In Which I Make Excuses

This is not a proper blog post. There will be no proper blog posts for at least a day or so, because, in addition to my ongoing laptop issues (which may be resolved once I get Mr. K to help me take apart my machine and install the new part I ordered for it), our internet connection has been extra wonky. Download speeds are okay, but upload speed is pretty much nonexistent. I can't add files to my Dropbox; I can't upload them to my image host. A nail blog without pictures is a sad thing indeed. The tech support for our service provider agrees there is an issue and has reported it to the utility company, which up here is just a handful of folks who will get to fixing things when they can. Fingers crossed that's soon, or I may have to set up shop in town; the library has pretty fast wifi, but they won't let me eat there, and I have to wear pants, both of which make it a poor alternative to blogging from home.

I Have a Good Excuse This Time

So yeah, I haven't been around again. My last post proves I can blog while on the road, yet I did not for the rest of that trip. The main reason is I got in a car accident that rendered me bruised and sore and my car a total loss. All of this 2000 miles from home, too.











I was very fortunate to not be seriously injured, and to have friends to help me until Mr. Karen could get there, but still it's been unsettling and distracting and took my focus away from things like blogging. I'm home in Idaho now, healing up more every day, and will be back to posting about nail polish soon.

Current NOTD: Mickey Mouse Stamping

Okay, yes, I've been gone again, but I have two really good reasons this time: with one last big push, we finished up all the projects needed to get our house on the market, then the very next day after we listed it for sale, we left for a vacation in southern California, most of which we spent at the Disney theme parks there. I got back late last night, and my nails even now are sporting the Mickey Mouse manicure I did for the trip.

I did my nails just before we left for the airport, so the only photos I got were at the restaurant we ate lunch at before we caught our flight out. I put on Qtica Nail Growth Stimulator first, then Sally Hansen Insta Gel Strips in Pink Pong. Solid strips? Yep, becuase that meant no dry time needed before I could stamp, which I did with Salon Express Nail Art Paint in Bold Black (which I found in a two pack with a white somewhere, maybe Walgreens) and images from MJ plates JR-5 and JR-27. Most of my nails got allover Mickey faces, while one thumb got a flirty Minnie and the other got a slouchy Mickey. After the stamping, I topped each nail in turn with the Sally Hansen Gel Top Coat and cured with the mini lamp. (Lamp from the starter kit, which I reviewed way back in 2012.) A quick swipe with a cleansing wipe (I had one from the box of strips, but I've also just used rubbing alcohol on a cotton round before), and I was off to the airport.





Today, nine days later, my mani is still in pretty good shape. The topcoat is still shiny without me having to do anything to it. I did get a chip on my index finger near the end of the trip; I touched it up with Joe Fresh Nude (a close match to Pink Pong).



As for the trip, it was mostly fun, though the theme parks were more crowded than we'd expected, plus I got sick halfway through, so we weren't able to do all the things we'd planned. Still, we enjoyed most of our time there and sure got to experience things we can't at home. The parks were decorated for Christmas already and looked especially good at night.



My favorite part of the new nightime parade was this color-changing truck float. I wanted to just follow it down the street and watch it make all the different patterns and hues.



It got cold at night but we didn't let that stop us from having fun. One night just before the park closed, we rode Dumbo; only four people on the ride at the time.



My being sick meant I spent only enough time on the beach to see the sunset one day, which was totally worth getting out of bed for.



I am really truly hoping to be posting more regularly now that I'm back, but we'll just have to see if I can manage that. I still haven't really established a routine in retirement. Seems about time I should do that.

Home, Home Again

Yes, that long gap between posts means I've been off having fun elsewhere. This time, it was taking a road trip with Mr. Karen out to our condo in Idaho, where we stayed for about two and a half weeks before heading back. All told, we were gone nearly a month, the longest I've been away from home since I went off to collect lo those many years ago. I did post some while we were out there, but since we don't have internet in the condo right now, it was a bit of a challenge. Now I'm back in Michigan, with reliable internet I don't have to walk ten minutes to access. I hope this will mean more regular posts again.

My nails for the first part of the trip were Sally Hansen Salon Effects strips in A Little Bubbly, a blue and green dotted design that was limited edition for spring/summer 2014. Sure, I could have done something similar with creme polishes and a dotting tool, but putting these on before we hit the road was much easier, and I needed that when I was busy packing for a month long trip.



On the seat of the truck that we drove on our journey:



Since we weren't limited in vacation days like we were all the other times we've made this drive, we took the time to make some stops along the way, like the Corn Palace and the Badlands in South Dakota.





Once we got to our mountain, we faced a whole variety of weather conditions, including on different days smoke from nearby wild fires, rain, sun, and hail. We did still get out and do a lot of hiking, and saw various wildlife, including a bear that walked by our condo on several different days.













Near the end of our visit, we hosted some family and friends for the fall festival, including this sweet dog:



The drive home was less leisurely since we had some appointments scheduled in Michigan this week, but we did enjoy some spectacular sunsets from the the truck and made a quick stop to see the world's largest sandhill crane just off the freeway.





Then, about two hours before we pulled into our driveway, I broke two nails fishing around in the cooler to get Mr. Karen a snack. So once I work through the backlog of swatches, you may see lots of fakes and/or shorties around here for a while. Nothing wrong with that, just frustrating. Why couldn't they break at the beginning of the trip when I wasn't going to be swatching or meeting up with nail friends anyway?



So that's what I've been up to. Any of you celebrate the end of summer with a trip or festival?

My First Empties

Every time I see someone else do an empties post, most often my friend Lizzy, I think "I should do that", then pretty much immediately forget until the next time I see one. But today is a historic day: I remembered to snap a photo before I put some recently emptied containers into the recycling bin (or the trash in one case since I couldn't find any indication it was something my community would accept in the bin).



Starting from the left, there's Eucerin Calming Body Wash Daily Shower Oil. I didn't buy this; Mr. Karen brought it home from one of his visits to his parents' house. I guess they tried it and didn't like it, which doesn't surprise me since I didn't like it, either. I generally use a mild soap in the shower anyway, so this didn't seem loads more gentle, and it wasn't moisturizing enough that I felt like I could skip my post-shower lotion in this Michigan winter, so it didn't save me any time, but mostly I didn't like the smell. It's fragrance-free, so has no masking agents or pleasant scents added, which meant it smelled like its ingredients, which include oils like soybean and castor, so basically there I am in my shower getting a whiff of something that reminded me of my frying pan on those rare occasions when I cook. That's not something I associate with being clean and fresh, for sure, so I haven't replaced this.



The Ion Color Defense Sulfate Free Shampoo was the thing I picked as my free product when I renewed my Sally Beauty card. I did like the smell of this, sort of like grapefruit, which although I don't like to eat, I do find refreshing to smell. It was just okay at cleaning my hair and leaving it feeling nice when it dried, though, so I don't plan to buy more. I did like the scent, though, so maybe I'll look at some reviews and see if there's some trick to using this that I just didn't know about—diluting with water first or massaging into my scalp more or something.



Unlike the first two products, it was not my first time trying the Bikini Zone Anti-Bumps Shave Gel. It's one of my staples; I keep it in the shower and use it for all my shaving, not just my "bikini zone". I like the product and the packaging—no metal can of shave cream to knock over accidentally and make a huge clang in the morning, a time when clanging should be kept to a minimum. I failed to snap a shot of the ingredients on the empty, but here they are from my backup:



When I used up this tube of the Bikini Zone, I decided to try something similar from a store brand, figuring I could save a little money. Thus the CVS Bikini Smooth Shave Gel came into my shower. It's clearly targeted at being a Bikini Zone replacement, with the same product color and similar package design. I'm not sure why they felt it necessary to put "for women" on the CVS one; seems to me if a man wants to shave his bikini area there's no reason he couldn't use this stuff.



I should have turned the packages over in the store and compared the ingredients, though, since unlike a lot of store brand equivalents, the CVS shave gel is not an exact match for the name brand in everything but packaging and price.



I might have still bought the CVS knowing the ingredients were different but having that in my head fact would have made me less surprised when it proved to not be as suitable for me as the name brand. It's a little thicker in consistency than the Bikini Zone, which wasn't an issue. The problem came when I tried the CVS on my most sensitive areas and felt a slight burning sensation. That does not happen with the Bikini Zone. Apparently the CVS has something in it which does not agree with my lady parts. It's now relegated to leg shaving duty, and I'm back to the Bikini Zone for everything else. I'll save money somewhere else.