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

New Project: Travelogue Diaries ( because I'm a voyager)

 I left home at early age because I had to see the world, and I had to do things my way. I sadly didn't start documenting my adventures till around 2008. I also didn't really have a steady blog, and I was way to busy to really sit down and write about everything I was doing - much to my families disappointment. Now that I'm working from home - and now that I have this new blog/website - I want to play a bit of catch up. I have been promising my mom photographs for years now and a place where she can come to and see what I'm doing with my life while I'm away from her. I'll have to go back in time - but eventually I'll be all caught up. So if you see some new posts with really old dates -now you know. 

I'll call it my Travelogue Diaries. Most of it will be photographs - because that is the best way I know how to share my story. 

X Lorraine

Working from home turned me into a bird lady

When people hear that I work from home it often results in people being jealous of me. They automatically visualize sleeping in till noon, never getting dressed, or ask the most obvious question " so what do you do for work? " The last one bothers me so much - but that is another blog post for later. For now I'll address the first two points. Yes, it is possible to sleep in till noon- and sometimes I do. Yes, I do enjoy being able to wear whatever  I want. But - I've always worn exactly what I wanted since I was a kid - not a big deal. Really, ask my mom. She'll tell you how in 6th grade she got a call from the principal at my Catholic school asking her " Did you know your daughter came to school in a lingerie slip as a dress? " 

Anyway ... it usually surprises people when I tell them that it's very lonely working from home. It is so quiet and still. In the winter this can be depressing. I admit the first year was amazing, but two years later it's just boring and lonely. 

So before you feel sorry for me - let's go back to the point of this posting, and oh yeah did you see those super cute bird photos?! yes. So about a 1.5 months ago - I decided that I needed some company in the house. I thought about puppies, bunnies, and adopting a kid. ( kidding about the kid!) This list narrowed down to - no list at all the moment I walked by a bird cage in the local pet store. I saw two silly birds sitting so close together - they looked like one bird. I was told they were little dwarf parrots. In the U.S. they are known as lovebirds. 

I found a bird farm in a little village close to my city.I went and and came home with my little green parrot. We thought at the time she was a girl and her name was Donna. Well she turned out to be a boy. So he became Lewis. We named him after a character on the television series called " Suits." 

Three weeks later we went back for another one. We figured that Lewis would need a buddy when I'm off traveling or visiting home for the holidays. So we brought home Blu! She was only about three weeks old and we had to hand feed her. She was also a kind of birthday gift for Paul. 

Now my life is run by these little parrots, and I wouldn't have it any other way. So I'm kind of a bird lady now. I just wanted to introduce them to you. So yeah now you can be jealous of me ;)

X Lorraine

Roomboter Amandelstaaf

Being a Californian girl... and living in the Netherlands proves to be very difficult for me around the end of summer. The sun vanishes, the wind blows, and I'm freezing all the time. I  try to find things that keep my spirits up, and I try to embrace the beauty of what is to come. I have cozy sweaters to look forward to. Lots of warm beverages. Snuggling under the blanket and catching up on all the latest American Tv shows without guilt. I get to wear cute boots everyday, and cozy mittens. My cheeks get super flushed, and it's the holidays!  So great list right? yes! But the most exciting thing that happens when summer leaves.. is all the best tasting treats of the Dutch people come out. There are certain treats that you can only find here in Holland during the cold bitter months. I used to think that sucked. Now I think maybe they do it because they also need something to look forward to during fall and winter. So here is a photo of one of the many treats I will be introducing you over the next few months. This treat is called the Roomboter Amandelstaaf. 

Translating this into : butter almond rod (stick). It is a delicious, buttery, winter treat! Around the holidays it is very easy to gain some extra weight - so because of that I joined the gym! Think this looks amazing? It is. Don't worry family - I'll be bringing some home! 

X Lorraine 

1,000 thank you's

I knew this day was coming. I just didn't really focus on it... because than I knew I would basically start holding my breath and begin to start pressing the refresh button over and over for the rest of my life until the moment happened. So what happened? Well in June of 2010 I opened my first online shop over on Etsy. --http://www.etsy.com/shop/MursBlanc- It started off as a way to earn some extra cash so that I would be able to fly home to the U.S.A for the holidays. It didn't quite work out that way. For the next three months I spent countless hours reading, researching, and learning. After that three months went by... I had still only sold a handful of items. It was very discouraging and I never made it home for the holidays. This only made my desire to succeed stronger. I had no reason to think that I would do well -or that I deserved this - but one thing kept me going. If other people can be successful on Etsy - than so can I. Why not me? I can proudly say that today that yes - me too. Today I hit my 1,000 sale mark in my shop. I worked really hard for that, but mostly I have thank the people that believed in me. Most of all my wonderful customers who have supported me and believed in me even when at times I struggled. Learning how to run a business is not an easy task, and I kind of just jumped in. I'm still learning, and still making mistakes. Today has given me huge confirmation that I'm headed in the right direction. So 1,000 thank you's from the bottom of my heart.

x Lorraine 

Problems moving forward

Since my first post I was hoping to be well ahead of where I am now - and a little bit further along in the creation of my blog. Blogger and Google seem to be having some issues regarding custom domains. It seems to be at a standstill. I can't find anyone to help me and till now there are no updates. I purchased a domain name " Lorraineveronica.com " with blogger through google wallet. So because I was unable to start using my own domain name - I had it in my head that I couldn't use my blog till it was fixed. Both Google and Blogger blame the other - and nether will help me.

It could possibly be that my domain name is lost in limbo for an entire year. So instead of being defeated - I'm going to embrace my blog - personal domain name or not. 

Anyone else having these issues? 

x Lorraine


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