Post Thanksgiving Wrap-Up
So, yesterday was Thanksgiving. We had 3 friends/adopted family members come over for dinner. I had a wonderful time. I ate too much, and managed to drink an entire bottle of wine by myself. (Thanks, Spyke.) I still haven’t managed to eat any of Deuce’s brownies, but I told TSM to save me at least one.
Watching the “men-folk” play Rock Band was amusing, and maybe at the next party, they can get me tipsy enough to play along.
And Shadow and I discussed the ideas/sketches for my tattoo. Yes, that’s right, I’m going to be getting a tattoo. I’ve decided, that since next year, I have several major milestones happening within a short period, that I’m going to commemorate it/them with a tattoo.
What are these milestones, you may ask? Well, at the end of May, Klumpen turns 18. Then about 2 weeks later, she graduates high school. About a month after that, I turn 40. And less than a month after that, TOH and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. That’s a lot of stuff going on in less than 3 months.
So, rather than waiting until then to freak out about it, I’m planning my midlife crisis/nervous breakdown/birthday bash/etc well in advance. And, as part of that, I’ve decided to get a tattoo. I have 6 elements that I’m going to combine into one piece, because I’m only doing this once.
TOH’s side of the family is going to be represented by a shamrock, since the family name translates into “luck”, and they’re half Irish. My side of the family is represented by a heart, because my maiden name is Valentine. The symbol I’ve chosen for myself is the spider chrysanthemum. For TOH, it’s the red poppy flower. For Klumpen, it’s the Sharp-Shinned Hawk. She actually picked that one out for herself, but it was in my top 3 , so I’m happy with it, too. And for TSM, it’s the Kodiak Bear.
The trick now is to have all the elements balanced in one tattoo, without it being too busy or too big. I don’t want something huge. This isn’t for the rest of the world to see; this is a personal thing. I’ve had some ideas given to me, as well as some sketches, and a couple tattoo artist recommendations.
I’m looking forward to seeing what my creative friends can come up with.
This weekend, we have more friends/adopted family coming down for a visit, and then I do believe we’ll be planning for TOH’s joint birthday bash with Shadow. They share the same birthdate, but not the same age. 
Then it’s onto Christmas/New Year’s and planning for the cruise.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday, and the rest of the year follows suit.