I have everyone. I hope you all are having a fabulous Monday.

I have an announcement to make. I don't know an easy way to say it, so I'm going to just jump in. I will no longer be posting about other polish brands or not on a regular basis anyway. I am in tears as I'm typing this. I love all the Indie Brands like Spooky Bones, DollishPolish, Nerd Lacquer, Nostalgic Lacquer, and many others. Bigger/smaller brands like Cult Nails, a England, Leighton Denny, Revlon, Sinful Colors, Wet n Wild, Spoiled, Ulta and a lot more. Not because I'm not going to be wearing them, because I am. How can I not? They're awesome! I won't get into all the needless details, but I was told if I'm going to take my brand where I want it to go then I need to focus on my brand. For my long term goals I know it's for the best, but I'm still saddened by this.

I've started Funky Nails Blog, I hope you all will join me over there. There's nothing there yet, but I'll be posting soon. In the mean time I'll still be here.

I feel as if I'm starting over. I may only  have 77 supporters, but that's not the point. I'm walking into the unknown and I'm a little scared. But, I have faith God is ahead of me doing what needs to be done on my behalf.

I will also be changing my Facebook page name, so if your over there, you'll be seeing a change shortly.

Ok, I'm going to feel sorry for myself for about 5 seconds and then it's time to get busy.

Have a great day everyone!

Self Reflection Sunday

Hi everyone, I hope y'all's weekend has been great so far :D

Today's topic is about being positive.I always try to be positive and share it with everyone. I think I always tried to encourage people to follow their dreams and do what made them happy, but I only did this when they were complaining about the unhappy situation they were in. Ok, don't get me wrong, when it came to my sons I always told them there wasn't anything they couldn't do/or accomplish. But, anyone else it was only when I had to hear about how unhappy they were. I was always like, if you don't like something, well, change it. I was kinda harsh about it. Not very encouraging at all. For example: I used to be in restaurant management for many years and had employees that just hated going to work and complained about being there. I'm like if you don't want to be here, well, find another job. I didn't understand why they were complaining, when there's so many others who would love to have their job.

I didn't actually start to see a difference in my attitude until last year, when I rededicated my life to God. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior a long time ago, but because I was so busy surviving I didn't put Him first in everything like I do now. Now that I do I see things a lot different. I want everyone to know how happy I am and that I'm not just surviving, I'm actually living the life God made just for me. I want everyone to know how much I've been blessed and how God's continuing to bless me. I wonder if my close family and friends have seen a difference? Anyway, now I want to know about everyone's life. I want to be an inspiration to others. I want to encourage them to pursue their God given talents. I want them to do what brings them joy, something they love so much that it doesn't even feel like work. For me that's nail polish. There's so much I want to do with my brand. Those things I won't share just yet, because those are only for God to know, right now anyway. Will there be naysayers? Why, of course there will be and to that I say; I can't control what others say/do/feel and they are entitled to say/do/ feel the way they want. I say this because I want everyone to know that just because there are these kind of people in the world, it doesn't mean you should let them keep you from pursuing your dreams. Ok, now I'm rambling. So, I'll stop here.

Have a great day everyone :D

Fatigues

Hi everyone, The weekend is almost here! Whoop Whoop! My plans are to go to school :( The good thing is I I don't have to set my alarm because I don't go in until 1:00. Anyway, I hope you all have way better plans than I do. Oh, wait! I do have awesome plans after school Saturday! I'm getting baptized! Yay! I'm nervous, but ready! :D

Ok, today's mani is Fatigues. I was going to name this one Battle Fatigues, but I didn't like the word "battle." It sounded to gruesome to me, so Fatigues it is :D I chose to use Fatigues over a dark green I had in my untrieds. I really love this color combo! Although, I did swatch Fatigues on a wheel over several different colors and it would like great over many different colors. I've also named the last of this collection Hooah! You can click here for the meaning. I hope you like it :D

As I was typing this, I couldn't figure out why some of my pics had a blue glare. Well, it's my dang window! It only took me 7 months to figure out! HAHA! Sorry about the blue glare.

Have a great day!

Here's on with flash 

For the Troops

Fatigues, Star Spangled Banner, and Hooha!

Thankful Thursday

Hi everyone, Sorry for the late post. I've been super busy with school and of course Funky Nails :D

This Thankful Thursday I'm thankful for my blogger buddy Not Another Nail Blog. I've been going crazy trying to make a collage for my Every Woman Collection and she offered to help. She saved me a ton of time and money. She did this free of charge and wasn't concerned with getting any credit. Wasn't that sweet of her. Thank you D'Anna, you rock! I'm so proud to be part of community of caring women/men :D Don't forget to check out her awesome blog and follow her on Twitter and Facebook too! "Every Woman" in this pic is a part of my life, thank you ladies for allowing me to use your pics!

Have a great day :D

I haven't added in the nail polish yet, but didn't she do such an awesome job!

For The Troops

Hi everyone, I'm posting for the 2nd time and I usually never do.

Anyway, I just want to share my last collection with you all. For those that don't know, I have a son in the military, my sister was, my nephew was, and have many friends too. I wanted to do something for them to show how much I appreciate all they do and have done. This is nothing compared to what they do, so for all military members and your loved ones, this is for you :D My last collection; For The Troops: Battle Fatigues, Star Spangled Banner, and well, I haven't named the last one yet. The last one was created with the wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, girlfriend, of loved serving ones in mind. I hope you all like them.

Have a great day :D

Battle Fatigues, Star Spangled Banner, and no name yet :D

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Hi everyone, I hope y'all's Monday is a great one so far! Sorry, for the late post.

Today, I don't have a mani to show you, but I do have on  Funky Nails and since it's Monday can you guess which one I have on? Hehe Ok, not a tough guess to make. Red! My facebook friend Eric Bonner is naming this one and he hasn't decided on a name yet. Anyway, I just wanted to update you all on some Funky Nails news. Along with my Every Woman Collection, I will also have a two polish collection called Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams. Champagne Wishes is small gold hex glitter with gold micro glitter in a clear base and Caviar Dreams is black and silver hex glitter in a silver shimmer base. Oh my, I almost forgot, I also have one for my military friends and family: Star Spangled Banner. This is red, white, and blue hex glitter in a clear base. I am working on another collection, but as of yet I'm not satisfied with the results. So, I'm sorry to say that will have to wait, but not to long I hope :D Ok, on to the pics. They don't have labels yet, sorry.

Have a great day y'all!

Champagne Wishes & Caviar Dreams

Star Spangled Banner

Self Reflection Sunday

Hi everyone, I hope y'all's weekend has been great so far :D

I've been thinking so much about what to talk about for these posts. I'm so nervous about posting this, but I'm going to good or bad. I'm such a deep thinker and sometimes over think things. Anyway, I've always been a bit high maintenance. I've always been drawn to expensive high end things. If you know me in real life and only about 4 friends outside of my family do, know that I don't try to be like and have what everyone else has. I told/asked my bff, "I've never thought simple have I?" I don't know what I was expecting her response to be, but she said, "No, Minnie you don't. From the coffee you drink to the shampoo you use." My sister says, I used to always take her clothes when we were younger. I told her it was because I didn't have enough clothes. You see, my mom had limited funds to get us things. She did purchase the things we wanted, but mine were expensive so I'd come out with only a few things. Where as my sister came out with a ton of things because she always thought about the price of things and how much more she could get. So, my bff laughed and kindly told me maybe that's why. That was an "aha" moment for me. Don't get me wrong not everything I own is name brand. But given a choice/option I'm always drawn to high end. My honey even told me the first time we went out he could tell I was a bit high maintenance. He said I had a "Sex in the City" vibe, whatever that means. I am getting better, I think this is because I haven't been working and have to watch every penny. And, because of this, I find myself putting things back and getting the less expensive brand. Truth be told, I don't like doing this because I want what I want. I feel that I've always worked for everything I have and never depend/expect anyone to provide these things for me, so I'm entitled. I also think if God blessed me with the ability to be able to have these things I shouldn't be embarrassed. I hope I don't come across as this uppity snobby person because I'm not. What do you all think? Please be nice :D

Have a great day!

Trivia Weekend Mini Giveaway

Hi everyone, I hope y'all are having a great start to the weekend.

This giveaway is open to my international followers only. The polishes for this giveaway will be CND Ice Blue Shimmer & Copper Pearl.

I haven't had time to post much lately so this is going to be so easy for you guys :D

What did I find two years ago?

Good luck and have a great weekend :D

Dame Chou's

Hi everyone! I hope you all have had an awesome week :D I have no plans for the weekend, bummer because I'm such a social butterfly! Yeah right. LOL Anyway, I hope you all have better plans than I do.

Today, I don't have a franken to show y'all. I think skin care for us nail bloggers is very important. So I'll be doing a review. I was asked by D'Anna from Not Another Nail Blog if I would review her Luxurious All Natural Sugar Scrub. Of course I said yes! She has Coconut, Lime, Coconut Lime, Lemon, Lemon Lime, Orange, or Peppermint. I chose Coconut Lime. When I received it in the package I could already smell it! It smells yummy! Since it's all natural I really wanted to taste it, but thought I'd better not. LOL Anyway, turbinado sugar is larger than regular sugar and you don't want to rub skin off, you want to gently rub. The result was amazing! I say that because I compared it to my Mary Kay, with the Mary Kay I needed to use it every other day for baby soft hands, but with Dame Chou's I only needed to use it every 4 days. I actually like it a lot better. Way to go D'Anna!

Here's a list of the ingredients for the orange sugar scrub: raw unbleached turbinado sugar, organic honey from the local farm in Ann Arbor, 100% pure vegan food grade vegetable glycerine, and a pure sweet orange essential oil.

She has an Etsy store and sells these for $10. You can click here to get straight to her store.

                                                Here's some pics of her product.

Have a great everyone! :D

Thankful Thursday

Hi everyone :D It's Thankful Thursday! WHOO HOO

Today's post is all about my BFF :D We met in High School in 1988. I'd already had My Baby Boy and she was about to become pregnant with her baby girl Sara from Lacquer Addictions. She's my oldest and dearest friend. She's been here for me without fail practically my whole life. We've done some really crazy things together. Once we had this crazy idea to give each other bikini waxes, which was an epic fail! I'll never forget it. We told our kids, "Y'all stay over there and don't come in the room!" LOL They were with their dad in the other room. He told us, "Y'all are crazy!" HAHA Then one time I was at her house and told her I wanted to drink coffee and smoke cigarettes like Carrie from Sex in the City. She's like, "Ok :D"  So, the next morning I made some coffee, put some cream and sugar, took a sip and almost puked! So, when she get's home from work I told her about my coffee disaster and how awful it was and she said, "Minnie, did you use the sugar in the clear bowl with strawberries?" I'm like, "Yes." Then she says, "That's salt!" LMBO! Last year we went to NYC and went to eat at Sangrias and she tells the waiter, "Quiero un orden de chorros." Me and the waiter look at each other like has she lost her mind?! I told her, "You mean churros?" OMG that was too funny! For those that don't know what that means. She said, "I'd like an order of diarrhea." HEHE The next day we saw this video store and we're like, "Ooo, let's check it out." So we're looking at videos in the front and walk farther into the store and she's looking left and I''m looking right and then I'm looking left and she's looking right and then we're like, "WTH, this an adult video store!" So, we practically run out of the store and then look at each other and just burst out laughing! Only us could this happen to! LMBO. We've done crazier things but you get the point. Now My Baby Boy is married to her daughter Samantha. Now the crazier part is now she's married to my brother. No, he's not Samantha's father! Either my family has a thing for her family or her family has a thing for my family. HAHA Anyway, it get's way too complicated to get into for this post. All that matters is she and my brother did not meet until way after our kids were born. Now, we'll forever share the same family and be grandmothers to the same baby. She is my laotong. I love you best friend! Thank you for being one of the best parts of my life!

We were going through some things and one day I was listening to Joel Osteen and thought I'd share what I told her from that message.

Our lives have been divinely linked together. God connected us to together to make us better. I cannot write my life story without including you and you cannot write yours without including me. I love you :D

                                                Us last year in NYC

I found this song about 2 years ago

Pink Wednesday

Hi everyone :D I know I've been away for a minute. I've been really busy with school and other things. I hope you all are having a great week so far.

Today, I have Funky Nails :D I wasn't going to show this, but it saved me from having to go through my stash to see what pinks I have. This is a red based pink, more of a hot pink. It has a ton of shimmery mica and mega ton of pink glitter. When I was created this, I had to step away from what my color preferences are and literally closed my eyes and said a little prayer to be to do this color. And, I love it! Maybe I'm a little biased. LOL! I have some Funky Nails news. I'm not going to get into much detail, but this isn't the only collection I'll be debuting in June :D I have another, possibly one more. Ok, that's it no more! HEHE! Back to the mani, I only have two pics to show, because I'm still trying to repair the damage I did to my nails :( I was doing a good job until yesterday when I was testing one of my polishes over black. Why did I chose black, it's so predictable. Anyway, I tried everything to get my cuticles clean, even soaked in bubble white and nothing worked. So, because of my gross black lined nails I'll only post two pics to spare y'all :( The one in the shade is the truest color. In the pic it's a little darker though.

Have a great day y'all :D

In the shade.

Franken Friday

Hi everyone, I hope you all have some fun plans this weekend. My sister's birthday is this weekend. My sister was in the Army for about 22 years and this is her first birthday home in 23 years! I'm so happy we get to celebrate it with her! Yes, we saw her in that time, just not on her birthday. Just thought I clarify that. LOL

Ok, yesterday I announced I've decided to start my own indie brand Funky Nails. If I'm not using already made polishes to create mine, does that mean they're still considered frankens? Anyway, I'm going to show you all a sneak peak of what's to come in June. I'm not showing them on my hands, because they're still jacked up :( Before I get to the pic I'm posting a song by Whitney Houston and Chaka Khan, I'm Every Woman. This was not the inspiration for this collection but it is fitting, to me anyway :D I just love Whitney. I remember my first ever cassette of hers, yes I said cassette! LOL I was in the 6th or 7th grade. Anyway on to the video :D

In the sun.

They have no names yet, but here they close up :D

Ok, this one would not play nice! It's not black. This is a deep plum with a burgandy shimmer, very vampish and bold.

In the shade

Ok, there you have it, my first collection Every Woman. I worked really hard and had so much fun working on these and hope you all like them. Can you all guess my fav? HEHE :D 

Thankful Thursday

Hi everyone, It's Thankful Thursday :D I hope you all have had a great week so far. Just to let you all know, I talk about my faith in God in this post and it's very lengthy.

Today, I have some exciting news and so much to be thankful for. I've decided to start my own indie brand! Funky Nails. OMG! I can't believe I just said that for the world to read! I'm super excited! I've been thinking about this and working out the details for so long, that's it's finally about to become a reality! My first collection is going to be called Every Woman. There's something for 'Every Woman' from the most conservative to the true diva and everyone in between. I'll keep you updated as I progress.

I want to first thank my wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for casting his gracious hand of favor on me. I couldn't have done this without Him. A few months ago I went to a round table at my church. In case you all are wondering, I attend Lakewood Church in Houston. Anyway, I was so nervous, because just attending this meeting was a giant leap of faith. The very first step was to give my small business to God. So, I humbly did. I have the same fears as most people do when they start a small business. I wonder will you all come, will I be able to produce another batch for you all, will I make any money. But, every time I think like that I push those fears deep down and say to myself: I am anointed, I am approved, I am destined to live my life in victory. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I do that most of the day. But I trust the Lord with all my heart and  lean not on my own understanding, but in God, and he will make my paths straight. (Probverbs 3 5-6.

Second, I'd like to thank my son David (My Baby Boy.) He's purchasing the labels I need for this first round of bottles. My son never ceases to amaze me. I sent him a video of my first collection and he replied "Mom, I'm proud of you." It brought tears to my eyes then and now. Son, I love you! Never forget you are the son of the greatest King on earth and have royal blood flowing through your veins. Anything you touch will prosper and succeed. Thank you baby :D

Third, I'd like to thank my nephew George. He's a graphic designer and has agreed to design my logo. He's a great man of faith. He's also in a christian band called Walk of Christianity you can click here to check them out. He's the one between the guy with the white shirt and the guy with the gray shirt. Oh, my niece Sara (his wife) is going to do some swatches closer to the launch date (I'm praying for June 1st.) You can check out her awesome blog Lacquer Addictions. Thank you both :D

Fourth, I'd like to thank my wonderful man Jesse. He's purchasing my business cards, padded envelopes, and paint mixer. I'd also like to thank him for being a wonderful provider during this past year while I've been in school. Our income was cut in half when I decided to go back to school. It has truly been a journey for us. Thank you honey, I love you :D

Last, I'd like to thank all of you wonderful women/men for supporting my blog. You all have encouraged and supported me so much. You all are the best! I love y'all!

I want to address something. When I heard Kaila at TKB was going to limit her base sales I didn't know what I was going to do. People were saying she was only selling to a select few and basically it was a "nail polish club" or something like that. I'd only spoken to Kaila twice before that announcement and neither one was base related. I don't know how or why, but she sold me some base and I haven't even sold one bottle. Actually, I do know why, it was God working his magic. So, no, it's not a "nail polish" club that she's selling to. I will say this though, I will never take for granted what may seem easily available, because you just never know what may happen. To me, it was nothing but the power of prayer. Thank you Kaila :D

I want to inspire people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, all walks of life really. To dream big, pray big and if God can do something this wonderful for me, he can certainly do it for you too! If you don't believe the same as I do, then I encourage you to send out all your hopes and dreams into the universe. And believe, believe, believe that all your dreams can come true!

Love,
Minnie

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone. I'll be be at church this morning then going to my brother's for some BBQ fun. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Thank you Jesus for dying for me so that I may live.

Trivia Weekend Mini Giveaway

Hi everyone :D I hope y'all's Easter weekend is off to a great start and have some great plans.

This giveaway is only open to U.S. blog followers.

What do I very rarely do?

Good luck everyone!

Have a great weekend!

Putting On The Ritz!

Hi everyone :D It's Friday! WHOO HOO! Three days out of the week I don't have to set my alarm and I always say I'm gonna sleep in. Well, that doesn't happen. Unless, 30 extra minutes is sleeping in :/

In the past two weeks I've had five tests and I'm all studied out. I've been so busy studying I haven't had time to go through pics and edit them. I'm so behind that I've been actually wearing the manis I've been posting. On a different topic. My middle nail broke, I was like, really! So, I filed them down to the nubbins. I'm going to shape them oval. Right now they aren't to attractive looking :( Ok rambling and on to my mani.

Today's franken comes from the vault and isn't mine it's DollishPolish Putting On The Ritz! I really love this black and white glitter. It would go great with just about any color, so many options with this. I chose to wear it over Rimmel Stiletto Red. When I put this on, I instantly thought of Cruella Deville. LOL The formula was great and I didn't have to fish for glitter. I think I used 2 coats, I can't remember. If you want a smooth feel then I think a good thick coat of SV should do the trick. I kinda liked the textured look and feel. She has an Etsy store and sells her polish for $8, you can click here to check out her store.

Have a great day everyone :D

Thankful Thursday

Hi everyone, Today is Thankful Thursday. I hope y'all's week has been great :D

I've been thinking, is Thanksgiving the only time where we give thanks for all the wonderful people, things, and blessings in our lives?  I don't think I do this nearly enough. So, I've decided I'm not going to wait all year to give thanks, I'm going to start Thankful Thursday posts. I give thanks everyday to God for the many blessings he's given me and for casting his gracious hand of favor on my life, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about thanking someone for going out their way when they don't have to. I know I'm rambling, so I'll just get right to it.

Today, I'm thankful for Elizabeth Jing. She was my Christmas Giveaway winner. She shared my Blog on a forum (I can't for the life of me remember the name, sorry Elizabeth) and it's increased my viewer stats. I didn't ask her to do this. She doesn't even know me (irl) and yet she did that for me. I got a little teary eyed when she did that, because she didn't have to, she did it out the kindness of her heart. You know what she told me? She said, "Minnie, I want people to read your blog." I think she's great :D Elizabeth, can you email the name of the forum? Please :D

Elizabeth, thank you so much for your kindness. I don't know if I told you, but it meant a lot to me. I'll never forget it and I hope you enjoy my blog as much as I love writing it for you. :D

Wicked Style

Hi everyone :D I hope you all are a having a great Pink Wednesday. I've had a very busy week. I've been studying for 3 tests I have this week. I did have time to do my nails even if it is pink. HEHE I have to say all this pink is growing on me :D

I used China Glaze Wicked Style as my base color. I'm not posting a pic of it because I didn't like how it turned out. The formula was really thick and wouldn't level out. I did actually like the color though. I received pa in a swap I did with Susan from The Subtle Shimmer. So, I decided to layer it with AA12. The chunky glitter was not playing nice and I had to fish for the one I put on each finger. I like how this turned out, even if it is kinda girly. Have a great day y'all :D

Cyance Friction

Hi everyone, I hope y'all's week has been great so far :D I have just a quick post today.

Today, I have Cyance Friction from Nerd Lacquer. I love love love this aqua blue, pink/purple shifting with tons of aqua and gold hex glitter. The formula was awesome and only needed two coats and 2 coats of SV. She has an Etsy store and sells out quickly so you have to be fast to get these. They sell for $10 here. Have a great day everyone :D

Stiletto Red

Hi everyone :D Monday is here again! I always look forward to Mondays. This was not always the case. I used to be like almost everyone else and dreaded Mondays. Then, last year I read a book by Joel Osteen that helped me change my mind. Did you know that people have more heart attacks on Mondays, than any other day of the week. I didn't. Anyway, I thought for a long time what can I do to help take away my Monday blues. The answer; red nail polish. And, that my friends is why I look forward to Mondays. To some it may seem silly, but to me it makes perfectly good sense. Anyway, the people who think it's silly are the ones who get the Monday blues, so I get the last laugh because I start the week off with nothing but joy and happiness :D Ok, enough rambling and on to my mani.

I chose Rimmel Stiletto Red. I love Rimmel and their wide brush. The formula was a breeze to apply. I used 2 coats and topped with SV. This reminds me of one of Revlon's that I've yet to post, but I'll share that next Monday. I totally forgot to do a clean up, so sorry for that :(