Hiiii Deee Ho!

Wow! It's been a while since I've said anything on here. Studying for the CLA exam pretty much consumed the end of September through the end of November. It was a good test and I enjoyed seeing my sister, though I have to say, seeing my Mother was hard. The trip back to Oklahoma was a taxing one all the way around. First I landed on Wednesday evening and went home with my sister and saw my Mom there in the Hospital (this was, by the way, November 30). Mom had been in the hospital either in Stillwater or Perry since October 3. Anyway, we got to the hospital and there was Mom. She had lost all ability to get up and walk at all, even as crummy as she was walking the last time I saw her. So there was that....and the next day I spent the day getting prepped for the test and resting up from the trip and seeing Mom. The day after that was day 1 of the test, and that was in Tulsa, 90 miles away. This is me at the Tulsa Community College on day 1 of the test.
After the test, I managed to get myself lost on the way back to Perry, so when I got to Stillwater, I stopped off and ate at El Chico - which, for those of you reading this who don't know, it's a bomb Mexican restaurant chain that I miss from my Tex/OK days. It was good, and I got through the 2nd day of the test okay too. On the second day, however, there was a horrific writing exam where we had to write a brief on a legal fact scenario and apply some law that was given to us. I had a hard time with it, and when I was reading through it the 3rd time that a woman walked up to the Procor and turned her exam in. Made me feel stupid for about a split second until I realized that she was crying. She told the Proctor that she didn't even know what to do, and that she was sorry. That meant that she failed that section of the exam since that particular question was worth 75% of it. Oh well.
Anyway, I got through it and had a few days to visit with my sister and my Mom. Mom is in bad shape. I don't want to say any more about that really. There are still all kinds of ongoing problems with that, and I send my love and sympathy to her, and to my sister who is working hard to take care of her.

So, I had a great birthday also. Turned another year older. It was a good one. The day before Kristopher and I went to Sushi with Nick, Maggie, Terry and Geoff and Marianne. It was fun except for the fact that there were not enough chairs at the bar for us all to sit there, so Kristopher sat with Geoff and Marianne and it was like they were in a separate party. But you can't have everything. The next day I got up and went to coffee, then to Macy's and got myself a pair of new jeans and a new shirt. I knew that kristopher was taking me somewhere for dinner, but I didn't know where at the time. I went home and had a brand new DS waiting for me all wrapped up on the kitchen table. It was very cool. It is a beautiful red one with a cool case and Brain Age II. Then, my little hubby took me to the Space Needle for my birthday dinner. He didn't spare any expense. It was very nice. I had the prime rib and Kristopher had a steak. It was a great birthday. Okay . . . that pretty much catches us up with the exception of what I have a buncha pictures for. On Tuesday of this week when I got my tattoo. Yay! :) I was so happy to get it done.

It was done by a dude named Hippie John at ColorBomb Tattoo here in Lynnwood. I went there last Saturday (after all, Andrea had one done on her birthday just after she walked in the door and announced that she wanted one). I didn't get to do that because what I wanted wasn't in any of their books, and Hippie needed to draw it up on the light board. So, we settled in on a design, and I went back the next day to get it fixed on my chest, then he made the appointment to do the tattoo on Tuesday of this week. Here I am just before I went in to lay on Hippie's table:

I wasn't scared, just tired from working all day and taking time out to go to the doctor - spine dude. Anyway it wasn't long and Hippie came to get me. We got started at 6:49 p.m. and got finished at 10:10 p.m. I was STARVIN' by the time I got home. Anyway, here are some of the pics from the big event.

The above pictures and the very next one were taken by a dude there at the shop named Berger. He is a wanna be tattoo artist and works the front counter. The tattoo dudes were constently yelling "Goddammit Berger!" for no reason. It was fun. They were razzin' the new dude. Anyway, here's another Berger special showing Hippie John doin' his thang with the cornucopia on my chest.

Isn't it beautiful? I'm gonna be wearin' it for a looooooong time to come.

It was worth all the time and effort. And Hippie John is a great tattoo artist, and an artist he is. :) Here it is close to being finished.
Both Hippie and I were ready for it to be done when it was, but he stuck with it and did a fantastic job. Okay....I just reailzed that it is after midnight and we have stayed up night after night and it's getting old! I have to get up and go to work in the morning. So, goodnight all.