Monday, December 31, 2012

2012: A Big Year

It's nearly the end of 2012 (or to some of my non-US readers, it's already 2013). This year has been a big one for me! Take a look:


This year:
*I started Thalassa Mermaid and thalassamermaid.com
*I swam at the Utah Pirate Fest and met a lot of new friends!
*I found a new mertender
*I improved my swimming technique
*Thanks to my wonderful fans, I fundraised enough money for a new silicone tail
*I volunteered at The Road Home
*I entertained at The Living Planet Aquarium
*I founded The Black Thorn Court, of which the Black Thorn Mermaids are a part (more on this later)
*I found 61 (to date) new wonderful fans on Facebook

In 2013, I hope to:
*Set up regular visits to The Living Planet Aquarium
*Set up regular volunteer hours with Primary Children's Hospital (once my silicone tail arrives)
*Keep old friends and make lots of new ones
*Entertain at both the Utah Renaissance Festival and Fantasy Faire, and Utah Pirate Fest
*Improve my flipping technique
*Improve my underwater photography technique

Thank you to everyone who made this a truly memorable year! A few people I owe a special shout-out to (this list is NOT all-inclusive, since it would go on for MILES):
*Gawain Falke, for being my wonderful mertender (and to his dad, he knows why)
*Mermaid Lei Loni, without whom I wouldn't have met many of the mers I know today
*Mermaid Janelle, for helping me through The Road Home with her fantastic beadlets and for being such a good sport
*Mermaid Dottie, for being my first mermaid friend (and her husband and little squirt for showing me what's possible in a mer-family)
*Mermaid Koral, for being so much fun and getting along as well as supporting me through my anxieties these past few months
*Stevi of Fish Butts for making my first tail
*Raven of Merbellas for making my silicone tail and being so patient with my requests and questions
*The Black Thorn Court for supporting the crazy mermaid
*The Living Planet Aquarium for helping us get set up with them
*My family and friends who have seen me along the way with this crazy dream, and haven't told too many people how insane I am. ;-)
*My cool facebook friends
*Mernetwork, without which I wouldn't be a mermaid today
*Raina the Halifax Mermaid, who is my mer-inspiration in tail and out. Keep swimming!


Saturday, December 29, 2012

Living Planet Aquarium

Koral and Thalassa with the Living Planet Aquarium staff
Today, Mermaid Koral and I took the opportunity to perform at Utah's Living Planet Aquarium! The staff very friendly and excited to see us. They helped us get set up and provided us information about crowd flow. We were right next to the petting pool in the coral community. Koral joked that it was really the Koral Community, they just spelled it wrong!

It wasn't long before humans started coming in. It was fun to see all of the double-takes, and the kids who would spot us and make parents stop to look. Some children were very shy, as they tend to be. Others were flummoxed at the sight of a woman with a fish tail. Still others would run to us and ask us every question you could think of! One memorable little girl decided that my lap was a fantastic place to sit. She came right over and sat on me, making herself comfy and right at home. Her parents had a hard timing getting her to move on! I never knew my tail made such a comfy seat. ;-)

Koral and I were able to be a part of a few girls' birthday parties, one of which was Ariel-themed. We took pictures and gave out treasure. Even though we were very busy, we still had time to clown around and take fishy pictures in the "coral reef" setting. We were sad to go in the afternoon, but the aquarium staff said they would love to have us back so we will be back soon! Before we left, the staff asked to take a picture with us. Then we had "mermaid feeding time" in the cafeteria (Mac n' Cheese with Goldfish crackers, yum) and headed home.

It was a very fun time, and I can't wait to go back again!

Oh, by the way, we also took a few holiday pictures. Enjoy!