It's my Birthday & I'll post if I want to!

Hello Dahlings!

 

Yep, I'm 46 today. I'm still more or less enjoying middle age. LOL

This is a REALLY long post for me with lots of words.

So go potty etc then get comfy...

y'all ready for a ride on da Inky B-day Blab-o-rama?

 

I saw this post on Liesl Loves Pretty Things blog
(she had seen it on another blog that got it from yet another blog etc)

& I loved da concept cuz it fits with my philosophy on being me.

So I'm going to share my version with y'all:

 

Beauty Things I'm Not Apologizing For!

 

My Hair ~

My hair right now.

Raspberry Kamikaze over leftovers of Huckleberry Blue & Party Pink.

My hair is rather spastic & prone to nappy white people hair issues like being mostly straight & frizzy at the same time plus prone to split ends.

It also won't hold a curl for long & refuses to have volume

for more than 5 minutes no matter what technique or product is used

(trust me, I've tried lots & lots of things over da decades).

The only thing it's ever done well is absorb color.

 

I'd wanted to dye my hair bright colors since I was 13. I tried dying it using food coloring back then & while it does work, it is in no way permanent & bleeds easily. After that, my most wonderful mom helped me dye it using drug store hair dye & I continued to use that type of dye for the next 30 years.
Why didn't I do my hair in fun colors back then?

My Grandmother.

She had issues with other's self expression thru personal adornment and would be quite verbose & vitriolic about what she didn't like & she didn't like much. So as much as I wanted bright hair, I couldn't go there while she was alive & stay in her good graces. It still took me another 15 years after she died to find a pair & go for it.

 

Mr Inky thinks its fun & helps me with the bleaching
& dying in the back.

My mom likes it too & is very glad I finally let my true colors show.

(pun intended lol)

I often have peeps of all ages etc tell me they love my hair.

Every once in a while I encounter somebody who is so offended,

stressed or otherwise disturbed by my hair

that they can't even look me in da face.

Know what? I don't care!!!

Compliments are great, don't get me wrong,

but I do my hair like this for ME, not the rest of da world.

I won't apologize for my hair.

 

~~~

 

My Nails ~

I think this my all time fav mani.

Not only were my nails (on both hands) nigh on an inch long for da

1st time ever (or since), I also made da blue violet polish I'm wearing

& this was da 1st time I did a Kitchen Sink Mani.

*smug mode*

 

Do I have 'perfect' nails? Hell no!

Only my right index nail has a 'normal' downward curve on da tip.

The rest curve up from da cuticle & then just keep on going up.

A couple look like I could launch rockets off them.

They also start to corkscrew curl
as soon as they get past da tips of my fingers. 

I have short nail beds that limit how long I can grow my nails

before pain & breakage take over.

My left index finger has a vertical ridge that behaves like a fault line.

It will split down to da nail line & beyond at random.

(I use Orly's Nail Mender kit to re-enforce this nail 

& on da underside of all my nails

& it really does help to lessen tip breaks,
vertical splits & peelies.)

 

Over da decades I've learned how to care for them to minimize these defects & since I started blogging I've learned how to pose my hands so these flaws are less obvious.

 

As many of you in nail art/polish land know,

while many peeps love what we do on our nails,

many others see it as a frivolous waste of time & money.

Know what? I don't care!

I do my nails for ME.

I love how they look when I've done a good job.

I love learning & practicing new techniques.

I love sharing what I've done & what I've learned with all of YOU,

my Dahling readers.

 I won't apologize for my nails.

 

~~~

 

Face Make-Up ~

Nope, no selfy for this one. LOL

I'm still not ready to show da blog-o-sphere my face.

My skin doesn't like make up.

Never has & isn't likely to ever change it's mind.

Acne hit me hard in my teens & never quite went away.

It took me years to figure out that part of da problem
was wearing make up. (reducing my stress, getting enuf sleep
& water, cleaning my face regularly with gentle products 
all help my skin look as good as it's going to) 

I've tried all kinds of moisturizers & foundations that claim

to not make skin break out, but my skin doesn't care what they claim.

So I rarely wear full face paint.

I also have various allergies

& one of my symptoms of a reaction is itchy, watery eyes. T

his makes wearing eye make up iffy at best 

cuz most eye make up rubs off easily

& water proof mascara tends to flake
which makes da itchy part worse.

I just can't pull off da whole raccoon eyes look, ya' know?

So I rarely wear eye make up either.

I do wear lip stick, gloss & glitters, but that's pretty much it.

Would I look better with my face all dolled up? Yep!

But the price I have to pay to my skin when I do

makes it not worth da effort unless it's an uber special occasion.

I won't apologize for not wearing face make up.

 

~~~

 

Lavender ~

I LOVE LAVENDER!!!

I have lotions, sprays & bath stuff in this old fashioned scent.

I have 3 English Lavender bushes in my back yard

that I harvest most years for sachets.

I've even eaten chocolate with lavender in it.

(didn't like it, tastes soapy to me)

I'm talking pretty much straight lavender,

not French lavender or vanilla lavender. 

I can't use most perfumed products cuz they set off my allergies,

but Bath & Body Works products mostly work for me,

along with a few others.

It's trial & sneezy error when testing new possible

lavender scented products. 

My fav is Moonlight Path from B&BW.

It has lavender in it. 

I smell like a grandmother's unmentionables drawer sachet.

I will not apologize for loving lavender.

 

~~~

 

Being Overweight ~

Again, no selfy, but I will tell you that

I'm easily 50-75lbs over weight, maybe more.

Ciri killed my bathroom scale,

so I don't know what I weight these days. LOL

I gained most of it while pregnant & never lost it.

I'm 5'3" & weighed 110lbs before motherhood.

Would I like to be thinner? Hell yes!

Am I willing to make exercise my new hobby

& torture myself with food deprivation? Hell no!

So that leaves me fat with a happy mouth.

I can live with this.

I know I should lose weight for health reasons,

but I'm not willing to do what it takes &
if wishes were horses...

I'd have saddle sores for sure.

I don't complain about my weight since I came to terms with it

& my unwillingness to do what it takes to lose it. 

I refuse to feel shame for not being thin

in a society that makes what we look like

more important than who we are as a person.

I will not apologize for being fat.

 

~~~

 

Being Myself ~

Dahlings, life is too short be dull & boring.

STOP living down to other's expectations!!!

Yes, there are times when we have to conform (to a point)

to be considered acceptable in particular circumstances.

It's up to each of us to decide if this sacrifice of self

is worth da approval of others!

I look the way I do cuz I want to look this way.

I don't do it to please others

& I'm fortunate to not have to work in da corporate world

where freedom of self expression doesn't exist.

I think one of the saddest things a person can do
to themselves is get to da end of their life

& have something they wished they'd done,

but didn't cuz they were worried

about what other's might think or say. 

We don't know how long we'll be here,

so please, live your life on your terms!

I will not apologize for being me.

 

~~~

 

OK, enuf seriousness...time for some Birthday fun pics!

 

My Birthday Nails!

 Pink & purple thermal holo with silver cat paw prints

meandering about...c'est moi!
(My hands matched for 3 days!)

 

 Da line up ~ Liquid sky Lacquer Fuchsia Illusion (from my DPD!)

& Republic Nail gitd silver. (not shown is my tiniest dotter)

I applied 2 perfect, non patching coats of FI

then added lil cat paw prints with da silver

followed by a coat of Seche Vite to seal in da fun.

 

 Under black light...

 

...in da sink!

 

Yep...
Pink & Purple Thermal Holo Glow in the Dark nails for my Birthday!

 

What else do I have to share?

 

 On Saturday night we went to all time fav foodie restaurant!

This was the view out da front door of The Blind Pig Bistro

while we were there. I got SNOW for my Birthday!!!

 

 They serve da kinds of food you see on Iron Chief, Chopped etc 

& it's all yummy if you're brave enuf to eat it. LOL

They offer a selection of dishes that can be ordered

as a tasting menu or as single dishes.

All their ingredients are sourced as locally as possible 

& their menu changes often,

depending on what's in season & available.

My Inky & I always get da full tasting menu

so we can sample everything they're offering each visit.

While da details (preparation, seasonings, sauces etc) 

of their dishes change often,

I love the way they make octopus that nigh on melts in my mouth

& buttermilk gnocchi that are so fluffy I can't stand it

& have to have my own serving or Mr Inky won't get any,

but my fav is their chocolate dessert.

I can't remember da official name they call it,

but I call it da Choco-gasm.

(if you ask for it by this name, they'll laugh & know what you want)

I totally lucked out that night

cuz they had my fav version of it available!

It's not a mousse, pudding or ganache,

but rather a heavenly concoction

that melts in my mouth & sets off fireworks.

This version is drizzled with extra light virgin olive oil

then sprinkled with sea salt & cracked black pepper

topped with a crunchie chocolate touille & dark choco shavings.

I actually whimpered when Mr Inky
scooped out a small spoonful for himself. 

We're almost regulars at this tiny temple of culinary delights

& they recognized us when we walked in da door.

We got there early, so we got to chat & share kitty pics
with da wait staff & when it was time for dessert...

they brought out my Choco-gasm with a lit candle stuck on top!

Isn't that sweet!!! 

If you live near enuf to Seattle to eat here

& enjoy unique cuisine, I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

 

 Da view out our garage when we got home.

We love our Lexus GX SUV cuz it has all da Lexus luxury

& comfort built on a Toyota Tahoma V8 truck chassis.

Mr Inky learned how to drive in snow when he lived in Utah,

so he put it in low gear, 4 wheel drive

& we made it home safely in spite of icy roads

& peeps who don't know how to drive in bad weather.

At one point we came to a full stop

& noticed that our truck was slowly sliding sideways!

We thankfully stopped sliding before we went over da edge

into a back yard full of blackberry vines.

That would have sucked!

Now I know many of you have been having
a much worse winter than this!

But please keep in mind a few things

when judging us pussies for fussing over a few inches of snow:

 

1) We don't get a lot of snow here (NONE last year) & even da large cities (Seattle, Tacoma etc) don't have much in da way of road clearing equipment & da smaller towns have nothing beyond a snowplow that can be attached to a truck. So when we do get 'big snow' it takes days to clear the main roads & they rarely get to da smaller roads before it all melts.

 

2) We live on hills. Any flat places are either on da top of a hill or in between hills & even then they are rarely a truly flat place. They still are sloped, just less than da area around them.

 

3) We have a lot of peeps from places that get lil to no snow, so they don't know how to drive in it & tend to panic. Leaving one's car in da middle of da road & walking home is standard practice here. Annoying as all get out, but normal when we get more than 2" of da white stuff or da roads get icy. So it's tricky to drive in even if one does know what to do.

 

Of course I have a pic of Ciri checking da snow out Sunday afternoon!

He's da only cat who likes to go out to play in it.

Da others refuse to go out unless da weather is perfect
by their standards.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Inky