[photoaday] Day 3: Hands

 

Day 3. Hands

Can you have a favorite hand? 

If I were you, I would say no, seeing as the question sounds ridiculous. I might even go as far as to say some dirty things, but since I am me and my audience could range in sensitivity, I will refrain.

However, I have a secret for you.

I have a favorite hand.

It's my left hand. 

My right hand may write for me and do most of my daily dexterous activities, but my left hand is where the money's at. Literally. I have spent some money on making my left hand what it is.

First off, I always have my nails painted some color. I love expressing myself with color. Right now they are sparkly aqua, because the weather has been in the 60's around here.  Last week they were hot pink. Monday? Maybe dark purple cause apparently it's supposed to be cold again. [WTF, winter. W.T.F.]

Next, my wedding ring. My pretty, pretty wedding ring. First was only my engagement ring, then my wedding band joined in on the fun. It's been a constant show for 2 years (this month!), not that I'm complaining. I love showing it off to new people, getting it cleaned so every last diamond sparkles and putting it on every morning. That may be material, but it's too damn bad. I love it! Maybe for our 10 year anniversary I'll upgrade. For now, I like that it is small but incredibly sparkly.

And finally, my tattoo. I guess technically it's on my wrist, but I'll allow it. This tattoo is one I got in remembrance of my mother. My mom passed away in 2009 to Colorectal cancer and it was, and still is, the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. I still struggle on a day-to-day basis and some days I just don't know why I get up without her. She was my best friend as well as my mother. 

Getting this tattoo has helped me keep her with me at all times. Sometimes, as I'm working or doing some mundane activity (the two often go hand-in-hand...), the handwriting will catch my eye. I'll turn my hand over and see her initials staring back at me, and realize that I am truly lucky to have known my mom. I got a chance to grow up with her. She has told me she loved me at an age that I can remember. She might not have seen me graduate college or get married, but I have had a lot of other memories. This tattoo helps me remember, and keeps me grounded. 

My mom was very against tattoos, ironically. I'm sure the day I got it, which was around her 2 year anniversary,  she was up in heaven yelling at me and making god second guess letting her in. She also wasn't one to cuss, but in my imagination, she called me every name in the book to get me to not go through with it. I was expecting it to hurt a LOT and surprisingly, it didn't. So the thought of "getting a tattoo so I can be in pain like she was in pain for 6 years" turned out to be, "well I got pricked a ton for 45 seconds and then it was over. I love you, Mom?"

But I'm super proud of it and don't regret a thing. [now I just want more!]

Keep coming back every day this month to see my #photoaday grow!

(you can also follow me on Instagram (@kerrywoah), or on Webstagram here!)

Currently..

Obsessing over:

Joey and I have been watching Psych over and over on Instant Netflix. We watch all the new episodes on USA and it's also definitely a show that I can watch in syndication without getting bored. We started with season 1 last week and just started on season 2 tonight. The cast is fabulous and I laugh at every episode!

Working on: 
I finally got all of our Christmas cards addressed tonight, now we have to go get stamps and mail them tomorrow. It's so exciting... these are our first Christmas cards together! So cute. We are just so damn cute.

Thinking about: 
My momma. The holidays were her favorite time of the year and it's just not the same without her here. This will be our 3rd Christmas without her... and I'm just hoping it's going to be a quiet and simple weekend full of family and friends.

Anticipating: 
New Years! I keep thinking I want to do something fun this year, but I also love just staying in and eating junk food with the hubs. All I know is that I am looking forward to a new year... new resolutions, new opportunities for change. We'll see what happens, I suppose!

Listening to: 
Psych, weren't you listening?! but also Joey clicking on his computer and the loudness of my laptop as it slowly overheats into oblivion.

Drinking: 
I'm not drinking anything, actually. But I did drink a glass of milk about an hour ago.

Wishing:
For a white Christmas ;)

Thanks for the fun survey, Katie!

Merry Christmas!

I may have mentioned this before, but our apartment this year is too small for a traditional tree. So we've had to improvise with a small tree on our bookshelf.

This tree has been in my family since I was a little girl. I remember we would have our big tree in the living room, and my mom would always let me and my sister decorate the little tree in the den. It was always one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

Hehe.

Look at my bowl cut. And my purple tights. And the terrible nineties decor.

This year though, I opted out of my mom's ornaments and tree topper and bought some funky colored baubles and garland from Target. It was hard for me to not use the trinkets from my childhood, but I can't help myself when it comes to miniature sized things.

I also kind of like that it looked like our old tree from last year. 

Compromise is the reason for the season! [that's probably not right.... oh well..]

10 Quotes on Pinterest that I Love

So, pretty much around this time of night you'll find me wasting time on Pinterest while Joey plays Modern Warfare 3. SNORE! (I'm definitely referencing MW3 here.. hehe.)

I love Pinterest, as I'm sure I've said before. My favorite things to pin are clothes/shoes and crafty things. I also love stumbling across quotes and inspirational thoughts, because more often than not, I find one that speaks to me and the mood I'm currently in.

Personally, I think that is one of the best parts of being able to think creatively. Not everyone can hear a song and relate it to an emotion they are feeling or to a memory they have. I can hear a song, a phrase or someone's voice and be instantly transported to days, weeks, months... even years in the past. Even smells or tastes can remind me of things I might have forgotten about unless otherwise reminded.

I remember walking into Joey's grandmother's house one day recently, and smelling the air freshener she had plugged in. I had the same freshener in my dorm room back in 2008, and for no reason other than my crazy brain doin' its thing, I remembered a conversation me and my suite-mate Janna had one night in our dorm's shared living room. I would have never remembered that conversation, nor would I have had any reason to seeing as it was a completely random night, but that plug-in totally transported me back to that dorm room, and it made me so happy.

I feel extremely lucky to have the ability to be reminded of events and conversations and emotions based on the trivial act of hearing a song or smelling an air freshener. That is a gift, and while I'm sure it's more common than I think, I do know that you should not take these things for granted because you never know what might happen.

I can't help but be reminded of my Mom every time we change the ink cartridges in the printers at work. Random, right? Ha. See, I used to help print and fold our church bulletins as a teen when my mom worked there as a receptionist. I spent many a summers day in a tiny windowless room in the back of the church, printing and folding, printing and folding (and trying not to swear when I got a papercut for fear of being smited). But my Mom was in the next room and I could hear her talking with her friend and colleague Jane, and she would come in every so often to check on me, and probably to make sure I hadn't passed out from the ink fumes. Those days were always some of my favorite days during those summers and now, I can't smell fresh ink and paper without thinking of my momma.... and god, actually. Don't smite me, bro.

So yes. Well. That kind of went totally off track... but I kinda like it. I hope you did too.
Do you have any examples of songs or even smells that remind you of particular memories? Please share! :)

The thought behind this blog was to share my Top 10 Quotes on Pinterest that I Love.
Obviously, I'm aware there are millions more that I probably would like, maybe even more, than the ones I have listed here. These are just my top 10 from the ones that are currently pinned on my Quotables board. Here goes!

(These are in no order... I'm not that OCD.. ahem.)

1. The below image is kind of what brought on this whole post.... I just love that something like this can make such an impact on your day. :)



2. Seriously, this makes me smile so much. I love this. Hold your head high, have your dignity and keep your cool. You are what matters, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.



3. As you can, hopefully, tell... my mom and I were very close. She was my best friend. I said goodbye to her in 2009 and it was THE worst experience of my life. I would not wish this kind of heartbreak on my mortal enemy, if I had one.

4. This quote has been everywhere with me. I have a magnet of it on my fridge, and it thumbtacked to my cube at work. It has provided me so much comfort. I know it by heart. I love it.


5. This one is haunting. I love it. I wish it had punctuation because I'm not gonna lie, it took me a while. But I do really love this. The people you love become just as much a part of you as any part of you is. Chew on that.




6. This speaks volumes. I'm not going to talk about it. Just read it. And live it.



7. This makes me happy because it's just true. :)



8. I have to tell myself this one a lot, too. My mom used to tell me that just because nothing "exciting" or "new" happened, doesn't mean I had a bad day. She would get so upset when she asked how my day was and I said "boring" or "bad"... she would tell me that if something new! and exciting! happened to me every single day of my life, I would get so overwhelmed and wish for nothing to happen! I agree with that now... even if some days I wish weren't so boring. ;) I'm a work in progress.

9.  This one rings true for me because I have such a hard time letting things go. Even some of the more ridiculous things that shouldn't bother me so much. But how can I grow and move on if I keep letting little things trip me up?



10. And finally, paraphrasing my friend Cayse... life does not need to be taken so seriously! There ought to be more dancing. Especially awkward white girl dancing in a family full of Puerto Ricans. Is there any other way?!