Birthday blog (pt. 2) + new tattoo

Well, the rest of my birthday was as good as I hoped. Matt threw a surpise party for me with our small group from church and a few of our friends. We had chili (that I made--oh yum) and ice cream cake, and Matt gave me an AIR POPPER so we had pop corn too. (I've been wanting an air popper for just about ever.) And the whole time we listened to the Aradhna albums Matt bought for me. This band is amazing. And you've probably never heard of them, so do check them out. We had a lot of fun.

I'm not sure if it's because I am now officially into my "mid-twenties" or if I'm just feeling the intra-pregnancy itch, but I've decided that right now is the perfect time to do some twentysomething things before it's too late. I'm planning to cut most of my hair off into a spikey/feathery/textured look as soon as I can get an appointment with my stylist. I'm also contemplating the design for my next tattoo! I've been wanting another one for a while now, but because 1)I was pregnant and 2)I had no idea what I wanted, I've been waiting. Then the other night a brilliant idea came to me, and now it's just a matter of designing it. What I want is a flying sparrow like this or this (not a swallow--there is a huge difference in symbolism) and a lily or lilies (but I haven't decided on whether I want and Easter lily or more wildflower-type lilies), over my shoulder something like this. It will be black and white with lots of shading--I want it to look like a realistic, detailed pencil drawing. I'm thinking it will probably be one that needs to be completed in 2 or 3 phases, which means a lot of pain and a lot of money. :-) But I'm excited! I'll write more about the symbolism later. Tell me what you think!