Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone!  Last year, I set up a whole scavenger hunt for Jon to do when he came home from work.  It took him all over our area of town and led him to a picnic.

This year was different.

It began with us going clothes shopping.  I redid my whole summer wardrobe.  I got so much BOGO and on sale, it was ridiculous.  But that's not what I came to blog about.

For a LONG time now I have wanted a tattoo.  But not just any tattoo.  I wanted one that showed my faith, something I would be proud to show off for the rest of my life.  And that is what I did.

Wednesday, after dinner out, we stopped by the shop to get a price quote and to schedule an appointment.  Met the artist, Danny (!), then paid my deposit.  The non-refundable deposit.  This was for real.

Then I started sketching my ideas for the rest of the week.  I knew I wanted an Ichthus, the Greek fish that came to represent Christianity.  You know, the one you see on cars all the time?  That one.  There is a cool story behind it too, look it up.

I doodled and looked at tons of pics online.

Then I decided on this one:

I read about tattoos and prepared myself for the pain.  I figured I would work myself up so when it came down to it, I would be relieved it didn't feel as bad as I thought it would.

The best advice I got from friends with foot tattoos was, "Don't throw up like I did." and "It was my worst tattoo."  Thanks girls. :P

After shopping (and changing into our fresh outfits) we marched ourselves to the tattoo shop.  Oh boy.

My stomach was in knots.  Had I not already paid the deposit, I would have chickened out.  Not because I wasn't sure about having this on my foot for the rest of my life.  I was ready for that.  But not the pain.

We were led down the hallway to the room.  It was FREEZING!  I was sorry I didn't bring a sweater.  After a while it made sense as to why it was a bit chilly in there.  By the end I was HOT!

No videos were allowed, but Jot got some pics.  Not my most flattering 20 minutes.

I was so so scared.  That face says, "what the heck am I doing?!?"  I am pretty sure I said that multiple times out loud too.

As he was prepping my foot, the shakes began.

Danny was very patient with me and my shaking.  He knew it was my first.  Also, he had a grip of death on my foot.  

I was not sure how I was going to get through it.  Literally, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do if I couldn't sit through the whole thing.  Turns out, it was worse than I thought it would be.

At one point, Danny stopped, looked up at me  and said, "Sweetie, you have got to stop shaking."

Jon had to remind me to keep breathing.  Forgetting to breath is a rare occasion.

I was in a ton of pain.  

It's done!!!  So. Much. Pain.

Big Band-aid.  

Still feeling it, but Froyo made it better.

There it is!  Danny did a great job!  Plus, the weather is perfect to show it off with some flip-flops.

All in all, it was a good experience, minus the actual getting it part.  It hurt a lot.  At this point, this is it for me.  It hurt so bad I don't want to sit through that again.  Also, the amount of shaking I was doing is not great for getting a nice looking tattoo.  Danny must have a lot of talent (and a good grip) to get such straight lines out of this!

Thoughts?

Dani