Back from Ottawa

SIGH.

What a breathe of fresh air. We got to sdo everything I was hoping except for visting with a few good friends as well as my aunt & uncle. We just ran out of time.

we had an early Christmas at my Mom's house. Visited my Dad & stepmom. The weather for this visit was incredible and we sat outside. I even got a bit of a sunburn! The short one played in the hot tub the entire time. There were lots of pugs running around. I surprised the boy with Sens tickets. They lost. we got tattoos together. And the short one got temporary tattoos. 5 of them to be exact. Thanks to that woman at the tattoo shop for being so nice. If you are in Ottawa, or going their for a visit, and happen to be in the market for some new ink, I highly recomment Ventura Blvd. Tattoo. Here's why:

-You don't have to go downtown. I love downtown Ottawa. But you have to find parking. And it's expensive parking. And in most of the downtown tattoo shops there are always dirty little kids who just hang around the shops because they think it's cool. I can't take it anymore. (And yes, I fully acknoledge I used to be one of those punk kids....but now I'm old. And I don't want to be around them). This shop is in a neighborhood subdivision. The burbs. It's very vanilla. And I imagine there are now a lot of soccer moms driving around in their mini vans secretly hiding fresh ink.
-The staff was so nice and polite. When I phoned to book an appointment I almost felt like I was speaking to someone at a bank. Not in a bad way. They were organized and warm.
-It was super clean. They played fun music. In fact, some old Will Smith came on and the boy, myself, Tara (our tattoo artist) and the woman at the front desk (I forget her name) got into a discussion about Fresh Prince (the TV show) and how good it was. Specifically the episode where Will gets locked in the basement with his date and she proceeds to remove her weave and all her fake nails. Um...ok, moving on.....

www.venturablvdtattoo.com

We saw lots of family.....ate like piglets......got spoiled rotten with early Christmas gifts & an early birthday celebration for me.

Today I am trying hard to ignore the feeling of homesickness and manic depression that always comes after a weekend back home. But, let me say...it's nice to be back. I missed my 2 pups that we left behind. I missed my bed.