Golden thoughts

Every Monday, I drop my Mom off at Dialysis. It's kinda handy because the place where I go for fills (that would be acrylic nails, not gas) Is just one parking lot over. So every other week when I drop her off, I go see Annie at Hot Spa Nails and get, "maw nails did. "

I don't do french tips. I like them and I think they are very attractive, but I love color too much to stick with just the natural look.

I usually get some shade of red. I love red nails, and the brighter and bolder the better. Maybe it's just my inner hooker having a say but I just really like my nails red. Not to mean that I never experiment with a pink or two. And every once in a while I will even go with this really cool color by OPI called; Mod About You. It is a shade so pale and opaque that at first it might come off as white but then you see it's subtle nuances of palest pink and palest lavender. It reminds me of the nail and lip colors that were so popular in the mid to late sixties. It is a cream color not a sparkly or iridescent. I usually go for the creams. I just think they look a little more sophisticated, at least on a woman of my advanced years.

And then there are the days when I just throw caution to the wind and choose a color that I know I will be spending five dollars (plus tip) in less than a week to get a polish change for.

I do this probably 3 or 4 times a year.

If Courtney is with me I am more likely to stick with my tried and true reds or maybe a nice pink.

Courtney can be really bossy.

The way that only a daughter can be with her Mom. And I don't think it's just because she has my back. I think it's more the fact that she is most likely in the two weeks that I will be sporting the new color to be seen with me in public at least a few times.

But hey don't we all practice some kind of self preservation? I guess I can't really blame her.

I remember a few months ago when I was actually thinking of auditioning a Robin's Egg Blue. Courtney, of course, let me know in no-uncertain-terms that it would be social suicide for someone as geriatric as me to think she could get away with a color that was so clearly meant for those young women 25 and under. I'm still not sure who's suicide it would have been, hers or mine.

Of course I do have enough social savvy to realize how lucky I am to have a beautiful young twenty year old watching over me and keeping me from some really huge fashion miscalculations (no, that's not quite right, how about calamities)
Well today Courtney was obviously not with me.

I admit I was weak.

I saw this beautiful bottle of iridescent gold by OPI and I was hooked. Here, I will treat you to an example of my left brain trying to reason with my right brain.

R "Oh look! GOLD?!?"
L "On no, you are not going to do this again"
R "Hey, I haven't picked a color like this for a long time!"
L "Yes, and there is a good reason for that too"
R "Oh brother. I make one little mistake with avocado green and you will never let me live it down."
L "You know perfectly well that if you get this color that you will be unhappy with it by the end of the day."
R " I don't think so this time. I think that this time is different and it will just look like a nice classy summer color."
L "Classy, CLASSY? You are going to look like one of those eighty year old women with the blue-white, super puffy, curled hair, that wear gold sandals with clear heels and adorned with fake purple jewels!"
R "Now you're just being hysterical, I know what looks good on me."
L "Looks good? LOOKS GOOD??? obviously you have totally forgotten the PUFFED sleeve peasant blouse incident at Walmart!"
R " Hey that would have been just fine if I hadn't needed too big of a size so that the sleeves would fit my voluptuous arms. And besides, THAT, was clothing that has NOTHING to do with nail color."
L "I give up! You are obviously NOT going to listen to reason today."

Now don't tell me that you don't have these little arguments with yourself at least sometimes.

So, I sat down at Annie's nail station. She took off my old polish. I looked at the gold OPI sitting there so innocently.

She started to grind down my nails with her dremel tool to get them ready for the new acrylic mixture. And the gold OPI? Still looking like a good choice.

She applied the new layer of acrylic nails. Gold OPI? Still looking pretty good.

She shaped my nails. Update on the gold? Still mostly looking like the right choice.

She puts the sander bit on the dremel and starts to wear down the rough spots. I'm starting to think just maybe, maybe, I might want to think a little deeper about the gold.

Time for the buffing and applying of cuticle oil. Gold OPI? Well, I'm not sure but do I really want to go pick out a different color?

Wash my hands, come back and pay, get my frequent nail fill card punched. Left brain is screaming at the top of her lungs trying to get my attention. Go away Left Brain, and leave me alone, sometimes you are just so boring!

Annie holds up the OPI. Annie looks at me with a very questioning expression on her face. "You want gold today? That is a really different choice for you today."

I suddenly feel very bold. Hell yes ,I want that gold! I can't think of a single color in this whole shop I want more than this lovely gold. In fact I realize that I WILL NOT KNOW A MOMENTS PEACE UNTIL I AM LEAVING THAT SHOP SPORTING MY NEW GOLD NAILS.

Oh yeah, sign me up for gold!

She does one layer of gold. Nice. An almost completely sheer but perfectly lovey shade.
Coat number two, I impulsively decide that two coats just will not be adequate. I call for a third round.

Annie usually never questions. If you want three coats, sister you can have three coats.

Third coat and then the clear overcoat.

I go dry my nails under the good ol ultra-violet light. I sneak peeks at them. I tell myself how much I like them, and what a good choice I made. I also notice that pesky old Left Brain is trying really hard to be heard as she yells "I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!" at the top of her lungs. (Do brains have lungs? Hmm, more research.) I sneak a few more peeks. I do have to admit that they (in only the right light of course) could possibly be mistaken for the eighty-year-old super puffy and curly blue haired Lady's nails.

Well I am home now. I have been the proud owner of my new gold nails for about three and a half hours now. Do I like them? I still am not sure, I may have to go over to Donald and Lisa's to get the stamp of approval from Lex and Lori. But then I remember that they also really liked the super hot pink ones I had about this same time last summer.

Apparently there is only one thing to do.




Wait till Courtney comes home to tell me whether I should like them or not.


This will be a looooong wait.

Update; I decided that Mike and Dani were right so here is a picture of me with my new gold nails.