This morning we had to take Violet, "Baby Rat" to the vet to be put to sleep. She had a tumor growing near her bladder/rectum area for quite a few months already. It was an inoperable tumor. It was getting larger and ended up getting a scab on it last week- which got infected and turned into an abscess that ruptured this weekend. I feel so bad for waiting, I should have had it done last week... Baby Rat went peacefully at the vet, she was a fighter and her heart kept beating for awhile... I pet her until she passed away.

When we brought her home at the beginning of August 2011 she was just a tiny thing. She was so small she still had an umbilical scab... which ended up getting infected but healed eventually. We named her Violet, but we always called her Baby Rat. She was very spunky and adventurous. And even up to her last days never acted like she was in any pain, though she was slowing down. She would have been 3 years old this coming July. ♥

My Mom's birthday is today and this year I got her I Love Nail Polish Birefringence. She tested mine out last week to see if she would like it. I also picked her up another gift which is a surprise from CherryCulture.com that I got in their 20% off store sale. So... since I was ordering from I Love Nail Polish... of course I had to get myself My Little Glacier Ultra Chrome. :-p

It's a really pretty greenish blue, silver duo chrome. It really does remind me of ice like a glacier. It's not nearly in your face as Birefringence or even Cygnus Loop. In regular light you only pick up on green, blue, silver colors. It does have other colors, which you can see in my underwater photo, but if you're trying to decide between any of the I Love Nail Polish ultra chromes, I would say go with Birefringence. That shows just about every color in every light, regardless if you have your hands in a bowl of water. Hehe. ;-)

I did some Halloween Jack Skellington nails, after looking at this Pinterest pin.

I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Whirlwind White & Night Flight. I used Messy Mansion stamp plate MM06 for the stripes. I drew the face with a nail art brush and topped everything with one coat of Seche Vite.







P.S. I went back to work on Thursday after the Government Shutdown ended.

I have not been to work since September 30th. October 1st is when the Government Shutdown started... so I have had a lot of time to paint my nails and read some books.

I did a gradient tonight with some light pink striper polish, OPI Suzi's Hungary Again and 1 coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust over the pink. I stamped with Winstonia Store plate W102 & Konad Black. 1 coat of Seche Vite topcoat.


These are the books I've read lately. I'm big on history, biographies, memoirs or historical fiction. I do read some regular fiction too. The books below, some I've purchased, some I've taken out from our local e-library and others I've gotten free on Amazon. I check the free categories in my favorite subjects on Amazon at least once a day, you can find paid books that are only free for a day or two. (Note: You may not be able to see the book widget below from a blog reader).

If you're having trouble viewing the book widget above, here's a text list of the books I've read lately:

1. My Story, By: Elizabeth Smart

2. One Light Still Shines: My Life Beyond the Shadow of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting, By: Marie Monville

3. Orphan Train: A Novel, By: Christina Baker Kline

4. I'm No Angel: From Victoria's Secret Model to Role Model. By: Kylie Bisutti

5. The Language of Flowers: A Novel. By: Vanessa Diffenbaugh

6. The Fault in Our Stars, By: John Green

7. Sidonia's Thread: The Secrets of a Mother and Daughter Sewing a New Life in America, By: Hanna Perlstein Marcus

8. Eat Cake: A Novel, By: Jeanne Ray

9. Searching for Peanut Butter in Paris, By: Kat Sparks

10. Confessions of a Kidney Transplant Recipient, By: Mary Wu

(I do use Amazon Associates, but not because I've made any money- because I haven't! lol! But I like that I can show a picture/link with a product when I'm blogging. Plus I do recommend Amazon.com for their low prices. That or Ebay!)