Diary of a Manicurist

SOFT PUMPKIN SPICE COOKIES with Cream Cheese Frosting ...plus a bonus link to make Pumpkin Pancakes with the leftover puree! 2 cups all-purpose flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon kosher salt ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground ginger ¼ teaspoon ground allspice ⅛ teaspoon ground clove ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 large eggs 1 cup granulated sugar ½ cup coconut oil 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 can of whipped cream cheese frosting (OR homemade vegan cream cheese frosting) 1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with nonstick spray. 2.   In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, clove and nutmeg. Set aside. 3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until pale yellow and smooth, about 1 minute. Whisk in the oil, pumpkin and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet

Another lost blog post from November 3, 2007! I recently dated a guy who said he kissed another dude one time just to see if he might be gay. This was shocking to me. I had been boy crazy since I was 3 so I never thought to even question it for myself. The vulnerable admission triggered an old memory for me. When I was 21, I had 2 jobs--one working for the county tax office and the other doing nails. There was a girl with long black hair named Nicole who used to come into the tax office to make payments on her mom's taxes on a regular basis. I used to hang out and talk to her for a while whenever she came in and I thought she was really cool. I found myself strangely attracted to her. It wasn't the sexual fantasy kind of attraction. It was like a "more excited than you should be to see someone" kind of thing. I guess I was excited to have a new friend. I eventually started doing her nails. She had exceptionally large hands.  That's all I need to say in 2007 an

Another lost blog post from January 11, 2015! I grabbed my cape and rushed out of the house on this rainy day over to the bagel shop.  While waiting for my coffee, another patron mentioned the tag on my coat. Knowing I've owned this old thing at least 15 years, I couldn't fathom what she was talking about.  I gave her a confused look, "tag?"  Sure enough, a bright green tag that said ORGANIC was stuck to my side. I had been grocery shopping late last night. I had a good laugh and thanked her for saying something. I've been labeled a lot of things before but this one's a first!

A lost blog post from August 12, 2008! My social life has been revolving around downtown since Spring 2005 when I left the Hard Rock and started working at Beauty Bar. By early 2007, the bands I liked the most (The Vacation, The Lashes, The Shys, Diamond Nights, Wildbirds) stopped coming to town. Nonetheless, the whole year of 2007 was still exciting and fun up until October 2007 when Mark moved to Texas and Morpheus stopped doing Blak Fridays at Beauty Bar. Suddenly, I was wandering around with a broken heart and work wasn't fun anymore. I do have to confess that before Mark even left, I knew exactly who I would be aiming to spend my time with downtown as soon as possible. At that point I made it my goal to throw myself in this person's way every chance I got and we became friends very quickly. I became more and more involved in his life as I tried helping him cope with his own broken heart. I would listen to him talk for hours and felt much like a counsellor...but listening

...from the eyes of a former employee Sunrise from the parking garage after a Guns N Roses concert In the late 1990s when I was planning to make my move from Indiana to somewhere in the southwest desert, I learned that a Hard Rock Hotel had just opened in Las Vegas. After doing research on cost of living and crime rate in the area, at that time, I learned it was similar to my hometown. One synchronicity after another occured and it seemed like all roads pointed to Las Vegas. I called the Rock Spa at the Hard Rock Hotel and innocently told them about myself and my skills and wanted to know what I needed to do to get a job there. They told me, "Just get here first." So I did, in September 1999, one week before my birthday, I arrived in fabulous Las Vegas where an apartment I rented long distance and my first self-employment booth rental gig were waiting for me. I had saved a ton of money from being an OPI product educator and knew I needed time to heal from a lifetime of

Oh my beautiful friends! How many of you have stood patiently and encouragingly at my side. How I wish you could've explained to me that the remedy I was searching for was inside me all along. I have woken from my slumber. The men I allowed to parade through my life were like nails in my coffin, one by one. The final nail sealed me in nearly 4 years ago but I was not dead, no, I was not finished. I've been like a vampire struggling and clawing at the darkness though the painful metamorphosis. Now I rise. I am lovable. I am good enough. No longer am I glued to the mattress of lonely defeat. No longer am I under a mountain, as I have commanded that mountain to move by the power given to me through Jesus Christ. No longer hiding under my black cloak, I have dropped my shields of invisibility. The dark veil of tunnel vision has been whisked away to reveal a new bright day where I see the friendly gazes and approving smiles of strangers and friends. Like the seed planted undergr