This is what happens when you host your first teenaged drinking party on the occasion of your daughter obtaining her majority. (That’s 18 in our neck of the woods.):
*Chaos and mahem in a game of Ultimate Spoons.
*A main floor strewn with bottles, and although none were peeled, spilled or broken, all flat surfaces in the home now feel “tacky.” (Ugh. I hate tacky.)
*Icecream-cake platters left unrinsed and unrecycled on the counter.
*Dog jumps left on the lawn. Overnight. (!)
*Tattoos ← my justification for the man-candy inclusion. (So sue me, okay? Any gratuitous thrills I received by making this post were undone by the results of my Google search. Shudder.)
First my daughter’s and her BFF’s:
Camp Rock Jailhouse Tattoos
Yup. That’s the Jonas Brothers. Hardcore, babeee. Hardcore
Then, not content with their own evil self-effacement, mine:
Halp. I’ve fallen into a pile of boy band and can’t seem to get up!
Of course, there were many more things that took place around this seminal event, but some would be far too cutesy and sentimental to share. I do have a rep to maintain.
Speaking of which, I have toyed with the idea of a tattoo at times — an idea which alternately fascinates and repels the ToolMaster. (And one day we’ll discover which way that scale tips, though he doesn’t yet know to be deeply afraid, mwahahaha…)
Anyway, my questions for you: Have you got a tattoo? If so, what did you select and do you regret it? Was it to commemorate a specific event?
And have you gone through the drinking-party-as-rite-of-passage yet? If so, how did you fare?
Bwahahaha! Yes, I have a tattoo – a small rose to commemorate college graduation (I wanted something grander, but this poor college student couldn’t afford it). Plan to get another if I ever get a book published.
What sort of design have you toyed with? I’m assuming it’s not a boy band. 😉
LOL, the Jonas Brothers are safe from me.
No, since the ToolMaster would object to a Daniel Craig tattoo, I’ve thought about the Pink Panther’s head, something more artistic, like the sun/moon avatars, or my latest: Betty Boop. I really love me some Boop.
You seem to be able to throw eye candy into about 70% of your posts. Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy coming to your blog?
Hm, I have two. (Which I’ve had since the days when only bad girls got tattoos, so…)
I got the first one, a little dolphin on my butt when I was 23, after I won an event at Master’s Nationals for swimming (this is not quite as cool as it sounds.) Of course, I was probably also was commemorating the idea that I was old enough that my parents couldn’t ground me for getting it, but that’s another story. I also have a little angel fish somewhere around my right acetabulum. Always wondered whether I’d er, grow, to regret that one, but I reasoned at the time that if I had a baby or something, I could always tell people the tat was a beluga whale.
The drinking as rite-of-passage thing, while ancient history, I recall as being fairly tame. Went out after midnight, played pool, got a little silly, and came home. Via designated driver, of course 🙂
Average Girl, aw, glad you like the digs. Is it particular to the men, though, or the silliness?
Rebecca, I’m sorry, but the right-of-passive part of that comment doesn’t mesh with your pseudo-bad girl image. Nor do the fish. 🙂 I love the idea of a angel fish, though! Both as a metaphor and for appearance — I bet it would be pretty.
A pair of Koi – chasing one another in a circle (I’m a Pisces, what can you do?) in and around my left shoulder blade. Got – to commemorate me. A birthday, a radical change in life status, a lot of things.
A small rose, again on a birthday, somewhat further south than the fish!
There’s a third percolating in the back of my mind – not sure when it’ll surface.
Glad you had such a good Mother/Daughter time.
For your tattoo… slices of orange? 🙂
You can see a pic of mine here: http://www.jessicatudor.com/?p=339
It’s hard to explain but the reasoning goes like this. It’s a reminder that I can fly, and somehow I connect that with one of my favorite verses in Scripture, Phil. 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
It doesn’t look like much but that IS across my entire back, something like 8″ x 6″.
Wow, Jess! Inspirational–and interesting comments below on whether it hurt.
I don’t have a tattoo, and I toyed with the idea of it a few years ago, but it doesn’t seem to intrigue me as much anymore–not sure why! But if I did get one, I’d most likely get a scorpion (yes, I’m a Scorpio!), but I’d use it as more of an early warning system. LOL To let people know to beware!
Your daughter is lucky to have a mum like you. Sounds like a great time.
No tattoos and I doubt there ever will be. I’m not sure if it’s the abundance of freckles already defacing my skin that makes the idea of a tattoo so unappealing or just the idea of a permanent black design that will eventually morph into a black blob as I age. 🙂
I certainly don’t judge them, but I do wonder why anyone would have their entire body covered in ink. I wonder what they’re attempting to cover up on the inside.
Okay, if I did have one? Probably the Asian symbol for balance.
I too have thought about a tattoo, but never did it – maybe one day ….maybe …though time’s a wast’n before my skin’s too wrinkled up to work it – huhn.
I won’t talk about the drinking part *zips lips*
KjM, ooh, I like the koi idea. Did you pick the orange ones? They come in so many different colors. As for the orange slices, LMAO. I can just imagine my husband’s face if I were to come home with that one.
Jess, that’s nice! But so big. Did it hurt? #secretsissy
Donna, how about an old man shaking his fist? “Get off my lawn.” LOL, now I’m picturing you with a forehead tattoo and banana hummock sweatband. Hee.
Blue, that’s my husband’s main objection to tattoos: the “sag factor.” Personally, whole body tattoos don’t work for me, either, especially if they’re on the face. I know a few people with extensive body art, though, and it’s more about self-expression than camouflage for them. However, I appreciate that’s not true of everyone.
Sorry, Kat, you snuck in there. I will allow you to keep your secrets; the vein-opening doesn’t begin until your interview. 😉
I meant to add – I love your blog post titles, Jan.
My tattoo took two sessions to do because our friend was only an apprentice at the time and could only do tattooing after the shop closed, so we were all tired, and she went slowly and carefully. (If you can find a reputable shop that has apprentices, you can have them do it for WAY cheaper than a full artist will charge.)
Did it hurt?
Not really. She outlined it – I forget what this is called, blood lines or something – and then filled it in, and then had to go back over the blood lines with the ink. That last part is the only thing I remember thinking, ow that hurts, during. It half-tickled, because I am EXTREMELY ticklish, and when they start it stings a bit but you adjust to it so quickly that you don’t notice.
TECHNICALLY when I say “adjust quickly” I mean your body goes into shock from the pain even if you don’t mentally think it hurts, which I didn’t. Just a little biochem fact for you. That’s one reason you should eat a super balanced meal before you get a tattoo – I almost passed out after the first [long] session because I had just had a bowl of carbs for dinner, hadn’t been very hungry, and till we finished the first session it was like 11PM. But I want to reiterate – it didn’t hurt in the sense you’re asking, the “will I feel this and scream ouch the entire time” kind of hurt. No.
I’m sure that was more than you wanted to know about getting a tattoo, but maybe it will help you make an informed decision? 🙂
I’d like another one – a quill with the Tudor rose around it, but I don’t have anywhere to put it. I need them coverable!
Jess, as I said on Twitter, I’m touched that you’d take the time for such a detailed reply. Also, thank you for the title compliment!
I haz one, on my shoulder. It’s a Celtic design of three intertwined cats. I did it to mark a birthday milestone. I have been thinking about another but am unsure.
I found that the process actually made me high, and the high stayed with me for quite a long time. I think that might be one reason some people end up with so many tattoos!
Got One! It was my reward to myself when I finally finished my master’s degree (I was 31) and I’d been thinking of the theme broadly for a few years.
It is largish, mid back (high enough that it shows above my bra-strap lines, so 80% of my sun dresses show it, but low enough that choosing something that DOESN’T show it will never be a big deal with people wondering what the hell I am wearing. I ALSO chose the spot as one that changes minimally with weight gain/loss–I know myself and ALSO knew I probably had one more baby ahead of me (my daughter was 2, but son not yet conceived)
When i took the idea to the tattoo guy, he created it for me… and what I’d planned on as a simple line design of a moon [being a Cancer of the first deconate makes the moon my ruler AND subruler], he convinced me to come back the next day and have filled in with a very cool, lunar pattern (looks like the craters of the moon in turquoises, blues, and just a little gold). It faces as a waxing moon (as I’m not done yet) and has three stars off the tips. I’ve periodically marginally regretted it, but i don’t think nearly as much as I would have yearned for it had I not done it.
Well done on being the cool mom–though you really should have insisted that YOU got the Joe tattoo…
I’m so far behind, guys, sorry for commenting only now.
Lisa, I’ve never heard of Celtic cats. I’m going to have to google. It sounds intriguing. And you might be onto something there. I can see how a tattoo holds psychological significance, but it should release endorphins, much like a runner’s high. Neat.
Hart, that sounds very pretty. When you say you’re not done yet, do you mean the tattoo, or in your personhood? And thank you for the compliments about my parenthood. I was very touched that Molly and her BFF would think to include me. 😀