












Soulful Sunday :: Hope and Light

toes in the sand

Last year at this time I wrote this post.  It was during one of the darkest professional times of my career (I mean seriously, those Cadbury Eggs were a high point).  I was incredibly unhappy.

I ran across a quote about Easter that I really think transcends race and religion.

— Janine di Giovanni

I really agree.  As spring rolls around, as our days get longer, as flowers start to bloom, as kids hunt for eggs, as people worship and honor sacrifice it fills us all with a little hope.  A little excitement about what's around the corner.

I've been feeling so much lighter lately.  I've been looking forward to my days, my adventures and my days at sea.

As you enjoy this Easter Sunday I'll leave you with this quote.

— Dwight L. Moody

Let your light shine friends!  There are things to be hopeful about!  Happy Easter!

I'm about to talk politics. Turn away if you can't handle it.

I'm voting for Hillary Clinton because she's a woman.  Boom.  I said it.

She has a point.

A variation of this NY Times article was published in our local paper.  It really made me stop and think about the generational gap in feminism.

When I first got out of school and started working in a male dominated industry I absolutely would have told you that I was treated the same as men and that there was no downside to being a woman on a ship.

People would always ask me, 'is it hard being the only female aboard?'  I'd almost always say no.  

You know what happens when you get older?  You realize things you didn't realize when you were younger.  I mean, duh, right?

Sometimes, I look back at things that were said to me or done to me and I think, 'holy crap! how did I let that stand?!'.  I didn't know any better.  Of course it was hard sometimes to be the only female onboard!

These women who feel so secure in their womanhood, who think that it's best to vote for someone on merit and not because of their gender, they're younger than they know.  Have they had to pay for child care because our maternity leave policies are wiggidy whack?  Have they been taught to negotiate a salary?  Are they fully aware of what their male counterparts are earning?  DO THEY CARE ABOUT HOW UNDER REPRESENTED THEY ARE?!  

Let's be honest, when the Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau made his cabinet fifty percent women and answered criticism with the line, 'because it's 2015', he had the right of it.     

Sure, mass assumptions are terrible, I am positive that some women are voting for Bernie Sanders because they believe in his policies.  Good for them.  He's still just another old white dude.  

Is Hillary a saint?  Nope.  She's a politician.  Wanna know why she has more scandals than other candidates?  Because she's been playing the game a lot longer.  Ahem.  That's also called paying her dues.

I'm with Madeleine Albright.  I can tell the story about how I climbed the ladder.... and guess what?  It's not done.

I'm voting for Hillary because she's a WOMAN and she's EARNED this and WORKS HARD and because IT'S NOT DONE.

BECAUSE IT'S 2016!!!!!


I Le'a! I Ola!

To Joy!  To Life!

I do it for the joy it brings
Because I’m a joyful girl
Because the world owes me nothing
And we owe each other the world
— Ani DiFranco

It's the seventh day of the new year.  Sweet Sixteen.



All this?  It's how I plan to move forward.


This is life.  Find the joy.  



Hello House, Remember Me?

My house and I have a long complicated history. We're kind of like a married couple who have a bitter divorce but then realize it really was meant to be and re-marry.  Except now that we've remarried we actually have to relearn eachothers quirks and idiosyncrasies. 

As in, oh yeaaah, that pink bathroom tile on the front porch really did always irritate me!   I forgot about that....  We're married again now though so I guess I better get over it...maybe I can just throw a lauhala may down and take a sun drenched photo?


The house has a lot of BIG projects that require the gutters need cleaning, the exterior needs bleach and paint, *ahem* the front porch needs new tile...

Even though these projects are BIG I'm considering them the 'micro' and am instead focusing on the 'macro'. 

The overall big picture is that I need to learn to love my house again.

It's cute. Undeniably adorable.

Except I need to get comfortable here - make it feel like mine - again.

I'm still waiting for my things to arrive...I mean we all know how unpredictable those shipping schedules can be *wink*!  In the meantime I'm just relaxing here. 


I'm making coffee. I'm hanging curtains. I'm setting out photos. I'm listening to music. I'm working on the macro.  

I'm also documenting a lot of this process on Instagram with the hashtag #haleonautie (Hale O Nautie = House Of Nautie).