Yeah it's official.

I'm the world's worst blogger!  And there's been a whole lot of fun going on around here that I haven't blogged about...

So this one's about the "King of the Cloud" contest that was held last week out at Cloudbreak.  It was AWESOME!  Not only were the waves pumping but this big Cat (catamaran)  was out the whole day which made watching and everything so much fun!  It was perfect for competitors, spectators, and the judges who sat on top with a great view!

It was an absolute gorgeous day.  We couldn't have asked for better waves or weather (i personally could have asked for the waves to be a bit more "Malia Friendly" but for everyone else, the bigger the better).

Stuart did so well out there and I am so proud of him!  He wasn't crowned KING of the Cloud but he was definitely in the running!  He made it all the way to the finals beating out some tough competition he had to go against in the rounds leading up to the FINAL FOUR! 

 

ABOVE PHOTOS (from top left to right to bottom)  1: Me and my Love under the Cat 2: Everyone enjoying the sun and the view 3:  Stuart on a wave in the Finals  4:  Me and Ulai (if you've ever seen Endless Summer 2 he's the skinny kid up the coconut tree that drops a coconut almost killing Pat and Wingnut)  5:  The finalists before the heat (L to R: Inaki from bass country, Aca (our boat captain) Paul (another local boy) and Stuart (my love)  6: Me swimming in the Crystal blue water  7:  Close up of our Fiji Surf Banner... that's who we work for :)

ABOVE PHOTOS:  1:  Me and the other girls in the comp relaxing on the boat ride out.  2:  A few boards hangin out under the Cat  3:  The inside of the boat, everyone getting ready with stretching, waxing up boards and lathering on the sunscreen!  4:  Yes that's stuart at the front showing us the way to Cloudbreak (Tavarua Island in the background)

 The finals were up in the air with Stuart taking the lead early on and all four competitors neck in neck.  Late in the heat Captain Aca ran away with the title catching 2 of the best waves in the heat and finding one of the only Barrels that came through that heat.  Aca also received a perfect score on his last wave!  Hard to beat that but Stuart came up just 1/2 a point shy of 2nd place!  I'm so proud of my Man!

We had such a fun day out on the boat hanging out with friends and members of the Fiji Surfing Association! Hopefully you enjoyed this little post!  I hope to be back again soon!

Oh and if you haven't already... check out my new Photography Blog at: MaliaJohnson.com/blog!

Expecting!!!!

See this sweet Girl?

 Well lately she's been extremely lazy!  She's either sleeping or asking me for food!  And she's getting a bit round (compared to her normal self)  She's quite a skinny kitty...

 But would you take a look at THAT BELLY!?!?!

Kitty's Expecting!!!  Any day now!  I'm sure she's ready to pop those babies out since she looks a bit uncomfortable and is starting to waddle.  :)  I love this girl!

What to do?!

There are so many things I should/could be doing....  but where to start? 

I could do the pile of dishes left in the sink last night:

(Sorry i'm sure you don't wanna see this but I'm just keeping it real around here)

 Do this Laundry... maybe not, its way too hot for that!

 

Or blog about this sweet Girl:

There are quite a bit of other things I could be doing too... our entire house could use a good cleaning.  I'm not too worried about that because we do have guests coming next week and we always get it cleaned up before they arrive (thank goodness we have visitors ALL THE TIME or else this house would never get cleaned up).  Since I'm not surfing today, I guess I'll do a little bit of exercise first!

EDITED TO ADD:

  Well, the sink is cleared!  Yay!  And Since the sink was clear I was also able to refill all the empty water bottles around the house and put them in the fridge so we have lots of cold water to drink! 

I didn't do the dirty laundry (like I said, WAY too hot for that!), but I did get all the clean, dry towels off the line and fold them up!

I also got a nice little workout in!  And a post about Kitty!  Not bad If I do say so myself!

I hope you're all having a wonderfully productive day!!!

I'm Coming to America!

We've been out here in Fiji for almost 7 months now and it is AWESOME!  We love it!  We're living the dream for us in this stage of our life.  Next week I'll be taking a break from this dream for a little bit and coming back to the states!  Out here in Fiji we meet some great people and we were lucky enough to meet our friend Michelle who is a pilot for Continental airlines.  She was nice enough to offer to let me fly on her buddy pass to get back to visit friends and family!  So next week i'll be taking off for about a month.  I don't know my complete schedule just yet but I'll be stopping in New Mexico so I can meet my sweet new nephews Makaio and Maui, Las Vegas to attend the HUGE photography convention: WPPI, California to see more family, and hopefully Hawaii for a few days!  I can't wait for this big trip! And there's no way I would be able to do this without Michelle's kindness!  I'm so grateful because I really wanted to see Makaio and Maui as Babies but didn't know if I'd be able to!  And now I will! 

Unfortunately I'll be gone for Stuart's and my birthday and Valentines Day but Stuart told me I should go anyway.  We'll just have to celebrate before and after the trip :) 

A few things i'll be missing while I'm gone:

• My one true love (Stuart of course)

• Mochi-Me Time

•  Kitty

• The surf (it's supposed to be really good during the months of feb and march)

• Stuart's Birthday

• My Birthday

• Valentine's Day

• Our Christmas presents to each other will be arriving while i'm gone (custom surfboards!!!)  I can't wait to see pictures of them!  And when I do, I'll share them with YOU!

A few things I'm looking forward to:

• Seeing all these people!!!  (and more)

• Cold weather.... and hot showers
•  Frozen Yogurt!!!  Yogurt Land anyone???

• Attending WPPI for the 1st time!!!  
• Getting my hair cut!!!  Finally... and donating it :)

I'm trying to work a little while i'm on my trip to help pay for it so if you or anyone you know wants a photo session with me while i'm in any of those places let me know!  You can contact me at MaliaJohnsonPhotography{at}gmail{dot}com to check availability and rates!  

Mochi

Remember how cute and Little Mochi was back here?  Well he's been doing some growing and I wanted to show you how cute and big he has gotten!!!  (plus my mom has been asking to see him)

I still need my Mochi-Me time...  it's just a bit harder to get him to lay on my belly like he used to :)

Merry Christmas From the Johnson's!!!

We wanted to send you all a Christmas card but didn't really have a way to print them and send from Fiji so this will have to do:

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a wonderful new year!!!

Christmas Time?

First Noel- guitar-Stu Johnson-Yako Organic recordings-Fiji by mainlandmoke

As the youngest child of six I watched as each of my siblings graduated High school and subsequently vanished our east Los Angeles home in the suburbs, off to start a new life far away from Mom, me and Whittier. When the end of high school drew near, there was no question about what my next steps into life would be. It was subconscious instinct that I was out of there as soon as I could. My post High school proverbial "walk about" into life had a different travel itinerary. My belongings never made the cramped car ride up the Cajon Pass and Virgin River Gorge to eventually arrive in the familiar foothills of P-town. Instead I took a Five hour plane ride over the Pacific to an Island chain I only knew as the paradise romanticized by radio promo give aways' and popular surf films. Coming off the plane was magic. The foreign combination of heat, humidity and coconut palms only highlighted my excitement of starting my long anticipated life away from Via Del Palma. This is what my siblings experienced!? This is it! Magic!
From that moment off the plane I found a new inner instinct which I believe my siblings share. To take head on unfamiliarity and make it familiar. This is what I saw in my siblings as they moved,lived and worked in "foreign" lands across the country. (Yes, to me Utah remains foreign and mysterious).
I went into this walk about of post high school life without any preliminary rules or expectations and I find no instinctual pull toward laying foundation in once familiar communities. However my heart is not completely stone as you might think. Nostalgic smells and sounds remind me of my family who I love more than anything. But why do I chose to live so far away? I would live closer but the precedent to leave as soon as possible was set before I had any real choice.
Luckily for my own sanity's sake, its rare to ever smell or hear things that would trigger nostalgic memories, instead of the sweet smell of fresh Christmas tree shaped cookies we know curry garlic and ginger. Instead of Holiday Carols we know the bass driven reggae beats of the islands. When Sufjan Stevens rendition of the First Noel came up on shuffle I was reminded that its Christmas time despite the lack of holiday decor. This is my favorite time to be with my family. And though we have all spread out and moved away from the 90602, we will never forget our home there and the familiar smells and sounds that filled the house. I don't know why we all left in such a hurry!? Cant wait for our next Christmas all together.