31 Flavors, er...Days of January

So obviously I've not done well at blogging since returning from Japan. Even though I like my life, my day-to-day just doesn't seem to hold the same "I've gotta blog this!!" punch as Asia did ;)

As part of my New Year's resolution, I'm going to blog at least once a month (now it's out there - and I've got accountability). Here it is, with less than 3 hours left of January, and I'm accomplishing Post 1 (of at least 12!) :) For better or for worse, here goes 2009.

January 1 started with a bang! OK, not really. My family got a nasty stomach flu from Christmas to New Year's, so let's just say, besides toilets, buckets, and bed, there's not much you'd like to hear...

A week later, just as cold (I mean really cold, as in -30' temperature) moved into Minnesota, I flew to sunny North Carolina, where I wined & dined with my to-be-married-in-April little sister, Rachel. After the sushi & 'reminds us of cough syrup' plum wine, we got down to business and had a 3-day wedding preparation marathon!! From stores to chapel to reception site to more stores to rehearsal dinner ideas to yet more stores to dress shop to hair salon and hotels to still more stores, we got loads of items crossed off the bride & groom's massive "To do" list. Not to be all business, we also walked along the gorgeous beach, ate tons of yummy food, heard a great sermon at church, saw a movie & had dinner with girlfriends, toured of the city, and sampled sweet fudge from cute historic downtown Wilmington.

YAY! Authentic sushi!! (even though it was made by Chinese & Indonesian chefs!) ;)

A block from Rachel's house

What a fantastic trip!!!! Love you, Rach!

From the coast, I headed inland a few hours, to the capital Raleigh, to visit a room mate from our AmeriCorps days, Nicole.

We had a slower pace, but still stuffed a lot into a few days. The first night, we ate sushi (it's not affordable in MN, so I wanted to fill up) and went bowling. The next morning, we walked through a botanical garden where these little ladies were propped around, enjoying the spring-like sunshine. And in the afternoon, while Nicole worked, I took her car, cell phone, and GPS system into downtown to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Museum of Natural Sciences. The drive downtown was memorable - just me and Miss America (the nickname I gave to the GPS system...hey! I had to call it something) At times she was my best friend, and other times I shook my fist at her growling, "Ugh! I need more warning before my turn! ... Stop telling me to turn around ... We'll get there ... Stop it ... Be quiet!!" It was definitely a love/hate relationship ;)

Unfortunately, I missed the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit by a week (oops). Maybe another museum...another country...another year. But, I made the most of it & spent nearly 3 hours touring the amazing (and free) museum. I even joined a group of 15 kids for "Meet the animals" & I got to touch a Madagascan hissing cockroach (ew), a guinea pig (not so exotic), a baby American alligator (kinda cute), and a box turtle (he had softer legs than I expected).

Can you imagine those creepy roaches hissing at you when you flick on your kitchen light switch?! yuck!!!

The bee exhibit reminded me of the movie, "Honey, I shrunk the kids." I always thought it'd be so cool to crawl around & eat that huge oatmeal creme sandwich the kids find in the yard...remember?? Well, these bees would have fit perfectly into the movie.

After the museum, I walked around the capitol building, reading the various memorial plaques from our country's wars. It was a very educational, interesting, and fun afternoon!

Nicole, me, and Miss America during a lighter, happier moment.

From North Carolina, the adventures continued to the American Southwest: Arizona! More on that to come... (if I wait until tomorrow to write about Arizona, can it count as my February post??) ;) Just kidding, that'd be taking the easy route. And, since February holds my FAVORITE HOLIDAY, I'm bound to have photos & stories to post! :D

Cheers!