My Lovely Disappearing Act!

Aloooooooooooha!!!!

About 10 months ago I received a phone call from my sweet Albanian soul mate, Sonila Wood, who told me "Ke zhduker fare!" which means "You have completely vanished!"  And, well... she was right! She nailed it when she then asked me if there was a boy in my life, and I was finally able to tell her all about him and she completely understood the reason for my disappearing act.... Nic Hoggan.

Our first photo taken together.

Most of you who will be reading this know the story by now, but here is the very short version:

We met on September 28, 2011 on a temple trip to the Laie Temple.  The same Temple that we were married in on June 15, 2012.  It has been an amazing year!

First photo as Mr. & Mrs. Hoggan

So much has happened since my last post, but I look forward to sharing more posts with friends and family!  I have so much to share from this New Life of mine  and feel encouraged and inspired to get my blog back up and running, so here it goes! 

Ho'onanea

The Pass of Time and Peace and Pleasure


Last June, while working at the dive shop this guy shows up to do some pest removal and we start chatting.  Hearing that I lived in Monterey, he asks if I liked to sail and I respond with much enthusiasm, "Yes!  I don't know a lot, but I want too!"  Mr. Pest Removal's name is Randy Reed and he invited me then to come out on Thursday at 5:30 for the sailboat races.  I showed up that week and was welcomed by an amazing group of folks that love to be out on the water.  They put me to work that first night and have taught me, coached me and have been patient with me as I learn by their example how to work together to race a sailboat.  The boat's name is Ho'onanea which means "pass of time and peace and pleasure" and during the past almost 10 months that I've lived here this boat and Thursday evenings have become my most treasured pastime.  Rain or shine, the boat goes out.  The crew fluctuates but the majority of the regulars are consistently there and it is such an enjoyable evening.  Phone's are kept down in the berth, good conversation and laughter is echoed over the bay as we sail away from a world that keeps spinning.  The race season has been over since October but will start up again here in February, but we still go out and just relax.  We will sail around coconut island, the sandbar or near the Marine Corps base.  It is such a wonderful way to breakup the week and regroup.  Whenever we decide it's time to go back, there is a group of us that finds our way back to the club, where we sit along the water and enjoy an excellent dinner and evening with friends that have become Ohana.

The race course and start time.

Taking off from the starting point. 

Sometimes there are themed races.  This was the Riddle Regatta themed "Bikers and Babes."  Our trusty captain showed up as a cyclist!

Kali and I were the "Babes!"

My parents came out to visit and I picked them up from the airport on Thursday, went to Nico's on Pier 38 for the best food in town and then took them to their "surprise".  We got on the boat in the slip way before the race excitement starts to build and they had no idea what was about to happen until Captain Dave explained to them that they were about to participate in a race!  It was a wonderful surprise!  My dear Mom clung to the back and my Dad got to try his muscles at grinding.  He was exhausted by the end of the day!

Casual cruising to the sandbar.  It was a gloriously windy day.  I love this first photo on this set.  Classic day out on the water.  That's Randy (Mr. Pest Removal) with his arm around me, Angela, Captain Dave in the back, with Gary and Steve.

 This is Nic and I.  Nic is my amazing boyfriend :)

 

 

I know it's been a while since I've been writing.  I am hoping that this sparks the momentum!

Divers in Training

Here are just a few shots of some of the divers I have had the wonderful pleasure of introducing the magical underwater world to.  Each class has been so different and I am so grateful for all the people I have met and all the different backgrounds.  It has been an amazing ride!

My Advanced OW divers.  This was a weekend that we will never forget.  We had a call that there was a missing diver that never made it home to his wife.  We were the only boat out there and when we heard it over the radio, our Captain made the call to go look for him.  Out of respect for him and his family, all I will say is that on this day I am thankful that we were able to bring closure to the Heber Moulton family.  On this day, Heber left this world wrapped up in the gentle embrace of the Pacific Ocean.  He happened to be LDS and I was able to attend the service.  His family and dear sweet wife will remain in my prayers... forever. 

Before going in for our night dive.  I absolutely LOOOOOOOVE night diving.  It might be my favorite.

Do you know what happens to an egg at 100 ft below the surface?  You can crack the shell open and the entire egg stays intact.  You can separate the white from the yolk and play around with it, like some foreign blob.

Ascending back up the line for our safety stop at the end of our deep dive.