I really have a sister

Remember when I wrote about the day I got a tattoo and what an eventful day it was for me and I couldn't say why...well now I can. I met my 37 year old half sister, Tamara the same day I got my first tattoo.

I have known my whole life that I had a sister out in the world. However, I never thought I would get the chance to meet her. I won't go into all the details of why but I will say that she is my dad's daughter. My dad was only married to her mom for a very short time right before he met my mom. Tammy's mom met someone else right away and she "forced" my dad to give up his rights to her. He did and never saw her or talked to her again until weeks ago. If facebook been around 20 years ago I might have gotten the chance to know her then. However, I know this is how it was supposed to be. Everything has gone so smoothly so far.

I also have another nephew. His name is Jax and he is the same age as Lydia.

This is us meeting for the first time. We met for lunch at red robin in Tacoma before I got my tattoo. She got our dad's height. She is 5'10". She is slouching:)

Tammy's son Jax is pretty tall too! She told me his dad is 6'6"

The next two pictures are from 2 weeks ago when she came to Laila's soccer game.


We are still getting to know each other but we are emailing back and forth quite a bit. I think I am still in shock that my sister is in my life after all these years. I'm lucky she lives close enough that we can get together and my kids will get to know their cousin Jax.

Friday Five

#1 song on repeat: "play me that song" Brantley Gilbert


#2 watching: I went and saw divergent last night with my friend. I didn't know much about it and thought it would just be ok. I was pleasantly surprised though. I definitely plan on reading the books now.


#3 reading: nothing


#4 eating or drinking: This has been a good week for eating healthy. My only real indulgence was getting kettle corn at the movie yesterday.


#5 goal: I didn't have any goal other than to keep with the running and I did...I feel like I am getting in the groove again and am not cursing under my breath anymore every morning I step outside for my run :)

Friday Five

#1 song on repeat: "sweater weather" by the neighborhood. I kept hearing this song on the radio but never caught who the artist was. On one of my runs this week it came on pandora and was able to see who it was. I love love this song but when I went to check out their other songs I was so disappointed. :( but..I still love this song.


#2 watching: becoming obsessed with LA Ink.


#3 reading: nothing


#4 eating or drinking: Brad's birthday was wednesday so I made him a peanut butter cup icecream cake.


#5 goal: Brad had the whole week off so I decided to take advantage of that and run every morning this week. There were definitely mornings I did not want to run but I am feeling great. I will be sad when I can't run every morning next week but I will try and force myself out the door when Brad gets home from work.

Friday Five

#1 song on repeat: "say something" by a great big world


#2 watching: two nights ago Brad and I watched 21 and over off netflix. We wanted comedy. I laughed a few times but probably won't ever watch it again.


#3 reading: still haven't bought divergent...still thinking about it though


#4 eating or drinking: Last night I made pb pancakes for dinner. It is my ultimate comfort food. They are very rich though so you can't eat many


#5 goal: I wanted to eat better while I was running during the week...although pancakes for dinner isn't the best...I didn't eat any candy this week. That is huge for me!

I got my tattoo

Yesterday was one of the biggest days of my life!! Not quite as big as my wedding or the births of my children but probably next in line. I wish I could lay it all out there. Soon...I can talk all day about my tattoo though. I am not going to pretend like things went off without a hitch and that I am a total badass! (unfortunately) I had been a nervous wreck from the time I woke up in the morning and I think that took a major toll on me. First on the agenda was the event I can't talk about. I will say that it went amazingly and once that part of the day over I could breathe easy for a few minutes. Brad and I both got tatoos but I decided I had to go first and get it over with. I knew it would make it worse sitting there waiting.

We walked into the shop about 15 minutes early and I immediately began to sweat. We were the only ones there with appointments and Oz was all ready for us. My adrenaline was pumping in full force for a good 15 minutes before he even touched me with a needle..prepping the outline that they put on your body first and tattoo over. My fears were mostly of the unknown and wondering if I could handle that kind of pain for an hour. I went into this thinking I was going to be able to lay on a table and just zone out and pretend I was getting a massage...hahaha. Unfortunately, picture this...straddling a chair and bending over the front of it with your feet not able to be completely flat on the ground. It was not comfy whatsoever and then because I was so nervous I forgot to breathe. The initial pain wasn't even that bad but it was worse than I imagined. I think that I was so wound up and waiting for it to hurt worse that I wasn't breathing like I should have been. After about 10 minutes I looked over to Brad and told him I was going to pass out. I felt like all the blood had left my head and I was sweating buckets. Oz was super nice about it and told me to take my time and remember to breathe. Once the color came back to my face we continued and it went smoothly. The worst parts were the beginning outline of the hammer where it really did feel like he was dragging a knife across my back and shading right on my spine. It took just just under an hour. My friendly advice for people who are thinking of getting a tattoo are as follows; don't tattoo your spine, breathe as normal as possible, and don't tattoo your spine:)  I love my tattoo. I think Oz does amazing work and I would do it again if I ever found something I wanted enough.

Brad's tattoo took twice as long as mine. His had way more intricate lines. I always like watching Brad get tattooed. I think its entertaining to watch someone try and be unaffected. I could tell exactly when he was in pain though. Brad's eyes would get wide and he wouldn't blink. Here is Brad's

Friday Five

#1 song on repeat: "I never told you" Colbie Caillat


#2 watching: My best friend and I got together and watched the One Direction movie yesterday. I am not even ashamed!


#3 reading: I am thinking about reading the divergent series. I am a big fan of young adult fantasy so it seems like it would be something I like. although, it seems it might be too out there..because of course vampires are not far fetched at all right?


#4 eat or drinking: Last night I made pesto chicken pizza from scratch. It's my expertise.


#5 goal: Sunday is a very very big day for me for a couple reasons. One I am not ready to share even though hardly anyone reads my blog, but ya never know. The second one is that I am getting my tattoo!!! ahhh! I feel sick just thinking about it. However, the thing I am not ready to share makes me want to pass out so tattoo is not as big of a deal as it could have been. So if anyone reads this please pray for me...seriously..