Sometimes, I have no motivation to put another blog post up. Last time, I did not fight through that motivation and ended up not posting an adventure blog for camping in Maine this summer. It’s been a week since we got back, and I have had no motivation for putting this post up, but I gotta do it ’cause I know all of you are curious about the second  half of the trip. I will be succinct for my own sanity, so sorry if this blog post lacks my usual flavor.

Christmas in Florida went great; we just hung out and did fun things like go swimming and work on the giant NY Times crossword puzzle, and I taught Natalie and Liesel how to play Backgammon. We left and headed for Atlanta after restocking our snacks.

Wild Liesel can be found growing on trees in FL

My family knows how to do charcuterie right.

Liesel and Luna becoming best friends

Atlanta, I swear, was condemned and we missed the memo. I have never been in a city and seen so few people. Nobody was walking around, no cars, the whole place was deserted. So we got creole food (which was delicious) hung out in our AirBnb, and then the next morning saw some street art, went to a science museum, and headed out for Raleigh. The science museum was probably the whole highlight of the trip for me.

Olympic park

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) at the museum. One of my favorite animals

guess the molecule? You can’t-Liesel and I created it at the museum. I suspect it is some kind of precipitate or crystalline material based on our structure.

Raleigh was better than Atlanta, but to be honest, none of these cities really blew my socks off. Unlike the other two who said they wouldn’t mind moving to Raleigh. I met up with Alex who I had met once before, and our mutual friend is Jake, who was very surprised when we sent him the selfie featured below. He hung out with us for the day and we all had a very good time. Note to self-honey makes a better “thank you for letting us stay at your house” gift than coconut rum.

The start of the day!

Another of my highlights for the trip was talking to a woman who owned the Raleigh Grind and set up her coffee stand in the middle of the flea market we went to. She was so sweet and had a really cool story and was actually a christian!

Saw this band and boy do I want this fancy jimbe now!

And then finally it was time for NYC, my home away from home away from home I guess. Not only did I drive through Manhattan (for the first time, mind you), but I also left-handed parallel parked in front of my sister’s apartment in Queens, this being the second time I’ve ever PP. I am so freakin proud, I’ve included a picture of it. We did so many things I lost count, but pizza, bagels, and a show were of course included in the itinerary. It was such bad weather out in New York of course, the one city where we were constantly outside walking. At night we went to see Fiddler on the Roof, or A Fidler Afn Dakh, since the whole show was in Yiddish. They were such good sports about seeing this with me, since of course I was the one who suggested it. Huge thanks to my sister who helped me get on the subway into Manhattan and let us stay at her place. NYC doesn’t wow me, since I grew up going there so often, so I didn’t think to take so many pictures.

Grand Central

Took the subway from Manhattan to Queens at night successfully.

So now a couple life updates?

1. I am now in my last semester of college about to graduate with a B.S. in Environmental Science. I have some fun classes for this last stretch.
2. I just had my EDGE interview yesterday, and I should know which college campus they will place me (assuming I get the job) around early April, so stay tuned for that.
3. I am on track to get my brown belt in Jukado a little after I graduate. If I am able to pass my brown stripe test in April and then the brown belt test in July, I will have my belt ceremony sometime that month which everybody is invited to (and I hope you come to, since this is a really big deal for me and I’ve put SO much work to get this far). Please pray for my arms-I am doing so many pushups.
4. I have taken up soap carving as a new hobby, and am loving it despite it being harder than I thought. If you would like some hand-carved soap, let me know! I can only have so much for myself!

I think that’s about it, you’re all caught up. I will be working 40 hours over the next  week and a half, so pray for me at ol’ Hanny’s, that my brain won’t fry to bits in the monotony of the job. I’m really close to being done there (I told them my last day will be sometime in April), and am just ready for it to be over. Hope you are staying warm, getting crafty, and that your arms don’t hurt as much as mine this winter 😉.

~J

“She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.”-Proverbs 31:17