Joyfully Jen

Something that has always been enjoyable for me is cooking. It is a great way to clear your head, experiment and get creative while at the same time you create something that you are proud of! Pinterest has been my best friend when it comes to coming up with new and exciting recipes. The last one I made was a new favorite of mine that my roommate showed me, therefore I will share it with you! Ingredients: 2 teaspoons salt, divided 1 1/4 teaspoons fresh cracked black pepper 1 large spaghetti squash (about 2 pounds) 4 slices bacon, cut into small strips crosswise 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1/4 cup chicken broth 2 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prick the squash all over with a fork.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and 3/4 tsp. pepper. Roast on a foil lined pan  1 to 1 1/2 hours. (I did 60 mins but would go longer next time)  Let cool a bit.  Slice in half lengthwise, scoop out se...

Today in one of my classes we were watching a TED talk by Shawn Achor titled The Happy Secret To Better Work . This inspired me to write a blog today that is a little different then what I have been doing. This talk challenged me to think a lot about my own life and how I measure success in the work place, or even at school. This video mentioned that the typical process we go through is working hard at our daily tasks, which leads to success which then leads to happiness. Shawn mentions that this doesn't work because once we reach that state of happiness we then change our standards to be harder. For example if we were to work extra hard in school to get all A's and B's on our report card we would be happy once we achieved that, but after we achieve it we would then set higher and harder standards for the next time for example getting all A's on the next report card. Because of this mind set that we always need to be getting better and better we stress ourselves out...

Exercise is an important part of our daily routines. It not only is physically good for you but it is mentally good for you as well. You get  a sense of pride from working out. I am not the most fit person out there, in fact I have been slacking in that area but I still appreciate it when I make the time for it. My favorite part about working out is the confidence you gain in yourself after your workout is done. You not only feel better but you think much more highly of yourself. I personally feel happier when I get a good routine going to help me work out. It is one of the best ways to clear your mind, and relieve yourself of stress. I am no fitness guru so I have to look up a lot of my exercises. I find most of them on Pinterest. That is probably the first place I look especially when I am trying to work out a certain part of my body. If I am wanting to run I usually use the Nike app to track how far I run and how far I've ran in the past. One of my favorite ways to exercis...

            Four years ago I would have told you that I wasn't going to join a sorority in college. I didn't think it was something I was interested in, and I definitely didn't want to be seen as the typical sorority girl. That quickly changed when I got to school. My roommate was all about Greek Life. Her whole family was apart of it in their college careers and she wanted to follow in their footsteps. She managed to convince me to go through recruitment and I never knew how much I would appreciate that in the future.             It wasn't until I moved into the Pi Phi house my sophomore year when I began to truly learn what sisterhood really meant to me. It wasn't just the philanthropy, or the rituals that bind you. It's the memories you make along the way and that is by far the most rewarding aspect of sorority life. You always hear "These are the best four years of your life" but you never know what that means until it's ...

With all the daily drama living in people's lives, the stress of school, or work it is easy to lose track of yourself. Sometimes you just need to take yourself away from all of the stress for a bit to let yourself forget about it. That's how I spent my day toady. I went out to a local forest preserve and just hiked. Midterms week has just passed us, and after a long week of school plus a busy weekend, some time alone was much needed. I decided heading to the forest preserve would be a great way to take a load off because not only is hiking a great way to get in some exercise but being almost the end of October, I knew the leaves on the tree's would just be breathtaking. There's something special about experiencing the beauty in nature. It makes you realize what an amazing place it is we live in. I am a very outdoorsy type of person. When I need a chance to just think and relax there's no place I'd rather be than outdoors taking it all in. Spending tim...

When I was scrolling through my twitter  feed today I saw this article posted called 5 ways to get happy fast. The five steps listed were: 1. Close your eyes and take a few slow, deep breaths. 2. Doodle 3. Sing out loud 4. Laugh it off 5. jump! Besides these five points, it had one specific point added in that stuck out to me at the beginning of the article: Dance. I love to dance. Some of my happiest moments are when I am dancing. By no means am I a good dancer (and I'm sure my parents are pleased by that after all the money they spent on dance lessons through my life) but there's something that happens when you dance that just makes you and everyone around you happy. It is a time to just let go and be free without a worry in the world. It's more fun to dance crazy in a big group because it gives you and all your friends something to laugh about, and everyone knows laughter is the best medicine! I especially love dancing with my friends because we just act goof...

Dogs, or even pets in general are truly inspiring to think about. They are probably the only creatures on this planet who truly have the ability to love unconditionally. You show a dog an ounce of love and he will forever be your friend. They are the best listeners, companions, and friends. Not to mention they're adorable and you can't help but smile when you are around them. I have always been a huge dog lover. My family had a golden retriever named Casey since before I was born. He was the sweetest most gentle and beautiful dog. Although, it's hard to find a golden retriever you don't find adorable in my opinion. He was always excited to see us when we came home and never failed to put a smile on our faces. He passed away early on in my life but his memory has always been a happy one.  When I was in the fourth grade we finally got our second dog, Cody, a yellow lab. Cody is quite the character. We like to say that he is more of a people person. When we take hi...