Update that's not really an update

Why, hello there, Dear Reader. Fancy meeting you here. I know I've been away a while, so let me do some 'splainin...

1. My dad is dying of cancer. Big deal, you think, everybody's dying of something. Well, fuck you, this is MY dad I'm talking about, not some random homeless person. He's in Stage 4 of renal cell carcinoma, and after a decade of being in remission, the cancer came back hard core last fall and is pretty much kicking my dad's ass. My mom is out on FMLA leave, and we're down to counting the weeks, if not days, Daddy will still be with us. Needless to say, I haven't been very motivated to do anything, much less paint my nails, which is a bitch because I really, really want to make this blog successful. I've been spending the days in between my graduate classes at my parents' house, and I've brought nail polish with me, but when I get up there, I have to do so much caretaking that I just don't have time to paint my nails.

2. I have a shit ton of research to do this semester. I am determined to finish my TESOL master's program in May so I can finally get a job. I've been unemployed for more than three years now due to budget cuts (who needs a history teacher who can't coach?), and I'm about to go crazy with boredom and guilt that I'm not contributing financially and relying totally on my husband.

3. I seriously need to clean the apartment. We are living in the smallest place I've ever lived in, and I brought decades of accumulated crap into my marriage, crap that is threatening to take over our 950 square feet of living space -- and this is after some SERIOUS reduction in the amount of junk I own. I've gotten rid of 99% of my paper scrapbooking and crafty junk, as well as lots of old holiday decorations. I even donated more than half the books I used to own, but I've still got way too much shit. Part of me wants to throw it all away, but then another part is like, That's just stupid because the stuff you've got left is education-related junk you can use if you ever get another teaching job. Rajiv (my husband) says trash it and promises to buy new stuff if/when I need it, but it's hard to just get rid of hundreds of dollars worth of ancillary teaching materials, as well as materials I created during my seven years in the classroom.

So, those are the top three reasons my poor little blog is being neglected. I do have some new nail polish stuff to share with you (awesome eBay haul, Spoiled glitter swatches, nail strips that actually work), but they'll have to wait a few more days.

See you soon.