Monday, January 13, 2014

Nail Biting... Old Vice?

Good Afternoon!!

Finally we are having the weather we dream about in the south! It is so gorgeous outside Jason is walking around in shorts! Haha I however am in fleece socks, jeans and a jacket... its only 56 out! This made it a little easier to get out of bed this morning and hit the pavement running.. literally.

I'm not going to lie getting out of bed this morning wasn't easy! First of all I haven't been sleeping well at all through the night and the goobers next store working on those houses pick their own hours! Thankfully Tanya taught me how to curse at them in Spanish and having that under my belt makes me feel a little more in control of the situation. Relax, I probably wont do it.. truth be told they are always nice to me, in a creepy perverted kind of way, but none the less.

Anyways we actually got up later this morning thankfully because let me tell you from running yesterday and doing biceps and triceps, plus abs this girl was SORE!! I literally hurt from my neck down.. I kid you not. My hips and knees which feel like that of a 90 year old on a good day felt as though they may break at any moment as I pulled my fat ass out of bed. Motivation. My biggest concern this morning was Jason rushing me out the door as I am NOT a morning person and NEVER get up and leave the house a half hour later, I made it clear that was not happening this morning either. My other issue was that pesky blister I got yesterday. I bandaged it up, busted out my good gym shoes and out the door we went!

While heading to the park I took a really good look around at the damage done by the weekends crazy weather, I heard on the news this morning a woman in Raleigh died on the weekend because a tree fell on her, so sad. I was feeling pretty grateful for the lack of damage and just a minor scare.

So we made it to the park and although sore I was ready to push myself, Jason went on his way as he is more polished on his running skills and I started off. I'm not going to lie I didn't do as well as yesterday and only made it 2.5 miles today. I'm trying not to be too hard on myself and feel too pathetic because at least I am out there and doing it. Sadly its not easy to get back in the grove of running and it is going to take some time, the immediate results we always hope for are not going to happen and my hard work and determination are going to be what brings those along. My blister really did a number on my motivation, thankfully it is suppose to rain tomorrow and Wednesday so I will be busting out the weighted skipping rope I bought Jason for Christmas and hitting the garage, I am determined to get in daily cardio of some sort.

Now that I have gone on about something that this post had absolutely nothing to do with I figured I would get to the point...

I like to think I don't have a lot of vices, I am especially proud that the vices I would say that I do have don't generally effect other people! Most of them are fair weather vices anyways, except for one.. my nemesis, nail biting. I swear I have been biting my nails since I could chew and it is the most disgusting habit ever in life (besides smoking). My Mom tried everything when I was a kid to get me to quit it and nothing ever worked. There was no reason for my nail biting, I don't do it because of nerves or anything like that, I just do it.. all the time.

Getting older I became more aware of how truly disgusting it really is, I am an avid hand washer but I still have a huge issue with germs and as I have gotten older is has only gotten worse. I have never liked long nails because there is always crap under them and nothing grosses me out more, but there is definitely a fine line between disgusting bitten nails, sore and bleeding all the time and nice, short manicured nails. This is what mine generally look like...


Not to mention the fact that walking around all the time looking like this.. is pretty unattractive!


I truly never gave it much thought, even when people were swatting my hands away from my mouth or telling me how disgusting it was! However when Jason and I got engaged I was so excited to show off my GORGEOUS ring, and although people thought it was beautiful it also came along with comments such as "now that you are showing off that gorgeous ring don't you think its time to stop biting your nails", "Beautiful ring, time for a manicure".. you get the drift (apparently I have very honest friends and family). But in the end they were right, my nails looked disgusting! 

At about that time I pretty much stopped biting, not all together because its hard to break a lifetime habit but instead of biting I lived for nail clippers! No joke.. this right here.. my BFF. 


Actually it wasn't just nail clippers, you give me any nail tool and I would sit around for hours and pick! These became my side kick, partner in crime, handy dandy go to buddy! 


I mean seriously though, how fantastic is this little gem! Don't get me wrong, blood was involved a time or two which was completely my fault because I became obsessed! Having said that I became aware that you could have short nails that didn't look like they went through the garbage disposal with just some simple manicuring! 

Now you are probably wondering why with all of this uncontrollable biting through the years why I didn't ever try nail polish or gel nails. Well ladies and gents.. I did and it was an epic flippin' fail. I really hate nail polish for my fingers PERIOD, one I need someone else to do it because I am so vastly uncoordinated with my left hand and two 5 minutes after it dries I am biting and scarping to get it off! It makes my fingers feel heavy- go ahead and laugh, I can't explain it but to say that I absolutely HATE IT! I have gotten gel nails a time or two as well and they generally last about a week before I rip those suckers off too! Gel nails specifically get shit under them and its literally impossible to get it out and its freaks me out and in my moment of irrational fear of some sort of disease caused my grime I grab the closest, sharpest instrument I can and drive it under and try and pop them off. 

Funny story, after we got married we were back in New York and naturally I wanted those things off my hands ASAP... I did some reading online about a more efficient way to get them off besides hacking away for hours and found something that said you should cut them short and then soak your fingers in nail polish remover. Sounds easy enough. I pulled out this strawberry scented stuff I had (it was pink) and soaked my fingers in it for as long as I could stand before hacking away. Well it worked, they came off a lot easier then I had expected and that shit only turned my finger tips pink for a week. Win? I don't think so. 

In the past few months I have done a lot better with the not biting and actually letting my nails grow, so when my Mom and Fiona were here we decided to get manicures as I actually had nails to manicure and was quite proud. Well for me that went from a manicure on my own non bitten nails to a spur of the moment decision to get gel nails. Stupid. I actually really liked them, they were extremely well done and although it took some time to get use to I was really happy with them. In the end they lasted two weeks and I ripped them off because one, they only lasted looking nice for two weeks and then they needed to be filled.. well I can find a million other ways to spend $30 every two weeks and number two, well the germs. Not to mention if you don't keep them literally forever they COMPLETELY ruin your nails. Good lord it takes weeks for them to grow back in properly! Sick! In my old age I am a wicked germaphobe and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I have quirks.. go ahead.. judge away. 

I decided then and there I would never get those again (I've said that before). But I will say that I haven't bitten my nails in a dogs age and whats even better they are the longest they have ever been and I am OK with it, I actually think they look nice. I on occasion get the urge to cut them all off, and honestly that day may come... but I'm not biting. I often think about how others interpret  an obsession/ vice like that, because lets be honest its noticeable to the world. They would probably assume I am a worrier - BINGO... but they could also assume other things that although I may not know what they are in defense mode I want to say screw off they aren't true! But why put that out there. 

So in the end I am really proud of myself for kicking that nasty habit, I am glad that its not something that I am thinking about all the time because I am so self conscious and worried what other people think, and maybe.. and this is a BIG MAYBE I may venture into the world of nail polish on my fingers. Again that's a maybe, lets not get carried away! 

Do you have any bad habits that you have kicked and want to share what it is and how you kicked it? Looking to kick a bad habit and need some advice? Share away!! I would love to hear about it. 

Jason and I are having an early dinner and then heading out to the movies, we are seeing the new Mark Walhberg movie Lone Survivor and I cannot wait! Its going to be hard to go and not eat popcorn and crap but none the less I am still really looking forward to it. 

I hope you are all having an excellent Monday, if you made it through the today the rest of the week should come easy! 





 photo Signature_zps30f5eb11.png

4 comments:

  1. Hi Nicole, those nails of yours look sore. If this is your worst vice then I would say you are well off. I do agree with you though, dirt under a persons nail is gross. My daughter in law told me of a study done recently where technicians took random samples of dirt and grit under nail s from a wide assortment of people. Basically, what they found in terms of germs and bacteria was equivalent or worse than samples they took off public toilets ! ( I will give you a moment to run to the bathroom and throw up). Before I knew this, I have always been a freak when it comes to buying food from servers that handle my bread or food with their bare hands. I will walk out if I see a server touching my food with their bare hands. Gloves are a must ! I am particularly repulsed by teenage boys who might be making my food. I just assume they never wash their hands. I know I rarely did. I don't know if you would call this a vice but I am a freak when it comes to hand washing and people handling my food. I mentioned this to my niece who worked at a high end restaurant in Montreal. She told me, " it's a good thing I never see what goes on inside the kitchen". I chose not to ask why. I can't deal with those images. Finally and sorry for being so wordy but did I tell you the time I invited some friends over for lunch ? I was single and lived alone so I ordered pizza and made a salad. Everything was going great until I picked up my first piece of pizza and there staring right back at me was a pubic hair ! I had to make an instant decision. Do I ruin everyone's lunch and tell them or do I suck it up, pull the hair out somehow without alarming them and save the lunch . I chose to say nothing. This was quite a fees ago so I cannot remember how I got the hair out without my guests knowing. I have this sick feeling I just ate the slice BUT I know I could never do that so I must have thought of something. Have a lovely supper.

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMG Steve!!! That is the most disgusting story! But I sadly could also tell you some disgusting pizza stories. I'm not a fan of places that don't use gloves either. In the states or possibly just certain states when you want to take the rest of your meal to go they are not allowed to take your food in the back they must bring a box to your table and in front of you box the leftover! I think this is marvelous! I never use to be quite so bad about germs but as I get older I become more and more disgusted by certain little things! I keep antibacterial hand wipes in my purse and hand sanitizer! I also have a bottle in the truck and I am constantly scrubbing the kitchen with Lysol wipes! Those touch less soap dispensers in the kitchen is a must! I hate hand towels in bathrooms for drying hands I think it's a basic breeding ground for everyone's germs and watch them every time I do laundry. I have already had dinner but thanks to you I will not be snack on my usual after dinner apple tonight! Haha!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think that policy of packing things up at your table is great. I don't think we do this up here.

    I had an opportunity one time , when I lived in Halifax, to accompany a friend who is a Sherriff and he was closing down a pizza joint. I went into the staff bathroom and there right beside the toilet was a white pail full of pizza dough with no lid on it. So you can imagine the rest.

    Enjoy your pizza next time . :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have read all the comments and suggestions posted by the visitors for this article are very fine,We will wait for your next article so only.Thanks! fingernail clippers

    ReplyDelete