Mermaid Reacts: How I Met Your Mother

It was the Best Finale, but the Worst Finale.

Dads

Of all the things and the people in the world that I love, my father is one the most special. He's loved and taken care of my mother for many years. He provided for his family, even if it meant a two hour daily commute, and not seeing us as often as we'd like. Even if it meant not seeing us kids at all, because he worked the night shift, and had to leave before we got home from school, and went to bed before we woke up. Even if it meant living in a different state for a year or more, while we packed up the house and tried to sell it.

Through everything my mother was incredibly patient, even though she hated being apart from him for so long.

My dad brings my mom flowers and chocolates whenever he wants, just to let her know he still cares. (He also offers them as an apology for when he messes up sometimes...) And he frequently tells her, "Hey! I love you! Why haven't you kissed me yet today?"

My dad is sarcastic, and fun to joke around with. He loves word games, and science shows, and puns. He loves Jazz and listens to it in the garage while he works on wood projects, like the rolling island cabinets he built for the kitchen for my mom.

When I was little, he taught me the abc's. His version is quite a bit different than the usual abc's, though, and got me into trouble in kindergarten. It goes like this:

"AB C D ?"

"L M NO ..."

"O S M R, AB. C M P N D C?"

I this case, the letters are spoken as if they were words, and I think it sounds like little children speaking. The goldfish icon was free to use by Jellybeanadopts on Deviantart. I thank her for helping me to illustrate this cherished childhood memory. The translation to the poem is like so; 

"Abee see the goldfish?

"Elle, them no goldfish...."

"Oh yes them are, Abee. See them pee in the sea?"

So, my dad is pretty hilarious. My mom had to tell the teacher to ask me to say the other alphabet. Then I got it right.

My dad is the greatest. I think the only person who comes close is my husband. He is such a good daddy. He makes time every day to play with our little squirt, and any time I throw something new at him when it comes to the baby, he takes it in stride, trusts my instincts, and asks how he can help.

I decided yesterday it would be good to start teaching Lochlan some sign language to help  him communicate until he's more verbal. Captain Leo jumped right on board and started signing along with me. He even learned the ASL term for "Pirate". 

He also takes care of the baby when I need my tail time, or any time out of the house, for that matter. I've come home to him sitting in the nursery with Lochlan, reading him a story and feeding him a bottle. He was also totally amazing during the ren faire, when I needed to be there every weekend. It was hard on him, I know, but he was such a trooper and kept the baby happy, and pale (in other words, covered in sunblock and out of the dangerous rays).

No Doubt about it. I have the greatest men in my life. Period.

Sending his Ashes to Ireland

As you probably know, I've been trying to raise money to send my mother to Ireland to fulfill my brother's last request. That is where he wanted his ashes spread. And he wanted our mother to take them there. So I have added a paypal donation button to the side of my blog, in place of my tail fund progress bar.
I want to have as much as I can by her birthday in October. I will then write her a check for the amount that I have raised and post a video of her reaction.
It will be a day to remember if I can raise enough money.
So please, if you have a moment, please donate. every little bit helps.
Thank you.
Grateful Tails,
Dottie.

Life Is Like The Sea... WARNING: this post is not sugar-coated.

Something I've noticed lately...

I have found, in all my tail-bound comings and goings this year, that a true mermaid...

Wait! Lemme back it up.

So, you see the kids, they put on their cute little fabric tails, and we love them because they're adorable. But we know that at least %50 (if not %70 or more) of these boys and girls are going to grow out of their tails, and at the same time grow out of the fantasy of being a mermaid in real life. And that's okay. We still love them.

There are also men and women who'll put on a tail once and say "That was fun. I really enjoyed that," and move on. That's okay, too. Sometimes you need to leave reality for a while and splash around. Nothing wrong with it. Some mers are able to benefit from it (financially or otherwise).

Then, there are still others. you see them, happy as can be, live life in a tail because they can, either because they love it, or because they make money off of it. We love them, too. (Though, we may not always admit it, and sometimes are very envious.)

But then, when all those people have come and gone, we're the ones who are left.

I have found, in all my tail-bound comings and goings (which are few, I'll gladly admit), that

True Merfolk are Born of Tragedy or Strife.

I feel that the thing that pulls a lot of us to the mermaid community, is the bond that we share. Felt, but often unspoken.

-Low Self-Image.

-Health Issues.

-Discrimination.

-Bullying.

-Rape.

-Loss of a Loved One.

One, or all, of these things could be the switch, the trigger, the fork-in-the-road.
We have faced these struggles, maybe even sunk to our knees under the weight of the crashing storm, but every one of us has stood back up and said
"No! I will not cower! I will not walk through life with my head bowed in sorrow. My life is a beautiful gift, and I will spread and share my light until my dying breath." OR
"No! Life is too short, and too precious to spend in sadness. I will be happy, and I will do what I love!"

Our lives are like the sea, and after each passing storm, we rise up with the tide, stronger, brighter, fiercer. We gain a greater capacity to love, and to share love each time we overcome our struggles.

On January 15th, 2012, my older brother was murdered. We don't know why. What I do know is that he would be proud of me for my accomplishments and for the good that I'm doing. He would come up to me at an event, put his arm around my shoulders and say "Way to go, Spot. This is really cool. I'm really proud of you, sis." and he would mean it.
I know that you can overcome your trials.
I know that when you do, you make your Creator joyfully proud of you.

Life is short.

Live.

Mantra of a Mormon Mermaid

Last night, I couldn't get to sleep until after 3am. While I was awake, I wrote this down.  Maybe I'll give it a permanent spot on here. This Mantra is based loosely on the LDS Young Women's Theme.

I will build  FAITH  in the hearts of the rising generation by showing them anything is possible. There is nothing that is impossible in God.

I will express my DIVINE NATURE by always treating others with Love and Respect.

I will never discount my INDIVIDUAL WORTH by wishing I were different than how my God made me. 

I will seek for KNOWLEDGE and Wisdom to improve myself and my character.

I will maintain my CHOICE & ACCOUNTABILITY by knowing the risks I take, and being responsible for my safety in the water, and by informing others of the same.

I will perform  GOOD WORKS  both in and out of the water in my daily life.

I shall not ever knowingly put myself in any situation where my INTEGRITY is in question. I will be honest at all times.

I shall always remain a Mermaid of VIRTUE in all things.

I will swim for Truth and Righteousness, as a witness of God and all his mighty works. The impossible is obtainable through the Creator and Father of all, and through His Son, the Redeemer of Mankind!

impatience and obsessiveness are my tea party companions...

So, I feel like I'm going crazy
.
I've decided that I'm going to have to save up the big bucks and get a $3000 Merbella Studios tail.  (Don't ask me how, I really don't know... )Now, here's what's up. My dear mer-sister, Thalassa has a tail coming from Merbellas soon. Raven posted pictures, and Thally showed me the ones sent to her email...

Holy moley......
I'm Super happy and Excited for Thalassa, but at the same time....

I'm terribly, 

horribly

Jelly

(jealous in mer-slang).
Seriously, the big, Sea-green, monster-of-the-deep named Envy is all up in my space right now, and I can't get him to go away.
I look at Merbella Studios pieces every day. The new Seaweed Top has me doing stomach back-flips especially since it's totally on track with a picture (coming soon) that my friend did for me a year ago. I watch videos, and I practically pine for my own.

When I'm not pining or wondering why sweet Thalassa is always 6-12 mos ahead of me in tail quality, I do mermaid crafts, draw mermaid pictures, wonder when I'll get some more tail time, and watch mermaid videos. I post on my mermaid facebook, and work on my new lily pad top. (All in between playing with my merling and watching him grow and learn. <3)

I even bought a mermaid coloring book.

Yes, it is safe to say, that this is now a straight up, full-blown, edge of self-control, obsession.
Good thing it's also a career. I don't think I could do something to make money if I didn't love it.

Recently, I started playing one of my husband's favorite games online. League of Legends. Needless to say I'm terrible at it, so far. Why did I start to play, you ask? Well, it's not Ocarina of Time (my all time favorite video game), but it does have one thing Link does not have: Nami.

I adore Nami. She's the most incredibly unique mermaid I've ever seen. I like her so much that I can't decide if I want my tail to look like hers or not.

I will probably go with Raven's Choice, but it's still fun to fantasize....

And then, there's PotC: OST.

See, in addition to being one of the Mermaids of the Great Salt Lake, I also belong to a guild called The Black Thorn Court. in the guild we have an interesting collection of characters, including The Dread Pirate Roberts, and Capt. Jack Sparrow, among others. Now, because we have some POTC characters going on, I of course want a gold tail like Syrena's. However, I think that it will be a sequin and Neoprene tail, with an extension inside to make it look like my tail goes past my land fins a foot or two. This will be accomplished by following this remarkable tutorial on youtube.

but I have no idea when I'll be able to do this.... I'm so going fin crazy right now, and I feel like I have cabin fever because spring is finally here......................

I want to be a mermaid and be free in the waters of springtime in utah!!!

Contest?

So, I've been thinking about it....
Most people seem to think I should go with Merbellas for my next tail.

Now my next question would be, hold a design contest, design my tail, or pick the Raven's Choice option?

If I held a contest, it would go like this:

Send in your drawings and sketches, and photo manips, whatever you think my tail should look like.
I would pick out my favorites and put them up for a vote.

The top pick would be the picture I send to Raven and say "Bring it to Life!" and would receive a nice printed professional photo of me in it,  signed and smooched, with a letter of thanks, special credit on my Facebook Page for it's design, and other cool stuff.
The 1st runner up would get something cool, like a a fabric tail painted like their design, or an awesome mermaid accessory or something, and then the Second runner up would get a doll dressed like their picture or something similar...

Would this be cool?
I dunno.
The Fabric tail prize would be probably swim fins and lycra spandex, but I'm a fair hand with a serger, and if I can't paint it, I know someone who can. OR if that runner up is very young, and the parents are concerned about safety, I will buy that young mer-in-training a drag-along tail from the MGSL's (Mermaids of the Great Salt Lake's) etsy store, Oh My Shells! and paint it like their design.

Well, input is greatly appreciated, so leave a comment below, or shoot me a message on facebook.
I love hearing from y'all.

Happy Tails!
Dottie