Instagram

I am totally into this instagram jam. I recently got an iPhone and one of its' (many many) perks is its' instant access to instagram. I have been a Twitter user for a while and instagram is linked up with that too. AND facebook. Triple whammy. Just sayin'.

Being constantly connected to the internet is very addicting and can be very distracting for me. So, hopefully this doesn't get too out of hand. But you know what, I think it'll all be O.K.

I am listening to some JBiebs new Christmas album and it is making me so excited for Christmas! November 1st has been good to me. Hopefully the rest of the month will be too, as well as December.

Here are some recent instagrams :) Enjoy them.

Making some Bread! (new trial)

Working on my painting homework!

Apartment fish. One died already...oops :S

Halloween...I was a spider web. Super sassy.

Ghost and mummy cupcakes for our halloween party! They were delicious.

Have a great week, friends!

Birthday Creation

Birthdays Birthdays Birthdays.

I feel like so many of my friends are celebrating their 21st or 22nd birthdays within a very small time-frame. This leads to me having to be creative for gift-giving. Now, I'm not much of a gift giver, BUT for birthdays I usually like to make something for my most loved ones.

Today I was invited over for my friend Grace's birthday dinner. The invitation was given to me day OF, so I had to be quick with my gift making. Now, usually I would just not bring a gift because there isn't a lot of time, but I cleaned today and I like doing crafts when it's clean.

My roommates and I save up all of our empty wine bottles. When we have the time we decorate them into pretty art for around the house. So for Grace, I did just that. Some fabric and Mod Podge is really all you need...oh, yes. AND creativity. That is a necessity.

With those things, this is what you can create!

Hope you enjoy them :)

Have a wonderful night!

First Day of School!

From top left to bottom right...Me, Hannah, Jenny, Chelsey

Back to school supplies:

-Backpack.check.

-Friends.check.

-Apartment.check.

-Books.check.

-Calkboard.check.

Remember those checklists when you were in grade school? Man, I LOVED those and my mom HATED them. Which I understand now...I mean, buying 2 glue sticks and markers for the hundredth time can get a little annoying. But the items on the "back to school" check list get significantly less as the years go on.

For example, it's my senior year and I'm at Target a few days before classes begin. It's when I walk past the back to school items that I remember that I too are in fact going 'back to school'... and most likely will need some notebooks and new pencils. So I get them. That's my shopping story.

So this is our Senior Year! I can already tell that this year will be awesome. I am excited for my classes (which will most likely fade quickly) but I know more of what my future holds and I'm excited to get there! Here are some fun pics of me and my roommates as we head off to our first day of classes!

Right to Left: Hannah, Jenny, Me, Chelsey

Hello long last friends!

Hey all!

I'm sorry that I have been M.I.A. for a good few months now, but I am finally back and at 'em.

For the past 3 months I have been in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in a little town called Iron Mountain. This is where I worked at a Bible camp called Covenant Point Bible Camp. I was a counselor for the second summer. Which also means that I have had this blog now for a little over a year. Because I started it with the intent on writing about my summer adventures at camp. Long summer short- Camp was amazing. God showed me SO many new things about the plan he has for my life. (I will fill you in later) I revisited friendships from last summer, and made some new ones. I'm very pleased with my decision to work there this summer.

Me and some of my friends on staff!

My senior High cabin! It was such a fun week!

So now I am back in Chicago in my new apartment with my best friends. It's been pretty busy with decorating, finding/getting a job, and getting ready for school. But I am so excited to start another year. And now only just another year...my LAST year at North Park University. I'm ready though so...bring it on.

Life in the moments

^^Picture taken on campus of NPU^^

Before the massacre of the tall wheatgrass...

This school year is just about finished with.

I am struggling to find the motivation to finish the only 3 things I have left..

BUT soon it will be over and it will be summer...

Can't wait to float around Chicago for a week and then head home to MN for a few weeks....

Then finally go to camp where I can have fun all summer long.....

Then travel back to Chicago and move into my new apartment with my best friends......

Life is always going by pretty quickly, even when I think it's going slowly.

STOP.

Enjoy the moments of life, because it all adds up to the days, weeks, and years.

Just some food for thought. Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Friends

It has been 5 days since driving 24 hours back from Cayo Costa State Park in Florida. Spring Break came at a perfect time. Not that I'm too overwhelmed from school or sick of Chicago, there were other reasons. This semester has been better than last, but is still not as I would like it to be. Spring Break was a perfect escape with my very best friends.

There were 6 of us total. 3 of my best girl friends; Hannah Ahlem, Chelsey Trogstad, and Anna Chybowski. Along also came Jonatan and Thor, the testosterone for the week. The road trip was a blast, although we did run into a few strange people on the highway. We spotted all but about 5 state license plates on the road.

In Florida, the first couple days we crashed at our friends house they rented for the week. Spent some time at the beach and then watched them play "games" and had a fun bonfire. After about 2 days of that fun, we headed to our final destination: Cayo Costa.

After a 30 minute tow boat ride out to the State Park Island, we unloaded our camping supplies and hopped on the tram. That night we set up camp and ate a delicious meal. On the island, we spent our days fishing, laying out, exploring, eating, and having bonfires. Later on in the week, Jonatan and Thor met a couple of guys our age that were SHARK fishing at night. The boys quickly became obsessed with our new friends and wanted to learn all they could about shark fishing. The last 3 nights in Florida we spent laying on the beach in our sleeping bags while the boys reeled in an average of 3 sharks a night!! They caught Lemon sharks, bull sharks, and sandbar sharks. It was pretty sweet. By far the best/most interesting spring break adventure!

This trip made me realize that I am so lucky to have my friends. (not that I didn't know that already!) But seriously, I may not have as many girl friends as I once did as a freshman, but I know that I have fewer but closer best friends now. It doesn't matter the quantity of friends one has, but the quality. I know that I have quality friends at my fingertips. Friends that are going through the same things as me and friends that hold the same life values as I do.

Sometimes, I'm not going to lie, I get frustrated or irritated with them, but we always get through it. I'm sure they feel the same about me at times!

Friendship is very important to me and I am so thankful for the friends I have. I love them and they make things like Spring Break and road trips super great!!

Here's some pictures from our trip!

Alta Rose Olson

Me, Alta, Liz

Tomorrow is the day that my beautiful cousin, Alta, is getting married!!

We three cousins have been super close for our whole lives. We've taken spring break trips, spent weeks at camp together, made stupid videos, made up dances, were obsessed with boys together, spent every Christmas together, and so much more.

We have been there for each other in every good and bad part in our lives. I am SO blessed to have them as my cousins.

Alta is the oldest one of the three of us, and I think I can speak for both me and Liz when I say that we both have looked up to her for most of our lives. First off, she is gorgeous. But not only that, but she is the most sincere person. She genuinely loves and cares for all the people in her life.

She has found that one person that she wants to spend her life with, and I couldn't be more happier. Jesse David Keller. She is so perfectly happy when she is with him and will be for the rest of her life. I'm sure he knows, but Jesse is so lucky to have her.

So, Alta, as these next few days come and your journey begins with Jesse I wish you the best. God is going to bless the two of you in your marriage and I can't wait to see where that leads both of you!

Love you much,

Jenna

Back to the Simple

Today is a Sunday.

There is something about Sundays that make me want to sit around and do nothing. BUT here is the best part. Sundays are days when you can do that and not feel bad about it! But wait...that isn't the case today.

As you can tell, I am taking time out of my day right now to blog. Yes. Not do homework, clean, or planning for a friend's wedding. (All things that need to get done). But here's the thing. It's going to get done. Everything that I need to do, I'll do it. Just in my own time.

Life is too hectic and it's easy to get caught up in the little everyday duties that we have to accomplish. Yes, they are important and we do need to do them. But there are more important things in life.

Back to the SIMPLE.

A recent goal of mine has been to draw closer to God. This is one of the ways I feel the closest to Him. During the day, stopping to remember that He is in control and is over all the little tiny things that I stress about (or don't stress about).

This is my time in the day to stop and remember that God is in control and is taking care of me.

Blogging in Z-time (aka...late)

It has been a while since I have done an update. Much has happened in my life since my last post. So much that it actually overwhelms me to the point when I don't want to take the time to write about it. A way that I believe to be most powerful when sharing experiences I've had, is through pictures. I'm going to post a few of my favorite pictures so that you can see some of what I saw in Zambia.

The view of Victoria Falls

Matilda, the girl that I sponsor through SPARK ventures!

Teza, the girl with the cutest voice and attitude.

After our hike to the bottom of the Falls.

We were almost attacked by baboons!

Little Zebra guys!

My pal, Nknogono playing drums.

Trying to get a picture with one kid is impossible.

These are just a few of my pictures. If you want to see more, you can check them out on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/35457355@N04/

More to come soon...