Why I Get Tattooed

I have been asked these questions again and again: Why do you have tattoos? Does it hurt? What is the meaning behind it?

Well, for me, getting tattooed is a transformative declaration of power. What does that mean exactly? My body is the only thing I will ever truly own. I have the sole power to control it. It is mine. I have the power and the right to do as I wish with it. I have the power to transform it, into a work of art. Beautiful, expressive, wonderful imagery. With me forever. And they say you can't take anything to the grave. I command mastery over this body of flesh and bones. My mind has the power to overcome and move through the pain. It is an essential part to growing and becoming a more whole person. We can only truly change once we move past the pain. And getting tattooed is a symbolic act of that transformation I need to experience in my life. It makes me feel strong. It makes me feel alive.

Does it hurt?  Yes and No. It's a good pain. Honestly, the first 10 minutes are the worst, and then you become more used to the needle. But that soft hum of the tattoo gun is something you come to love. You become almost addicted to the euphoria you experience from the rush of endorphins.It is freedom.

Yes, most of my tattoos have some meaning behind them. I do think them out before I get them. Each one has a special meaning to me.

So now you know a little more about me! Any more questions? Do you have any tattoos yourself?

Name Change

So I changed the title of my blog. I just wasn't diggin clean n green goddess anymore. Didn't quite fit me. I think this one is more appropriate :)

Bottling Day

Bottling day was a success, minus one minor point. My friend forgot to e-mail the label to the printers on time. Oops. Which meant we did not get to use  the label we designed :(  I was bummed, just because it was the first "project" I have really worked on. But we still had a grand old time. And our beer turned out really, really well. Oatmeal stout is bliss. See for yourself.

A sample.

  

Becky with our generic beer label.

Nick's turn to pour.

The bar makes you use their generic label if you don't have your own. So we had to label all 78 bottles, "Beer." Oh well. Lesson learned!

Homebrew

So about a month ago, our friends invited us out to brew our own batch of beer. There is a local bar here, The Brew Kettle that lets you brew your own beer. You basically pick out the kind of beer you want, and they provide everything else for you. We decided on an oatmeal stout. So this Saturday it is time for bottling! I am excited to hang out with friends while we bottle and taste the beer we have brewed. As part of the process, we are supposed to design our own label. My friend Mike, aka Chewy, came over and helped me with this last night. He has been teaching me the ins and outs of Photoshop and encouraged me to design the label. It was fun!! Here are the results:

Our beer was named after Chewy's dog, Bella. She is a true cat-dog! She really acts like a cat. She doesn't bark. She is a scaredy-cat, afraid of things that dogs usually aren't. And she likes to curl up to a ball of yarn. So it seemed fitting to use her for the label.

Here is a pic of me and Chewy designing. He brought his Mac over. We designed and ate homemade granola bars. It was fun :)

Stay tuned for more pics of bottling day!!