i improvised

I had plans to meet up with my in-laws (mother and sister) today for some belated Mother's Day mani-pedis. I was so excited. I love, love, LOVE getting my toes done. And ever since I stopped biting my fingernails last summer, I love getting manicures, too. In fact, I have to keep my nails painted so that I won't revert back to my old ways and begin biting them down to the quick again. Its true that old habits die hard.

I've been a nail biter since elementary school. When I was sick in the hospital last summer, I actually felt so bad that I couldn't even bite my nails. When I felt better, the first thing I noticed was that I had fingernails. My mom treated me to a mani-pedi when I came home, and the rest is history. I'm hooked.

I am not a fan of spending money on myself, but this is my gift to myself every so often. I don't get to go as often as I like, but I try to fit it in when I can. I even have a favorite polish. In case you're interested, its called "Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees". O P I makes it. Its great. I'm a huge fan of dark polish. I figure black goes with everything, right? But sometimes, black is too black. Even for me. And then I discovered "Suzi Skis". Its almost black, but not quite. A dark, charcoal gray. Delicious. I love it so much that I choose it every single time.

Anyway. We had planned to visit the nail salon today to celebrate Mother's Day. But, some unexpected and unavoidable events took place and we had to reschedule. I was bummed. I've been in a funk lately. And my feet needed some attention in a bad way.

So what did I do?

I improvised.

With my two boys in tow, I paid a visit to Ulta. I've never been before. And now I'm hooked on it, too. I could've looked around in there for hours had I not been crunched for time and been without a less-than-thrilled-to-be-in-a-"makeup"-store eleven year old. Yup. Shaun was not thrilled to be there. Jordan, on the other hand, didn't mind one bit. He loves to help me pick out nail polish and lipstick. We don't mind this habit of his, now that he's old enough to understand that makeup is for girls. He'll hand one to me and say, "This one will be so pretty for you, Mommy". And, usually, he's right. Jordan wants to be a rock star when he grows up, and I've even been known to allow him to pain his nails. Only black, of course. No pinks, reds, or purples. Because, "Those are for girls".

I'm weird like that, I guess.

Anyway. Since I didn't have much time and there was a lot of breakable stuff in Ulta, I asked the sales girl for O P I nail polish. She directed me to the back of the store, and there it was. A bottle of "Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees" of my very own. We left the store and went to pick Chris up from work. He really did not understand my excitement. But that's okay.

Later that night, I gave myself a pedicure. My toes look great. Almost black, but not quite. My favorite!