Tattoos and Me

So, as most of you know, I just got two more tattoos this week (don't worry, it came out of my fun account that I've been saving up for, not from any Christmas money) ;-)

This is Twig the Fairy's tail, but the color scheme is fantastic

So, I sent my tail back this week for rework, I've been dancing in Zumba a ton, and I've actually lost about 6 inches around my waist believe it or not, (not that I had much to lose, but it's lost now and I'm not stressing over finding it again).  There were patches of silicone on the tail that were pooled up, so she had offered to fix it in January, so she's fixing that and taking it in for me, a gaping waist, doesn't help much with the realism that I try to portray as a mermaid ;-)  So, while my tail was gone, I figured it was a solid time to get my feet done, so I didn't have any temptation to get into the water. My friend Billy (who portrays a merman at the hotel sometimes and just for fun) and I also decided to try our hands at making a tail.
Mine is going to be golden, shimmery red, copper, maybe purple or rich blue, I want it to look like it came out of a fire place, I'm super excited, so we're starting tomorrow, I have all the neoprene in my closet at the moment, I'm too nervous to start without him. He already made one tail, the one he has now, so he knows what he's doing, I totally don't.  I also received  my first order on Etsy for my signs which is exciting and fun!
Both were feet tattoos, which apparently hurt the worst, out of tattoo placements, feet, chest, and neck hurt the most I guess, I'll stick with my feet. The one on my left foot says "Be Brave and Dream", I was going to just get the word Brave, and then I was thinking it over, and I started typing and then I looked at what I typed it said Be Brave and Dream, and it clicked. I was like, 'yep, that's my tattoo', it's basically what I stand for in life, and felt right, so that's how that one happened.

The second one is my owl with rose colored glasses, I've been talking about this one for over a year now, and sitting on the idea, and mulling over placement.  I decided on my foot, and got this one last night. It hurt a little worse than my other tattoos, this one was chalk full of color, so there was lots of going back over places that were already drawn on. After though? Whew, that was rough, because blood rushes to it when I stand up and walk around, so I'm currently gimpin it up. I'm at home now with my swollen little foot propped up on the couch. :-) She's adorable and I like her purple tips of her wings. :-) I need to come up with a good name, the glasses have this 1950's look to them that I just love.

Other than that, Ron and Adri come in less than a month! Super excited! We will be quite busy with them, and then after that Mermaiding will kick off again, I have 4 in February, and 6 already in March I think. :-) I've been getting some great reviews from people I've done parties with, it's exciting to know that I'm helping people make their children's dreams come true. The other day I was asked by a child if I had any pets, I told her in my under the sea home I had a pet sting ray named Bobby, who had lost his stinger because it was bitten off by a now rehabilitated shark named Scar because the shock and pain he received from biting off Bobby's stinger. Hilarious and awesome. Love my job. I also took part in a Zodiac photo shoot a week ago, I was Pisces  hopefully I'll see some pictures soon and can post them!
That's all for now!
Much love my fellow adventurers!
Aj

52 Resolutions

So, I'm super bad at the resolution thing, and so there are 52 weeks, so I came up with 52 doable things that I can do this year to help make this year super awesome.

Hope you enjoy them!

1. Try a new place to eat once a month
2. Become better at sign language, and create a new sign song at least once a month
3. Do regular cleanings once a week in the house
4. Volunteer more often
5. Do something cultural once a month
6. Go see a live performance or show once a month
7. Mermaid at least once a week
8. work out consistently 3 times a week
9. Start a Garden, even if they are just pots of  herbs outside
10. Plant flowers to attract butterflies/hummingbirds even if just in pots
11. Learn to Say No
12. Carry a notebook with me.
13. Write more.
14. Get out of my house more often
15. Try a new recipe a couple times a month
16. Save $ for a rainy day fund
17. Create my craft/sewing nook
18. Create backsplash for my kitchen.
19. Host a swap party with friends
20. Learn a new skill.
21. Have professional photos of the Mr. and I
22. Girls Night Out Once a Month
23. Plant a tree.
24. Go to a festival of some sort
25. Write a letter to at least one person a month
26. Recycle!
27. Hike in a new place at least once a month
28. Go to a concert that I wouldn't normally go to.
29. Take a cooking class
30. Read 12 new books
31. Dress to impress everyday.  I am not going to save my "nice" things for nice days. Everyday is going to be awesome!!
32. Carry a water bottle
33. Sew a dress
34. Create a mermaid tail
35. Avoid plastic.  Use sustainable things!
36. Have a personal date (time for me) once a week.
37. Be in a parade
38. New bedding to make my bedroom the most comfortable it can be
39. Record kindness each week. How can I share kindness with strangers, or even people I know
40. Get to know my neighbors.
41. Drink at least 30 oz. of water a day
42. sunscreen every day
43. Watch more documentaries
44. Do something from Pinterest each month
45. Become great at poi, and perform somewhere
46. Go vegetarian for a month
47.  Have a date with the hubby once a week.
48. Write thank you notes, even for the little things
49. Finish reading the Bible
50. Do a professional photo shoot
51. Go sky diving or parasailing, or both
52. Live more in the present.

Love,

Aj

2012 Smit New Years Eve Letter

Dear Family and Friends:

Started knitting!

Happy New Year! This time last year we were finally getting over our jetlag from our flight from Africa. It’s crazy to think about all that has happened this year.  We knew that 2012 was going to be a year of adventure and prayer and it did not fail to amaze us both with twists and turns.

Aunt Sara and I at the beach!

            We had decided that Jeremy was going to enlist in the Air Force, and thought BASIC would be in January.  The decision was hard, as he would be gone about seven months.  

We decided that I would make a terrible moper; I needed to be active and do new things while he trained.  I had made about three different plans for the time he was gone, including going to teach English in Europe, and working at a Camp overseas, but at each turn things kept falling through. This turned into a blessing in disguise, because he ended up not leaving until March instead of January like we had originally thought.  While he was in BASIC I traveled the states seeing family and friends that I do not usually have the blessing of being around, and was able to do many awesome things.  From one last girls night in Cedar Falls with my girlfriends, learning the power of Red Lipstick, going to the Denver Art Museum, being amazed by Universal Studios, beach days, I was quite busy, and had time to learn a new art form; poi. Many thanks goes out to those who took me in: Kelsey, Laura, Aunt Holly, Aunt Sara and Court, Kelsey in Denver, and Robyn and Jay, you helped me grow and learn, and I am forever grateful.

70's dance at camp

            While I was out having adventures, Jeremy, or should I say “Airman Smit” was elected as Dorm Chief for his flight, this meant that he was in charge of getting his flight where they needed to be, and helped to lead the men in becoming Airmen for the Air Force. Pretty darn cool if you ask me.  He graduated in May from Lackland Air Force Base.  Ron, Adri, Tim, and Linda all came to the graduation with me, and we all had a great time catching up and seeing the sites of San Antonio.  It was a beautiful weekend, with lots of fantastic food. 

We then found out that he was going to tech school at Keesler AFB in Mississippi till August to train with computers.   I had always wanted to work at the YMCA camp again, but couldn’t because we had gone to China and Africa, when I found out Jeremy was going to be gone all summer, I found the perfect opportunity to go back once again to the place that got me hooked on nonprofit work and ended up becoming the Arts and Crafts Head to my surprise, and fell in love with camp all over again.

            This summer was also when I found out about mermaiding, I bought my monofin in July and practiced every extra second I had.  We also found out in July that we were going to be placed in England, we were ecstatic about this because we have friends in England.  Two weeks before we were to leave we found out that we were being rerouted to Hawaii. As you can imagine, we didn’t put up much of a fight to that.  We arrived in September and after living in a hotel for a month, found a house on base. 

  It is amazing here, I have made tons of friends through the Spouses’ Club here, and Jeremy is doing wonderful at work. The community and life here in Hawaii is one of a kind and we never expected our first base to be this awesome.  In October I was offered a job as a Lead Day Camp Counselor for the Salvation Army, and also started semi-professionally mermaiding after getting my tail as Mermaid Harmony.  Our family is still a family of two, and so we've been able to explore, become scuba certified, and have hiking adventures here on Hawaii. We tried expanding our family twice to adopt a dog into our family, but it didn't work out either time because of allergies, who knows, maybe in 2013! We bought our first Christmas tree, and spent Christmas at the beach for the first time!

We would like to thank all of you who have kept us in your prayers and thoughts this year, we never expected the adventures we have had, but could not be more grateful. We love you all, even if we can not see you all of the time! Can’t wait to see what 2013 has in store!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 The Smit Family in Hawaii :-)