Housing Hunting

in Rockford

Lately, my life is starting to try to get into the mode of "finality". Trying to talk little old Michael into that ring, you know... and maybe that's a bad approach. I've recently decided to let him make that decision for himself. However we have done a lot of house hunting lately, which is a promising idea. But Mike and I have always had very different tastes and finding something that meets all of our wants is... tricky...

For starters, although I love living nearby work in Kentwood, Mike is dead set on living in his good old Rockford. Okay, not a problem. Although I love that short commute, Rockford has great schools and it's got lots of great photo locations, not to mention close to downtown GR, so I'm cool with that. Price of course is an issue. And the fact that Mike still has his house makes it tricky. And then there's the loan type... if we can stay under $150,000, I think we'll make it. Also, I want a house that doesn't need a lot of work done to it. Mostly, I want to be able to move in and feel at home. Not be stuck in a construction zone for God knows how long. Little fixes and painting, no worries, but nothing too extensive, especially since that'll add to the money we have to shell out for it.

The biggest issue is that Mike wants some property so he can hunt. But there is nothing within a reasonable driving distance of work. The only one we found was too highly priced and needed a lot of work on the house. Mike's kind of not into that one anymore, but it's so tricky to find the amount of property with the right landscape for this. I don't know if he can compromise on this, and I don't really want him to. But my lease is up at the end of July...

Anyway, what I am getting at with this post is that I am hopeful. Our realtor, Scott, has eight houses he's working on getting us into at 11am on Saturday. A lot of them I picked, and there's a few Mike wanted to see. So wish us luck, maybe we'll find a DREAM HOUSE this weekend!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Thirty

A picture of someone you miss.

It's the end of the 30 day challenge! I got through it, even though I was a little late posting here and there. Anyway, on the last day, a serious request...

There are a lot of people I miss. A lot of family and friends I don't get to see as much as I used to. Old friendships that kind of faded out as everyone went their separate ways. I definitely miss relatives I've lost, especially my Grandpa. He got sick when I was in eighth grade, those old awkward years, and died my senior year of high school. He was a hilarious guy, and I feel like we would have been much better "friends" now that I'm older and we could have had real conversations.

But there are so many other things I miss so I'm going with this...

This is difficult because I only have digital photos available to me, everything used to be film. But Mandy Ritchie (friend from back in our UP days) had this on FB... it's a bunch of us kids on vacation (l to r: Kara, me, cousin Jeff being buried, cousin Greg, Nate, and Lance). The person I miss most (at least for the purpose of this post) is little me! The reason for this is that back when I was younger, everyone and everything I miss from back in the day was still around. Friends, family, the good times we had, all still there. Not to mention life was so much easier, more fun and carefree. I miss the fun times with my two old best friends from firth through third grade, Lindsey and Danielle. I miss going up north with my whole family. I miss playing ACEZ with Kara and Nicole every summer and all the crazy music videos I made us make. I miss HHS and my good buddies from back then (oh man... Krystal, Joe, Brian, Amanda, Alan, Cody, Martin, Eric, just to name a few), euchre all day everyday. I miss high school dances and yearbook class. I even kind of miss the Durango! I miss the family members I've lost. I miss freshman year of college and the awesome fun of KP3. I miss all the friends that left after we graduated... Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change my life for anything, but it's nice to reminsce every now and then about how it used to be.

Thanks for reading my 30 Day Challenge! It was actually kind of fun!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twenty-Nine

A picture that can always make you smile.

This is Misser (or Bart, or Broicher, or just plain old Sandy...) who was our cat from 1993 until 2009 I think. He topped out at 35 lbs at his largest. He was a mean thing, but look at him. He's just wonderful.

Kara had this photo on her facebook page. It made me smile :-)

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twenty-Eight

A picture of something you are afraid of.

While I defend a person's right to own or carry a weapon, it doesn't mean the things don't scare me. I had a rather unsettling dream at the age of 9 or 10 that still freaks me out to this day, and yes, it involved guns and being shot. Not to mention when I woke up and crawled into bed with my parents, I glanced toward to door and saw someone's head popping up at the end of the bed. Granted it was my dad's foot sticking out of the covers, but I was already freaked out. *shiver*

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twenty-Seven

A picture of you and a family member.

I suppose my dad should get in on the action. Here's one of us!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twenty-Six

A picture of something that means a lot to you.

I thought this one would be hard but actually, it isn't. Something (although techincally it is things) that means a lot to me are my eyes. And it's not because they are just SO BEAUTIFUL (hehe, I'm being sarcastic, but I do think they are one of my better features I guess!) I am a visual person (can you believe it?) and that's pretty much how I make my living, seeing things. I don't know what I would do without these babies. I have 20/20 vision still at this point, and I hope to take good care of them long into my life so they can keep me able to do what I love! Better eat some carrots for lunch today...

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twenty-Five

A picture of your favorite day.

Phew! Almost done with the challenge. And surprisingly, I think I am only one day off of where I originally should have been. Impressive! Anyway, on to another tricky entry...

There are tons of days that I like. If you are being nebulous, I like my birthday usually, or Christmas. If you want to talk about days of the week, man, I'm pretty partial to Fridays for a lot of reasons. Or if you want to be difficult, you could ask what day in your life has been your favorite. I could never pick that, partially because I probably didn't take photos of that day, or because I just have so many to choose from.

SO, I will pick one from a couple years ago. My friend from college, Allison, married her high school (even middle school if memory serves) sweetheart. Her wedding was in Hudsonville in July. Even though I totally didn't think he'd agree to it, I asked my new "fling", Mike, to go with me and he said he would go! Not only was it an awesome time hanging out with some of the girls, but Mike and I danced the night away (sort of anyway ;). Not to mention, when the music had to stop at midnight, NO ONE was ready to go home! It was a blast!

Also, I figured I should include a photo of the people who got married, Jeff and Allison Rae. Strangely enough, my favorite photographer (who I just can't stop mentioning, apparently) was their photographer. That's how I first heard of Summer Jean Photography!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twenty-Four

A picture of something you wish you could change.

Okay, I'll go ahead and say it. I wish I could change my chest. Yeah it does wonders for that hourglass figure. But man, wouldn't I would give to be a "C".

Please excuse the Halloween costume... Not the best shot of 'em but there they are. Couldn't miss them. And forget running, unless you want a black eye ;) They aren't easy to flatter. Shirts never fit right. And all the cute outfits that look great on smaller women make me look like a hoochie! Okay okay, I'm done! Hehe.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twenty-Three

A picture of your favorite book.

You know, I hate it when someone asks "what is your favorite band?" or "movie?" or "book?" because it's so hard to pick just one. Sometimes what you like best is determined by your mood. For instance, I could NEVER pick a favorite song, because on somedays, all I want to listen to is the upbeat pop music, and on others, those sad, slow songs are my thing...

As for books. I've read SO MANY that it's really hard to pin it down. I like a lot of Stephen King, I really enjoy the Harry Potter series, and currently I am reading the Jim Butcher series, The Dresden Files (which I got into thanks to my buddy, Judy). I have shelves of books and I am always looking for more. Bought a few yesterday, in fact.

Okay, so I'm dragging this out, so I'll go ahead and just pick one of my all time favorites...

It's long, a thick and juicy novel. I read it first in 6th grade for Accelerated Reading and every couple of years since college started I will get into it again. It's pretty timeless, I suppose, and even though Scarlette is a bitch, it's fun to read about her! Oh, and the movie doesn't do it justice, they left out a lot of key parts!!!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twenty-Two

A photo of something you wish you were better at.

I could REALLY be redundant and AGAIN mention photography, because I will NEVER be as good as I want to be (which means you keep striving for better and better, it's a good thing!) but instead we'll make it simple. It's so so true...

I desperately wish I could just automatically be good a cooking (and since this photo has veggies... and tomatoes, and mushrooms...) so that I could wow friends and family with my talents. Alas, the only thing I'm a pro at is pasta for one, sometimes two ;-) Working on it...

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twenty-One

A picture of something you wish you could forget.

Talk about difficult. There are probably tons of things I would like to forget, but honestly (and I'm not trying to be all cliche here, this is really true), all the mistakes you make are things you learn from. I don't really feel like there are a lot of things in my life that would be worth forgetting because they help you become who you are. Hey guys, I'm not any expert of life by any means, and I'm not trying to be all philisophical because I don't know anything really, but seriously, that's what I believe.

SO! Since most of my life isn't worth forgetting... I would like to forget how flat my hair is. I need some volume or to learn some tricks here. Sheesh! ;-)

This photo is of me and Jessica last summer when I went to visit her in Florida... look how FLAT my hair is! You'd think I'd have learned some skills in volumizing it by now... ugh ;-)

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twenty

A picture of a place you'd love to travel.

I think I'm about a day behind here but that's okay... Anyway, to continue, I would LOVE to make it all the way over to New Zealand someday. My great dislike of flying notwithstanding, I want to see the amazing sites in person that I've only seen on film thus far. The mountains, the valleys, the ocean, it's beautiful. This photo is of the Bay of Islands of New Zealand.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Nineteen

A picture and a letter.

So I wasn't sure what kind of letter they were thinking, so I just decided to run with it. Although this is kind of difficult for me to do... I am going to post a letter, and then a picture I didn't think I'd share with anyone. I suppose that not that many people read this blog so maybe it would be safe to do it... anyway I had them taken in January and it felt awesome!

DEAR ME
Remember this shot? You weren't in any sort of great shape or at the best weight you've ever been. You weren't eating only two veggies a day, and you STILL looked and felt amazing. How about whenever you are feeling down and depressed about not having the perfect hair or clothes or body, you think about how beautiful you looked in this photo and remember that it's not necessarily about how you look but how you FEEL about yourself. Feel pretty!
*JENNA*

Photo by Summer Jean Photography

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Eighteen

A picture of your biggest insecurity.

I hate to fail. I'm terrified to find out that my abilities are inadequate, or to leave someone disappointed in my efforts. I think it's a big downfall for this to be your insecurity, because it causes me to not strive to take that risk, to be better than I am if there's a chance that it will blow up in my face. I have a few others, but I think this one is the root of me. For instance, I am so nervous about my photography business. Although it is doing pretty well for as long as I've been at it, I always worry "What if things don't go the way I want them to? What if this client isn't happy with their photos?". I want SO MUCH to be a success and to be able to support myself someday through my photography, but there's always that nagging little insecurity in the back of my mind, asking what if I do something wrong??? I don't really know how to show this in a photograph... but this kind of sums it up (thank you internet photo search!).

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Seventeen

A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

This is Michael Hoekstra. I guess he's my boyfriend ;-). He tends to take up a lot of my time, so it would be fair to say he's had a pretty damn big impact on my life, for the past three years. Although we have our trouble, I love him and spending time together (except at the casino, he's mean when he loses money!). He's a good cuddler. Don't tell him I told you that...

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Sixteen

A picture of someone who inspires you.

This is my grandma, Wanda. She is an amazing person. She has gotten through a ton in her life, losing a son when he was 18 years old, taking care of a husband for five years before he passed away, watching all her siblings go before her (her last surviving sister is not doing so well right now... love you Aunt Blanche!), and yet she has this amazing, unshakeable faith that if I have half of someday, I'll feel complete. Her entire family loves her TONS and I just can't imagine my life without this great ol' grandma!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Fifteen

A picture of something you want to do before you die.

Always a tricky thing to choose... it's very tricky to choose a bucket list sort of item as this is asking for. There isn't anything terribly daring I'd like to do (like skydiving... because I already did that!), and I hate to just pick a place I'd like to go because I think that comes up in a couple days...

Other things are hard to do a photo of... since they haven't happened yet (getting married, having kidlets, etc.), I could put a pic of any old person up here and call it good but it wouldn't feel authentic. So I went with this!

There are a lot of photographers in GR that I look up to. I'm still a "baby" in the industry, and although I am making steps to improve and grow, I've still got a ways to go. The above photo is one by one of my favorite photographers, Summer Osborn (she's the one that did the photo of me from my first post, remember?). Something I would like to do before I die would have to be acheive a level of skill and ability, talent and clientele that takes my photography business and dreams to a level or great success. I don't want to be famous and I don't need to be rich, but I want to have that confidence that my work is top notch, like Summer's here!

Oh, and just for the record, since this IS a wedding photo, I would like to get married too ;)

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Fourteen

A person you couldn't imagine your life without.

It's really nice to have a sister. I miss mine, we don't live close by each other anymore. I still like her ;)

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Thirteen

A picture of your favorite band or artist.

At the risk of looking silly... ahhh, who cares anymore? I admit it, I like the Backstreet Boys. I was a fan back in middle school and high school, and though I wouldn't admit it, for a good couple of years, their posters were symmetrically and strategically placed around my bedroom. I don't think I would go so far as to say they are my favorite anymore (see below) but I couldn't resist putting them (with the New Kids) up since I'm going to see them in May. Yay.

I very much love Chris Daughtry (his second album is one of my favorites of all time!)...

Jimmy Eat World (they are amazing live!)...

...and Train (all their stuff is impressive to me)!

Honorable mention (because there are just so many...) Sara Bareilles, Lifehouse, and Anberlin.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Twelve

A picture of something you love.

No doubt about it, this little "man" is my biggest love. I guess he's not really a thing but man, do I love this cat! He was the first pet that was ever really all mine, and still is I suppose! He's a little sh**, climbing on tables, licking plastic bags, biting me, etc. But I still love him to death. He's always there for me to cuddle when I had a bad day! Or a good one, I suppose! I feel bad at how often I leave him at home alone, but he is still my little baby!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Eleven

A picture of something you hate.

I was hoping to be at least a little more philosophical for this entry (hate is such a strong word!) but man, we were just talking about this the other day and my disappointing dislike of most green vegetables. Don't get me wrong, I try to eat them (sometimes...) but man, I just can't stand them. Specifically broccoli. My boyfriends LOVES broccoli (and most of those other green vegetables) so I am probably going to have to start toughening up on that, but hey, at least for now, I don't mind denouncing the stuff.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Ten

A picture of the person you do the most crazy things with.

I will be completely honest, I don't really do the sort of things that anyone would REALLY consider "crazy." I'm a bit more calm than crazy... but let's go with this one...

Jessica Palmer and I met at our Bible study sophomore year. We were fast friends, and even though she lives in Florida NOW, back when we were at GVSU and when we were roomies our senior year, I would say we had some "crazy" times. Anyway, it wouldn't be what normal people would call crazy, but we sure have a lot of photos of us being dorks ;)

This photo is after Ica moved down to Florida, we were at Disney World with her sister, Jennie (she's right behind my head!), and we had a blast. Again, riding a rollercoast isn't really "crazy" but "crazy fun" perhaps!

AND, as we speak, I am in Florida hanging with Ica, so it's only fair she get some love on the photo challenge. Miss you, Ica!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Nine

A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

Another hard one, not surprised. I have a lot of close friends who have gotten me through a lot of things, but if you want to go for LENGTH, I think Miss Judith Ann Cox would take the prize. Judy and I met in 6th grade and were best friends by the end of the 7th (or sooner?), so I guess she has gotten me through a lot of things. We made it through HMS in tact and even after all the trials and tribulations of high school, and college, we are still buddies. Our careers and moving away have made it a little harder for us to be as close as we used to, but we still have the occasional good times ;) Hope you are already enjoying your new place, Miss Judy!

This photo is from last year's "The Bridesmaid Project" where I made some of my favorite friends pose for a photo shoot... and then we all stayed at the Marriott, played at the BOB and ate CAKE!

30 Day Challenge: Day Eight

A picture that makes you laugh.

It seems to be some sort of tradition that when we take a group photo, another must follow that is supposed to be funny. And sometime it isn't. But this one from back in 2007 when we were up in the UP made me laugh! My favorite part is that when told to do something funny, both my mom and my grandma stuck their butts out. Because of this, very funny. Also, Kara's boobs are amusing.

I also decided to put this one in from the same UP trip, because I have no idea what the hell we are doing. Hehe.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Seven

A picture of your most treasured item.

I'm going to have to go with this. I have lots of great items that I treasure to a degree, including my fabulous book collection that no one but me would appreciate, but this little baby helps me make a living! I purchased a used Nikon D3 last year and I love the thing. Sure, it give me neck pain when I carry it around all day at a wedding, attached to a 2lbs lens and a 1lbs flash unit, but hey, it takes some nice photos!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Six

A picture of a person you'd like to trade places with for a day.

Okay, maybe this is a cop out since I can't think of anyone right now, and maybe someone is going to think "yeah, right, there's NO ONE else you'd rather be?" but really, right now, I can't tell you how great is it to be Jenna Noseda lately. And maybe it's because I'm going to Florida to see Brad Paisley, photograph babies and baby bellies, get some sun, and hang out with my favorite people in the world (especially my Ica). Three more days!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Five

A picture of your favorite memory.

This is tough because I don't have digital versions of all my old photos (now THAT'S a project if I ever find the time!), but I guess some of my favorite memories would have happened on our former annual vacation in the U.P. at Lake Millecoquins. We'd been going up there since before I could remember, and now that all the grandkids are grown up, we hardly ever make it up there anymore. This photo is from my senior thesis project, and all the awesome memories is why I chose to focus the project up there. I miss it, all the fun with Jeff and Greg, me and Kara playing our weird little wave jumping games, hanging with the Richies, looking for bears, Dad manning the fire every night, doing fun stuff with Grandpa, Grandma's waffles... I could go on :)

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Four

A picture from your favorite night.

This one is kind of impossible, because of all the great nights I've had, I don't always have my camera with me (surprising, I know!). But I found one that I thought would be passable...

This is from our 2008 Halloween party at River Oaks. I don't know exactly what it was, probably a combination of a lot of things, but this night was just a blast! Judy and Alan came down and did an awesome job helping me decorate, we had tons of great costumes, everyone was rocking out the Guitar Hero, Mike showed up (oy!), and all and all it was a great evening! And since ONE photo just won't cut it...

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Three

A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

Last year, I started watching "Community" on NBC and it's pretty much hilarious. It's that kind of moronic comedy, and they always go for the "feel good" episodes, but when you just want to unwind, not think too hard, and just be amused, this is a good one. Close runner up on my favorite shows...

Grey's Anatomy has it's ups and downs, but I still love watching every Thursday! I didn't think they'd make it past losing so many of their best characters, but they are in season six and still going!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day Two

A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest

I guess I would have to go with my mom! She's pretty much the first person I knew ever... and we've always been pretty close! She's a great mom and I wish we lived closer, I miss her all the time! We've taken some pretty fun trips together, which includes skydiving in Tennessee and a fun adventure in Hawaii! Love you, Mer!

Welcome to My NEW Blog!

30 Day Photo Challenge

There are so many things you can do with a blog. My Jenna Rose Photography blog is meant to showcase my work throughout the year, with a few other fun things thrown in for good measure. But there are lots of fun things I'd love to showcase that I just don't think all my regular followers would be interested in. Here comes in "JRPhoto TOO!", my blog for things that I want to post but don't want to make EVERYONE suffer through. JRPhoto, the original blog, is all about my work and INTEGRITY (hehe!). Here we can have a little more fun!

To christen JRPHOTO TOO, we're going to start one of these "30 Day Photo Challenges". A friend and former client of mine has just started this one, and generally I like it, so I'm going to post it for all to see. I'll try to keep up, but if I don't, forgive me, I'll at least stick to the schedule as much as I can.

Day One - February 16, 2011
A picture of yourself with 10 facts.

Thaaaat's me! I had this photo taken for a special shoot I did (this being the only one I will let anyone see ;) and it was taken by the AMAZING Summer Osborn of Summer Jean Photography. I'm very much hoping to be working with her again in the near future, more of that to come later...

And now, the facts!
1. My absolute love is taking photos! My business is SO important to me and I want it to grow and thrive! Best career choice I could have made!
2. Apparently, I can't break the leg off a cooked chicken. Gross. Probably a live chicken either... that would be more gross.
3. I pretty much live on carbs. Mmmm....
4. My favorite restaurant is Olive Garden (they have LOTS of carbs!) and I also like my cousin's restaurant, Twisted Rooster.
5. The coolest place in the world that I've been to (so far) is the Big Island of Hawaii. Beautiful!
6. I have a weird need to put everything I have coming up on multiple schedules. Photo jobs, evening plans, trips (of course) and stuff like that. It makes me feel calm. It's weird.
7. My "regular" job is taking photos of wood. Ask me about it if you actually want to know more...
8. I recently (October) moved into my very first apartment of my own. I live there with my snarky cat. It's a bit pricey but I absolutely LOVE it. It's nice to make all your own rules.
9. I HATE it when people think anyone can take a photo. I'm not the best in the world by a longshot but just because you have a camera DOESN'T make you a photographer! It's more than just clicking a button!
10. I am insane about organization, yet I still leave papers all over my desk in disarray.

For those of you who are interested in doing this yourself, I've posted all the days below, so you can copy, paste, and join in!

1:A picture of yourself with 10 facts
2:A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
3:A picture of the cast from your favorite show
4:A picture of your favorite night
5:A picture of your favorite memory
6:A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
7:A picture of your most treasured item
8:A picture that makes you laugh
9:A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
10:A picture of the person you do the most crazy things with
11:A picture of something you hate
12:A picture of something you love
13:A picture of your favorite band or artist
14:A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
15:A picture of something you want to do before you die
16:A picture of someone who inspires you
17:A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
18:A picture of your biggest insecurity
19:A picture and a letter
20:A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
21:A picture of something you wish you could forget
22:A picture of something you wish you were better at
23:A picture of your favorite book
24:A picture of something you wish you could change
25:A picture of your favorite day
26:A picture of something that means a lot to you
27:A picture of yourself and a family member
28:A picture of something you're afraid of
29:A picture that can always make you smile
30:A picture of someone you miss