hello sunshine; summer ‘09
so, right now i’m sitting in a little coffee shop, second floor, over looking all of Taylors Falls. I’m drinking coffee and listening to my “acoustic” play list while looking at wedding pictures *sigh*
Two of my best friends are out of the country, in Mexico…I miss them. My brother and his two best friends just left for China…7 weeks 
I work…40 hours a week. and go to school. I NEED AN ADVENTURE!!!
haha, but…life is so so good right now. Summer is just so great. sunshine summer ‘09. let me show you. look. see? summer’s so great:
I hope your summer is going fantastic! I’ll try to update more often.
Love love love!
-Jojo
Add comment July 9, 2009
rain drops on roses…
here’s a few pictures from my first ‘photoshoot’ with my new camera.
i’m in-love
Add comment June 10, 2009
i love crossing things out!
[Summer 09 baby! summer’s comin!!! Here’s my list of things I want to…and am GOING to do this summer. SUMMER 09. the summer of joy.]
so, i’ve been crossin things out and checkin things off. slowly, but surely they’re gettin’ done. here’s what i’ve done so far:
4. Build a sand castle5. Go puddle jumping
7. Get a new Camera
8. Watch a sunset on lake superior
10. Dance in the moonlight
12. Get lost
14. Go rollerblading in down town minneapolis at night
17. Go fishing
22. Have a real picnic
24. Sit on Lake superior at watch the sunrise
26. Learn to salsa dance
28. Photograph a wedding
30. Dance in the rain
34. Run through a field and make the butterflies dance
36. Not wear makeup for a week
41. Go to a Thunder game
and a few things i’ve added:
1. get a fisheye lense
2. ride a crotchrocket
3. ride in a convertible jeep
4. read all of C.S. Louis’ works
5. attend a real poetry jam
1 comment June 10, 2009
the journey of desire…
I’m reading the book, “The journey of Desire” and the chapter I read this morning really hit me…it made me put the book down and just sit in my room in silence…seriously thinking. It was something along these lines:
“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” 1 peter 3:15
Why does peter say this? It’s not like when I’m out shopping people just come up to me, stop me in my tracks and say, “wow! Please, you’ve got to tell me; be honest ok? How can you live with such hope in this economy?! Here does it come from? Please, I must know the reason!”
Ok, let’s be honest here. This has never, ever happened to me. Has it to you? I mean, I hope I’m prepared if it ever would happen…but it never has. So….what’s wrong? Why don’t people ask? To be blunt…is there anything about my life, your life, about our lives that is even worth asking about? There’s nothing intriguing about our hopes, nothing enough to make anyone curious. Do I even have enough hope? No one sees anything out of the ordinary, so no one wonders…so no one asks. We NEED desires in our lives….if we abandoned desire, we have lost hope. “we can only hope for what we desire” –C.S.Lewis. We need to desire God. If we desire him with our while lives, then we can hope. If we have hope, we can have joy and then that joy will radiate off us…THEN, people will possible start to inquire about the hope that we have. then we will need to be truly prepared to give a reason for the hope we have….
Add comment June 3, 2009
vacation!!
this crazy group of people, is my amazing family. last week we all went on vacation and this was one of the things we did: boys vs. girls baseball game. it was incredible! i looooove my family.
Add comment June 3, 2009
my minneapolis adventure
One thing I love about Minneapolis is that there’s ALWAYS an adventure. Today, while I was in Minneapolis, this was my adventure:
Random man: “wow, I heard you giving that man your phone number; I heard it; I probably have it memorized, but don’t worry! I wont call you and tell you how nice your teeth are. You have very nice teeth.”
Me: “umm…haha! Well, thank you!”
Random man: “You’re welcome. You should actually be a teeth whitener model. You have such great teeth!”
Haha! I just smiled…then laughed…then he laughed too…then everyone around me was smiling and laughing. I love when people connect. When the world around me is happy and joyful and when people see the joy in other people.
XOXOXOX!!!
Add comment June 3, 2009
and these are a few of my favorite:
those little things in life. the simple things. the small things. the things that seems so insignificant…i love them.
- taking photographs
- rain storms
- Singing at the top of my lungs with my car windows rolled down
- Pretending to have a British accent
- The sound of rain.
- Summer sunsets.
- Kayaking on silent rivers
- Laughing till my eyes water
- Looking at maps of the world
- Sweet ice tea and black hot tea
- Generic coffee shops
- Black and white
- The smell of pear blossoms
- Elderly couples holding hands
- Lilacs
- Frolicking through open fields
- Dancing and spinning
- Back roads in the country
- Innocent, silly questions from little children
love love love!!
XOXOXOXOXO
Add comment June 3, 2009
iLove this song.
Regina is a little bizare, but honestly…how can you not like this song? 
iLikeIt. lots.
xo-jo
Add comment May 22, 2009
slowly…but surely…it’s getting crossed off
Summer 09 baby! summer’s comin!!! Here’s my list of things I want to…and am GOING to do this summer. SUMMER 09. the summer of joy.
1. Eat sushi
2. Have a tea party
3. Fly a kite
4. Build a sand castle
5. Go puddle jumping
6. learn to water ski
7. Get a new Camera
8. Watch a sunset on lake superior
9. Eat a pint of ice-cream in one day
10. Dance in the moonlight
11. Squish my bare feet through mud
12. Get lost
13. Make a bonfire on a beach
14. Go rollerblading in down town minneapolis at night
15. Sit on a rooftop drinking tea
16. Yell at the top of my lungs
17. Go fishing
18. Go kayaking
19. Go three days without seeing another person
20. See a moose
21. Go canoeing and camping in the BWCA
22. Have a real picnic
23. Go to as many states as I can
24. Sit on Lake superior at watch the sunrise
25. Throw a rock in all the Great Lakes
26. Learn to salsa dance
27. Get another piercing
28. Photograph a wedding
29. See Mount Rushmore
30. Dance in the rain
31. Swim at night with my favorite people.
32. Hug a child who doesn’t know love
33. Take a three day road-trip
34. Run through a field and make the butterflies dance
35. go on a spontanious adventure and not tell anyone where we’re going or what we’re doing
36. Not wear makeup for a week
37. fall so in love with Jesus
38. have a candle lit dinner.
39. Go up in a hot-air balloon.
40. Visit Hot Coffee, Mississippi
41. Go to a Thunder game
42. learn french. again.
1 comment May 21, 2009
hello free little bird
I’m home! I’m free from school. I get to spend my summer ’09 back in my country; open fields, rolling hills, bare feet, backroads, dirt roads, early morning sunrises on the lake, canoeing the river…oh man! I CAN’T WAIT. Soooooooooo….i’m a coffee addict. I love French press…ok, and anyother coffee thing ever made. I love coffee. Soooo…to fulfill my addiction, I was like, “hmmm..why not work at a coffee shop? I love coffee, and love working with people…so why not?” so, I applied. My interview is tomorrow; we’ll see how that goes.
Lately, I’ve been working on seeing joy in the little things; those little things that usually get over looked. Try noticing them and you’ll be amazed at how much more joy you’ll have
XO-jo
1 comment May 18, 2009
“it’s raining, it’s pouring…”
I don’t think there’s anything more wonderful than sitting on an open windowsill, on the 4th floor of a building, listening to the rain fall. that’s exactly what i’m doing right now. it’s wonderful. i love looking out my window into the big city. my city. but, not for much longer. i’m heading home; home to my beautiful, big, open country house. i love my home in the country. i love spending my summers out in the open. MMMmmmMmMmmmmMmmmmMMMmmmMmM…can’t wait.
here’s a list of a few new things I’m in love with:
- sun dresses
- passion fruit lemon-aide ice tea
- puppy-dog tails (from my cute bakery in uptown)
- being with someone who laughs so hard they pee their pants
- the MN Thunder
- my new friend from the Dominican Republic (ok, so i’m not IN love, but…I love having a friend from there)
- staying up till 3:30 am 4 nights in a row with best friends
- real salsa dancing
- the feel of freedom
- The smell of pear blossoms
Add comment May 5, 2009
