We’re a storytelling society, so it only makes sense that when asked about tattoos, stories are part of our answers. After all, each of us strongly believes that what makes a tattoo perfect isn’t only the creativity of the tattoo and the skill of the artist; it’s the story that has inspired the tattoo.
P.S. – And if Red ever decides to get a tattoo, you can guarantee there will be a story behind it!
|
Well, I
can tell you that what I think about them today, especially as they’ve
become
more mainstream
(so many celebrities
and athletes
proudly display them), is very different than how I used to think about
them! Growing up, I thought
that only “bad people” had tattoos. And I couldn’t
quite understand why anyone would want to permanently “decorate” their bodies. Using needles, no less!
So, what changed? When my oldest daughter, Natasha, was fairly young, she talked about getting tattoos. She’s always been a non-conformist (I wonder where she inherited that trait), but I’ve no idea where the tattoo idea came from. And I never thought she’d be willing to endure the pain , especially since she has an extremely low (as in non-existent) tolerance for pain. Yet, she got her first tattoo on the day of her high school graduation instead of walking the stage. And while it was a simple outline of a bat, in honor of her love of bats , she has continued to get more elaborate ones over the years. And my younger daughter, Sawyer, who’s more like a mini-me and more traditional, totally surprised me when she decided to get her first tattoo. |
|
Red neglected to answer the question as
to whether she would ever get inked.
Whereas I already have (warning:
tattoos can be
addictive
). My first tat is
identical to Natasha’s bat, and I asked her permission to copy it as a reminder
of the special bond between us. My second
is the “
perfect tattoos” (yes, plural) as it was Sawyer’s first, and we got them
done together. For me, while tattoos can
be beautiful works of art on their own, there is something very special about having
meaningful tattoos.
However, you must think about whether you will “outgrow” or regret the tat later. Keep in mind that while tats may have become more mainstream, there is still some stigma. (Some of my older and more conservative friends tried to hide their looks of disapproval when they saw mine.) It is a function of the other person’s age and prior exposure to tats, the specific tat and location (I still find some face tattoos scary), and your work environment . |
Red
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Black
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So much of what we had to say about March Madness in our 2023 post still holds true … Red’s lack of interest and Black’s love of …
| Until a few years ago, I would have thought March Madness had something to do with Spring Break. I’ve never followed sports (pro or college), but once my younger daughter started playing competitive high school volleyball, and then applied to colleges, I learned all about college sports and division teams. This year, living in the Greater Houston area, I couldn’t help getting caught up in March Madness since the University of Houston was a No. 1 seed. (I hate to admit it, but it’s the same with the Houston Astros. I’m not interested until they make it to the playoffs.) But now that Houston has been eliminated, my only real interest in March Madness is avoiding Houston’s NRG Stadium since that’s where the Final Four playoffs will be held, and the traffic will be, well, madness! |
| I love March Madness. Not because I love the sport but because the statistics are fascinating. (Plus, it is a great name.) The odds of filling out a perfect bracket (correctly predicting all game winners once the March Madness teams are selected) are almost too small to calculate. Out of a record 20 million brackets submitted on ESPN this year, just 37 picked the men’s Final Four. That's 0.000185%. And, this is the first time all four No. 1 seeds were eliminated during the Sweet Sixteen, not even making it to the Elite Eight, let alone the Final Four. Which improves the odds of this being a “Cinderella Story” year. |
FULL QUESTION: Asking Again: I love how Red & Black is run by two sisters. Is one of you “the boss”?
We thought this would be the perfect question to rerun on National Boss’s Day. Why? Well, we think the responses below say it all …
| Oh yes, definitely! Without question, that would be Black. In fact, on more than one occasion, I've been known to refer to her as The Boss (and I'm not talking about Bruce Springsteen). It's usually me kidding around and saying something along the lines of "I'll have to check with The Boss." (Even my daughters have heard me refer to their aunt that way, and they've never questioned me, so there must be some agreement, at least in my family, about who's the boss.) To a great extent, it may be because if you were to compare our bios, I don't think my background as a mom prepared me to be a businesswoman, although Black has tried to convince me otherwise. On the other hand, Black's bio makes it painfully obvious she's "all business" so better suited to be "the boss." |
| It depends on how you define "boss." If you are referring to who owns more of the company, I hold 1% more than Red, which technically means I have more"authority". And, I will admit that as the older sister, I have more practice being bossy (especially as she has always tried to avoid conflict), but when it comes to business, I value teamwork. Red has a perspective and background very different than mine (that is an understatement!), but the key is acknowledging that – and learning from one another in order to make the best business decisions. The bottom line is there would be no Red & Black … without Red or without Black. It is truly a partnership. |
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