Twenty-nine more to go

About a month ago I did something on my 30 before 30 list...I got my first tattoo!

I know I've been saying since the day I got it that I would write a post about it, but I have been super swamped. Like you wouldn't believe - I don't even believe what I have been up to in the past month. I have been a major homebody for the past two years or more and finally I am getting out again and I love it. Not to mention all the school things I have had going on. My graduation is just two days away!

Anyways, here it is, in all it's glory. This is one of the first photos I snapped of it.

I'm not sure what I expected as far as the healing process but as much as I read up on what was involved with getting a tattoo, I felt completely unprepared. It itched, it burned, it stung. Most of all, it was the itching though. It was not easy to sleep with it - it's on my back and I like to start out on my back when I sleep. That wasn't really happening. Not to mention, I probably didn't choose the best spot to get it. I mean, I did, but at the same time I didn't, at least not as far as the healing process goes. My bra covers it so that meant a lot of careful movement when I was wearing one for the first few days. Did I mention it itched like crazy?!

Anyway, here's how it all went down....well, first let me explain the events of the evening before. Thursday night, around 10 pm, I went into the kitchen and discovered some yellowish spots all around. I realized Buster (fur child) had thrown up. I thought it was strange because usually he does it in front of someone. I cleaned it up and didn't think much of it, returned to my room, and went on getting ready for bed. Not even a half hour later I was back in the kitchen, and again, there were more spots. Now I was a little concerned. He had not touched his dinner either. I cleaned the spots up again and went about my business. A little bit later, now I'm ready to hop into bed, and I find more spots. What the heck?! This is very unusual. And it didn't stop there. I woke up every hour to two hours the rest of the night to hear him throwing up. He wouldn't drink any water, I started Googling things which only made me panic even more. I tried ice - he wasn't feeling that either. Still never ate his food either and was refusing treats (SO not like him). 

Around 8 am on Friday I finally gave up on sleeping. My tattoo appointment was scheduled for 12:30 and my best friend, K, promised to go with me. I started getting nervous. Part because I was lacking sleep, part because I couldn't eat anything and feared I would pass out and part because I was totally psyching myself out. Did I really want to do this? What if I had an allergic reaction? (I have no known allergies but I get paranoid) A million thoughts were running through my mind. I was finally able to get some food down.

All this time, my fur child was hanging out at the vet, on IV fluids. I told them to not call me between 11:30 and 1:30, and instead to call my mother if there were any issues with my Buster. I drove to the tattoo shop and met the artist. Waited a little while, filled out paperwork, and then she called me back. She transferred her sketch of what I wanted on to my back and had me check it out in the mirror. I wasn't 100% set on the location, so she removed it and moved it a little lower. Perfect. I don't really know why but I wanted it right where the band of my bra would hit and it would be mostly covered. First tattoo desires - a little rebellion, but not too much. So, the process began. K was cracking me up. I think she was more excited/anxious/whatever than I was. She started tattooing and it HURT but not as bad as I had expected. Just imagine a knife cutting a little ways into your skin, and feeling it all over when it goes over your bones. I know it's not lady-like or pretty to say, but I started sweating like crazy. I had to sip on my water and the artist said "oh, you're doing great, we're over halfway done." Say what!? We just started. Seriously, from start to finish, it took maybe 10 minutes. I looked at the finished product and was in love! I've shown it to friends and family since getting it done and even people who don't like tattoos tell me it's the most beautiful one they have ever seen.

Here's a more recent shot.

So, originally I wanted to have my Dad's initials worked into it but decided last minute that I didn't want to do that. I figure it's always something I can add in at a later time. I do need to get it touched up. Parts of the dove's tail could be a little neater, but I want to get to the beach/pool and get my tan on before I have to go through a brief healing process again with this bad boy. Overall, I could not be happier with the end result. My Dad's initials would have been in the circled area between the body/end of the tail. I decided that I didn't need his initials in it because I know what the meaning is behind it and it's just for me anyways. And yes, I do think it's true that once you get one, you will probably get another. I'm not set on anything yet though, and I'm pretty sure my Granny would kill me if I got another one right now. She wasn't too happy about this one, but she is still speaking to me. I do have a few ideas of what other art I might like to have. I'm part Native American, and went to FSU which has a Native American tribe as our mascot, so I'm thinking something with an arrow and feather(s). I would love to get the word "fearless" tattooed as well. It's really growing on me. I also want to get Buster's paw print. He is feeling better, by the way, but we did have another scary episode which sent him to the Animal ER for a night, and had him at the vet the following day, all day, on IV fluids. $1,000 later and we know what his issue is and can do our best to prevent it from happening again.


In a few days, I will have even less to-do on my 30 before 30 list! Graduation, here I come!