On My Mind
To anyone who may be curious – my covid test was negative, and I’m still fine, thanks. The hubby is doing his best to recover, though it’s very much an up and down process, which is rather frustrating for him, unfortunately.
The other thing on my mind is my attitude, and this blog. I’ve been musing (read: whining) a bit too much about my shortcomings, methinks. It’s boring me, and probably anyone else reading too, so…enough with that.
The thing about creativity is…enjoying the creativity of others tends to inspire creativity (for me, anyways). I haven’t been focusing enough on that, so…time to do that! And I’m going to share with you what I’m currently enjoying and how it’s inspired/inspiring me, so that maybe you’ll be inspired too (or you can just sit back and enjoy – no obligations whatsoever).
Nail Art
I know most people probably don’t get inspired by Facebook ads much (yes, I just heard all that booing and hissing), but I actually do. I actually work hard to “curate” the ads I see by clicking on the ones I may find interesting, even if I don’t plan to buy anything, and then just going “back” right away so that the algorithms know that’s what I prefer to see more of. So I get a lot of ads for nail and hair things, which enables FB to keep the servers running and me to not be so irritated by ads breaking up my feed.
Recently, there have been a spate of nail art ads – all sorts of different products, but one stood out especially – Maniology. I tried nail art stamping eons ago when Konad was all the rage, but I only had marginal luck with it, and haven’t even looked at my stamping plates or stamper in years because it was too much trouble for little reward.
But when I saw the new clear stampers (so you can see your nail and exactly where the design will go), and poked through all the cool new stamping designs on their site, I had to try it again with the “latest” technology. So I ordered a starter kit, got it a couple weeks ago, and it’s such a different, more fun experience that I’ve stamped designs on my nails for two weeks straight just “playing”.
I’ve also ordered more stamping plates and subscribed to their monthly box, but we don’t need to talk about the money aspect of it…can you really put a price on creativity?
My favorite nails this week are my index fingers, which turned out well like so (yes, I know the circuits aren’t centered – perfection is not the point here):
I also just started a new play through of Stardew Valley (because I was an idiot and forgot to transfer my save file from my other phone). Both the nails and the gameplay inspired this teeny-tiny story, which is what I’ll leave you with this week. Enjoy!
“Come have coffee with me.”
Janet raised her eyebrows at the beard-clad, long-haired blond hipster who’d taken the empty seat next to her at the bar. It was empty because her more social roommate had dragged her here for company, knocked back a couple of shots and left for the dance floor an hour ago. Every once in awhile Janet caught a glimpse of Robin’s short purple sequin skirt and black thigh-high boots gyrating in and out to the cool sounds of…well, a plethora of musical artists Janet had never heard of and was happy enough in her ignorance.
Her would-be barista was still waiting, green eyes hopeful and surprisingly clear for someone in their current environment.
“Why?” She wasn’t actually being naive or difficult, but she knew her messy bun, oversized tee and yoga pants didn’t exactly scream ‘come hither’. She’d only come out under duress, and only stayed because it gave her an excuse to start a long-overdue play through of Stardew Valley and drink an endless amount of Coke without too many people bothering her.
He leaned in with a toothy grin, and pointed to her screen. “Because I can tell you how to read the scrolls in the Community Center.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Can you also tell me how to find Robin’s Axe? I’ve been looking for it for three days now.”
He nodded and winked. “Come with me, young valley-girl. I’ll show you whatever secrets your heart desires. I’m Aaron, by the way. And my shop is two doors down on the right, if you want to tell someone where you’re going.”
Janet looked at the jumble of bodies on the dance floor and shook her head.
“Janet. Nice to meet you. And nah – she doesn’t care. I’m all yours.”
He took her hand with a smile and led her to the door, ushering her out past the security guard and into the night.
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