Thanksgiving just passed and I was able to be with my family this year. And it was wonderful. I helped my dad with the cooking. Such fun. (Last year I was with my [now ex-] boyfriend’s family, since his family lived closer to Reno than mine by about 7 hours.)

And now it’s back to Reno to finish out the semester. Project due dates are coming up. My final bout of weekend duties are coming up. It’s going to definitely be a tornado of events, of stuff to do. And I won’t be heading back to Vegas until the 22nd at the earliest, weather permitting. But then I’ll be here for a month. With nothing to do or worry about but family

The point of this post came up as I was going through security. The man who was checking my ID recognized me and said that he’s checked my ID before. I said I must fly often, but I really haven’t. It’s only been this weekend and last weekend, and before that…I don’t even remember the last time I flew. He said, “I remember those eyes.” It’s a nice affirmation that I really do have nice eyes. But it got me thinking about all this holiday stuff. Thanksgiving isn’t REALLY about the food. It’s about giving thanks for what we have, where we are, the people around us. And that whole Black Friday crap? It doesn’t say black friday on the calendars. It says Family day. Now if you take your family shopping and you spend time with them as you stock up on christmas gifts, then that’s one thing. But I think we, as Americans especially, get caught up in what society tells us we need to be focused on…rather than focusing on what really matters: the reason for the next holiday.

Jesus. God. The Holy Spirit.

Without Him, we wouldn’t even be in existence. Without his blessings, we wouldn’t be where we are in life. Without trials that he’s allowed, we wouldn’t be as strong as we are. We give gifts because we LOVE, not because we have to. We give, because He gave. Did Jesus HAVE to come down to earth? NO. Did He have to be human? NO. Did he have to grow up just like the rest of us? NO. Did He have to let himself die a horrid, painful, gross death when He could have called angels to his side and take him to heaven and away from us nasty sinners? NO. He hung there, gave his life, and instead of saving himself SAVED US. GAVE HIS LIFE for us.

Can we keep that in mind this season? Remember we’re giving because God gave his son for the people of Zion?

I’ve been so bogged down with school work and job stuff that I haven’t really had time for my stuff…pleasurable stuff that I enjoy doing: sitting enjoying the day, curled up watching movies in bed, blogging, vlogging, taking photos. I just do the minimum requirement because that’s about all the energy and hours in the day that I have. I’ve been trying to get a sufficient amount of sleep, but it’s hard when there seem to be not enough hours in the day to get things done. Then there are always those little surprises that like to pop up and make the day even more full of things to do.

Luckily the semester’s winding down to a close. I have my final project/new lifelong project I’m working on for my photo class. And it’s fun, and I’m passionate about it. There aren’t a crapton of things left I need to do for my classes, just a few little things here and there. Overall it should be a fairly calm rest of the semester

If you sent each individual out, they couldn’t make it on their own. We are creatures who crave community, who need others to lean on. We can’t go it on our own.

So why are we so adamant about promoting ourselves. “Look at me! Look at me! Listen to how loud I am!”

I think we should take a lesson from choruses…It’s not about the individual. It’s about letting everyone play to their strengths TOGETHER to create one harmonious sound. I was talking to a friend a while ago and they were talking to me about this idea.

Each week in service as I’m singing to Yahweh, I’m reminded of this. What a beautiful sound it is when the entire congregation sings together. Sure, there are a few voices that sound lovely on their own, but mine isn’t one of them. I’m glad my voice just adds to the sound, not the quality. (Ultimately though, God doesn’t care if your voice could break glass, it’s the fact that you’re worshipping him.)

So I think we should take this philosophy and apply it to the rest of our lives.

Less focus on us as individuals, more focus on us as the whole.

My school played our rival school, University of Nevada Las Vegas this past Saturday in Football. To be school spirited, I painted my nails this lovely dark blue from OPI.

Yoga-Ta Get This Blue 2 coats, flourescent light

After the game ended yesterday, today I felt like having a lighter nail, so I decided to try out butter London’s Yummy Mummy.

2 coats, natural light

This one definitely is in the top favorite nail polishes. It has a slight shimmer to it, it’s a light nude, it compliments all skin tones…absolutely in LOVE with it!

Both nail polishes are part of their respective brand’s permanent collection so they shouldn’t be too hard to find!

2 coats, No flash, incandescent light

Flash

It looks gold. It looks green. It has bits of black in there. It’s a really pretty color I’m glad I did try it out.

this is day two of nail wear+base coat+top coat. Butter London lasts pretty well. Definitely recommend them.

Now through Oct. 22, 2011, Ulta is having a buy two get one free Butter London nail polish deal. So go check it out!

2 coats, natural light

It’s called Uh Oh Roll Down the Window and it’s from OPI’s Touring America collection

I was under the impression this color would be a lot more vomit-colored as the name suggested, but it comes out a really nice olive tone. Definitely going to be one I wear quite often this fall. I’ll probably end up taking this off tonight and painting them a different color, so tomorrow or the next day’s NOTD will be accurately a nail of the day.

Oct. 6th Edit: I figured adding some pink glitter would add in a girly camoflauge feel. Maybe with a bit of brown it would have done a better job:

Added one layer of Butter London's Rosie Lee to the Ring finger - No flashWith Flash

I received these nail strips from Incoco in my September birchbox.

Incoco Nail Strips in the shade -Purrty (Glitter) (I think)

One problem I had with them was that they were cheetah print. I’m not a fan, but I didn’t complain because they were a sample. I was interested in seeing how they wore. And they were really easy to put on. It definitely takes practice applying and filing off the edges and making sure the cuticle area looks good. When it came time to take them off, I had a DIFFICULT time taking them off. There’s a glitter under-layer that is a horror to remove.

I voiced my opinion on Twitter, and Incoco replied back! They have an amazing customer service! After working with them, they sent me a really neat nail polish remover jar and a set of nail strips.

From Incoco

The name of these polka dot strips is Staccato and they’re so cute! I LOVE them! I received them the 29th or 30th of September. I instantly took off the Ulta polish I was wearing and applied them.

Staccato Nail Strips

The off-white color came off like a dream, but the black dots took a little more effort with the nail polish remover jar. Though that jar makes EVERYTHING so much easier. I definitely recommend the jar! And the nail strips are quite awesome too. Super easy to apply Recommend them too. So go check out Incoco! They have many different nail colors to choose from. And it’s pretty affordable.

I wore them for 4-5 days before I took them off for a program I put on in the Hall I’m a resident assistant for, and there was no chipping or anything. They wear like a tank! I’m excited to purchase more and wear them for a longer time and see how long it takes them to chip!

Ulta - Chocolate Fudge

I wore this nail polish from about Sept 24th to the 26th. I forgot to do this post while I was wearing it. This polish definitely needs 2 coats. It’s really cool though because in some lights it looks like a nice rich chocolate fudge, but as you can see in the bottle, there’s red undertones.

I’ve had this polish for a while, because if you’ve been to Ulta anytime recently, you can tell that their bottles are quite different It might have been 3-4 years ago that I bought it. I really like Ulta polishes. They’re relatively inexpensive and are quite easy to apply. They do last a good while before starting to chip, especially if you add in a top and basecoat to the equation.

Knees Up and HRH

Ulta had a sale last Tuesday, buy one get one free. I had never tried a butterLondon nail polish before, so I decided to go ahead and buy them. The first one I wore was Knees Up.

It’s a really pretty crimson, sparkly red. I didn’t put a top coat on, and after a day it started chipping. I’m fairly active: typing, moving things around, rooting through files so chipping is inevitable.

I took off the nail polish after 2-3 days because of the chipping and put on the other one: HRH

HRH

This is a really pretty purple. It has gold undertones/reflux to it. I’ve never had a purple like this before. I’ve had a blue/purple before, but I like this one so much more. I again didn’t add a topcoat to it, although here I am 3 days into wearing it, and the chipping is so minimal.

What’s also nice about butterLondon is the fact that you don’t have to paint with the huge awkward rectangle top. It comes off!

bird!

I apologize for the crappy pictures…phone camera.  :/ But how cute is the little bird on the top?

This nail polish is a lot thinner than OPI. I think OPI still takes the cake for my favorite nail polish of all time. It is more affordable per bottle: $8.50 rather than $14.00. So I see this as a prime example that the more expensive something is, that doesn’t mean it’s that much better. I will probably buy butterLondon polishes again. They do wear well and have some gorgeous colors

This color is part of OPI’s Texas collection. It’s a really sheer shimmer. This is two coats, in a warm light. It’s a gorgeous silver color. Its one of my favorites!

One thing I don’t like IS how sheer it is…but with patience between layers, I get the look I want. And it lasts a good long while.