Making Holes and Mischief

The friends came to the rescue for moral support during the piercing... and for crowns.

Well, were I a betting woman then I shouldn't be. I was positive that my niece would come away with a half-pierced head, tears and screaming. But she didn't make a sound. Not one noise. Didn't flinch. Didn't even shed a single tear. I couldn't even tell when her ears got pierced. And just like that she was done, out of the chair, and trying on every pink item Claire's had to offer.

I don't know why I didn't put more faith in her. When she was one we got into a pretty bad car crash on our trip to California. My niece had been sleeping in the back when a car cut in front of us and we hit it at 50mph. Out of that whole ordeal my niece cried and screamed once - when the paramedic checked her heart beat. If a pretty substantial car crash didn't rile her, then ear piercing must have been absolutely nothing for her.

Speaking of piercings, one of my buddies took it to a level that few people I know would ever go to. A few weeks ago she went to to the Madison Ink Life Tour, got four hooks pierced through her back, swung back and forth through the air, and proceeded to grab my friend, Allie, and swing with her in her arms. She grinned while a group of us watched the video in what I could only describe as shocked confusion. Her reasoning was this: "Well, I like getting pierced, and I like swinging. So it would only make sense that being your own swing would be fun!" What's the written version of making creeped out noises? Aaahhhewwwwgroooosss. Yeah. That's about sums up my feelings on it. But gross or not, my friends are awesome.

Meanwhile, if you're also a mischeivious aunt/uncle/mom/dad/grandma/grandpa/friend with a friend who has a cat, I highly recommend this little book. I found it wandering through JoAnne's last week, and while I was intending to give it to my nieces as a gift... I think it's going to be a "special-stay's-at-uncle-and-aunts-house book" (i.e. mine). The author, Nick Bruel, apparently has a bunch of other Bad Kitty books, including "Bad Kitty for President", and "Bad Kitty Meets the Baby". The original Bad Kitty book tells the story of what can happen when you don't feed a kitten good food (like buffalo burritos and elephant eggs). It's the perfect book for my family in-laws, as they had a kitten that looked just like this not to long ago. They had to give it back to the farm they got it from after it started eating and puking up all their clothes.

Tonight is bellydance practice with a return to veils, zills and swords. I especially love teaching these things to beginners because whipping the sword out usually results in looks of fear before they realize it's not actually sharp. Granted, we have to practice balancing things on our heads first. In the spirit of a sneaky kitty, I might bring cups and fill them with water. How long can a dancer shimmy before losing her balance and drenching herself? No idea, but it's going to be a fun break from the heat. :)