..^..^..

  2016 was a year of discovering ME....Just Me......as my title says, but I guess I never really knew who Me really was...... I was a shy, quite girl; well, I'm still that girl but I'm learning more about me that I always thought might be a part of me.  Back in February of 2016 I started the beginning of a new obsession.....if you remember I took the plunge with a new tattoo, a perfect little kitty!!  Well, the urge hit me May 31. 2016 to add to that tiny collection........lol

    It was a kinda off the way, last minute thing, no plans to go to Mason City that day, until the hair bit me in the ass and off we went......  We headed to TechinoColor once again, this time we made sure that we were among the first in line.  I say we cause as an awesome parent I am I took my kids into a tattoo shop....lol  😏Yeah, I am one of those parents.....shoot me!!  In my defense I did ask the tattoo artist if it was okay and he did let me know it was alright for the older kids to be there, just not toddlers running around.

    My idea was to kinda balance out the existing tattoo that I already had, the kitty on the wrist.  Pinterest is almost too helpful in finding ideas for beautiful things....lol  Really, type in anything in the search on Pinterest and it will bring up millions of things!!  In the search of a balancing tattoo I stumbled upon so many things that I kinda wanted, until the one jumps out to you and almost screams ME, ME, ME!!  Yep, when that hits it's over.....

 I got an artist I wasn't familiar with, Nick.  I just figured if they worked in the shop they must be decent right?!  I will answer my stupid question later......

I actually combined a few tattoos that I liked, the original was just the nose and whiskers, but there were other tattoos there were just the ears so I combined them into something that seemed Per-fect for me...... (see what I did there....lol)

Nick drew out the design free hand on my arm, adjusting lines where they needed and said he knew which ones to go by.......

   Time to get started!!  People ask what it feels like....I've heard it's so different for different people/locations of tattoos.  So I can't really give an accurate answer to that.  For me on my bony wrists it feels a lot like touching a electric fence.  Yes, I was a farm kid and I have touched a few in my life.  Only difference I think might be that a fence you generally don't have a constant buzz like you do with a tattoo.....a tattoo although is short bursts of "shock".....I'm not sure that I make much sense, maybe other people are better to ask....lol

All done and cleaned up!!  Now, to answer my above question....are all artists working good....not always... It saddens me to say that but it could and in my eyes should have been better.  Do I love him, yes......and maybe I'm picky but it's FOREVER guys!!  My issue is the ears....one is round and one is more straight......and the whiskers are off.  But like all kitties, this one is not Per-fect........

    The two tattoos, obviously both cat related, I think they do balance each other out well.....I'm pleased and I promise you this isn't the last of the kitty themed tattoos.....(as of the moment I haven't added any more kitties but others....)

Hey, Hey, Hey.....look who's back!!

So, it's been a little bit of time since I last blogged....it has been so difficult to not come on there and share my life with the few people who visi.  But with things the way they were I was told not to share the place in my life I was at, my grandma had passed away and I was trying to find a way to deal with what I was feeling.....not real easy for someone who always has something to say but afraid to say it.......  I posted photos that I thought might help myself and for some reason that drastictly backfired on me!!  So for a time I was told not to post about my personal life as someone was using it against my family, see, the thing is this is MY BLOG.....  I respect the man who told me to hold my tongue so in respect I haven't posted anything since.  I had hoped that as time passed and feelings calmed down I might be able to move on with posting my personal stories on here for you guys, I have never gotten the go ahead so I'm not even sure I should be here today........  But, I feel like if you have nothing better to do than spy for selfish reasons then so be it, come and read all about it....make sure you print and highlight again....just don't leave anything out!!  In all the time that has passed I hope that you have gained some closure in the loss that you suffered, I truly do.  You lost a mother, a friend.  Just remember that he lost a mother too, in a time that you needed each other you choose to turn YOUR back and create issues where you should have pulled together and loved each other,even for the moment, the day.  But for the sake of my blog, I'm done with this issue, so before you decide to print and highlight, please feel free to speak to me before doing so.....you have my e-mail remember??

    Anyways, now that a small point has been addressed (not that many people even know what's going on) I'm glad to be back!!  It's 2017 guys!!  I have  missed coming here and relieving some stress or sharing some happy times!!  There has been so much that has happened I don't think I can even remember it all!!  At current moment I'm supposed to be making out a monthly meal plan, but my grocery store flyers aren't loading on my computer so I wondered here......lol  I guess I will wait until my mail person graces me with the paper flyer in the mail. :)

     So there have been a ton of life events in the past months I've been MIA.....new tattoos, piercings, roller derby updates, broken growth plates, dance competition, death, even friendship ......  But hopefully I can get you guys up to speed in the next few months, which I'm sure will pile up more
amazing events!!



     So until next time, keep your stick on the ice and have a great day!!  And please feel free to leave comments!!

.................

So I know that I have been absent for a while.....a lot happens in life, I thought I would be able to keep up with a weekly blog but it just hasn't been the case.  Maybe my life is simply just too busy......but I thought I would come on and let you guys know.......

Sadly my choice to not post for a while comes from a long line of actions.  I am not able at this time to let that be aired......I am completely saddened.  As I use my blog to communicate with people, other people have began to use it as a tool against me and my family......so as it is, I will no longer feed those people.  If I do choose to post it will be something that isn't directly focused on my life.  It honestly hurts to know that a place that is mine has been taken from me......I would have never thought it would end up this way.......

I hope in a few months things will calm down and I will be able to come back, but until then I hope everyone has a great 2016.......I know the girls and I have been super busy over the summer with activities; including fair and derby practices.

Recently I've discovered that not all of my family members feel that I've made good choices, wither that's in posting a picture or what not.....I sat on my feelings when I received an e-mail stating how disappointed they were in my posting pictures, calling me "tacky" well, my dear, the thing is, that's your opinion.....and your entitled to it. Just as I am entitled to post pictures for my children or friends of the family to see. Some of us want to remember, even though our lives may not be as perfect as we all claim I never have sent such a harsh message to FAMILY!! 

I miss the get together's where we hid in the bed room and promise to always be there.....I miss my kiddos having cousins......I miss being part of something bigger than just my own home. The sad reality is when the grand parents pass away most families desolve. The once might oak of a family begins to age and die inside. The parents (our parents) become the leaders of the family, the birth of a new mighty oak. Families continue to grow as the original oak continues to be forgotten as it rots into the earth.

I had always dreamed as a child that my "family" would be the one to forge through the typical forest. I knew in the passing of my grand father in 2002? that our family would start to wither....my grand mother was a tough one to get along with. She was set in her ways and had a strong mind. I believe most people were pushed away by this, since we are all seed of this amazing tree, we were all pretty set in our minds. Even as she aged no one felt compelled to visit, her health started to deteriorate.....I'm sure most knew the end was coming sooner rather than later.....even in that final call when you hear the words "your grandmother passed away last night" do you find courage. The courage to cry, to morn the woman who was so short with you, you begin to realize it was real. She is really gone........I sat in the moment and cried, tears streaming down my cheeks. My last grandparent was gone....... My grandma had a private service held on her birthday, family only. We all gathered, most of us for the first time since we laid my grandpa to rest. I thought maybe things could be different, maybe since our mighty oak had just blown down we could still stand tall as one....but it was clear as we all stood that was never going to happen. Many of the members choose not to attend for what ever reason, I never had a doubt in my mind of going. I knew that may dad had just lost his mother and I was going to be there for him, this wasn't about me, Even though I had lost my grandmother, my dad lost the one woman who would love him forever.....the woman who stated his family..... I guess in all the grief we sometimes forget that. We forget that it's not always about us, it's sometimes bigger than that.

After the service was over we gathered at the church with one last chance to reach each other......some chatted and some chose to coil up. It was awesome talking with cousins I haven't seen in years. Amazing to meet their children that I had never had the pleasure to meet before. Yet we all remained guarded, maybe knowing this was the last time we had to be together......

My dad's hand is in the glove on the stone.....

The task at current hand has been dividing a household that my grandparents created all those years ago. Seeing pictures and objects they held near and dear all sit in an empty house. To drive by the house at night with no light on.....it's real........ As a small child I remember my grandma collecting holiday Barbies, and I always wanted those fancy dolls. Not sure that I fully realized that to get those dolls my grandma had to be gone. Even though she passed over 2 months ago, I just brought those dolls home this past weekend. As my girls carried them to the house and sat them on the table it felt so strange, these were her's..... As we clean and ready things for a sale you wonder what memories each item holds.

My "family" has had it's arm load of problems and I'm sure a few more arm loads are still coming as things hopefully come to an end. I wish they could all remember no mater what hard feelings have grown and sprouted from life events, they are the only family they will ever have. My dad only has 3 sisters and 1 baby brother, they will never get those people again. They will never get back the memories that make them smile and laugh, but instead now those memories are replaced with fighting over how things should go and believing they are entitled to more than they are. How one thinks you can walk out of the family and let all of that go, then all of a sudden think you need to be there.......that's not how any of this works. Why can't they be there for each other?? They all lost a mother and a father years before.....why can't they see that?? Even as I sit and type this my heart breaks, I know the struggles I have seen my dad go through, I know the toll it is taking on him. I wish this cold all just be over for him!!

Moral of the story here is: we all only have 1 family......I know things come and go....life knocks us down and as we stand only to trip again. Winds blow and rocks are thrown....but please, remember we are all cut of the same blood.  

And to the one who e-mailed me, I have a message to you..... I love you no matter what has happened. I took those pictures so family members who chose not to go might be able to have a tiny bit of closure. That moment that they needed, so that my children might remember their great grandmother. I know you don't see it that way, and for that I am sorry, but that wasn't about you. That was about me. <3

dropped the ball.....

So......as you can clearly see I've dropped the ball on blogging.....nothing in April.  I would like to have some great reason as to why, but  I would be lying if I did.......it comes right down to it, I was lazy!!  Not anything all that spectacularly great happened either......just my boring life.  The girls are gearing up for school to wrap up another year at the end of the month, then the craziness of summer vaca begins!!  Updated to Windows 10 and I HATE IT!!  messed up all of my pictures so that will be a full week of fixing stuff there...... >.<   Not like I have anything else to do right?!

I am honestly at a loss of what to even talk about today....I should be sewing as I have a large show tomorrow.......so, here I go.  I'm hoping to get back on track next week (fingers crossed)  Maybe I will have some awesome to tell you, but don't hold your breathe......lol

Until next time.......

Industrials!!

So as you know I like to get piercings.....lol  so this post should really come to no ones surprise that I got another one!!  :)  This one is a little different than the normal run of the mill piercing.......  Haley and I went on March 10. 2016 to Mason City to go to River City Tattoo Company......ya see, Haley had been saving up her money to get this piercing done so we had to find a place that was within her allotted savings.....lol  She had saved $50.00 so it was doable!!

 First we started off on that Monday prior that we would be going to TechinoColor in Mason for their $20.00 Tuesday deal (which this is 2 holes so good to go)  So I messaged the piercer their to confirm that he would be there, we didn't want to make the drive for nothing.  He promptly responded (which I LOVED) and let me know that he would be there after 4:00, so I let him know that we would be there!!  Well, that Tuesday morning I received a message from him letting me know that I didn't need to "worry" about coming in as he wasn't going to be there.....I was bummed!!  I knew Haley would be crushed.  I told him that I hoped everything was alright and we would have to try for another day. (this was really our one free day as roller derby was starting up the following week and was on the day of his $20.00 deals)  so I messaged Haley and let her know, as thought, she was crushed!!  So then I messaged River City, to be honest, I was very disappointed.......I simply asked if they had any piercing specials going on and let them know the piercing we were looking to get.  I never got any response.  With the technology of Facebook today I do know that they saw the message, just never responded. :(  So Wednesday morning I messaged the piercer directly, asking him about specials and if they still did the students get $20.00 piercings on Thursdays.  He semi-promptly responded that they did still run the special!!  yeah!!  So with just a few more simple questions which he answered the next day we were set to go!!

So, one word of advice.....remember all of your needed paperwork.  And know your laws if you are having a minor getting pierced.......unfortunately we forgot Haley's birth certificate.....so we had to drive back home and get it and go back.........blah!!  Our piercer was amazing about it though, if we had been in before to have her pierced it would't have been a huge deal, but since we hadn't it was a no go.  And I wasn't upset, I was actually impressed that he stuck to his guns and didn't bend for us.  It's called being PROFESSIONAL!!  So that was nice, just wish I would have remembered it the first time!!   ;)

Just so you know, there is some paperwork involved in getting any work done at a tattoo place.....the general name, birthday......then the health questions.....yep, normal stuff!!  they copy your id as well.....but not the birth certificate (that I remember)  Next, our piercer went back to his work space to prepare for our piercing.  Also side note, your piercer will ask you prior to setting up what/where you want pierced.  With ours it was the top of our ear so he checked to make sure that was a possible piercing as it's pretty well known that everyone's body is different.  Not all people are candidates for every piercing.  Then once her was ready for us we were called back.  Each piercer has different rules as to how many people can come back and all that good stuff but we only had the 2 of us so we were set.  He asked who was going first, we told him it was up to him (as we were both kinds nervous and each wanted to go first)  he decided to start with Haley, youngest first!!  All good with me, I had been watching You-Tube videos so this was going to be a breeze..........

the piercing needle......14 G.

all of the supplies....needle, q-tips, tooth pick??  yep, to mark a straight line on the ear.
(there was ink too just not shown)

Haley's ear was marked and the first hole was pierced....

Haley watched very few videos but saw the "elf ears" and
wanted to make sure that I got her's!!
So both holes are pierced, her ear does straighten out.....lol

Yep, Haley is a bleeder.......cleaned up with q-tips and good to go!!

All cleaned up and looking dandy!!

Measuring to make sure the bar is a good fit.
You want a longer bar than necessary to allow for swelling.

  It was my turn next, Haley told me it didn't hurt!!  (She lied!!)  Although she didn't even flinch when her's was done!!

The holes are done!!  The first one wasn't as bad as the second!!
That one was tough!!

Bar is in and ready to put the balls on the end.  :)

Looking all excellent!!  :)

 So done!!  Let me tell you.......when Haley told me it didn't hurt she was a liar!!  The bottom hole wasn't bad....tolerable!!  The top hole sucked BALLS!!  lol  I kinda knew that going in though.....if you realize the top of your ear is much thicker and harder to pass through than the bottom part.  On a scale of 1-10 (1 being what happened and 10 being H0!^   $*3@) it was about a 6-7.  Would I do it again??  Dependable....lol  although I have another possible piercing planned that is in the similar spot so most likely!!

The after care is the same as other piercings.......http://www.safepiercing.org/learn/piercing/body-aftercare/#!/~/product/id=23786192

 http://www.piercingbible.com/piercing-care

 Each piercer will have their own tips and tricks but for the majority of the time it's pretty straight forward.  Although we have never used their brand of cleaner...

 We use the Band-Aid Brand Antiseptic Wash, love this stuff and never had any issues with it.  We also use it on cuts and scrapes and it helps them heal a little faster than left untreated.  Not sure if it helps heal faster with piercings but it works for us.  Not going to say that it will work 100% for everyone for every piercing but again, it works for us.  :)

Another bug thing is to not play with it at all!!  It's hard to do, it's something new and shiny and you want to show it off.  Just gonna say, it cold slow down healing time....and it could potentially cause infection if something would happen to get into it.  No one wants that so keep your hands DOWN!!  :)  With this piercing, you need to make sure that your hair stays out of the way for the first while.  It will get wrapped around the bar and it will hurt when you pull on it.  I found if I keep most of my bar towards my head that works best for me.  I was bumping it on too many things with the extra on the bottom....lol

Sleeping was interesting....I would NOT recommend to get this piercing on the side of your head that you generally sleep on.  For the first few nights up to the first few weeks, your ear will be tender.  (Mine hasn't been too bad at the 1 week mark, I've been sleeping on it for a few days without pain)  Each person is different so your time frame could be different but Haley's is super tender as where mine really isn't.  Yeah me!!  lol

Make sure you don't change your jewelry out early!!  This piercing can take up to a year to fully heal.  Yes that is a long time, can you change out with in that time, yes we were told we could.  I defiantly will be changing to a shorter bar when the time comes.... I guess I have small ears to this thing is killing me being so long!!  There are different lengths of bars that differ for each ear, so you'll need to measure what the right sizing is for yours.  There are tons of different styles of bars; fancy, plain, bling or shapes.  I'm hoping to find a kitty one (no luck as of yet though)



But again......all information that I give within this blog is not professional at all!!  So if you have any questions please contact a piercer and ask them.  Again, each will have their own answers, and their own ways of doing things so keep that in mind too.  :)

oh, you don't like that??

So in typical 2016 the world seems to regress.....when I say that I mean in terms of acceptance.  Today is my little rant about how the world only perceives what they want.....in general, in appearance.  So it's no secret that I have a few piercings, it's actually something unexpected that I have found that I like.  No biggie........well, in the world of others it seems to be huge.  I walk through Target or Wal-Mart (of all places) and receive odd stares and people shaking their heads.  I've had people tell me that I have ruined my face with a nose piercing.....or junked my ear up with piercings.  Let me start off by telling you I don't give a flying f*#k what your opinion is!!  I didn't get these piercings so that you could feel comfortable and enjoy them!!  People believe that piercings forever ruin your life, first off a piercing is not a forever choice.  It can be, but most piercings will heal up if taken out!!  So forever, no.......as time goes on maybe I won't care for one (not likely but ya never know) and will take it out.

Some people believe that dirty, unkept people have piercings.  Maybe some do, but most people do not realize that you have to clean a fresh piercing very regularly to keep the risk of infection and rejection out.  For the first few weeks piercings need to be cleaned at least twice a DAY!!  Kinda sounds like a lot of cleaning to me, not kept dirty!!  People with piercings must maintain them, meaning keep tabs on how they are doing.  I notice a day that my piercing seems dry, or sometimes I get a little makeup around my nose piercing that I clean (I clean it out EVERY NIGHT!!)  My tragus hasn't been a huge issue, I make sure every couple of days that the stone is screwed in and check the back for funk and move on with my day.

Will I ever get a job??  Honestly no clue!!  Probably not with the stuck up snobs of the world today!!  Which is a great reason to work from home!!  lol  Would I take my piercings out for a job??  Hmmm, that would have to be a pretty amazing job that I am IN LOVE with to do so.  So chances of that are pretty slim.  I hope that someday people can look past appearance and see that not all pierced people are terrible people.  Honestly as long as I can remember I have been intrigued with people with piercings and tattoos, staring at them.  I had always hoped that I could understand myself enough to be as confident as those individuals!!  I mean come on, you have to have confidence to strut your stuff and not give 2 shits about what people think about you!!  I remember going to the mall in St. Cloud, MN where there was this man that worked in Hot Topic......let me tell you, this man was a work of ART!!  He had countless piercings, I think he may have even lost count of all of them....I mean TONS!!  Down his head, ears, nose, lips....you name it, it had some bling somewhere!!  Anyways, I remember watching him, at the time Haley was probably about 2-3 years old, she was in complete awe......lol  she had never seen anything like him before and never has again.  I wish I would have stepped out of my comfort zone and talked to him, asked him if he knew how many piercings he had and which hurt the worst.  He was truly amazing!!  I'm sure he had his fair share of reducule from many people, but he never let anything other than confidence show.

Have I hit some sort of mid-life crisis??  Possibly, but not going to blame any tattoo or piercing on that.  I think I've just finally begun to discover who I am, yes I am a sweet, quite girl who for the most part keeps to herself.  But I am also a little dark on the inside........

My 16 year old has piercings as well, I have taken her to get them as the state of Iowa does not allow anyone under the age of 18 to be pierced without consent from a legal guardian (believe me they will make you turn around and drive home and get the required paperwork!)  ;)  So maybe this is our bonding activity, most parents take their kids to the park or a concert....well, I take mine to the tattoo shop for a piercing!!    Is it a bad thing??  I don't think so, it teaches her to be responsible, to take care of herself.  We recently got our industrials done (which I will hopefully get up next week) together, I think it helps to have someone get work done at the same time, almost like a buddy system.  We hold each other accountable and have someone first hand to ask questions and compare!! :)  When she wanted her nose pierced at the age of 15 people told me I was nuts!!  Yep I am, but I'm also the mom who believes that if you're willing to take care of it then we will talk.  I had people tell me to make her wait until she was 18 to make a decision, not sure that would have worked out, she has a friend who pierced her own nose TWICE because her mom didn't take her......yep, professional vs. self......

As far as tattoos go, yes I've only gotten one (with more on the list of "to do") yes people have things to say about it.  Yes it's shaky and there is a very thick ink line on my wrist bone (I've been told it's scaring from going in too deep) but I LOVE my tattoo!!  He symbolizes something that is important to me, not anyone else, ME!!  It's not offensive, it's not hurting anyone else!!  Yes I am a woman with a tattoo~get over it!!

 Does having piercings and a tattoo make me a bad parent??  hahahahaha......I laugh at that one!!  Nothing that I put in or on my body is going to EVER change how much I love my kiddos!!  If anything I believe it makes me love them more, I realize that I am setting an example (a colorful one) but the good ol' not judging a book by it's cover.  My kids know that just because you look one way doesn't define who you are on the inside!!  If that is the only lesson my kids learn from piercings and tattoos then so be it!!  At least they won't be so judgmental......