A summary of my life in Ohio...

It's been a lot of fun!!!!

The Places We Live

The Places We Live (Aperture, 2008)
Photographs © Jonas Bendiksen/Magnum Photos

My friend Scott sent this link to me, www.theplaceswelive.com It's an amazing interactive website, kind of like a choose your own destination online documentary. Here's some info I took from the Aperture Foundation website:

The Places We Live
Photographs by Jonas Bendiksen

Exhibition

Exhibition on View:
Friday, June 6, 2008—Saturday, January 31, 2009

Nobel Peace Center
Radhusplassen
Oslo, Norway

In 2008 more people live in cities than in rural areas. One third of city dwellers, more than a billion people, live in slums. In The Places We Live, Magnum photographer Jonas Bendiksen presents sixteen homes in four different slum areas: Caracas, Venezuela; Mumbai, India; Nairobi, Kenya; and Jakarta, Indonesia.

The exhibition, a unique multimedia installation, challenges viewers to reflect on what it means to live in a city in the 21st century. Bendiksen has visited four slums selected according to geographical spread and variation. He depicts various aspects of slum life, from worst-offs to slum chiefs.

The accompanying book, published by Aperture, includes twenty double-gatefold images, each representing an individual home and its denizen’s story. Through its innovative design and experiential approach, The Places We Live brings the modern-day Dickensian reality of these individuals into sharp focus.

A member of Magnum Photos, Jonas Beniksen (born in Tønsberg, Norway, 1977) has received numerous awards, including the 2003 Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography, and first prize in the Pictures of the Year International Awards. His photographs have appeared in National Geographic, GEO, Newsweek, and the Sunday Times Magazine, among other publications. His bestselling first book, Satellites: Photographs from the Fringes of the Former Soviet Union, was published in 2006 by Aperture. In 2007, the Paris Review received a National Magazine Award for Bendiksen’s project The Places We Live. He is the most recent winner of the National Geographic Photography Grant, and is the first Norwegian photographer to become a member of MAGNUM Photos.

Introduction text © Philip Gourevitch

The photographs are amazing & the information is worth engaging. Let me know what you think!

Unique gifts...

I have to give a plug for 2 friends & their innovative designs.

First, is Lisa Larson - friend of mine since 2002 when I moved out to Denver. Lisa & her husband now live in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lisa is very creative & is busy making these fun & beautiful pendants. She takes old buttons and button covers & creates some unique designs! The website for her shop is: Etsy - green squirrel Here are some of my favs from her inventory:




















The next is a friend, Shauna Lott, who lived in my hall at college. She is now living in Boulder, Colorado and has created this lovely coffee sleeve, or as she & her co-creator call it: coffeecover. This is a great option for those who take daily trips to the local coffee shop and don't take their own insulated cup with them. Less waste, folks, plus some beauty to boot. Her store is here: Etsy - coffeecover A glimpse of my favorite:

The world of entitlement

We do take a lot for granted here, don't we? A friend posted the following clip on his blog & I couldn't help but put it here as well. Above any other season, let's stop & remember how blessed we are - how much we have and how far we've come. Is there wonder left in the world? What do you think?

Advent Conspiracy

College girlfriends' weekend

I spent a weekend in October with my great friends Karen, Danielle, Ali & Kelli. We've tried to get together each year since college, and it is always guaranteed to be a fantastic time! Lots of laughs, tears, stories, memories, and catching up. Shopping, talking, yummy food, and more talking...

Where all of our friendships began!

the beautiful prayer chapel on IWU campus

Rebekah Diener - such a sweetie!

I miss you ladies already!

pictures sent from Uganda with love

I just received these pictures from Amber in Uganda, who took the pictures for Stella. She wanted to send them to me so I could see how big Joanna is getting!!! So, of course I wanted to share that with all the world as well. She's so big! 4 1/2 months right now - yet it already seems like years away since I'm a world away.


I'm missing my Kaabong friends. This weekend I get to share about my experience with my church in Elmore, so I'm spending lots of time this week looking through pictures and deciding what to share. Though its great to honor my friends by sharing about them, it makes me miss them deeply. Its nice to know they are still thinking of me as I'm thinking of them!



This is Kristine - she wanted Amber to send this picture out to her friends. I gave her the beads that she is wearing...a friend had sent me a string of large beads, like garland, just for fun and when I was trying to figure out what to do with it before leaving, Kristine said she'd love to have them. She wanted to make necklaces out of them! I told her she had to send me a picture when she did, so here it is! And her skirt is exactly like the one Timat made for me before I left. I hope someday I can wear my skirt & dance alongside my friend, Kristine again!