MY TATTOO...and an NSV.

Okay,
So, about a week ago Tuesday I started getting antsy.
I knew I wanted to get my tattoo but was getting nervous.
Too nervous.
I know me, there is a window of opportunity for new things.
If I waited too long I would talk myself out of it.
And I didn't want to talk myself out of  it.
I wanted it.
So I drove around on Tuesday afternoon looking at  tattoo parlors.
Now, there's a rare treat.

The first one I go to is on the seedier side of town.
..
It was called 'area 51', I looked through the flash and it all seemed a bit cartoony to me.
The lady who ran the counter was an interesting character.
Her name was muffin...(at least that's how she introduced herself.)

I did talk to muffin...(whose whole face seemed to consist of what she deemed 'good places for hardware")
She had pierced:
The bridge of her nose.
Her upper lip in four places
Her lower lip in four places
her eyebrows
her cheeks
and her ears
and her knuckles.
and well...that was far as I could see.
Anything NOT pierced was tattooed..and anything not tattooed was dyed.
I told her my two places for my potential tattoo....one was on my arm and the other...my right hip area.
She said that the hip area was hard, because you had to 'stretch the skin'.
I just looked at her...then she says..."Oh, I am not saying anything about your weight, it's fine...it isn't that."
I started laughing...but didn't explain why.
Honey, there is nothing you could say about my weight that hasn't been said...
(well that was what I was thinking.)
Besides..muffin was bigger than me.
I decide against muffin.
Sometimes you have to 'go with your gut."
I shopped around a bit more...and ended up at a tattoo shop called "Dark Ink'.
I go in and the first thing I notice is how clean it is.
The second thing I notice is that the 'secretary' is a clean, nice looking Lady who couldn't open an Ace Hardware store with her facial accessories.
I sat down...and asked about their flash.
They don't have any...everything they do is done freestyle.
All their tattooists draw freehand.
I saw the work.
I was impressed.
The guy that runs the shop was very nice. (his name was tinker and he had PURE PAIN tattooed on his knuckles and WTF tattooed under his mouth on his chin) He sat me down and we went through the whole thing.
Single use needles, everything is pre-packaged, used once and thrown away.
I said I would come back the next day.
I went home...
I really thought about where I wanted it and what I wanted.
I decided that I would go smaller.
I wanted the words live deliberately and a heart that represented my girls.
I came back the next day and the lady who did my tattoo was very quiet and very professional.
Her name was Duffy. (Is it just me, or does everyone at tattoo parlors sound like they belong in a disney movie? Duffy, Tinker, Muffin....) 
She was also pregnant and had a NECK tattoo.
That was about the time I decided squirming, screaming, fainting or crying were not options.
If a pregnant chick can get a neck tattoo, I can get a tattoo.
I decided to place it  on my left chest over my heart area.
They made a  stencil of the words and one of their people made a free hand drawing of the heart I wanted...

It is in Edwardian script...and it is about two inches wide and two inches high.
That lady did an outstanding job with the lettering.
I had to be very careful not to breathe heavily and not to jerk.
So what she did was give me a dry needle to get me used to the feeling..so that when she began she wouldn't startle me.

She  ran the needle and it felt like a quick pain...like a quick cat scratch...it  'hurt' but it wasn't unbearable.
So I said I was ready and she placed the stencil transfer..then she let me get up and look...i didn't like the placement..
So, she wiped it off and did it again.
I liked it.
Got in the chair....
And she began...Now, I have to say that the pain was hit and miss.
It wasn't one loooong cat scratch...it came and went...in between it was just vibrations and honestly it felt kind of numb, then she would hit a spot.
I kept my breathing shallow and really tried to keep it even and NOT JERK.
It was really delicate script....I didn't want it to be indecipherable.
The heart was in the same style...just two sides that didn't touch with a delicate kind of line.
You can probably look the script up on Microsoft word or office.
The whole thing took about an hour.
I will have a picture of it in the next day or two, it's still healing and so there is still some ink that is greying up the place...but I can read it very clearly...picture taking is another matter...lol.
So give me a day or two.
I have some really cool news about my size 10 pants.
They fit.
I wore them shopping today.
They still have some tightness in the thigh area, but I could sit down comfortably...I could zip them.
The best part, I was looking for a dress for my upcoming wedding anniversary (17 years) and I found  a perfect pair of shoes..they were gold and hard to describe....(will take a picture of these as well.)
So the lady is trying to help me find a perfect dress to go with the shoes (yes, lol...the shoes are that cool)
She pulls out a brown strapless dress and says "This is a 9/10...is it too BIG?"
IS IT TOO BIG!...
HA HAAAAAAAAAAA....
lol.
I am all like "um, no...I wear a SIZE 10."
She thought it was TOO BIG.
That was UNREAL!
I didn't get it...but I did try it on and it did fit.
I am a size 10.
10.
There are certain sizes that scream different things to me....
Size 24, at my biggest...
I knew I was 'plus sized'.
Size 14...I could shop in the 'normal section'.
Size 10....I feel thin.
It's that simple.
Hope you all had a great day.
I went over my calories today. by 200...not what I wanted.
Oh well.
I miscalculated some black beans.
Not good.
Tomorrow I will keep it to 1400 and the calories will balance.
Luckily I got one heckuva workout in today and burned 800 calories.
I ended up with a 570 calorie deficit.
oy.
oh well.
Hugs to you all.
Have a  great night.

Your tattoo having, size 10 wearing blogger...
Chris