Things dumb people say about my tattoos

I've grown up around tattoos. My mother had them (and to this day continues to get them). Having been a hair stylist and in a band in the 80's, my mom was always the cool mom. Along with that came many valuable lessons on why hair color, piercings, and tattoos do not make someone any worse or better than someone without them. As I got older I quickly realized that not everyone was brought up the way that I was.
I got my first tattoo when I was 20. Hilariously enough my mother's reaction was "It's about damn time" Why did I wait so long to get my first one? Well, I spent awhile researching artists, found one I liked but then got into an abusive relationship where (among other things) he wouldn't let me get tattoos. This actually leads me to the story behind my first tattoo.

When I was 20 I went to the tattoo expo in Seattle. I didn't go there with the intention of getting a tattoo, but I think in the back of my mind I must have known I'd get one because I brought along a drawing I had done. While wandering around the expo I stumbled upon a booth with the tattoo shop I had picked out years earlier. Seeing this as a sign, I showed the artist my drawing and his enthusiasm for my design made me decide to finally get it done. He had never done a Space Needle before and was excited to do one. So he redrew my design so it would fit on my scrawny arm and I began my lifelong journey of collecting tattoos. As I sat in the chair I told him my story behind my design. I grew up in small towns in both Oregon and Texas. I was always an awkward teenager, perpetually the new kid, didn't really know who I was yet, and I never really felt like any of those places were my home. After I graduated high school I decided to move to Seattle. I knew I belonged in a big city and I wanted a fresh start. The moment I saw the Space Needle I knew I was home. I ended up working a few blocks from Seattle Center and every day on my way to work would drive by the Space Needle. Living in Seattle is when I really came into my own, and discovered who I am as a person. I've never been happier than I was when I lived there. Unfortunately, young me took that for granted. I ended up in a relationship that led me to the other side of the state. A relationship that turned out to be an abusive one. He wouldn't let me leave the house without knowing where I was going, who with, when I'd be back. I couldn't be friends with boys because "girls can't be friends with boys without wanting to fuck them". The day that he slapped me, I knew I had to leave. So I packed up my stuff and moved to Tacoma. It was close to Seattle but much cheaper. Once I left I realized just how much I had let him change me. So this tattoo is my reminder to remember where you came from and who you are and to never let another person change you.
So when people like this try to tell me that I will someday regret my tattoos, I get a little angry but mostly just saddened. It's a damn shame that people will still judge you based on what you have on your skin.

www.au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/watch/23144617/tattooed-ladies/
 in case you wanted to watch the video this picture was captioned from.
I've had some pretty stupid stuff said to me about my tattoos. I work in retail and have had a couple customers refuse to come through my line because of my tattoos. However, I have way more customers who will come through my line simply because they like them and want to talk to me about them. I've also had people come through my line just to tell me that I "am so pretty, why would you ruin that with tattoos" as if somehow my tattoos make me less attractive, "are you sure you're not gonna regret those" as she points to the tattoo I got for my daughter. People also like to ask me what my mother thinks about them. That always gives me a good laugh, and I enjoy being able to tell them that up until recently my mom had as many tattoos as I did. Every one of my tattoos tells a story, even the spur of the moment one I got on my wrist. They are my prized possessions, works of art that tell the life story of it's canvas.
I did not get them to appear more attractive to men, as if that is the only thing women should be concerned with. I didn't get them with anyone else's opinion in mind except my own.
I've encountered the rude stares, the backhanded comments, and the loud whispers, but at the end of the day I know that I'm a good person and a great mother. Their intolerance only shows their true colors and I don't need that kind of negativity in my life. My mother taught me well and every time my daughter walks up to me, pushes my sleeves up, touches my tattoos and says "pretty" (in that adorable toddler voice) I know that I'm teaching my daughter well too.

What's the dumbest thing anyone's ever said about your tattoos?

To Infinity (Scarves) and Beyond!!

Even with the warmer weather here in Washington lately, I have been obsessed with infinity scarves.Not having any custom orders to make, I decided to add another to my inventory. So I looked through my yarn stash and found this very soft purple, white and green variegated yarn. I decided it would make a good scarf and so I began. This is my typical evening right here. a skein of yarn, my laptop. All that's missing is an Angry Orchard. ;P

 Of course, I didn't have enough of that one color to complete the scarf so what's a crafty girl to do? Find a matching color of course! Another look through my stash and I found a complimentary purple and green. Had I planned better I would have made the stripes a bit more uniform. I actually like the way the stripes turned out though because this makes it so you can show more of one color or another, depending on your outfit.

 and the finished project, as modeled by me!

Custom orders are always available and I also have a ton of inventory needing to be sold. Perhaps one of these days I'll actually photograph and put an album up of all my available items. Be sure to check out my facebook page: www.facebook.com/shoesonyourhead for more info!

My Body is a Canvas

Within the past year my work has become a bit more lax on what they will allow us to wear. This makes me very happy because anyone who knows me knows that I don't enjoy wearing the same thing every day, and I certainly don't like to wear what everyone else is wearing. So now a vast majority of the time, you will find me wearing dresses to work. I enjoy dressing up and let's face it, at nearly 6 feet tall it isn't exactly easy to find khakis that aren't high waters on me.

This was me in July of 2013. After 17 years of on and off hair dying and bleaching, lots of straightening and various other damages made by both my hair stylist mother and me as a beauty school student, my hair finally decided it had enough. Once it started holding color for mere days instead of weeks and only stayed straight for an hour IF I was lucky, then I knew it was time for drastic measures. I had always admired the way a woman's hair looked when she shaved it. It takes guts, confidence and sheer baddass-ery to pull it off. Teenage me, and early 20's me would never have had the balls! but mid 20's me was all about it. So one day I decided to just go for it. Clippers in hand I started the journey of starting over. I slipped the number two guard on my clippers and shaved off my once collar bone length locks. Surprisingly enough, I loved it. At last my hair was soft, I never had to worry about straightening it, or even brushing it for that matter. Now I know why guys always kept their hair that way! But I was determined to grow it out and knowing myself I knew the temptation to dye my hair would always be there. So I came up with a genius solution, I could buy wigs! If I got wigs I could literally change my hair color and style every day and never actually damage my hair. Thus started my new found obsession. 

So my wig obsession, paired with my new work dress code and my vastly improved make up knowledge has led me to this. Which according to some people, may be a bit strange. I mean, who in their right mind dresses up for work?! Well I'll tell you this, I spend entirely too much time at that place to not look cute there. Life is far too short to wear boring clothes/have boring hair anyways. I'm happy to be in a place in my life where it doesn't matter when people try to bring me down out of jealousy. I am my own person, and an awesome one at that.

Even if I am a bit strange at times...I like to think it makes things interesting.
Well onto some specifics in case you wanted to know what I'm wearing. As usual my wig is from this little shop in the B&I in Tacoma, WA. My best friend and I have become regulars there and the sweetest ladies run that store, always very friendly and helpful. I've noticed an influx of blonde wigs there lately, which I'm sure has nothing to do with the fact that the last three wigs I've bought there were blonde ;P As far as makeup goes, I strongly prefer Covergirl foundation, the blush is from Sephora's Hello Kitty holiday collection, and I have found the miracle under eye concealer in the form of Maybelline Age Rewind Dark Spot Corrector. I have terrible under eye circles. The kind that, thanks to genetics and no matter how much sleep I get, I look like a sleep deprived zombie that got into a fist fight with Muhammed Ali. This is the first and only product I've tried that has actually managed to conceal them and make me look awake and not sickly. The lipstick is by Essence in Colour Crush layered with E.L.F. lipgloss in Vixen.

Nevermind the obvious work bathroom selfie, it's the only full length mirror I have access to. I went to Ross the other day and absolutely fell in love with this dress. Of course it was several dollars over the limit I had set for myself, but I was in love AND it's a high low dress. In case you haven't heard the story yet, let me enlighten you. It seems that someone had the nerve to complain about me wearing a high/low dress to work in the guise of it being "dangerous" I fail to see how though, as it isn't anywhere near touching the ground, even if I were to bend down. I'm fairly certain I would have to sit on the floor for it to completely touch. Yet again, I'm very tall for a girl..so that isn't a problem I come across too often. Even maxi dresses don't come to my ankles!! So after a good laugh from my coworkers and boss about the complaint I decided to wear that style of dress more often, just as my way of saying "suck it" to the haters. At the end of the day, I wear what makes me happy, you know within dress code anyways. Expressing my individuality at work makes me a happier, and more productive worker and I think management has seen that and taken notice. I also see this as an opportunity to spread a positive image of the tattoo community which still, unfortunately, often gets seen negatively. I am a hard working, single mother who not only holds down a part time job but also runs her own business. I also happen to love tattoos and view my body as a canvas bestowed upon my soul to decorate as I see fit.

A Letter To Myself

Thinking back to the last time I blogged and it seems like forever ago. In a way it was, that was a completely different time in my life. A lot has changed since then, both in where I am in life and in how I perceive it. I honestly don't think that the "me from back then" would believe you if you told her where I am in life right now. I mean, no one guesses that they're going to be a single parent by the age of 25. But, that crazy, energetic, hilarious little girl has taught me a lot about life..things that I really wish that the old me had known. So here it goes:

5 Things Present Me Wishes I Could Tell The "Me From Back Then"

1. You don't need others approval to be happy. 

I get it, it's nice to be liked..it's nice to have others approval, but it's not important!! It's cliche, I know, but the only person who's approval matters is your own. You can't live your life trying to make others happy. In fact, if you live the life you want to be living, and strive to love yourself and make yourself happy, the people around you will be happier too. 

2. No one ever tells you JUST how much having a baby will change your life

everyone makes it out to be this cake walk, and everything is sunshine and roses and gumdrop buttons. The movies show babies who never scream and cry, and everyone talks about how magical it is. Well, REALITY CHECK, it's not. You will spend the first two months of that child's life not sleeping and living off handfuls of crackers at a time. You will deal with explosive poops two minutes before you're supposed to be out the door. Your old "friends" will disappear in favor of other child-less women. But you will make new friends, you'll learn to appreciate nap time, McDonald's will start to feel like gourmet cuisine and the moment you get that first genuine smile from your little girl you will forget all that is wrong with the world. It's not easy being a parent, but it's worth it. 

3.People will copy you and that's okay

If there's one thing that I've come to terms with in my mid-twenties, it's that I'm pretty awesome and with this great awesome-ness comes great responsibilities. This includes helping others who haven't realized their awesomeness come into their own. I remember when I was younger and I saw the Suicide Girls and thought, I want to be like them. So when someone copies you, just remember that they look up to you and want to be like you. They're not trying to upset you, they just haven't found their own thing yet.

4. Becoming vegetarian will be one of the best decisions of your life

my vege-versary is next week and I'm super proud of myself! I've been eating much healthier and have so much more energy than I ever did as an omnivore. I also have tried a lot more different/new/weird foods than I used to. It makes me wish I had started sooner, but better late than never they say. 

5. Everything will be fine in the end, if it's not fine then it's not the end

Yes, I know, more cliche sayings...but as a text book worrier/over thinker, it's definitely something I needed to learn. There's really no sense in worrying over something that you can't control, it just causes unnecessary stress. 

It's been four years since I last blogged, and a lot has changed since then. In another four years I'm sure a lot more will have changed. I'm happy to be getting back into blogging and back into crocheting full time. If you'd like to see my work check out my page: www.facebook.com/shoesonyourhead