Loong overdue!

Hello hello!

My goodness I do apologize I have neglected this blog for quite some time. Since my last posting I've traveled home twice and so much has transpired!

First and foremost, Braydon and I have chosen a wedding date...10/10/10! What an easy date to remember! It would be my Grandmother Barbara's 79th birthday...so in a small way it is our tribute to her. I will go more in depth in wedding plans later but for time being: the wedding will be at Braydon's parent's house outside of Roanoke, VA. We are hoping for a beautiful fall day so we can be married outside on the dock. Braydon's dad will be marrying us and we hope to have an intimate crowd of close family and friends. Minnesota friends and family: do not worry, you will not be left out of the celebration! Later in October we will have a reception for the Minnesota gang :)

Also of great excitement...we are getting a puppy! He is an apricot toy poodle and was born while we were visiting his breeder. The puppy will be named Bear and we are so excited to meet him this June. He is the one on the far left in the picture above.

I've got to get going to work but in the mean time I will share a few pictures from my first visit home...there will be more to come!

Braydon and I in Loring Park on our way to a night in downtown. The beautiful Basillica is behind us.

Braydon and I at my mother dear's birthday party.

Brandon and his two girls: Biggles and Amy.

Amy and I showing off our rings--we joke that the boys went shopping together :)

Bailey being groomed by his mama...look at his face! Can't wait for Bailey Bear to meet Little Bear.

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"We can have a positive attitude towards life, or a negative attitude. We can focus on the good or we can focus on the bad. Keeping a positive mental attitude is one of the keys to success.

The choice is always up to you!

Braydon+Jenna=Engaged!

It is officially one week past due for this post. So much excitement, love and joy has occurred and my blog has not quite caught up! I suppose I should start from the beginning…

Last Thursday night Braydon flew into New York City for an Easter weekend visit. Late Thursday night Braydon met me at NYU Medical Center on my break for a few minutes to say hello. He handed me a plastic easter egg detailing our first holiday (Memorial day) together, I gave him a hug and was back to my job. Friday morning Braydon picked me up from work and shared breakfast with me on the East River. We watched helicopters come and go, ships sail by and people scurrying off to work. Throughout the day on Friday Braydon surprised me with easter eggs outlining each holiday we’ve spent together. On Friday evening we rode a subway to Grand Central Station, walked through Bryant Park and Times Square and arrived at the Hudson River’s Pier 81 on the west side of Manhattan. The weather was beautiful; 65 degrees, clear blue skies with a soft breeze. We were a little early for our scheduled dinner cruise so we strolled along the pier together. Out of (seemingly) nowhere, Braydon asked me what I would think if he talked to my dad about marrying me. I looked at him and said, “Well, you haven’t…” Braydon quickly corrected and shared with me his time spent with my dad the previous weekend. They toured the new Target Twin’s Field and had lunch together. Long story short, my dad gave Braydon permission to marry me and become his son-in-law. On Pier 81, Braydon whispered a few ‘sweet-nothings,’ handed me one last easter egg with a paper stating, “Easter weekend 2010, we got engaged!” He knelt on one knee and showed me the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. With shock and awe, I quickly said yes while he placed the ring on my finger. We were on a quiet pier together when one man walked by with his dog and said, “congratulations,” it was the perfect acknowledgement.

Newly engaged, Braydon and I boarded the World Yacht Cruise, we planned to have only a cocktail on board, but to my surprise we had the ‘premiere’ yacht experience. The front of boat greeted us with a table for two, complete with a waterfront view and a full course menu including champagne. During the three-hour waterway excursion we wined and dined on delicious fare and viewed the whole shoreline of Manhattan. We called our parents from the top of the boat while we cruised under the Brooklyn Bridge and sailed by the Statue of Liberty. It was undoubtedly a night we will never forget.

The rest of Easter weekend was just as memorable. Saturday morning we ran along the river (on the shore we sailed by the previous night), and during the afternoon we traveled to the Chelsea neighborhood. We lunched at the Chelsea Market and walked along the ‘Highline,’ a restored railroad track turned into a public park. For dinner we ate at my favorite Mexican restaurant and enjoyed the NCAA basketball game too. Sunday we woke up early to attend the 7am Easter service at St Patrick’s Cathedral. We had Easter breakfast at Norma’s restaurant at Le Parker Meridian and took a stroll through Central Park. Sunday we joined all my New York family for dinner to share our excitement and joy. Our fairytale weekend came to a close but the enchantment continues. Braydon and I could not be more excited to start this new adventure together and are so blessed to share this happiness with so many family members, friends and loved ones.

Love and Peace

Braydon picking me up from work and enjoying breakfast on the river.

We're engaged! My beautiful ring below :)

Cheers! On our dinner cruise

Braydon calling his mom underneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

Braydon in front of St Patrick's Cathedral.

Together in central park and stopping mid-run for a picture of the nyc skyline.

All the family celebrating the engagement!

“Once in a while love turns ordinary life into a fairy tale.”

-A quote given to Braydon and I from his mother on our engagement night.

Blessed

I'm pretty sure spring blossomed while I was sleeping last night. After days and days of rain, I walked outside and to my delighted surprise the lilies in front of my apartment building and the cherry blossoms lining the street all bloomed. Its sunny and 65 degrees and is supposed to stay this way through the weekend :) ....I'm very excited to say the least.

I woke up this morning with a persistent thought running through my head, "I am so incredibly blessed." Reflecting back, my college years were certainly enjoyable but the relentless bustle of running, school, nursing, job searching, working, etc shadowed my awareness of my blessings. Over the past 9 months I have stayed busy with work, traveling, family and friends but I also have had the chance to finally relax and just be. I've commented to some family and friends that I often feel lonely in NYC but even the loneliness has proven to be a blessing. I finally have time to sit back and reflect, to savor quiet moments, to see the little (and big) things that were so often missed by the hustle and bustle of my 'old' college life. Most importantly, I've noticed how undoubtedly blessed I am. Whether its my job that fulfills my life vocation, my family that fills me with love and support, my friends that provide company, my boyfriend who showers me with happiness or my faith that fills my every need--I am completely honored and humbled to say that I could not be more blessed. My life is certain to regain its business in the coming years, but I have learned the importance of savoring time to relax, reflect and never miss out on knowing how blessed I am...I hope you are able to do the same.

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"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

-Albert Schweitzer

Visiting Grandma

Well its about past time to update this blog, whew time certainly flies by. I just came back from a long run along the river and it was such a beautiful time. The sky were crystal clear blue, the temperature about 50 degrees and a perfect breeze swept over the river. I actually moved my bed over near my window and now I can see boats passing down the river as I fall asleep each night (and morning). I returned back from Minnesota a couple days ago and as usual had a wonderful time visiting my family and friends. One of the highlights was seeing my Grandma Audrey. After seeing Braydon's Grandpa a few weeks ago and Grandma Audrey this past weekend, I am reminded what a special place grandparents have in our life. Their wisdom, character and experiences provide so much insight and inspiration to live a life to the full. Visiting with these two special people I was also reminded of my Grandma Barbara who passed away about 7 years ago, her death was so sudden and rocked my family. She still holds a special place within me and I attribute so much of my loving nature, joy and peacefulness to her. I hope one day I can be as wise, thoughtful and influential as Davedaddy, Grandma Audrey and Grandma Barb.

Well, I'm off to work soon, I work four more days, have a couple days off and then Braydon is coming to visit for Easter. We are planning to attend an Easter service at St Patrick's Cathedral and also go on a evening cruise on the skirts of Manhattan.

One last thought: I guess I've been hidden in a bubble of Scandinavians....I never realized the extent of celebration St Patrick's Day draws in America. This is a view from my apartment window, walking to work on St Pat's Day I was bombarded by green people, green beer and green dogs...craziness.

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"The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers."

-M. Scott Peck MD

Rain, rain go away!

Well it has certainly been a 'weather shock' after spending a weekend in 75 degree weather, I was greeted with 40 degree rain for the week. There's quite a bit of flooding and power outages across the area and half of my hospital unit is actually closed due to flooding! It looks like the weather should start getting nicer in the coming days. I've added a few more photos to remind me (and you!) of the beautiful sun and warmer weather that is (eventually) on its way . I'm looking forward to working three more days and then going back home for a long weekend. I haven't seen my family for a little while so it will certainly be nice to catch up with them all.

I'll update a little more later! I'm off to run some errands and then back to work :)

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"Hear with your ears, listen with your heart."

Delray with Davedaddy

Well, I can't believe just three days a go I was leaving work, packing my bags and heading on a plane to Florida. This past weekend flew by but was an amazing time. I'm getting ready to head back to work tonight, now with a refreshed mind, sun-kissed checks and so many great memories dancing through my head. This past weekend I visited Delray, Florida to meet Braydon's grandfather. Davedaddy (his grandfather's coined nickname) is as sharp and kind as they come, he turns 90 this June and is an inspiration to all.

Above and below are a few photos with Davedaddy; we all became close friends very quickly!

Braydon and I ran on a beautiful parkway each morning; we passed by many ornate houses, meticulous landscapes and sun-tanned senior citizens. We always stopped on the beach to catch some sun rays before heading back home.

Davedaddy sure knows how to wine and dine, this is at a french, seafood restaurant called 'The Gazebo.' All the waiters wore tuxes and there was a chandelier as big as me in the dining room.

We were able to spend one day with the whole crew: Deke (Braydon's dad), Braydon, me, Davedaddy and Boo (Braydon's mom). We looked at scrapbooks, went out to eat, chatted and just enjoyed our time together.

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"When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning,

by dreams that need completion,

by pure love that needs expressing,

then we truly live life."

-Greg Anderson

Congrats to Brandon and Amy!!

MY BROTHER GOT ENGAGED!!

On 2/22/10 while the sun was rising in Talum, Mexico a wonderful lady was asked to be my dear brother's one true love!

Excitement does not even begin to describe my feelings for the engagement of Brandon and Amy. Not only do I have such a great time with these two but the happiness, joy and peace that Amy brings to Brandon absolutely illustrates true love.

Above is Brandon, Amy, Braydon and myself at home celebrating my dad's birthday. You can also see our wonderful turf n' surf dinner; Dad with his perfectly grilled tenderloin and Amy with crab legs the size of her arm.

I literally just woke up from a 24 hour sleep, I'm currently drinking some coffee and getting ready for a long run along the river...its sunny and 40 degrees outside, almost like summer! I leave for West Palm Beach on Friday...cannot wait!

Love to you all.

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"To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides."

-David Viscott