Hi ya'll...

I have 9 tattoos... left ankle, right ankle, left arm, left breast, low back, right shoulder, right hip, back of neck and a teenie one on my right thigh and permamnent eyeliner... and I have 7 piercings... naval, left nipple, left ear cartilage and two each on ear lobes. I got my first tattoo 3 years ago this past March... the one on my left ankle. I did it in defiance to my (ex)husband... I had just found out that he had been having an affair with my best friend for a long time right under my nose. I had always wanted a tat, so I immediately went out and got the one I had thought about for a long time - only thing was now I knew which kanji I wanted... the top one is virtuous and the bottom one is beautiful, they are separated by a small hand drawn yellow rose... meaning... I will never do to someone what those two did to me, I AM a good friend, and beautiful because no matter what I will hold my head high, be myself... like the song "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera. It took about an hour, a little painful but not that bad - and I was so high on endorphins anyhow!! When I got "home" (I was looking for a place for me and the kids still) I told him it meant "asshole husband", lol! Three months later I got the upper cartilage on my left ear pierced. This did not hurt really, no more then the lobe piercings really (and I have two of those in each lobe already from my teen years). I must say though, that this has been the most bothersome - it took a long time (nearly a year) to heal, and at times it still gets irritated. A week after that piercing I got my naval pierced. This did not hurt at all, in fact he said he was done and I was like "really??" I DO NOT have an ideal body (obviously, why else am I on the OH boaards??) but it is kinda sexy when you can see (like when I am lying on my back), and *I* like it so that is all that matters. Fast forward 3 more months... my second tat - I designed the low back one with the help of a great tattoo artist, Les at The Sinkin' Ink... it is a lotus flower (The holiest of flowers for Hindus, the beautiful lotus is symbolic of the true soul of an individual. It represents the being, which lives in turbid waters yet rises up and blossoms to the point of enlightenment. Mythologically speaking, lotus is also a symbol of creation, since Brahma, the creator came forth from the lotus that blooms from the navel of Vishnu. It is also famous as the symbol of BJP - the Hindu Right-wing political party of India, the familiar lotus position in meditation and yoga, and as the national India and Bangladesh.) with tendrils (fiddle head looking kind of) with and Om over top (As the cross is to Christians, the Om is to Hindus. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, aa, au and ma which, when combined, make the sound Aum or Om. The most important symbol in Hinduism, it occurs in every prayer and invocation to most deities begins with it. As the symbol of piety, Om is often found at the head of letters, pendants, enshrined in every Hindu temple and family shrines. This symbol is actually sacred syllable representing the Brahman or the Absolute -the source of all existence. Brahman, in itself, is incomprehensible so a symbol becomes mandatory to help us realize the Unknowable. The syllable Om occurs even in English words having a similar meaning, for instance, 'omniscience', 'omnipotent', 'omnipresent'. Thus Om is also used to signify divinity and authority. Its similarity with the Latin 'M' as also to the Greek letter 'Omega' is discernable. Even the word 'Amen' used by Christians to conclude a prayer seems to be akin to Om.) The colors are green and pinky purples with flames surrounding the Om (as in the Holy Spirit)... and yes, I AM Christian - Catholic actually. This took abut 5 hours to complete - did the black and shading first and went back for the color. I seem to be the complete opposite to others in that the outline is no problems, but some coloring sessions drive me crazy. I have come to learn that about 2 hours a sitting is my limit. And yes, it was extremely painful on the spine part - brought tears to my eyes, I had to do breathing and some cursing under my breath at Les - but he is great about it. The third tat is a rune symbol for love on near the chest wall on my left breast. I got two summers ago. I have had it embellished with my children's initials, each in their fav color. It is simple, took about a half hour total and did not hurt at all. Les did the rune, and Tim at Alien Fine Arts in Niagara Falls, Ontario did the initials. I also got my left nipple pierced on the day the initials were added. The piercer was very knowledgeable (and I had done plenty of research prior) and took quite a while measuring etc. The actual piercing took like 90 seconds... and boy, did it hurt - like a baby biting HARD with teeth... due to my "developed" nipples it took three good pushes to pierce - so it was like three hard bites. but over immediately. It is VERY sexy (I think). Tats 4 and 5 are my favs thus far... a beautiful fairy and her gargoyle friend on my right back shoulder. My fairy had a butterfly tat on her right thigh, so I got a little butterfly there, too. The butterfly took 5 minutes, the fairy took 2.5 hours, a little pain at times depending on my nerve endings - and like I said before, about 2 hours is my limit in a sitting so I was getting antsy near the end. But we did the outline and coloring all at the same time, so it is complete. Duane at The Sinkin' Ink did this one. At one point, for her hair, he used a single needle - that was kinda cool. I love it, it is my favorite. I attended my first tat conference a year ago in Toronto, got a tribal heart on my left arm with a centre blue and red hearts representing my children. I got three more this past January - I have a tribal band around my right ankle (I really love it - I allowed the tattoo artist free reign and he did a fabulous job), a heart with wings and a halo on the back of my neck (in memory of my mom) and a simple and small silhouette of a man and woman embracing on my right hip. I have picked out a few more I would like to get - they are addictive for me for sure. But I carefully place them on my body... I do not have any "out there"... mine are all hidden, for the most part... at this point in my life, I am in a job where it is not "accepted" - customer service. Maybe one day though... The fairy's wings on my shoulder peeks out sometimes... and the ankle ones are obvious if I wear a skirt - so everyone at work knows I have those for sure. So, that is me!!