Ta Da....The Big Reveal!

Well, Saturday was the big day....I got my first (and most likely only) tattoo. I went to Lark Tattoo on Lark Street in Albany and Kara was my tattoo artist. My friend has gotten many a tattoo done by Kara and she came highly recommended.

My brother came out from MA for the big day. About a year ago he and I made a deal....he would wait to get his 2nd tattoo until I met my weight loss goal. Things weren't looking too great for a while (meaning I wasn't losing any weight) so he upped the anti. He said he would only wait until summer 2010 for me and then he was going to do it without me. Like I mentioned in the past, things turned around when I started Medifast. He was actually surprise at how quickly I lost the weight and met the goal.

I am a self-proclaimed pansy when it comes to pain. For those that know me, I would do just about anything to help a person in need. I volunteer my time, energy, and talents. I help friends move, paint, clean. I am a Big for Big Brothers, Big Sisters. The list could go on...but the one thing I can't bring myself to do - Donate Blood. I feel horrible whenever I see a Blood Drive advertised, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I hate needles. I hate pain. I hate everything about it. So how the heck was I going to manage getting a tattoo. Here's how:I wouldn't let go of Bri's hand the whole time. I squeezed pretty tightly at significant points during the process. And my hubby kept the conversation going as a distraction. I couldn't bare to watch Kara do her thing...thank goodness the hubby also got plenty of pics for me to check out after the fact:The entire thing took about 20 minutes TOPS and Kara was really great. Here is the finished product....What do you think??

I love it!

It is the Constellation Orion...lots of family meaning and symbolism. Orion's belt depicts 2 very special family members surrounding me and the color of each star represents our birth stones.

I never thought I would get a tattoo but I am soooooo happy I did. I love it. I am constantly checking it out, making sure it's still there (even though I know it is going to be there forever), and admiring it. I couldn't be happier (I can't say the same for some of my family members though - they aren't big fans of tattoos....but oh well, I am not going to let them get me down!)

And here are some pics of my brother getting his tattoo. This is the before pic:
A little background on his...he has a tattoo on his left shoulder blade of a Celtic Shamrock and "The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit" written in Gaelic.So he got a Celtic Cross for his other shoulder blade. Doesn't it look awesome?! I told you Kara does nice work!

There you have it. This was our Saturday adventure. I am so glad it is over (I was a nervous wreck up to the point in which it was over), I am so glad I did it, and I am so glad my brother and I were able to do it together!