The Only Child Syndrome

On December 4, 2011December 5, 2011 By AngeliaIn Into the Blender we go- Wee!13 Comments

Sydney came along when I was about 22 years old. She was planned and I was happy to see her little red face when she was born.

I really thought I would have more. I wanted more. But that just wasn’t God’s plan.

So instead of blessing Sydney with siblings, she became an only child.

And truly, it has been great. She became very independent and responsible at a young age.

I’ve told you before she doesn’t get into trouble. She was a little hyper for a few years of grade school. That was probably the hardest time I had with her. But she calmed down with ADHD medicine. Then, she grew out of that. Thank goodness!

Now, Sydney has two half-brothers, and two step-sisters.

According to Wikipedia. Because her half-siblings and step-siblings came along to late in her life (her fist half-brother was born when she was 12).

Technically, she is still an only child.

And that is fine with me, I know I gave her undivided attention, and care. Keeping up with one is pretty easy. I figured this out when my step-daughters came along.

Only children don’t have playmates, but I don’t think Sydney was lonely. She just hung out with all the adults. She seems very adjusted, not bratty, or bossy (as some stereotypes suggest of only children).

When she became a sister, I was VERY happy for her to finally have a brother. Then, the lucky devil got to take on two step-sisters. Everyone knows, a girl’s gotta have sisters. Then her second brother was born to her step-mom this summer.

Exciting stuff! From none to four.

She doesn’t see her brothers very often (they live in Mississippi), but her sisters certainly let her experience what it’s like not to be an only child.

She gets to argue, share the bathroom, mimic, sing, and play games with them. They may be far apart in age, but it’s not really much different from normal siblings.

Even down to the tattling……

This makes me laugh, not just for the content (her icons are hilarious), but what it represents: the fact that Sydney really knows what it’s like to be a big sister.

It was pretty dark in the living room (I think). Maybe, she was just chewing her fingernail?

The important thing to remember is big sister is always watching.

Sushi Zone

On December 2, 2011December 3, 2011 By AngeliaIn WINNING!10 Comments

The gift of new foods.

As long as I can remember, I did not like fish. No fish of any kind, or cooked in any way. Just bleh! I do not like them Sam I am.

Then, I met Jason, and for him (what love does to a person) I tried RAW fish for the first time.

To my surprise…it is the only fish I like. And it totally backs up my theory that I was a mermaid in a former life.

Reasons I was a mermaid in a former life.

I love to swim.
I feel called to the ocean.
I could gaze, surf, or snorkel in it – all day long.
I love deep-sea fishing.
And to top it off, I only like raw fish.

See, told you I was mermaid.

Every month, if I get special spending money from Avis/Budget/Hilton brands for booking cars and hotels. We go to our favorite Sushi restaurant owned and operated by Koji called Sushi Zone. You can even follow them on Facebook.

It’s a place where everybody knows our name. The waitress knows the day we got married. Koji remembers every type of roll we eat, and even that Sydney does not like cucumbers in her California Roll.

They are hands-down the best in service, and quality.

I am not paid in sushi to write this about them (I wish!). I just love them and wanted to share what great service they have with you. Good service really is hard to find these days, and that makes it a gift.

Ready for Sushi.

My absolute favorite – fresh Salmon.

Jason’s sushi plate with hot sake.

My second favorite – California Roll (less the cucumbers for Syd).

And another picture of the California Roll because it is so pretty in color.

My iPhone 4S camera does REALLY great in low-light.

I never imagined I would like this type of food. I guess it just goes to show that life is full of little surprises.

What’s your favorite food? Is there a restaurant that you frequent?

Wordless Wednesday: Wedding Crasher

On November 15, 2011 By AngeliaIn Wordless Wednesday12 Comments

There’s one in every crowd.

Winning!

On November 14, 2011 By AngeliaIn Angelia's Photography15 Comments

Believe it or not, I am not the most confident person in the world.

Show me one of my photographs and I will point out a dozen things that are wrong with it.

Things I need to fix, change, or do-over.

I am probably the hardest critic I know. Perfectionism – my nemesissssssss. Boo. Hiss.

But it’s the part of “me” I am trying to embrace. After all, it can only make me ~~crazy~~ better, right?

When the Fort Worth Zoo held their photography contest, I entered under the direction of my photography teacher.

In fact, all his classes were urged to enter.

So we could learn, and grow, and do something that scares us; like have our work be judged by professionals, while we directly compete with one another.

But I did it.

And if you are a regular around here, you know I won third place. Winning!

What I didn’t know is that ALL the winners would be featured, not only on their website Fort Wort Zoo, and their Facebook page, but also in their magazine.

The day I got it in the mail was the day of extreme excitement. I almost jumped through roof.

My photograph is in a MAGAZINE!!! :jump:jump:jump:

I was all adither and adathers, or a whatevers! On the roof! :jump:jump:jump:

This is the cover – first place and best in show got the honor.

This is the page that hosts the winning bird photographs.

That’s me!! I know her! I know her! Actually, I know the second place winner too. My pal Nickie. Out of all the photography students that entered, we were the only two chosen.

I just get all excited seeing it again. I know this is probably silly.

This is the page that had an excerpt about the contest. It is also the first time that I saw in print how many photo entries were submitted (900!) and that the judges were a panel (how many is in a panel?) of professional photographers. Ahhh!

I still can’t believe this happened. I think it took getting the magazine in the mail. Something, I could see and touch – that wasn’t just on a website – that made it really hit home.