Almost four months later, I'm back!

I've had a VERY long absence from this blog, and I want to apologize for that.  In between dealing with a chronic illness, finishing requirements for school, starting classes on becoming an Advanced Nail Technician, AND GETTING A NEW JOB (yay!), things have been hectic.  I've also been sick with strep throat and bronchitis, and now am dealing with pain that's possibly from my gallbladder.  All in all, things have been going well, even with all the ups and downs.
I finished the ABC Challenge sponsored by Erica of Erica's Nails and More, won a nail art contest (woo hoo!), and now am participating in another nail art challenge.  I want to push myself and exceed myself regarding nail art, especially since I've gotten a bit of a reputation at school for being good at what I do.  Please forgive me if that sounds like bragging; I'm not.  To be completely honest, I view my nail art as simplistic and not really that good.  I do love what I do and want to exceed myself every time I do a manicure with nail art.
That said, I want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU for following me.  I'm going to do my best to keep this blog up and running.

Now...I want to share my contest-winning manicure with you.  I did this for Week X of the ABC challenge.  I love comic books and The Uncanny X-Men have always been a big favorite.  I especially love Gambit; who WOULDN'T love a charming, charismatic character with the ability to kinetically charge inanimate objects, throw them, and blow things up?  With this in mind, I had to do X-Men themed nails.  It was an absolute blast!

I used China Glaze Celtic Sun, OPI Animal-istic, an unnamed brown, and an unnamed purple L.A. Colors polish, as well as China Glaze Liquid Leather, a mini red polish, and a gold Nina Pro polish.  Detail brushes and a dotting tool were used to add details to the characters' costumes.  This was quite fun to do, and I wore it for about a week.  Stay tuned; I'll be showing my Nightmare Before Christmas nails tomorrow!