Denver Meets O-Town

Last weekend was bittersweet for me - my bestest girls from Denver, Sarah and Ilana came to visit O-town for the weekend! While we had a BLAST, I was also reminded of just how much I miss them and our daily antics together. The sweet greatly outweighed the bitter, though, and I am truly blessed to have found such wonderful ladies that I know will remain lifelong friends, regardless of the highway hours that separate us.

These lovelies are truly part of my family! They were gracious enough to spend time with my extended family at a 80th birthday at my parent's house, and I'm pretty sure my entire family wants to adopt them (and kick me out?), but I can't really blame them...

We had a wonderful weekend exploring E-town and O-town, and it was fun to play tour guide in my own city. Having been back only a few months there are quite a few places we visited that either weren't in existence last time I lived here, or it had been so long since I visited that it may as well have been my first time.

 Denver meets O-town! We had to check out the breweries in Benson, of course.

 You can buy anything in the Old Market!

Checking out a new brewery in the Old Market. We found the cutest tasters in all the land!

A lovely day for a walk across the bridge to Iowa...

Forging friendships across the Iowa/Nebraska border - the Jews and the Germans may now live in harmony

 

Thanks SO MUCH for coming to visit, ladies! It means so much that you would come to see where I've ended up, and next time, I'm coming to CO! We do lack mountains here...

 

Much love from the heartland!

Wow, I almost missed March!

Now that things have settled down a little bit (and I have interwebs access again!) I can fill you in on some of the goings on these past weeks! 

1) I have moved in to my apartment and I absolutely LOVE it! I event hosted my first party last weekend - a Frozen movie/pizza/ice cream sandwich party - and it went wonderfully, if I may say :) 

A pizza picnic on the "grass" was perfect for the movie!

Eli kept saying, "This grass is so comfy!"

2) The bank is up and running and days are busy! I am full of great marketing ideas (Neil's head on a blimp, anyone??), but sometimes they just don't see my vision. Ah well, you win some, you lose some :)

 Happy St. Paddy's!

3) And finally... RIP Raul. My beloved 1997 Rav4 has gotten me through a LOT but just seems to be giving up. The straw that broke the camel's back is when the key got stuck in the ignition and refused to come out, which forced me to leave the key in the ignition and just lock the door with my spare key for a few days. Dad was able to get the key out but I took it as a sign, okay a boulder/billboard, that I needed to really start looking for another car. 

I just couldn't say no to a great deal on a 2013 Honda Fit! AND it is purple. I might be obsessed :)

It feels good to be back on track, so regular updates are coming your way! (You can now sleep soundly at night)

Much love from E-town!

Mardi Gras Season Has Begun!

The snowbirds are on to something. Nice weather in the south, great food, walks on the beach, and Mardi Gras fun, all while the rest of us are freezing our various body parts off up North for the winter. Can I be a snowbird, yet?

I took advantage of a three-day weekend and headed south to visit Mom and Dad in Orange Beach, Alabama (down in LA, as the locals call it). Their peaceful oasis from the cold is no longer a secret, because I am SO coming back again next year :) We had a great weekend!

One must begin with a breakfast of shrimp and cheese grits. YUM.

And then take in the view from Tacky Jack's

 Off to Mobile, AL for a mardi gras parade! I love the contrast of the architecture in the city

 Remnants of yesterday's parades still stuck in the roadside trees...

 Why yes, that is a peanut butter cup funnel cake!

And the parade begins!

 A mardi gras feather headband and a Moon Pie - does it get much better?

 So fun! Because it is the beginning of the season apparently this was a smaller parade, but I still had a great time! And we managed to come home with an entire bag full of beads, more moon pies than we could carry, and a stack of plastic cups. If you're not watching (or if you're taking photos and only looking through the viewfinder) all of the above WILL hit you in the head. 

  

A little post-parade seafood at Big Daddy's!

 ... and back in time to catch the sunset off of the balcony. Lovely. 

A mere fraction of the haul!

Mom and I did a little beach walking / shell hunting! My Brazil pants also work well in Alabama :)

We headed to Joe Patty's Fish Market to get some shrimp for dinner that night. LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT TUNA!!!!

I had such a great time - thanks for hosting, Mom and Dad! Can I reserve my space for next year, yet??

townie life

whooda thought... I'm becoming a townie. I'm officially moving to Elkhorn. Not Omaha. Not West Omaha that is practically Elkhorn. Actual Elkhorn. Right-across-the-street-from-work-run-in-to-everyone-I-know-at-the-grocery-store Elkhorn.

Around the world and right back to Elkhorn. Gypsy townie :)

And actually, I'm excited about it! After a couple months of apartment searching in Omaha I wasn't finding anything I loved that wouldn't give me a 45+ minute commute each way out to Elkhorn. The Old Market loses some of its appeal when it is on the other side of a terrible commute. I don't want to fight for street parking in Dundee. And that super-cute duplex in old mid-town? Not so cute when the bank on the corner keeps getting robbed. 

So I expanded my search, and as it turns out they are building an apartment complex right here in Elkhorn. Less than a 1/2 mile from work. Within walking distance to Olde Town Elkhorn. Within biking distance to all of Elkhorn. Near a park for running. Near my gym. Near mom and dad's (hellooo, bonfires). Within my budget. 

And brand. spankin'. new. 

Now you probably know that I'll use/drive/live in/eat anything that has long passed it's prime in the name of having things with character. (Okay, okay, really because I'm cheap) So it is weird to think that I'll be the very first person in this apartment! New carpet, new walls, new appliances, new dishwasher (!), new washer and dryer in the unit (!!), and a NEW BATHTUB! Gah!!!

So, here we go. Look out, Elkhorn. I'm moving in...

brrrr

Between fighting a lovely hacking cough for the past week and a half and a string of high temperatures in the teens for what seems like weeks, I have a severe case of cabin fever. My cough is still around and the temps were well below freezing this weekend but I didn't care. 

Had. To. Get. Out. 

One thing that Colorado taught me is that all seasons are outdoor seasons with the proper gear! And one thing that Nebraska has not-so-subtly reminded me is that Colorado winters are nothin' compared to the Midwest. Brr and brr again. I sure picked a tough season to acclimate.  

Regardless, I bundled up and headed out to Zorinsky Lake. I was not the only one, either! Cabin fever seems to be hitting the masses (or at least the 5 other people I saw there). The fresh air was refreshing, even though it did take me about an hour to thaw. 

Looking forward to heading south this coming weekend to spend a few days with Mom and Dad in Orange Beach! 60 degree temperatures sound glorious right now and I am ready for some SEAFOOD!

Much love from O-town! 

Settling In

It has been just over a month since I arrived back in Nebraska and some days I feel like I'm settling in, while other days I still feel like I'm on an extended vacation back home. Normal is starting to take shape though, and while there are definitely days that I'm homesick for Denver, it is good to be back in The Good Life :)

Job - My job is still changing every day! While the bank building is not completed just yet, it will be in a few weeks and you bet your dollas that it is going to be one awesome grand opening! Watch the mail for your invite :) I've started to make connections in the business world and build relationships which usually start with "So you're with [insert company]?  Do you know [insert name]? I know him/her from school/dance/church/gym/beer garden at the College World Series! Yup. True stories. I'm loving thinking of new ideas to help launch this bank, and now my challenge is convincing my boss I'm not completely insane. Watch for the "No Stale Tootsie Rolls" movement, coming soon!

Fam/Friends - It is great to be close to the family and my girls and all the kiddos that come with. I got to see Alex's first basketball game and have taken a couple of laps around Zorinsky Lake with various babies in strollers (and their moms, too). Living with Briana is AWESOME! She has every kitchen gadget know to man and keeps two candy jars stocked. Two. She knows the way to my  heart. And I'm grateful to my Ash for integrating me in to her social life - yay for more built-in friends! 

The new Homaha - A LOT has changed in Omaha over the past five years! So many areas of town have been revitalized with restaurants, shopping, and yes, breweries. Apparently Omaha also knows the way to my heart. Now if only the weather would warm up enough to sample said brews on a patio... I've spent some time exploring different neighborhoods trying to decide where I want to live. Jury is still out on that one - stay tuned. 

Single life - According to Marie Claire magazine, Omaha is one of the top 5 cities for single people, apparently because most people want to get married and settle down. But what does that mean for those who live here and aren't married when everyone else is? Hmm. Well, over a month and I'm still not married, so I'm not sure I believe the hype. Decide for yourself HERE. I did delve in to the online dating scene already and it is noticeably smaller that the pool in Denver. (Uh-oh) Two dates in, and the first date met me out for sushi and then revealed that he had a severe shellfish allergy (-10 points), and the second date took me to the zoo (+1000 points). Again, stay tuned. 

Much love from o-town! 

26.2 miles... CHECK!

Well now I see why people brag about completing a marathon! It. Was. Tough. Approximately twice as hard as completing a 1/2 marathon, which in itself is not an easy walk in the park.

But we did it! While we didn't set any records, we did all three stay together and finish together. We all kept each other motivated which was key as we each inevitably hit that "wall", but luckily we each hit it at different times so the rest of Team Nebraska could keep our morale up.

26.2 miles is a long way to run, and it took us from Epcot to Magic Kingdom (and through Cinderella's castle), around the Disney raceway, and through Animal Kingdom (where they had the Expedition Everest roller coaster open just for the marathoners! It was right at mile 13, though, and none of us trusted our stomachs enough to ride a roller coaster and then run another 13 miles...). From there we ran through Disney's ESPN Zone, up and through Hollywood Studios, and finally back to Epcot. Phew.

Enjoying a 3:30 a.m. breakfast on the monorail!

 Waiting in our corral for the start

 We made it to Magic Kingdom!

 Hard-earned medal and only one ice pack needed at the end of the race. Not too shabby!

I was impressed that we finished in one piece, and even MORE impressed that we managed to spend the rest of the day in Epcot without so much as a trip back to the hotel to shower. A quick change of clothes, some lunch, and we were off for the rest of the day! Granted we were moving very slowly, but you can't waste a day in Disney World, after all. Later that evening we annihilated that all you can eat dinner, though!

My Brazilian pants were quite the conversation topic. Paired with a race medal and a triple-layer margarita - the ultimate fashion combo :)

And of course, we all had a great time at Disney!!
 

 

Have a magical day :)