Little updates

So, I have to apologize for not writing much this summer. To be completely honest, I haven't really felt like it, or found anything really interesting to talk about. I want to post in the nature of the blog, and not so much about what's going on with my life, but I haven't really felt inspired.

However, here are some pictures from last weekend! We held a shower for Kate in Bemidji and it was a really fun time. Afterward, we took some family photos and visited my grandparents and other family members.

Mom, Kate, and Dad at the shower.

Mom decorating for the shower.

Grandpa and me

I am also done with my summer classes. It was a hard five weeks, and pretty intense, but overall it was a great learning experience. Now I just have to move this week and then fall classes start a week from tomorrow (yikes).

Well, off to read. It's like a mini-vacation this week!

Family

For those of you who were extremely concerned, yes I did find a place to live! It's about a 10 minute walk to the bus, and then 10 minutes on the bus to school, but I refuse to pay for a parking permit this time around. I will also have a really cool roommate who even has a cat!

Also, I had a wonderful chance to be at a family reunion this past weekend. Most of the relatives were my mom's cousins, and her aunts and uncles, but it was still an absolute blast!

For now, I must be off--homework, supper, or something of the sort calls. Kate is coming into town this weekend so we can throw her a bridal shower up in Bemidji, which should be fun. Hopefully I will be able to write more once my classes are done. It's been a little intense, to say the least.

Thanks for reading!

Um....shhhhhhhhhh...

I am supposed to be doing homework (by my own requirements, of course) but I am not.

So shhhhhhh. Instead I have the Dog Whisperer on.

Priorities, priorities.

It's what I like to call, "The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Homework!"

Heck, it's summer!!

That's what I keep telling myself when I come on here and realize I haven't posted anything since June. Whoops.

The two weeks after I posted I was hanging out here at my new temporary home, taking care of some cute doggies, and doing homework all day every day. I drove up to St. Cloud one day to take a test on campus, and got lost naturally, but after subsequent trips, I now know my way around the school fairly well. I drove up last week on Wednesday to Bemidji, where I spent time with my family, and up at my grandparents sorting through photos for my sister's wedding. (I also smashed the screen on my phone--this is phone #4, for those of you keeping track. This time, however, it actually was MY fault, for once.)

I got back on Sunday night, and started my second class on Monday! I will have it four days a week for five weeks, and it's pretty overwhelming at the moment, but I think it will eventually calm down. There's a lot crammed into five weeks, and on top of my online class, it will definitely keep me busy, to say the least.

This weekend I plan on taking at least one day off of homework to go out on a lake, or the pool, or something. And yes, I am super psyched about Harry Potter 6 because I have not seen it yet!!!! I don't know how I can handle it. I'll probably go read it to satiate my HP hunger until I can go.

But right now, there's a snuggly little puppy sitting here next to me, and a comfy couch calling my name. Hopefully I won't be so long the next time! Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Peace,

J

Freedom

This picture (taken on the beach in Newport, Oregon) just encapsulates completely the feeling of peace I have this morning.

Today, I did not have to get up and be at work at 9 am.

Today, I do not have to be yelled at over and over by upset and irate customers.

Today, I am unemployed--and loving it!

I was discussing with one of my very best friends last night, this "in-limbo" state we recent college grads often find ourselves in. Our whole lives, we've gone to school, then to the next thing, and the next, and then we are graduating and BAM--what next? The real world, I know, but what does that mean?

There are so many options here in our country after graduating that we could choose to do, and as a result, I think we become a little afraid or nervous about committing to something. We feel pressure when someone asks us to commit, and want to be able to do anything, or quit what we are doing just in case "something better" comes along. I don't think this is the attitude God wants us to have. Yes, we should be ready and willing to do whatever he asks us, even if it means leaving our comfortable existence, but if we can't even commit to one small thing, how on earth will we be able to contemplate the eternal?

When I woke up this morning, I was thinking about how I committed to this job for 2.5 years. I didn't particularly enjoy it. But I committed, and that is something I am proud of. I think God really used me while I was at the job--and made me realize that a job is not what defines us; it sometimes is simply means to an end. As American Christians, we tend to buy into the idea that a job is who you are, even as a Christian, because it is the American ideal ingrained in us since childhood. However, what I did outside of that job was far more important than what I did while I was there. I learned and grew in ways that I would not have been willing to if I had all my focus on my job.

So, today is my first official day of freedom. I had a wonderful birthday weekend with good friends, and as of later tonight, I will be out of 410!

Right now, I will be doing homework.

How did this all happen?

MSP-PDX (and beyond)

I have returned! What a whirlwind (and I think it is still going). We left over a week ago for Portland, and I flew back this past Wednesday, and then spent the next two days hanging out with part of my family, packing, and finally, moving into my aunt's place today. I am tired, but I felt a second wind so I thought I'd try to post something.

The trip was so many things, but wonderful was definitely one of them. On our departure date, June 11, Lindsay, Serena, and myself crammed the car full and drove off to Sioux Falls to visit a friend from college, Ryan, who is in med school in South Dakota. His family warmly welcomed us, and he showed us the Sioux Falls sights. It was a really fun night!

Then we left early on Friday morning, drove across South Dakota, with an hour or so detour to see Mt. Rushmore, which I had never seen. It's interesting that the state had to create its own major attraction, instead of capitalizing on a natural one. The man who dreamed it up would be so amazed that it actually came to fruition.

Friday was a long day of driving through Wyoming and Montana mountains with the little Saturn. We got to Bozeman late Friday night, threw the tent together, and hunkered down for a few hours. Saturday, we drove through the rest of Montana, crossed Idaho (absolutely beautiful), through eastern Washington (not at all beautiful), and then drove into Oregon along the Columbia River (fantastic!). We arrived in Portland Saturday evening, and hung out there for dinner.

After hanging out in Portland on Sunday morning, we drove three more hours down to Newport, Oregon, to a friend of a friend's beach house with 17 others. There were two bedrooms, so a bunch of people set up tents in the yard, and we had a blast hanging out on the beach with a bonfire, drums, and hula hoops. I met so many interesting people! We drove back Monday night, went out for pizza and beer, and then walked around Portland some more to see the sights.

We woke up Tuesday, and went with some of Lindsay's new roommates again to Multnomah Falls and then to hike up a mountain, which ended up taking four hours, but was so cool. Oregon forests and mountains are abosutely beautiful, and I couldn't get enough of all the lush forest growth and multiple waterfalls. We headed back into Portland then, cooked dinner, went out for Belgian Fries, and by Wednesday morning, I was on my way back to Minneapolis.

There are so many pictures, so I've posted them in an album on Facebook which you can view (even if you don't have Facebook) by clicking here, if you'd like. I know I left a lot out on here--I tried to keep it short!

Tomorrow I am heading back to 410 to grab a few more things and tie up some loose ends, but I do hope to be relaxing a little bit. My sister Kate is in town as well, and we got to hang out with our mom on Thursday and Friday night, which was really fun (and funny). It seems like the summer is already flying by way too fast! And I am already behind on homework...whoops...

Thank you all for reading!

Peace,

J

Hit the road, Jack!

In a few short hours, I will be climbing into a very jam-packed Saturn and heading west! We are stopping tonight in Sioux Falls to visit a friend, will be driving past Mt. Rushmore (waving), and then camping Friday night in Bozeman, MT, at this campground. We'll hopefully get to Portland the next day! ETA: Sometime late Saturday night. Then onto the coast for a few days, and I'll be flying back on Wednesday.

I'll try to post some pictures eventually--when I get internet again.

Hurrah! Vacation, here I come :)