back in Europe

hi! the blog has been a bit empty lately because I've been really busy with family, traveling, and getting settled back into life in the Netherlands. It was very hard to leave California. Now that I'm here I'm focused and ready for the future. 

I'll leave you for now with a cute photo of one of my newest cards because it's true...

I love you guys more then those bitches before. 

xoxo

Lorraine 

Snapshots -Surprise Romantic Trip to Disneyland!

Snapshots of my California Christmas

Snapshots around the neighborhood where my family lives

44 days in California

I'm back in the motherland. The sun is shining. I'm back in my moms arms. All is well in the world today. 

It's only been three days but a lot has happened. I had a burrito which was amazing, and it was so spicy it almost brought tears to my eyes ( because it was spicy and because it was SPICY!). 

I went to Target - my favorite store - almost within a few hours of me landing. I was almost delirious. 

I also went Christmas tree hunting! Many more things but I'm so tired that I can't think right now. 

Here are a few snaps from the tree hunting- oh and a cute photo of my parents being romantic

x Lorraine 

Don't forget....

Just in case you haven't checked - I've been making collages and posting them weekly! If you look at the top of the blog under " Instagram " you will see my snapshots of daily life.. here and there.

The whole reason I got an iPhone 4 ( about two months ago I think) was so that I could get the amazing camera!

Taking photo's is one of my passions but it's hard to lug around a camera all day - every day - all the time. So my solution was my cell phone. 

I mentioned before on another post that I don't think my life is really picture beautiful - not compared to all those others on Instagram - BUT - it's my life so I'm going to embrace it! 

but mostly  I do it for my mom.

I'm posting the latest snapshots here because I wanted to say that a few cool things have happened.

the first - remember Lewis? The parrot I had to find a new home for? Well he's here visiting for a few days while his new family is on holiday! I've been getting to know his new " Mom " and she's pretty cool. 

She decided that I would be his babysitter! Even cooler- she will babysit Blu when it's my turn for holiday! 

The second thing - See that photo of my ear? yeah! I got a new piercing! I now have a double conch in my left ear. This is no easy thing - ouch! The first conch piercing I had took almost a year to heal and was very painful. So far this new one is going pretty well. Maybe my easiest piercing yet. I am a big fan of piercing - and if it wasn't for my husband stopping me - and my mom before that - I'd have my whole face pierced up. I can't help - I love it - it's addicting.

x Lorraine 

Instagram and my not so beautiful life

For longest time I have wanted an Iphone. Not because it's a cool phone and not because everyone has one. I wanted one for only one reason - I wanted to be able to use Instagram. There is something so lovely and nostalgic about the photos that are created by others, and I wanted to be part of it. I was taking photo's with my Samsung Android phone and sharing them on Facebook. So Instagram was the next logical step. Besides all my friends were doing it (smile). 

Once I finally got the Iphone - which was only about 2 months ago - something happened that I wasn't expecting. I got extremely click shy - and couldn't think of anything to take to photo's of. I found myself taking the standard cliché  food, coffee, and feet shots. How boring, right? I also discovered that my life isn't as interesting as I thought! Big shocker. So I didn't really use Instagram much, and my new shiny white Iphone became just another fun gadget. 

Also - I wasn't really into using Instagram because my normal daily life isn't that beautiful! I don't have this gorgeous house filled with beautiful lovelies. I don't make arty meals and display them on delicate plates with silk napkins to wipe my polished hands on. I have houseplants that misbehave, I eat pretty normal food, and although I love beautiful things - I have never actually liked "stuff" - I've never been in any one place long enough to even start collecting beautiful things. 

To be honest I still even have most of my clothes in a suitcase and if I had to move tomorrow - Everything I wanted would be able to fit into a small weekend bag, and of course I'd grab my birds! 

Anyway. So I have been using Instagram. I decided to embrace that it might not be that impressive - but it's my life. My story. It's not that beautiful - but it's real and it's me. 

So I'll start sharing. If you look at the tab on the top of this blog for " Instagram" that is where I'll be posting my photos. I tried to catch up a little bit and put up some a few collages of whats when been going on!

and here I just posted the two latest Instagram photos. Lewis and I saying hello, and a pile of cards I printed two days ago.

X Lorraine 

Travelogue Diaries : Entry No. 02 - Sweden

I've never been interested in Paris like most women. I'm sorry but it's true. In fact I have to admit that I haven't had such great experiences involving French... things... but this isn't about Paris - or French things. I only bring it up to say that - My " Paris" has always been Sweden. In other words.. I've been dreaming about Sweden since I was little girl. It all started in grade school.The teacher wanted to excite us about the world and get us interested in other cultures. Great teacher! 

It must have worked because ever since - I have been excited about other countries and cultures. The teacher dropped a bunch of books on the table and said pick one that appeals most to you and explain why.

Well I've never been good at " picking one" of anything. In this case - I was. The only place at the time that appealed to me was Sweden. That was the easy part. Explaining why was less easy.

So " less easy" that it led me to commit one of my first biggest crimes in life. I hate to admit what I did - but it's part of the story. I couldn't find a way to explain how I felt about Sweden. I could only "feel" what I felt about Sweden. The photographs touched something inside my heart and made me feel like there was magic in the world. I decided that one day I had to live there.

How do you explain this in an essay? At the time I thought it was impossible. So I did the only thing that made sense at the time. I wouldn't write an essay. I would show the teacher. 

So that's what I did. I went to the library and found the best book on Sweden I could find. I ripped out all the best photographs and I taped them lovingly onto a piece of paper - and turned it in.

I know - I'm a bad person. The funny thing is - my crime earned me an A. The teacher made a comment to the class about how only one person got it right - and winked at me.

I'm pretty sure she knew what I had done, and I promise I have never ripped photographs out of any book since - at least not books that weren't mine. I'm also pretty sure- that wink taught me how to be a bit fearless in life. Sometimes you have to break the rules to portray how you feel... and I've been doing it ever since. So thanks teacher! ( I don't remember her name)

So finally my dream came true in December, 2011. I had just come back from the U.S. - to be reunited with my boyfriend Paul. I had been for gone for about 3 months due to some visa problems I was having with the Netherlands at the time. He surprised me with tickets to Sweden! So we went. 

It was very cold. So so so cold. 

and so so beautiful.

We were in time for the  celebration of Santa Lucia. It takes place on December 13. Here is what it's about according to Wikipedia: 

In the Nordic countries

In Sweden, Estonia, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, Lucy (called Lucia) is venerated on December 13 in a ceremony where a girl is elected to portray Lucia. Wearing a white gown with a red sash and a crown of candles on her head, she walks at the head of a procession of women, each holding a candle. The candles symbolize the fire that refused to take St. Lucia's life when she was sentenced to be burned. The women sing a Lucia song while entering the room, to the melody of the traditional Neapolitan song Santa Lucia; the Italian lyrics describe the view from Santa Lucia in Naples, the various Scandinavian lyrics are fashioned for the occasion, describing the light with which Lucia overcomes the darkness. Each Scandinavian country has lyrics in their native tongues. After finishing this song, the procession sings Christmas carols or more songs about Lucia.

Here is the link to read more about it : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy's_Day

I found a real life red riding hood! We were walking around a closed fairground and saw her wandering around. So cool right?

So I'm pretty pleased that I have my own photographs to share about Sweden now. I would like to go back again when it's not so cold, but I'm really glad I got to witness the winters in Sweden... because maybe I don't want to live there after all! It's just a little bit to cold - the blurry cold kind of cold. I do have more photographs floating around but for now - these are the ones I'm sharing today.

X - Lorraine 

Travelogue Diaries : Entry No. 01 - Mexico

In 2003 I was really fed up with my day job. I was working at City Search ( sister company for Ticket Master) and I sat behind a desk all day long. You wouldn't believe it from my spelling mistakes and terrible grammer - but I was a proof reader for the company. I approved or disproved anything going live on the websites. A simple - but boring job. So - I quit. Giving up the free concert tickets was sad but I don't regret this step in my life. This would be the start of me rebelling against normal days jobs and living in one spot for very long. So the problem was - how to support myself? The solution - become a nanny!

I won't bore you with all the details since this is going back in time - and it's way to long of a story to write about - but I became a nanny. A traveling nanny! I was lucky enough to find a nanny job that required me to travel with the family. Amazing right? They took me to Mexico in 2003 - and paid me for it!

This was a monumental year for me. I discovered many things about myself - first that I loved the camera. Second - that I had to travel as much as possible for the rest of my life. As for taking photographs - I didn't really think anything about it. I just knew that it was fun and people kept complimenting me. This encouraged me to photograph more and more.

So I did.

Sadly I don't have any amazing photographs from that trip. I lost most of them due to being lazy about saving these photos. I do have a couple - they are small and the resolution is terrible. I had a really crappy camera back than. Here is what I can show you from that trip: 

As you can see - not very many or very impressive. My favorite subject to photograph was the little girl I was in charge of watching. I didn't of course know it than - but this is where my love for children photography started. She was more interesting to me than the pyramids in the Yucatan. 

The Yucatan area is beautiful. I fell in love with the people, and the energy that I felt in the small villages. It was a relaxed way of living. Many young couples ran around hiding in the shadows to steal kisses form each other. 

The one place I did not love - Mexico City. It was loud, crowded, dirty, and I couldn't breathe. We stayed there for several days and I was so claustrophobic and nervous the entire time. I don't believe I will ever go back there. 

So there you have it. My first - really old - entry. I promise they will get better. 

X Lorraine