January Blues

Hello fellow bloggers! Ah, what a difference in my emotions I was feeling this time last week…let me tell y’all a story.

I was ready ready ready for my Lasik eye procedure last Thursday at Insight Lasik in Pittsburgh. I had done all my research, had 2 pre-ops and took testimonials of all my friends and coworkers who got this simple procedure done. I wanted to ditch my pesky glasses forever. As fate would have it, this dream of mine ends tragically. On the day of surgery, the suction tool does not fit on my eye and no matter how the surgeon pressed or refitted, the tool would not lock onto my eyeball. Enter intense stress, pain and fear on my part as I was completely lucid during all of this. The surgeon halted surgery and declared that my eyeballs were not round and that I could never get Lasik surgery in my life. My right eye was bruised, the area around my eye thoroughly beat up and top of it all, I was in shock. Apparently, the doc had never encountered this (or even thought to warn me there would be difficulties due to my eyeshape) in all his 20,000 surgeries.

Here’s what I found online after shaking off my initial shock and disbelief: apparently, smaller eyes and a high cheekbone combination is deadly for Lasik. This was not mentioned once at either of the 2 “renowned” Lasik centers I went to. I don’t have high cheekbones but I do have a classic almond shape and smaller opening common amongst Asian people. It comes down to experience and I guess Pittsburgh just does not have enough Chinese people willing to undergo Lasik so no data is collected. I don’t know what my alternate route would be but this article did help in erasing some of the uncertainty and fear I had about what went wrong: http://www.healio.com/ophthalmology/refractive-surgery/news/print/ocular-surgery-news/%7Bb1a47ec2-9bf8-40ce-b1b9-a8daa70e5c19%7D/with-proper-technique-you-can-overcome-the-challenge-of-lasik-in-asian-patients.

There was a big snow storm on Saturday and Sunday so here is my lovely Pangur Ban’s reaction to feeling snow for the first time!    I used VS metallic alternating with the gel effect polish from Ipsy. The top coat on the dark purple is Essie’s luxe effects in blue glitter. I was feeling a dark, sparkly mani to cheer me up.

Another therapeutic activity I did this weekend was coloring in my adult coloring book! It’s super trendy and a fun way to spend time during a snowstorm. I used a crazy amount of gel pens but I see others using color pencils.

Candle Making Glory

  I haven’t undertaken a crafting project for a while so I just buckled down and did this since I’ve been fantasizing about doing it one day! Here’s what I did to make my very own candle without buying anything! Who would have thought that a burnt out Diamond Candle, Kohl’s candle and Home Goods candle could create a whole new candle at a generous 4oz? A fragrant 4oz candle at Bath and Body Works retails for $10, just sayin’.

1. Gather up old candles with unburnt wax (if you’re a candle lover/hoarder like I am, you probably will have plenty of candles that have burnt out but still have a sizable chunk of fragrant wax that need some lovin’). What I did with these pieces before was put them under silk flower arrangements that give my fake flowers a very real fragrance! I suppose scented wax pieces work too if you have some half used wax tarts lying around.
2. Take some thick string or twine and tie one end to a small washer/nut. I just hunted in my utility drawer and found one. Best thing about this is that it’s metal so it doesn’t burn and can be reused for your next homemade candle!
3. Find a glass or metal container to use as your candle container. I used a previously used candle–no waste!
4. Dangle the washer end of your twine down the middle of the glass. For future candle releases, I will also put a spot of super glue to secure the wick in the center better. I thought I could wing it this time but of course, my wick ended up getting shifted to the side…
5. Wrap the other end of your twine to a stick, cut it to a good length and tape it to the stick. I used a single chopstick.
6. Take a pot, fill it with water and boil it.
7. Place wax pieces in a separate glass container and put in pot when water has boiled. Wait for however long until the wax melts. Do not use a timer for this. Stand right next to the stove and eyeball this step.
8. Pour melted wax into your candle container!
9. Repeat step 7 for however many candle containers you want to melt. I used 3 leftover candles that yielded around 4oz of wax.
10. Wait for wax to cool and set, then trim the twine to 1/2 inch. Remove and clean off stick.
11. Stand back and admire your new candle!  No fancy stickers or patterns for this mani. Just 2 coats of this smooth, shiny sorceress purple from OPI! It’s been a while since I have opted for a straight monochromatic mani so in a way, it’s refreshing! Happy 2016!  Hubs and I made ugly sweater cookies. Mine is on the left and definitely not ugly. I would wear that sweater in real life in a pinch! I dedicate to my lovely little Pangur Ban :). The hubs made a Bob Ross Christmas sweater, lol.  Of course, I like to end my post with my Pangur Ban. She is posing as Glamour Puss today on my fainting couch :).

New Year’s Mani

Happy 2016, everyone! Here’s a fun post detailing my escapades during the 2015 holiday season.

  Spent New Year’s Eve and Day in Washington D.C. and it was awesome. I fulfilled so many dreams–like my gem hall dream! I took an advanced gemstone class (aka Rocks for Jocks) during college and it changed me life. If I didn’t shy away from the extra physical science requirements like umm… physics, I would have changed majors and sought out all the geology and gemstone careers! So I did it! I saw the Hope Diamond in the flesh.

And yes, I did also fulfill my panda dreams! Here is the ADORABLE Bao Bao from the DC zoo! It’s wonderful that all Smithsonian museums are free; and even on New Year’s Day!   And this is my girly girl New Year’s mani! It’s Essie’s muchi, muchi, which is the cutest, pinkest pink I could have asked for. Then I halved my ring finger with OPI’s matte gold and finished off with a festive metallic nail sticker! It’s been a week and I have 2 small chips so I would call it a winner. However, I did have to slather on 3 coats of the pink to get it to be the exact opacity I was looking for.
  I hosted Christmas this year so I wanted this photographic evidence displaying my fine China set for service of 10. The brown sugar glazed ham and 10 other dishes are missing from this picture but you get the gist of the my efforts–damask table runner and whatnot ;).  No blog post is complete without my Mimiboo. She was the star of the holidays with all of my relatives fawning over her cuteness. She is the most sociable cat I’ve ever met and the most likable! Three cheers for Pangur Ban!