Photo Challenge Day 12

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

I don't travel as much as I wish I did but of all the places I've been, New Mexico has won my heart. More specifically, I love, love, LOVE the magical place that is Taos, New Mexico! :-) I first went there in January of 2009 with a class from college studying the art & literature of the southwest. Within the first day I fell in love with the overwhleming beauty of Taos--the physical landscape, the breathtaking sunsets & starry skies, the incredible art, the wonderful people, the eclectic mashup of cultures, la comida!, the history--it's all so amazing. I loved it so much that when I had the chance to go back this past January I took it in a heartbeat, and somehow, it was even more fabulous than the first time--it didn't hurt that I convinced a handful of friends to come along as well. :-) 

Here's a sampling of some of what I saw:

these are the wonderful ladies I went with in January of 2009

Camel Rock!



beautiful crosses are everywhere

perfect Sunday evening activity? --catching the sunset @ the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge with some good friends and some wine :-)

the amazing 2011 crew (minus silly Matthew)--these people are fantastic :-)

I love the adobe homes!



if you're up for adventure, the hiking is really amazing!



there are many treasures to be found in this land of enchantment

along with the wondrous nature we got to experience we even spotted an eagle!

more adventuresome hiking with the fellas



so many great memories full of awestruck beauty and fellowship :-)



after a long blissful day head out to any Taos eatery and you will be blown away!

Orlando's is definitely one of my favorites!

a good morning, indeed :-)

the sunrises are almost as beautiful as the sunsets



I absolutely love this place and can't wait to revisit :-)

Photo Challenge Day 11

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

I'm not at all what one would call a "city gal" -- I enjoy the slower pace of the suburbs as opposed to the hectic hustle & bustle and crowded madness of crazy busy cities like Chicago. Sure, they're nice to visit now and then but really, I don't enjoy it for too long. What I particularly hate about cities is the horrible driving and parking situation. I like to think that I'm a pretty decent driver but I will freely admit that my parallel parking skills aren't so great--my depth perception is just awful and the size of my car doesn't help that any. And obviously, no one enjoys sitting in traffic (at least not sane people) but I really, truly hate traffic getting into and then through Chicago. For the most part, I'm a pretty level headed person but the kind of gridlock traffic that Chicago has on a daily basis (even outside of rush hour, which really lasts from 3-6:30ish) absolutely drives me nuts. Occassionally, if I have a good idea of where I'm headed I can manage the "L" but if it gets too complicated with a bunch of transfers and such I'll get lost and frustrated (yes, yes, I should probably learn better navigation skills--maybe sometime). And so it's rare that I willingly drive into the city and it has to be for something very special--namely, visiting one of my favorite people, the wonderful Kim Randle. :-)

if you don't know this lady, you're missing out!

Photo Challenge Day 10

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with

Hmmm...."messed up things" ...I wouldn't say that I do a lot of messed up things, maybe just that I dabble in shenanigans and a lot of silliness. And while I do lots of fun, silly things with my best buds I inevitably do the most "messed up" silly things with my brothers.





And with siblings like these, how could you not engage in shenanigans? Whether it's fishing at the lake & looking for dead fish to blow up with fireworks (I'll chalk up the latter to youthful indiscretion)...



or creating our own watersports and engaging in some intense battles out on the lake

my brothers and I tend to make our own crazy adventures--most are fun (and slightly scary), until someone gets hurt or something gets broken--then it's time to duck and run!

Now, one might think that with age we've matured a bit....

Perhaps only slightly...

very slightly....

We certainly still have our intense battles at the lake (as our bodies struggle to keep up with our 10 year old sensibilities) and maintain our affinity for fireworks (and the occasional roman candle fight)

but it's all good :-)

Blog Namesake

When I decided to start this blog, I was struggling to come up with a title. But I'd been listening to a particular record over and over and one of the song titles seemed to fit nicely. One of my favorite bands, Over the Rhine, recently released a brilliant new album entitled "The Long Surrender."

I can't even describe how much I love these songs--I definitely encourage you to check it out!
http://overtherhine.com/recordplayer/recordplayer.html

Karin & Linford--the soul of OtR

Here are the lyrics to one of my favorites, "Days Like This" (by Kim Taylor)--it nicely captures where I'm at right now.

Days like this
You look up at the sky above you
Days like this
You think about the ones that love you

All I wanna do is live my life honestlyI just wanna wake up and see your face next to me
Every regret I have I will go set it free
And it will be good for me

Days like this
You think about the ones that went before you
Days like this
Have you ever seen the sky at such a clear blue

And all I wanna do is live my life honestly
I just wanna wake up and see your face next to me
Every regret I have I will go set it free
And it will be good for me
It will be good for me

All I wanna do is live my life honestly
I just wanna wake up and see your face next to me
Every regret I have I will go set it free
And it will be good for me
It will be good for

Days like this
You think about the ones that love you
Days like this
Have you ever seen the sky at such a clear blue

Photo Challenge Day 9

Day 9 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

I've been incredibly blessed to have so many wonderful people placed in my life--great friends, mentors, and family members who help me to see how beautiful life is. In college, especially, I really lucked out in being able to surround myself with an amazing support network of friends, professors, counselors, and mentors.



some of the "friends of Jen" at a little celebration in May 2008 to say thank you to all of these incredible people for getting me through one of my toughest years yet


A card, baked goods, flowers, a speech, etc. could never express to these amazing people just how grateful I am to have had them in my life. I find myself grateful to know them on a daily basis. Each of them, in their own special way, has brought tremendous grace to my life with acts of kindness simple and profound. They are encouraging, inspiring, generous, kind, forgiving, and loving people who meet me where I am and challenge me to push myself to be the best that I can. They've listened to me, offered advice, let me make my mistakes, helped me to deal with the consequences of poor decisions, cried with me, laughed with me, celebrated with me, and dreamed with me--they have walked alongside me these past several years and without their support, friendship, and sometimes "tough love" I don't know how I would have made it through. These past few years have thrown a lot at me and at times I didn't know how I would get through the darkness but here I am today, with more hope and confidence in my abilities than I've ever felt before. And there's only one certain reason why I have come as far as I have: all the love and support of the communities that have uplifted me. Through them, I have a strengthened confidence in human ability to comfort one another, in God's ability to protect & provide for us in our times of need, and in our abilities to arise to any occasion.

A shout out to those pictured as well as those who aren't: Renee, Caity, Christian, Linda, Stacia, Jen, Michelle, Nalini, Carolina, Kim, Lindsay, Jacque, Fondse, Cindy, Sarah, Kay, Ling, Debbie, Matt, & Bethany ~ I love you all and am more grateful than you can know. ♥

Photo Challenge Day 8

Day 8 - A picture that makes you laugh

Here are 2 of my favorites:

Ah ha ha ha! This is my friend Kim--she is pretty much always hilarious, whether she tries to be or not. Last summer we drove up to Indiana for our buddy Lindsay's graduation party and after most people left we enjoyed a fire in the backyard, toasted marshmallows, and all that good stuff. As you can see, Kim was sitting in that there green lawn chair. Well, we got to laughing about something and next thing you know, Kim starts falling backward and couldn't catch herself before falling over. I tried to stabalize the chair before the fall but spent more energy laughing at Kim. :-) She's convinced that I, with my evil "gremlin magic," caused her to fall backward and nearly roll down the hill into the creek. I almost wish I could take credit for it. Good times, indeed. :-)

Ah, the days of yore when my brothers and I would play dress up with Great Grandma Skinner. :-) She was a great sport most days and was endlessly entertaining. She's not quite as cheery these days but when she's in the right mood, her sass & wit are really something. Fun, fun memories. :-D

Photo Challenge Day 7

So....looks like I'm quite behind on this--time to catch up! lol

Day 7 - A picture of your most treasured item



a small portion of my collection


My most treasured item would have to be my music collection. I love, love, love music (I've only met one person who's said they don't like music--but then again, I'm pretty sure she's ceritfiably insane). And I truly love all kinds of music--the variety of artists in my collection really ranges from soup to nuts, which I love--being able to go from Barbra Streisand to oZomatli to Ella Fitzgerald to Tupac to Over the Rhine to Jill Scott to Eric Bibb to John Gorka and so on and so on... Music, like nothing else, can help lift my spirits, sulk in gloominess when necessary, inspire me, and help me see the world in new ways. And I'm always on the look out for artists to add to my collection so if you know of some good ones, do share. :-) 

Photo Challenge Day 6

Day 6 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

at the "friends of Jen" party, May 2008 :-)

Well, after thinking about this challenge for awhile I realized that there are actually a lot of people that I'd love to trade places with for a day, lol. At this point, though, the person I'd most love to switch places with is this awesome lady here, Michelle Zomer.
I met Michelle back in the fall of 2005 when I first started at Calvin College. She was my counselor for those first few months and then again from 2006-2008 when I went back to Calvin after taking the rest of the year off. Michelle is one of those amazingly optimistic, hopeful, and spiritually grounded people that helps others find hope in nearly every circumstance and views adversity as an opportunity for prayerful reflection, contemplation, and growth. Her upbeat attitude, goofy sense of humor, and wonderful smile are infectious and she's one of those special people that make you feel like you're made of sunshine. :-) And through her own example, she challenges others to live life bravely, boldly, and actively--to live life well.
I also greatly admire her grace and her strong faith & hope in God through life's transitions--her trust in God's plan for her life is really inspiring. As someone who's currently struggling with my own big life transition, I wish I had Michelle's same level of trust and faith and too, her wonderfully positive and easy-going disposition. I'd also love to trade places with her for a day to experience what it's like to be a social worker within a school setting--it's a career path I'm considering and a population I'm interested in working with so to get a taste of what that's like would be really awesome.