Happy Year of the Ox

Happy Chinese New Year! Here's to celebrating something new! Our building held a Chinese New Year party in our lobby - which didn't really consist of anything too authentic as far as I could tell. Some Chinese take-out and a few ceiling decorations, but festive (and tasty) nonetheless. (And an unidentified brown drink in a punch bowl that I was not brave enough to try...)



Mostly it was just a good time to hang out with friends in the building and catch up.


The Year of the Ox is supposed to be a sign of prosperity (heaven knows we need that change), and is characterized by such traits as dependable, honest, practical, and industrious. I'll need to do a little more research into the history of it all, but I'm for any celebration where I can eat sesame chicken and crab rangoon!

(Pseudo-)Snow Day!

After last week's frigid temperatures in central Illinois, I feel almost guilty posting this - but it's so unbelievable that I have to share! It's a Snow Day in Winston-Salem today. It is 24 degrees (above zero - not below) and it snowed early this morning. All schools are canceled; our church is closed; the ticker on the tv is non-stop with closings or delays. And here are a few pictures from outside our door.


In all fairness, apparently there is more snow in the out-lying areas and perhaps the roads are slick - so since people don't know how to drive in conditions like these, the city basically shuts down. I had been told all about this, but I just couldn't believe it until it actually happened!



And, of all the days for this to happen, today is the best! I was supposed to go to my horseback riding class today, and then work at church, but since neither of those will be taking place, I get to watch all-day coverage of the presidential inauguration! HOW EXCITING!

Hope you are all able to enjoy this moment in American history - whether it's a day full of snow or, for me, a pseudo-snow day.

Two Friends and One Huge Win

So I'm a little late in posting this, and the rush of the win has died down, but Sunday night was perhaps the biggest basketball game I'll ever go to! Wake Forest (13-0) took on the University of North Carolina (12-1) here at the Joel Coliseum. Obviously the two schools are huge rivals being only a few hours apart. The arena was sold out to see the current #3 team in the nation (UNC) take on the #4 team!

Our friends from Peoria, Patrick and Kara Renick came out for the weekend (amidst some crazy travel dilemmas) and were able to join us for the fun! Patrick and Chris are like two peas in a pod. From the moment we met these guys at the UICOMP Residency second-look weekend, we knew we'd be fast friends. We're all Cardinals fans; We're all Hawkeyes fans; We're all black belts in tae kwon do (ok - I lied - that's just Patrick and Kara).

Just like at the football games, the deacon mascot rides the Harley out onto the court for the pregame introductions. As you can imagine, the place was electric!

With a tied score at halftime and a close game down to the end, we couldn't have asked for a better game. Obviously we were ecstatic that Wake pulled out the win 92-89. The fans swarmed the court post-game - it was madness and mayhem!

(Oh, and props to the scoreboard person who thought to put the date on the scoreboard after the game. 1:11 = January 11. If they were really good, they would run the shot clock down from 35 to 09. But anyway...)

We also made our way down to the court after the game - but for slightly different reasons. We had been talking all weekend about how we liked those really short athletes: Darren Sproles (5'6"), Jacquizz Rodgers (5'7"), etc. And, what do you know - none other than Wake Forest grad Mugsy Bogues (who is a mere 5'3") was at the game! We could have just asked him to pose for a picture (because he was gladly doing that for anyone who asked) - but we were having more fun just trying to snap the nonchalant pose.

OK - I've got to wrap this up quickly. The Wake Forest, now ranked #2 (or #3 depending on which poll you use) vs. Boston College game is about to start. And, interestingly enough, BC upset UNC back when they were #1 last week, so let's see if Wake can pull off another win. Go Deacs!

The Miles' Family Visit

Week 2 of holiday family travelers - just as fun and festive as the first!

Yet again absolutely beautiful weather. We hiked Hanging Rock Mountain one afternoon, and besides the balmy 60 degrees with blue skies and great family bonding time, I recall two things in particular: 1)the family with 8 children we met who had a license plate cover that says, "Before you ask - Yes, they're all mine." and 2)the 57 dogs we met along the way as well. I felt like we were the only people without a leash! (which, frustrated Kate immensely as she is one of the biggest dog lovers I know --- and --- wait for it --- here comes the shameless plug: and the soon-to-be published author of Adventures with Ari: A Puppy, a Leash, and Our Year in the Great Outdoors. Look for it at Barnes & Noble, amazon, etc. in April!)

A trip to Wake's campus was required (since we had two professors in tow), in addition to a men's basketball game. No one can claim they lack spirit! Demon deacons face painted on your cheek pretty much says it all. (I was already in my seat when the painting began....darn. :)

I'd venture to guess that New Year's Eve was one of the most unique nights of our lives. As the ball dropped in Times Square, we began a road race scarcely lit by the Festival of Lights display here in Tanglewood Park. (Can I tell you that no matter how many millions of little lights there are, they certainly don't illuminate a raceway all that well...) Believe it or not, Chris, Kate, and I all got second place in our age groups! And it's not that we were the only crazies out there - there were over 650 participants. It was hilarious when we drove back through the display the next night and could barely remember any of the displays from the 3.5 mile journey. Mike and Jane definitely got the better end of the deal when it came to walking the 1.5 and being able to enjoy the lights and the fireworks.

Not only was it New Year's Eve, but it was also Mike's 60th birthday - hence the T-Rex party hats. Mike and Kate even made the entire race with their hats still on! Another Miles tradition is the annual family picture holding a picture of last year's picture, which shows us holding the previous year's picture, which shows.... you get the picture - right?

And then, there was New Year's Day. One of the residents of our apartment decided to organize a Polar Bear Plunge in our pool on the rooftop. We thought about just doing it when we got back from the race, but then realized we were exhausted. So come Thursday afternoon, we met Paul in the cabana room (prepared with his vodka shooters) - and on the count of three, we jumped into the pool........................ which the maintenance man had kindly (but unbeknownst to me) cranked up to 80-some degrees per Paul's request! It was awesome - and I know, I know, I know technically can't be considered a Polar Bear Plunge, but I'm crossing it off the list anyway! Either way, how funny is it to start the New Year out seeing Chris walk down the street in a towel!? (We went to the steam room at the Rush to equalize our body temps).

And finally, the Miles holidays are never complete without a raucous round of homemade monkey bread creations. I was a little concerned about a) my lack of packing the angel food cake pan (I was pretty certain we could make it one year without one) and then b) my guilt for breaking said family tradition. And just like that, as we were walking down the frozen food aisle at Harris Teeter, a little monkey on the side of a red and yellow box called my name. There it was: frozen, premade monkey bread! Who knows what it was actually made of...but I had no trouble scarfing it down - even though it was nowhere near as good as homemade.


Overall though, I would say it was definitely a holiday season that will never be forgotten! Family, fun, and lots of laughs. What more can one ask for?