Local Biz Spotlight: Ink Penn Tattoo

Ink Penn Tattoo

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I should premise this post by saying that my hubby nor myself actually has a tattoo, yet. However, when we decide to get tatted in the future, Ink Penn Tattoo, would be the place we would go. 

Co-owners, Jamaal Wilson and Michael Gonzalez (Gonzo), recently opened their shop together but each have been tattooing for 4 -5 years now. Being that they are a young biz, a little word of mouth advertising can be pretty important, so I wanted to show some love to Ink Penn Tattoo in hopes that you would check them out the next time you need to get a tattoo fix.

I personally have known co-owner Jamaal Wilson from high school back in the day ('97-ish) and am very familiar with his artistic talent. So it didn't surprise me when I heard he entered the tattooing industry. It's a great industry for him to branch out and master his skills even more, even if it is on people! 

I know, I know, even though someone can sketch or paint doesn't mean they can tattoo but in this case, Jamaal is definitely quite the ar-teest! I have been following his career via Facebook and Instagram, so I have been able to view his great work almost on a daily basis.. 

Unfortunately, I cannot vouch for Gonzo at this time but knowing Jamaal, he didn't select his biz partner by chance! But looking at pictures of tattoos he has done, I can tell he is very talented as well.

With any piece of art, you have to see the piece of work in order to evaluate the talent. See for yourself, how good they are! Here are some pics of their work. 

*All photos were provided by Jamaal and are copyright material of Ink Penn Tattoo. I was given permission to share.

Interested in getting a tattoo? Keep Ink Penn Tattoo in mind! Call them today for a consult or get one of their custom designs!

Visit Ink Penn Tattoo at:

2505 Willow Park Rd

Bethlehem, PA 18020
610.504.5543 for Jamaal
610.417.0614 for Gonzo

Be sure to show some support and the spread the word! Ink Penn Tattoo is open for business!

Disclaimer: I did not receive compensation for this post from Ink Penn Tattoo. These words are also my own opinion. My intention is to keep my fab followers informed of businesses in the LV that they can support. With any service, please do your research before committing to any one shop for your tattoo!

Liberty State Park

This past weekend was both my hubby's 32nd birthday and my nephew, A's 3rd birthday. Like every year, we take the trip to north Jersey to visit our nephew for his birthday, usually for his party. This year there was no party but we were able to spend quality time with my bro-in-law's family.

We all had such a fun time together! My In-laws took us to Liberty State Park for a picnic and to see the sights. That area is so beautiful! The first part of the park they took us was the area more dedicated to the Armed Forces. There were military statues and flags all raised high. We walked to the bridge area to get an awesome view of the Hudson river where you can see Lady Liberty right across. That was the closest I have ever been to her. She was absolutely beautiful even from across the river!

After our picnic, they took us down to another part of the park. This area was dedicated to the New Jersey 9/11 victims. They called it the Empty Sky memorial and out front of it was two salvaged pieces of steel from the towers. It was so beautiful and very humbling. I had chills while I was strolling between the walls reading the etched names of the victims. I was even more thankful for my life!

 Empty Sky Memorial - Freedom Tower to the left of memorial.

What I learned from my sister-in-law is that if you look in between those two walls of the Empty Sky Memorial walls, the open space is where the Twin Towers stood. Also, at the ends of each wall was an etched message. It read:

"Empty Sky: New Jersey

September 11th Memorial

On the morning of September 11, 2001, with the skies so clear that the Twin Towers across the river appeared to be within reach. The very essence of what our countr stands for - freefdom, tolerance, and the pursuit of happiness - was attacked. This memorial is dedicated to New Jersey's innocent loved ones who were violently and senselessly murdered that day at the World Trade Center, The Pentagon and in Shanksville, PA."

Freedom Towers across the Hudson

Freedom Towers in the making

Throwback Thursday

Sister Tanya and I

Well this is a teensy bit embarrassing! At least the photo isn't clear, sorry about that! This was taken during one of my first camping trips. Don't you just love the big plastic glasses and can you tell I am rocking my L.A. Gear?

Hope you have a HAPPY THURSDAY!

Help Me Support: Van 4 Brayden

I've been following Heather Helvey of Live.Love.Laugh since we were both planning our weddings back in 2009. I also have been following the development of her amazing miracle baby, Brayden, who was born 12 weeks early! Now one years old, he is still such a happy little boy, always smiling! Brayden and his parents are such an inspiration to me and many other of their followers. A true blessing that there are great people like that in this crazy world!

This is your chance to help out Brayden!

For Brayden's 4th birthday gift in 2 years, Heather and her hubby, D, would love to purchase a wheelchair accessible van for Brayden that will help with traveling now that he is getting bigger. They hope that with your help in addition to grants and fundraising, they can make this happen!

You can read the details on donating HERE, where she has a PayPal donate button you can use to send your donation.

Also HERE is Brayden's story to learn more about this little miracle!

Please help the Helvey family reach their goal!

Thank you!


ETA: Heather kindly gave me the permission to host a Scentsy fundraiser to help their cause! I will be donating my entire commission earned from this fundraiser to help Brayden get his van. Here is another way you can help! Please visit https://groddy.scentsy.us/Scentsy/Buy?partyId=99890119 and place an order. The fundraiser will be held until the end of September. Thank you again for your support!

Happy Monday!

Source: pinkserendipity.tumblr.com via lisa on Pinterest

So, get your laughter on! Even Monday's can be a great day!

Throwback Thursday

Top: My Pops, Alfredo (RIP), Flor, William

Middle: Samuel, Margarita

Front: Jose (RIP), Carmen & my cousin, Esther

A family photo of my Father and his siblings. Not sure if this was one of the last photos taken of them together or not but it is a classic! One of my favorite pictures of them. 

Definitely a throwback! Just look at those afros and shirts! Looking classy and sassy! ;)

I ♥ my family dearly! 

R.I.P. to my Tio Freddie and Tio Tony!

The Transition

For my newest followers, I wrote about our co-sleeping situation here. Well it's been almost a year and a half later and our Little Miss has finally transitioned out of our bed. A much needed step since now our queen size bed was too darn small. Many nights consisted of either one of us getting kicked or punched in the middle of the night. Let's just say there were a lot of sleepless nights for Mommy once Little Miss got bigger. She has become such a mover. Kind of reminds me of how my brother was when he was little. Lay him one way and by morning he was the opposite way. Unfortunately, she hasn't moved to her room just yet. Instead she has moved to her bed in our room. Although it is not my ideal situation, I have to admit that right now it is working for us. Once we finish her room and she better understands what is going on, she will be in her room.

The first day we had her sleep in her bed, she really didn't even try to "escape". She slept all night in her bed with only falling out once. Because she is a mover in her sleep, we made sure her bed was surrounded by pillows which is what she fell on. Ever since the first night, she has had no problems sleeping on her bed. Parts of her body have occasionally slide off her bed but she either readjusts herself or I help her but that has been maybe once a night.

Surprisingly, the first night was more hard for me then for Little Miss. I absolutely could not sleep. I kept checking on her every hour to make sure she was on her bed safe and sound. Of course the minute I fell asleep is when she fell out, so that prevented me from sleeping at all. But with each passing day, she has slept better and so have I. I don't think it has made a difference for the hubs. He has slept soundly every day just as I had expected he would.  Go figure!

In addition to transitioning Little Miss to her bed, we have also stopped giving her milk throughout the night, cold turkey. In the beginning of her infancy, this little one never ate enough during the day, so as a result at night she would drink a lot of milk and wake up many times throughout the night. Poor girl was hungry which is what the doctor had recognized. At some point she would drink in excess of 9 oz of milk every couple of hours. Now that she is nearing the potty training age and showing signs of interest, we knew we were going to have to cut it out especially now it seemed more of a habit than hunger as it once was. So her normal night routine now consists of her 9 pm milk and then if she wakes asking for milk, we give her water instead. The first few days, she would drink a little and then go back to sleep but the last night she didn't wake for anything at all! Yay!! I couldn't believe that I slept through all the way to 5am and even then she didn't wake. Oh goodness, you cannot believe how thrilled I was! That was the first full night's sleep I had in over 3 years! Yet, I still feel tired. Ha!

Although this is working out, I am still working on getting her into her room where she belongs! That is the next goal!

Here's to a better night's sleep!! ;)

Have you or your little one have any sleeping issues? How have you dealt with it - what have you tried?

30 Day Challenge

As a last minute attempt to get us motivated, my hubby approached me with our first challenge as a couple. The challenge? Work out 30 days straight! I know that doesn't seem like much but for us it really is a challenge because it has been too long since we were consistently active.

We have been wanting to get started for a while but in all honesty it took a family wedding taking place next month to "push" us to be a little bit healthier. Not only will we be working out every day but we will make some conscience changes to our diet such as sticking to water instead of soda or juice. This is fairly easy for us. My hubby is like a camel and we usually don't have soda or juice in the house anyway. I also suggested we stay away from excess sweets (No Dairy Queen!) and away from fast food in general.

If you have been following me long enough you would know that I am not really good at sticking to things but I am more serious now. What makes it better is that my hubby is doing it too, so it will help to bring out my inner competitor and keep me motivated, something I have been wanting for a while.

Our goal at this point is to have a nice jump start in our goal for a better and healthier us. A few clothing sizes would be nice too but let's worry about that later. Once the 30 days are up, we will continue to work on getting us to our ultimate goals.

To keep you updated, weekly I will post about our progress. I will try to get some pictures up as well, documenting our progress too.

Here's some beginning stats:

Me:

5'4"
189 lbs (lost 4 lbs thanks to the stomach virus)
42D
Size XL in shirts
Size 14 - 16 in pants

Hubby:

6'2"
205 lbs
38 x 32 for pants

Here's to a better us! Wish us luck!

Pin ♥

Pin ♥ : Pins of the week

Source: notonthehighstreet.com via Gianna on Pinterest

Source: myrepurposedlife.net via Gianna on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Gianna on Pinterest

Source: somethinglikethatdesigns.com via Gianna on Pinterest

Source: 500px.com via Autumn on Pinterest

Scentsy - 2012 Product Discontinued List

Scentsy has finally released their 2012 discontinued list to make way for the new Fall / Winter collection.

Start stocking up on your favorite warmers and scents before they are gone! These products are only available for purchase while supplies last and until August 30, 2012.  Don't forget that these products and almost the entire 2012 Spring / Summer catalog is 10% off!

Don't wait, start shopping!

Visit my Website!

Scentsy - Discontinued List Fall2012

Our Boy

I always post about our baby girl, Little Miss. It's only natural since she occupies all of my life.  But I bet most of you didnt even know that I had another special guy in my family.

Meet Buddy, our 11.5 year old puppy!

 Ok, so he is not exactly a puppy anymore being that he is older than all of us including my G'ma but he is our boy. Actually he is my FIL's dog but we've been taking care of him for years (whole other story). Since unfortunately, his time on this earth is limited, I thought it was time to show him some extra love!

Buddy is a Chocolate Lab + Rottweiler mix (perfect for our "Roddy" family - corny, I know!). He has the personality of a Lab but looks like he is on steroids with his defined muscular build. His bark is intimidating especially to other dogs, but it's a facade. Buddy pretty much is a puppy in an adult dog's body. If you let him, he will try to be your lap dog and I dare you to try and get him off. He really is one strong dog! He'll even growl and bark at you if you aren't petting him. This is especially true when he sees my parents and sister.

Buddy has really taken well to our Little Roddy. Sometimes he will want to be around her (especially at eating time) but most of the time he is running away from her. It is pretty funny at times! All and all, he has been great with her and has taken her tugs and hugs without a problem.

Unfortunately, he was never trained by my FIL. Somehow he is "potty" trained just not in any other way. Although it's not Buddy's fault, his behavior can sometimes be frustrating and I know people have heard me complain but I really do love Bud-Bud. I am definitely not looking forward to the day he passes especially since now that Little Miss has grown to love him like a fur-brother.

Here's a few of Buddy's likes & dislikes:

Likes:

• To wrestle with the hubs (see pics below)
• To wait under the table for fallen scraps of food (especially from Little Miss)
• To rip the squeeker out of a toy
• Huge dog bones
• To pop balloons

Dislikes:

• Small animals (scared of small dogs due to a previous attack)
• Cats
• Broccoli
• Little Miss tugging on him too much
• Other dogs barking too much - he usually will growl or bark back once and they stop

So do you have any pets? If so, what and how many?
If you have any children, how did your pets take to them?

Throwback Thursday: Special Edition

Happy 53rd Birthday

Today is a special day! It is the 53rd birthday of the the first man in my life, my Father. A man who I truly love, honor and respect. Happy Birthday, Papi! I hope today is a wonderful and blessed day! May God bless you with many years to come! Bendicion!

Happy 32^nd Anniversary

Today is also my parent's wedding anniversary. They celebrate 32 years of marriage filled with love and friendship! They are definitely my example of true love. I can only hope and pray that my marriage is as strong and filled with love as theirs is. We love you and God Bless!

On a date

8/9/1980

Randomness

Source: someecards.com via Brittney on Pinterest

The hubs and I were on our way to the grocery store and randomly the topic of people not putting their shopping carts where they belong came up. We both were on the same page in that a cart should be returned especially if the cart holder is nearby. We both are aware that sometimes there are reasons as to why someone can't but the majority of the time, there really are no excuses. Just plain laziness!

Of course, as we were talking we were watching this lady take her cart and parked it behind her between her van and the car behind her. There was no reason for her to do that when there was a cart holder directly in front of her van and one 3 spots to her left. So this kind of ticked us both off but I was surprised at my hubby's reaction. He took it upon his self and walked to the lady's cart and walked it to the holder without saying a word to her. As he pushed it in the holder with force, he decided to give her a "shame on you" face, again without saying a word. The lady decided to step out her van to shout to him "I did that for a reason, sir" and  then "Have a nice day". Ha! My hubby just returned a smirk. I was watching this all from my van and was just cracking up!

Really? What reason could you possibly have for not putting the cart away when 1. the holder was in front of you and beside you and 2. you risked the car behind you to get damaged. She literally could have pushed the cart from her van and it would have gone right in without much effort. It just made no sense.

What are some of your pet peeves?

Fro Yo

I am not sure if your area is doing this but here in the LV, the Fro Yo craze has started. It's like when I started watching the show Cupcake Wars on the Food Network channel all of a sudden all these cupcake bakeries opened up. Right now, I can think of 3 Fro Yo shops that are all within 10 minutes of my house. They seem to be every where!

But don't take this post as complaining! This makes me excited! Now it doesn't mean they will see me on a weekly basis. Shoot, I'm not trying to get any bigger here but it will be a nice treat once in a while for not only me but Little Miss as well. Maybe a "Mother-Daughter" place to go. It does help that my lactose-intolerant body seems to manage well which is GREAT! Now I can enjoy something ice cream like and not start a war within.

So this past weekend and the other night, Little Miss was going through something. Friday night she had a slight fever which went away by Sunday but Sunday into Monday until about 3am-ish, she woke up with a few crying fits. It was one of those low to high pitch screams/cries which we heard often when she was an infant. The girl was in pain and our guess was it was either gas or her 2 year molars being a pain. Yesterday, she was feeling much better. Still a little sensitive but definitely better. I thought it was a great time to take her to So Fun! Yogurt.

I had the lowfat Vanilla + Chocolate swirl with Reese's Cup chunks, Butterfinger chunks and chocolate cookie crumbles. Little Miss also had the Vanilla + Chocolate swirl but with mini marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs and her fav, mini M&M's. She ate some of the fro yo but spent most of her time, picking out the little candies. She enjoyed it and that is what makes me happy! She gets many veggies and fruits in her diet, so she deserves these little treats every once in a while.

So Fun! is really a cute and fun place! It is bright and cheery in there and I of course love the modern look of the decor. The food is even yummier! I really do feel like a kid in there. There are 14+ flavors of fro yo  at one time to choose from and all kinds of toppings. Even sprinkles in the colors of our local high schools. I always apologize to my daughter when I put rival high school sprinkles on her fro yo ;).

All these kinds of shops may be similar in fashion. You pick out your fro yo of your choice then head to the center island for the toppings. The sprinkles, syrups and whip cream are at the counter. There you get your 'masterpiece' weighed and paid for. Just watch the toppings, you go overboard you will pay for it. Even so with all that Little Miss and I had, it was still only $6. Not too shabby.

So if you are thinking about trying a little something different, go ahead and stop at one of these shops! I am pretty sure you won't regret it!