#3. Get Another Tattoo

Disclaimer:  This is a pretty personal post.  Only positivity is welcome here - be nice or leave!

My first tattoo was a quote matching both of my sisters and my mom.  We talked for a year before getting them and set the date for 11/11/11.  Together we decided to get a quote from a song my mom sang to us - "dream a little dream."  11/11/11 came and we didn't have appointments made.  My little sister, who was not about to miss this opportunity (she was 17 and needed my moms permission), called and made appointments for us that night. 

Long story short, I got my first tattoo on my hip over 2 years ago .  It's a really pretty script and I love it.  There are rumors that I cried - those rumors are false.

I wanted another tattoo eventually, but wasn't sure what it would be.  When my dad passed away in May 2013, I knew my next tattoo would be in honor of him.  I thought about it for months and went back and forth between different ideas.  My little sister, Liz, reminded me to think back to our childhood before my dad was sick.

I thought about songs he sang, books he read to us, and things I remembered him saying.  He and my mom would read the Berestain Bears books to us, and I never realized how much I associated my childhood with them ("Too Much Junk Food", "Visit the Dentist", "New Baby", etc).  I settled on a tattoo of Papa Bear.  To make it more personal, I wanted him wearing a Red Sox hat.  My dad was a Red Sox fan and always wore his Boston "B" hat - even though he lived with Phillies fans! 

Once I was set on the tattoo, I brought the idea to the same artist as my first (Keith Reed from Xtreme Ink) and he drew up the sketch.  Liz and I went in together on a Sunday to get them done (she got a gorgeous angel wing and roman numeral dates)!

My tattoo took about two hours.  The most uncomfortable part was laying on my hip.  I got used to the pain of the actual tattoo and it went a little numb.  There were definitely parts that hurt more than others, but I sat through fine and my sisters said they were proud of me :).  Keith was awesome to work with!  He was really nice and made sure I was fine throughout the session.  He did such an amazing job, if you're looking for an artist in Chester County, check him out!  His Instagram is keithreed133.

Only a few days old - really dry right now!

My tattoo has so much meaning to me, and it was definitely a fun thing to cross off the list!  Feel free to leave a comment, so I don't feel like I'm blogging to myself all the time ;).