In the middle of photoshop editing & file ftp'ing this afternoon I stopped to think of anything else...truly anything that would get me through the monotony of this task. So I wondered, what if I was back in Italy? Rewind to May 28th, 2006. It was my last day as a tradeswoman (misplaced, I know). I can't really talk about the details which led me to resign the position, all I can say at this point is that it was a good thing to be out of there...but on that day although I felt defeated for resigning, I was looking forward to two weeks in Europe with my MOM. MOM yes, my mom! Our family lived abroad for quite some time, a total of about 12-13 years in Germany. While my dad served as a WO2 in the Army, we enjoyed the beauty of Germany and dug into the economy lifestyle...we became slaves of travel and gluttons for fine Euro foods. My mom and I vacationed for 2 weeks together this may (she lived in Germany and I visited from WA) and during that vacation I pondered my life as a photographer, full time, as of immediately...and wondered how I was going to make it in this big world. When you reach Italy, though , particularly southern Italy it became harder and harder to stay focused on whatever it was that I was thinking. Like, past Tuscany, my brain completely shut off. Rightly so. It was about time something just opened held up the press and shut off the lights for a while.

My mom and I talked, laughed, snacked, walked for miles and miles, and just enjoyed life in the simple but beautiful town of Cinque Terre. One of my clients from this year recommended going there, and we did!!! I'll never forget my time there in Southern Italy or in the city of Florence. I LOVED Florence. Florence loved my credit cards, but that's a whole different story. At one point in Cinque Terre we observed an older Italian couple, conversing, very strongly and passionately about whatever it is that we couldn't understand. At one point, the man stopped in his tracks, put his hands on his hips and the woman kept walking. I have a snapshot of it below. Its just the simple life. Sometimes we truly should stop to think how others live, so simply, and LOVE their lifestyles. I try to live the life I've always dreamed and go confidently in the direction of my goals. Its really an effort to keep life simple and do what you've always dreamed. I wish you all the same! Enjoy these snapshots from our Euro Trip (one of many) this past May of 06.