Slacking Off and THE Best Days of Our Lives:) ... Thanks to j.wride!

So loyal followers and eager readers... Your wildest dreams have come true! I will now be weekly blogging. Are you shaking your head and laughing at me in disbelief??? How dare you:) I come in peace, and in hilariousness. School has started. Therefore, I actually have things to say, pictures to post. And fortunately for YOU, my life is rather awesome this year. Just you wait and see! I'm serious though, if I forget to post one week... well.... It just won't happen. I will set a reminder on my computer, my ipod, my phone, AND my itouch. And just for kicks, I will also put it on my calendar:) Remember, this is for you, the reader, and for my posterity, whomever they may be in the distant future (at least I sure hope distant)!

So, on behalf of bloggers and followers everywhere, we all, yes ALL, apologize for the fact that I have slacked off the past 4 months. And I, on behalf of myself:), promise to never slack off again. Unless I am ill and in the hospital or my computer blows up, or my dog dies. (For those who were curious, no I do not have a dog. It was simply an exaggeration.)

What have I been up to since July?? Well, August waaaaas QUITE the month! It's okay to be jealous while reading of my adventures. It happens to the best of us. Seriously, the best of America have called me up confessing of their jealousy. Now, I am not a fan of wanting what is not, or being jealous of someone you can't be... BUT in the case of wanting to be me?? I fully support that. I'm awesome, what can I say?

OKAY. Brace yourselves. They'll be pictures and a fun little description for each event. Enjoy:) Are you ready?!

Eating my GINORMOUS marshmallow...

It was really, really sticky...

With Emily Robinson and Tyler Hickok
roasting our big marshmallows

Em and I roasting starbursts (our first time!)

Em took these two pictures of my ward:

Aren't they so great?!! I loved this ward... SO much.

Brandi Fausett and I....
She was my roommate when I first moved into the ward in 2009!

Me and the OH SO WONDERFUL Alisha Hayden
I'm pretty sure she's the most amazing person I've ever met..
I miss her :(

Old and new friends :)

Jamyn, Em, and I

They are SO great.

I couldn't as for better friends...

I LOVE that they put up with me:)

TRYING to be sexy, I guess:)

SMILE :)

Best friends. She's the greatest... Seriously.

The marshmallow got the best of me.... Shucks ;)

What a night, right?! My old ward (BYU 56th) where I resided for over a year, had a social at our Bishop's Barn in Wallsburg (up Provo Canyon). It was awesome! There was a basketball court we all played on, a huge fire pit for roasting marshmallows and starbursts, a giant game of capture the flag, and a hilarious slideshow. I had a lot of fun getting to know a few kids, and just hanging with my people. You can probably tell I had a little too much fun... Those marshmallows were HUGE! While living at Alta Apartments, I made some of the best friends I could ever ask for. They have blessed my life in ways they will probably never realize. But really, I love you guys.

Em and I outside Avalon Theatre in SLC

With the one the ONLY Benton Paul!
(If you haven't heard his music, go and do that riiight now.)

With this craaazy band. They were awesome!
SUCH energy but they were insane:)

Emily was a DOLL and went with me to Benton Paul in SLC. Fortunately for usssss j.wride was one of the opening acts. I personally LOVE when my favorite artists perform shows together, it makes my life so great, and makes it less of a problem when I spend lotsa money on concerts. BUT for the record, I won a ticket to this show so I got in FREE! LOVE me some free shows:) Plus, we all know j.wride is pretty much INCREDIBLE live. If you haven't seen them yet, they are on tour with Allred the next couple months, so you should check out a show! Anyways, It was amazing, and at the end of Benton, we obviously shouted for an encore and he came out solo and sat on the edge of the stage and everyone ran up and crowded around and he played us an off mic song. He is amazing.

With Court Eccles-
the most talented Bass player i've ever known...
I'm lucky to know him.

Me with the LOVELY Lorin!
We are such big j.wride fans:)

With the bestie:)

DANG we are attractive ;)

With the majority of our group (only missing Kade+his crew)
LOVE them to death!

Em and Matt Bashaw, Me and Kalen (the Hope)

Do we look FLY or what?!

Posing for Kade the great:)

Aren't his photos AMAZING?!

The ONLY reason I let pics like this out in public...
Kade is brilliant. That is why.

So I JUST mentioned how I love when favorite artists play shows together... WELL. What about when favorite artists play a song together AND then have a show together. Ladies and gentleman you can love j.wride more now than ever. Jesse got with Matt Bashaw of Matthew Bashaw and the Hope and performed 2 songs together. One The Hope's, and the other j.wride's. Can I just tell you I am in LOVE with those two boys' voices. Seriously. And together... WOW. So this concert was AMAZING. My favorite j.wride concert by far. There was SO much energy, people were loving them! The energy was contagious. Seriously. Check out j.wride on facebook!

Kelsie, Me, Rani, Ashley
Meteorite Shower!!

We went to the Bishop's Barn where you could see ALL the stars
aaaaaand there were no trees or people or anything in the way:)

She is SO great. Gotta love Rani.

I miss my Moises:) He is awesome!

So I called up our Bishop and asked him if we could borrow his barn and property for the night. Rani invited a huge group to go watch the Meteorite Shower and I wanted some place away from the rest of the crazies that love stars. Therefore, we all drove up at 1 in the morning and all hung out on the top of this giant hill with nothing in the way- just a clear view of the Heavens. Made you really appreciate God and his masterpiece. It was a lot of fun, despite the pitch blackness and my INSANE flash:)

This may have been honestly one of the saddest moments of my whole summer...
Alisha Hayden. I love you.

SO Alisha was my roommate Winter Semester and became one of my absolute best friends. I have decided she is the most incredible person I've ever known. She just graduated with her masters and just moved down to Texas where she is working on her phd. She got up and packed everything- leaving her family, her friends, and drove down to Texas. I seriously miss her SO much. So many things remind me of her, and all the time I want to run over to her apartment and before I know it I realize Texas is a little TOO far to run. So I guess skyping is our next best shot:) I love her.

Em and I waiting in line at Velour!

We're looking all sexy for Cameron Rafati ;)

Yay for texting Lorin and inviting her!
Gotta love Kaylee and Lorin:)

Em and I in front of CAM CAM:)

Is Cameron Rafati gorgeous our what?!

Kevin was such a cutie:) He kept smiling at us from the stage...
He was so shy though. It was adorable.

He was so sweet:) Such a gentleman...
** Plus he kissed me! (on the head, lol) **

Em, Cam Cam and I
Is he candy to the eye or what?!

Classic Em and I...
Love, hate relationship
MOSTLY love!

Me and Jason Reeves!
For those who don't know who he is...
He sang Droplets with Colbie and Terrified with Katherine McPhee

Lorin, Em, Me, JASON REEVES, Randi, Carly, Kaylee

PROOF that my roomie Emily is amazing ^ .... She was online and saw Cameron Rafati was opening for Jason Reeves at Velour. We got to Velour an hour early and waited in line to buy tickets at the door. We got in, along with the other 4 ladies whom came along after I texted Lorin and let her know the love of her life was performing at Velour (I even told Jason Reeves that Lorin wanted to marry him... ha ha). Can I just say Cameron Rafati was even more amazing in person. You can check out his CD on his website. He actually has two CDs, and they are both amazing. You can also check out his music video for his song "1 in 10" here. He is gorgeous, he is tall, and he is 100% man. Em and I are pretty much in love. :) Seriously though, he was incredible live and we were playing off each other's energy the entire time he was playing. His band and Em and I.... We were all smile plastered the entire time. It was great. Em and I even got to know his brother Kevin (not the guitar player Kevin) who is pretty awesome too. He's hilarious, I'm a fan.

Steph and I with the incredible Nik Day
(Check out his facebook page to listen to some of his songs)

Steph and I... We are so stylish!
And is she gorgeous or what?!

We're the bestest of friends:)

Abraham, Chantal, Me

Stevie and I :)

SO, Steph invited me to join her at the Provo Town Square Rooftop Concert yesterday. They have this rooftop concert series... Benton Paul had said he was performing there when Em and I went to SLC to hear him play, BUT to my pleasant surprise Nik Day was also performing. And if you haven't heard his voice... It's beautiful. Makes you want to "fall asleep and make out with him all at the same time" (as I put it last night). Ha ha. He was great. We had such a good time together and taking modeling picture.. then we went to part of a BYU dance and it was craaaazy!

Anyways, I know you're thinking to yourself right now "why even live? I will never been as cool as she is!" Well, I've been where you are... But now I am cool, and I understand that its tough to get to where I am. But it is possible. Hang out with me, talk to me, think of me... And you will get there.

That's all from this teenage drama queen. More confessions to come.

- J

June/July

Most recent first::

Me with my roomies Laurel and Natalie They just ran a SLC Marathon!!

Me and Kade @ the Baker Family BBQ/Outdoor Movie

Me after 2 days of hiking... The most painful and rewarding experience of my life.

Me with two Moose that we got within 15 feet of!!4th of JULY
in Washington, D.C.
Me with my mama and papa
on the 4th of July!
Me and my bestie Talia
All the kidsssss!
They're going to the temple and they're gonna get married!!
All the sisters!!
LOOOOOOOOOOVE!
Allie, Me, Molly, Katie
I just LOVE this picture!
Molly, Me, Allie, Katie, Connor
with Kenny's little sisters:)
Me with Molly and Ariel
Waiting for the Bride and Groom!

Me, Molly, and Sarah and Erica Wink
While visiting for Nat's wedding.

Me, Allison, Erica, Sarah, Molly, Katherine
Playing Pretty Pretty Princess!!
(The winks had NEVER played before!)

I pretty much am in love with myself
juuuust because of this picture :)

Heidi and Me
After I got my new hair cut!!
(Thanks Lynsey!)

Nick's lady friend Kaitlyn, Rachel Potts, and Me
@ the Bishop's barn/Ward Activity

Christina (Ashton)'s Wedding reception
Me with Rosie and Meredith:)

Me with the Ashton Family
After the wedding reception!

As you can tell from the highlights of pictures... I have been up to a lot the past few months, and time does not slow down!

Christina Ashton got married and I met up with Meredith and celebrated with her and her family. She looked absolutely beautiful in her wedding dress, and it was such a fun occasion. I just love the Ashton Family. They will always have a special place in my heart.

We had a super fun ward activity at my Bishop's barn. There was a HUGE slip and slide and a lake, and a BBQ and it was just so much fun. I got to know a lot of people in my ward a lot better, and I was really glad I decided to go. That is where I truly grew to love Kelsie, Jared, and Eric. Those 3 are some of the most incredible people I've ever known.

Not too long later I went home for Natalie's wedding!! I got to spend a lot of time with the Wink twins who are some of my absolute best friends in the whole world! They will definitely be my bridesmaids when I get married.. Which is hopefully not for about 20 years :) Then Natalie got all married! Yay for her and Kenny! Then it was the 4th of July and we went into D.C. to see the concert at the Capitol. It was a really great show! And we saw David Archuleta perform (oh! We saw him in the temple too!).

Then I came back to Provo, and not too soon after the Baker cousins had a BBQ/Outdoor Movie and I brought my friend Kade with me. He is currently living in WY and was in UT visiting, so I asked if he'd like to come along. He did, and we had a really good time. It was just a blast.

This past weekend I went on a 2-day hike/camping trip that ended up being one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life. And yet, it was SO worth it. I had a really rough time, but I am really proud of myself. I did a really good job:)

The next day I went and saw two of my roommates run the SLC Pioneer Day Marathon. They completed all 26.2 miles! YAY for them:) I was so proud. I was literally brought to tears as they finished, it was such a hard thing and they did it!


WELL- That's all I can think of right now.. BUT HEY! If you have ANY questions about anything I've been up to... PLEASE ask :) Sorry I haven't written in a while...

Anyways, that's all from this teenage drama queen. More confessions to come.

- J

SUMMER has begun!

Hanging with Fuzzy!

Quay's Surprise "Congrats" Party!

Us just being SILLY.

Well, to keep you updated, I still am working 40 hour weeks. I actually only have one more week of 40 hour weeks until I go back to 20 hour weeks though. I'm going to miss the doubled paycheck, but I will not miss the 7 day work weeks and the pure exhaustion. I seriously have been totally out of it since I started working 7 days a week. Ask anyone, I am no fun these days.

I have continued to work on the song I wrote, and am working on another brilliant one. We also started filming for the music video, which will be released within the month. I am excited to get a reaction back from all y'all. Oh, and for something else totally random I did this week- Dan and I went to Costco and ate hot dogs. They were yummy! And super cheap compared to everywhere else.. I enjoyed myself:) Then we watched Prestige, and Skjelse, Hadley, and her friend came over too! That movie still confuses me, even after seeing it at least 5+ times. Oh, and Skjelse broke my roommate's bookcase by sitting on it.. Oh Skj... What are we gonna do with you?!

I have planned even more in depth with my schedule/graduation plan I posted, and there are a few changes.. Like... I decided to go to summer classes in Provo. That means that when I head home for Nat's wedding I will only be able to be home for 6 days before I head back. And I'd stay longer but that is in the middle of the semester, and I can't afford to miss more. But I am excited for this summer. I have just been so bored, so I am scheduled to take 4 classes over the summer. Two I SYS classes, RMYL 223R (Nature Photography), and ORG B (Organizational Effectiveness- a business class). They should be tough, but super fun. It's a shame I won't be home longer to see all of you who live back in the D.C. area, but I'm growing up and I can't always be home.. I've got to learn how to make it on my own a little more every day. Once I actually have some money that will be easier.

p.s. If any of you readers are filthy rich and want to donate to the "Jenna Baker making her dreams come true" fund... I will GLADLY accept money ;) Just kidding... But seriously. Ha ha.

Natalie's Birthday!!
+ the AMAZING Laker game:)
(Let me know if you want me to talk Lakers.. I will!)

Me and Natalie on her birthday!

Today I am taking my good friend Natalie Luehr out for lunch to Olive Garden (because I have a free gift card!) since her birthday was last Thursday. (Oh!! P.s. my ward intramural softball team WON their last game! On Natalie's birthday and everything! Hooray!) Also, I will skype with Emily Snow again today, (we skyped for an hour and a half the other day), and we will talk more of plans for her to come move in with me here in Utah in the fall. I have never been soooo excited!! This should be great! It'll be nice to have a friend again.

For all of you who live in Utah County area... there is a j.wride concert at Velour June 5th 8 pm. Be there or .... Well, just be there, okay? It should be a great show, and I am in charge of making sure people hear about the show and get their people there. If you want directions or more information, please feel free to contact me!

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a comment:)
Sorry I have been so lame this summer.. Hopefully I will get interesting again!

Anyways, that's all from this teenage drama queen. More confessions to come.

- J

My Graduation Plan!

Today I spent over 2 hours going through all the classes I need for my generals, my major, and my minor. I had to plan for prerequisites needed, and classes that were only offered certain semesters. It was a little confusing at first, but I finally figured it out. And I'm kind of excited!

So, here is my plan for the rest of my life (okay, the next 3 years):

My major is Leisure Services Management - emphasis in Commercial Recreation.
My minor is Travel and Tourism Studies.

Fall 2010
RMYL 189 (1) Careers in Recreation
RMYL 215 (3) Social Recreational Leadership
RMYL 223R (2) Outdoor Skills Leadership
RMYL 244 (3) Intro to Youth Leadership
RMYL 304 (3) Leisure in Contemporary Society
Rel A 302 (2) Old Testament

Winter 2011
I SYS 100 (.5) Computer Spreadsheet Skills
I SYS 101 (.5) Computer Presentation Skills
RMYL 307 (3) Accessible Recreation
RMYL 320 (3) Program Management
RMYL 371 (3) Event Planning
Geog 120 (3) Geography and World Affairs
Rel C 324 (2) D&C

Fall 2011
RMYL 480 (3) Recreational Management Finance
RMYL 486 (3) Legal Aspects and Risk Management of Leisure Services
RMYL 481 (3) Recreation Services Marketing
RMYL 485 (3) Management of Recreation Services
Geog 347 (3) Tourism: A Conceptual Framework

Winter 2012
Geog 348 (3) Tourism: Patterns and Analysis
Geog 250 (3) United States and Canada
Phil 201 H (3) History of Philosophy 1
MFG 202 (3) History of Creativity 2
Geog 353 (3) Heritage and Cultural Tourism

Fall 2012
Geog 350 (3) Tourism Planning
Geog 349 (3) Global Adventure Travel
Bio 100 H (3) Principles of Biology
PWS 112 (3) Floral Design
RMYL 405 (3) Commercial Recreation Capstone

Winter 2013
St Dev 317 (2) Career Strategies
RMYL 487 (3) Research and Evaluation
RMYL 405 (3) Commercial Recreation Capstone
SFL 210 (3) Human Development OR ANTHR 101 (3) Social/Cultural Anthropology

Spring/Summer 2013
RMYL 496R Internship

Graduate!

Recent Events...

Me, Becky, Natalie @ Becky's Bridal Shower :)

Stephanie + Me @ j.wride concert

Me, Nate, Lorin, Austin, Jesse, Kaylee & Court
Eating @ Chili's

Kelsie, me, Teri @ softball practice

Lorin, Kaylee, Me @ their raintree apartment

Anyways, that's all for now..

- J

My Apologies

"I had to apologize to a lot of people.

I had to tell them I don't know what happened and that I'm sorry."
- Shane Doan

Throughout my life I have hurt a lot of people. Whether I offended them, or was just plain cruel. Although at times I felt bad that someone was hurt, I rarely apologized, or even felt a need to say sorry. I felt that my honesty was justified, simply because it was honest. Until now, I never realized how much I have really hurt those I claimed to love. Just because I feel something is true, doesn't mean that I first of all, have the right to say it, and secondly, am right by any means. I want to apologize to each one of you that I have hurt individually, but until I can apologize to you specifically, I hope you will take this as more than just a "sorry" but rather a pledge that I will try my best to never hurt you... ever again. I want to make this right, and you didn't deserve the pain I put you through.

I am sorry to my family for never giving you the love and respect you deserve.
I am sorry to my church leaders for showing such disrespect, when you only were trying to help.
I am sorry to good friends who I betrayed, you deserved better.
I am sorry to friends who I thought I was only being honest with, I know I hurt you.
I am sorry to roommates for treating you worse than you deserved.
I am sorry to people who desperately tried to get my attention, who I ignored, give me another chance.
I am sorry to teachers and educators who I talked back to, I learned so much from you.
I am sorry to my parents for not telling you how much I really do love you.
I am sorry to my old bosses, when I left without notice, or didn't work as hard as I could have.
I am sorry to people who've looked up to me, I could have been a better example.
I am sorry to my sisters, I never gave you the time of day, and you deserved that.
I am sorry to those who I lied to, you deserved the truth.
I am sorry to any one's heart I broke, you don't deserve the pain.
I am sorry to you boys who I just can't let go of, you may have broken my heart, but I love you.
I am sorry to coworkers who I ignore and avoid, just because you like to talk doesn't mean I can't respect you.

I am sorry to anyone who I have hurt, offended, lied to, betrayed, exploited, avoided, embarrassed, been rude to, heart broken, or in any other way caused pain.

I apologize for ever making you feel inferior or hurting you. And I promise to do my best, starting today, to never make you, or anyone, feel like you are anything less than you truly are.

If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I will work throughout my life to made right the wrong I have done. Thank you... and I really am so sorry.

- J

MY future

I finally decided what I am going to do with my life. If you are one of the rare few who know more details then this.. please keep it on the DL. People shouldn't know those details yet..

Major: Recreational Management and Youth Leadership (emphasis in Youth Leadership)
Minor: Geography (emphasis in Travel and Tourism)
= Career: Event Planner + Traveling (while photographing and blogging about what I see).

"Back up" career: Sign Language Interpreting


Yes, I have a plan on how to accomplish this. And I have never been more sure. I am going to do this, and I am going to be amazing.

Anyways, that's all from this teenage drama queen. More confessions to come.

- J