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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

tattoos

Holly from Running in Stilettos inspired me to do a post about my tattoos - she even gave me a great shoutout, thanks Holly!  I have been meaning to blog about all my tattoos since I got my newest one but I have been slacking, oops.  

I have 4 tattoos at the moment.  Well I guess it depends on how you count them because if I was counting each separate tattooed piece on my body I would have 7!  That seems like a lot.  Anywhooo... I have loved tattoos for a long time.  They can be so detailed and colorful and can hold so much meaning.  I am always amazed at how creative people get with their tattoos.  In another life I would be tattooed from head to toe, seriously I would be.  In this life I am too scared to commit my entire body to artwork and I know my parents and fiance would not be pleased about it.  I really love all the tattoos I have right now, they are all so meaningful to me.  I thought long and hard about each one (well kinda).  So here they all are (I will go in the order I got them)...

(I apologize for the poor photo quality except for the last one)
Tattoo #1: 3 stars on my left wrist/hand.  I got this tattoo the week I started my senior year of college (September 2006).  The stars symbolize my brothers and I.  I have the best relationships with my younger brothers, we are so close.  
 I love that you can't really see all three at once.
Tattoo #2: diamond on the back of my neck.  This is probably my most impulsive tattoo.  I got it the summer after I graduated from college (July 2007).  Kevin helped me come up with the idea and it is a little tribute to him.  I don't usually suggest getting a tattoo for a girl/boyfriend but this tattoo doesn't say his name and is very discreet.
Tattoo#3: an 'E' on the inside of my right wrist.  I got this tattoo in October of 2009 in honor of my family dog Elsa that we had to put to sleep last fall.  It was the most devastating experience and I still get teary if I think about her for too long.  The second I knew she was sick and wouldn't be with us too much longer I decided I needed to get a tattoo for her.  I love how simple the E is.  I toyed with the idea of getting her full name but in the end I decided not to.  
Tattoo #4: two bluebirds on my upper back.  This is my largest tattoo and the only one in color.  I got it this past October in honor of my parents.  Ever since I got my first tattoo for my brothers I knew I had to get one for my parents some day.  I did a big post about this tattoo here if you want to check it out. 
Did you notice a theme?  All my tattoos have to do with my family.  I have always thought it is important to get a tattoo of something that will never change, something that's meaning will remain constant.  The love I have for my family will never change.  There will never be a time when I look at any of my tattoos and regret them because they each represent someone I love with all my heart.  I have nothing against people who get tattoos without such a deep meaning but it is important to me personally.

I am definitely not done getting tattoos but since I just spent a decent amount of money on a big one I am taking a break for a little while.  I will definitely get tattoos for my children when the time comes and I have a couple other small ideas that I have been tossing around...

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW! I had no idea you had so many tats!

I really wanted to get one of my cat Tom when he passed, but I thought it was dumb...now I kinda want to get that one again. I was thinking of getting one on my foot of him curled up looking up at me so I could always see him...corny but so me at the same time!

I agree it's a good idea to have meaning behind your tats. The one I have has no meaning...it's more of a symbol of my life at the time. Maybe I'll blog about it one day! :)

Unknown said...

Haha yeah for the most part people don't really notice them, they are small. The birds will be a different story next spring when I start wearing tank tops though, haha.

I think you should totally get a tattoo of your cat Tom!!! I am 100% behind that idea - it is not dumb at all. I would love to get a tattoo of my dog Elsa (the dog I got the E for). If you found a really great artist to do the tattoo it would look amazing! How does Zach feel about tattoos?

What tattoo do you have now? It is great to have meaning behind your tattoos but I think I will probably end up getting some that don't have any real deep meaning. The next "big" tattoo I plan to get with be something for my children so that won't happen for a while but in the meantime I kinda want to get a little heart on the inside of my pinky finger (a weird spot I know but I love the idea) and the word love in script on the inside of my left forearm or maybe incorporate it into my bird tattoo.

Yay for tattoos... you should totally get a Tom tat, I will start researching artists for you, hehe.

Anonymous said...

Oooh! I like the heart idea!

Mine is a heart! It's a black outline of a cursive heart. It's on my right hip (got it at 19 and didn't want my parents to see it...haha!). I woke up one day and decided to get it. I don't regret it though because I forget I even have it, and no one sees it! It's a reminder of that time in my life...being young, clueless and carefree!

Zach is not a fan of tattoos...but I don't think it's something that he'd get really upset about, as long as it was tasteful.

My mom wants to get one on the inside of her wrist, so I'm thinking I'll get something with her if she does! I'd like to get a lotus flower or the Sanskrit symbol OM. I just don't want it to look like a stamp, ya know?! It's gotta be great...I should just start drawing stuff up.

Have you heard about all Matt Fister's tats?! I think he's gotten like 5 in the last 3 months!! They are addicting!

Holly said...

I love your tattoo post! Thanks for the shout out and I'm glad I inspired you to share. You inspired me, so I guess we've come full circle.

Sorry I haven't emailed back yet. I'm super swamped with finishing up finals and projects. We'll talk soon, promise!

Unknown said...

Ashley - I usually forget about my tattoos too! I think I see them so much that I have just become desensitized to them.

Kevin doesn't mind the tattoos I have now but he definitely doesn't want me to get too many more. I know he trusts me but I think he is also nervous I will get something he doesn't like, haha. Even though I am a firm believer that one should get tattoos only for themselves and not allow others to influence their decision it is also important to remember that well in your and my case we have boys that we are seriously sharing our lives with and I know I could never feel comfortable with a tattoo Kevin hates.

That is so cool that your mom wants a tattoo! My mom will never ever get one. Luckily my parents don't mind my tattoos at all. You should definitely start sketching and look for an artist that does great symbols. A great artist can work with you to make the tattoo look less "stamp-like" and more natural.

Has Fister gotten more than 2?? Last I heard he had only gotten 2... they certainly are addicting. I was already thinking about my next tattoo right after I finished my birds, hehe.

JMay said...

Wow, the bird tattoos are AMAZING!