200 Hundred Squats- Yes I Said TWO HUNDRED

 

(photo courtesy of http://www.twohundredsquats.com)

TWO HUNDRED SQUATS.  I am kidding, nope, I surely am not.  This program comes by way of the same lovely folks that have given us the oh so wonderful One Hundred Push Ups program (which I still have 2 more weeks of).  The concept is the same..do a bunch of squats until you can't, see where you should start in the program, squat like crazy 3 times a week, and when it is all said and done you will be able to do 200 squats and have an backside to rival J-Lo's.

I did the initial test and day 1 on the same day.  That is not the recommended way to do it but I had to so I could keep my scheduling on track.  This morning I set up shop with everything I needed in my living room (and all you ever need is yourself) and commenced to squatting.  Sixty-one squats later I was bored and thought enough was enough.  And so it was.  According to the program I should start in week 3.  Okay,  hopefully I can finish this quicker than planned and reward myself quicker than planned.  

As with the One Hundred Push Ups I will be posting my weekly results and exhaustion tests.  Wish me luck and feel free to join me.  It is much more fun knowing someone is doing it with you.  The program can be found here: http://www.twohundredsquats.com.

Week 4- Quite A Struggle

So here are my Week 4 stats. Admittedly this challenge is getting harder and harder. The breaks they give you are not nearly enough so I always find myself taking a longer break. By Day 3 of each week the break is around 4-5 minutes instead of 2. Oh well, I need longer to recover but I am forging ahead.

Week 4 Stats:
Day 1 18-22-16-16-30
Day 2 20-25-11/9-16/4-20/10 --- KILLER DAY..ugh!!!
Day 3 23-28-23-23-34---- WOOT WOOT!! long breaks but did them all each time!

The excitement of actually doing so many negates the fact that my breaks were longer. At least in my mind it does. I am a little off so I am going to have to play catch up this week some how. Give me credit though, my Day 2 was on Christmas Day and I actually did them.

Next is another exhaustion test. Oh joy. Results to come.

Another Blue Beauty

I have been slacking over the holidays and haven't updated as I should so playing catchup will not be fun. Here is a quicky though. Who doesn't love blue nail polish. Why I gravitate towards blues is beyond me because red is my favorite color but there is just something about blue nail polish that has me mesmerized right now. The name of this blue beauty is Kotori.

1 coat

2 coats

This polish will take several coats for you to get it to its true color.  I thought that it would only take 2 coats but boy was I mistaken.  You can see how sheer the first 2 coats are so be ready for a 3-4 coat application and then your top coat of choice.  I stopped at 3 coats which is what you will see in the pictures below.

All in all a gorgeous color. I can see myself actually using the whole bottle of this and buying more!!

Christmas Nail Disaster

Ha..I was bored with my Candy Cane looking nails so thought I wanted something different. Shame on me for thinking the grass is always greener and there is something better to be had. Really I should have just left well enough alone but that is so not me.  Here is a pic of what I was trying to do with some Christmas colors.

One picture should suffice. The polish remover was calling my name. I felt to be fair to all I should post the messes I make as well. Zoya Suvi was the base, a Sally Hansen French Shell Shimmer in Naturel White for the lines, and Kleancolor Red Heart for the tip. Just so you know what NOT to do!!

Urban Decay Grind House Sharpener

This sharpener came to me by way of a lovely Twitter friend and I couldn't be more thrilled. A few months ago I was reading reviews on eyeliner sharpeners and knew I was up for one that actually worked.  Most of the sharpeners I have are freebies that came with other items so I am guessing the quality couldn't be but so great.  Don't get me wrong, some freebies I do go back and pay for once done but I have honestly never had an eyeliner sharpener fall into that category. So here you have it:

Don't you just love it in all of its fabulous purpleness!!!  Of course I couldn't wait to give this baby a whirl.

Remember what I said about other sharpeners. This morning I used my Urban Decay 24/7 in Lust.  Mind you I did sharpen this morning before using and this picture is after using it on both eyes. Pretty darn dull. I will admit that I did not sharpen it to the best point but I knew my sharpener was only going to get it but so sharp anyway.

Now for the magic.  Look at this fabulous sharp pencil.  It makes me so happy and excited. No job to large for this puppy. Eyeliner peace has been restored in my household.

A few more pics to make you a believer in this bad boy.

So there you have it folks.  The pictures don't lie.  I am a happy camper and I can most definitely tell my eyeliners are smiling too.  If you don't have a decent sharpener get yourself one, you will be glad you did.

Holiday Smoliday...Bah Humbug...and Ugh!!

Based on the title it is pretty evident that holidays are just not my thing. It is beyond not my thing I almost despise the holidays. Really Christmas. My qualm is the whole commercial factor of it. A few years ago I found myself all stressed out because I didn't have gifts for people. People who I only see once a year around the holidays. People who I don't even talk to on the phone really or email. I had to take a step back and put things in perspective. Now that they are in perspective I still dread the holidays because 99% of the people around me continuously ask me if I am done shopping and blah, blah, blah. I hate shopping the rest of the year so you can only imagine my utter disdain for shopping around Christmas time.

I don't want gifts that you felt obligated to buy. That does not sit well with me. I no longer feel obligated to buy gifts for anyone. If I am thinking of you I will buy you a gift, in May, August, or whenever. Please, people, please open your eyes and stop spending your money on nonsense. Spend time with the people you love. The memories will far outlast anything you can give them.

Okay, my rant is over. I just had to get that out.

Christmas Nails

This weekend was filled with hours of me trying to figure out what red, white, green design I could do on my nails. Ideally I would have liked to do a red nail with little green Konad bows or vice versa but that wasn't happening. I do not have a red and green that provided a nice enough contrast to see the detailing of the bows. I may still do some thing with white bows but am not so sure. Here are two experiments and I am not thrilled with either. Whatever I guess. For now I am tired of inhaling the aroma of polish and remover so maybe later I will think of something I really love.

The first one I did reminds me of Candy Canes. For this one I painted my nails with Kleancolor Red Heart and used the Sally Hansen French Nail Shimmer in Naturel White for the design.The next one I did I wanted to add a little glitter.  I tried gold but the flecks were so tiny it would have taken to many coats to get it right so I went with the silver Kleancolor glitter.  The idea was to have the glitter more concentrated on the tips.  This was the first time I tried to do this and it got kind of thick towards the tips.  Since I do have a silvery polish I thought that putting that on the ends would help the appearance of making the glitter look more concentrated at the tips.  Needless to say it was more goopy mess.  Oh well, it is all about learning so I wasn't upset.  This was the result:

Now I have to try and figure something else out.  I must say I really do like the color of the Kleancolor Red Heart.  For a cheapie polish it seems to work fine for my purposes.

Week 3 Down

This week was a tough one for the push ups. I wasn't doing my normal get to the gym and go workout routine so really it was just the push ups at random times. I got all 3 days in though.

Week 3 Stats:
Day 1 12-17-8/5-13-20
Day 2 14-19-14-14-20
Day 3 16-21-15-14-14/4/4

As you can see the last set of Day 3 gave me a heck of a time. Depending on how Day 1 of Week 4 goes I may repeat Week 3. It really just depends. This week was all about gripping dumbbells instead having my hands on the floor. Using the dumbbells makes my wrists feel a lot better but then the palms of my hands hurt. By the time the last set rolled around I had wrapped the sleeves of my sweatshirt around the dumbbells to provide some relief. It did help a lot but that set was really, really hard.

I am proud of myself though. I am going to forge into week 4 being optimistic but may have to take a step back and get a solid set for Week 3. Overall the week wasn't so bad but I felt like I hit a brick wall on the very last set.

Stay tuned because next week will also mark the start of the 200 Squats Challenge!!!

Leopard of Ibiza

   
This is my Konad that I did on Sunday but have just been ridiculously lazy about posting.  I used Zoya Ibiza, which I had issues with (read here), and the Silver Princess Konad Special polish which I had issues with as well.  Maybe I was just having an off day but I tried the Silver Konad before and it just did not seem to transfer as well as some of the other special polishes.  Oh well, I forged ahead because it was late and I try at all costs to figure out what the deal is.  I didn't but, oh well.

 

Ode to Ibiza

Oh, Ibiza, how much I want to love you.  

Can I, or will you betray me. (had some issues with this polish)

Your dark beauty reigns supreme as the sun shines down (beautiful in the sunlight though)

You can't stay with me forever (scared it will stain my nails)

We will find each other when the time is right (gotta figure out what base and top goes best with this)

I will return to you one day (gonna mess with some other colors in the meantime).

So you can gather from my lovely "Ode to Ibiza" that my first impression was less than stellar.  I only say that because this is the only the 2nd Zoya polish I have used and the 1st one (Midori), I had no issues with whatsoever. 

Before I go for the gusto and paint all of my nails in a new color I sample it on 1 or 2 nails.  It went on fine but when I took it off I scrubbed, I think it had stained my nails that quickly.  I scrubbed a little more and was relatively satisfied and told myself I should have used a base coat even for the sample.  I went ahead and put my standard Revlon base coat on and after it dried started painting on my beautiful Ibiza.  Immediate disappointment.  This polish did not glide on smoothly at all.  I know the base coat was dry so I don't know if it was some type of incompatible formulation between the two or what.  I went ahead and painted a few more but knew it wouldn't work.  Off it all came.  I painted a base of Sally Hansen clear Hard As Nails and voilla...all went well.  The polish went on smoothly and everything else was user error.  But, and this is a big but, since this polish is so dark the user errors are glaringly obvious.  My beloved Ibiza will not change so I guess I have to get better.

My next issue was this polish took for freakin' ever to dry.  And me being the impatient person I am tend to get hungry.  Of course opening a can of soup with wet nails is not the most brilliant idea but they should have been dry already.  So there goes one nail.  Then I waited patiently and at some point rested my hands against my shirt or a blanket and had some nice little imprint on a few more nails...errr.  I knew I was going to Konad and decided to not worry about my imprinted nails to much.

Ibiza, we will get along one day!!! Mark my words.

Test One

After 2 weeks of push ups it came time to do another "test." Basically, another opportunity to see how many pushups I could do non-stop. Unfortunately, I decided to do this on Sunday around 11 PM. I wasn't warmed up, I had on my jeans, it was just a drop-and-give-me-some type of exercise. Mentally I wasn't there so I am sure I wasn't 100% there physically. I had looked at the chart a few days prior to see how many I need to do to be in the range I wanted to be in..I thought it was 20 but it was 21. I did 20 but I am going to act like I did 21 and follow the program for 21.

Everyone Loves a Deal

I was to excited not to share.  When more money stays in MY pocket it is thrilling.  I don't go out buying things on sale just because they are on sale, I do look for sales and deals on products I actually use.  

Here is the short and skinny of it:

(sorry this image isn't bigger, when I figure out how to make it bigger I will)

Sephora is great about sending out coupons and discount codes so I usually wait for one before I purchase anything from them.  About a week or two ago they sent a $20 off of $35 purchase to those in their VIB program.  Great I thought, let me see if there is anything in my budget that I can apply this to.  After looking on the website a couple of times I didn't see anything I wanted nor anything that was an immediate need (I am stocked on my DDF cleanser and toner).  After hemming and hawing I figured it would be time to replace my Clarisonic brush head in a few months so why not.  At $25 a pop I was still $10 shy of the requirement for the coupon.  Of course I scoured the site for something to make up the difference but to no avail nothing had me excited.  Hey, the replacement brush doesn't expire so why not just get 2 and be done with and get free shipping.  Perfect.

Thanks to a member of  The Purse Forum there was a discount code of 15% for use today (12/13) only.  My lucky day.  An extra $7.50 off.  So far that was a $27.50 discount off of my original $50.00 total.

I always love getting cashback on my credit cards.  The only thing I ever use my cashback for is Sephora eGiftCertificates.  They allow you to trade in $20 for $25 or $40 for $50.  I went for $20 for $25 since that was all I needed.  And shopping through their site gives you an extra 10% cashback to your card.  Not sure how that will pan out with all of the other codes I used  though.

There you have it folks..2 Clarisonic replacement brush heads which is typically $50..all for a whopping total of 5 CENTS!!!!  It doesn't get any better than that.

Konad Experimenters Anonymous

Yes...I need help.  I like to play and experiment with the different Konad prints and colors.  The thing is I stay up super late messing around with it and then I am sleepy, sleepy, sleepy the next day.  But what can you do...keep experimenting right.  So here is my experiment with Zoya Midori.                           

   

This could get really long so I am just going to give my quick thoughts on each nail from left to right.

1. Zoya Midori all its own being absolutely fabulous.

2. Kleancolor Silver Glitter 27--Added a little bling.  I think I like the silver bling more than the gold with the Midori.  Just by a smidgen though, they both look nice.

3. NK Nail Enamel Sparkling Gold 024-- More bling, gold bling.

4. Kleancolor Black 142- this smudged a little in the middle, not sure if is the fault of the polish or me, probably the latter.  The contrast is nice though.

5. Sally Hansen French Shell Shimmer 1 Naturel White and Kleancolor Black 142-- will try this again with the Konad Special Polish, I was going for a half and half.  I put the white on the plate first and I think it ran some so when I put the black on the other half of the image there was white underneath of it.  The thicker special polish should take care of that issue though.

6.  Kleancolor Red Heart 74-- a little red and green cheetah action, it's so-so I guess, don't love it or hate it.

7.  Kleancolor Black 142-- love it, this print can probably go on any color.

8.  Kleancolor Neon Yellow 18-- this one surprised me the most.  When I initially did it I thought "this sucks, you can't even see the yellow." :-(  The more I looked at it I began to appreciate how subtle the yellow is and the simple contrast it provides.

9. Sally Hansen French Shell Shimmer 1 Naturel White-- no love for this one, I still haven't found the perfect color combo for this design.. not feeling it though.

10. Sally Hansen XTremewear Celeb City 13-- total dud!!! The silver polish I used was way to thin for the delicate lines of this print.  A silver, just not this one, will look really nice with the Midori though.

The top 3 for this experiment go to:

1. The yellow middle finger;

2. The black and white zebra; and

3. The black zebra.

Which ones do you like the best?  If you got this far thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next experiment which I am sure will be sooner rather than later.

Push Up Challenge- Week 2 Down

I am beat, I am not going to lie this week got harder and harder for me.  Typically I was good for the first 2-3 sets and then the last 2 were a struggle.  No pain, no gain is what they(whoever "they" are) say.  

Week 2 Stats:
Day 1 14-14-10-10-15
Day 2 14-16-12-12-17
Day 3 16-17-9/5-14-15/5

I know you are wondering what those slashes are on Day 3.  That is me totally maxing out and saying "NO MAS!!"  Really, I kick myself but honestly I was exhausted.  I tried to mentally pump myself up but it worked on set 3 but not so much on set 5 when a minimum of 20 was required.  Errrr those slashes frustrate me because  I didn't push past the 17 I did in the last set on Day 2.  Motivation for week 3 I guess.  Maybe I am working out to hard before I do the push ups.  I like to be warm but perhaps I should just do 5 minutes of jumping jacks and jump rope before starting.  For the past two weeks I have been doing my full cardio (2-2.5 mi on the treadmill) before the push ups.  Next week I will try doing my push ups first and then cardio.  

At My Fingertips

I don't have a lot of beauty products but by all means it is more than a little bit. My husband would look at me like a was crazy if I set up shop with ALL of my items on our bathroom sink so for the sake of my sanity and his I only keep on my sink a limited number of items that I like to keep at my fingertips. When I say limited, now that I look at the picture, there is a lot but since it is packed into a compact space the amount is irrelevant.

Ahhh...the magnificent jumble of stuff.  Here is what I am stashing in my containers.  Eyeliners, lip liners, shadow base, emery board, hangnail clippers, tweezers, scissors, foundation, mascara, spot treatments, eyelash comb, eyebrow brush, concealer, foundation, makeup brushes, brush cleaner, eye makeup remover, q-tips.  In the back is my Coastal Scents palette (88 colors at my fingertips) and a small mirror.  Two containers with smaller containers in them holds a lot more than you would think.  Not fancy but keeps me organized.  How do you store your items?

Quick Konad Mani

Here is a quick Konad Maincure I did today.  I used Kleancolor Dazzle Me as the base and Sally Hansen French Shell Shimmer in Natural White for the design.  Konad design plate M57.

       

Kleancolor Nail Polish

A few days ago after a long day at the office I decided to stop by my local beauty supply store to pick up a few things. This is the type of store that sells all sorts of things: wigs, tracks, ponytails and the like; purses, umbrellas, socks; cosmetics and nail polishes...like I said pretty much any and everything. My main purpose for going in was to look for a moisturizer for my daughters hair and get some headbands for them. I walked out with no moisturizer and some headbands but of course I had a few other purchases.

My eyes always light up when I see the displays of a lot of nail polishes, lipsticks, eye shadows, actually anything that is a big collection. I get sucked in by the numerous options and want them all. That wasn't a possibility so I just looked and decided to sample a few nail polishes.

The brand is called Kleancolor. I wasn't familiar with it but at $1.49 a bottle it was worth a try. There were two different types, a rectangular bottle and a round bottle. After getting home it appears the round bottle is the more current product line because I couldn't find any of the rectangular bottles online.

Anyway here is a picture of the two colors I picked. I know what you are thinking...BORING, but let me defend myself. I have a lot of bright colors in my polish collection so I thought I would try colors that were a little less flashy. The color on the left is called Dazzle Me and the neutral is called Twister. I did sample both of them and I am a little torn on these colors.

The Dazzle Me only takes one coat to achieve its true in the bottle color. It seemed a little thick to me but that may just be because I am not used to creme polishes. Despite its thickness the polish went on easily and I did not have to continuously coat my nails. This color looks different in different light so I took multiple pictures outside and indoors and they all look different. For some reason this polish reminds me of paint that you paint the walls with.

The Twister went on easily as well but does require 2 coats. The first coat was to sheer for my liking. The problem with this polish is that I just don't think it is the right color for me. It almost matches my skin tone exactly so it made my fingers look very strange, as if I don't have finger nails almost. I'll let you be the judge.

Kleancolor Twister

I did go ahead and do my manicure this week with the Dazzle Me so I'll come back and update on how well this polish holds up.

Outdoor Light Indoor Light

This is the same bottle of polish, Kleancolor Dazzle Me. The first picture was taken outdoors and the second picture was taken indoors.

All in all for $1.49 it is a polish that I would definitely pick up a few more of. They have a lot of colors and the thickness of some of the cremes may allow a Konad fan to take advantage. Just a thought.

Week 1 Check In...

So I did it..Week 1 of the One Hundred Push Ups challenge is done. I can already see myself getting better. After maxing out at 12 push ups on the initial test on Day 3 I was able to max out at 16. Woo hoo. I am proud of myself and looking forward to week to.

Here are my Week 1 Stats:
Day 1 10-12-7-7-9
Day 2 10-12-8-8-12
Day 3 11-15-9-9-16

On the last set each day you are so supposed to keep going until you can go no more. There is a recommended minimum amount and I was only able to get to that on Day 1 and Day 2. I told myself on Day three where the minimum for the last set was 13 that I was shooting for 15 and and I did it, plus 1!!! As you can see there is a drastic improvement by weeks end. This challenge is a test of both mental and physical strength and I want to say it is more mental. We shall see if my mind can carry me through Week 2.

Organic Hair Care Products

Just bringing a heads up to a product that I happen to absolutely love.  Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner has become a staple in my household.  This conditioner can also be used as a deep conditioner which I have done several times and the results are amazing.  I will say beware of the shampoos in the Aubrey Organics line up.  I have tried several of them and none of them worked for me.  Each one caused my hair to get really matted and that is an immediate thumbs down for me.  I have tried the majority of the conditioners as well and I think I would buy them all again.

PROS: 

• First and foremost I love that this is an Organic Product that actually works.  It contains no parabens or sulfates.  You just don't know how much I love to read a list of ingredients that I can actually not only read but pronounce out loud. (see full list of ingredients below)
• The scent is not over powering but more of a light scent.  Some people may prefer a stronger scent but I do not.
• IT WORKS- need I say more.

CONS:

• Price.  Depending on how much you are willing to spend on a 11 oz. bottle of shampoo then $10.28 a pop may seem pricey.  If you shop around I am sure you can find it for a few bucks cheaper.  Get past the sticker shock this product is worth it. Last time I purchased at www.vitacost.com
• Be warned this product is thick.  You will have to squeeze and squeeze the bottle pretty hard to get a decent amount out.  Get your muscles ready, you will use them.
• I already stated that I don't like the shampoos from this brand so it stinks that the shampoo isn't as great a product as the conditioner.  It is nice when the products meant to work together actually work together.

Here is the full list of ingredients:  Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Organic Shea Butter, Wheat Germ Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Rosa Mosqueta® Rose Hip Seed Oil; Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile, Yarrow, Chrysanthemum, Angelica, Forsythia and Magnolia; Honeysuckle Oil, Carrot Oil, Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

Getting Stronger (And More Sore!)

I successfully made it through Day 2 of the http://hundredpushups.com program. Let me tell you after the Initial Test on last day of November and then 5 sets of push ups on December 1st and the 5 sets tonight, I am hurting. That is good though since it means I am using the muscles, I just wish it didn't hurt so much. Honestly, I am just being a crybaby. My pecs have not been sore in a long time so this is what I get for being lazy and not working them out properly and consistently. I am focused now though. I have my eye on the prize. Hmmm..wait I never said what my prize would be for completing this program. Time to start thinking about the reward aside from having ridiculously lovely pecs and arms. And hey, just because I have started it is not to late for you to join in. Trust me the more the merrier :-)

Another Konad for You...Actually Two!!

Two Konad's for you this time around..one on my hands and the other on my daughters.  Deciding what design to use and what colors is like torture to me.  So many options and I don't have nearly as many polishes or plates as most people.  I honestly start thinking about what I am going to do 1-2 days before and I still don't have a clue until the moment I sit down to do it. Or about 5 minutes after I sit down to do it.  Since we used the M3 plate for the previous mani we ditched that plate and moved on to the next plate.  She went for the zebra print and I decided on the crosshatch(I guess that is what it is called).

I'll start with my daughter's creation.  I don't know how she does it but she always picks a color and I come and say, "Oooooo, that is pretty, I want to use that too!"  The base color for this is a Sally Hansen orange called Crushed.  I thought we had all of our nail polishes in one place but apparently when she cleaned up her room this one and some others were hiding in there.  Needless to say it is an absolutely gorgeous color and I would definitely wear without the Konad.  She knew what she wanted to do so she went first.  Her pinky finger, which she did first showed her that this may be a little tricky.  Getting the pattern aligned properly, then onto your finger fast enough, AND trying not to have black polish all over your fingers proved to be a challenge.  One section of her finger did not get any pattern at all but she decided to just keep going.  I pitched in by quickly cleaning the black polish from her skin because rumor has it that it stains horribly.  I actually think it would have been better to let it dry and then peel it up.  Rubbing the polish remover on it seemed to smear the black polish on the skin even worse.  No major staining that I could see though.  

She was happy with her creation despite some flaws and of course I was just happy that she was happy.  Practice, practice, practice.

I decided to go with a lighter color this week.  A Sally Hansen pale green is what I settled for because I realized I didn't have to many light colors.  After painting one coat this polish I thought would take at least 8 coats to even show up on my nails.  Luckily it only took 3 coats to get it to a point where I was happy.  So here is the un-Konaded color.  A very pale shimmery green.

I will say that you should really try to be quick with the crosshatch pattern.  Because the lines are so thin once you scrape they are already on there way to being dry and useless.  There were a couple of places on my nail where the polish would not transfer and I think it was because it had dried so quickly on the stamper.  Oh well, it is a learning process so I don't get to peeved about not having it perfect.  Here is the final result which I ended up liking more than I thought I would.

We both use OPI Top Coat after completing our designs.  I am hoping that his mani will last me for the week but if not I have no problem giving myself a 2nd mani this week.

Initial Test.....Enter If You Dare

http://hundredpushups.com

Just kidding...it is a great program for people of all levels to get down to business on their push ups.  I did the initial test tonight and was able to eek out 12 push ups.  I would suggest that you are warmed up when you do the initial test and the days you do the program.  Do some cardio and get the blood flowing for at least 10-15 minutes.  I am saying this because it helps get you loose and warm but not only that it gets you focused and mentally pumped.  December 1st baby..watch out.

http://hundredpushups.com

P.S.  I am super happy that  I was able to get some of my twitter friends to join me doing this.

First of the Month- Pushup Challenge

December 1st is almost here and typically I try to set goals on the first of each month.  It is more just an easy way to remember when I started more than anything else and I don't necessarily feel the need to wait until the first of the year for anything.  So for this December I have decided to revisit getting my body to cooperate with me in doing push ups.  Notice I said revisit because I have tried this before and was noticing results but I got side tracked and that was pretty much the end of that.

Here is the website of the challenge.  Hopefully once you take a look you will decide to do this with me.

http://www.hundredpushups.com.  

The program has you do an initial test to see what your baseline is.  You then follow a week by week plan based on that number and do a certain number of push ups each set for 3 days each week.  I did not get past week 3 the last time around but that was me not the program.  

The first time I did this I managed to get up to about 20 consecutive push ups...it was a good while ago.  I was amazed because I was not in the best of shape but the gradual increase in push ups really allowed me to see results relatively quickly.  Push ups have always been one of those things that I just absolutely suck at.  For whatever reason I always felt that I would never be able to do a good set of push ups.  This program was getting me there which is why I am going back to it.

I would love some buddies to do this with so if you are in let me know.  I will be posting results, probably at the end of each week.  The site also links you to a site called Push Ups Logger to track your progress.  I went ahead and signed up for it.  Hopefully in 6 weeks I will be able to do my 100 push ups.  Wish me luck!!

My Skimpy Nail Polish Collection

Just as I did with the Konad, I wanted to take a quick shot of my nail polish collection.  I have never collected polish, more like just picking up a bottle here and there when I feel like it.  That amounts to maybe 1-3 new bottles a year.  I have a feeling that is about to change so I wanted to snap a picture of my nail polish collection in its infancy.  These are all for the most part drugstore brands barring a few.  I will say there are already additions on the way since I took advantage of the Zoya GreenFriday special.  So instantly there are 9 additional polishes I am adding.  Actually, maybe some will be Christmas gifts.

Let's see from left to right there is N.Y.C., Rimmel, Sally Hanson, Sally Hanson(3 little bottles), Sally Girl, Sinful Colors, Sephora by OPI, Rush, Revlon, fluorescent yellow(I can't remember the brand), Bon Bons, Bath and Bodyworks.  So as you can see mostly drugstore but I am looking to pick up some China Glaze colors that are really pretty.  My favorite out of all of these is the blue/green Sephora by OPI.  It is called Mermaid to order and it is a gorgeous collection.  Looking at a picture like this also helps me assess what I should add to my collection.  Notice I did not say need because I already have more than I need.  I am thinking some more oranges, reds, purples, blues, silvers, uh oh, did I just say all of those colors.  Hmm...well I guess we will reassess the collection next year and see what is what.

Konad..What I Have So Far

Since I am awake and bored I thought I would take a quick shot of the beginnings of my Konad collection.  KONAD ITEMS.  My Konad collection started in November 2009.  Pictured here are the products from two orders I placed that month.  The plates are the M3, M57, and M65.  The special polishes are the red and white, I'll call them minis, that come in the prepackaged kits.  I don't think they sell this size outside of the kit but I could be wrong.  Then there is the black special polish, pink special polish, and silver Princess special polish.  I have yet to determine what distinguishes the Princess polishes apart from the standard special polishes but I have been told that there is more of a shimmer factor with the Princess special polishes.  Also pictured are a stamp, scrapers, and a dual ended stamp.  I thought it would be nice to have two stamps so that my daughter and I could do this together instead of one person having to wait for the other to finish.  Also the smaller end of the dual ended stamper would be easier for the tiny nails on my toes.  Assuming the relationship between myself and Konad goes well, I am wondering what my collection will look like come November 2010.  We'll just have to wait and see.

Konad...Take 1

It's official..I have entered into the realm of trying to master the Konad Nail Stamping. Thanks to the lovely ladies I tweet with my eyes have been opened to yet another thing to become obsessive about. My fingernails. Don't get me wrong, I have nail polish and would paint my nails when I go out sometimes but for the most part I sported "naked" nails. If not bare then I would opt for some type of clear or Revlon Sheer Nude which is very pale. After hearing the ladies tweet and seeing some of the designs I thought I should check it out.

Between Twitter, The Purse Forum, YouTube, and various nail blogs I was sold. My daughter likes to paint her nails and tries putting little designs on them so I thought this would be the perfect Christmas gift for her. I was much too excited to wait until Christmas to give it to her though so the day the package came it was in her hands. I got her the kit that comes with 1 plate(m3), 1 stamper and scraper, and 2 special polishes(red and white).  I also ordered another plate(m57) and black special polish. 

She said thanks and we looked at some videos but between school and activities it would be another week almost two before we actually got to take the time to do it. Between the purchase and today my nails have been bare for a grand total of 2 days. I have really enjoyed having them painted and it does make a difference overall..at least to me.

Honestly I was getting so frustrated that we didn't have time to try it yet and I did not want to use her kit before her I placed a second order of some special polishes, another plate, and the stamp and scraper. I figured that way we could do our nails together and don't have to wait for the other person to be done. My rationale at least. But lo and behold we finally set a time and stuck to it so here are a few pics from our first (of many I hope) go at the Konad Nail Stamping.

I rarely used base coat because my nails typically had lighter colors on them I opted to use a base coat since my nails seemed a little stained after using a dark color for the last two times I painted my nails.  I used the Revlon Base Coat that I picked up at Walgreens. I don't have too much to say about it since this was the first time I have used it and really don't have enough base coat experience to compare it to anything.

After going through all of my nail polishes and throwing away the yucky ones that were all dried up we both contemplated what color we would be painting our nails. We both ended up picking the color I had on last which is Sephora by OPI Mermaid to Order.  

We finally moved on to the fun part.  The actual stamping of our nails.  Using the plate M3 and the Konad Special Polish in White my daughter opted to put a few hearts on some of her nails.  I thought she would have gone all out and had designs on every nail but she said she just wanted it on a few nails.  It took us a little bit of figuring out exactly how much special polish to goop on and boy does it dry quick on those little designs.  I gooped and scraped while she stamped.  She was happy with how it turned out so of course I was happy that she was happy.

Then it was my turn.  She gooped and scraped so I could stamp my nails.  I went with black stars on the M3 plate.  A few of the stars did not turn out so well and I think it is because there was dried polish from the previous stamping still on the plate.  With smaller thinner images make sure the image plate is clean from the previous stamping or your images won't be as sharp.  You can see some of the stars aren't that great.  We'll get the hang of it though.

Thoughts of Love

When someone loves you, you should feel it. You should know it and never have to second guess or question it. Love has to do with actions not words. Merely saying "I Love You" really does not mean anything. They are just words that anyone can utter and have no meaning behind them.

So what actions do you consider to be a showing of love. This is where people often get a little confused. Does someone buying you the one item you desired most mean they love you? Not necessarily, it really depends on the motive behind them buying it. Does marrying you mean a person loves you? Not necessarily, it may just mean they wanted to get married by a certain time and they find you compatible and can deal you for the long haul.

When a person loves you it is genuine and pure. When a person takes the time to know you to the core that is generally a true indicator of love. When that person is so attentive to you that even when you don't see the fall coming they are there to catch you. When part of their happiness is based on your happiness. When giving is more important than receiving.

Love is such a basic concept yet is probably one of the hardest things for people to do in its correct form. When you evaluate who you love is it really love? When you evaluate who you think loves you is it really love?

Let's Get This Show On The Road!!!

The beginning of a blog is an exciting thing. With mixed emotions of what I am getting into it is like an unplanned road trip. I know I am going somewhere but not exactly sure where and not a clue of what to bring. This type of situation puts one in a difficult yet exciting position. All I can do is bring what I have and whatever I need I will pick up along the way. You may choose to take the whole ride with me or meet me at certain stops but I will get to a destination that is yet to be determined. Beware. I tend to get lost a lot and may even go in circles from time to time. The beauty of it is that is all necessary to get to my destination.