Spreading glitter and smiles in happiness :-)

Many of you know me as a usually happy person. It takes a lot to get me down, and sometimes I can get into my odd funk. In the past I have sometimes felt that something has been off, like I'm not where I belong, or am in the wrong place or time. Sometimes making friends is hard for me, I make acquaintances  and have felt that I've had to work so hard to keep friends.
There have been a few friends that have been amazing and that I love dearly and made my college experience absolutely wonderful and full of glitter and dancing and love, Dylan, Laura, and Kelsey, I thank you for that. Ellen is also one who although we are on separate paths is an amazing lady who loves God and rocks at life. :-)

HESC ladies!

Being here in Hawaii, feels like all the puzzle pieces of my life have come together. Making friends here is easier, and feels natural, I don't have to fight to make friends or to feel like I belong, my anxiety is gone. I went to a Hickam Enlisted Spouses Club and met some truly remarkable people.
Virginia and Beth took me right in, and showed me places to work out and go walking in the morning, which has led to some really great conversations, and a fun friendship that I'm excited to continue. I've also become super close with Dawn, who is Jeremy's sponsor's wife. She's phenomenal, and we have a blast just hanging out and chatting, not to mention she has a little one who cracks me up, and loves to sing "too close to love you".

At a halloween function, mermaid princess
and Buddy the Elf

Jeremy and I are doing fantastic, and our marriage is strong and unified and that alone makes me beam with happiness, to know that although we were separated physically while he was training, we both grew in ways that made us stronger, both individually, and together. (Although, to be honest, I may have learned to be a bit too bold sometimes). We took scuba diving lessons (believe it or not, I'm way getting over my fear of the water, I TOUCHED AN OCTOPUS), we are taking our advanced diver course next month, so we can go to wrecks and swim with sharks, impossible to believe, but I'm looking forward to it.

Our birthday cake and my flaming red hair :-)

Since we were separated during out birthdays, we celebrated our birthdays last night, I bought a cookie cake, and wrote on it, in very messy frosting handwriting, Happy Birthday Jeremy and Aj. And we had a little celebration, just the two of us, and blew out our candles. My heart overflowed with joy.

We also have a home. And not like our apartment at college where we couldn't hang anything really on the walls because we couldn't drill in, but as in, I know I'm going to stay here for at least 3 years and I've decorated, and have a DISHWASHER, and a GARBAGE DISPOSAL!!
 I've been able to do my DIY projects, and it feels like home. It feels right. I feel like I belong, and that I'm doing what I'm supposed to, and my life is on track, and it is quite well with my soul.

I feel very blessed, and happy.
I just wanted you all to know that all is well in Hawaii, and I hope that in each of your lives that you are finding and doing what makes you happy, and intrinsically loving those around you, and exploring new opportunities that arise.

Love,
Aj

I bought my tail!

Okay, so as many of you know I have been planning for a while to buy a mermaid tail. Due to resources, knowledge and some other random things I didn't think I would be able to order my tail till December, making it a giant Christmas gift that people could chip in towards. After doing more research I found Fish Butts (http://www.fish-butts.com/).  The maker is Stephanie and she has made many tails and does great work. I saved up my money from this summer and as of today my order was accepted for her to start making my tail. Beyond stoked as this is a dream come true.  The tail takes about 10 weeks to do so it should be here by mid december I think! Also, I decided on my mermaid name. I am Mermaid Harmony. I looked through hundreds of names and ideas, but I heard this and was like yep, that's my name.  I have a page on facebook, so if you would like to add me on facebook go for it! I have the design of my tail up on that page as well.  It's all coming together!

I also was asked to start doing a DIY Mer-craft for the mermaid magazine Tail Flip.  It is a great magazine and opens your eyes to new and different things in the mer-community.  I highly suggest you check it out, quite amazing. I think my first project will be a shipwrecked mirror. Super stoked to start working on it.
http://issuu.com/t_obrecht/docs/tail_flip_issue_1
http://issuu.com/t_obrecht/docs/tail_flip_issue_2

Mermaid Kariel is the model.

Other great news/slightly nerve wracking. Mermaid Kariel has a new opening for a weekly mermaid position.  She would provide the costume and I would be a mermaid. She is one of the top three mermaids in the world. She is amazing and works here in Honolulu, I have to remind myself not to compare and that everyone has their own talents. Sometimes that's hard when I look at all she's done, but she's been doing this for a long time, and I just got started, so I just need to keep doing what I love and believe that I am tidally fintastic. :-)  Hopefully I get the job, because to learn from her, would be a dream come true.

Work is going great, I just love the salvation army, and I work with amazing people. You know how sometimes you have a job and the people you work with drag you down? I don't have that at the Salvation Army, I enjoy working with everyone. Super happy. They also have a pool and talked about once I get my tail doing birthday parties there!!

Jeremy is doing great, he loves his job, and we have made quite a few friends here in Hawaii. He has the day off of work today, so we're going to go to the beach and then tonight we start our Scuba Diving Certification! Yay!

PS. My best friend Dawn and I are dying our hair this week, so stoked. She's going pink and blue streaks, I'm dying mine Red with blue streaks.

More updates about Hawaii soon, we don't have internet at our house, so it's been a little strange, but I have lots of DIY projects to post soon. PS...want a sneak peek at what I'm building this week?....

So excited.

Love and bubbles,
Mermaid Harmony

Broken heart

So I'm fairly sure my heart is breaking. We adopted an amazing dog this past weekend, I fell in love with her the second she came up to me an crawled onto my lap. Mind you she is a heeler lab mix so it is not like she is small. I thought my allergies would be manageable, I thought if we kept her clean and i took allergy meds we would be good.
Unfortunately that has turned out to not be the case, no matter what we've tried my allergies have attacked with a fervor I haven't seen in a while. So It is now official that we are giving he back, as many of you know i am a crier and i have she quite a few tears over this. We love Heidi, so much, but we can't give her what she needs, nor should I have to live the next 15 years of her life feeling like my legs are crawling with bugs because they itch so bad. She is being returned on Friday, and my prayer is that some amazing loving family will take her in their home and dote on her as much as we did this week. She was Jeremy's and mine first try at making a family of 3. Although we didn't succeed this time, we learned alot, and have decided to continue to enjoy being a family of two for a while until we are in a place that we can find a hypoallergenic dog that will belong to us. Hawaii is lovely, and has brought us something special and sometimes i think certain people and even certain animals (read Angel and Sparkplug/sport/snort) come into our lives to spread some love and memories.

So that's all for now, just wanted to share my thoughts. A full update on Hawaii will happen in a few days, a lot has happened and it has been awesome.

Love you all,
Aj a very tear streaked dog owner