Spring has Sprung! (I hope) & so has an "Inky" situation.

Happy Monday to all!  I am in such a cheerful mood today because, I believe, after several weeks of the weather flipping from warm and sunny to cold and brutal and back again, it's finally officially Spring.  Bonafide Springtime!  Hurrah!  Seasonal Affective Disorder, be gone! 

I felt it yesterday, as I relaxed on the porch with "The Help," the novel that's I've been devouring this past week, and the feeling is still around this morning.  The sun is shining, the sky is blue and all traces of Saturday's torrential monsoon-esque weather have evaporated into a beautiful sunny day!  Sunday and today would were and are perfectly beautiful days for a bike ride (f I actually owned a bike) or a nice, long outdoors run....

Unfortunately, I am out of commission on the physical activity/working-out front for the next few days, because Saturday morning, after much discussion and ado, my younger sister and I met in Baltimore to get matching tattoos.  (My FIRST! Her second. But, obviously, her coolest.)  I have been wanting a tattoo for over a year now.  I officially decided I would get one as a "reward" after I finished my first marathon, the 2010 Baltimore Marathon, which is the reason I got my tattoo in Baltimore.  My sister, who already had one small tattoo under her belt--or skin, in this case--really liked the design I chose and wanted to get the matching one.  After some consideration, I agreed.  And, actually, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of us having matching tattoos.  Unlike a husband or a significant other, with whom you might end a relationship, Anne-Elyse will always be my sister.  Also, since I am cheap and probably would have procrastinated indefinitely on ever actually forking over the money for a tattoo, AE was a good motivator to actually schedule an appointment and get it done.  It was a fun field trip we did together and an excellent excuse for some rainy-Saturday day-drinking!

The Perfect post-tattoo brunch: Bloody Mary (appropriate), Water & a $2 Natty Boh.

The tattoo is script of a Latin phrase "Rarissima Avis" which means "A very rare bird," which is something that we both are. Above the lettering is a small bird that I helped pick out (although, Jim, my tattoo artist officially designed it.)  Mine is on my right side.  Jim informed me that, if you're a tattoo purist, the bird should be facing my front.  But on my tattoo, he's actually facing my back.  We decided that was okay.  A.) I am not a tattoo purist. B.) The lettering-bird-balance looked better if the birds tale was opposite the capital-R in Rarissima, and C.) It's a "rare" bird, so obviously, he would be facing the wrong/different direction. He would not be just like a normal tattooed bird. 

It did not take as long as I thought it would.  It maybe took 15-20 minutes before I was done.  But, the whole time, I was scared to ask how much longer, because I was worried I wouldn't like the answer! But it ended up being pretty quick and only a little painful. And, the finished product is something I am VERY excited and happy about!

The first "reveal" in the oh-so glamorous ladies room of Max's pub.

As far as my fitness regimen, however, my tattoo's healing process has temporarily put a temporary pause on any sort of working out. (It's also put a pause on me wearing a normal bra, which has made dressing for work a bit of a challenge.)  I am not supposed to sweat profusely, hence little to no cardiovascular activity, and I am not supposed to stretch my arms a torso unnecessarily, which counts out almost all of my strength training activity.  While I enjoy the extra hour of sleep in the morning and the time I have to read and run errands in the evening, I do not like NOT working out.  At all.  Don't misunderstand, I enjoy the option of being lazy and skipping a working out if I so chose, but I really am frustrated by this forced restriction. 

I am hopeful that all will be healed within a week.  Two weeks maximum. Part of the reason I picked this particular weekend to get the tattoo was that I knew I wouldn't have any race obligation for two weeks, and even then I only have a 5K on April 30th. (The half marathon on May 7th might be, unfortunately, slower than I was hoping.)  Right now I am just miss the luxury of the option and the feel of doing something difficult and strenuous ans sweat-producing!   I just spoke to my sister and she's had to alter her sleeping "style" and not wear a backpack around her college campus.  In the meantime, aside from the extensive bar-crawling on Saturday, I will be watching my diet to make sure I am balancing out my lack of calorie burning with a cut in calorie intake.

Sister Bonding....excuse my belly.