Ow!

It's official. I'm out of control. Completely, totally, 100% out of control.

I went out Friday night...armed with a gift card I got for Christmas. Of course, it wasn't for a normal, everyday store. It was a gift card to our local tattoo/piercing shop, Spider-bite. My friend, Peg, figured I'd use it to add to my tattoo at some point. But no. Not me. What did I do? I went down there, handed over my gift card and some additional cash and waited 2 hours for a guy named Jay to stick a needle thru my navel.

It hurt more than getting my nostril done last year but wasn't nearly as painful as I'd anticipated. It kinda hurts now...mostly when I bend. It's cute though. No doubt about that.

Now, don't think I just went off all willy nilly to do this. I did some research first. Wanted a captive bead ring, but they recommended a curved barbell for the initial piercing. Less chance of getting it snagged on something. And NO surgical steel for this kid. My nose doesn't like surgical steel, so I figured my navel wouldn't, either. All my research said to go with titanium or niobium. So, a titanium curved barbell is what I wound up with. Light blue with a crystal on each end. It's pretty.

I can't wait til it heals up a bit. It'll take 6 to 8 months for it to totally heal, but I'll be psyched for the swelling to go down and for it to not be quite so tender. But for now, I just need to concentrate on letting it heal properly...keeping it clean, but not cleaning it TOO often. Gotta wash it 2 or 3 times a day with antimicrobial soap...work the barbell back and forth a bit. And 5 or 6 times a day, I need to spray it with this H2Ocean stuff. It's purified ocean water. And THAT is my best friend right now, cuz I can't overuse it. If the piercing starts getting itchy or too sore...a squirt of that makes me feel better.

That's it though. No more piercings for this kid. From here on out...if I go to Spider-bite, only thing I'm leaving with is new jewelry or more ink.