yesterday, a bunch of family met me in Bergshamra, and we took a walk through the woods and up a hill to a cliff overlooking Brunsviken. we started a little barbecue and had hotdogs. later philip taught us some jewish gypsy dances - we danced in a circle around the music coming out of his cell phone. crazy swedes... it was wonderful. more pictures here.

in the evening we went to church and met up with more family. my cousin Gustaf spoke. he repeated the main points in english for me =) afterwards we had some fika and i got everyone's phone numbers. - i'm going to have plenty to do and plenty to see and plenty to visit.

today i met my cousin Maria at the university. she showed me around the school, and we sat for coffee. later we went all over downtown collecting information about the art schools here and where i can take swedish language classes. we had a great time.. later we had lunch and we figured out which train i need to take to get back up to Vallentuna. eventually, i hopped on it and came home to my apartment.

my nieces and i spent a little time downtown this afternoon.

we stopped by maria and kalle's house for tea. they are the most beautiful family i've ever seen.

lights in Mattias and Helena's house. She owns a business called Enzokids where she sells stylish kids clothing.

the apartment...


more pictures here. Sharon came home from work early, since Niklas isn't doing too well. so, now i have a week off. i might settle in a little more and spend some time downtown.

snowy woods...


today was my frist official day of work. Sharon left for the airport early early early this morning. Emelie and Boss, their cocker spaniel, took me on a walk through the woods. Niklas stayed home from school. He's on antibiotics and will probably be home for the rest of the week. more pictures of Vallentuna here.

Vallentuna!


sunday night i moved to Vallentuna, met my new family, and moved into my amazing apartment.. way nicer than i was expecting. tons of space. best shower ever! today Sharon and i went grocery shopping and took Emelie to her horse back riding lesson. it began to snow towards the end of the day. the neighborhood is beautiful.

the sun came out today...


we took a drive over to Ulriksdal to check out a nursery and take a walk around the castle grounds. the nursery is huge! since the winters are so dark and cold, people go there to fill the need for green life. it was beautiful. more pictures here. tonight i meet Sharon and move into my apartment.

in sweden, safe and sound...

Bergshamra is where my sister Ingela lives.


my nieces, Amie and Andrea

my sister, Ingela

on my way...




LAX wasn't too cool. United has it all set up so you check yourself in at a computer. i think there were 6 people working and about 200 people trying to check in. i ended up running to get onto the plane.. but from there on everything was smooth. on my flight from Seattle i made friends with an adorable Swedish emergency anesthesiologist named Magnus, and we switched planes together in Copenhagen. my sister Ingela, cousin Gustav, and niece Andrea picked me up. after being mostly awake for 27 hrs, i slept for 15.

good byes...







my family threw me a really great going away party last saturday. big thank you to everyone who made it! and to those who couldn't - thanks for all the encouraging emails! to see more photos of my last moments home and our trip to taco loco, visit my flickr.

happy new year!
hey hey! it's up! welcome to my new image journal. here i'll be posting pictures from life and the things i'm up to, projects i'm working on, and the things i find that inspire me - to hopefully inspire and get inspired. an inspiration.. station? - just got a new camera, and i'm ready to get this thing back in action.

thanks for your patience through my hiatus! were you patient? 2007 was quite a busy year for me - managing the book craftsman while taking night classes at art center in pasadena. learned a ton. it was very tough and really great. i'm thankful for the trials and lessons, the adventures, and new dear friends... both silver and gold friends..

2008 brings a new life chapter...

two weeks from tomorrow i'm moving to stockholm, sweden. i have a round trip ticket that says i'll be coming home at the end of april.. but i'm not really sure when i'll be back. i've been given the sweetest job, and i'm looking to renew my swedish passport and snoop around - figure out if i can go to konstfack. i will be a part time nanny / full time relaxed yenny, reading, running, drawing, photographing, drinking strong swedish coffee, and spending time with my sister, nieces, cousins, aunts and uncles... so who really knows when i'll return? the plan is a loose sketch, and i'm really up for anything. excited! thinking about what God has done, and what He will do...

you should come visit me.
think about it.

i hope to be posting tons - mostly pictures - and i hope you'll enjoy it as much as will...

xo