It's Been Awhile

I'm back! It's been over six months since my last post and I feel sufficiently guilty. A few things have happened since them...oh, yeah, I got married. Remember the handsome one in my last couple of posts? Well, on December 29th we decided to seal the deal. It has been a whirlwind six months of planning, marrying, schooling, and surviving.
Married life has been an absolute blast. We are having tons of fun and are so excited about being together forever!
Despite the great fun that married life is, I'm starting to get a bit antsy. I have been in the U.S. for eight months straight. There is definitely something wrong with that. Micah and I are planning on staying here in Utah for the summer so we can take a few more classes and explore some of the sights this state has to offer. After that? Well I've been having some great daydreams during class about going on an adventure. Right now, we've been talking about taking this upcoming fall semester off and heading to Australia or Indonesia.....or both! Who doesn't want to lay on the beach for three months? We're still in the 'trying to figure out if we can pull this off' phase of planning, but I'll keep you posted. Hopefully I won't be disappearing for another six months...

Home Is Wherever I'm With You

Number one reason I have been slow on the blog? A tall, handsome man by the name of Micah Larimer. Micah and I dated for a year and a half during our high school days and had an absolute blast. Shortly after graduation he left to serve a full time mission for the LDS Church. During these two years he served the people of Riverside, CA (glamorous, I know), teaching them about our Church, helping people with needs around the house, and trying his best to help others. Throughout the two years we wrote almost every week. We had the opportunity to talk on the phone for a few minutes on Christmas and Mother's Day (these are the two days each year that missionaries are permitted to call home,) which were easily the highlights of our entire separation for me.
While I was constantly missing him for those two years, I tried my best not to sit around and pine. I worked hard, traveled around New Zealand and Asia for four months, went off to college, and spent almost four months in the Middle East. You could say I was actually fairly productive. Needless to say, despite my grand adventures, I would have given an arm and a leg to have my best friend back.
Well 98 Letters, 9 care packages, 102 weeks, and 4 phone conversations later, he was home. Our reunion was magical, if not a little awkward. I'm pretty sure he patted me on the shoulder once. But after about five minutes, we were back to normal. It was almost as if he had never left. The things that we loved about one another had only been magnified. The things that worried us were gone. I was just overjoyed to be in the same room as him!
The last month that he has been home has easily been my best. Everything seems to be going right. And even the struggles seem a lot more manageable with him on my team. We have been having so much fun being together again figuring out our life. Things could honestly not be better.

Weapons of Potato Destruction

There is something about firearms that just makes you feel powerful. 

No, that is not pointed at my head...
we laugh in the face of danger

And there is something about watching your man hold a firearm

that doubles his attractiveness. 

For Labor Day a group of us thought it would be great to celebrate by letting off some steam. We drove up the canyon and had a festive picnic involving salsa, sandwiches, and lemonade in the woods. Sufficiently full, we headed further up the canyon to a shooting range. And the thrill of danger began. I was a bit scared, but really it wasn't so bad. I only shot some smaller guns (I was told they were .22 caliber...whatever that means). I got my thrill with those, but chose to leave the bigger guns to the boys. It actually takes physical strength to shoot these things! Some of them are heavy and the kick back can be something fierce. 

Micah enjoyed shooting at potatoes, pop cans, and plates. But poor boy got a sunburn. Man, he's pale. It did feel a bit strange being a human rights activist and opposing violent conflict while shooting some guns, but I guess that's the beauty of choice and individuality, right?

And It Continues

Happy Day!

It's been a couple of crazy weeks, but I have not completely forgotten about Safe Harbor. So much has changed in the last few weeks, I don't even know where to begin. But I guess I'll start with the first big change. Micah, my best friend and high school boyfriend is home from his two year LDS mission! It has been unreal having him home. After two years of snail mail, four telephone conversations, a variety of care packages, and a few photo updates, he was completely and totally back in my life. So far it has been absolutely wonderful. It's all been very natural and normal, to be honest. We have both changed significantly in the last two years but not in way's that have troubled our relationship. We've enjoyed catching up and figuring it out. Who would've known it could be this easy? Now, we're back at school and enjoying this stage of life.
Classes are going great so far. Nothing too ominous or distressing. There will definitely be some stress and I'm sure I'll be cursing sociology when midterms roll around. For now, I'm feeling pretty excited about all the opportunities ahead.

Next

I've been asked by a few people about the future of Safe Harbor. Of the three people actually interested a blog of my musings, two are my parents. That tells you how far reaching it is, ha! Anyway, I am hoping to keep it up. Just because my adventures in Jordan are over doesn't mean the quest to escape the safe harbor is, as well. I have school, a new job, a boy, and more travels.
There are many more adventures on the horizon. Some abroad, some domestic. There is a substantial possibility that I get to school, get stressed about my schoolwork, get back to socializing, and completely forget about the blog. The dream, however, is that I will still remember to post every so often. This is really more of a record for myself, but if you're following I appreciate it and hope to keep you posted.
Also, here's a great video that always gets me excited and inspired.
Until next time, stay excellent.

Week One

Week one of American life has been, happily, relaxing. Decrompressing was the aim of the game. I've been surprised at how much I miss Jordan. I was absolutely dying to come home my last week there and, while I am basking in the joys of being home, I miss a few things about Jordan. I just want to tell everybody all the great experiences I had, crack all the inside jokes, and talk about the people who changed my life.

I missed the greenery.

So after my first day and a half of recover, my mom and I drove to California to visit all the family. Sadly, my dad wasn't able to get the time off work, so we left him to his own devices at home. We stopped in Grass Valley for a few days with my Aunt, Uncle, their dog, the sun, and the lake. This was exactly what I needed! I was just so surprised at the opportunity to show my legs in public.
Next, we were on to Lake Tahoe. Another one of my absolute favorite places in the world. Mom and I enjoyed a some time on the beach, a little kayaking, and good walking along the shore. Sadly, we had to leave the next day, but were on to other great things. Next was a visit with my Aunt Jeanette and Uncle Harley, along with their daughter and her two year old son, Jack. I spent the evening meeting Jack's dinosaurs, running around the backyard sniffing for "sharp-tooth" eggs, finding some (on the lemon tree), and then waiting for them to hatch. He was an absolute riot.
Next, on to my dad's side of the family. This time it was dinner and watching the Olympics with my Grandma, Aunt Bern, and Aunt Nancy. We ate at a restaurant, Melo's, that Grandma has been raving about for ages. My mom and I also stopped at a deli, Genova's, down the street and were in heaven. The place is like a little piece of New York life in the middle of Walnut Creek. That's when I told my mom I would live in New York one day just so she can come visit and we can get sandwiches at the local deli.

Lake Tahoe

Two more stops left....and yes, this was quite a whirlwind trip. We hadn't realized it, but we overextending ourselves a bit. Of course we love all our family and were happy to see them, but it was a bit intense moving around every single day. Next time we'll just have to take longer vacations.
Anyway, on to Kathy and Dave's house. My mom and Kathy have been friends since they were young nurses together. Kathy and I had a great discussion laying by the pool about her upcoming trip to Turkey. Since I went there a few months ago I tried to give any of the little advice or insight I had. It was really fun to have somebody pick my brain about my experience abroad. Many people are fairly disinterested and here I am just wanting to talk about it all the time. I keep going, "Well...in Jordan..." or "You know, Jordanians do this...." and I'm hoping I'm not driving anybody nuts just yet....
Finally, we hit Vacaville to visit my Aunt Kathy, her son Mike, and his family. We went out to dinner and then had another relaxing night of ice cream and Olympics. I missed the first half when I was in Jordan, so I was really trying to get my fill so that I could handle waiting another two years until the next Games.
All in all, I'd say it was a successful trip. I got to visit my family, eat great food, relax, and enjoy the sunshine. You can't ask for much more than that. But I am happy to have my own bed and absolutely no plans.

Home

It is said that home is where the heart is. I couldn't agree more. I love traveling, I love my adventures, I love all kinds of crazy new experiences. But, my heart belongs in Portland and I will always want to come back.
The journey back was an epic one. After three weeks in Turkey and three months in Jordan it was time for me to return stateside. 30 hours, a generous body search, six movies, an interrogation, and three hours of sleep later I was back in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. My mom picked me up from the airport which was a great reunion and then we headed to our cozy home, giant backyard, cupboards full of food, soft toilet paper, and my bed.
I showered without the fear of my water running out (oh and there was water pressure...awesome!) and then dove in to my mom's best meal...chicken enchiladas. After feeling quite satisfied, I laid on the couch for a few minutes in hopes of watching a movie, but faded fast. I brushed my teeth like a mad woman, stumbled to my room, and was asleep before the sun went down.
Twelve hours later, I was up and ready to face the day. That was seriously all I needed to recover. I have been completely coherent and adjusted (hopefully...) since. That day my mom ran some errands, I basked in the glory that is target, went for a run, napped, and then went to my favorite local barbecue restaurant. Let me tell you, that pulled pork sandwich was one of the best I've ever had. Another early night and then my mom and I were off on our next adventure...