I know I got my first one this week but now I can say I got my second one this week too.
I went to another shop here in town and a different artist worked on me. Logan was nice–a little nervous to be tattooing on a fellow artist. Says its second worse only to working on another tattoo artist.
I wanted a sun with the Pisces sign in it and I wanted it on my inner wrist area. I went to the shop last night with my cousin who was getting a pocket watch added to an existing tattoo in memory of our grandfather who passed ten years ago.
Here are the stages of it all–the purple pic you’ll see first is the stencil. Then Logan working on it. What it looked like after first few passes. Logan himself and then a picture of the final product that I took this morning–end product is black with a splash of purple in the center.
I finally manned up and got a tattoo. Its not huge or elaborate but its what I like so I guess that’s all that matters. Plus, it means a lot to me. My first book Daughter of Darkness (and the rest of the series) has a nightclub in it called The Raven. As most of you know, this then spawned the idea for The Raven Happy Hour that Michelle Pillow (who totally did the over the phone support team thing here) and I do together. I LOVE ravens. Apparently, crows adore me considering I have a murder of them that hangs in my backyard nearly daily. Also one did a rather spooky stand out front and "talk" to me the other day. Odd. Yes.
Vic from Pain and Pleasure did my tattoo. REALLY nice guy! There was a young couple in there when I got arrived. They had some awesome work done so I asked if I could take pics and share it with all of you. They were good sports. I’ll start with my pics and finish up with theirs!
The stencil of it on my foot.
Here it is underway.
Still going.
More.
DONE!
I love it!
(no, my foot is not dirty, its smeared ink aftereffects but YES, my skin really is that f-ing dry)
Here is the couple that was there. First up, Chase. This was his first tattoo too! Vic did these tattoos as well!
Okay, so as many of you know Hot Topic kind of blows as far as quality goes. Every now and then you find an okay piece. But, its a wear at your own risk kind of thing. My oldest son and I have gone rounds over this. I think he’s finally seeing my side of things. (Sad when your mother is stranger than you could ever hope to be– poor kid) I thought I’d offer up some alternatives if you’re looking for that something special. The people who read my blog come from all walks of life so I don’t expect everyone to like my tastes. In fact, I’d be shocked if any of you do. *grin* Still, I’m sharing all the same. I know the price is higher than HT but honestly, you get what you pay for and I’d rather spend a little more on one nice piece than a lot less on three pieces that won’t last me more than one or two signings. Plus, I’m a firm believer that you buy several great pieces that can be mixed and matched with other things so you get the most use out of them.
Tripp NYC (I love this brand. They have a great site listing for locations that sell their stuff.)
Lip Service (Great site, you can shop from there also, a lot of what they have is offered in plus sizes too. In addition to a great site, they offer downloadable PDF catalogs.)
Shrine (I want to crawl into this site and live there. They have some amazing stuff! I want this dress– Coffin Dress. Its on my buy list for the next public signing or anything I do)
Never forget your local thrift stores/second hand shops. I live at mine. I love them. I swear to the gods above that I have the greatest collection of "old man" sweaters known to man that I’d gotten at thrift shops. They’re darn comfy to toss on while I’m writing and its chilly in my office.
I mix and match to the point my style isn’t one you can actually label. I’ll wear a corset with jeans and a long black sweater jacket out to do shopping and what not. If I’m meeting friends for lunch, I’ll either go with jeans and a thrift store sweater or I’ll dress it up a bit, going with a long skirt (only black and normally layers upon layers of lace), a pair of my high boots and a fun top. Whatever mood I’m in is what I wear. I’m a huge lover of tossing on a vintage band T-shirt, a scarf, a pair of jeans, boots and a newsboy cap. See. I have no set style. For me that works.
My husband came rushing into my office, demanding I come out and look at the news (last week). I go, expecting to see the world is ending or something. What I find is a local chef preparing the latest internet recipe craze…
Bacon Explosion
I shit you not, folks. The man dragged me out to see this thing being made. He has now resorted to begging to get me to make it.
9. It is so hard to type while trying to keep your arms under a blanket and wearing a long sleeved shirt is too taxing.
8. One size fits all.
7. I’ve always wanted a booklight. Since you get a free one just for ordering, bonus!
6. Red and Blue could count as incorporating color into my wardrobe.
5. I too want to attend sporting events but I just can’t. It’s bizarre, while at them, the front half of me is freezing cold while my ass is nice and toasty. No need to snug that.
4. I tried an imitation one (putting my robe on backwards) and it just didn’t do it for me. I need the real deal.
3. Often, as a little girl, I grew up wanting to sing in a choir but lacking the nerve to do so. With the snuggie, I could stand before a mirror and sing until my heart is content—all in the privacy of my own home.
2. Should I stand before the mirror, channeling my inner choir singer, the booklight can dub as a candlelight.
1. When not being used to keep me warm, my snuggie could be worn to help start my cult on my road to world domination. It really is the gift that keeps on giving.
Mandy (who really did ask her hubby for one and he in turn said “they don’t come in black”)
That’s right, I finally got off my backside and got going on submissions. So far, its slow going but I’m in the process of getting my 09 release schedule in order. Looks like I’ll start having semi-regular releases this year between my pubs which is fantastic! (everyone threatening my kneecaps can now take three steps back… book will be coming… I promise) :))
I get that I live in Ohio and that winter is a fact of life, but trust me when I say this one has been a little harder than most. We’ve been getting a steady stream of crap weather for weeks now and the schools are called off AGAIN today.
I have three "wonderful, darling, angels" home with me. All three came to me at five in the morning (the same group that never wants to get up for school) and asked if they could start watching movies from Netflix via the xbox. Charming, aren’t they?
Yeah, he’s having a field day (okay a field two weeks) here with me in Ohio. Its downright frigid. Its so cold that the schools called off tonight around 7 PM EST for tomorrow because of the wind chills. You know its cold when they call you off the night before. OY. Doesn’t help that we are buried under at least a foot of snow.
Here is a peek at the weather advisory.
Wind chills approaching -25F. High 3F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph.
My poor dog keeps giving me this sad look when I tell her she has to go out to go the bathroom. You know she’s thinking "hey, lady, you try peeing in -25 and see how you like it".
*PRIZES-If you win a prize in a contest or theme day (etc) from Mandy's blog or from any of its affiliates and do not claim it within 30 days, its void.
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