February Date

The First Date of Christmas:  January
The Second Date of Christmas

February 1, 2012

• Mr. Robinson opened the envelope.
• Inside the envelope, he found a sweet little note explaining the date, a $15 Subway gift card, and a stick-on tattoo from Moe's (pictured above)
• He learned that we would be going back to our new favorite tattoo artist to get our next tattoos together!  
• Chose February 4th as the day for our tattoo date.  I should have known he'd pick the very first Saturday of the month!    
• My panic set it, because I now had three days to decide on my next tattoo.   Don't get me wrong!  I had plenty of tattoo ideas bouncin' around in my head...but I'm horrible with decisions.  I am your go-to idea girl!  But never except me to DECIDE anything.  I panicked for three days.  I didn't actually decide on my tattoo for sure until we showed up at the tattoo parlor.     
• We dumped out the piggy (okay, it was a turtle) bank and counted over $40 in quarters alone!  It was officially decided that we would use the change to help pay for our new ink!
• We were both SO excited!  Especially, Mr. R.  He has been trying to talk me into getting another tattoo with him for months now.  Y'all.  He was out of control!  I knew that our tattoo date was coming up, and talking him out of getting a tattoo in January was oober-difficult.  
• We both looked forward to this date for THREE days!  Oh, the anticipation!  

Saturday

February 4th

• I really needed to work out before our date, and somehow convinced Mr. Robinson to come with me!  Well, I worked out.  He played air guitar, and lifted the occasional weight.  He's so precious.  :) 
• We came home, showered, and got ready to go get our tattoos!  I seriously cannot convey our excitement to y'all.  I mean, we're tattoo people.  Y'all know that, right?  I have 5 tattoos, now.  I've written posts about mine.  I think one is even off to the side under most popular posts.  Mr. has even more than I do.  He's working on two sleeves, and he has one on his chest!  :)  I always knew my prince charming would be covered in tattoos.  We're lucky - because we both find tattoos attractive on the opposite sex.  Pretty convenient.  We were made for each other.  :)  
• We got in the car and started in our hour-long drive into civilazation, and to our favorite tattoo artist, Mike!  
• Oh, and we took some funny pictures along the way.  :)  

• We stopped at Kroger and paid a stupid machine to count our change.  We were happy.  Cashing in coins for dollars is always fun.  It's like finding $60 you didn't know you had!  We were delighted.  Duh.    
• So we took one nice, normal picture.   

• We arrive at the tattoo parlor, where Mike works.  He was finishing up a tattoo for another client when we got there.  
• Mr. R & I fiddled on the computer with different fonts, sizes, and spacing for my tattoo.  Mr. Robinson then started to play around with his tattoo - words written in Hebrew.  He was having a hard time.  The letters were showing up as a mirror image for some reason.
• Mike finished up his other tattoo, and Mr. R showed him the tattoos we were going to get.  We explained to him the problems we were having with Hebrew.  Luckily, Mike has a co-worker named Shay!  Shay is a Jewish man who can read and write Hebrew.  Shay was with a client, but Mike promised to have Shay look at it when he got a break.  Mike pointed out some problems with the font I had chosen.  For example, it was a little hard to read.  He asked me if he could play with the font in Photoshop and make the words more legible.  I, obviously, said yes.  So Mr. Robinson and I went to go grab some food from Subway while Mike was working. 
• On our way to the nearest Subway, hubby saw Chic-Fil-A.  That's his favorite fast food place.  So, we stopped and had Chic-Fil-A instead.  It was delicious!    

• Then, we headed on back to the tattoo shop!  Shay was with a client and unable to take a break yet to look at Mr. Robinson's Hebrew quote.  Mike did my tattoo first because he had finished working with the font.  Yay!  
• First, he placed it higher up on my shoulder rather than on my back.  I asked him to move it down some, so that I could still hid it if I needed to.  In the picture below, you can still see the first stencil.  I'm so happy with the placement of my tattoo!    

• He did the bottom two lines first, took a break, and then finished off the top line.  It took a little over an hour, I think.  It turned out perfect, y'all!  I love it so much!  
• One thing we love about Mike is that he's not heavy handed.  If you've ever gotten a tattoo that left your bones and muscles sore for weeks or even months after the tattoo has healed, you've dealt with a heavy-handed artist.  We just love Mike.  The tattoo bleeds, scabs, itches, & then it's healed.  He's never left us sore after a tattoo.  He's a great artist.  Super nice guy.  If you're ever in Myrtle Beach, go to Elite Inc. Tattoos and ask for Mike!  :)  
• Below is a picture of my tattoo after one day.  I am still SO excited!  I love the placement.  I love how painless it really was.  I love how the middle line about laughter is curvy!  Love, love, love!  :)  

• After my tattoo was finished and perfect, we all went outside for a break.  I, personally, needed a cigarette.  Yes, I have quite.  But a cigarette after a new tattoo is tradition!  Plus, Mike needed a smoke break.  He also needed to rest his eyes and hands.  
• Funny Story! While we were taking a break, an older man driving through the parking lot came to a stop in front of the tattoo parlor.  He was driving a Porsche.  He was orange.  He had a younger lady with him.  She, too, was orange.  I'm talking oompa-loompa orange, they were.  It's also the middle of Winter.  The windows of the car were already down, so he shouted to us "Do you guys know where the nearest tanning salon is?"  We all just kind of looked at each other...Mike said "No, dude.  Can't say that I do."  The orange man rolled his eyes, revved his finely tuned, expensive engine.....and stalled out.  It was the FUNNIEST thing I've ever seen!  Mr. Robinson said "First time driving a stick?"  And he got all embarassed, cranked up his car, and drove away.  It was GREAT!    
• Finally, Hebrew-Speaking-&-Reading-Shay got a break.  He looked at Mr. Robinson's Hebrew translation we found online.  It was wrong!
• The translation Mr. R had found was overall incorrect.  Shay described it as "jibberish."  The words meant nothing together.  
• Mr. R was wanting a New Testament verse written in Hebrew, and Old Testament language.  Some New Testament words & concepts don't translate into Hebrew.  
• English reads right to left.  Hebrew reads left to right.  When we would copy a translation off of the internet into a Word document, the "pasting" action reversed all of the Hebrew letters so that they were mirror images of the actual Hebrew letters.
• They would have to take each letter and flip it.  Individually.  One letter at a time.  It would have taken hours.  And even after they would have finished, the translation would still be wrong.
• Shay has Hebrew Photoshop on his lap top at home, and said he would be happy to help with a translation if we would make an appointment to come back.  But we had an appointment with Mike for that day, and wanted our tattoos that day.  
• Mr. Robinson decided to get his tattoo in English.  :)  He also chose a similar font to the one my tattoo is in!  We both loves the font.  Mike just made Mr. Robinson's font a little less loop-y.  

• Mike did the top line first and took a break.  Mr. R's tattoo didn't take as long as mine.  But it cost the same amount because of all the time we spent with translating and trying to perfect the quote he chose.  

How lucky am I to have a husband who would WANT this Bible verse tattooed on his arm?!  He picked it all by himself.  I never even so much as suggested it.  I was absolutely swooning the entire time.  It was the best day, ever!  :)  I can't wait for our March Date!  Yay!  

What do you think of our new ink?!  :) 

I Heart Tattoos Link Up!

Today I'm linking up with Raven at A Momma's Desires and Pacifiers. 

 I am super excited about her starting this link-up and I hope to meet a lot of really awesome women with ink.  :)  I personally have four tattoos, and cannot - can.not. - wait to get more!  My husband can't go more than a few months without some fresh ink, so I know that I'll have to make a decision soon as to what tattoo comes next.  So anyway, here is what I have so far:

~.~

Age:  18

Location:  Inner Left Wrist

Meaning:

  It roughly means "beautiful person" and it was in honor of & is now in memory of my Aunt Lati who passed away from breast cancer in July of 2009.  She was diagnosed in October of 2005, battled stage four breast cancer for 45 months.  She was such an amazing person.  She left behind a husband and a 5 year old daughter.  If you care to read her story (she kept a blog) click here.  Grab a box of tissues.  It's been over two years and I can't go on the site without crying.  It's still too fresh.  She was too young and too good.  But anyway, my family did a lot of Susan G Komen walks/races.  Our team name is "Bella Person," which is a combination of my maiden name, Lati's maiden name, and her married name.  It means beautiful person because we were doing it for her..the most beautiful person any of us had ever met.  I have this tattoo because she has an amazing story full of inspiration and faith.  I wanted people to ask me because I wanted to do everything I could to share her story.  She was and is such a precious person to her family.  She was my favorite aunt.  I loved talking about her.  I still love talking about her.  A lot of people think cancer is for old people.  She was 34.  I'm going to start crying if I keep on, so moving on to the next tattoo... 

    

Age:  19

Location:  Right Hip/Thigh

Meaning:

none

Age:  22

Location:  Left Rib Cage

Meaning:

This tattoo is a fleur di lis.  It is French for lily and is a symbol of strength and excellence.  I got it because I really like the shape, and Mr. Robinson (who at that time was just my friend) drew it for me.  :)  We went and got tattoos together as friends.  Um...the design inside this tattoo is supposed to (subtly) resemble a marijuana plant.  The colors used are the Rastafarian colors, commonly associated with marijuana smokers.  I got the tattoo during a darker time in my life...and this tattoo no longer holds the same meaning it did when I first got it.  I had it done last January.  Now, it's a reminder of falling in love with "the one" and a reminder how far I've come in the past year. 

Age:  22

Location:  Right Rib Cage

Meaning:

 Finally, my fourth tattoo is a cross.  More specifically, it's a Unity Cross.  I did a post all about it not too long ago and you can read about it here.  My husband and I both got this tattoo, except his is on his forearm.  We put together a Unity Cross in our wedding ceremony, display the Unity Cross in our home, and have the tattoo on our bodies to remind us of our love for each other and for God.  The other post goes into more detail.  It's so much more than your typical cross tattoo.  

~.~

As for future tattoos...I want tons more!  :)  I love having a new tattoo.  I love doing the unexpected.  I love shocking people.  I love how expressive tattoos can be.  I particularly love the adrenaline rush.  Oh man, there's nothing like it.  Getting tattoos is incredibly addictive because it is incredibly fun.  Yeah, they hurt.  During the tattoo-getting-process, I always VOW to never again get another tattoo.  When it's healing and itching and driving me crazy, I SWEAR that I'll never go back!  Once it's healed and pretty and not hurting or itching anymore, I start planning my next one :)    
I love tattoos that are uniquely placed.
I love tattoos that collectively tell a story - like a sleeve.

That's my goal.  I eventually plan on having my entire back tattooed.  I love the idea of "sleeve" tattoos, or a tattoo that is made up of tons of smaller tattoos and all fit together perfectly and tell a story.  I love it.  I want a sleeve tattoo, but don't have the guts and would lose my job.  I want a sleeve tattoo on my back.  Does that make sense?  I want my back to tell a story of who I was and who I am.  I want my tattoos to symbolize where I have come from, how far I've come, how much I've grown, who I used to be, who I hope to be..

Can't wait to see everyone else's tattoos in the link-up!  :-D  If you have ink, go check out Raven's page.  She's pretty cool and you absolutely should link up and meet this girl.

Ink.

This post is about my tattoos.

I know that a lot of people are against tattoos for a variety of reasons.  Some people just don't like tattoos.  Some people are against tattoos for religious reasons.  Some people think tattoos on women are trashy.  If you have negative opinions or feelings toward tattoos, that is fine.  You don't have to read this post and/or look at the pictures.  All I ask is that you be respectful and polite in your comments, regardless of your opinions.  You are more than welcome to express your opinions.  I don't mind at all and I even encourage y'all to comment as you see fit.  Just be nice.  :)  Thank you.


I have four tattoos & want more.  This post is about the tattoos I have, my beliefs about tattoos & how that fits into my Christianity, and the tattoos I hope to get in the future.

Our Love Story: Part Three

[Part One] [Part Two] 

So, Mr. Robinson had left town.  It hurt me...it broke my heart to know that I had caused him that much pain and had caused him to leave town and move back in with his parents.  We still worked together, his parents only lived about 45 minutes away from town, but things were different.

We missed each other.  

Slowly, we started spending time together again but we went super slow and took the babiest of steps.  He was afraid of being hurt again, I was still afraid to commit to someone like him & I was afraid to cause him any more pain....it was a delicate situation that we handled with a lot of care.  He still picks on me because once, out of frustration, I asked him why he couldn't just be gay.  I missed him, you know?!  I wanted him in my life but I couldn't be his girlfriend.  His deep feelings for me meant that a simple friendship was impossible...and it was frustrating.During this time, I learned that he could draw.  I had been wanting a new tattoo (at that time, I only had two) and asked him if he would draw something out for me.  I gave him an idea of what I was looking for in my next tattoo....and he came up with a sketch.  He had been wanting another tattoo as well, so we took off a day of work & went to go get tattoos together - as friends.

On January 24, 2011...I had a picture my best friend drew for me tattooed onto my rib cage.  Holy Guacamole, it hurt some kinda bad!  But I love it!  We can't find the original drawing, which just breaks my heart, but I guess the tattoo is a permanent reminder.  :) 

He'd been working on a sleeve for a while, and it's still in progress, but on this day he had the vines added.  

Later on down the road, he told me that while we were getting our tattoos, he kept waiting for our sketched-out artist to ask if we were together.  He'd prepared an answer.  "No, but I've been in love with her for a long time."  =)  

Our friendship was really starting rekindle.  I knew that he loved me, and I knew that I was falling for him.  However, I really enjoyed our day together.  I enjoyed his company.  I know that this time, our friendship was here to stay and that I would NOT be messing it up.

Read Part Four next!  

Our Matching Tattoos!

One of the things my husband and I have in common is our love for tattoos and our LUST for constant fresh ink.  Call us crazy, we don't mind.  Our parents all think we are nuts for paying people to hurt us.  Mr. R has 9 or 10 tattoos, it's hard to give an exact number because his left arm is pretty much a complete sleeve.  We got matching tattoos right after we returned from our honeymoon and I wanted to share them with you because they are amazing and so sentimental!

Wedding ceremonies often consist of more than just the vows.  It's very popular and traditional for the new man and wife to light a unity candle together.  

Source: etsy.com via Kristi on Pinterest

A newer trend seems to be unity sand, where the couples will pour in two different colors of sand to represent how they have become one and cannot be separated.

Source: google.com via Billa on Pinterest

We are all about doing something different or doing things differently than the crowd.  It was also very important to us that our wedding ceremony be spiritual and we concentrated not only on our love, but how GOD brought us together.  We chose to put together a Unity Cross instead of lighting a candle or pouring sand.  

Source: shopinspiration.com via Valarie on Pinterest

It is something I came across in a bridal magazine I was reading.  We just loved the sentiment and everything about it.  We had never heard of this before, so it was something out of the ordinary.  It also just suited us so well!  We ordered one almost immediately, except the one we have is more of a brownish-gold color, like the one below.

We loooooove our Unity Cross and proudly display it in our living room!  :)  When we returned from our honeymoon, we went and got tattoos of it!  Mr. R's is on his right forearm and mine is on my right rib cage.  These pictures were taken RIGHT after we got the, so they look really red and shiny.  Here they are!  

And here is just a little something I made...a picture of the cross we have, both of our tattoos, and what the pastor read as we put the cross together.  :) The three pegs that go into the cross represent The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit because what God put together, no man can take apart!

Don't you just love it?!  Do you and your husband have matching tattoos?  I'd love to hear from you!  Thanks for reading!