Aboard the Alii Nui, a 60' catamaran

We went sailing this weekend and had a blast. I was worried at first because the little one’s got a cough, but it was great! Once everyone was aboard, we got a nice shower from the sky right before departing. It cleared up as we got further out of the marina.

My dad is the hired captain of the Ali’i Nui, a 60′ catamaran sailed here from Hawaii and I am so proud of him! I love seeing that he is happy, having a great time, and creating a great living! He was doing charters on the boat that he co-owns, the Rubicon. Check out his website Sail Fish Guam for more about him and his business. He is a very well-known and respected man of the water here on Guam, even with my biased opinion aside. And I love him!  

Here are some fun pictures from our sunset sailing adventure this past weekend…

Here is my latest painting! I was sitting on the couch writing in my journal, when suddenly I had the urge to paint. I literally jumped off of the couch and grabbed a blank canvas from the closet. Pulled out some colors. I knew what I was going to paint. 

I was asked to contribute an essay and original artwork for an upcoming book project called “Guam Through Our Eyes” and today I finally got to the artwork! 

I adore red ginger (ginger of all kinds really!) and for me, primarily when I think of Guam, nature comes first. My heart is definitely in nature, and in this painting you’ll see the flowers, greenery, the ocean, and the sun, moon & wind all swept into one blended vision of love for nature. 

This painting didn’t take too long to create, but a lot of energy went into it. It was pretty intense actually, but it came together so quickly! I think it really made a difference that I had a clear image in my mind of what it would ultimately resemble. 

Below I offer a play-by-play from start to finish. 

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So with permission from this awesome woman that I am blessed to have as a friend, I am sharing the photos I took of Amanda, in all her pregnant faery goddess glory!

The shots came out gorgeous, and it helps that the model is totally gorgeous too! I am so excited to welcome the new little one to the world, her wise soul has already been paving its way in this world.

We had a lot of fun doing this photoshoot, and I’m sure the photos will be treasured in years to come! I recommend photoshoots during pregnancy to anyone who wants to capture that time of full-fledged maternal goddess fertility. I may not be a professional photographer, but I think I did a pretty darn good job with this shoot!

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I love how the flowers are kissing her belly!

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Behold! My 2010 Treasure Map! It turned out huge. Two poster boards worth of treasure mappin’ magic! I don’t even have anywhere to put it. It won’t fit where my last map was, and the only two spaces in my house where it would fit, I don’t want it displayed there. So for now, I have no idea where it will live, but I knew this one had to be big. Especially to accomodate my “breathing space” in the center.

This year is huge. I can feel it. And yet, it all comes back to my word of the year, BREATHE. So simple, essential and effective. So much going on, but in the center, I am breathing. At peace. Pure freedom. It is my body’s number one function that gives the life force to all the rest. And this year, loving and nurturing my body is a huge focus for me. I am aiming at reaching new heights in energy, strength, flexibility, and just feeling ALIVE. I want to feel genuinely healthy, not the “I’m trying to be healthy, yet I’m not really feeling it” kind of healthy.

Another focus of mine this year is to transform my relationship with myself as a mother and a woman, and finding the balance between the roles I play in my life. While on the surface, my relationship with my kids may seem great, there are many changes that I would love to make, and there’s no better time than NOW.

Of course, it may be obvious just taking one look at my map, but I am surrounding myself with nature, plants, flowers, fairies, magic, love, respect, fun and laughter while on this journey.

This year I am going to get a handle on my finances and keeping everything organized and well documented. I want to get clear about my business and where I’m going with it.

How am I going to do ALL of this?? I have no idea. But I am going to keep my number one focus in my heart the whole time: BREATHE… No matter what happens this year, I am going to spend a lot of time breathing, back to my center, so that I can more clearly follow my intuition.

Did you make a treasure map during the Aries new moon? If not, you can still make one! The Aries new moon has a profound energy to it that gets these maps done, but you can create on of these any time of the year, and in any variation that you prefer! Just remember to have fun and do what your heart tells you.

Talofofo Bay, Guam

When I was growing up, Talofofo Bay was the spot to be. Back then, there was a vast strip of black sand as the beach, decorated with grass and coconut trees all around. In recent years, many typhoons have wiped the bay out, totally washing out the sand bar that provided countless beach break waves (the only ones on Guam–the rest are all reef breaks) for all the surfers and beach-goers. A rock wall had to be built to keep the bay from washing out the road. 

Riding the sand car (or motorcycle according to little K) that mommy built.

Now, the bay has regained a lot of its prized sandbar, and now boasts a beach area on both sides, and trees and grass have been making an effort to grow back. And most delightful of all, there are waves, perfect for longboarding, or just playing in. I love it because much of the shore area is so shallow, that my kids can play in the waves no problem. This past weekend, my 4 year old rode his very first wave ever on a body board first, and then borrowed daddy’s surfboard next! He was so excited, and so proud of himself, for riding his first wave all the way to the shore. We had a great time, and it brought back so many memories of my own childhood. This was where I first learned to surf, and I’m so happy to be able to share that joy with my kids! 

The day my son fell in love with surfing...

So proud!

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So cheeky this one...

It was getting late the other night, and we were winding down at home. Suddenly, I had the urge to paint. No clue where it came from (maybe all the sudden Pisces energy we had recently?) but it took me over. I went straight to my closet where I keep all my art stuff, pulled out an old canvas that I didn’t love…and poured yellow and white paint all over it. No clue where I was going with this…

I decided it was too yellow and needed something else, but I was limited with my colors (I need new paints at home). I decided to go out on a limb and use some random supplies. Found some feathers, and some brown paper. Began sticking them to the canvas. At this point the whole thing was feeling ridiculous. It looked weird, awkward and ugly to me. I mean look at the photo below, of the bright yellow canvas that looks like a chicken danced on it while it was still wet. What was I thinking?!

Something had to be done. I broke out some bronze paint and started putting some on. Added a little gold here and there. The yellow spots and the feathers were getting worse looking by the second. I finally said screw it and poured the bronze and gold paint over the whole canvas. And VOILA! Something that was starting to look more my style!

This was a scary experiment…to take the risk of creating something extremely ugly. Ha! I have so little experience with mixed media that I didn’t trust in the “adding texture” part, and that it could take many layers to get the right look. I should have known this, especially since I’m working on a multi-layered mural right now too! But alas, the third dimension got me. But lookie what I made!

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Current phase of the rainbow tree mural; no its not finished yet!

Still more to come!

I’ve been plugging away at the mural that I am painting inside the health food store. I’m about halfway done! I could stop now and it would be alright, but there are many more exciting layers to be added! I am most excited about the final layer, which will be touches of gold all throughout the tree.

Here’s a collage of my progress so far…

We had a fantastic Easter Sunday! It was so relaxing, fun, and entertaining. Flowers, kids, and eggs everywhere, a very colorful celebration indeed! I just love gatherings full of family and friends and great food to be shared and enjoyed by all.

I’ll let my photo collages tell the rest of the story!