Sunday, March 15, 2009

Weekend Update #9 Green horses...and my bike - finally!!

Friday was a good day. I actually had this huge project to complete by Monday...and was finding it completely impossible to concentrate at work.

(it involved studying, and testing - two things from my college past that I don't miss one bit)

So, I convinced my boss to let me go home to complete the project from there. In the quiet of my own home....NOT the chaotic-ness of the office. I never in a million years thought he'd let me go, as it was 50 degrees and gorgeous out...but he did!!!! :-)

After work that evening, I met up with Inny (little sister) for some sisterly bonding. Something both of us are horrible with. Truly, and utterly, horrible. Our relationship is....well....strained...and quite....well.....unwell. You can blame it on anything you want, but I'm past blaming. Now, I just want to fix it.

Anyway, it was a very good night. We hit the Goodwill for some bargain shopping, then headed to Dillards. My brown flats (shoes) are completely dead. I've worn them to death, and need a replacement. Word on the street was Dillards was having a sale.

Ugh! They were armed with 15 sales people.....in the non sale section...and not a one where all the action was. Quite funny actually. And, once they found out I was looking for something specific....it was like moths to a flame. They were following me around like lost puppies...desperately wanting to sell me shoes.

The vultures chased me off. Funny, I might have bought something if it hadn't been for that.

We were going to catch an early movie...but didn't make it. Instead, we got something to eat...then headed to yet another shopping area in the west end of town. I did find my brown shoes there...and we also caught our movie there as well.

Confessions of a Shopaholic. We were looking for something light hearted, something to make us laugh....something non serious and fun. We found it. Quite a good movie actually.

Saturday morning was nice. The cats woke me up at about 7:00 am, so I did get to sleep in. Mot got home about 7:30, and we headed out. The usual haunts, book stores and such. He was in desperate need of a pair of sunglasses...and we found some. The salesman at Sunglass Hut was awesome. Refreshing really.

We got into our weekly weekend afternoon, snap at each other, marital argument...but luckily it ended quickly. :-)

From there, we headed down to the Old Market. My cousin Ricky was having his 21st birthday party!!!!


Ricky with his cake.


Some of the birthday party participants, chatting after dinner at Spaghetti works.


Ricky, Inny and daughter Lauren.

The Old Market was FULL of people. It's usually busy, and you can't find a parking space...but it was unusually busy Saturday.

We found out later the Omaha St. Patty's day parade had been that morning. Explained allot.

For instance, it explained the green horse. Yes.....green.

I'm still shaking my head.



It was a gorgeous afternoon/evening. The bars were full of people wearing green....the weather was insanely nice, and people were smiling. It's like the city needed the sunlight.

Really, really, really, really needed it!!!



We slept in Sunday morning. Well...I slept in until about 7:30...Mot kept going well past me. :-)

I wandered out to the living room to finish the work I didn't get done on our nice 50 degree Friday afternoon. :-)

When I finished, Mot was alive and awake....so we loaded up the bikes and headed out.

I FINALLY GOT TO RIDE MY NEW BIKE!!!!

We picked the trail around Standing Bear Lake...not too far from home. The path around the lake is new, and actually really nice. It's one of the lesser used lakes, so there weren't many people to ride around. My bike rocks. When you shift gears, it actually shifts. My only complaint, the seat is made for the male species. I am not male...nor is my arse. I'll need to be replacing that thing before we got any distance. :-)

Mot took us on a bit of a detour. Ugh! This detour involved leaving the park and riding up a neighborhood. Yes, I said UP a neighborhood. It was all hills. Lots of them. And Nej is very out of shape.

Very!!!

By the time we got back to the Jeep, I was done in. So we packed things up and headed out.

There was a creepy guy waxing his car in the park parking lot, right next to our vehicle. He had a radio sitting on the tailgate...turned up loud...and was waxing his truck. Actually, he was spending more time watching people at the park. I kept trying to tell myself that he lived in an apartment, and would rather wax his vehicle at the park, than in his apartment parking lot....but it wasn't working. This dude was creepy. :-(~

Mot drove his seriously out of shape wife home...and we made lunch...watched a few backlogged episodes of Heroes...then went our separate ways, as usual. He went upstairs to play games on the computer, while I caught up on some blog reading, and watched Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.

Awesome flick!

It's 6:00, and it's still light out. The front door to the porch is open...and the cats are watching all the birds and squirrels run past the house. Morgan (our cat) just flew through the air, at least three feet up, chasing a fly. I can hear Mot upstairs talking to his online buddies...every once and a while he says something that makes me laugh. They are so serious when they play. I can see a couple of cat hair tumbleweeds the size of my head (slight exaggeration) in the corner by the piano. Our kitchen faucet is still dripping (counters and such will be completed after we return from vacation in two weeks). Drip, drip, drip. The windows are open, and I can hear the wind chimes hanging on the front porch.

Wind chimes and a dripping faucet.

Crazy how it's the simple things in life that make you smile, eh?

5 comments:

Brook said...

Yay Bike! Yay nice weather! Maybe I'll be rid of this hangover by Tuesday and have some green beer. I want to see both your weekend movies-and also "Sunshine Cleaning Co"(or service, I can't remember)It came out this weekend in "select" markets and my sister are planning on a long distance girls night out to watch it at the same time. I like your pic too! Isn't it nice when the simple things can make you smile? My cat is banned from the house for a while-he stole D's steak breakfast right off the table. He's never done that before. Talk about pissed-it was kind of funny I must say...

Nej said...

Right off the table. Like with D sitting right there? Brave, brave kitty!!! (even if D wasn't there, brave, brave kitty)

Morgan's nickname is stray. When she was picked up by the humane society, she was a stray, but very very young. She wasn't on the streets long. But she still has those tendencies. Not as much as she used to, but they are still there.

Last week, she discovered the toilet paper in the bathroom. 'Nuff said. :-)

Have not heard of Sunshine Cleaning Co. Will have to look it up.

MJenks said...

Well...that was certainly a horse of a different color...

I always hate when the "salespeople" are all clingy like that. Ever shopped for furniture? It's much worse. The vultures circle by the front door and, as you step inside, they latch on like leeches. I appreciate places like Target where they only ask if I need something if I'm standing there looking clueless. Unfortunately, that's my default setting.

Nej said...

I, unfortunately, started the party....the first lady that walked up was really nice. Asked if I was looking for something specific...and I was. After that, they all started flocking around me. Damn vultures, obviously I was HER customer. :-)

Mot and I did the furniture shopping thing a couple years ago when we moved to Omaha. We decided we needed to lay on the couches together, to make sure it was comfy for movie night. Had our shoes off, the works. We told the first salesman who didn't look at us like we had some disease, that we were planning on buying something, and we would promise him the commission, but only if he'd keep the other vultures away. :-)

mo.stoneskin said...

The vultures are why I hate shopping so much, I hate being followed relentlessly by a flock of them asking

'Can I help you?'
'Are you ok?'
'Are you alright there?'

Sometimes if I enter a shop and feel all exposed and threatened by a million sales staff I just walk out and leave, even if I need something!!