despite my constant cutting, shaping, filing and painting, they were starting to get annoying. But it did allow my nails to grow out. I took advantage of my longer-than-usual nail length to get a gel manicure.

I LOVE IT. I can't stop looking at my nails. It looks like a clear coat finish that you'd see on a car. So smooth. So shiny. Jury's still out on how long it will last or if it will actually make my nails stronger. But for now... totally worth it!

freakin' fabulous

Last year I started an ambitious campaign to be more ladylike. If you know me, you know what I mean by "ambitious." I went through Emily Post's book of etiquette searching for things that are applicable to my life. (Calling cards? Notsomuch.) As it happens, there wasn't a whole lot that was applicable to my life.

I did learn that when offering felicitations to a bride, you should never say "congratulations." That implies that she "won" something when really it was the groom who "won" over the bride. You should say "best wishes" instead. How I remember that and not a million other more important things is beyond me. I also managed to learn how to eat using the continental method, which is enormously impressive to me (and only me, I'm pretty sure).

But the truth of the matter is that there just isn't much Emily Post can tell me about life in the 21st century. So I was delighted to find Freakin' Fabulous by style guru Clinton Kelly. It's full of fascinating and useful tidbits such as when to salt and pepper your food, what not to bring to a dinner party, and how to write a good thank you note. And it's funny!

bumper stickers

I can't decide if bumper stickers are a cool, fun little adornment or are completely trashy. Normally, I don't like things on the back of my car. My Syracuse Alumni license plate frame is about as personal as it gets right now.

But recently I have been wanting something a little more me. And those stick-family stickers are not my style, so that's out. I really want to give into what I call (for lack of a better term) ovals. I've been resisting because of their trendiness. I'm not really a trendy person, for better or for worse. But maybe if I just stick with country ovals (as opposed to city ovals, sports team ovals, marathon ovals, etc etc etc) I won't seem as... sheepish.

Does that back of my Jeep need this much bling?
I don't know. I'm still trying to decide.

920 -- Things I'm loving these days

1. The rain. It is nature's car wash. Plus it smells good.
2. The PSI monitor on my car. I'll leave you to your inferences.
3. These to do list note pads from prettybitter.com. I appreciate their honesty. (PS My birthday is coming up!)
4. Moms Like Me. After searching high and low for a full time working mom online support group, I finally stumbled on this (all local!) site. They have already helped me through one low point.
5. My darling daughter. Despite sickness, exhaustion, and general icky feelings, she manages to be amazing every day. We should all be so lucky.
6. My new fabric softener scent. Hey, it's all about the little things, right?
7. My husband. He works really hard, and never (hardly ever) complains. I have a lot to learn from him.
8. Custom return address stamps like these. Because labels are so last decade. Did I mention my birthday is coming up?
9. Bath time. Natalie's bath routine is the time we are guaranteed every day. We pick out her clothes, get some tub time in, and she talks up a storm. Afterwords, I feed her and sing to her. Sometimes she sings along.
10. Friends who call more than a month ahead of my birthday to ask what my plans are and if I want to get together to celebrate. They don't need no stinkin Facebook reminder! Thanks friend :)

Anything you're loving these days?

004 -- The Serendipity Machine...

... also known as The Internet.

As I have mentioned to people who recommend tv shows to me, I do not have time in my life (or room on my DVR) for another series. That's not to say that new shows don't pique my interest. I was, for instance, intrigued by previews for FOX's series Glee. This is possibly because I am a music nerd from way back.

However, I was trolling the internet recently and read something that made my eyes bug out. Glee is set in Lima, Ohio?! Could this be? My own hometown? Who knew about this? Why was I not told?

I missed the premier of Glee, probably for one the other series I watch religiously. I do know that it was reasonably well received. According to Lima natives, the locale does not feature prominently, and it would be hard to guess where the show actually takes place other than a small Midwestern town. Despite this, I plan to Netflix this series during maternity leave -- because what else will there be to do? (hah!)

And that was my serendipitous discovery of the day.

636.7 -- Mirror Image

Several weeks ago, our neighbors bought a new puppy for their live-in grandchild. The first time I saw the little guy through the office window, I did a double take. I thought it was Charlie!

394.262 -- Better Late Than Never

Yes we did celebrate Memorial Day. Mostly just by celebrating the ability to do nothing :) We did of course set the flag to half staff at the appropriate times. Researching the exact whens of flying the flag on Memorial Day, we came across the following trivia.

Did you know that on Memorial Day, flags are meant to be flown at half staff only until noon? We did, but we saw a lot of business and individuals that didn't. I don't think this is something widely known. I'm sure our flag got some funny looks when it was at full staff for most of Memorial Day.

Did you also know that there is much support for celebrating Memorial Day on May 30 every year instead of celebrating the observed Memorial Day on the last Monday in May? While three-day weekend plans will suffer, proponents argue that the day will mean much more if a mini-vacation is not attached to it. What do you think?

616 -- Sick and Tired

It started Thursday with a general feeling of not-wellness. Friday I had a terrible and terribly persistent cough. I made the best of Saturday, trying to enjoy our birthday and be a good hostess. Sunday and today have been hands-down awful.

Church is always awkward when you're sick. Spend all of Mass hacking and coughing and blowing your nose and guess how many people want to shake hands with you at the sign of peace -- no matter how carefully you cough into your hankie. My chest, throat, abs, and nose were so sore by Sunday evening that I knew there was no way I'd make it through work on Monday.

While honey, cough drops, and a vaporizer have made some improvements on my well-being, the crud persists. I struggle with taking sick leave now when I am desperately trying to hoard it for later. *sigh* What I wouldn't give for a good strong OTC medication!

395.22 -- Wedding Memories

The tiara that I wore for my wedding in 2005 has been missing since approximately 10 days after our wedding. When we returned from our honeymoon and made it back to NY, we packed up a lot of stuff and just put it wherever we had room. Our house was pretty tiny up in NY, so there was stuff scattered everywhere.

I thought all was lost when I twice rummaged through everything looking for the tiara -- with no luck. Recently, while digging through the same stuff, it turned up! YAY!

Then and now: The picture on the wall
behind me is from our wedding.