Fall/Thanksgiving Nails

Who's excited for Thanksgiving?! I know I am... Especially to gain some weight (long story)!! Anyways, these nails started out as just plain ol' French tips in the copper color, but then I decided to play off that and fade it half way down my nail. Then I of course had to add a design! So, with it being fall, I added some colorful leaves. I don't know about you, but my neighborhood is absolutely gorgeous right now with all the trees dying. Fall is truly beautiful! And it's a great time to look at your life and see what you are thankful for... I am SO thankful for my family, whom I have grown closer with these past couple months. I don't have to worry about bullies anymore because my not-so-little little brother will protect me at school! That's a great feeling. Family is the greatest; keep 'em close! Have a fabulous Thanksgiving, everyone, and don't forget to smile tomorrow, because we all have something to smile about! :)

Seize Hope Nails

HAPPY EPILEPSY AWARENESS MONTH!! This November has been a real treat for me. At my high school, with the help of my friends and classmates, I successfully started epilepsy awareness! All around the halls are little facts about the disorder, and every morning they say something about it on the announcements. On the 16th, we will have a purple-out day, and a couple days ago, I was worried about who would participate. Everyone who I go to school with is 'too cool.' Right? I guess not! All week, every day someone new will message or text me and ask what epilepsy is, what it's like, and when they need to wear purple. Friends, acquaintances, strangers, and even ex-friends are offering their support and understanding. It brings tears to my eyes!! I don't know that I've ever felt SO loved in my whole life. Thank you everyone.

What better way to spread awareness than posting embarrassing pictures of yourself on the internet? That's me, getting my first 48 hour EEG. The first one is me just being awesome, and the second one is the name of the test (Ambulatory Electroencephalography Monitoring Unit, or AEEG). That one is kind of an inside joke that only the people in my second period chemistry class (shout out to Mr. Hanson) would understand... Long story short, I am a whole lot funnier than I think I am. Anyways, an EEG is a test that monitors your brain waves and muscle movements and determines what kind of seizures you're having, when you're having them, and, if you're lucky, why you're having them. I've had three of them--none of them lasting longer than an hour. But with all of the problems I've been having lately, my doctor(s) thought it'd be necessary to hook me up for a longer amount of time. I have 24 leads (wires) on my head and one on my chest, all connected to a little box in a highly fashionable black bag. To top off the look, I am wrapped in a gauze hat. I cannot go to school or do chores. And people bring me free food. JACKPOT. The one thing that really sucks about this is I have to do whatever it takes to have a seizure--AKA go against everything I've taught myself to do over the years. Throw all of it out the window. So I'm not sleeping (and when I do, it's only for a couple of hours) and I'm stressing myself out with homework. But it's all for good reason! The more seizures, the better the results, the better the treatment. I have faith in this test and in my Jesus, and that is all that matters. I have the Lord on my side... Who am I to complain?

One question that I get A LOT is "Are you scared?"

And my answer is always the same, without a thought.

No.

James 1:2-3

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."

How can I be with a verse like that?

Minnie Mouse Nails

Happy Halloween, everyone! I went as Mini Mouse this year (and YES, I went trick-or-treating, and I'm almost 17...), and I hung out with my friend Kelli who was a cat! It was a pretty fun night just walking around getting free candy. And it wasn't too cold, even though it was raining :) To do these nails, I just did a base red (pink would be cute, too) then used a bobby pin to dot the white on. After that, I used a toothpick to draw little black bows, then finished it off with a sparkly top coat! They look good with just regular top coat, as well. Not including dry time, these probably took me twenty minutes, tops. They are so quick and easy to do!

This is me in my costume, nails included :) I had a red jacket as well, it was just too warm inside to wear it.

PS: I'm sorry for the lack of nail designs these past couple months. I am having a ton of problems keeping my epilepsy under control, and I don't have very steady hands anymore. I will keep you all posted with how that is all going (through nail designs, of course!) and I could definitely use some thoughts and prayers :) Thanks guys!

Homecoming Nails

So, my school's Homecoming was this weekend! Aaand it was great. I went with the best people ever, and I seriously could not have asked for a better first-high-school-dance experience (yup, I'm a Junior and that was my first dance). I somehow managed to get a date, after several attempts, as did all of my friends, and that is one thing that made it so awesome! And we went as friends, so it wasn't awkward :) Anyways, nails. I designed these based on my dress, and they kinda sorta match. I will post a picture below, along with a little blurb about my wonderful (FRIEND) date of mine!

So... That's me and my date, for those of you who don't know me! And for those of you who have not read my blog before, I am epileptic, meaning I have chronic seizures (you can read my full story on that here and here). Something very special about this kid, Tanner, is that he also has seizures! In this picture, I am recovering from a pretty bad seizure in which I bit my tongue and I felt like I was hit by bus for a few days. I am so thankful that I was able to go with someone like me, though, because it meant that I didn't need to feel bad when I needed to sit down outside every couple minutes because he was asking to do the same thing, too. Throughout the night, we stuck by each others sides, and that is the greatest feeling in the world. To know that I am not alone, and to know that I am not ruining someone's night by asking them to sit out with me. Neither of us can say that we really understand what the other is going through, just because our seizures are so different, but we at least both know what it feels like to lose control. Literally. I say that his seizures are worse than mine (and he'd fight me on that one...), but he is the strongest person I know. It takes so much for me to face the day sometimes, and he always wakes up with a smile on his face, ready to tackle whatever it is inside him that is taking him away from reality. I am so honored that I got to go with him to Homecoming. We kept an eye out for each other, and I know I will continue to do so. Tanner, I am so happy we are friends, and I will be praying for you!
(Oh, yeah, that sign we're holding says, 'Our doctors say we have chronic seizures .... We say we have chronic awesomeness :)' )

Rose Nails

These nails kind of remind me of wallpaper you'd find at you grandma's house. And I love it. I'm girl and I love flowers and pink, okay? It may look complicated to do, but really, it's simple. All you do is paint the bottom coat (preferably something light, like pink or blue), and then add those little white dots with a bobby pin. Next, you use a bobby pin to add red dots (in varying sizes), and then use a toothpick to make little pink lines inside those red dots. The lines don't have to be in any particular pattern--just make them curve here and there. Then you take a light green and make the leaves with a toothpick. If you want to add more dimension, you can go over the leaves with a darker shade, like I did. Add a topcoat, and voila, you're done! Enjoy.

Sunset Nails

These nails happened by accident. I wanted to do a mountain range (with a sunset in the background), and instead of starting the fade of pink from the base of my nails, I started it at the tip. If that makes any sense at all. But anyways, after I realized my mistake, I just decided to fade the pink to orange then to yellow. Then I just whipped out my handy-dandy toothpick and painted those palm trees and birds. To do the fading I used a make up sponge that I cut into a small triangle. I would dab it in some nail polish then sponge it onto my nail. Pretty simple. I am overall happy with my accidental results!

Checkered Nails

Believe it or not, these nails are super easy. The only hard part is finding out the right places to put the big dots (the ones that have pink on them), but that isn't difficult at all! First, you do the big dots without the pink. I start at the base of my nails with two dots and then I go up from there. The trick to finding the right placement is to always have straight lines diagonally and horizontally.  After that, I connect the dots with smaller dots and then add the pink on top. It's so easy because all it is is a bunch of dots! Good luck trying it :)