I feel like I am in a technology tornado!

Spinning in this tornado of technology, I am doing ten times as many things as I normally do when I feel like I have no time; but even faster than before and more effieciently.  The end result is I am doing more and I am actually left with more time!

Time that is to fly in the next technology tornado upgrade - whatever and whenever that may be.

The best part is this tornado is progressive… Building on the last advancement only improving through applications and creativity. Always getting bigger and  better.

Apps alone have changed my whole life this year so far!  They are like the fuel of the tornado!

It may be the year of the Tiger, but for me it would be the iTiger!

Take for example a new panoramic photo app I just found on my iPhone. I have had it for a week yet this tool has litterally empowered me in the way that I think about composing photographs.

I am liberated by a simple click of a button!

Honestly I wish I had found it weeks ago for all the weddings I went to. It would have been perfect!

So I will keep practicing with it to get better and better!

Speaking of better, my new landscaping in the back yard is outstanding!

Some of my most used apps are photoshop mobile, Pano, and HDR app to enhance images!

I am also ever so thankful for seasoned iPhone users who share their favorite apps! I have found the best apps this way. So I share them too!

6 billion apps is what I believe Steve Jobs said have been downloaded so far!  Amazing!  I can hardly wait for the OS4 this summer!

By the time it is my wedding celebration, I will be a seasoned professional iphone user to capture each moment of the day!   And if I ever get the iPad, I will officially be a technology BRAT!

Take for example my blogging. I can now blog from the comfort of my phone any where anytime on my Wordpress app. I would have never guessed I would be doing that 6 months ago when all I had was a cell phone! Efficient!

I love the luxury of taking great photos or videos on my phone, quickly editing them into fabulous photos…then they are ready for emailing, messaging, or say posting on Facebook all under 4 minutes.

FOUR minutes or less! Hello, that would have taken forever if I had to plug my camera, download the photos, edit, then post on a desktop!

This is actually no longer a luxury…it is a standard!

The technology packed in the iPhone really is all so amazing…

like a tornado it is unpredictable and life is never the same after it hits!

The Hawaiian Word Of The Day Is: makani ka’a wiliwili

( pronounced mah-kah-knee  kah-ah  vee-lee-vee-lee )

OR

TORNADO

Life takes you on an incredible ride if you let it flow.

Last week was one of those weeks that felt like forever!

Big life occasions fused into one - moment after moment.

For a year, I have dreamed of the day we would have our irrigation and back yard lawn project started.

Just to start means the ball is rolling.

Patience paid off when Kalani, Duke, Nic, and I rolled out our nice seashore grass

which rolled right into a big wedding week.

The pace of work was hard and fast with a deadline approaching -

we couldn’t just stop with a big wedding right ahead.

It was complete just in the nick of time!

Duke’s oldest niece - (out of 20 I think) -

Leilani Au Hoon married Owen Ahmu

on Maui at the Maui Tropical Plantation on 4-10-10.

They live in San Diego so it was a destination wedding for them.

She planned it for two whole years and to see it all play out was amazing!

On top of meeting his incredible Samoan family,

we got to spend time with lots of loved ones we have not been able to see

in a long time because a big ocean keeps us a part.

They had a basketball game in the old Wailuku Gym on Wednesday:  girls vs. boys

We hosted her bridal shower at our hale on Thursday complete with shuttled parking,

as 50 fabulous looking ladies

came to enjoy lychee martinis and great food served on square porcelain plates.

Her bridesmaids went all out with the decor using the monstera leaf theme she chose for her wedding!

It was fabulous to see how we transformed out living room to make it all work.

While playing super fun games I glanced here and there at the

Miss Aloha Hula Competition

that was on the DVR recording so I can watch it again after all these events!

Friday was clean up and get ready for her rehearsal dinner at Duke’s mom and dad’s house in Waiehu Kou.

They made the most ono Hawaiian food that I have had in a very long time.

There is nothing like home cooked Hawaiian food!

We partied the night away as all the cousins had fun playing beer pong

since the last time we all got together we were too young to drink!

Saturday came so quickly and Duke and I barely woke up in time for an 11 am wedding at Olowalu

- our friend Bessie King was marrying Michael Waggoner there on the beach at Camp Olowalu.

It was a beautiful morning and she was stunning against the azure sea.

Then the music started and the bar opened and it was

Maui Brewing Company Bikini Blonde’s for breakfast!

I love that beer!

The Hawaiian lu’au buffet opened up and we had yet another amazing plate of food that hit the spot!

We signed her surfboard guest book, enjoyed the company,

and headed off to get ready for Leilani and Owen’s wedding!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leilani and Owen’s was a wonderful wedding ceremony and reception,

and even though Leilani had some unexpected surprises,

she did not turn into bridezilla!

Lucky for us we leave two minutes away from the Maui Tropical Plantation,

so I got home just in time to see the last dances of Merrie Monarch and got to watch the awards.

I am so proud of Maui who represented a caliber of hula and Hawaiian language that is increasingly perfect!

With Napua Makua and Keali’i Reichel there,

their students made a statement to all the world

that we on Maui love to carry on the voices of our kupuna.

I was also so honored to know that I get to study hula under two amazing kumu

who were once amazing students under both top winning halau this year:

Keali’i Reichel and O’Brien Eselu.

WOW!

A fusion of both kumu is something so beautiful to see.

I feel so privileged to be a part of hula in my halau

and how it transforms my daily life activities

that express and unconditional kindness and compassion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally on Sunday, we had a final gathering for Leilani and Owen’s wedding

- a BBQ lunch at Duke’s parents house again.

With the joining of two families and two Polynesian cultures we had a wonderful afternoon.

Leilani and Owen opened their gifts which included wedding tapa cloth

and traditional Samoan gifts, hand carved gourd, mango wood jewelry box, and lots lots more.

So on Monday I got my house cleaned and back to normal

as all of our guests were heading home that night.

I also got to watch more of the Merrie Monarch Festival on the DVR

and was so inspired by all the Sig Zane attire

and all the red and yellow colors from fabrics to flowers -

gave me lots of ideas for our wedding!

A rain came and blessed us on Monday as we said our goodbyes

through big long hugs and tears of joy.

As we said our farewells, we all said, “See you in October!”

OMG  - here we are at our 6 month mark until our wedding!

Time to get back into wedding planning again!

~ ~ ~

OUR WEDDING WEBSITE: CLICK HERE

~ ~ ~

The Hawaiian Word Of The Day Is: lokomaika’i

(pronounced low-koh-my-kah-ee)

OR

Good will, good disposition, generosity, grace, kind, humane, gracious

Last Easter we finished our cement project in the back yard…

This Easter we just about finished our back yard landscaping project and got Easter Grass!

But this Easter Grass does not come in a cute basket with candy and Easter eggs;

it comes in the back of a pick up truck!

So last week Duke & Kalani spent laborious days after working their 8 hour day,

getting the yard ready for this momentous occasion!

They would work well after dark just to get it all done.

Then on Easter Sunday, we had a system down

and once all the old wild grass was dug up,

the pipes and sprinklers were set up,

then the test came and the sprinkler system worked perfectly

after repairing a few leaks which called for a simple solution: O rings!

They adjusted the sprinkler heads while getting soaking wet in the freezing wind of Waikapu.

On Monday

Duke and I shoveled top soil into our wheel barrow

and slowly moved a dump truck load of dirt into our back yard, one trip at a time.

Phew!

Then on Monday afternoon, we drove to Sugar Beach to pick up our sod.

It was personally selected by Kalani who started his own landscaping company

- Kupono Landscaping -

as he wanted to make sure we got the best looking grass for our money.

They cut it, rolled it, and marked it with a “D & R” and loaded it up in our trucks.

When we got home, we took it off the trucks and loaded it in our back yard.

Now today, we get to finish grading our top soil and roll our our Easter Grass!

I can’t believe it!

I thought this project would never end

and now we can almost see the light at the end of our hard working tunnel!

I can’t wait until the summer to have a gorgeous back yard lawn to play on

and have the nieces and nephews over to play in the sprinklers!

So if you see me at the gallery with my bronzed skin,

you will know why I am so tan again!

The Hawaiian Word Of The Day Is: mau’u

(pronounced mao-ooh)

OR

GRASS!