I think this will be my next tattoo

‎"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections."

Yep. I think that's it.

We Did It!

And we love them!

His is bigger than mine, obviously. He had far more real estate on his leg to work from than I did on my ankle.

We are both happy as little clams with our new tattoos.

And bonded forever. LOL

As he said...you can take a ring off but a tattoo is a lifetime commitment! Hahahahahahaha

That's right, big boy, you're branded stuck with me now.

Oh, and he's already planning his NEXT tattoo....something on the other leg. Geesh, I've created a monster.

It's Official! My honey and I are....

....getting tattoos together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When we were on the cruise, we got henna tattoos on our wrists of a sea turtle.

(OK yes, for the last time....he hadn't had time to take his shoes/socks off when I snapped the picture of our wrists! Good God, this was a huge issue on Facebook that he had socks on at beach. I can assure you, he was taking them off. See his bare right foot between our arms!)

Back to the tattoo...

OK so we have a running joke between us about turtles. It started 14 years ago and has to do with "Turtle Power", and you can let your imagination wander about what it means. LOL I wanted a henna tattoo while we were in Honduras, but didn't get one, but at the next port which was Cozumel, I got one, and so did he. The guy freehanded the turtle and we both loved the design. Mine was on my left wrist, his was on his right, so when we held hands they touched.

Gag. LOL I know, I know.

Anyway, this is his. It was a little clearer design than mine, and you can see that the top is the head of the turtle and it's going up his arm....

I loved having mine on my wrist, I've been wanting a tattoo there for years and figured the best way to try it was a temp one like this. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT.

SOOOOOOO....Honey says "Let's make them permanent!"

And I agreed immediately.

Problem is, he can't have it on his wrist for professional reasons. We had a tough time agreeing where to put them, we kind of wanted them in the same places on our bodies but that's not gonna happen. Where he wants to put his, I either already have one, or don't want one there.

So we compromised, mine is going inside my left ankle, his is going outside of his right lower leg.

We get them on Saturday.

I'll post pictures on Sunday!

You gotta love a man who wants to get a tattoo with you. I reminded him this is *really permanent*, and that he will think of me every day for the rest of his life when he sees it, and he said...

"What makes you think I don't already? I'm the one who remembers everything about us from 14 years ago....you put it all out of your mind!"

The man has a point. In my defense, I truly believed I blacked it all out because it was too painful to remember how happy I was back then, when we had broken up and both gone on to other not-as-happy relationships.

Yeah, nothing says commitment like a tattoo, kids. You can take a ring off, but a tattoo is forever.

I need to stop. Soon. OK maybe not yet.

I'm itching for another tattoo.

I know, I know, I just got one in February.

And I have four now.

But I want another one. Two more, actually.

So you know I want one on my foot, right? Well, a couple of weeks ago I was cleaning my garage out, and found a "book" that the guests at my wedding shower (in 2003, mind you) wrote words of marital advice in.

One of those guests was, of course, my sister Linda, who died a few months after I got married.

Part of her advice said "Live life, love, and be happy".  

And that's what I plan to have tattooed on my foot, in her handwriting. I think that will be amazing to have some of her last words of advice to me, her little sister, in her own writing, for the rest of my life.

I also want a tattoo on the inside of my left wrist.  I'm still thinking I want this puzzle piece....

I love that, and it has meaning for a couple of reasons, such as, looking for my "missing piece", and this blog of course. Even when I no longer write it (still waiting on that offer of $60k for it, peeps. C'mon....who's got the extra cash?) I will always remember the many friends I met here and the joy it brought me to be part of this crazy blog world.

I'm trying to fight off the urge, but I feel a call to Sweet Baby Octane and the only man who ever touches my body these days, D Willy, coming on.

Maybe next week. Gotta wait on flip flop weather to get the foot one anyway.

I love my new tattoo

And I think Linda would love it as well.

These were taken a couple of hours after it was done, so it's still kind of red and swollen.

Here's a close up picture of it. Notice the detail in the dragonfly. It looks like stained glass. (If you click on the picture it will open up a bigger one.)

Here's what it looks like on my back.

I really love it. And not only does it honor my sister, but since Jordan has the same wording on his arm, it's something my son and I have together as well.

Tattoos are addicting. There's an odd thrill I get when I hear the tattoo machine start to hum. Of course it's not the most comfortable thing in the world, and after awhile it gets downright painful! I liken it to labor and childbirth....it sure doesn't feel good when it's happening but the end result is something you will love for life! And once you see it, you forget the pain.

Until the next one.

And then as it starts, you remember and think "Why am I doing this again?" LOL

Too bad tattoo artists can't give epidurals.

Oh well...it's worth it! It's art, and this one means the world to me.

Damn that cold and flu bug

My new tattoo had to be postponed last night due to my artist feeling like crap. He said he'd be happy to do it if I didn't mind being sneezed and coughed on, and potentially having to prod him awake occasionally (um, no thanks, D!) to which I replied....

Dude, when you are permanently marking my body, I want you on your game!

So he rescheduled for Thursday.

The tattoo as you know is a memorial to my sister, and I think it's no coincidence that Thursday is the sixth anniversary of her passing.

I'm glad he had to reschedule, I think it's more than appropriate to get it on that day.

Ridiculous day but fun after work!

This is the view outside my front door. Snow that comes up to my knees.

Ridiculous.

Yes, I live in Ohio and not Florida. Or California. Or the Caribbean.

Yes, I realize we get snow in the winter.

Doesn't mean I have to like it! A week or two of it, great. I'm over it though now.

In other news, I'm getting a new tattoo after work! Yay!

So you know Jordan has this memorial tattoo to my sister, right?

 

So I'm getting a version of this on my right shoulder/upper back, across from this one, but it will be a more feminine, girly font. (I felt the need to balance out the tattoos on my back since I have one on the left shoulder, and a tramp stamp across my lower back.)

Then I'm adding a colorful dragonfly based off this picture to it.

Not sure where the dragonfly will go in relation to the words, but I'm sure D will figure that out since he's the artist.

Will post a picture of it later tonight or tomorrow!

Oh, and check this out! I found a cool puzzle piece tattoo that I like, might end up with on my inner wrist! Not exactly like this, but some version of it.

Wouldn't that be fun? Significant not only of my blog (and would be a great reminder of it 30 years from now!) but also signifies that "missing piece" in my life that I plan to find!

I love tattoos.  They make me feel better about all this ridiculous snow. 

The Tattoo Heard Round The World

If you want to see Jordan's newest tattoo, click here to check out his blog.

I'm not allowed to say on Facebook what I think of the newest tattoo, without getting my comments deleted.

But I sure as hell can say it here. Freely. And without censor.

So here you go....

I think that D did a great job on it, as usual. He's done three out of four of Jordan's tats, and one and a half out of three of mine. (And I'm ready for another one!)

I think that the wording itself is great and very meaningful. No complaints whatsoever about that.

I think the font is nice. LOL

I'm just not a fan of tattoos across the front of the chest. Especially a chest I happened to give birth to.

It's just my opinion, and as his mother I am entitled to it.

I'd have loved this tattoo if it had gone across his back/shoulders. Just not a fan of where it's located. I think he'll regret that one day. I could be wrong, but time will tell.

The thing is, he's an adult and he can do whatever he wants. I don't have to like it! I wasn't a fan of his tongue piercing when he got it (and thankfully that lasted a few months and then he took it out). So whether I like or don't like this newest tat isn't really an issue, is it? I love my kid no matter what.

But I don't like getting my opinion deleted off Facebook. One does not want to piss Santa Claus his mother off two days before Christmas.

As one might end up with a lump of coal in his stocking instead of other things that were on his list.

Speaking of new tats, I'm considering two more. One will go on my back, on my right shoulder, and be the same tattoo Jordan has in memory of my sister "Viva La Vida" with Linda's years of birth and death and her initials. I will just change the font to something really pretty/script'y and add a very bright colored dragonfly.

Then I'm considering one on the inside of my left wrist. But not sure what I want! I considered HO HO HO because then depending on how I held my arm it would say that or OH OH OH! But that probably wouldn't be as funny in July as it is in December. So I'm not sure what I will get on my wrist, but I am definitely feeling the urge for something.....

Any suggestions? I don't want anything big, no more than probably 2" long and an inch or less wide. Thoughts? Ideas? Draw me a picture! LOL

I'm officially tatted up!

Many of you have already seen this on Facebook, but for those of you who haven't...here you go!

This was taken immediately after it was done. Still red and swollen...



And this is after I got home from work about 4 hours later.



I think my buddy D, did a fabulous job, as I knew he would. He worked on my lower back tattoo after I first had it done and made it what I wanted it to be in the first place, and he's really the only person (besides Hannah!) who I would trust with my body art.

It's really beautiful in person. He said the colors will intensify as the redness goes away. Even though it looks big and detailed, it only took an hour and fifteen minutes to do. It really didn't hurt until the last maybe 20 minutes when he was going over the same areas adding layers of color. By then it was all red and irritated as you see in the picture, and it was starting to hurt.

I love, love, love it.

There is something painfully addicting about tattoos. Thankfully I don't want to put any in places that show when I'm wearing work clothes so I'm limited on where I can put them, and I already have three...

However, I'm not sure this will be my *last* one.

Tattoos R Us - Well, it's him.

My son got his first tattoo yesterday. I say "first" because he's already planning the next one(s). I guess the apple didn't fall far from this tree, eh?

So here's a picture of it close up....



And here's where it is on his arm....



Now, in case you are wondering what this means, Viva la Vida means Live the Life (or it can also be interpreted as Long Live Life)and the rest is a memorial to my sister...her year of birth, initials, and year of death. He was very close to her, and like the rest of us, brokenhearted when she died. When he told me he wanted to do this, I got very teary over it, as you can imagine. I think it's wonderful that he would pay tribute to her in this way, even though I'm sure she's looking down from heaven right now saying "Oh Gordo!", and rolling her eyes at the idea of him getting a tattoo!

Funny story about their relationship, Jordan always called Linda "Nina". When he was little, he just started calling her Nina, I think he could not say Linda and it was the next easiest thing, and then over the years "Nina" kind of became his word for Aunt....he would tell his friends "That's my Nina". He called her that til the day she died. And she always called him Gordo instead of Jordan.

I think his Nina would be pleased.

OK so check this out, and be jealous.

Well, maybe not all of you will be jealous, only those who love ink!

As I mentioned in this post, I begged my friend Penny to design a tattoo for me. My criteria was....

1. It has to be sexy.

2. It has to be pretty.

3. It has to be colorful.

4. I like cherry blossoms.

So, I got my drawing in the mail the other day. And I LOVE IT. And I can't wait to get it! It's going on my left shoulder/upper back.

What do you think? Gorgeous, eh? Now the burning question of the day is...how big do I want to go? I'm thinking the whole upper left quadrant, on my shoulder blade/scapula area. You know what I mean? The drawing is about 9" tall, and I'm not inclined to reduce it much! It's too beautiful to make too much smaller, and besides I'm a big girl....there is nothing petite on me! I'm a firm believer in "Go big or go home." Have you seen my hair? LOL

The best part is that Penny is going with me to get it done when she gets back in town in June, so she can actually direct the tattoo artist on the color and shading as he's doing it. Sweet!!!!

I. Can't. Wait.

The Horth Whithperer and other important news

A guy calls his buddy, the horse rancher, and says he's sending a friend over to look at a horse.

His buddy asks, 'How will I recognize him?'

'That's easy; he's a midget with a speech impediment.'

So, the midget shows up, and the guy asks him if he's looking for a male or female horse.

'A female horth.'

So he shows him a prized filly.

'Nith lookin horth.. Can I thee her eyeth?'

So the guy picks up the midget and he gives the horse's eyes the once over.

'Nith eyeth, can I thee her earzth?'

So he picks the little fella up again, and shows him the horse's ears.

'Nith earzth, can I see her mouf?'

The rancher is getting pretty ticked off by this point,but he picks him up again and shows him the horse's mouth.

'Nice mouf, can I see her twat?'

Totally mad as fire at this point, the rancher grabs him under his arms and rams the midget's head as far as he can up the horse's fanny, pulls him out and slams him on the ground.

The midget gets up, sputtering and coughing, and says:

'Perhapth I should rephrathe that. Can I thee her wun awound a widdlebit?'

***********************************

Ah yeah, funny stuff.

So, I feel like crap. Got the whole runny nose, stuffed sinuses (which how does that work exactly, if it's all running out, what's in there to be stuffy?), headache, ears hurt, you name it. Been taking Umcka and while it's certainly cut down the symptoms, I'm still feeling crappy. Ugh, hating this.

Still working on getting a new blog layout. My problem is that I don't like any colors I'm finding to do it with! I'm not a bright and cheery kind of gal. Give me neutral or warm colors anyday. I'd play with it myself but I just don't have time. So I'm going to pay someone to do it for me.

Penny is officially drawing my tattoo! Woohoo! She's such an amazing artist, and I've always wanted one of her paintings, but evidently I have to wait until she dies and steal it from her estate....(and as healthy as she is, God knows she'll probably outlive me by 30 years or so!)...so I decided to commission her to "draw" my new tat instead! That way, I get my own original artwork, and she'll always have her artwork on display! I can't wait to see what it looks like. We're going to the tattoo place in June when she gets home.

I think that's it for now....

Tattoos R Us

So, I have two tattoos. Some of you know this. Some of you don't know. Most of you could probably care less!

Tattoos are addicting. I love mine, and I want more. Problem is, I'm not big on them being seen by the general public. If you see mine, it's because I know you really well! They aren't viewable unless I'm semi-naked. (Which is not a view I really care to share with anyone at this point!)

But, seeing how we're all friends here, I'll share mine with you.

This one I've had for 20 years now. It's on my right hip, between my hip bone and my...well you know. It's hidden by all versions of underpants, thongs, bathing suits, etc! It's a butterfly landing on a rose vine. Keep in mind, I was laying on the floor with the camera held above my hip trying to take this picture! And since my stomach is a hell of a lot bigger not quite as flat as it was 20 years ago, it wasn't an easy picture to take!



It's not nearly as big as it looks. It's only about 3" tall. Unfortunately you can't see the big picture but trust me when I say, the band of my pants was barely covering the Promised Land as this was taken. Not sure why this looks like it's at my waist..it's not. I think that's where I was twisting in an awkward position trying to get a clear picture! If it helps, at the very bottom of the tattoo you see a little single vine, and it appears to faintly extend all the way to the right of the picture...that little faint line is my C-section scar. (TMI, right?) That should help explain where this tattoo is.

OK so flash forward to 2005. Worst year of my life because that's when my marriage went to hell. Right before the divorce was final, I went and got a "tramp stamp"...lower back tattoo with the word "Faith" in it. Believe me, I needed all the faith I could to believe I was going to survive that mess. It was so, so horrible, you just can't imagine. (Well, some of you can!!) So here's what that one looks like:



Ultimately what I want to do is add the words "Hope" and "Love" to the Faith one. And some more flowers, and stuff. Not sure how I want to position it yet, thus the reason it hasn't been done yet!

So we have an appointment on December 30th to get Jordan's tattoo, and I want to get one to commemorate him turning 18 and getting one too! I just don't know what I want, or where I want to put it. As I said earlier, I'm not good with tattoos that show. The only exception to that might be one on the inside of my ankle. Nothing big, just maybe a little vine of flowers. Oooh, I could get a vine with 18 flowers on it, that would be appropriate for his 18th birthday! I would get one on my foot but it's hard to let them heal properly in the winter.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Tell me what you think would be a good tattoo and where should I put it. Oh, and tell me about yours as well!!!!