I ♥ Faces My Story In Photos: Places I Love

This week at i heart faces, the theme is MY STORY... places I love. YEA! To save y'all 20 something years of pictures, I am going to skip to the romantic part... to the part where my viking asked me to be an American in Norway... : )

I met Ol'Blue eyes aka my Norwegian Viking Bjørn while we were sailing on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas... This was our first "home".

I still get "homesick" for Cruise Ships... I love being on the water...no matter how small the boat.

We bought our first real home in Norway but after a year on land we felt the need to go back to Sea... where we moved on to Seabourn's SPIRIT.....
This is outside of Santorini ,Greece still one of my FAVORITE islands... I was the crew purser.

Budapest... backpacking with girlfriends AFTER I had my kiddos

St.Petersburg, Russia one of my all time FAVORITE cities




ROME ROME ROME..
nice thing about moving back to Europe... only a few short hours to some of the most romantic cities in the world...

BERLIN Wall...

I was in Berlin the summer after the wall fell... still have the little pieces I chipped off, somewhere in my basement. : )

This summer we took the kids around Europe & I had the chance to show them Germany, where mommy went to University (Frankfurt & Mannheim) - & where Grandpa's family is from

.. I LOVE Germany..the food, the WINE, the Bier, the nature.

PARIS.. *sigh* I love all things French...

Finally... the land of the midnight sun.
there is NOTHING like a nice Norwegian summer...

taking walks in NATURE.. or along the water...

I love the beach even in the winter...

I aplologize in advance....

I would just like to apologize to all of y'all in advance. I know most of you do not follow just for photos of my children...(ok EVA... Dane tends to R U N every time I pull the camera out...)

I am not planning on turning this in to a photo blog, but lets face it.. there are only so many pictures of your children you can post on FACEBOOK before your old friends start ROllllling their eyes... - your doing it ..aren't you? - rolling your eyes I mean.

But seeing as I usually do NOTHING with my pictures...(they sit on my crappy laptop until it crashes, so I can moan & about all of the pictures I have lost... )

I figured I would post some more here...LUCKY YOU! - but seriously... there were so many pictures from yesterday that I fell in love with.
Here are just a few....

LOOK at the ICE... I LOVE it!

This is the 1,000 year plus Church where Bjørn & I were married. Eva HAS to drive by it every time we go out to the island... (although she doesn't think it looks "pretty"- but we both like the red door..)

Ooooo girl. Looks like Eva has inherited her mommas 1989 TEXAS hair... (don't worry, it fell. : )

Playing Hooky....

I was off today...sun was out & I was feeling GOOOD...

so I decided to keep Eva home & play hooky.

We packed a picnic lunch/thermos of cocoa & headed to a little chain of islands not far from our home.

Today was one of those

REALLY

GOOD DAYS...

Thank you baby girl!

Black & White Wed.. Cheater... Cheater...

I am playing Black & White Wed. with Lisa over at The long road to China.

Once again I am "bending" the rules... but it seems like a pretty laid back group so I am sure they won't mind too much. : )

Are you wondering how I am CHEATING? - The photo... isn't

BLACK & WHITE...

this is an UNTOUCHED COLOR photo... the shading in the corners of the photo is FOG hugging the trees....

So when I COMPLAIN of Grey days in Norway... at least you know I am not exaggerating

Random Tuesday Thoughts...

Yippee Random Tuesday Thoughts... with the Un mom

Perfect... cause this week I am having a hard time putting anything other but RANDOM Thoughts together... (do I say this every week?)

Guess who lost 7 lbs over the weekend? my secret? the freaking FLU... amazing I lost so much weight seeing as I was unable to get out of the fetal position for 36 hours...

Guess who GAINED 7.5 lbs on Monday? ; )

I heard some pretty loud music coming out of Danes room the other night... I asked him what he was listening to -"BLACK SABBATH"

Ummm, I'm not real sure I want my 10 year old jamming out to Black Sabbath.

I told him I wasn't crazy about him listening to it... could he please switch....

Next song ... Judas Priest.. ? WTH? C H A N G E that MUSIC! ... Iron Maiden

DAAAAAAAAAANE

I am having flashbacks to the EXACT SAME "CONVERSATION" involving The Butthole Surfers, Suicidal Tendencies,Sex Pistols & my mother.... sigh...

OMG... the thing driving me CRAZY these days...LOL..TMI.. are all of Dane's friends (including DANE) saying OMG, TMI, & LOL... but not like L.O.L ...

they say it as a word...LOL... like LOLLY... & T. M. EEEEEEEEE .

(the letter I sounds like E in Norwegian....) Really should'nt LOL..ROFL..TMI.. be saved for the computer?

I sound like an old fart.

I am FOR sure having a mid life crisis....

Not the kind of crisis where I would like to trade Bjørn in for a younger model...

lets be honest... If I were to go out & become a COUGAR I would have to drop about 30 lbs & shave my legs.. & I really can't be bothered...sigh.,..

But I am starting to wonder what I want to be when I grow up...

Sure, I like my job now. but it isn't what I want to do for the next 20 years....

But what do I want to do? Go back to school? ---

I downloaded Lightroom this week... WOW. Can you say WAY OVER MY HEAD?

I need to see if I can find a photography class in my area... something which will not conflict with the kids sports 4 nights a week & working/running a home etc.... : )

my BOSS loves Surprises...

LOVES 'EM. Me? -notsomuch. We are having our annual KICK OFF meeting next month... I received an email yesterday saying show up at the airport with a passport & a change of clothes.

HELLLOOO? . what kind of change of clothes? - jeans & hiking boots or heels & a dress?

I am guessing we are headed to London... but not sure... could be Stockholm.. its all good.

Random enough? - at least I didn't offend anyone this week...or did I?

I ♥ Faces Texture

This weeks theme is T E X T U R E.... I wasn't going to play, cause texture?... thats way over my head... I don't have any "actions".. heck, I'm not even sure what an "action" is... : (BUT... I do want to learn... You know what they say... "if you are going to run with the big dogs, you have to get off of the porch..."So this is ME...getting off of my porch... (early even...hmmm)

My mother sent Eva colored bath tablets from America... WOW... she thinks they are the COOLEST ever... (mom, were almost out...please send more! : )

I loved the color & the TEXTURE in the water... (see how I fit that in there?)

I am a little early, but here is hoping they won't mind over at I ♥ Faces, go on over & check them out.

Black & White Wed... on Thursday. ahem..

Blog hopping today I found Lisa's BEAUTIFUL blog...

The Long Road to China

she had the brilliant idea to post B & W photos on Wed... to keep the creative juices flowing during the LLONNG winter months... (realllly long here in Norway.)

I am hoping she won't mind my joining the fun a day late...

Something happens when the sun is shining & I have my camera... (it has been dark & dreary the past week... so this is a great excuse to go through pictures of a few weeks ago...

I LOVE black & white... I have tons of them on my computer... guess how many I have hanging in my house? (3 from like 10 years ago... I know, SHAME)




For my birthday I am thinking I would like to go ahead & invest in Photoshop...

I am CLUELESS...my baby sis said I was looking into approx a $500 investment.... Right? - I am so jealous of all of the photos I see on your blogs & I am wondering what I NEED to take my photos to the NEXT LEVEL.

Suggestions? ADVICE?

(big breath) Well MY mommy....

I hate to toot my own horn... BUT.. when it comes to Eva's preschool... I am kinda like the

"Rock Star" of mommies....

I am like the "Pied Piper"... I enter the school & the kiddos. come. running.


I always thought it was because I speak English... all the little kids like to run up & count AS FAST AS THEY CAN..123456789Tennnnnnnn.

Now I am beginning to wonder if it isn't so much that I am American as with Eva's new thing...

(big breath)

Well MY mommy.....

seems my Eva is a little storyteller.

For the most part...I giggle a little, & enjoy hearing the stuff she comes up with... (I know she won't think I am a ROCK STAR much longer...so I might as well enjoy it while I can.

Some of the things little Eva has shared with the class over the past few months....

I am pregnant... & giving her a little brother.

I am a R E A L L Y great singer as she volunteered my for the adult choir...in fact I sing OPERA.

I don't speak or understand Norwegian...

(despite the fact that I speak Norwegian to EVERYONE except her...)

If the children go swimming & they start to drown...they shouldn't worry because I can save them... they can just climb on to my back..cause I swim JUST LIKE A DOLPHIN... ya know..I was a life guard for many many years... (Life guard thing TRUE...Dolphin thing notsomuch)

I am BEAUTIFUL...bless you child...bless you..

but My FAVORITE happened last week....

I went in to pick Eva up... the children gathered around as I was getting her coat on her... she begins to tell all of them..

(big breath) "Well, MY mommy is coming to school tomorrow... & we can all sit on her back while she slides down the hill on her BELLY... we can use her like a sled..."

about 4 little girls stood there with eyes as big as saucers...looking back & forth between Eva & myself.... back & forth...back & forth...

most times I let her little FIBS go.. (except for the baby brother thing) - but I started laughing & assured them that I would NOT be coming the next day to be used as a SLED....

...Oh bless....

Thank you baby girl for thinking that I KNOW & can do EVERYTHING.... when you get to be 15 & think I am dumber than a box of rocks... I will send you back to mommy's blog so you can see just how smart I really am. : ) Unless of course you are making these stories up because you are ALREADY ashamed of me... - crap - I didn't think of it that way....hrumph...

PS... no, that isn't really me on my BELLY...didn't want there to be any confusion... : )

Random Tuesday Thoughts... bitchy edition

I’m in a funk a dunk dunk dunk…

(need to sing it to the "thong song")

I am playing Random Tuesday thoughts with Un mom

What is the next post after a dear friend has passed away?

I am so unmotivated to write, I fear if I don’t write something…now.. I won’t write… later.
Not sure if it is all because of my friend Bart… or the lack of sun this week....
or if I am on the brink of my mid life crisis?!


Did I mention I am having a birthday in a month?
- Have no fear, I will be reminding y’all on a weekly basis.
For my birthday I want photoshop & ski clothes. ... hint a hint hint hint...
(also to the thong song..)

I have been taking pictures to post to my 365 project..but nothing more exciting then the kids eating tacos.. & perhaps my toe… like I said , I am totally unmotivated to do pretty much anything this past week. But I wanted to stay in the game.

Edited in order to NOT be offensive to Gypsies..



know what else makes me CRAZY... ?
the freaking Korean porn comments I get EVERY freaking day at 11 am.... please go bug someone else....

Eva is going through a Rock -n-Roll stage this week…
Wants to wear her Rolling Stones shirt EVERYDAY… time to find some more concert T’s…

Bon Jovi was on the radio today… she asked me if he was still alive?!
I asked who? - Jon Bon Jovi? Yes honey…. He is still alive…

She informed me she would like to see him in concert. - have I mentioned she is F I V E?

Wooo Hoo… I am over 200 followers…
sorry I have been in such a haze the past few days to say
HEY! & Thanks!

Oooo all of my fellow expat buddies out there… have y’all tried STRAWBERRYnet.com? Go check it out… all of your favorite beauty products at American prices…FREE SHIPPING. - I received my Redken shampoo today. Yea…



Thank you for all of the wonderful comments on the loss of my friend. His funeral is tomorrow & I am still bummed I was unable to get there.. : (

How was this for random?




A friend of ours posted this picture today...it was so beautiful I just had to share it.....


I just don't get it...at all...

Heaven gained an Angel last night...

Heaven gained a beautiful soul last night....


I thought about you last night..my sweet friend... I thought that I really needed to call & check on how you were doing.

I received a phone call this morning, saying that you had passed last night.... you took one last shot for the pain & went to sleep.

I am GUTTED... there were /are so many people who love you... you touched so many lives with you beautiful smile & wonderful personality...

You fought a hard hard battle, did everything possible to be here for you sweet little boy but in the end cancer won.

I HAVE to believe that you have gone to a BETTER place... a place with no hurt & where you are looking down watching all of us who knew & loved you...

because this is the only way any of it makes any sense...

God speed love... we will miss you.....

My poor husband...

It isn't always easy being an AMERICAN in Norway... & I imagine it isn't always easy being MARRIED to an American in Norway...

Because lets face it...

I am an American girl living in a Norwegian world...

I may LOOK like a Norwegian ... but I don't think or act... or DRESS like a Norwegian

( for the most part.)

For example....

All of my little winter hikes....

You would probably expect me to be dressed like this...

<--------------

RIIIGHT?

cause any GOOD Norwegian knows..

there is no bad weather ...only bad clothes...

Well... I don't own any good/CUTE ski clothes

(sorry Bjørn I am NOT squeazing my butt into the ski pants from my '95 ski trip to Tahoe... & the rainbow ski jacket? it ain't gonna happen!)

(my birthday is is next month though...hint hint hint...)

I could LAYER my clothes, like all of the good Norwegians who don't have cute little ski outfits...

-But lets face it... the last thing I need to make me look THINNER is a couple of extra layers on my legs & ass....

but my legs ARE getting cold when I go out mountain climbing & ice rock scaling : )

(gosh I sound like the little adventurer don't I?-smile---)

...so what have I been wearing?....

My full length DKNY down jacket... (like down to my ANKLES ) ummm... it seemed like a good idea at the TIME... & lets be fair... when I went out yesterday, I was planning on going on a little walk... not climbing to the SUMMIT to get my "top of the world" photo...

by the way... loved this little comment...
Em said...
Zowwweee girl - you look like a Nordic Princess. (thanks Em!)...

What the photo wasn't showing was my Jackie O sunglasses... & my cheap-o snow boots which are not intended for more than hopping in the car to drop the kids off at school...

Picture it...

So here I trek(after taking all of my shots on the top of the Mountain...Oh, ok... HILL )... on my way back to the beach.. & I hit a gorge of some sort...

next thing I know I am WAIST DEEP in snow... Jackie O' sunglasses hanging cockeyed off my head.. & my cheap NO TREAD snowboots from DSW filling up with SNOW.

All the while holding my camera over my head, so that it wouldn't get wet....

When I got over the initial SHOCK...

First thought... THANK GOODNESS I didn't break anything.. can you imagine people finding my frozen American bod in my big ass sunglasses...?

Second thought... THANK GOODNESS there were no Norwegians here in the middle of a Wed. morning to witness AMERICAN in Norway...LOOKING like An American (Texan) in Norway.

Third thought... THANK GOODNESS neither Bjørn nor the children were there to witness their big ol' American momma making an ass out of her self...

really..... a FULL length coat, & Jackie O's to go hiking?

Then there would have been the "told you sos" ... Bjørn telling me I look like a big Bug in my ridiculous sunglasses.

So as I am snorting & grunting to crawl my way out of this snow filled gorge thingy... the image of DAME EDNA pops into my head...

My god...

I must look like Dame Edna right about now...

& I start laughing... & laughing ... which is not helping me crawl out

(one handed I might add)

& what if someone found me like this? ... OMG the horror... of it all...

Then it hit me...

My poor poor husband...

all of the years of having to explain my unpractical shoes... my SEVEN SUITCASES...

my just not getting the point of CROSS COUNTRY SKIING... (I really TRY...but come on)

It can't be easy being married to a foreigner...

I'm sorry baby... From this day forward I am going to do my best to try to BLENNNNND .... OK?

I am going to go out & get a cute Norwegian Ski outfit right away!

It ain't easy being cheesy.... : )

Please slap me....

I had a little time this morning after dropping Eva off at preschool... I decided to take a walk.. (because THIS is the year I get healthy) & I need to find a photo for my little 365 project...

MY beach is beginning to thaw & it made me sad, so I decided to go to a different beach today.... Mærrapanne...

Amazing doesn't even begin to describe how BEAUTIFUL & PEACEFUL it was out there...
Table for Two?
I will bringing the kids here over the weekend for a little picnic...

Talk about being on top of the world...

If I had had a thermos of coffee & didn't have to go to work.. I would have stayed here all day long..

just snap snap snapping....

So please y'all...

Next time I start whining about Super TARGET & lack of VELVEETA over here..

Please SLAP ME OK?

Thanks for visiting "my world." If you want to see more exciting places from around of the globe, go to the "That's My World" website

i heart faces...HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I heart faces is celebrating its first birthday WOO HOO!

I ♥ ..I heart faces... So glad to be back playing with the gang...

This time around it looks to be well over 600 entries....

Do you think I have a chance? LOL

It doesn't matter if you win ... its all in good fun checking out all of the other bloggers who

I ♥ Faces,

So, the rules are as follows: “Best Face Photo.” You should enter the face photo that you love the best that you took either in the month of December 2009 or in early January 2010. This is not the week to look through your archives for a favorite photo! We want something that is fresh and new and that shows off where you are in your photography journey right now.

RTT Random Tuesday Thoughts... YEA!

Time for Random Tuesday thought with Un Mom

Ya, I am posting this because I really want my children to have a reason to hate me one day.

I originally thought about posting this so you could hear the Nor-English spoken in the home... after watching it again, I realized Eva is speaking pretty much only Norwegian, Dane is speaking English & I sound like a winded cow trying to get up the hill....

( I know... nice visual)

Just to translate for Eva... she keep says "Because...I am POPULAR"... taken off of an episode of Hannah Montana B E F O R E we figured out how to switch the Disney channel to English ONLY... (pretty cool how our TV can set the languages eh?)

this was last year...Eva is speaking pretty much English only with me now... although we usually switch back & forth several time in a conversation.

Dane, well he doesn't talk to me at all anymore... I JOKE...but will no longer allow me to video tape him for fear that it will end up on youtube. HA.

Hope y'all have an awesome Tuesday.

Where I come off sounding like an ungrateful BIOTCH

So this is the post where I come of soundling like a total ungrateful BITCH...

I have said it many,many times.. When it comes to hubbies..I hit the jackpot.

My man can bring home the bacon...fry it up in a pan... & never ever ever let you forget he's a man....Oooo ya...

But when it comes to laundry...

he SUCKS.

There is just no nice way to say it... I have tried

N I C E..

"wow, honey...good job... he he he...but normally I don't throw all of the clothes in the dryer... Oh my wool sweater?- you washed that too?--- How about I do all of the laundry...ALL of the TIME? ..k. mmm hmmmm...." (wink wink SMIIIILE)

...NICE didn't work.

After being gone working all weekend... I come home to a mostly SPOTLESS house... .. Opened my wash machine to find

THIS ---------------------->

this morning... by the smell of

it... I am guessing he threw everything in on Sat. morning.. & then let it sit WET for 2 days.

...

I don't think I have the capability to draw on the pictures.. or I would do little arrows to what I am talking about....

First picture...

notice the little scraps of paper all around the grey bit? At first glance I am guessing TISSUE or Candy wrappers... maybe BOTH...

Um ya, that would be the RED Christmas table cloth, along with my BRA...Dane's jeans...

On further inspection I see, yes indeed it WAS a candy wrapper...KitKat to be exact...

Ooooo would that be a "white" towel... with the black socks, red table cloth, jeans... the children's Merino Wool underwear at

$70 a freaking pair...

& mommy's BRA...

yes... yes it would be.

so let this be a public warning OL'BLUE EYES.... you.TOUCH. MY. washing machine AGAIN.... I am TAKING YOU DOWN... (& NOT in a good way)

Or better yet... I will go out & replace EVERYTHING ...sale or no sale... OUCH...

Sundays in my city...Foten Beach

Its time for SUNDAYS in MY CITY with Unknown Mami

Are y'all getting tired of my winter pictures of Norway yet? - Hoping for a little less cold & the chance to show you more of my adopted home...
But until we THAW... you get more winter.


On the kids last day of Christmas vacation this week... I took the kids out to the beach with camera in tow.

this is a beach about 10 min from our home & we come here often...usually in the summer... but on this day... although FREEZING...it was Breathtakingly B E A U T I F U L...

I included a photo from last spring ,so you can compare.... & YES.. those are diving boards to jump into the ocean.

Not sure what it is about this photo but it reminds me of an album cover from my youth.... just need to figure out which one it is before it makes me CRAZY

My first though while snapping this shot was "Heaven meets Earth"... had it not been so cold, (I feared my face & fingers falling off)

, I would have stayed out there all day.



Cause y'all know what a GREAT mommy I am

"S A F E T Y FIRST"

yes this are my children playing out on the ice...

Yes, this is the

ice

cracking.

This is my 5 year old laying on the ICE while we take bets on how fast FROST BITE can set in....