I was
not thrilled that three of my four guests had to leave this morning. None of us really had looked forward to this part, but we made the best of it and naturally grabbed a couple of last minute pictures before they were gone.
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| just one more group picture (: |
^ We look like a World Vision commercial. (:
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| coffee emporium ♥ |
In the bustle of everyone packing up, showering and making sure nothing was left behind, the time for church came and went. I
hate missing a service, but I committed to making up that lost time with the podcast later on.
Rob decided to get caught up on some of his things while Marianne and I went off in search of some adventure to occupy us for the day. It really didn't take long.
We found ourselves at the Coffee Emporium, which kind of happened by default when I mentioned the mushroom house in Hyde Park. Once we were caffeinated, we hopped back in the car and decided the day was promising enough to include new tattoos. That's right, new ink.
[Holy crap.]
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| cheetah carpet.. and a blank canvas. |
I
have had one tattoo before today. It's a rendition of the sun from the flag of the Philippines, altered to reflect the connectivity of my identity as a Filipino-American adoptee. It took me five minutes to draw, and two years to save up the courage to actually
do it. That needle came and went when I was 19. Ten years later, it took us 30 seconds to commit to the doing part, and about a half hour deciding on the what-to-get part. Go... figure.
So THIS [
thank you, Pinterest] will stand to represent the following statement:
My life has been beautiful, and it has been ugly. The human side of me has created messes bigger than I could have ever deciphered on my own, while the God in whom I believe and give
ALL the honor & praise, has righted my sinking ship more times than I ever would have believed possible. It's been a cycle of beauty, mediocrity, heartbreak and learning, and I don't intend that to stop anytime soon. A compass is an unchanging guide to remind me which way I'm facing when I'm completely lost, and fluid continuity of outer arrows remind me that in every stage, in every season, what has been and what will be are what make me... me.
The first tattoo I had was clearly a symbol applicable at the time only to me. I was always more of a piercings gal than a tattoo gal, which worked hugely to my benefit in the years that followed my spree of facial, ear, nape & naval rings and studs. Most of those are marked now only by the little dots or indents left behind. I think I may have gotten my nose pierced alongside a friend in high school, and I'm almost certain she's since removed hers. The obvious point here is that I've never had a matching tattoo with anyone. Not that any one person's struggles are of any less or more credit than another's, but I whole-heartedly believe that Marianne has earned the stripes of this tattoo, absolutely moreso than I have. That being said, the amount of regret I have for doing this on a whim today is next to non-existent.
So after the consequence of making Marianne
wait for something... haha...
... this happened ..
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| that's kyle. and those are both my chins, thanks&you'rewelcome. |
.. and eventually looked like this:
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| done. ♥♥ |
So uhm, yeah.. went for it, did it, and I'm not looking back. In fact, I'm looking up, down, and both ways before crossing the street.
Fun fact: Once you've started the day with an unplanned tattoo, the rest of said day's agenda
really doesn't matter. Haha. So, in the spirit of continued spontaneity, we took a trip down to Park+Vine, where we made our tattoo announcement via their typewriter:
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| remington says...... |
[in case you missed it]:
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| ... except skip was nowhere to be found :/ womp womp... |
Yeeeup.
Between Park+Vine, Findlay Market, Eden Park & RRT in Milford, we collected some great memoirs for the day:
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| hanging gardens at park+vine |
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| neighbors of findlay market |
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| my getaway at eden park |
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| me, climbing off the skyline... |
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| .. & marianne, climbing back over it |
Onward to Milford, RRT:
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| guatemala & new york. |
Totally need:
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| honest-to-goodness want. |
We hadn't quite exhausted our cameras, but the day was winding down and that indecisive space between lunch and dinner had approached, so we opted for food at Main Street. Kalyn wasn't working, but Chad was, so once Rob rendevouzed with us [via bike, because it was
gorgeous today], we hung out for a bit and then headed home.
Now we're here, a trio of sweatpants-clad bums huddled with laptops and a movie playing on the TV. Mare leaves tomorrow to go back to VA, and the work week will commence as it has this reliable habit of doing.
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| that's a wrap, folks. |
On that note... good night, loves (:
xo |
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