These are the in-between moments.
la best fren’s first time checking out our outdoor shower. We spent our work lunch hour going for a dip… oh the joys of teleworking from home!!
The day that my GIYS video went live on Facebook and I co-hosted the live screening and Q&A on GoToWebinar… this was my *phew it’s over and I can finally relax* smile when I got home.
View from Sadies by the Sea a few weeks ago, post-Rotaract meeting.
I thought this was funny because I was taking an instagram story when suddenly Ian comes over and picks me up and carries me to the other chair so he could set up the couch for us to lay down and watch Milkshake Gunpowder together.
Life Lately: A Roundup Reel + Get In My Headspace
Hi hello how are ya —
I shared this round up reel on instagram which pretty much highlights my entire month of July in half second snippets… and shared in the caption how I’d been feeling.
And with that… here are a few updates of my life lately that I thought would be worth posting on here to look back on… please don’t mind my rambling… I feel like I haven’t written for myself in a long time so I just want to write without thinking too much.
My hard drive went kaput
My primary external hard drive stopped working suddenly last month, and I’m devastated because it contains the last three years of my life in photos, videos, and other random computerized parts of my life. It’s been a few weeks since, and I’m hoping that my new hard drive comes in so the Pago Tech guy can clone all the contents of my drive into this new one, but he’s indicated he’s not sure if it’ll work because the partition that my files are on are encrypted and who knows if it’ll clone over properly or come out as jumbled nonsense. Pray for me ya’ll!
Work was nonstop last month
I am finally getting used to not working anytime I’m in front of my computer, because I was constantly uploading, editing, emailing, and researching for work, for all odd hours of the day so much so that my eyes were starting to go cross eyed. So I’ve been avoiding my screens and resetting my computer habits. On the plus side, it wasn’t actually too bad because I enjoyed the type of work — filming a video for our annual Get Into Your Sanctuary summer program. You can find the completed video here if you want to watch it!
A few home projects
The hubba and I upcycled our sun-beaten leaf dining table and DIY’d a tile mosaic with epoxy resin to seal it up. It looks pretty cool, if I do say so myself! We’ve also just added curtains to our south/west facing living room windows because the sun comes in directly for a few hours in the late afternoon and it makes our house so hot and has affected our furniture (clearly, I mean if you’d seen our sun-beaten dining table, you’d know). I have always been a bit anti-curtains for some reason, but after way too many an uncomfortable sun-drenched late arvo in the house, I caved and we bought white curtain panels and wood rod dowels, and I sewed up some canvas to make loops to hold the rod dowels. I can’t tell if I like it or hate it, but I certainly don’t love the curtains, it’s really just there for function. The nice thing is we can always stow it away too.
My island fever is acting up
I feel like I always complain about this on here, but the last few weeks have been like salt on the wound, because we missed my husband’s family reunion that was postponed to this year from last year, and I’m also missing one of my besties’ weddings in a couple of weeks, and I’m one of her bridesmaids so I just feel crap for not being there to help and to celebrate with her. Of course, I also miss my brother and sister, and her little family. I don’t get to video chat with them enough as it is but every time I do, they seem to grow an inch or suddenly know division and have the most hilarious chats.
Online shop update
I have temporarily shut down my sticker shop on my website so that I can work on a photo prints shop. It’s been one of the biggest goals on my list for this year, so I am going to do my best to make it a reality! I’ve been wanting to sell prints of my photos for absolute years now, and I’ve gotten a few requests from people too, which has been super encouraging. I don’t know exactly how just yet, but I’ll figure it out, and I would love any advice or tips if you have any ideas to share with me!
Back to blogging
I really want to get back to my blog, because especially after losing the contents of my hard drive, which is essentially my life’s work, from the last few years, I want to still hold on to the highlights and little bits of memories that mean the most to me. I still am a pretty private person (for a person who overshares on the Internet), so those parts I tend to keep vague but they’re still there. I am learning to just have fun with it, and even if I misspell something, or make grammatical mistakes — I’ve made plentyyyy — that’s okay. This is truly my safe space on the Internet, a place to call my own.
If you’ve read all the way through to here… wow thank you for joining me in my headspace. I hope you have a beautiful day or evening, wherever you are!
xo, Nerelle
Sunday Lazies
We are geezers, I’m tellin’ ya!
We went out to Flying Fox on Saturday night, and did some karaoke at our neighbors house after, and we drank maybe like 4 drinks each, but that was enough to wipe us out all of Sunday. Like, we were sooo tired and felt like crap! I think our immune systems were also just weak after such a long and stressful last few weeks, but here we are on Sunday afternoon, after napping the entire day… just lazed out in the treehouse for a couple of hours until the sunset.
As I’m getting older, I’ve realized that I need more and more lazy days.
Moonrise Over the Ocean
The neighborhood dogs are howling into the night, echoing each other without a pause, as I walk over the freshly cut grass of the lawn, past the paved road, and climb up the wooden steps to the treehouse. My husband and several of our friends are sitting on the pier, listening to island jams, sipping on beers, and nibbling on chips being passed around to share. I set my camera up on my mini tripod, attaching it to my massive Sigma 105mm f/1.4 fixed lens. I look down at my watch and it’s a little past 9pm. The moon would be rising soon. I rest the tripod on the thick teak wood rail of the treehouse and fiddle with the camera’s manual mode when I see a razor thin orange outline in the horizon. The moon slowly peeked out from the imaginary line in the sky and I snap away silently while the muffled conversation dims. Everyone gazed at this wondrous muted yellow orange orb grow bright and high in the sky, interrupted by the occasional cloud rolling through. The cool ocean breeze gives me goosebumps and I wrap my linen button-up a little tighter for warmth.
Earth Day Wave 2021
A throwback to Earth Day — April 2021
A Note to Self: BODY CONFIDENCE
Hey girl, heyyy!
You look good… REAL good.
You are beautiful exactly as you are, and you will continue to grow in beautiful, miraculous ways.
Your body is a temple… Unique in shape, size, and features.
You are LIVING in this body. This body is LIVING for you.
Take a moment to appreciate your body, and what it does for you.
Your patterned brown skin lets you feel the warmth of the sun, the chill of the first dip in the ocean.
Your dark brown eyes let you see the vibrant colors of your world and the faces of the people you hold dear.
Your long dark hair adds flair and personality, growing and changing like you do.
Your cute lil button nose helps you recall the sweet memories associated with the fragrances of your past.
Your hands are special because they create and mold things into art.
Your beautiful body contains a big brain and a loving heart so you should know and love your body, and carry it with CONFIDENCE.
More Show, Less Tell
“My vibe right now is just living life”
Made this top a couple years ago and this matching wrap skirt a couple months ago… and then I made this canvas tote bag last weekend! That is all. xoxo, Nerelle
Today in sight, sound, and taste
Bright Spots I’ve Been Needing — Recovered From the Draft Folder
I was going through my website’s back end, and decided it was time to do a little digital decluttering.
It was a mess back there!
I updated the plugins, removed the various notices at the top of my dashboard, got rid of themes, widgets, and plugins I rarely use, and was in the middle of deleting “empty” posts from my posts’ draft folder — when I found this post (below) containing this gallery I had uploaded off my iPhone so I could queue it up for a Plastic Free July update. This was last year July… 2020.
I clearly lost track of time… it was 2020 after all… and forgot about this draft.
Looking back though, it brings back some good memories. Enjoying COVID lockdown life (I had been home in American Samoa for five months straight at this point) doing productive little things around the house and still getting out often enough to feel like the sun shone bright just for me. How adorable is that?!
Now, a year later in 2021 (or as I saw on a meme, it’s pronounced “2020-won”), I feel a little less bright. It’s hot as heck outside and I think a delayed fatigue has settled in. I really want to spice things up but I’m not sure how. What I really need is to book a vacation off island ASAP… once the borders open up. The government says maybe August or September. I’ve just sent my passport renewal application off so I’m at the ready to pack my unused Cotopaxi travel bag and get on a plane to another pin on the map.
To be honest, I’ve been struggling because it feels like there isn’t really anything to look forward to. I know that there is, and I’m trying to keep a positive attitude, but it’s been hard some days.
These little photo diaries remind me though that there are still bright spots (sunsets and rainbows) to look forward to in my daily life. Plastic Free July is around the corner and I’m excited to attempt more sustainable swaps to adapt in my life.
I haven’t been feeling super creative lately, but I think this digital declutter is a nice way to revive old trains of thought and make room for new ideas.
Cheers,
Nerelle
Favorite things recently that have to do with the ocean
Just getting in the water.
Swimming and laughing with all the little kids in the neighborhood (how did there get to be so many?!).
Snorkeling and taking photos of all the sea critters with my ex-boyfriend (now husband, you get the deal).
Scoping out what fish is good for food, mentally preparing myself to one day catch a fish with a three prong spear and thank the fish for its life.
Jumping off the pier at high tide.
Floaty Fridays, when our little community shows up to the beach after work on Fridays and we just float around and hang out.
Feeling lucky when I see turtles and spotted eagle rays.
Holding my breath and trying to “free dive” to like anything deeper than 10 feet.
Waking up early and watching the sunrise from the treehouse.
Watching the sparkles in the water, like iridescent glitter from warm sunbeams on the sea’s surface.
Wading in waist deep water, squatting til we’re dipped to our chest, one hand with a bevvy and lots of random chatting.
Late nights escaping our neighbor’s house party and going to the treehouse to gawk at the expanse of the Milky Way and talk about really deep things that make us feel grounded and connected.
Seeing birds flying home from their hunt, just before sunset.
Feeling like the birds at the end of the day — coming home and wanting to go back out again.
<3
Where I Get It From (Mom and Dad)
Now that I’m moderately older—nearly 30, wow—I can see it more clearly.
The small things that add up. The parts of me that look and feel familiar.
From mom: my hands, my sensitivity.
From my dad: my nose, my stubbornness.
Traits I have previously dismissed because I just didn’t see it, but now I can’t deny it.
These parts of me, and many more, cultivated over time by my genetics, shared DNA, even the learned behavioral antics.
More recently, I’ve been pondering on the attributes I see in my parents that make them who they are, and how these are reflected in my own mannerisms, thought process, attitude, and personality.
Come to think of it, I wonder what traits my parents saw in themselves from their parents… I’ll have to ask them.
Like so many others, I realized that my parents were far from perfect during my formative years.
There were times when they’d make me feel like anything was possible… when they took me traveling, or when they taught me a new skill.
But there were also times when I dreaded even communicating honestly with my parents… with their outdated beliefs and their silent treatments, and I wished to be nothing like them.
And as if through a looking glass, I wonder if what I see in them will be what becomes of me in the next five, ten, or twenty years when I go through my own iterations of the same chapters of life.
I think that I’ll ultimately have to decide for myself who I want to be as I continue to grow and learn who I am.
While I’m growing more certain of the power I have over my own choices, I’m definitely influenced by them — this is really where I get it from — I am my own version of my mom and dad.
Breakfast and lunch today.
Friday Field Day
Recent phone photos from a Friday field day at Aua village, where we were learning coral restoration techniques: epoxy, cement, and nail down.
Places I Want To Go
Hoping, wishing, praying, manifesting…
My most immediate places of interest are to visit LA and Phoenix to be reunited with family. And to explore the city together.
The Philippines… specifically, I want to visit my family’s lands, and see where my mom and dad and their family grew up in old historic Vigan and Manila.
Go see the 1 square foot plot of land in Ireland that bought for my husband years ago… is it even real? Was it just a gag gift? I want to find out, and I want to explore the beautiful green country with him.
Scotland as well. My husband is Scottish Irish, so anywhere we have ties to… I would love to see it in person and connect with it — to keep our heritage from fading, and to gain an appreciation for what our ancestors went through, leading us to where we are today.
It would be super cool to go sailing in Europe as well. I know very little about which islands I’ve seen photos of, but Mallorca, Santorini, and the Azores look incredible, and I would love to bask in their spring or summer season.
And, to quote Susan Sontag, “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”
Da crew – camping at Maloata
LOVE to love you
Felt so LOVED on my 29th birthday.
The iPhone really be stepping up it’s phoneography game!
Take a live photo of any body of moving water and then go to your camera roll, swipe up on the photo, select the long exposure option, et voilá!
Shot at the Alega waterfall this past Saturday.
Fagalua camping with my girls
One of those back-of-the-pick-up-truck-sunset-chasing-date-nights <3
We built a blanket fort
We engineered this blanket fort with sheets, lavalavas, clothespins, binder clips, rope, and framed it all around of our couch bed and TV. Plus, electric fans to keep us cool, and the bouquet Ian picked for me to make it smell nice. Ian made berry smoothies, salad, and popcorn, and we had leftover hummus and chips. Queued up “To All the Boys: Always and Forever” on Netflix. Got our blankets and pillows, and cozied up for the Valentine’s Day afternoon.
Indeed, my inner child screamed! Such a nice relaxing (and FREE) way to spend Valentine’s Day. Thanks hubbeh!
Vibin’ out to my e-book
I’d rather be here
He made it all happen
Ok so I didn’t realize it until probably Sunday night, but Ian actually read my post from last week (8 Ways to Spend Valentine’s Day without Spending Money) and literally had us do ALL of them throughout the long weekend!!
To sum it up:
1. SERVE BREAKFAST IN BED – he did this TWICE for me! On Saturday and Sunday morning – both days I was treated to a gentle wake up call with a delicious platter of food and matcha latte, and flowers!
2. WRITE A HEARTFELT LETTER – we both took time to write each other love letters and as per custom, stuck some nature to it. It was the first time he signed a letter with “love, husband” and I swoon; he’s so sweet.
3. TAKE A HIKE – we actually walked from our house out to the main road and caught an aiga bus to Fatu-ma-futi beach; not really a hike, but it was a lovely midday stroll; anddd he picked a flower for me on the way… just like I wrote in my blog post!
4. PACK A PICNIC – as part of our excursion to Fatu-ma-futi, we packed an easy picnic with snacks we had around the house – apples, chips, homemade hummus – and laid a blanket out for an afternoon reading and soaking up the sun on the beach.
5. HOMEMADE DINNER – ok so we didn’t dedicate a full night to a candlelit dinner because every night consisted of galentine’s or a friend’s BBQ, or my church’s valentine banquet. Still, we had lots of homemade snacks like the hummus, popcorn, and he made some dumplings too.
6. BUILD A BLANKET FORT – my inner child screaaaamed! How dreamy of a man do I have that he’s willing to be a blanket fort engineer with me! We built probably our best blanket fort we’ve ever built thus far!
7. HAVE A MOVIE NIGHT – we got all cozy in our fort for a second timeand watched Lupin, a show on netflix that Ian’s mom had recommended we watch. We made popcorn too!
8. GO STARGAZING – we were at a friend’s BBQ party on Saturday late afternoon, but as night fell, a few of us moved to the treehouse where we were lucky to be outside to see the stars shining extra bright. I was stargazing with a friend and we had a great long discussion about spirituality, life, death, the heavens, fate, love, and health. It was beautiful. Ian was in the water
Barong
Details from Ian’s barong, made just for him.
Hearts day
We played some silly games at my church’s Hearts Day banquet, and Ian and I won King and Queen of the Hearts… we got a ribbon sash, a trophy, and a gift basket too! hahah it was super embarrassing – Ian forced me to participate – but hilarious too.
Love, Husband
In love with my husband.
Valentine’s Sunset
Sunset on the west side — Valentine’s Day 2021.
Moments on reels to log some these sweet memories.
Breakfast in Bed
I am definitely the luckiest woman — my husband surprised me with an early Valentine’s day breakfast in bed! 🥰🥰🥰
I slept in after a late night of karaoke’ing with friends for galentine’s, so I woke up around 9am from Ian kissing me gently and patting me awake. He laid the bed tray out in front of me topped with a glorious spread of breakfast (hash browns with goat cheese, eggs over medium with sriracha, turkey sausage, local avocados, and a side of lettuce, also with our favorite Purple Haze goat cheese), plus fresh flowers (that he picked himself!!) in a vase, and he even went out of his way to make matcha latte just the way I like, and served it in a wine cup! I thought it was sooo sweet of him, and it was all so yummy. My favorite part is knowing that he would do this any day for me, and not just because it’s Valentine’s Day.
xo,
Nerelle
Much better
Woke up feeling so much better today! A little sore but I shook and stretched out the aches, and downed a glass of water, and got back to work.
Also how cute is my new planner? This color of yellow is def one of my newer fav colors
Vaccine side effects update
Update on vaccine side effects:
Last night when I was trying to go to sleep, I suddenly started feeling very cold and feverish. My body aches all over and I could barely sleep because my arm was super sensitive and my whole body hurt. I woke up feeling like crap, and downed two glasses of water and Emergen-C. I heard that this was going to happen after the second dose. Ian looked it up and it said it should pass within 24 to 36 hours so I’m trying to just rest. Luckily Ian isn’t feeling these side effects so he’s at work, but I just want to curl up and sleep it off.
This pic was actually from September 2020 but this is basically what I look like right now too, laying in bed using my lap desk to do some work while trying to stay comfortable.
Yay We Got Vaccinated!
So so so grateful for our Department of Health for rolling out the vaccines so quickly, smoothly, and efficiently, and for American Samoa remaining COVID free still! We’re truly so blessed. Ian and I got our second dose of the Moderna vaccine. My arm’s a little heavy and sore, but I’m feeling light and full of gratitude. I hope that all my friends and family can get vaccinated soon too. I know off-island, many people are struggling to survive this pandemic, and vaccine rollouts may be slow in some places, but keeping my fingers crossed and praying we can get through this in time!
I want to get better at photo journaling on my website rather than just ig so sorry for the photo dump
Ian-credibly Blue
This lagoon and my hubbo looking sooo good in blue.
Honeymoon Day 1 in Ofu
Things to remember
Found this on Instagram and it was just what I needed to hear.
Sharing it here so I can look back at it like it’s my mood board.
Beach camp vibes
Rainy Day cat naps
Up Late, Good Night Moon
The view right outside my window like 10 minutes ago.
—
Everyone’s asleep but me, and I just saw the moon going to bed behind the mountain too.
It was beautiful.
So I took this pic.
How cool is it that I get to see this from my living room every night if I stay up late enough?
Finally (and slowly) updating my blog and of course it’s way past my bedtime.
More photo journals coming soon!
xo,
Nerelle
1st PROM Showcase Art + Prep
BTS the evening before the 1st Pacific Roots Open Mic (PROM) Showcase from back in Octoboer.
Double Rainbows
More living in the present, while still documenting and appreciating the journey along the way. This one makes me smile from the inside.
Shot this back in October 2020. Another gorgeous day while at home, and I looked up to see double rainbows.
Fogama’a adventure reel
A quick little reel from our hike to Fogama’a cove yesterday for the MLK holiday with friends.
It was a beautiful day.