Montreal Ink

After over a decade of not wearing tank tops in public, last summer I finally had cover up work done to an old tattoo that was on the back of my right shoulder. I had been complaining about it for years but didn’t know what would work as artwork for the cover up and time just kept ticking on.The bridesmaid dresses we chose for Jenn’s wedding last fall were strapless which meant that the heinous thing would be have been exposed in all its glory. My big sis took me aside and basically said ‘you’re not walking down my aisle with that thing on your back’.

So, this gave me the kick in the butt to finally get it fixed. Last summer I worked with Jeff Wiet at Adrenaline tattoo and he designed this lovely tribal eternity spiral for me which I had etched on last July (note to readers – never get tattoos in the summer!).

Well, it had been 12 years since I was under the needle and I had forgotten how horridly addicting it is. I said I wouldn’t get any new work done until I fixed up my old stuff and I still have a small lower back piece that has not stood the test of time very well. I thought I’d start on that this year BUT last winter I dreamt that I had a Japanese cherry blossom tattooed down my rib cage and the image of that stayed in my head for months later. Sooo….in March I got in touch with an artist named Randy Stewart who had just opened up a studio in Montreal who had done some beautiful cherry blossoms on a friend of mine. I chickened out of the rib cage placement – tattooing the ribs is just far too painful to endure so I had it put on my left shoulder instead. My first session in April was a very long 3 hour event and I went back a month later to have the touch up work and some extra colour put in. I’m so thrilled with it and just love how it came out. I didn’t want the design to be too visible – it comes up to the collar bone and down to just over my shoulder so it can still be hidden under a t-shirt without a problem. Maybe a little petal peeks out here and there but that is fine with me. I’m getting old – I’m not worried about making the wrong impression on society any more.
When I went back for the touch up work I asked Randy to add two blossoms to the top of my foot. I adore tattoos on the feet but had heard about the excruciating pain that is involved with them. The pain of getting tattooed is very misconceived. It is really not all that bad and is more annoying than painful – like wearing a bad pair of shoes. I always ranked it as #5 on my list of life’s pains – it came in way under a bikini wax and infected impacted wisdom teeth. Until the foot. Sweet Lord the foot. I thought I could hack it because I knew it was a small piece of artwork but after three small lines – I was begging him to stop. I didn’t think I would make it through it. All I did for the 15 minutes of torture was hang on to my leg to keep it from shaking while wiping off the sweat that was pouring out of my palms.
What’s next? Maybe a big pirate ship, some skulls and a big anchor. Maybe not :)

My Baby Turned 4

So much has happened since my last post. The Halifax convention has come and gone, I'm almost able to sleep an entire night without waking up 14 times in a panic thinking that I'm late for a meeting, I got some new tattoos, and my little boy turned 4.

We had his party on May 26. Very intimate, just family and close friends and good food and weather. Simon has been blessed every birthday so far with good weather which means my little house doesn't get too stacked up since we're out on the deck most of the time. Despite the distractions of leaving for Halifax two days later, I actually was able to relax and enjoy the festivities. He made off with an impressive haul. Loads of Spider-man goodies including shirts, a cap, giant stickers and a scooter from his Nana and Pappu. A Ninja Turtle, a flat ball (a ball that you squish down into a frisbee to throw and then it pops back up into a ball when you catch it - quite genius), a remote control dump truck, bathing suits, summer hats and various other toys that have already made their way into his hoards.

Alexandra, Kate, Alexander, Simon

Some friends of mine are in a band called the Red Light Rippers. They have a page on their web site (www.redlightrippers.com) where they post photos of people's kids sporting their temporary tattoos. We had a little RLR theme going on at the party. The kids loved it!

The only thing Simon wanted for his party was a Superman cake. For months - when you asked him what he wanted, that's all he'd reply. We ordered it from Loblaws the week earlier and Rich went to pick it up that morning. He called me from the bakery to tell me that they had screwed up the order and had made a Dora the Explorer cake instead. I asked him to carefully explain to the baker that our son would have to be committed if he received a Dora cake instead of the Superman one. Thankfully, after a few threats on his life - the baker had a Superman one ready that same morning.

The following day we took him to McDonald's because that's where he wanted to end off his birthday weekend. I was too pooped to cook anyways so I let it be.

I still cannot believe he is four. My earliest memories are from when I was four so I know that whatever is going on in his life now - he'll likely remember it when he's in his 30's. Yikers.

On his actual birthday, I was running my arse off in Halifax during convention prep day. Stuffing registrant kits, sorting out AV woes, setting up signage, confirming banquet orders etc. I will provide a full update on the horrors of the Halifax conference in a separate post. Let's not rain on Simon's birthday parade just yet.

Rich had made cupcakes to take to the daycare for his party. He didn't line the tins with paper cups so they stuck and had to be served upside down because the bottoms were hauled off. The instructors at the daycare had a good laugh at the sweetness of it. Poor suddenly single dad for the week trying to bake on his own. A+ for effort sweetie! The kids ate them regardless. I had made the 24 damned loot bags before I left so he just had to pass them out when he arrived. Simon's teachers made him a birthday crown which he wore all night and my folks came by the house that evening to see him. All in all - it worked out well minus Mommy this year.

Happy 4th my little baby. It seems like yesterday when you were the same size as our remote control. I love you.