Snapshots.

Hello again, RowStein readers!  Sorry for the delay, yet again.  It's been a very busy time for us (astoundingly, ridiculously, stupid-stupidly busy), so we're going to keep it short and sweet.

For this post, we present... our week.  In snapshots.

MOVING:
Ah, yes.  Those dreaded, dreaded boxes.  We'd thought we'd seen the last of them when we put them into storage.  But no.  Sadly... sadly, no.

"Wait, we have 40 of these?!"

EATING:
After two days of moving, sorting, shifting, straining, opening, and unpacking... we didn't want to add "cook" to our list of ing's.  Thankfully, there's Topper's Pizza and what we lovingly call the "Dan Special" (Buffalo chicken chunks, bacon, double cheese, and ranch on the side).  It's friggin' amazing.

Dan, stoked about his Dan special.

UNPACKING:
Yep.  More unpacking.  But look!  You can see windows!  And... there's a bed under there, I think.

Why do we have so much stuff?

SHOPPING:
We did a lot of my Japan-prep shopping while in Florida, but there was still a lot to buy.  Last minute clothes, toiletries, and... of course... omiyage.  To explain omiyage, very briefly:  There's a prevalent gift-giving culture in Japan, where foreigners and locals alike are expected to bring back small tokens from their trips and travels (especially for neighbors and coworkers).  The gifts are not supposed to be expensive, but should be local and unique when possible... and often edible.  So, as a new JET ALT, it's expected that I arrive with something snazzy from the Twin Cities.  Like a case of mini Pearson's "Nut Rolls," straight from the factory.

"100 Years of Nut Goodieness!"

OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF:
That same day, we did all kinds of things.  We got haircuts (both of us), got new nose-jewelry installed (just me), ordered my Yen, bought some clothes at the outlet mall, and gathered local "prop" materials in the form of to-go menus from some of our favorite restaurants.  (These "props," by the way, are used as part of my introductory lessons in Japan.)  And... since gathering menus requires us to actually go to the restaurants... we thought we'd stop and partake of the delicious pizzas at Punch Pizza in St. Paul.  I mean, we're already there.  Right? 

The "Cortina."  Shockingly tasty.

COMPUTER PREP:
By mid-week, a lot of the apartment unpacking had been completed (see the books and DVDs in the background? ), but my Japan packing hadn't yet begun.  While I sorted and stacked and folded every single article of clothing I own (see the stacks of clothes in the foreground?), Dan worked on prepping my electronics.  There was a surprising amount to be done, but Dan was super helpful and got everything up to speed.

Look at him go!  Computering!

RELAXING:
Believe it or not, we even found a little time to relax!  We biked over to the park around the Lake of the Isles and had a coffee-picnic.  It was a great way to spend a morning.

Whitney and the bikes.

TRI-CHEERING:
Our friend competed in a Sprint Triathlon in Duluth on Sunday, so we drove up to cheer her on and take photos.  It was a lot of fun to be on the other side of the sport (check out last week's post, if you haven't) and, besides!  We'd never been to Duluth.  So, why not?

Drew, the Tri-Champion!

MORE EATING:
Since the race-location in Duluth was a three hour drive each way, we decided that we'd visit some area sites while we were there.  And, of course, that means eating.  We hit up a very well reviewed local fish sandwich shop and we were not at all disappointed.

"The Northern Waters Smokehouse."

PACKING AND RE-PACKING:
By this point in the week, I've unpacked all of my boxed belongings and either, a.) found a place for them in the apartment, b.) packed them away into storage of some kind, or c.) placed them in the pile of "Things Going to Japan."  Once I was done with all of that sorting, I actually had to cram everything into bags.  It wasn't an easy task, let me tell you.

So... much............. packing.....

SWEET, SWEET REWARD:
Finally!  We're done!  We've unpacked, I've repacked, the cats are settled, everything is (basically) done.  So, we reward ourselves with one last meal at our very favorite Twin City wing-joint.  Oh, the :D Spot... how we adore you.

Best wings ever.  EVER.

So, there you have it!  This week has been a total blur.  And, to be honest, next week will probably be worse.  But, the next time I (Whitney) write, it will be from Japan!  Crazy!

Thanks for the support, readers!  We appreciate it!
WR & DW