for my birthday this year, i knew far in advance how i wanted to celebrate: i wanted to go to dinner with a few of my closest girlfriends and i wanted them to go with me to get a tattoo.
so that's what we did! it was so much fun. the day started out with Zumba taught by two of my favorite instructors. the entire class surprised me by wearing my favorite color (orange!) and coordinating orange bandannas! my best friends were there, and we danced to all of my favorite songs. it was like a big dance party! i couldn't stop smiling.
after Zumba, we met back at my house to ride together to the tattoo shop. (the story behind my tattoo is here) this is not my first tattoo, so i was not nervous at all. i was giddy and excited- a long time dream was coming true. one of my friends was going to get a tattoo that same night, and she was a little nervous. our other friends with us were such cheerleaders, supporting us, distracting us, and making us laugh and feel at ease.
there was a two hour wait before the tattoo artist would be ready for us, so we did the natural next thing: go out to the open field across the street and take pictures!
we laughed until our mascara ran and our abs hurt.
and then we were hungry. time for tapas! we headed to a Spanish tapas restaurant downtown that has an amazing backyard patio. sitting around the table with my best friends sharing empanadas under the sky, laughing and telling stories...in that moment there was no where else i wanted to be.
the phone rang and the tattoo artist was ready for us. back to the tattoo shop we went. there was still a little time so we did what we do best: turned on the Zumba playlist and danced away our nerves in a back hallway.
my friend got her tattoo first. we held her hands and stood by her side and told her how brave she was while an anchor of hope was being etched on her skin.
when it was my turn, i got comfortable in the chair while the artist put the outline of Andrea's handwriting on my skin. i wanted to cry- not because of the pain. i wanted to cry because it was perfect and it was real and it was about to be forever. while he was doing the tattoo, i made small talk and tried to stay still and couldn't believe how blessed i was that my best friends were right there with me while this was happening. before i knew it, my word was on my arm.
we went back to my house and SURPRISE! my husband and kids, and some of our friends were there at the house, banners and balloons, music, cake, cupcakes, and chocolate dipped strawberries from Shari's Berries!
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| big fat juicy sweet strawberries with tasty toppings from shari's berries DELICIOUS! |
we ate cupcakes and gourmet fancy dipped strawberries, danced on the back porch, and played silly games. everything was beautiful and fun and perfect.
another wonderful birthday! my heart is full, happy, and grateful!
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