Ink Work

I'm a fan of tattoos. I currently have 4 and at least 4 more that I eventually want to get and yet another list of others I might want. Crazy huh??

I got my very first tattoo at 19. I remember my cousin and I drove all around Los Angeles finding a tattoo shop that was reasonably prices. I didn't know much about the process judging tat shops or anything. I just knew I didn't want to spend  fortune! Silly little me... I remember when I went home and told my mom I wanted to get one she was all like "whatever, its your body" The next day however when I came home with a tattoo on my shoulder she was angry! She was always like that with me and my brother, wanted us to make our own decision yet still voice her disapproval if we did certain things anyway. So the first tattoo I got was a small butterfly on the back of my shoulder, cliche I know but I was 19!

My 2nd tattoo I got when I was 21, it was father's day weekend I think. Me and my bff went so she could get her 1st tattoo. Initially I didn't want to get anything but after sitting in the shop for 30mins I decided to get a red rose w/ my beautiful Sorority { ΛΣΓ } letters on a scroll

Tattoo #3 came when I was 22. I was in Texas that summer visiting my pregnant sister-in-law I initially went to the tattoo shop because my niece that was 17 at the time wanted to get a tattoo and I was going to sign the consent forms for her. Since that was kinda against the shop's rules she couldn't get anything done. So since we were already there I decided to get a "spur-of-the-moment" tattoo. Nothing fancy and no in depth meaning behind it, but none the less its cute!

before

during- it was on my hip bone and it hurt!

after- this is the only picture I could find. Sorry that it looks blurry.

Tattoo #4 came just a few short months ago. I decided to get the Breast Cancer ribbon on the front side of my shoulder. Its not as bright as I would have liked but I love it none the less. You may remember I posted my Breast Cancer Awareness story last week {here} so check that out if you haven;t read it yet.

 

 



Even though I have 4 tattoos, I plan on getting more. Three or four that I know for sure what they will  be but only 200% positive on two of those four. [ a RIP tattoo for my mommy and a more spiritual tat on my foot.

So do any of you ladies have tattoos? What are your thoughts of them?

{Sunday Social} Fall is Upon Us

Neely over at A Complete Waste of Makeup hosts a weekly link-up called Sunday Social. I've seen a few bloggers do this before and since I've been doing other link-ups lately I figured I'd join in on this one too! This weeks theme is "All Things Fall" So below I'll post some fall inspire photos. Hope you enjoy and be sure to join in on the link-up =)

 

To me Fall means: hot chocolate, thick sweaters, boots, warm cookies, colorful leaves, Halloween, and scarfs!

 

 

Source: 500px.com via Erin on Pinterest

 

Source: muaythaiii.blogspot.com via Sheena on Pinterest

Source: gabrielaxoxoxo.polyvore.com via Sheena on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Julie on Pinterest

 

Source: crushculdesac.tumblr.com via Edna on Pinterest

Source: la-vita-a-bella.deviantart.com via Edna on Pinterest

Source: skinnyfatgirldiary.com via SFGDiary on Pinterest

I remember drinking this as a kid and I loved it!!

Source: pastrypal.com via Amanda on Pinterest

10 Day You Challenge- 9 Loves

As you may remember from a earlier post I'm doing the '10 Day You Challenge'. Want to know more about the challenge? Head over to Blog Love Therapy to join in on the fun!

 

*** 9 Things I Love ***

1) God & Jesus Christ
2) Cupcakes - I always associate Cakes with parties so cupcakes are like mini-parties =) And their even better with sprinkles
3) My Family - I may not always agree with what the say or the decisions they make BUT at the end of the day they always have my back.

my precious 4 year old niece

[she's only one of the 12 nieces/nephews that I have]

one of my older sisters, my daddy and I

 



4) Citrus Fruit - oranges, mango, papaya, pineapples, etc
5) Chocolate - I'm only slightly addicted

 

Source: etsy.com via Hazel on Pinterest

6) Scary Movies - I owe all 7 Saw movies, grew up watching the original Halloween! I just love em.... strange? eh....
7) Crime/ Investigation Shows - Criminal Minds, Snapped, Dateline, CSI: New York; I love the "who done it" factor of trying to solve the crime
8) Going to concerts - nothing better than seeing music artists I like perform live! Went to my first concert at 13.... to see *Nsync and I've been shoveling out money ever since
9) Makeup - I can be feeling like total crap, PMSing to the extreme but a little bit of eye shadow and eye liner gives me this boost of confidence when its most needed

A Little Mid-Week Pinterest Fest!

  As I've been following a TON of new blogs lately I've noticed that link-ups are the hot thing! Its a great way to meet new bloggers and get new readers to your blog. One particular link-up I'm kinda psyched about it the "Oh How Pinteresting" post that Michelle at The Vintage Apple does weekly. I love this link-up idea because frankly I'm addicted to Pinterest! There's always something funny to see, a cute outfit and a delicious cupcake pin that I seem to find every time I log on. So here are just a few pins I've repinned recently. Enjoy!

Source: flickr.com via Mary Jo on Pinterest

Source: lets-start-now.tumblr.com via Nicole on Pinterest

 

Source: superskinnyme.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Bethany on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Nena on Pinterest

Source: repinly.com via Nicole on Pinterest

10 Day You Challenge- 10 Secrets

Last week I was hopping around the blog world and found a ton of neat blogs! Usually I tend to follow fashion/make-up blogs but I felt it was time to change that up a bit. While fishing through the sea of blogs I came across Blog Love Therapy. It sort of like a fund directory for blogs. They post link-ups and challenges [like the one I'm going to post about] as a way of helping bloggers get more traffic to their sites and meet other bloggers. So check out the site and join in on all the fun!

*** 10 Secrets ***

1. I can't go a full week without eating chocolate [ rather a Hershey's bar, ice cream, chocolate covered almonds...] I'm addicted!!
2. I one day hope to run a full marathon
3. I'd rather sit at home with a book, a movie or some good TV shows than go to a club
4. I love heels even though I can walk in them well
5. As much as I love pretty shoes- I hate shopping for shoes because I hardly find cute shoes that fit my size 10/10.5/11 size foot [size differs depending on the shoe]
6. I LOVE watching 90s cartoons/ shows [Fresh Prince, Rugrats, Full House, Boy Meets World, Doug, Ninja Turtles anything from my childhood]
7. The only drink I get from Starbucks is their Passion Tea Lemonade -- I don't like coffee
8. Although I don't drink coffee I love the smell of Folgers.. reminds me of my mom, that's all she ever drank
9. I can't leave the house with putting on make-up; which usually consists of eye liner, mascara, lip gloss, and filling in my eye brows [and that's the minimal!]
10. I hate sudden change- I totally freak out. For example yesterday my computer did some type of system update.... in the process it completely changed my Internet homepage and deleted all of the links in my Favorites! Needless to say I FLIPPED my roommate just looked at me crazy. But it totally irks my nerves when things change without being warranted...

So what are your secrets?? Join the challenge and share!

Breast Cancer Awareness

As many of you may know October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This disease has always help a close spot to my heart because both my mother and maternal grandmother fell ill to it.

My first encounter with this illness was in 1991/1992; my grandmother was in the late stages while my mother was in the very early stages- both at the same time. At this time I was in Kindergarten, I remember coming home from school walking in the living room and seeing my mother cutting off her hair. I was confused. I never remember seeing her look sickly, I never went to any of her Chemo or Radiation treatments. The nasty parts of the disease were hidden from me. At some point when I was still in Kindergarten, during the time my grandmother didn't have much time left to live, she moved into our house. I remember her hospital bed being moved into my room, directly across from my bothers room. I ended up sleeping in the den/office/living room for a while. I'm not sure exactly how long my grandmother stayed with us I do remember her being present at my 6th birthday; I remember peaking into my room all of one time and seeing her lay on the hospital looking bed- sleeping. Sometime during the summer of 1992 my grandmother passed away.

In 1993 my mother got breast cancer a 2nd time. Again I never went to any of her Chemo or Radiation treatments. I do remember her being at home with some kind of machine she would drag around; kinda resembled an oxygen tank but I don't think that's what it was. My memory is so vague of this time I'm really not sure how long my mom went through treatment but the memories don't seem that long. Before I knew it she was well as back to working and baking and doing all the things she always had- at least that's according to my memories.

Nearly 20 years passed before breast cancer would knock on our family's door again... April 2010; my mom went to the ER because she was having breathing problems. Over the course of the next 8 or 9 months my mom was in and out of the hospital, given all kinds of medication to fix the heart and breathing issues, and placed on an oxygen machine. It was so hard seeing my mom sick. Even though she had battled breast cancer twice before I was far too young to remember much about it. but at 24 I remembered everything. It was December 2010 when the doctor discovered an underlying issue to the health problems my mom was having. BREAST CANCER- it had returned, it was worse than she had ever had it before, she was angry, I was scared, my brother was angry and scared. My mom probably spent half of December in the hospital, including Christmas Day, then she came home. She went through about a week of Chemo before she was back in the hospital on New Years Eve. That was the last time she was at home. Through the course of the following 8 days I saw my mother at her weakest, she was in pain and tired and simply wanted to get better, My dad flew in; him and my brother were surprisingly strong; myself not so much. Every single day I went to the hospital took one single look at my mom and broke down! It was simply that scary for me. On January 8 my mom lost her battle. That was by far the hardest day of my life along with January 9th and 14th.

Nothing in my life has been the same since that day. All the things my mother has taught me have indeed stuck with me. I'm more like her than I'll probably ever realize. I always pray to God that I never get breast cancer. It may seem like a selfish prayer but I really don't think myself nor my family can deal with another women getting cancer. However, if a day comes and a doctor tells me other wise, I'll be prepared and ready to fight!

My Fall TV Line-up

Nothing says "Fall" like new season premieres of my favorite shows! My usually TV line-up seems so much smaller this year since One Tree Hill and CSI: Miami were both cancelled last season. And Pretty Little Liars doesn't come back until winter so my TV isn't getting too much love this fall.


Criminal Minds:

source

Where did Reid's short hair go?? I truly need for him to cut it once again. Not too fond of the shaggy hair look.

Who is the new lady and how did I forget that Prentiss left the show?!? Its apparent I must have missed a few episodes last season.

CSI: New York

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So glad this show has been brought back! Considering I'm still a tad bit hurt about the cancellation of CSI: Miami its a pleasure to have my other fave CSI show back and in full effect.

Sadly however, I missed the season 9 Premiere episode because, well, I fell asleep. Lame, I know.I'm have to catch it online or On Demand sometime today or tomorrow for sure.


Revenge

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Not sure why I didn't bother watching this during the last season BUT I've caught up on this show for the last week thanks to Netflix and O.M.G.! I'm so hooked. I love the "who done it" type of set-up. Each episode answers questions while leaving new ones unanswered! Was a little disappointed with the Season finale, but like most shows they have to leave twists! Can't wait to see how Emily gets back at the Greyson's!!! Anyone else watch this show??

Surprisingly those are the only shows I plan to watch regularly. I'll probably occasionally watch other shows but not too often.

What shows are you ladies excited to see this Fall??