Final Tattoo Design

I had been asked by a friend to design a tattoo for her. Size approximately 1" high by 2" wide. She had found a site that had angelic symbols and she liked the symbol for hope instead of the traditional anchor. I did several variations on the theme. She finally chose one that incorporated the angel symbol, script, and a butterfly.

My friend traveled from Iowa to visit and to have the tattoo done. On a reference from another friend, we traveled north of the city to Zaza Ink and the talented and capable hands of Kerwin.

I had no clue what was involved in tattooing. Kerwin explained that over time, fine lines as used in calligraphy would blur. He looked at my design and informed my friend that to prevent blurring he would have to make a few alterations. The antennae of the butterfly were too close together and the upstroke of the descender of the "g" would have to be lowered. Other than that the spacing was fine. Color me beaming.

At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch the process, but curiousity got the better of me. The original design was photocopied and then transferred to the skin using some goop. I never thought to ask what the goop was. The design was transferred to the skin and looked like a temporary tattoo.

Kerwin went over the design and meticulously drew the strokes and touched up the thick and thin lines. He worked from right to left.

and brought my design to life.

What a rush to have my work on living canvas.

Wordless Wednesday - Tattoo Design

Mii

It was pointed out my Mii wasn't a true representation because she wasn't wearing fugly shoes (aka Crocs). Through the magic of Paint Shop Pro X2, I've corrected this oversight. Added my new red fuglies to my Mii.

Thanks to all who pointed out she was missing something.

Wii and Mii

July is birthday month so we got a gift we all can play with. We got a Wii and a Wii Fit to help us get off the couch.

You start by making a Mii, an avatar for you to play the Wii games with. Besides picking hair and eye color, you pick your favorite color for the clothing and can size your Mii. Here's Mii, short and chubby and accessorised with my blue glasses.

Wii Fit has yoga and aerobic exercises, core training and balance games. Wii Fit helps you set weight goals and keeps track of how you are doing on a daily basis. You get to pick a personal trainer to work the yoga and core training. I chose a male and call him Jack after the tv exercise guru of the 60s Jack LaLane. There's a female trainer, but looking at her cartoon figure in her tight and cute yoga togs made me feel like I was working out with a Barbi doll. As you do the exercise she exclaims "Picture your ideal body!" and I look at her tiny waist and grapefruit sized boobs and think that ain't gonna happen. So I work out with Jack.

The Wii Fit board can be cheeky. She has a child-like voice and when you step on her she goes "Ohh!" as in "Ohhh, you're heavy." or "Ohh, 6 elephants weigh less than you do." I don't think she's quite calibrated correctly as she chastised me for gaining 7 pounds in one day!

Still, it's fun. Like having a holodeck except the computer doesn't go haywire, the Miiples dont' go rogue and no one dies like a red shirt. Though one can die an epic death when trying to walk the tightrope in one of the balance games. Too funny!

You can create your own Mii to use as an avatar even if you don't have a Wii. Visit http://www.myavatareditor.com/ When you're done playing, export your Mii to your hard drive as a .png or .jpg

Seven

Erica's Friday Five, about five things that happened to her when she was expecting was a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. Friday was The Eldest's 21st birthday. Seven things I remember when I was expecting her:





1. I had morning sickness, afternoon sickness, and night sickness for the first three months.





2. The smell of Lysol made me hurl.





3. I was very grumpy for most of the day before The Eldest was born.





4. The night before she was born, I spotted. Doc sent us to the hospital (45 min.) away. No worries. Go home. It must have been a slow night because before we left, one of the nurses decided to put me on the monitor. "Oh, my! You're in labor!"





5. I called my friend from the Labor Room to ask her to tape Robert Redford in The Electric Horseman. Priorities dontchaknow.





6. Labor started, stopped, started, stopped. Some 24 hours later, ended up having a C-section.





7. When The Eldest tipped the scale at 8 lbs. 10 oz., one of the nurses said, "This baby's ready for school."

Any war stories you'd like to share?

Wordless Wednesday - Waiting Out The Storm

Wordless Wednesday - Raindrop