Reasons why I need to wake up early more often

Mar 14, 2020 | Photo Diaries

Reasons why I need to wake up early more often.

The way the mist envelopes Matafao.

The reflection of the mountain on the lagoon.

The fiery vibes in the sky that sets a soul on fire.

The ripples of life teeming below.

The shroud of cloud cast afar.

The wondering what life could be.

The flutter of the birds we wished we were.

The lights showing off in powder hues.

The birds playing tag with their shadows.

The puppy cuddles on the pier.

The sun coming up out of the ocean horizon.

Sessions: Georgia and Mareike at sunrise

Sep 29, 2019 | Photography

Part 1 of a sunrise session with these two beautiful women, flat mates, and friends

Georgia and Mareike

This shoot was actually on Mareike’s last month in American Samoa. We woke up super early, before the sunrise, and met up by the beach in front of our houses. It didn’t seem like it was going to be a good sunrise at first, but we shot anyways, and something like an hour later, the sun shone magnificently, sending light flickering on the ocean’s ripples. I had Georgia and Mareike take turns doing portraits and shot them together too, so here’s just a few of them. I love all of these!

SESSIONS: Kate & Taylor / Sunrise besties

Jun 16, 2019 | Photography

Life is better with friends.

What are your friendships like?

This one is silly, loving, and adventurous!

This session was from a few weekends ago…

Early 6am wakeup call to capture the friendship of these two dedicated teachers turned island sisters. We were greeted by warm sunbeams and a cool zephyr. Playing music on an iPhone. Dancing on the beach. Making silly faces. Reenacting my proposal from just a couple days ago. Laughing a lot. Climbing coconut trees. Falling off of coconut trees. Laying in the grass. Laughing some more.

I’ve gotten to know these beautiful women over the years, and they’ve been nothing but sweetness and kindness. Kate and Taylor are true gems, and I had so much shooting these with them.

Life Lately: Sunrise haze and updates

Apr 17, 2019 | Lifestyle

Woke up early this morning to a pastel haze outside the kitchen window. I grabbed my camera and went out to the boat ramp, and snapped away contentedly. So I thought I’d share this view with you, along with some life lately updates.

I haven’t been taking photos as much as I’d like to lately because my camera was broken, but a little googlin’ and we fixed it! Whew* but even before it broke, I actually had just ordered a new camera that’s on its way in the mail (thanks for sending it Polly and Rick!) and I’m so so so excited for it!

Today was Flag Day here in American Samoa. Even though it’s a local holiday (so jealous of ASG that gets the rest of the week off), my work doesn’t observe the holiday. So instead, I took the day off to go check out the Flag Day parade at the Veteran’s stadium with Ian… photos from that to come later.

Work has been extra busy the last couple of months, and last week we held the first ever Fautasi Heritage Symposium, which was a success! Initially I was nervous about the exhibits and the turn out, but the exhibit and the over all program was well received, and I’m grateful for a good team and that we were able to pull it off.

Next week, I’m off to the east coast for a work trip. And on the way there and back, I’ll stop over Arizona to visit my sister and her little family! It’s been almost a year since I got to visit so I have many cuddles and I love you’s to catch up on.

One of my best girlfriends just gave birth yesterday(!!!), and I got to video chat her today since she’s currently in New Zealand. I kept crying happy tears. She’s doing marvelously, and her baby is an absolutely beautiful earth angel! Just like her mama. Last year we were in a completely different place in our lives (and the year before that we were trying to figure out our lives), so we were laughing at how much has changed in just a year. Crazy!

Dawn One Day

Oct 29, 2017 | Lifestyle

We Painted the Fridge Blue

Oct 3, 2017 | Lifestyle

The only upside to waking up at 5:30am for work on a Saturday is that I got to watch this sunrise.

Went to the golf course to set up branding for a couple of hours at the Hope House Golf Tournament. Hope House is the only full care hospice in American Samoa, and the event is huge amongst businesses who attend to support and fundraise for the nonprofit.

Didn’t make any plans in particular but after a quick stop at Ace Hardware to grab some supplies, my day turned into a home improvement type of day.

Ian put his woodworking skills to use and cut up some plywood shelves, and a couple of frames for a project I’ve been wanting to do since I was a kid – paper recycling. My mom and dad donated their old blender and I’m putting together some screens to try it out next weekend!

Officer Scruffles dozing off on the palm plant while we worked on our balcony garden.

Fingers crossed the tomato, basil and lettuce seeds actually sprout!

Alsoooooo we decided to paint our fridge!!! The rust stains on the fridge were already there from when we moved in, and it never really bothered us too much but we figured a fresh coat of paint would do it some good. It was a pretty involved process – Ian sanded all the rust spots and applied corrosion deterrent, and then we painted it over twice and waited for it to dry.

Painting a fridge is actually pretty tough!

Some of the paint also peeled off because we put the magnets back on too early – bummer.

BEFORE

AFTER

All these unplanned home improvement projects took up the entire afternoon – and by the end of it, I was pooped. We had to avoid opening and closing the fridge to stare at our lack of food. So we went out for the evening to grab groceries and Chinese takeout (which I DEVOURED) then bunkered down for the night.