10 Things I'm Loving Right Now

1) Watching sunrises. Photographing people watching sunrises.

2) Designing my dream house on Google Sketchup
3) Taking photos of birds (no, this is not the same as bird watching and don't ever call me a bird nerd!)

4) Knitting baby hats and then making my dog pose for pictures modeling the hats.

5) Ravelry.
6) Using only solar power for electricity and hot water.
7) The view from my private yoga studio. In the morning, I see rays jumping, sea lions, and occasionally dolphins. In the evenings there is an osprey who comes to hunt along the shoreline. There are always flying fish and pelicans to watch.

8) That time early in the morning when the only sound is the waves.
9) This picture (from December 15th.)

10) This video (from yesterday.)

Cribs La Ventana

"Yo wassup. Welcome to Casa de Hooijer."


"This is where my maid works. That's an original kiteboard-inspired dishwashing station, one-of-a-kind. And you can see the walk-in shower with custom palm thatching to the right."


"And this is the view from the bedroom -- where the magic happened."


"In here I got the living area with custom flooring and authentic ming dynasty hanging lamps, sweet."


"This is the view from our chill out room."


"And out front I got an infinity ocean"


"Here in my garage I've got a sweet Honda 650R with black 21s."


"Thanks for touring Casa de Hooijer. Now get outta here."

Santa arrives in Baja!

He came a little early and he left the reindeer and sleigh behind...

Merry Christmas everyone!

My first (semi-)professional photography job

Well, I didn't exactly get paid or anything... but we (Humphrey, Arnoud, Tim and I) did get to go for free on an amazing kite trip. Check out the photos at Downwind Kiting's website. Mostly the section about the Isla Cerralvo trip, but also some of the website's promotional photos. I took most of the pictures and Arnoud modeled for some of them. I might even get paid to take photos for them if they sell some excursions! And I've been asked to be the "professional photographer" during the freestyle clinic with the pro rider for f-one. Wish me luck!

Back in Baja Blogland

So we've been having a nice time relaxing into our vacation. We set up a nice camp -- a whole house with living area, a nice large kitchen, a shower, and a front yard with a hammock and a view of the sea.
The wind has been sporadic but we've still gotten a fair amount of time on the water. Arnoud has been working on his Raleys (pictured below) and backrolls with 180 transitions. I'm working on not face planting or digging in my edges or looking like I'm sitting on the toilet. Oh, to be Arnoud!

From My Pictures

I did ride Arnoud's strapless surfboard for the first time yesterday. Very exciting to do, not terrribly exciting to watch. It'll be awhile until I brave the waves.
We went on an overnight to the Isla Cerralvo, 14 miles off the coast, with 11 friend on a cat-hull powerboat with a 250 hp motor and a built in blender.

From 2008_12_08

From 2008_12_08

We set up camp on a beach, deserted except for us and a few marked turtle nests. After a day of playing in the water and on the beach -- kiting, spearfishing, snorkelling, and swimming; frisbee, shell hunting, sunbathing and hiking -- we ate dutch-oven enchiladas and chiles rellenos by the campfire and watched great big meteors streak across the sky.

From 2008_12_08

From 2008_12_08

From 2008_12_08

The next day we crossed back; Arnoud and several others kited downwind as Humphrey and I enjoyed the boat ride and took hundreds of photos. Here's a few for you to enjoy!

Marie and Greg's Wedding in Paradise

So it's been an awfully long time since Marie and Greg's wedding, but I wanted to share some of the photos since it was so beautiful! The wedding was in the cute little surf town of Sayulita, north of Puerto Vallarta on the west coast of the mainland of Mexico.



We stayed in an incredible "compound" of houses right on the beach with a view of the sunset.




It was a whole week of fun in the sun culminating with Marie and Greg's western-style wedding in a thatch-roofed palapa on a bluff above the crashing waves. Unfortunately, no photos of the ceremony, I was too busy crying my eyes out. After dinner there was a surprise fireworks display and then we danced for hours. There's a rumor that I did some synchronized swimming back in the pool at the compound later that night, but don't trust everything you read on the internet.

The next day there was a Korean-style wedding with some giving of wooden ducks and throwing of dates and nuts. The bride and groom looked like dolls in their traditional outfits.



And then on the last day we stayed with Champang at her cliff-top rental house with this incredible pool.





I was just as happy as I've ever been, lying in an eternity pool with a book and a glass of white wine. I'm just going to imagine myself back there...

If you're interested in the rest of the photos, look at the web album here.

Marie and Greg