I am slowly starting to get used to seeing them, although there are still moments when they startle me - the shade brought out against a cat's fur, or a flash of color as my hands twist underneath the faucet while I wash them.

It was a spur of the moment thing. I was rummaging around trying to find a nail file so I could smooth out a few rough edges and maybe convince myself to quit picking at my poor nails in the process, and I found a bottle of nail polish I'd almost forgotten I had. We bought it to go with the costume I wore for last Halloween, but what with everything else we had to do to get the house ready for the party, I never did have the time to put it on. And then after that there never seemed to be a good time for nails quite that color because in my (previous and soon-to-be) job I'm supposed to at least *pretend* to be professional (even though I can occasionally get away with wearing jeans and sneakers).

I don't have to care about that stuff right now though, considering I've got that two weeks of freedom. So as of yesterday afternoon, I have green fingernails. Bright neon lime green ones, too - not even some somber dark green that might not quite catch the eye. No, this color screams out "Hey, look at this!" every time I see them, and I keep having to remind myself just why it is that my fingertips look weird.

I'm not sure this is a color I'd wear often. It's not exactly flattering to my skin, and I'll admit it can sometimes be a bit annoying to be forever distracted by my own hands. And at 32, well, let's face it - I'm way past the appropriate age to be wearing neon green nail polish.

But all those reasons aside, I still have green fingernails. And if I get myself a bit more motivated, I might just end up with green toenails too.

After all, it could be rather fun, getting amusingly distracted by my own feet.