Hey everyone. I've been falling behind on some things recently, and before I go into why I've faltered I'd like to apologize to you all.

You folks spend your time and hard-earned money on the pretty things I create here at Lucky 13, and I'm sorry there are times when it takes too long to ship out or I don't respond to messages quickly. I want you all to know I appreciate all of your continued support and understanding so much more than words can say.

Secondly, I'd like to apologize for not being as honest about why I've fallen behind as I'd like to have been. It feels weird to talk about my disabilities, but since it's recently heavily impacted my ability to work I think it's time to stop feeling embarrassed for silly reasons.

I've been experiencing chronic joint pain for the last 7 years, since I was 23. I've seen over a dozen doctors and every one of them has said there's "nothing wrong" with me and sent me away to wonder if it was all in my head. I'd spend hours looking for something that explained my seemingly random symptoms, but nothing fit 100%. In January 2017, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, and I began trying to accept that pain is simply a part of my life now. I've talked about this before, and having friends who understand is helpful, but I still wasn't satisfied with the answer so I kept looking.

Earlier this year, I came across another explanation that really made sense. It explained some of my "silly human tricks" I've been doing since I was a child, the weird way I've always sat (until my pain caught up with me), even why I bruise so easily and my scars look different than other peoples'.

I have Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos.

What that means is that my joints don't know where the hell they're supposed to be hanging out, so they can partially dislocate (called subluxation) or even fully dislocate at any time. This is a really painful thing to experience in one joint, let alone half a dozen across my whole body. I also bruise easily, which leaves my already painful joints surrounded by sensitive soft tissue that heals slowly. On the up-side, my skin is as soft as a baby angel's buns. While my body feels like I'm 200 on the inside, I'll look like I'm in my 20s for decades to come. Silver linings!!

However, the pain on top of anxiety, depression, and bi-polar mood swings can make it a struggle just to want to keep going every day. Some days I just feel like a hopeless and broken human. I've had a lot of those days recently.

Waking up after a restless 6 hours, stuffing myself to the eyeballs with coffee, working in pain all day (and only achieving partial efficiency because of it) before collapsing to start the cycle again the next day has been driving me insane. I'm trying to maintain a better balance of efficient work and rest, and I'm learning.

I can honestly say that getting to "play with glitter" for a living is not something I take for granted, nor is success something I inherently deserve. But I want to continue working hard for it, every day that I can.

​Thanks for reading all of this <3

As many of you surely know, I (Jess) and Mishka of Accio Lacquer are very good friends and we work together often. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend time with her in-person a few weeks ago and it only made our friendship stronger. We've even discussed the possibility of her moving closer to where I am! I can't even fathom how amazing that would be!

However, after Mishka returned home from her vacation she found that her dear kitty, Severus, was very ill from his diabetes. If my cat Sagan is my supervisor, Mishka's cat Severus is her Professor!

Just look at this little dork, how can you not love him the moment you see him??

The good news is that Severus' vet remains positive about his recovery and the kitty is happy to get all the love Mishka can give him. However, such severe health issues have caused the vet bills to pile up to an unmanageable level.

Mishka has opened up a GoFundMe account to cover Severus' bills to make sure her baby gets the best care possible.

As someone who has also had some very expensive complications with their beloved feline friend I aim to do everything in my power to help Mishka and Severus stay happy, healthy, and out of deep debt.

While I am recovering from my own financial difficulties due to kitties there isn't much I can do personally, but I do have the power to offer a discount for those who are able to support Mishka and Severus!

I am offering a one-time use code of 10% off for all who donate $5 or more OR 20% off for those who donate $20 or more to Mishka's fund.

If you enjoy reading Accio Lacquer I hope you'll support her in her time of need, even if the most you can do is $1 or spreading the word. Our furry friends are what keep us going when times get hard.

Please enjoy this soothing gif of my own kitty, Sagan, enjoying some love.

Warning: depressing and personal stuff below. If you just want the sale use code FAMILYFIRST to get 20% off everything here.

Hi everyone, since I have so many social media sites it's just easier to write everything out here instead of trying to fit it into 140 characters, but I'll still try to make this brief.

As those of you who follow me on Facebook have likely seen, my grandmother had an accident and has been comatose for about the last week. She was diagnosed as having no brain activity, which was confirmed by a second doctor, and the family has chosen to remove her breathing tube and allow her to pass (or, if by some miracle it happens, to heal. I'm still hoping, but knowing it won't happen) naturally. Right now we're not sure when that will happen as she's been breathing on her own for a day and a half so I'm going to be getting plane tickets and a hotel as soon as she passes, but for now I'm stuck in the horrible limbo of Waiting.

My entire family is in Southern California and I....am not. I'm up here in Portland. And I really need to get home to see my family. So, that means sale time for you! Silver lining, right?? From now until whenever I leave for CA I'm doing a 20% off sale with the code FAMILYFIRST which gives 20% off everything except charity items, so everything listed here. You can add other items to your cart if you like, the coupon just won't apply to them. I also have all Elemental Ward top coats on sale for only $5.

This sale is kind of wibbly wobbly, it currently doesn't have an exact end date; I'll be discontinuing the code 24 hours or so after I get my plane tickets to CA so there will be warning. Thank you to everyone who has sent me kind words and positive thoughts <3

Hello again, everyone!

First off I would like to thank everyone again for reading/sharing my previous blog post about my kitty and to those who have helped toward his hospital costs. I am overwhelmed with emotion from all the love everyone has shown!

I heard back from the vet this morning and he's doing much better. His bladder is empty and I should be able to take him home tomorrow or the next day at the latest. He'll likely need a special diet at least in the short term but that's a small inconvenience to have my baby back home safe.

Now, on to even more good news! A wonderful friend of mine has put together a collection of polishes that will be given away in a raffle! For each $1 contributed to my kitty's fund the person will receive 1 raffle entry and there is no limit to the amount of entries you can get. On top of that, those who are able to contribute $5 or more will still get the thank you note from Sagan and I!

What has she put together, you ask? Just an awesome assortment of great stuff!

• Fright Claw Glow in the Dark Polish - swatched 1x
  
• Butter London Fairy Cake - swatched 1x
  
• OPI Super Bass Shatter - swatched 1x
  
• Julep Laura - brand new
  
• Julep Ashley - brand new
  
• Wonder Beauty Products Grammy Girl - brand new
  
• Orly Berry Blast - swatched
  
• Orly So Go-Diva - brand new
  
• Material Girl Psychedelic - brand new
  
• Revlon Smoldering - swatched
  
• Deborah Lippmann I Love The Nightlife - BNIB
  

As you can see above a few of these have been swatched but most are brand new! Personally I'm comfortable with gently loved polishes but it's always nice to know if something is brand new or if it's been swatched before.

This raffle will be retroactive so if you have already contributed, you're already entered! If you've donated anonymously I and I alone am able to see your mailing information so you will still be entered to win. I know some people have been letting me know that no thank you note is necessary...well, you'll likely get a thank you note anyway since I'll have leftover cards and stamps. I am grateful to all of you and I want you to know it! :-) <3

PLEASE NOTE: for the polish prize shown above it is only open to US contributors. Due to shipping restrictions, if the raffle chooses a non-US person as the winner I will redraw for the polish but the non-US person will still get a prize!! I have a wide assortment of solvent-resistant glitters that I will allow the winner to pick from which I will include in their thank you card!

We plan on this raffle ending in about 2 weeks or when we've reached our goal for Sagan's hospital costs.

Bonus happy Sagan gif from a video I took last week!

A lot of you who follow my Facebook page and read my personal/behind the scenes post know that I have a wonderful, handsome little kitty named Sagan. He's often nearby while I'm working and is my resident box inspector...

...quality tester...

...printer warmer...

... and giveaway-winner-picker.

Recently he's been having some urinary issues that's been making him feel very under the weather. They got better for a couple weeks but yesterday they got much, much worse. He wasn't going potty normally at all and when he could go there was blood in it. He didn't finish his breakfast yesterday (and what he did eat came back up--in the litter box, too, how good of a boy do I have??), he refused dinner, and he vomited pure water and bile 4 times in 2 hours late last night.

Of course, at this point I'm terrified. It's 2AM and my kitty is just the unhappiest thing you've ever seen, I'm tired and hungry and trying to keep myself together and failing miserably at it. My best friend/girlfriend suggests she come over to check on Sagan and to console me and of course I don't turn her down. We decide that while he's obviously not doing well, he should be fine for just a few more hours until we can get him to a nearby vet. I eventually am able to get to sleep.

This afternoon I was at the vet the moment their walk-in hours began and they were able to call me in fairly quickly. The doctor looked him over and diagnosed him with urinary crystals and major bladder blockage. For those of you who don't know, in boy cats urinary crystals and blockage can be fatal within just a few days. She said that the best course of action would to be to keep him with them for a night or two, anesthetize him, insert a catheter, and help him drain his bladder and clear out the crystals.

However, it's going to cost $600 to $800 (depending on how long he needs to stay). I'm still paying off the $2000 from my own ER visit back in April, but there's no way I can risk losing my baby if it's at all avoidable. So now I'm back at home, without a kitty to hold and calm me, and worrying to death about if the treatment will work and if I'll be able to pay off my credit card at some point this decade.

I know that many of you have kitties of your own and some of you have even lost kitties to the same troubles Sagan is having. It's very difficult for me to swallow my pride and ask for help but it's unavoidable at this point; I can't do this on my own, even with the income Lucky 13 brings in.

If anyone is interested in donating towards Sagan's vet fees I have started a GoFundMe campaign which will track donations. You can also click Sagan's photo below to contribute.

I will be sending out thank you cards from Sagan and myself for anyone who donates $5 or more ($6 or more for non-US) and leaves their mailing info for me. If you prefer to donate via PayPal my email is Jessica S Owen {at} gmail {dot} com (remove the curly brackets and replace them with the correct symbols). You can send it via Friends/Family if you like or as just a normal payment, up to you. Make sure you include your address if you want a thank you card!

I have the most amazing fans in the world and I'm grateful to anyone who donates or shares this post with anyone. I love you all!

As those of you who follow my Facebook page have likely seen that I've been having a rough time lately. While I'm so pleased the Lord of the Rings collections were so popular it had some very unexpected downfalls.

On September 13th I received more orders in a single day than I had ever received in my best month. My previous method of filling orders had been to mix colors in a 4oz bottle, wait for orders to come in, fill the requested bottles, label them, and ship them out. Simple, right? It would take a couple days for larger orders but orders of just a couple colors would generally go out the next business day. But that's just not going to work when 300+ bottles are ordered in a single day. Thankfully I have plans to change how I prepare for orders and for new collections that should keep me from having too overwhelming of a to do list in the future.

On top of the unexpected influx of orders I've had so many other factors keeping me down. A sick kitty, one of my best friends is going through a horrible ordeal, and there's been nonstop construction going on with my apartment building. Most notably my windows are still unsealed and it's been below 40 most nights (but I can't justify keeping the heater on all night when I know it's literally going right out the window) and my flooring is supposed to be replaced which has taken my 430 square foot studio to about 100 square feet of living space, not including the bathroom.

Let me drive that home for you: I'm living in about a quarter of the space I'm paying for. And what's worst is my flooring was supposed to be replaced yesterday so I could move everything back to wear it belongs...but they won't actually be getting to my unit until Monday. Want to see what my beautiful workspace I posted about a few weeks ago looks like now?

Yep. I get to crawl over my bed just to get to the bathroom. And getting to my closet in the far back right? Ain't happenin'. With the crushing feelings of failure with being behind on orders and being forced into such a cramped "living" space my depression has hit an all-time low.

I hope everyone understands just how much I regret being behind on orders--I genuinely love doing Lucky 13!!! I love waking up every morning and wondering what I'll be making that day, who I'll be chatting with in comments on Facebook, all that awesome stuff! But apparently the cosmos are telling me it's time to take a weekend off.

Assuming they actually replace my flooring on Monday I anticipate being back to work as usual on Tuesday, which will allow me time to move everything back to where it belongs and a night to just relax in the comfort of my newly-refloored home and cuddle with my kitty.

When I'm back to working normally I'll have a new collection to announce and a new charity polish (with a twist. You'll see what I mean in a few days).

Thank you to everyone who understands, and again I'm so sorry about the delays. Life sometimes demands that we put ourselves before our passions, and it looks like this week is my week to sit back and relax.