Why I haven't posted lately + MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!

Well, hello there, my Purdies! How have you all been? I've been a busy mama lately, hence my lack of posting over the past couple of weeks. Not to mention, I broke every single nail but one, and then realized that my metal cuticle pusher, when combined with my cuticle remover, has ruined my nails. They're awful. And I don't know if I'm being brave or just crazy, but I'm going to show you guys just how bad they are...

I had heard so many people rave about how they just LOVED their metal cuticle pusher, so of course, I had to have one. I've been using mine for about a year now, and I have enjoyed using it. It worked really well. Too well, evidently. Now that my nails have grown out enough, I can see just how horribly I have damaged them.

It's downright embarrassing. After the last two broke all the way to the quick, I was so heartbroken. The first two that had broken were finally growing, and now the other two had broken so badly. 

But, this? I feel so defeated. My nails look like I've got acrylics on, and need a fill-in. It's REALLY bad. I evidently didn't use the metal pusher properly, and I've ruined them. So, if you use one of those metal cuticle pushers....BE CAREFUL! And don't use cuticle remover when you use it. Your nails will be so soft, you could be taking perfectly healthy layers off of your nails, and not even realize it.

I know I could probably use a ridge filler, but of course, as is typical in my life, I can't afford to just go out & buy one. Well, I probably could go out and buy a ridge filler, but I'm choosing not to (You'll see why shortly). So, I guess all that I can do, is let my nails grow out until they're back to normal. But the way my nails have been growing the past few months, that could take a year or more!

I want to be able to work on this blog, this nail polish blog, that I've started. I needed this. Something just for me. So, I hope you guys won't stop reading or following if I don't post about nails for a while. I DO plan on still posting, sooooo I have decided that I will just post about whatever I feel like. Household product reviews, children's product reviews, makeup, hair, grocery shopping, kids, family.....whatever my little heart desires. Trying to keep to one single thing like nails to blog about just isn't easy for someone like me! 

Soooooo....to celebrate a new beginning for myself in my little teeny-tiny piece of the world, I decided to have my VERY FIRST GIVEAWAY! I had decided to see if anyone would want to participate, by letting me include their blogs/pages in the Rafflecopter entries, just to "share the love". But the response was even more amazing that I even thought it would be. Several people decided to contribute prizes, making it possible to have FOUR WINNERS! How freakin' cool is that?!

I'd like to thank everyone who chose to be a part of this. From contributing prizes, to just participating and sharing the love...you all are the best! This was originally just gonna be a little bitty giveaway, but it's turned into something even greater! But enough about that, here's the Rafflecopter!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at polishedaway@gmail.com! This is my first experience with Rafflecopter, so it might not be perfect, lol. a Rafflecopter giveaway