Man I Love Finding A Deal

Saturday kicked my butt. Badly.

Sunday wasn't as bad, but still busy. I did manage to get a manicure in, but no picture.

Instead I will share with you what I did get:

Yeesh, bad lighting. I know better than to trust my point and shoot's auto mode. This is a little haul from the Ross right next to my gym. I can't believe the steals in beauty products you can get. I got two sets of Color Club polishes. The top set is the Electro Candy collection. The colors are insanely bright. Some flat neons and some with a beautiful shimmer. I will definitely have to swatch these.

The bottom set is from the Rebel Debutante collection. Soft cremes, no shimmer to be seen in the bottles. Nothing terribly exciting, but I ask you, could YOU pass up SIX bottles of polish for $7.99? See, I knew you couldn't.

Oddly enough (or maybe I'm just a n00b) but the bottles that came in the packaged set do not have labels on the bottom of each bottom with names. Kind of lame, but in no way a deal breaker. When I post swatch pics, I will label each one.

Lastly, I was able to find a Nailtek set which included a bottle of Nailtek II, for soft peeling nails, a bottle of Speed 10 polish drying drops, and a bottle of hand cream. I have used Nailtek products in the past with great results. So for $8.99 for all three products, I knew I had found another steal. However, some of the claims on the back of the products are amazing claims. We'll see if the stand up to their promises.

Not pictured, but equally as exciting, I bought a bottle of CHI Enviroflex Hairspray for $7.99. The bottle was dented and didn't have a cap, but I would have done those things to the bottle myself anyway. About a $5 savings.

I have also been using L'oreal's Sulfate Free hair care system for a while. I like the results I get, but I also get restless. Plus, per ounce, it get's quite expensive. The cheapest place I can find this stuff is my local Bed, Bath and Beyond for $5.99 for a 8.5 ounce bottle.

While at Ross I found some Big, Sexy Hair products. I am familiar with the brand, and have used the hairspray, but was never impressed. Lately I have been on a more "natural product" kick, which prompted my switch in haircare to sulfate-free products. I decided to skip out on the Big, Sexy Hair products, but decided to give Healthy, Sexy Hair a try. Though it isn't sulfate-free, it's claims are what I want, "Smooths hair cuticle and detangles. Helps prevent damage and enhance shine. Preserves color." Seems achievable. I was able to get a 33.8 ounce bottle for $9.99 - again $5 cheaper than prices listed online.

L'oreal Sulfate-free shampoo: 71 cents/ounce

Healthy, Sexy Hair: 30 cents/ounce

Like I said, I love finding a deal. :-)

Projects Keeping Me Busy

Time for an update in my hobbies. Picture time!

I bought a camera. The Nikon D5000. I did a lot of soul searching on this camera. I've been wanting a DSLR camera for quite some time and I always thought I would buy a Canon when the time came. But after tons of online reviews, I just felt like this was the best bang for the buck. And with a closeout price at Sears, it pushed me over the edge. I still have a lot of playing around to do with the camera (I even bought a Nikon D5000 for Dummies book) but these two have been my best test subjects:

Elphie!

Georgie!

And these shots are as good as my amateur abilities allow me. Once I get through that book, I hope I can use a lot more of the features.

Onto obsession number two: Spinning.

BFL on my Ashford drop spindle

Skeined on a cookie sheet (I now own a Niddy Noddy)

Dyeing with Neon Purple Food Coloring

Drying

And KNITTED!!! (But not blocked)

I took a drop spindle class at Alamitos Bay Yarn Company, the LYS by my alma mater, CSULB. I would have been happy keeping my very first handspun in a neat little hank or center-pull ball forever, but my instructor, Angie, says that you should knit everything you spin (short of spinning commercially, like she does.) And so I knit it. A little lace sample of what I produced.

But drop spindling is what I would call a "gateway drug" in the world of fiber. Once I spun with a spindle, I knew I wanted more. And so I signed up for the spinning with a wheel class. Here is a sample of a single I produced:

A dyed gray merino top, 2 ounces. I am currently in the middle of plying this. Stay tuned for more.

Endeavor number three: a vegetable garden.

My Container Vegetable Garden

Each square container is 18 inches. I purchased seedlings from Lowes. One of each: Roma tomato, red bell pepper, zucchini, cucumber, and one strawberry plant. I love the idea of starting a vegetable garden. When I was a girl, I had a Molly doll from the original American Girl's Collection. Molly grew up in the World War II era, and I remember reading stories of her victory garden she kept with her mother. Times were tough then and they are nearly as tough now. My family regularly searches our local 99 cents only stores for produce. It's funny, but when times were better, we could get top quality produce for a buck. Now that the economy has gotten worse, so has the produce selection. Tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini are the vegetables my family eats the most. I thought I'd give growing them myself a go. The total startup cost for this project was just under $70. My family spends far more than that in a season's worth of vegetables. Hopefully I can call this undertaking a "victory garden" one day.

Strawberry Plant

Cucumber and Zucchini

Red Bell Pepper and Roma Tomato

And just to round things out, here is what I currently have on my needles:

Lava (Ravelry Link)

Aquaphobia Socks (Ravelry Link)

If you're interested in how these projects turn out, follow the Ravelry link. Otherwise, I may post FO pictures when I get these babies off the needles.

And finally for my lacquerheads, I will post a new manicure tomorrow after I handle my chores. I've got some heavy duty things to do and I don't want to risk screwing up a manicure.

Until tomorrow!

A Blog FAR Better Than Mine To Follow

Hey guys. I've been snapping up pictures of things I have been doing to keep me busy. I have been blessed with steady work (for now) and find projects to work on in my down time. I have joined a gym :-) and now that I have a more regular schedule, I should have time to really concentrate on losing a lot of my college weight.

But I have still neglected to post regular updates about my life and hobbies. I will return shortly with news of my doings. Promise!

In the mean time, I would like to tell you about a blog that I enjoy reading as much as she enjoys writing. Anita at A Splash of Serendipity writes a nail blog. And she does it with admirable regularity (unlike someone we all know (coughAshleycough.)

Anita somehow manages to keep up with all the latest collection (a hobby I attempted that just about broke me :-/) , trends and treatment, and posts pictures for all to see. Now, I suppose you could go an any nail blog and see swatch pictures, or even directly to the company's website to see swatches. What makes a nail blog special is the care, attention, and personality the write puts into each and every entry. Come for the swatches, stay for the content!

Aside from simply plugging this amazing blogger, I speak of her for another reason. Owing it to her own merit, Anita has earned over 100 followers on her blog and is hosting a giveaway: the entire Katy Perry Collection, by OPI including the lemming Black Shatter Polish. PLEASE check out this giveaway here.

Now I can tell you that if you are a polish hoarder, like myself, you should enter this giveaway if only to win Black Shatter. I stalked my local Sally Beauty Supply for the Ching Glaze Crackle polishes for WEEKS, only to spontaneously show up in the store one day to find they had just been delivered, still in the shipping box. Was the salesperson happy I made her open the newly delivered? No. Did I care she was put out? No - because after weeks of stalking I really felt I deserved them. Did I feel bad for the other people awaiting the arrival of the polish because I had them purchase exactly one half of their entire shipment of this polish? Only a little bit...I really did feel entitled to these. I had missed so many collections delivered to Sally's in the past, I just knew I deserved this one, LOL!

But after knowing how tough it was to get a hold of special crackle polish, I am telling you reader that if you love polish, you would be a fool to not at least leave a comment on the giveaway post. Who could regret having a free bottle of Black Shattered polish delivered to your door?

That is all for now dear reader, but I also leave you with this. Another nail blogger I followed just came out - she is a knitter.

I Think I've Found My Mojo

After bugging the snot out of the ladies as Sally Beauty Supply, I finally got them before they even hit the shelf:


China Glaze Crackle Collection
From left to right: Fault Line, Crushed Candy, Black Mesh, Broken Hearted, Lighting Bolt, Cracked Concrete


I haven't posted any nail related content for a cool minute on this blog but when I got these I couldn't resist and immediate rockin' mani:


China Glaze Crackle Cracked Concrete over Nubar's Lavender

I am so excited about these polishes. I had a crackle polish when I was in the 7th grade. I thought it was spectacular then as I think these are spectacular now. It has been a long while since these type of polishes have been around. And now it seems like when one polish company releases a new collection, every other polish company must duplicate the flavor of the week. Whereas OPI released a single shattered polish, CG released 6 of them. And for $4.99 with my Sally's Card, I had no problem skipping out on OPI's retail $8.99 price tag.

Expect more NOTD posts with these polishes. I'm getting my groove back!

Time For An Update On My Life

Hello ten readers!

I can hardly call you readers when there is nothing to be read.

Well, I have finished last part of my non-elective formal schooling. College was never a maybe for me. It was always something I assumed had to be completed. First you go to elementary school, then middle school, then high school, and then college. I assume one day, if I ever find a traditional job as a public school music teacher, I will work on a Master's degree. However, it may not be in music. Unless I develop some kind of passion for a facet of teaching I don't currently have, I assume I will try to earn a master's degree of the purpose of earning at a higher pay scale. Currently, most school districts pay based upon the number of years a teacher has been teaching with the district and based upon the number of units a teacher has beyond their baccalaureate degree. Simply put: the more units you have beyond your bachelor's degree, the more money you get paid.

I chose to say "the more money you get paid" versus "the more money you earn" because there is no correlation between the more units a teacher has making them a better teacher. With our current state of the economy, soon government will force teachers to be evaluated and will adjust their pay based on performance. I am not totally against this idea. People in general should be paid largely based on their performance, and I don't believe teachers should be an exception. In high school I was a victim of too many crappy teachers who had already obtained their tenure and in turn decided it was "OK" to babysit classes rather than teach them. And I went to a good school with good programs. But I still found myself sitting in these type of classes. If I was in an accelerated program and I occasionally sat in these type of classes, students in the mainstream population must really receive the crap education that is so often shown in papers and on the news.

But back to the original point, if it is still profitable for teachers to earn their masters for higher pay when I find a PS teaching position, I probably will go back to school one day.

But for now I am finished.

And today I find myself without (official) employment. In our current economy there are no jobs available for anyone let alone people with degrees. At one point while I was earning my degree, I had three jobs. Now I find myself with none. I fear that when I submit applications I am passed over because I list a degree under the education section. A person in HR once told me that they often passed over applications and resumes listing a bachelor degree when they were hiring for an entry level (aka minimum wage) position because they knew the person would be unhappy in the position. At this point, I would LOVE to be earning minimum wage.

I wonder if I should leave my bachelor degree off my applications when applying for a job. I don't want to be passed over for any reason. Even minimum wage will pay my bills.

I promise a more optimistic post later. There are some promising things happening in my life right now too. But it's always easier to bitch than to brag...for me anyway.

On the plus side, no job has offered me lots of time for knitting. If you are on ravelry, you can check out my latest FOs. I had a dry spell for a LONG time. But now I am back in action.

www.ravelry.com/projects/aelievense

Today is my birthday...

That feels weird to say. I never hint at people, or ever expect anyone to get me anything. I've never had a surprise party (that's not to say I haven't had nice surprises on my birthday) and maybe it's because I'm never that squeaky wheel looking for grease. I only have one real friend (who is not a family member) and we live far away from each other now because we go to different colleges. Anyway, I thought I would tell you 11 readers that today is my birthday. I feel like someone should know.

Anyway, onto fun stuff. On a cooler note, my birthday falls on a Sunday manicure day! I'm looking at my collection and wondering what special birthday polish I'll choose...

...update later.

Oh my gaaaaaaaahhhhhhh.....

One of these colors will be going on my nails tonight.



...and I got all day to chose which one.

I was able to snag these at Sally Beauty Supply. My local SBS either has snipers who are on some kind of calling list and come down the moment the new collections are put on display, or I just have bad luck. But as you can probably tell, there is one gem missing from the line-up shot, and that lil baby is Space Cadet.

I was a little torn whether or not to buy this collection. On the one hand, it's completely awesome. On the other hand, this "type" of nail polish is duplicated in almost every brand this season. Back on the first hand, Orly raised their prices for this collection (though I was able to get them for $7.99 a pop rather than the MSRP of $10), but that raised price is still cheaper than MAC's $13 for 0.34oz compared to Orly's generous 0.6oz.

And even though I kind of hate Orly's formula (it's always given me problems...without fail...I don't know if it's something that happens during shipping, at my SBS, if I apply with too much circulating air around me or what...all I know is that other people don't seem to have my problem with Orly. I probably need to start experimenting with thinners to solve this problem) getting almost double the product for a cheaper price is worth it to me. And because the big-time bloggers are generous enough to post cross-brand collection comparison pics, I know I am getting what I want.

On the nail growth front, I am almost completely done with my "grow out phase." I am sick of having short nails. I have nothing against short nails, but my process have been long. I get so jealous looking at my idol nail bloggers and their beautiful swatch pics with their long nails. Every week, I grab for my file, and shave off the weeks worth of growth, down to poor little nubbins. I think I am just at the point where I can let the growth come out and start working on getting the shape back to them.

And with all the new stresses of starting the student teaching I have fallen back into the bad habit of biting my cuticles. It's a habit that I fall into whenever I am stressed, and having short nails makes it easier for me to do it. Now that I will be able to have long nails again, and that I am getting adjusted to student teaching, I should be able to break the habit again.

Alright, that's enough of the blah blah blah. I'll try to post a new pic of my Orly
Cosmic FX maincure tonight.