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Tattoos. Every person out there has an opinion about them. There are three types of people out there. You either love tattoos, hate them, or don’t ever want one but are indifferent of others who have them.

Some consider it a form of art, others consider it a form of rebellion. Most people that have a tattoo will tell you that theirs is just meaningful for them. Maybe you were going through a hard time and getting your tattoo was some how spiritual or therapeutic for you. Maybe you are a girl that just turned 18 years old, and has parents who have tattoos and you just knew that you always wanted one and always knew exactly what you were going to get. You have  your dad draw it, because you don’t really have anything in common with him, except this appreciation for body art. He is a very talented drawer, and you feel so special that he created a design just for you. Maybe you add two hearts in memory of your Grandpa Carl and Grandma Jerry because they were the two most important people in your life that you lost too soon.

Maybe that 18 year old girl was me. Yes, I have a tattoo.

On August 17th, 2001 (my 18th birthday) just a few days after I started my freshmen year of college, I met my parents at Ink Wizards in McDonough Georgia to see my dad’s tattoo friend for my first tattoo. It was my birthday present from my parents that year. I remember taking the sketch that my dad created and asking Jeremy if he thought it looked good. He asked me where I wanted it, I told him my upper right shoulder blade, and that was it. A few hours later I emerged from the studio, feeling like such a damn bad ass for being able to deal with the needles long enough to get inked. You have no clue how big of a baby I am with needles and pain. I can’t tell you how freeing the experience was for me.

I love my tattoo, and there has never been a day that has gone by that I regretted getting it. I can’t remember who, but someone once asked me if I was going to cover it up for my wedding. Why would I do that? My tattoo is me. It means so much to me, and I got it knowing that if I wore anything barring my shoulders, it would surely show. I was almost insulted being asked that question.

You don’t have to like tattoos. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I just feel like you should never judge a person because they have one. I was the “goody goody” in high school. Never one to get in trouble or bring attention to myself. I am more of a shy, reserved person. When people find out I have one, they almost always say “I never thought you would be the type of person to have a tattoo.” What does that even mean? Is there a type?

(Sorry for the horrible quality of this picture, it is incredibly hard to take a picture of your own shoulder blade with an iPhone.)

Truth be told, I really want another one. I have always wanted more than one before I even had my first one. I want one on my inner wrist. I have been working on what to get there for years. I have three ideas, and I think I have finally figured out what “the one” is! Now I just need to track down Jeremy. You see, he has gotten quite popular since I met him back in 2001. He has been on TV shows, won all kinds of national awards, and now has two shops. Karmic Tattoo in his original starting point….McDonough, GA and now one in FL as well.

Do you have, or would you ever get a tattoo?

Another weekend has come and gone. Can you believe next weekend is the first weekend of August?! It is quite apparent, as Target was filled with kids picking out school supplies when I was trying to get my grocery shopping on yesterday.

Friday- I was needing some sushi, so I stopped by Whole Foods on my lunch break. Their brown rice sushi rolls are my favorite! This is the spicy tuna:

We stayed in Friday evening, made a pizza and watched The Good Wife. It was nice and relaxing!

Saturday – I made breakfast and we watched an episode of The Good Wife, then it was time to get to work! I cleaned the inside of the house and started some laundry while Chris went to the gas station to get gas for the lawn mower. Then I cut the front and back yard in the hot hot sun. Nothing like being productive and getting my sweat on! There isn’t a single level part of our yard, so I totally consider cutting grass some serious cardio!

After all that work, it was time to have some fun! There were a lot of events going on this weekend in Birmingham with Cityfest, Vanilla Ice/Coolio Concert….and the Chive event at World of Beer. I am sure you can guess which one we ended up at.

World of Beer was super crowded for a Saturday afternoon. They had a great DJ playing and we snagged a patio table. We managed to hit the 50 point mark and joined the 50 Club while we were there. They made me a special beer cocktail that consisted of a blueberry beer and a lemon beer…and it was delicious!

Morgan and her husband ended up coming to hang out with us since Cityfest was a bust! Yay for an impromptu meet up!  We started to get hungry, and they have never been to Jack Browns…so burgers it was!

Sunday – I did the meal planning and grocery shopping for the week, and the rest of the afternoon was spent parked on the couch binge watching more of The Good Wife of course!!! That show is awesome and I am glad we decided to give it a try!

I also finished book 7 of the Stephanie Plum series and have moved on to book 8! Of course, I can’t leave you without a few pictures of cat shenanigans. I hope everyone has a great week!

Favorite Song:Good Charlotte – Little Things – Good Charlotte was one of my favorite bands in high school/college. I heard that Joel and Benji are back to making music as The Madden Brothers. I heard one of their songs the other day and it sounds nothing like Good Charlotte. That makes me sad.

Favorite Moment: Last night I met up with Meighan, Meegan, Laura and Morgan for some girl time. We ordered delicious drinks and appetizers at World of Beer and chatted about all sorts of things. I love that blogging has introduced me to so many wonderful people!

Favorite Product: Nexxus Color Assure – Several months ago I shared that I was trying out a new shampoo. I got my hair done back in…March I think? Anyways, while my roots have obviously grown out…my color still looks fabulous! I didn’t like the shampoo the first two weeks I used it, but once I got used to it I really love it. I am still using it now! Don’t worry, I have an appointment next weekend to get my roots fixed. Did I mention the bottle is pink? Let’s be honest, that is what drew me to it in the first place.

Favorite Afternoon Drink: Strawberry Zevia – Sadly, there is no caffeine, but this stuff is delicious! I am trying real hard to quit my artificial sweetener addiction…again. I drink a shit ton of water every day, but I need a little carbonation in my life. This is sweetened with Stevia instead of the “harmful” sweeteners. They make a whole line of different sodas including one that is like coke and one that is like Dr Pepper. I find them at Target in the water aisle, not the soda aisle. They are a little pricey, at like $4-$5 for a 6 pack…but totally worth it!

Favorite Funnies:

So wrong, yet so funny.

Or just choosing an outfit for any outing….

I am pretty sure we can all agree with this:

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Go link up with Amanda and tell us your favorites!

–If I know I am going to a restaurant in advance, I must study their menu like it is a huge life altering decision as to which plate I am going to order. I can’t help it! And if there is a change of plans?!?! Crisis time!!! I will be totally thrown off.

–It makes me want to punch someone in the throat….with a tire iron…when they link their blog to a link up or blogging group, but have their blog set to private. Like WTF would you link up if you don’t want people to see? It is the INTERNET! Duh!

–I think I might have a slight nail polish addiction right now. I must buy all of the polishes!

–It took me three minutes to decide which bag of plastic cups I was going to purchase for work when I was at Target the other day. I finally figured it out. THEN two aisles later on an end cap there were ones on clearance and I grabbed those instead because….clearance.

— We all know that feeling.

–I am beyond stoked to meet up with some of my favorite bloggy pals tomorrow!!! I have a feeling it is going to be epic!

Confessions in ecards:

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I hit up Sephora this past weekend. I have been wanting to switch up my face care routine, and the last few weeks my skin has looked awful so I figured it was about that time!

I am ridiculous when it comes to purchasing (in my mind) big decision things. My skin is a temperamental little bitch. Not only is it combination skin, where I am oily on my nose and sometimes forehead, but a little dry-ish on my cheeks….but my skin is also sensitive and will randomly freak out with certain products. I did the skin IQ quiz online about 20 times in the last week seeing what results it would pull, as I wanted to compare it with whatever the sales person at Sephora told me.

My main concerns were that I break out on my chin, I have fine lines under my eyes, big pores around my nose, and I just wanted something that was going to work great and not piss off my skin.

When I did skin IQ quiz, almost always the Shiseido products were recommended. When I went to the store, that was the first brand that the girl recommended to me also. I have never tried Shiseido before. The Shiseido Ibuki line is basically perfect for people around my age. I can’t use the acne/oily skin teenage line but I am not quite ready for the intense anti-aging/skin correction line either. I LOVE the smell of this stuff. I have to be careful with scented stuff with my skin, and this stuff does not irritate at all.

The kit I got came with the cleanser, softener and moisturizer for $25 for deluxe sample sizes. The softener is like a toner but there is no alcohol in it. Basically it just prepares your skin for the nutrients that it is about to receive in your serums and moisturizers.

I have used this for a few days and I can not believe how awesome my skin is starting to look!!!  I can see myself purchasing all three products in the full size when my kit is used up.

A quick look at the rest of my findings:

Beauty Blender – I went in with no make up on and she asked if I had ever tried the Beauty Blender. I laughed at her and said “$19 for a sponge? No.” She was like well, no harm in trying right?” She applied foundation on half my face and asked me to do the other half while she rang up a customer. You guys, this thing is THE SHIT! I love it!!! I can’t believe I am falling into all the hype of it, but seriously, my make up has NEVER looked better. If you were skeptical like me, just go play with it at your local store. Mind. Blown.

Argon Oil – I have been wanting to try this because I keep reading all the different uses for it. You can use it on your face, your body, your hair, your dog. I may have a whole separate post on this stuff once I experiment. So far, I love it for under my eyes and my feet.

Make Up Forever HD Primer – I used 100 points to score a sample of this to try out. I LOVE it. I had been using Loreal’s BB Cream for about a year now, and I am just not in love with it as much as I once was. I still like it, but I don’t feel the staying power was there. This stuff has kept my make up on longer all three days that I have used it so far. I will be purchasing this in a bigger size when my sample runs out.

They’re Real Mascara – I have been using this stuff for about 2 years now. I freaking love it. I buy the $10 size because it lasts about 3 months for me and that really all the longer you are supposed to use a mascara for so it works out perfect for me. I know some people say it is hard to get off, but I seem to do fine with it with my eye make up remover. Benefits makes an eye make up remover specially for their products so try that if yours isn’t cutting it.

Have you been to Sephora lately? What are your favorite products?