RANDOM DIVERSION...

I'm taking a one-time break from muffin posts (I don't bake most weekends, so there is nothing to share, anyway) to share a manicure I painted in honor of the snowstorm that is invading our beautiful October weather.

Last night, my daughter was so excited to go up to the attic with me to retrieve our snow gear from its box. She has been prancing and dancing around the living room all morning, in anticipation of our late evening field trip to "the back 40". But for now, we're enjoying a cozy morning in our warm little house, cuddled up in alpaca socks and hats, fuzzy pajamas and robes... sipping on hot coffee, eating breakfast sandwiches, and reading together. All the while, snow is blowing every which-way outside. It's a small-time blizzard out there, but the 'best' is still yet to come in an hour from now.

Back to nail color... I chose the same colors that are already on my toes: as an accent, Sephora by OPI's Shiny Dancer (charcoal) layered with Pure Ice's Heart Breaker (shimmery translucent green), and as a main color, Pure Ice's A List (ice blue) . Instead, though, I reversed the colors on my fingernails. I decided on the polka-dot pattern, because my sister recently endeared me to the idea. When I sat back to look at the results as a whole, I realized that it is much like the weather today: the charcoal and ice blue colors are icy cold, slick, and wintery! The polka dots are like a sleet or freezing rain. So, all in all, my last minute decision to repaint nails today turned out to be right in tune with the weather outside. Kinda cool. ;o)

**AN AFTERTHOUGHT: My child sees me painting my nails and casually sweeps over to my side of the couch, hands outstretched, peering down at her plain nailbeds. All at once, she raises her eyes to mine, as if to say, "Could you paint my nails, too? They've lost all the paint from last time." She makes her decision from my bucket of nail colors. I ask her if she is certain of that choice, because history has it that she changes her mind halfway through (or at the end!) and wants a rainbow array instead. But I don't mention the rainbow, because I know she'll then remember that that is what she prefers, and I would love to see something classy for a change. *wink* She convinces me that she is sure of her choice, Pure Ice's Outrageous (shimmery pinkish purple), and I paint five of her nails before she switches gears and tells me that she wanted rainbow (what? You never mentioned that!). I stick to my guns and insist that she not waiver constantly ("because  someone who has a habit of changing their mind doesn't ever get what they want." I quote the Bible *wink*), and I finish painting her nails.

In the end, we decide to use polka dots "like mom's." Her polka dots, though not perfect, are in Sally Hansen's Xtreme wear "Deep Purple", and in the end, my child is pleased with the outcome, as am I.  

Now it's time to take our freshly painted manicures out in the snow!
It has finally begun to accumulate on the ground. Bye!