Touch Up

My tattoo on my wrist has faded drastically since when I first got it in April of 2010.  I mentioned this to Edwin and his girlfriend Joyce and she said that she has a friend that does tattoos.  Skeptical, I asked for his “credentials” and she told me how he worked in Dubai and was actually contracted to do the tattoos for the US Navy, so I said if he had the time I’d love to meet him and see what he can do.

At 11PM one night, Edwin called and said he was on his way to pick me up because the guy was available and I said okay (even though I was ready to crawl in bed).  Edwin took me over to this guys (his name is Joey) apartment/shop and we sat and chatted and hung out for awhile before we discussed what I wanted to do about my tattoos. While we were all hanging out, Edwin started playing on my iPad, so he didn’t chat much!  The other photo is of me telling him what to do…

   

Now about the tattoo: number 1, I wanted my wrist tattoo touched up and number 2, I wanted a small anchor tattoo behind my ear.  This is a tattoo that I’ve thought about for a little over a year now but could never find what I wanted so I didn’t pursue it until this opportunity arose.  I took in a few tattoos that had things I liked but none of them were “just right” so I wanted to combine “this” and “that”.  In less than 5 minutes, Joey had come up with this…

Edwin and Joyce went back to Edwin’s House to say Goodnight to his sons and get some food and while they were gone, we got all set up and did the tattoos.  The one behind my ear took about 40 minutes and truly didn’t hurt at all.  Well, the only part that hurt was the assistant holding my ear to keep it out of the way, so my ear was a bit tender after the fact. The tattoo itself was no problem at all!  This photo isn’t the best – it was taken by myself as soon as I got home that night. 

My reason for wanting an anchor is because ships have been a HUGE part of my life (so far) – I’ve been working for Holland for 4 1/2 years now (Can you believe it?) and it has truly opened my eyes and changed my world.  While searching for the “perfect” tattoo online, I came across this which just sealed the deal on the anchor tattoo.

He touched up my wrist tattoo because my wrist just soaked up all the ink – it was black when I first got it with Gus a year and a half ago but has since faded tremendously.  The first time I got this tattoo – it only hurt a bit on the top of the “B” but the rest didn’t bother me.  This time it did hurt a bit more, but nothing terrible!  Here’s a before and after of the wrist…

 

When the tattoos were done, Edwin and Joyce hadn’t made it back yet so myself, Joey and his assistant sat and watched Jackass for a bit.  What a RIDICULOUS movie!  The guys were fun and I had a great time hanging out with them and was really happy with the final product!  My second and last tattoo, complete.

Leave it to me…

So as mentioned in previous posts, the condo came with no pots, pans, knives, spoons…nothing.  Edwin’s family lent me a pan and a tea kettle (to boil water for a hot shower) as well as a spoon and I have definitely gotten creative because I’m sick of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as well as cereal and yogurt.  I wanted some spaghetti so I bought Filipino spaghetti sauce and noodles…the tea kettle is for the noodles and the pan for the sauce!  hey hey, look at me!!!

PS – Tea kettle is also great for boiling eggs.  Well, so is the pan – I did it that way the first time I boiled ‘em!  Just remember to roll the eggs half way through ;)

The Gratitude Project: Day 3

I am grateful for my family. Just like friends, family can be all over the world. It can be months and years in some cases between visits, which makes it hard to maintain closeness or relationships. I absolutely love the way we can pick up right where we left off as if no time had passed. The last two years have taught me a lot about family and how blood is not the only way to define a "family", but the actions as well. I love all of you ♥

B-E-A-utiful

I looked outside my window last night and this is God’s little reminder to me that life is beautiful…

 

I just stuck my little camera out the window (they open out, so I couldn’t really focus the camera) and took two shots…just gorgeous!

The Gratitude Project: Day 2

I am extremely blessed with friends.  Both on and off ships, I have met tons of people that have made an impact in my life and continue to do so each and every day.  I'm in the Philippines on vacation now and I have so many friends looking out for me and taking care of me and back at home I have friends that would do anything for me and I thank God for them - without them I truly would be lost at this point in my life!

Home Sweet Home…for now.

Just wanted to share a few pictures of my condo that I’m renting.  I love it – it needs some decorating and a few things here and there – but for me, it’s home right now and I’m thrilled to have it…cold water and all.

The condo is actually two studio units that were purchased and it was made into a one bedroom condo hence the two bathrooms.

The view from the front door as you walk in…

If you turn to the right, you’ll see this…

If you stand behind the kitchen table – here’s a full view of the “spacious kitchen”…and my beautiful orchid!

And the bathroom that’s for the guests, I guess…

Now, where you see the stove in the first picture of the kitchen, there’s a door to the left of it leading into the bedroom…

On the other side of the door…

Put your back to the door and you see…

Put your back to the cabinets and you see two things…my bed with the jaw-dropping 14” flat screen “television” and the bathroom that I use…

 

And the view from my kitchen…

Just wanted to share…I hope you enjoyed your tour of my humble abode. 

One never reaches home, but wherever friendly paths intersect the whole world looks like home for a time. - Hermann Hesse

The Gratitude Project: Day 1

A friend and former instructor from my high school days, Regina, started a new challenge on Facebook for the month of November called “The Gratitude Project”.  The idea is that every day, we post something we are grateful for.  I am going to do my best to post it in here every day as well as Facebook, so here we go!  Also, if anyone and everyone who reads will please comment with what you are grateful for each day…it really gets you thinking :)

Today I am extremely grateful for the gift of travel. It has been the best education and I can honestly say that the world has offered me more of an education than any classroom I ever sat in (no offense to all my incredible educators!).