So it gets me thinking. How much of my identity is wrapped up in my tattoos? When I tell people I haven’t met before to meet me somewhere one of the first things I use is the phoenix on my arm and my big ears. Are they just descriptions of how I look, or descriptions of me? If I woke up and they were gone, would part of me be gone too? A big part of my life is tattoos, piercings, and I don’t just mean my income. I mean my interests, my views, my hobbies.

On the flip side, I have some work I want covered. Is that because those pieces no longer make me more beautifully me? In a sense.

I would still be me without them, same as I would still be me if I had to wear a yellow shirt and matching shorts for the rest of my life. The clothes would not define me in the same way my tattoos do not define me, but at it’s polar opposite, my tattoos tell all about me if you know what you are looking at and therefore do define me in a way that clothes never can. Maybe if I were a fashionista clothes would define me, but seeing as I am not, it’s not a good way to tell you who I am.

Sunday we got up early as fuck, Michael got bagels, we ate with the boys before they went to Hebrew school, ate with Pam & Susie, picked up the boys from school, ate lunch, came home, decided not to go to the beach (it was very hot out), hit Target (whoohoo Target! totally warranted, my menfolk needed shoes), ordered pizza and came home to eat. We all hung out outback in between lunch & Target.

Today we went to the post, Michaels, then Festival. Picked up the boys, Michael is at the shop with the two of them so they can get some tattoos and I need to make dinner. Then we need to go *back* to Target so Pam can return something and so she can get something for the boys. We didn’t find anything for her to get them this morning. I say the don’t need more crap, but she gets them stuff and sees them so rarely… at least it’s stuff I don’t have to buy them lol Dor wants those Wolverine claws and Malachai wants a movie. Eshiva got jelly shoes last night (they’re still jellies, right?)

I just want to go to sleep. It takes a lot out of me to be in “company” mode, especially day after day. I crashed in the carpool lane at school and I’d like to go back to sleep.

Ok, my sexy beast of a man decided to get, well, beastly last night, so that didn’t help me in the sleep department (but it was much appreciated) but I still say company mode just drains me.

I’m doing our secret swap again this year, so here is my all about me post for this year. It’s pretty much the same one from last year, and the year before.

What I am… I am a mom, a daughter, a sister, a wife, and all the things those roles define. I act as an accountant, a chef (gourmet and diner varieties), a maid, a washing woman, seamstress, personal shopper, and any other menial household task you can think of. I am also a taxi service on occasion as well as a nurse.

Now that I have (somewhat) defined my role, here is who I am (on this day)… I haven’t knitted in ages, so please, no yarn. I like reading, but I am picky. I am a web and graphic designer by trade, and I do that in my spare time. I co-own and operate Punky Moms, the rockin’est (is that a word? It is now!) parenting forum out there. I spend way more time there than is probably healthy, but I seriously love it and couldn’t think of a better way to spend my spare time. And all my other time. And time that doesn’t exist yet. I like to think I can sew and do all sorts of other crafty things, but in reality, there isn’t any time left over for it. I am kinda-sorta learning to tattoo, but I seem to be out of time and a cheering section.

I have lots of tattoos and big ears. My lobes are stretched to 3/4 of an inch, my double conches are an 8g, my tragii are a 10g and my helixes are at a 2G. I’ve had my navel pierced since I was 14 and yes it’s still there. Everything else I’ve removed.

I have a general wishlist posted here: http://quirkymom.com/wishful/

I am a stay at home mom.

I live in South Florida, where it’s hot all the time, but I can’t think of anyplace better to live. I grew up in MD but I don’t want to move back.

Hm… I can’t think of anything else right now. If my secret pal wants to know anything in particular, just drop me an email!

First of all, I bet Mxxx is hispanic, so WTF and second of all, why are six year olds worried about the colour of our presidents skin? Why are their parents pushing that bullshit on them?

I told Malachai we should vote based on who believes what we believe (and I explained about taxes, the war and same-sex marriage, albeit briefly) and not based on the colour of thei skin. It shouldn’t matter at all, and I pointed out that my skin is all sorts of different colours. He looked confused for half a second, and then told me my skin is lots of colours because I have tattoos. I said that’s right, and just because I have tattoos doesn’t mean I have to vote for a president that has them too.

I’ve recently emailed my extended family to gather their important dates, addresses, all that stuff. I am terrible at keeping in contact with people… I feel like I am always running around and I never have time to stop. Well, obviously I have time to stop or I wouldn’t be writing my days away here, but…. I’m hard pressed to find tons of time to call up just to chat, and honestly, I tend not to phone people unless I have something specific I need to tell them or ask. Not one for idle chatter I suppose.

Family is important to me… and the older I’ve gotten, the more important it’s become. Not in a “you can depend on family but not friends” kind of way… I’ve realized how easily family can slip away. Family is usually always there for you. Not for mundane day to day stuff, but the big stuff. The important stuff. Weddings and funerals, births and new homes, you know, the milestones we measure our lives by, but not necesarily the things that happen inbetween.

In the past two days I’ve had people comment on my arm. I look down and realize I have so much done. I forget. It’s dedicated to family. I have a piece for dad planned, for my grandparents… more family. My family may not agree with how I remember my family, but family is an ever present theme in my daily life. Funny what reminds me of it and when.

Working on The Bazaar, it needs [a lot of] work to be 100% ready for the press release. This is your official personal invite over there.

Speaking of press, Sarah wrote this gem about me for our “About Us” area, and my only reaction was “I want to hang with her!” I guess I don’t give myself the cool points others see in me lol

Jennifer Johnpoll is the archetype of the next generation matriarch.  She is a stay at home mom raising five children (three of her own and two in her charge), one husband and one father.  In her youth she wore a green mowhawk and had already begun her beautiful collection of tattoos.  She used to tour with Rancid and haunt the popular punk hangouts in Baltimore in the 90s.  As a mom she is as hip as ever.  She continues to add to her tattoo collection, but has swapped the punk haunts for playgrounds and the school pick up line.  Jenn runs the technical aspect of Punky Moms.  Whenever there is a tech problem, she fixes it.  She is responsible for how fantastic this place looks and operates.

Yah. *chuckles*  I don’t see me that way, but who ever does see themselves how others do?

What else what else….  I am updating the kids Leasters/Didj for the trip. My lovely bought me a Sony Portable Reader (eBook) for the trip and loaded it up. I am d/l some books as well – they are PDF, so I hope they convert OK b/c it seems a lot of the don’t.

I know, I’ve been slacking on my actual blogging of real non-me related things. I’ll get back on it when I get back from MD.

This year is the 13th year it’s going on, and the dates are August 15, 16 & 17. According to the site, hours are noon to 1AM on Friday & Saturday, and noon to 7PM Sunday. Admission is 15$/day or 30$ for the three-day pass.

Location is the Deerfield Beach Hilton. A word of warning – this hotel has the expo split up into multiple rooms and it’s kind of hard to navigate. I know of at least one vendor last year who got there, set up and packed up because of the layout. Unfortunately, the Coral Springs space was much nicer (I’m not being selfish here. Yes, it was right around the corner, but it was also all in one large room plus vendors in the public area, not five or six small rooms and a maze to get around) and better thought out.

This expo benefits the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. I don’t know the total, but they donate thousands of dollars every year to the hospital. You can beat new swag, new tattoos and a healthy donation for the kids. Actually, according to the website, over 400,000$ have been donated over the past twelve years.

Check out the website for location, vendors, artists, events and more. We’ll be there Saturday or Sunday, so keep an eye out and come say hi!

I don’t want to go work the night shift somewhere for minimum wage. It’s just not worth it for me. I’m not saying it’s not worth it to some other family, but minimum wage isn’t enough for me to justify a job. A couple of bucks over minimum isn’t either.

This was a perfect job. Benefits, 401K after a year, gas allowance, reasonable hours and something I enjoy (most of the time) doing.

No one is spending, which means our income dropped a lot. This position pretty much replaced Michael’s income, so his current income would have been extra, not only.

I feel kind of like a failure. Don’t rush to lift me up. I don’t feel like a failure as a person or as a mother, or even as a provider. I can’t pinpoint what I failed ot, unless it was the interview in general. I know I can do what the job was for… did I not hide my ears well enough? Should I have not bothered? Did my tattoos pop out? Did I go overboard being all conservative (they weren’t) or was my hair too red? Is it something that I can fix or was it just me?

I have been mostly obsolete for a while. I know it. I don’t do flash or any of the new technology. I don’t have any other marketable skills. I don’t craft often enough or well enough or unique enough to sell my stuff. I don’t have Stevie’s resolve to “get out there and do it and do it big and make it work” or maybe I just don’t have the passion for whatever “it” is.

I find myself often posting about “it.” It would be fantastic to know what “it” is. Some days I feel like all I am cut out for is being a mom, a housewife. Frankly, I’m not so good at that. My house is a sty. I can’t keep white tile clean with little children spilling and tracking shit all over it. I can’t keep up on the laundry. The only thing I can do consistently is put a home cooked meal on the table. There are still nights the kids get PB&J because they don’t like what I’ve made. That’s their own problem, not mine. I’m not a short order cook (I’ve been one before, I didn’t like it when I got paid for it, I sure as shit ain’t doing it at home).

Meh. I guess I cared more than I thought about this job.. I knew I was excited about it, but I didn’t realize how much I had vested in it personally. I am not actively looking for a job. I applied for all the local ones a bit ago and didn’t hear back – I’m not really qualified for a lot of them because I don’t know ASP or other various languages. This one fell into my lap and I feel like I barely missed it, but it was enough.

Back? Hello there! I agree with much of what was said, but perhaps not for the reasons… Mostly they revolve around my own preferences and how I don’t feel they are societally driven.

I shave my legs maybe 4 times a year, but I shave my vulva every 6 or 8 weeks vs. my armpits… whenever I wear a sleeveless top and the hair is too long for my taste, and I have my brows waxed every three weeks.

The hair on my legs doesn’t grow that fast, and when it is there, it’s pretty silky and virtually invisible unless you are up close and personal. I’ve been shaving/trimming my vulva since the hair started growing. I just don’t like it. I find I am much more sexually sensitive without a ton of hair, thought to be honest, at the longest I’ve let it go I didn’t have the “natural bush” that bush loving men want to see. I shaved my arms for years. I just don’t like body hair. Is it a societally charged disdain? I have no idea. I don’t think it is… in my life I’ve seen both ends of the pendulum – natural, hairy, but beautiful women and fully shorn, equally beautiful women.

Why do I have my eyebrows waxed? Don’t laugh. I had natural brows till 97ish and my friend attacked them with some tweezers. Thus became a low affair with the stylized brows of the 40′s and 50′s. Totally socially driven. As the years have gone by, they’ve gotten less arched, less drawn on. They follow the natural arch, I mostly clean up the straggly ones on the outside. Many of the current “hot” actresses, actors too!, are going au natural on the brows.

I feel like too much of a hypocrite saying I am natural. My usual saying is “mostly natural, slightly modified.” I dye my hair. I have tattoos. I have piercings (indeed, I have big chunks of cartilage outright removed). I shave, pluck and wax. I straighten (not so much anymore). I do a lot that isn’t strictly natural.