Saturday, March 26, 2016

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...
 Image result for band aid antiseptic washWe 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)

Image result for body candy industrial measurements

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.  :)



Friday, March 18, 2016

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......



Friday, March 11, 2016

Grace and Tessa take over!!

So.....yep I dropped the ball again last week, no blog!!  lol  the girls didn't have school so I spent the day with them shopping in Charles City having fun.....yes I shop a lot.... ;) But I thought today we would do something a little different....Grace and Tessa do not have school today while Haley and Allie do.....so I'm going to let them blog!!  So buckle up and hang on cause you never know what will come out of a 8 & 9 year old mouth!!  toodles!!  <3

Hi this is Grace I am doing 9 facts about me #1 I am in ROLLER DERBY.My roller derby name is sweet cheeks.



#2 My house is a ZOO. We have 5 cats 1 dog 10 fish 2 turtles and a couple stray lady bugs and a few srtay box elder bugs.I like having that many animals because 2 of the cats curl up and suckle on my pillow pets.
#3 My favorite summer activity  is jumping on the trammpilen.
#4 My  little sister is a animal/tattle tale/liar.TESSA eats a lot that is  why I call her an animal. she likes to tattle on people.last she likes to lie.
#5 I LOVE to sleep.
#6 I am marred to Olaf.
#7 My friends names are Ava,Jenna,and Kagean.
#8 I get a lot of injures.
#9 My favorite song artist is Taylor Swift;)



Those are 9 facts about GRACE the AMAZING.


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Hi my name is Tessa.I am 8 years old going to be 9 in September.My birthday is September 27.I am in dance and roller derby.I have a dog named PIVOT and a cat.My cats name is oreo.I share a room and i sleep on the the top bunk.I also have a fish named Callie.I like unicorns and my favorite color is purple.I have 3 sisters.I like to go swimming when I have time to.My favorite animal is a cat.I have 5 might be getting rid of one.I dislike spiders.My favorite movie is Minoins.I like to read when i have free time at home and at SCHOOL.I like to do dance and do cartwheels.I like to go shopping.I like to play with shopkins.I like to help my mom.My favorite food is pizza and my favorite dessert is ice cream and cake.I lactose and tallint.My sisters are really mean to me.Today i just bought my own purse.I love animals.My friends names are Kaylie KARANA and Erica.I like to play outside most of the time.I hate when I have to clean  my room when im at home but i like to clean other peoples rooms.I like to be outside and i like to look at nature.My friends are really nice to me.I love to help others.I help out around the house sometimes.I love  to ride my bike when i have time to.




that is a little about me Tessa(THAT IS MY DOG BESIDE ME)

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There it is....the world in a nut shell by my 2 youngest daughters!!  :)
We had breakfast together this morning!!  about the only quite time we had today!!  ;)