taking a risk...

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In December of last year I was talking with my parents and told them that I was going to limit my job search to hospitals in Salt Lake City. They were excited and I genuinely thought that was the route I was going to take. But as I walked through my last semester of school this spring, my heart began to change. My desires began to shift toward pursuing the job hunt out of state, so I began applying to hospitals all over the country. I decided not to let my fears stop me, so I applied to places that I never dreamed of getting into... one of those places was Duke. After months of waiting, I finally heard back from them and went out to interview in the middle of May. Just last Thursday I received the news that...
I got the job on the pediatric bone marrow transplant unit!
(a.k.a. dream job)

So, folks, I am picking up my life and moving 2,000 miles across the country to Raleigh, North Carolina. There are still a lot of unknowns and a lot of tough things in the months ahead (oh, I'm dreading the goodbyes). It may not make the most sense on a pro/con list, but I don't really believe that life should be lived by human logic or a pro-con list. During my interview I had an immediate peace that Duke was where I was supposed to be and God opened the door, so I'm going (even if I don't have all the answers).

It's time to take a risk and I could not be more excited!

the big apple

{via}

After nine relaxing days cruising, we decided to stay and explore the Big Apple

Highlights: seeing Times Square for the first time, black & white cookies, real NY cheesecake, riding through Central Park on a bike, feeling like a little kid in FAO Schwartz, browsing through Tiffany & Co., shopping on 5th Ave, walking through St. Paul's Cathedral, exploring Greenwich Village & NYU, figuring out the subway system, the beautiful view of the city from the top of the Empire State Building, Eating at the famous Carnegie Deli and becoming great friends with our hilarious waitress, visiting Ground Zero, bartering with vendors in China Town, eating at America's first pizzeria in Little Italy, watching some crazy talented street performers.

I loved New York City... it was such a feast for the senses. I love the life and vibe that you feel as you're walking down the streets. I'm sure you could explore for months on end, but I feel like I got a good little taste in the few days we were there. What a great little post-graduation adventure! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

c'mon let's cruise...

Hello, blogging world! I have to say, I quite enjoyed my time away from the technology world... but I am back! And I promise to write more this month (as opposed to the whopping 4 posts in May). I will start off with a little recap from our Caribbean cruise:

...Puerto Rico...

...St. Thomas...

...St. Maarten...

...Tortola...

...On the boat...

...Highlights...
sailing past lady liberty out of NYC, a cruise kick off toast with the family, adjoining cabins/decks, lots of reading time, staring into the deep blue ocean, watching the ever-changing sky, dressing up in a fancy dress, delicious food & LOTS of it, soaking up the sun at the boat's pool, exploring the colorful city of San Juan, visiting El Castillo de San Felipe del Morro, the beautiful white beaches at St. Thomas, SNORKELING, playing in the ocean, walking barefoot in the sand, watching the silly pelicans and diving birds, drinking coconut milk straight from a fresh coconut, dad crooning to his music, breathtaking sunsets, playing endless games of bananagrams and Black Jack, the 70's entertainment night on the ship (hilarious), lots of good sister time, my adventurous nana who was such a trooper, long chats with my momma.

a grand adventure...

...that was supposed to take place at the Grand Canyon

but ended up happening in Glenwood Springs, Colorado


A little back story: Plans have been in place for months to go to the Grand Canyon for a very special occasion (keep reading to find out just what that occasion is). The night before we were scheduled to go, the weather forecast reported a high chance of snow, plus we caught wind of the possibility of a park closure. So we made a frantic last minute change and headed to the hot springs of Colorado!

On the way, we stopped at a little Dinosaur Museum in Fruita, Colorado. Here are some pictures from this silly adventure!











Once we got to our destination we filled our time with lots of
fun adventuring...
frisbee/softball at the park
geochaching expeditions
playing Family Business & Banagrams til the wee hours of the morning
eating lots of yummy food
swimming in these amazing hot springs

& (last but certainly not least)

Celebrating the engagement of these two lovebirds

Here are some pictures from the party we had waiting for them after the proposal!

{excuse my red eyes... the hot springs were hard on me! haha}

Congrats Jake & Michelle!
I am absolutely beaming for you!

A.A.

2 Things:
I am NOT an alcoholic.
But I did go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

One of my recent nursing school adventures included attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. It was a really eye opening experience for me. I wish I could express how incredibly grateful I am that this organization exists... so many people are finding healing and hope through their well known 12-step program and support groups. I feel so privileged that I had the chance to sit in and hear their stories. I left feeling so encouraged that people really can change... the journey may be messy, but there is always [always] hope.

One thing is for sure, that may have been the tightest community of people that I have ever been around. And the most welcoming too. Seriously, before I even sat down I had 5 people come up to me to introduce themselves and start conversations. They were more vulnerable and honest and welcoming than any church group I have ever been around. I apologize if that offends you, but it's true (at least in my experience). You know, I think Jesus was on to something with His habit of hanging around people that struggled with things like alcoholism and addiction. I saw something really beautiful in this group of people. Maybe it was their desperation for change and healing. Maybe it was the humble common ground they shared - knowing that no one there had things figured out. I guess I cannot exactly put my finger on it, but I left feeling like I'd learned a big lesson from the people in that group. A lesson in humility and openness and acceptance and love and hope and transparency.

By the end of the meeting I felt like I had a confessional statement of my own to share... "Hi, my name is Jarah and I struggle with pride and piety and fear and insecurity. So, in a lot of ways, you all have more figured out than I do." In hindsight, I suppose it was my pride that kept me from saying it. I wish I would've.

I would like to challenge you to attend an open A.A. meeting. Yes you. I will warn you though, you will leave much more uncomfortable than you came. But not for the reasons you might think. If you allow it to penetrate your heart, it will challenge you in some really significant areas of your life.

Okay, getting off my soap box now... As always, thanks for reading the ramblings of this motely character.

recap: fall break

what an incredible fall break...

kind of strange that it's the last of my college years!

i spent the week here in utah...
catching up with friends
working (very little of this actually)
eating sushi
trying new recipes
watching movies
playing with my sis
crafting
enjoying the fall weather
shopping
writing letters
cleaning my crazy messy room
reading (for fun)
catching up on sleep

&

taking a little blitz trip to
zion national park
highlights include:

{1} hiking angels landing
yes, i really did it! crossing #13 off the list
i was absolutely in AWE! so so beautiful!
definitely one of my all-time favorites.

{2} sleeping in my hammock

{3} enjoying the company of some amazing people

{4} rockin' the chacos

fall break, you were too good to me!
now, to leave you with a little taste of that epic hike!
{video isn't mine... found it here}

mom & dad come for a visit.

My parent's came for a little visit this weekend and it was a blast! I think we pretty much covered the entirety of southern Minnesota, along with parts of Iowa and Wisconsin. Here's the run down of what we did... hold on, this one has lots of pictures!

{Friday}

I sent my parents on a tour of the Mayo Clinic while I was at work.
We went to Newt's for lunch (they're famous for their "Jucy Lucy" burger).
Then we ended the evening with Toy Story 3 (which was ridiculously cute!)

{Saturday}
We woke up early and made our way to Harmony, Minnesota (aka, where all the Amish people live). We enjoyed a lovely breakfast at a little place called The Harmony House, went antique shopping, and toured around Amish country.

{we bought homemade granola bars from an amish roadside stand... probably the best granola bar I have ever had... notice the price: 30 cents!}

During our tour through Harmony, we tripped across a purple house that was home to the"goat lady." We had a blast playing with these baby angora goats.

Next on the list is Lanesboro... this quaint little riverside town was so much fun. We explored around the shops for a bit and then rented bikes for the afternoon.

We ended up stopping in a small town (Whalan) for some "world famous pie". I had a slice of the "Elvis Peanut Butter Pie"... incredible!

After our pie adventure, we made our way to Aviary Acres to do a little bird watching,

then drove through Decorah, Iowa and Lacrosse, Wisconsin.

On our way back to Rochester, we tried to find a place to eat in Nodine, but nothing was to be found (ironically... no-dine).

After hours and hours of traveling, we ended up eating at a great restaurant in Rochester called Twigs... best butternut squash ravioli ever.

{Sunday}
We started out the day with a yummy breakfast at Rabbits bakery in Lake City. After a little site seeing, we drove up the Mississippi river through Pepin, Nelson, Wabasha and Redwing.

{me and the parents next to the World's Largest Boot... what a touristy moment}

... we also did some monster searching in Lake Pepin for the notorious Pepie lake monster (is that not the wimpiest lake monster name ever?)

We ended the day with a few hours in Minneapolis/St. Paul. We were able to see the Mall of America, the St. Paul Cathedral, the State capital and LOTS of fireworks {Happy 4th!}






{Monday}
As always, we kicked off our day with breakfast and coffee, this time we went to Dunn Bros.

Then we stopped by a Rochester fave... the world's largest ear of corn (are you noticing a pattern?)

We spent the biggest part of the day kayaking on the Zumbro Falls River... it was gorgeous and SO fun!

We ended the night at a fun little restaurant/pub in Rochester called Whistle Binkies.

In the words of my dad, "We broke the fun meter."

And we did! It was such a blast to have my parents come and see what I'm up to for the summer.

I love hanging out with them... they're off to see the sis in North Carolina now, and I'm back

to work! I love you guys!

{xo. jarah}