Craptastic at best (bad photos ahead.)

Snip. (Extreme sock mark closeup.)

Here are a few pictures of the new tattoo. It's still crusty and peeling and the lighting is depressing, but I'm still excited. I want to add a few flax blossoms here and there, but I am tattooed out right now.

The frogged yarn was important to me because I am such a mess. Life isn't about perfection, but persistence. Plus we were trying to cover the old tattoo completely.

The text says, "Proverbs 31." I recognize the irony of a "religious tattoo." Nobody needs to point that out.

For those of you who aren't familiar, Proverbs 31 reads...

Proverbs 31:10-31 (New International Version) (Colored emphasis is mine.)

10 A wife of noble character who can find?

She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her

and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,

all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax

and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,

bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still dark;

she provides food for her family

and portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field and buys it;

out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;

her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,

and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff

and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor

and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;

she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,

where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,

and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all."
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Give her the reward she has earned,

and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Since I am the only woman at my church who knows what a distaff is and uses a spindle, I feel entitled to own this passage. I'm a wife and mother--it's my career--and I give everything I have to it.

And, yes, it did hurt. A lot. Who decided that the most painful tattoo spots are the most appropriate for women? Yikes.