new friends.

i hope you all had a great christmas! it was a busy time in these parts. engagement photos/christmas at jake's grandparents/christmas at my parents/christmas at jake's parent/ blah blah blah. just plain busy! and yesterday, we picked my sister up from grand island. the dinkiest airport you will EVER find. we did meet some new friends on the way home. welcome to the middle of nowhere, folks. :)

country sister donkey


donkey


donkey kiss donkey

and one more...because i don't think you'll realize how short these guys are until you see my 5 foot sister kneeling...and still being slightly taller than these little dudes. :)



really short donkeys


under the sea

fish in hanauma bay snorkeling in hanauma bay sea turtle swimming in hanauma bay



while we were in hawaii we went to hanauma bay for some of the best snorkeling around oahu. there were so many beautiful brightly colored fish, it was amazing. not to mention the two sea turtles we saw. i even got to swim along side one of them! we used those underwater cameras to take the pictures, but many of the photos didn't come out as clear as we expected. nonetheless, we're still pretty happy to have them as memories of our snorkeling trip. the snorkeling trip where we came out looking like we had gone to battle after getting stuck in the reef. it wasn't so funny to me at the time....but looking back it's pretty hilarious. jake and i swam all the way out and somehow failed to notice that no other snorkelers were out that far. it should have been a clue. we now have 363 days to return without having to watch that silly 9 minute introductory video. i think we'll make it back in time. 

hawaii



hello all.

my older sister got married in hawaii last week so my parents, jake and i flew all the way out there to attend and be a part of the festivities. it was such a crazy, busy, fun time. here are just a few snapshots. :)

palm trees
waikiki
feet in sand north shore waves north shore surfer girls my momma surf boards paddling pineapple guypinapple lady sexy handsome man my dad is silly

we had such a blast cruisin' around in our rental jeep. unfortunately, i started getting sick towards the end of the trip and am in complete misery right now. (complete misery for someone who rarely gets sick, i guess i should count my blessings instead.) jake and i have resolved to go back soon. 
i love hawai'i. 

hannah

more ramblings from an inexperienced wedding planner


hey all,
i'm so sorry for being absent from the blog for...almost a month?! it's been busy over here. between working, planning a wedding, and getting ready for my sister's wedding the last thing i think of doing is blogging. and i know the last thing you want to hear about is what flowers i'm going to have for my wedding, am i right? i mean, i don't even want to hear about that! but here it goes anyway. not the flowers. but the ramblings...again

1.) why are weddings so expensive?
i mean, if i were throwing a birthday party and told all the vendors it was just going to be for a birthday party...everything would be half the cost. seriously. i did not know a cake could cost 400 bones. did you? 400 big ones with nothing too fancy about it... no fondant or anything. what the what?

2.) making people happy has never been more difficult. 
the beginning planning stages was such a struggle. everyone involved had different ideas of how things should be and boy, for some reason it was a doozy to figure it all out. people say weddings are supposed to be about you and whatever makes you happy but if the people you care about aren't happy then how can you be? you know? thankfully, we love each other and everything is sorted out. all downhill from here.

3.) i love details. now that we're past the big things like the date/time, the venue, the dress, and the invites.... we can get to the good stuff. all the cute little details that i can add to make my day feel oh so special. yay! my little heart can barely contain the excitement.

5.) i love jake jensen more. 
the guy asked me to marry him and he has been my stronghold through this whole planning process. so thankful for him. god is too good to me.

6.) HAWAII
my lovely sister is getting married in hawaii. i spent a year in hawaii when i was younger since my dad was in the coast guard. oh man am i excited to go back. and to take jake with us! i'm ready for all things delicious. poke, hurricane popcorn, hawaiian ice. please. yes, please. not to mention seeing those waves and beautiful sandy beaches. plans to snorkel, drive around the island, and maybe even hit up a luau have been made. once you call hawaii your home, it will always be your home.

the end. if you made it all the way through.. major props to you. :)


wedding ramblings: date v. venue

via style me pretty
it's crazy how you think you've come to a conclusion, and then people use real common sense to completely crash it. like me... thinking i had made a final decision on an outdoor wedding/barn reception in march. great idea! and then jake comes along and says, "hey hannah, we live in nebraska and average temperatures in march are about 20 degrees. maybe an outdoor wedding isn't such a good idea." get. outta. here.

so with this sound logic, we found ourselves at a crossroad. either stick with the march 9th date and have an indoor wedding or push the date back and have a wonderful outdoor wedding.

i'm here to tell you that i think i've made up my mind, keyword being think.
not only is the timing perfect for march 9 (a designated week off of work following the wedding and my best friend is able to make the trip back to the midwest from the big apple on her spring break) it is also soon enough. marriage is something jake and i have talked about for a while. it's something that i've prayed about since we first started dating. putting it off for another month or two just seems pointless to me. as for the venue, maybe that barn reception can't happen.... but another kind can. and that's fine. it'll work. i'll make it. because at the end of that day the only thing that will matter is that i'll be married to a man that i love more than anything on this earth. nothing beats that. definitely not a barn.
so rather than saying "i think", i have made up my mind. still sending out those save the dates, people, because i've got me a groom and we need to get hitched. :)


hannah


in case you missed out...
save the dates
engagement

insomnia = productivity

last night, in a moment of insomnia, i started brainstorming on some save the date ideas. i think i might actually use what i created.... which is crazy. the design would be printed on 5x5 paper/cardstock. i'm thinking an offwhite color. let me know what you think though, anything i should change? also, where can i go to get this printed?! my late night search led me nowhere. thanks for the help!

hannah


moments before....


not long before going to colorado i had bought a new lens for my camera.
i was so excited about it, i could not stop taking pictures. 
and how lucky that i now have something to look back on knowing that these were taken just moments before one little question would change the rest of my life. 
(and how lucky for jake that i was too busy with the lens to see the big box in his back pocket that contained my ring!)

we've started the planning and have settled the date.
don't think i'm too crazy when i say that 6 months from now i will be mrs. jake jensen.
march 9, 2013
*squeals of joy*
:)

hannah

i'm yours and that's it. forever.

jake and i celebrated two years of dating yesterday.
(but we dated unofficially for a year before)
and now we have something new to celebrate.
we're engaged!

he proposed at sunset on sapphire point in dillon, colorado.
though it wasn't how he had originally planned, it couldn't have been any more perfect.
just the two of us. on top of a little mountain. overlooking an incredible view.

it is still pretty surreal to me.

i feel like i might wake up and it will all be a dream. 
which might be why i can't sleep... ;)

we are so incredibly blessed to have family and friends that support us and who have been praying for us as we reach this point. if you could please continue to pray for us as we transition to a new and exciting stage in our lives, we would greatly appreciate it. we are looking forward to seeing how God chooses to use our marriage to glorify Him. 

now for a few photos
!!!



forgetfulness.


i'm almost certain it's something that is inherited.
my mom is a pretty forgetful person.... and i think i got it from her.
jake and i had every intention of going out and shooting with my new lens and of course the day we're finally able to i leave the memory card in my laptop. way to go hannah. way. to. go.

that's ok though.
that's what iphones are for right?
oh...
have i ever told you all that i love him?
he does silly things like waiting for iphone timers to go off with me.
that's love.

hannah

early riser


early yesterday morning, and i mean early... like 4 am early...
jake and i dropped my parents off at the airport an hour away. they'll be gone for a little while exploring in asia. my dad has this romance with china. it's always been a place that he loves. from the food, to the people, and even the language. he really loves that place. i'm so happy that he gets to go back after 22+ years. anndddd they also get to go hang out in korea, where my mom is from, and visit some relatives that we hardly ever see... i guess the only time we ever see them is when we go to korea, which isn't very often. basically, they're going back home.

one benefit of waking up so stinking early was getting to see a beautiful sunrise. not being one who wakes up easily at 6 in the morning, the sunrise was a nice little exchange.

i cheated death


or that's what my medal says, anyway. 

this weekend i ran the mud factor 5k with jake. you may remember the last time jake ran a 5k here. however, this was my first mud running experience! through this i learned that jake and i aren't really the best planners. we didn't really plan on being "in shape" for the 5k. we didn't really plan to get there on time to check in. we didn't really plan on having to pay to check our stuff in...or have a bag to put our stuff in to check in. and we didn't really plan what time we were going to run either. so yeah, not the best planners. we ended up making our own phase between the 9 am and the 9:30. which actually wasn't the best idea because we had to wait for all the slow people from the 9 am phase to go through all the obstacles. that's ok though, i got to hold jake's hand as we stomped through mud. :) and i got a medal! can't beat that.


chicken tikka korma with a side of extra spice


that's what my life has been filled with this week.
chicken tikka this and chicken tikka that.

for numerous reasons, mostly being gone this summer, teaching at the studio has kind of slowed down for me. and if i'm being honest, i'm ok with that. at first i was upset but God works in a number of different ways and i'm pretty sure He knew that i needed a little break from teaching. 

in order to make up for my lack of income, i picked up a job at a local restaurant called The Oven.
when i applied for the job i really wasn't expecting to get it. my whole resume is filled with all violin related activities and never before have i served food. the owner took a leap of faith in hiring me and i'm really hoping i don't let him down.

 week one of training at the restaurant is now complete and i'm feeling much better about it than i did at the beginning of the week... i still don't really quite understand the difference between a masala sauce and a makhani sauce, but i'm sure i'll have it down by the end of week two. ;) 

hannah

real life.


it's good to be home but reality is starting to sink in. my suitcase is still sitting in my room filled with clothes. bills are waiting to be paid. the dogs need to be fed. these are things i can't escape from. it's back to doing my own laundry, back to teaching, back to being responsible...*sigh* and to boot, meredith is moving all the way across the country on friday. 

this is real life, folks. 

don't get me wrong, i don't think it's all bad. laundry can be fun. bills are...fun? teaching will be great. and now i have a reason to visit new york every few months! i have a dinner date tonight with ma bestie to commemorate our time these past 10 years together. i'm expecting lots of tears...from me. the change is good though. meredith will have so many more opportunities in new york than she'll ever have here and i'm so excited for that city to show her some serious love. 

a change closer to my home is jake! he's moving two minutes away...literally. we timed it. TWO MINUTES. he and his roommates are spending some time fixing it up before moving in at the end of this week. two moves all in one week. one love is moving across the country and the other practically next door. life is crazy sometimes. i kinda like it that way though, keeps me on my toes.

hannah.

the end of greenwood.




it's hard to believe that the five weeks at greenwood have come to an end. i'm already missing my "sun" room, appropriately named, not only for color, but for the temperature as well; the view from the wall; desserts after lunch AND dinner; glen's pancakes; announcements after meals; the cool mornings and equally cool nights; the gorgeous skies; and really the list could go on. i'm especially missing my babies... or kids as they liked to be called... that i spent so much time with this summer. since most of them live in nebraska, i've already made plans to hang out with them.
i can't say enough how thankful i am for the opportunity to go there, if not to study with my teacher, julie yoon, then for experiencing the wonderful sense of community that greenwood offers. such talented musicians pass through greenwood every summer and i'm glad i was able to meet the campers of "b.c. '12", the counselors, and some of the amazing staff. they create such an incredible legacy for future young musicians to partake in and to carry on in whatever future endeavors they may undertake. it's never goodbye in the music world... i'm sure i'll see all of you again. :)

hannah