Errands

I know it's not an interesting subject matter. But today, aside from my shoulders and lower back really bothering me, I don't have anything else really to post about. I already gushed about my new ink. I'm still grooving on that, of course. But as I said, I really wrote and incredibly long post about it.

This upcoming Tuesday and Wednesday we have to dress "business casual" for work. (Normally our dress code allows jeans and sneakers.) That isn't really a problem except for the fact that all the shoes I have for "business casual" attire are too high to wear. Too high as in they will rub against my anklet tattoo. So I thought I would try and find a pair of shoes that I liked, wouldn't break the bank and wouldn't rub up against my tattoo.

Master said He was feeling a bit better so we headed out to the mall. I had already checked a few other local stores yesterday when I went bumming around with my brother and hadn't found anything.

We get to the mall and I check two other stores in there and nothing. Nothing at all. The only pair I even kind of liked were to expensive to me for what I needed them for. They were damn near $50. I'm not going to spend $50 on a pair of shoes I am only kind of iffy on. Fuck that noise.

So I guess I'll have to figure it out while making due with one of the pairs of shoes I already have.

We had some other errands to run but after the mall Master felt worn out. He still hasn't kicked this cold all the way yet. But at least it hasn't turned into something else. So I dropped Master off at home and did the rest of the errands myself. They could have waited, but I just wanted to get them done. So first I stopped at the game store and put down some more money on a game Master has pre-ordered that comes out in March. I only stopped there because it was on my way to another store and it crossed my mind as I was passing.

So then I went to the pet store. I had to pick up rabbit litter, dog treats and a new harness for our dog. When we first got him we had bought a medium. Now that he's almost three the damn thing comes unbuckled when he moves certain ways. He has obviously out grown it. We prefer using a harness so I bought a large in the same style and pattern. This probably sounds stupid but his leash, collar and harness all match. So I wanted to make sure the new one did too. Thankfully the same pattern was available. I know that sounds incredibly yuppie of me, but they are skull and cross bones, so I think it looks bad ass. I made a couple of other stops and finally came home. Master and I ate dinner and have been relaxing every since.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is Monday. The weekend was so busy that it just flew by. It was a great weekend though, so I can't really complain. However, this upcoming weekend is going to be one of laziness for the most part. Why? Because I want it to be.

Fresh Ink

Yesterday after I got out of work I came home for about 15 minutes and then headed back out the door. Master is still not feeling the greatest so He stayed home. I drove down to my hometown and picked up my brother. He came out with a suitcase, literally a suitcase. I asked if he was moving in and he said yes. I just kind of stared at him blankly. He laughed and explained that he was bringing his PS3 up so he could show my Husband some of his games. On the way up back to our place he told me all about his new girlfriend. Sounds like the poor girl has gone through a lot in her 26 years. But she also sounds really nice and my brother told me that sometime soon he would like for us to basically go on a double date with them for dinner or something like that. I told him we'd figure it out. They haven't been dating very long. I'd say about a month, maybe two. So I figure that I'll wait a little bit longer before throwing her into meeting the family basically.

We got up to our place and hung out with Master. We talked and my brother showed Him some of the games he has and they were nerding out for a while.

While they were nerding out my brother had said that he was thinking about getting a deer tattoo after getting the tribal piece he would get that night. I asked what he wanted it to look like. He told me and I, being the ink addict that I am, decided to look up flash on the internet while they played games. As I was browsing my brother looked up and said, "I really like that one!" He pointed to it on the screen and I said it did look pretty kick ass.

He decided he wanted that done that night as well as the tribal piece. So I e-mailed it to the artist. He answered by saying he could do that as well. He then asked if we could bring paper print outs of them because apparently he was using his phone to respond to the e-mails and viewing the attachments and the shop's internet was down. I said that we didn't have a printer. This made my brother extremely nervous and needless to say a bit upset. The artist stated that he could try and sketch them out. But then Master came up with the idea of going to a Kinkos and printing them off there. I looked at Him like He was a fucking genius and off we went. We got them printed off our e-mails and were out of there by a little after 5pm. Our appointment was for 6:30pm. Since it wouldn't make much sense to go back home only to leave shortly there after, we'd just go directly to the tattoo parlor and wait till our appointment time if need be.

Master dropped us off. He wanted to stay but He is still sick and felt it would be better to go rest at home. I agreed with Him. My brother and I went inside and the tattoo artist for our appointment, let's call him K, laughed and said that we were early. We had gotten there around 5:30pm. We said it wasn't a big deal, we didn't mind waiting. He was working on another customer. Well originally both of our appointments were going to be with K. But another artist there asked if he could do mine. Let's call this one J. I said that wasn't a problem at all. He asked me what I wanted in regards to an anklet. I told him and he asked me to wait for a little while. He actually drew it up himself. There was absolutely no flash in it. He had sat down and drew it. So it was a completely custom tattoo. It was the first time that I didn't have something already drawn up by Master or printed off the internet. So I was wondering what the hell his "take" on it would look like. When he showed it to me I loved it right away. (It's a very customized version of your traditional barbed wire anklet.)

Since K was busy I got to go first since J was available. We settled on a price of $100. Well worth it in my eyes. So he put the stencil on, I checked it and was immediately excited about it! Like I said this was my first tattoo like this. He started and my brother watched. He seemed to relax when he saw that I wasn't even flinching and it was going over bone, etc. I did warn him that this is my 12th tattoo so I'm pretty damn used to the sensation. When that was done he was looking at the tattoo right above it. It's a tribal rose and it was my very first tattoo. So, since I had received bad after care instructions, it was a little jacked up. It had cracks in the tribal. I had said to my brother while we were waiting for J to get set up that it would be the first one I would touch up and that I would start my touch ups after the one I was getting that night.

J must have over heard me because he asked if I wanted him to touch that one up while I was there. I was shocked he had brought it up. I asked how much and he shrugged and said, "Just toss me a tip and we'll call it even."

*insert shocked and elated face here*

Of course, I was already going to tip the guy so it was a free touch up basically. Although because the anklet turned out beautifully and since he did the touch up for free I tipped him over half what I paid for the tattoo. He seemed shocked by that. I told him that he earned it.

Then it was my brother's turn. They talked about the 2nd tattoo and K said that since he was already getting one, he would do the other for house minimum. Holy fuck! These guys are all about customer service and customer longevity. They are super cool guys let me tell ya.

So my brother got his two tattoos. He only winced a couple of times. I was proud of him. Master picked us up and we made a couple more stops on the way home. While we were out I bought my brother his "tattoo after care kit" as I bought mine.

When we got home all three of us just sat around and chilled until about 1am, when we all started to crash.

When we got up in the morning we relaxed for a little while and got some lunch. Shortly after lunch my brother and I had to leave since he had to get home by 3pm. I dropped him off and came back home.

I'm still incredibly stoked about my new ink. Master is happy for me and glad I did it. I think He thinks that I'll never spend money on myself for something that's not a necessity unless it's a tattoo. *laughs* Honestly He's not that far off the mark, which is why it's funny.

Now comes the sucky part of it healing. But it's always well worth it. Now I get to rest the remainder of the night with Master and we have tomorrow just the two of us.

Survived The Work Day

The past few weeks at work have been kicking my tail up one side and down the other. Today was no different. But I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off and because of it I'm sore as hell today. My shoulders are screaming at me and my legs hurt from all the walking I've done lately. But oh well.

Although I did learn something interesting on the way home today. I've talked about my being in a carpool to get to work and back. Well in the carpool one woman drives all the time (unless of course she has the day off work, then I take over) and the guy in the carpool and myself pay her gas money. No biggie.

Well, she told us tonight that she'll be gone for a week in April because she's going on a trip to Vegas. Okay, fine. It kind of sucks because I hate driving the car that far back and forth like that. Our car is in good "health" and what not, but because our job is so far away it'll take it's toll on the car rather quickly.

But that's not the interesting part. Apparently one of her friends is going to be buying a house and she is going to move in with her so she can get out of her apartment and help her friend pay the mortgage.

The problem is that they plan on moving out of the city we all currently live in. Which means that she won't be doing to carpool anymore. She'll probably still be at the same job, she just won't be picking us up because it would be significantly out of her way.

As we continued to drive home the guy in the carpool and I started talking about just the two of us being in the carpool and he was quick to mention that he won't have access to a car. He only has one car and his wife takes it to work every day of the week and she's not willing to drop us off early before going to her job. So that means it would always be our car and like I said that's a good way to run the car into the ground. Not to mention only having a two way split on the gas money. *sigh*

Thankfully, I had decided a while before I ever learned of this news that I would be looking for a different job. This is just going to speed up the process. She said that they will be looking for a house starting in April. I already know that finding and buying a home is not a quick process. But I'd rather get out of dodge long before I have to worry about driving our car out there every work day. Yes, I realize that will fuck with the guy in the carpool, but he's not my problem. I'm not going to run our car into the ground just so he can get to work and back. That may sound cold, but it's the truth.

Collar & Ink

I know that's kind of an odd mix to be posting about, but it's better than doing two posts in one night.

Today was my first day without my collar. I was okay last night after He took it off and I calmed down after it was taken off. I was okay because I was with Him. I was near Him and I was fine. But today? Today sucked. My neck feels naked. Whenever I touch my neck it's like sudden shock of, "Where the hell is my collar?!" It's not like I could lose it somehow. It's not like it would have ever fallen off. It was screwed on for fucks sake. But then I would remember and I would feel really odd. Like I would feel a bit shaky, almost like a mini panic attack. I told Master about that and He reminded me a few times that I was still His slave. My station has not changed. I'm still His through and through. That made me feel a lot better.

When I got home I had to put lotion on my neck where the breakout from the nickel allergy is. Again it feels really fucked up touching my bare neck. I've worn that collar for 6 years. This is going to take a long time to get used to.

Master made me smile by saying, "Just look at this way, I have better access to your neck." *smirks* I love it when He chokes me and bites my neck. So I'm okay. It's just going to take me a long time to get used to this and to not get out of sorts when I touch my neck.

Okay, now onto the second part of the title.

My brother is coming up on Friday to spend the night and hang out. He has been wanting a tattoo since he was 18. Next week he'll be 27. He finally has the money to get a tattoo. He e-mailed me the flash that he wanted. I tried calling the tattoo parlor Master and I went to 2 years ago. Of course I couldn't get them to answer the phone. Maybe it's just my experience but it's not easy getting a tattoo parlor to pick up the phone. Plus I was calling pretty early in the afternoon.

I was afraid of my brother coming up and us not being able to get his ink done due to not having an appointment. So tonight, shortly after I got home, I ran out to the tattoo parlor. I had three questions for them.

1. Can I get an appointment for this Friday? - Yes. The appointment is at 6:30pm this Friday. 
2. Can I e-mail the artist the flash my brother wants and get a quote on it? - Yes. I got the e-mail address, e-mailed the flash to the artist and am now waiting on a reply.
3. How much would be the tattoo I want? - Affordable. This paycheck that is coming on Friday is significantly bigger than I was anticipating. As a result, the tattoo I'm getting (between $80 to $100) is extremely affordable.

So my brother and I are both getting ink this Friday! I'm so excited! My brother only knows that I made him an appointment. He doesn't know I'm getting inked too. I think he'll be happy about it. That way he's not doing it alone, especially on his first tattoo. I think it'll help. 

I'm excited! I'm getting tattoo number 12 in less than two days! *happy dance*

I didn't tell my brother I'm getting inked too because I want to surprise him about it. Not that my getting ink really affects him, but I want him to be surprised that brother and sister will be getting inked at the same time. A really weird bonding experience if you will.

Retired

Master and I have been talking about "weaning" me off my collar and cuff once I get a ring with His birthstone in it, for work purposes. I have a ring picked out, but now I'm not sure if I can wear it or not. The metal, per the website, is "925-Sterling". I have a nickel allergy, so I'm not 100% sure I can wear it. I'm sure I can call a jewelry store and find out.

But apparently my body had other ideas in regards to weaning me off my collar and cuff. Tonight, shortly after my last blog post, I was sitting on the couch and we were watching Netflix. I was rubbing my shoulder where it meets my neck and I realized that I had a grouping of small bumps that itched. Immediately I started to worry. I know what that means.

Master asked what was wrong so I told Him that I felt a small grouping of pimple like bumps. He also knows what that means.

He told me to show Him. So I knelt in front of His chair and He moved my hair and the collar. Sure as shit it was my nickel allergy acting up. Fuck.

The reason why we bought this collar is because it was stated as hypoallergenic. It's made of stainless steel. I had gone through several leather collars before being "promoted" to the final collar, which is my Eternity Collar.

I can't say that I didn't get a good amount of time out of it. I've been wearing the collar for about 6 years. But now, I can't wear it. Master will not allow it and I completely understand why. If I were to continue to wear it the skin allergy would just get worse and worse. We've been there, done that with previous leather collars that had metal rings on them.

My cuff is also from Eternity Collars. I am having no reaction to that. But then again on the collar it's right where the screw is to take it on and off.  The screw on my cuff never really touches my skin because of how it sits.

As Master took my collar off I started to get emotional. I didn't cry although it felt like I was going to. He reassured me by saying I wasn't being demoted and that I may still wear my cuff. He said that my body just kind of forced the whole weaning process. There is no point in ordering a new one (they have titanium ones) because we'll just receive it in order to wean myself off of it. That's just a waste of money really.

I feel naked without it. I really, really do. When you wear something for that long it feels really weird without it. This also means that tomorrow will be my first full day not wearing it. For some reason I feel anxious about it. It was my security blanket, just as much as my wedding ring is.

Thankfully when we ordered our wedding rings we made sure to get titanium. I don't know how badly I would flip out if suddenly I had to stop wearing my wedding ring.

But like Master said, at least I still have my cuff on. And hopefully sometime in the very near future I can get a ring with His birthstone in it.

My neck feels weird.

P.S. - We are keeping the collar for sentimental reasons, just as we will when the cuff comes off. It's in a nice safe place where I can look at it every now and then.

Master Is On Lock Down

Well, remember my post about how I'm sick and got Master sick? Well, I'm just now at the last stages of it. I just have to blow my nose every now and again. But my Master? Well, the poor guy is still hacking His brains out and sore because of it. So tonight, once I got home from work I ran out and got Him Mucinex. My mother swears by it. So I figured it may work for my sick Husband. Once I got back from Walgreens He immediately took a pill. Of course He's still coughing really hard and what not but it's been in His system for less than two hours, so I'm not really surprised by it. The past few nights He's barely gotten any sleep due to waking up because He's coughing.

Well, since His immune system isn't the greatest and His cold hasn't eased up I told Master that until He feels better I'll take the dog out at night. Hell, if it wasn't for me being at work I'd be taking the dog out in the afternoon as well.

Once I told Him this He jokingly said that I have Him on house arrest.

Damn straight I do! In fact I teased Him that I would get Him a house arrest anklet for Him.

I am so afraid of Him becoming more sick than He already is. Three years ago He had walking pneumonia and let me tell you, I was scared. I mean normally pneumonia is pretty damn bad, but with His immune system it is down right scary.

So, the reason I am going to be taking the dog every night until He's better is because it's so damn cold lately and I don't want Him out in that shit while He's trying to recover.

I know it couldn't be helped but I feel bad for getting Him sick. Normally my immune system beats pretty much anything. I haven't had anything worse than a head cold in many years. *knocks on wood* So this time when I got sick it kicked my ass. It's like whenever I do actually get sick it puts me on my tail pretty damn quickly.

And because of my getting sick Master caught it and is having a hard time kicking it. I know it probably doesn't make a lot of sense that I feel bad about it, but I do.

After He took the pill and I was sitting on the couch I reached out for His hand when He was walking past and I kissed His hand. He smiled and sat next to me and let me rest my head on His shoulder. I apologized for getting Him sick. 

Hopefully this new medication will help Him get it out of His system. He wants to be better by Friday because that's when my brother is coming up to visit.

So now I throw the slave thing out the window as far as His health goes and I become the over bearing nurse that will drive Him nuts until He is 100% better.

I'm sure He's very excited about that.

Teddy Bear

I'm still a little kid in some ways. Normally when I'm not well I get extremely cuddly. But for whatever reason I started off kind of crabby due to my not feeling well. But now I feel cuddly. In fact Master just walked over here to hand me something and I leaned against His stomach. He ran His finger through my hair. Suddenly the words, "I'm going to buy a giant teddy bear." passed through my lips. Master chuckled and said, "I thought that's why you married Me?"

Because He is so much taller than me He is really comfy to cuddle with. But sometimes we can't cuddle when I'm not feeling well because I just want to lay on the couch and be lazy as hell. Those are the times where I need a teddy bear. And it's not some kind of age play thing. I just like stuffed animals.

Master chuckled again and said that I shouldn't buy a teddy bear, that I should buy a giant tiger stuff animal. I love tigers. I have a small collection of them as stuffed animals now not to mention two teddy bears already that Master got me. But some of them are a little older and have been collecting dust for a while. So I figure if I buy a new one, I can cuddle with it.

I may seriously just go to a toy store and buy a large teddy bear, or large stuffed animal of some kind.

I'll be 29 years old in about two months and I still want a teddy bear. I know that probably sounds weird, but that's okay. I don't mind being weird.