St. Patrick's Day and How I Got My Tattoo

St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, the Archdiocese of New York and engineers.

Most people think of St. Patrick's Day as a day when people drink green beer, wear green, and claim Irish ancestry -- whether or not they have it. It is often seen as an excuse to party and act a little crazy. I'll admit, that it is fun to have a party on St. Patrick's Day, but the day is more than that. Like St. Valentine's Day, it began as a Catholic feast day to honour a saint -- in this case, St. Patrick. A feast day, in this sense, has to do with a special day set aside by the Catholic Church to celebrate a particular saint. Of course, many Catholics do feast in the common sense of the word and eat special foods that are associated with that saint or have a party with friends and family on the day as a part of their celebrations, but the reason they celebrate in the first place is because of the saint whose feast day it happens to be. Just so with St. Patrick.

Getting to Know You!

Lately I've been having a bit of writer's block. A lot of it has to do with my particular struggles with depression. I keep coming to this page where I have this gigantic white screen full of nothing and just can't find the words to write. So....to that end, I've decided I need some help. I have a Pinterest board that I keep with ideas for blogging and figured that might be a good place to look. As I was looking, it occurred me that a good way to spend this month might be by using a few prompts to tell you a little bit more about me. This is my birthday month, so it seemed rather appropriate. My first prompt from a list I chose off my Pinterest board is...

Some of you reading this may have read my "about me" page, so if you have, I apologize. There might be a few repeats. To that end, I'll try to keep this to some bullet points for ease of reading and hopefully so I don't duplicate as much :) Here's a few basics:

• I am a Roman Catholic Christian. This was not always the case. 
• I am happily married to my beloved Gray (a pseudonym, as all names on my blog are) for almost 10 years now.
• I have three beautiful daughters, ages 8, 7, and almost 2.5. They go by M2, AB, and GB.
• I grew up in the Southeastern USA and still live there to this day. I have a love/hate relationship with my place of birth and residence.
• I am a sci-fi/fantasy geek and fangirl. Doctor Who and Harry Potter are two of my biggest fandoms.
• I am a book nerd and have been since I began reading at around age 3. I almost always have at least three or more books going at once.
• If you've read my 31 Days series, you will know that I struggle with major depression. It has been a fact of life for me and something I have had to figure out how to manage for over 25 years. In the last two years, it has been a constant companion with almost no relief. That is the main thrust of my 31 Days series. Depression is also one of the reasons that my writing isn't as constant as I'd like it to be.
• Speaking of blog series, I am a mostly regular participant in the Five Minute Friday blog series hosted by Kate Motaung at her blog Heading Home.
• I am rather short and Rubenesque and I love my naturally curly brown hair. Currently, it's just past my shoulders which is about the length I like it best -- not too short or too long.
• I love chocolate and rarely go a day without having a little chocolate of some kind.
• Coffee is essential for life. Seriously. I am not a morning person by nature and coffee ensures that I am able to function in the morning even when I don't feel like it.
• Tea is also something I love and have since my first sip of it as a child at a tea party. I do not like iced tea -- sweet or unsweet -- unlike most every other Southerner I know. If I am at a gathering where I've been given iced tea as a drink without being asked what I'd like, I will actively look for water or ask if there is water or some other beverage available. 
• My mom swears that because of the above, I cannot be truly Southern. I also do not like coleslaw, pimento cheese spread, or vegetables that have been cooked within an inch of their life (the one exception being green beans which I will eat unless they are super mushy).
• I do not have a pronounced Southern accent. I cannot tell you the number of times someone has heard me speak and they've said, "Now where are you from?" and then looked astonished when I said, "I'm from here. Born and raised." Non-locals and friends from other parts of the country laugh when I say this because they hear a Southern accent, but then a lot of them have never been exposed to the heavy thick Southern accent that a LOT of folks have in these parts.
• I have a tendency to pick up and unconsciously imitate the accents of people I'm around for any length of time. I'm sure some people may think I'm doing it intentionally, but it's really a weird reflexive thing and I don't usually notice I'm doing it until someone points it out.
• I have a single tattoo on my upper left thigh. It is a rather recent acquisition as I've only had it for a little over a year. I absolutely love it. I never thought I'd ever get one, but there is a story behind why I did and what this tattoo means. Perhaps I'll write about that during this month. 

I'm sure there are some other things, but I think that's all for now. If you click any of the words highlighted in the text above, you can read some of my other entries on those subjects. Hope you enjoyed this little post about me. Feel free to leave questions in the comment box below! I love hearing from those who read my blog.

Day Thirty (part 2): Swingin' and Swayin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas

Note: This is a continuation of a 2 part entry. To read part one, please click here. To read the entire 31 Days series, just click on the tab above.

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Later that day, Balinda and I go fabric shopping at my favourite shop and a couple of others and by the time we are done, it is almost dark. We stop at a local grocery store and pick up provisions for making tacos for dinner, but for me, tacos will have to wait until much, much later. I have plans with Sarah and my other sister in law, Olivia (who is married to Gray's little brother Andrew) to make good on my desire from earlier this summer when I was at the beach. I am going to get a tattoo. I have been thinking about this ever since this summer and the idea just won't leave me alone. I've looked at designs and local shops back home, but haven't done it yet. I know what I want and even have a picture on my phone of it but that's as far as I've gotten until now. Tonight, we are all going to get inked. Both Sarah and Olivia already have tattoos but they are eager to get another one and to come with me for my first one.

Day Thirty (part 1): Swingin' and Swayin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas

It is a few days before Christmas and we are in a hotel room somewhere in Virginia. Everyone is asleep except me. I am sitting here, trying to relax a bit, but struggling with it. Today has been a long day, but a good one. We left home early this morning and have driven all day, stopping as necessary for bathroom breaks, food, and gas for the van and we are finally here for the night. Tomorrow we'll start early again and should arrive at my in-laws' house by 5 or 6pm at the latest. Tonight we celebrated M2's 7th birthday with pizza from the local chain restaurant, cupcakes (one of which had 7 tiny candles in it!), and presents for the birthday girl. She is delighted with the excitement of celebrating her birthday in a hotel room and enjoying pizza and cupcakes in her new pajamas. AB was pretty delighted with the prospect of all the celebrations even though it wasn't her birthday. There is something kind of fun about being on a road trip and I have enjoyed it thus far myself.

M2 with her birthday cupcakes

Day Seven: Of Water, Wine, and Siren Songs (part 1)

The slightly warm days of spring have given way to the much warmer and occasionally hot early days of summer. It is the first week of June, school is out for the summer break, and we are en route to the beach for a week. As much as I am dreading spending a week in close proximity to my family, I am also looking forward to the sound of the waves, the salt infused air, and the sun on my skin. We are almost there, driving down a smaller state highway, headed toward the coast. Several small towns flicker past the window. I have travelled this road so many times in my life that the names are as familiar as old friends. I know which ones are bigger and which are so small that only a city limits sign lets you know that they exist. Before much longer, the small inland towns give way to the area that is nearly on top of the beach highway. Where there were once city hall buildings, schools, soccer fields, farmhouses, and churches, there are now seafood restaurants, souvenir shops, grocery stores, and an eclectic mix of outlet shopping malls, art galleries, and tattoo parlours.