Do What You Want, Be Who You Are

Sometime this summer I will be getting my first tattoo . . .

I am equal parts ANXIOUS + EXCITED + SCARED OUTTA MY MIND! I've wanted a tattoo since I was a teenager, but here's a little bit of something that you probably should know about me: i am deathly afraid of needles. Like, REALLY. The last time I got a shot was 2 years ago, and I cried. No lie. I shed tears. I have an incredibly low pain tolerance . . . did I mention that I'm not 5 years old? I'm not. But I still cried. I hate pain. So naturally, you can see why I've waited to get a tattoo. I can't guarantee that when I go to get one that I'm not going to cry. In fact, I'm 99.9% sure I will. Whatever day I get it done, I'm going to request the next day off so that I have plenty of time to cry every freakin' tear in my body because my friends who have gotten tattoos already have been up-front honest with me about the pain. It helps to have friends who can help me prepare. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm still a fraidy cat. Especially after seeing the movie trailer for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO:



creep me out that has to hurt like no otha'!

I'm still gonna get one though!

I really wanted to have Vanessa (my niece) draw something and then get THAT tattooed on me, but last time I saw her, I asked her to draw something and she drew a creepy stick figure with a pumpkin head . . . and it was angry. So I'm gonna go with a no on that one. However, I go home next week and I get to spend 2 and a half days with her, so I'm gonna go for a do-over. This time I'll have her draw a few things . . . and pick the least creepy one. ;)

But as I've been looking at tattoos and contemplating which one to get, I've discovered others that I've fallen in love with. If I was truly brave, I'd get them—ALL of them (or at least some variation of them):







In fact, lately I've been drawing on myself often with Sharpies when I am waiting for slow computers to load/save/print things. Here are some I've done recently.








As you can see, I kind of like the simple ones, nothing frilly and nothing really Old English or biker style. Just simple, unique, and fun like me :D

As I said, I'd like to get more, but I'm going to stick with one now, and after about 5 years when the pain goes away (jk!) I'll THINK about another. One thing I do know that I want to stick to is having meaning to what I put on my body. Which is why I'm really leaning towards this one as a back up plan. I LOVE the book The Little Prince. I re-read it often. This would be a constant reminder of the lessons I've learned from that wonderful book:



And I'll end the post with an episode of UNDER THE SKIN featuring Andrew McMahon from Jack's Mannequin, because I love his tattoos and the meanings behind them.

a tale of three fingers...

So today's free clinic experience was quite interesting! So I woke up early to take the bus to Lake City (just a smidge north of Northgate where I live) and I walked to the free clinic. What I didn't know is that the free clinic is part of the Northwest Community Center, which is also where the Northwest Food Bank is. So I finally work my way around the lines for the food bank to get to the free clinic, which is only open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. So I get there, and there's a big sign on the door that says GOVERNMENT ISSUED ID AND PROOF OF RESIDENCY REQUIRED. Of all of the things I brought with me...the only thing I DIDN'T bring was proof of residency. :(

...did I mention that when I called, they said nothing about bringing proof of residency? just thought i'd mention that..

So I take the bus back home, to go get the proof of residency...and then I take the bus back. I'm seen by the nurse who is super sweet and friendly and I go through the rundown with her. So then she takes my blood pressure and she says it's a little high. Then she goes to give me the blood sugar test...you know...the one where they stick your finger with a needle and put blood on the test strip? yeah..did i mention i HATE needles and I almost always cry...even though I'm 26? yeah.

So she pricks my finger, does the test strip thing, and the machine won't read the results and gives an error message.

So then she gets a different machine, and pricks the same finger to get the result.

And the machine doesn't work.

So then she brings the doctor in, and he asks what she did, and walks her through some things...

And pricks me again on a different finger. And they get the error message and decide to call the pharmacy to get new test strips because they think there's something wrong with the test strips.

So they send me 2 blocks down the road to pick up some new test strips and a coding device for the machine at Bartell's Drugstore. And I get back...and they have to prick me again. ugh... needles...i hate 'em.

So they finally get test results and it's good news: I DON'T HAVE FULL ON DIABETES- I JUST HAVE PRE-DIABETES!! Which, I can BEAT! And the nurse really gave me some good tips and explained a lot of stuff to me and really was so encouraging! It was great! So I'm going to be slowly changing up my meal habits and starting next week, I'm going to be going to get a gym membership. Along with the membership, I'm setting up a workout plan on Gyminee (thanks for always posting your awesome story/results, Brian S.!) and working hard to lose weight and keep it off! :)

I'm so excited that I have FAIR WARNING and can do something about it! PTL!