Omaha: The Food Edition

A few weeks ago I told you how we had so much fun in Omaha.  I also told you about the best thing I ever ate in Omaha:  fantastic out-of-this-world ice cream.  Here's the rest of that trip, along with a wild and crazy unexpected find for the front porch.

Our hotel offered complimentary shuttle service within 3 miles.  Well, sign us up!  There are a boatload of restaurants and stores within 3 miles!  So we get on the shuttle, and unbeknownst to us, there was a bachelorette party going to a Mexican restaurant for a few rounds of tequila who just boarded the shuttle before us.  We got on and made our way to the back, and Todd said "Don't I feel out of place?" to which all the girls laughed.  It was pretty funny.  They were all 20- or 30-somethings dressed up in heels and short skirts.  You know they were hurting the next day.

The bachelorette party on their way to "eat the worm"

We decided to hit a dive of a little seafood restaurant which got really great reviews.  Sounds fun, why not?!  We can have a steak when we get back home (at a fraction of the cost, and cooked to perfection with no worry of disappointment).

My blackened scallops with pineapple relish atop a bed of mushroom risotto.  Very tasty!

Not sure what my possessed look was about.

Todd's blackened tilapia:  spicy!

We had a fun evening sampling crab cakes, clam chowder, and lobster bisque.  Then we had our main courses shown above.  We were stuffed, so we ended up walking back.  Note: there is a prison not far from the Old Market area.  Just sayin' in case you weren't expecting it.  It put a giddy up in my step.  I felt better once we made it to the police station just a few blocks away.

The next morning, we went to WheatFields for breakfast.  I highly recommend this place for dining or shopping for baked goods.

Their "Roll sampler" was mini portions of 5 different delectable sweet rolls.  All for $3.99!

I had egg scramble with sausage, red peppers, onion, and monterey jack cheese

Todd had their "bruleed potatoes" (almost like mashed taters with broiled muenster cheese) and poached eggs

After a pants stretching breakfast, we discovered a gem of a store called Hollywood Candy which was open on a late Sunday morning!  It was a "candy" store FILLED with nostalgia.  And every single kind of candy you could possibly ever want from current times or your childhood.

The Reese's candy machine that looks like a soda pop machine caught my eye.

I cannot imagine how they visualized displaying ALL THIS STUFF before they did it.

Old time working soda fountain counter.

One wall was adorned with click pens.  CLICK PENS!

Every candy imaginable.  And tons of different soda pops in coolers.

This was a true museum documenting our candy heritage.

Their company vehicle.

I decided to purchase 2 strings of Zotz candies (blue raspberry and cherry), a Black Cow, and my favorite candy bar I loved growing up: the Curly Wurly which used to be known as the Marathon Bar.  The Marathon Bar was a braid of chocolate covered caramel with a ruler on the back.  It was the longest candy bar on the shelf.  So I thought I was getting more for the money.  I never understood why everyone didn't choose that candy bar compared to all the others--it was BIGGER!  Of course, I didn't understand net weight at the time...

We spent just enough time exploring the candy store, which had a movie theater and consignment shop in it, to find another store open full of outdoor art.  Iron Decor & More was a feast for the gardener eyes.  We found so many neat things there.  Garden arches, benches, metal signs, metal sculptures of every size and shape, wine bottle holders, beer pail holders, large metal flowers, small metal flowers (painted or not), holiday themed items, etc. etc. etc.  They had seen us looking through the windows before we found the candy store, and they opened just a little early, just for us.  They were happy to see us.

We were mesmerized by this unbelievable rooster.  Just look at the size of this thing!

OH LOOK, IT'S A CHICKEN!

We loved this big guy!

But alas, he was way out of our price range.  Not to mention impossible to transport.  But he was fun to look at, if only for a few minutes.  Who doesn't want their picture taken standing next to this mammoth rooster?

We looked around and found an awesome 4' wine bottle holder that goes perfectly in an empty corner that I wanted to fill.  We found a teetering rooster that swivels with a big rock, sort of on a pendulum to put by the front door.

AND GUESS WHAT ELSE WE FOUND?!?!?!!?!!!

A 4' version of that rooster--Oh YES we DID!

Meet Otto.  He's made out of recycled automobiles.  Hoods, roofs, etc.

The Albatross Is Gone

Have you ever been through something that seems like it will just NEVER end?  Like a major life event, not like bad service at a restaurant... 

I know a few of you have, so you'll understand my relief at announcing the psychological burden that feels like an evil curse has been lifted.  The albatross flew away.

Finally, after almost 2 years, we have EVERYTHING out of Nevada.  Todd had stuff to go get so that he could be DONE with that state.  Finally, he flew out for his very last time today.  It's such a relief to know we'll never be back. 

We have a few close friends in NV who we treasure and will always keep in touch.  But we never have to go back to that state again (unless it's to go play in Las Vegas).  That makes me so happy.  I can't tell you what a relief it is.  It has been a black haze in the back of our minds since we got here, influencing all travel plans we've made since we've been here.

Now we can let it go.

Speaking of changes for the better, I decided at the tail end of my time off last week that I needed to get serious about cleaning my office.  I have two occasions coming up where I need a 2nd guest bedroom.  We have a comfy airbed-on-stilts, but we need space to put it.  And cramming someone in this mess seemed inhumane.

Nightmare of an office, Part 1

 

Oh the horror, Part 2

In my defense, we used the space as a place to PUT stuff.  When we moved in, we just put boxes here and there.  I never really unpacked and cleaned up.  It was always a holding room for STUFF.

 

No more.  I reclaimed my personal space.  Man, do we (Jessie, Joey and I) LOVE it!!

And here is the result:


Joey approved

Jessie endorsed

And now, I leave you with this important question:

 

Random Thought Bubbles

Wow, it's been a month since I've posted.  That is consistent with how crazy this Spring has been so far, and I don't think it's going to slow down any.  This is going to be a miscellaneous post about a bunch of random topics.  And away we goooo!

 

Topic 1:  I have a lot of vacation plans this year.  I am so excited.  I have so many wonderful people I get to see this year!  They are either coming to see me, or I'm traveling with them or to them. 

 

First up, Tullybird's annual week-long visit is in 32 days!  Technically 31 days, 22 hours, and 41 minutes.  But who's counting?  I've started a rough draft of our drinking/eating/shopping agenda.

 

Next up, we finally get to take our kids to Oklahoma to see my parents.  I will definitely see Sam's Mom when we are there.  Wahoo!  I need a relaxing, "home" weekend, where we eat and veg and visit and catch up.  We haven't been able to go since before pups and before sick dogs.  I am really looking forward to it.

 

Then, the 3rd exciting thing I have planned is that Mrs. Irritation is going to visit for a night in June with her beautiful daughter. 

 

I AM SO EXCITED THAT I GET TO SEE SO MANY WONDERFUL FRIENDS VERY, VERY SOON!!!!  I've missed you all dearly.  And then there's the girl's trip to SC, our RV trip to PA this Fall, and then a cruise with my mom and nephew this November.  Good thing I have a ton of vacation days saved up.  Cause I decided to work to live this year!

 

Sometime when Jus is back, I will make a trip to see her too.

 

Topic 2:   We got some learnin' to do.  We have our kids in Obedience class.  Saturday was our 3rd session.  It is an OK group class.  It can't compare to the trainer we used to have when I took Amber, then Keystone & Abby to school.  But it's a good regimen to get into the habit of trying to train them, because every Saturday, you want them to look "better".  Like you've worked with them every day and they learned something.  And you don't want the 10 week old German Shepard to pass you up.  Again.

 

We haven't socialized our pups as much as we should have, because of the fear of Parvo.  It's been in our neighborhood (it lives in the environment).  So we have been extremely cautious.  That means, we have to catch-up on the socialization work that we need to do, now that we are fully vaccinated.  Our kids love to go up to other dogs and lick all over their faces like they've never seen another dog in their entire lives and how could there be ANOTHER dog in this world?  It's usually accompanied by ferociously wagging tails and possible piddling on the behalf of Joey.  It's ridiculous.  Anyway, we are working on that.

So when we go to class and see a bunch of other dogs, it's very exciting.  I mean, it's a ROAD TRIP to begin with.  And then they get to eat a bunch of treats for doing a few tricks.  And then they get to see OTHER DOGS.  And the smells.  Oh the smells! 

So needless to say, they are pooped out on Saturday nights.  Exhibit A:



Joey is exhausted

 

Topic 3:  Who are YOU?!?  So Saturday before last was especially exhausting for the pups.  We went to class and they had a grand old time.  Then we came home.  It was the first super nice weekend to work in the garden.  So that is what I did.  That was the first day I had the pups out with me for several hours while I hoed around the edge of the garden, both inside and out, and removed dead plants from last year that we hadn't removed yet.  It had rained that morning, so it was perfect for getting the old dead stuff and already-growing-weeds out from the fence line.  The rain made it almost easy. 

 

So I was working in the garden.  The pups were playing tag, like they always do.  Running back and forth, and running all over but staying within sight.  All of a sudden, I look down and did a double-take.  There were THREE GOLDEN COLORED PUPPIES AT MY FEET.  Wait a minute.  I only have TWO puppies.  Who in the WORLD is this third "dog"???  I don't even know what direction from which she had come.  She was JUST THERE. 

 

And she didn't go away.  She was obviously not a girl who could fend for herself like Shadow was.  This new girl was a "city" girl.  It was Easter weekend, so all of the houses around us had a ton of visitors.  Surely someone lost her.  We put out a sign.  We posted a Craig's list ad.  We talked to neighbors.  Nope.  Nobody lost her.  She was dumped.  This precious, beautiful dog was abandoned. 

 

It still breaks my heart that someone could do this.  She isn't unruly.  She isn't disobedient or mean, or huge and aggressive.  She's well behaved.  She also had fleas.  My guess is that the cute little "puppy" grew up.  And when she got fleas, the cheap, evil bastards dropped her off in the country instead of buying flea treatment.  You could see her ribs, so who knows how long it had been since she ate.  And the fleas had been there awhile because she had lost some hair around the base of her tail.

 

We tried to shoo her away and get her to leave.  She wasn't going anywhere.  She knew a softy when she saw me.  I treated her for fleas.  I didn't want my kids getting them.  Remember how excited they get when they see another dog?  They L-O-V-E her.  We asked everyone and their brother if they wanted a good dog.  She seems domesticated and well behaved.  I think she's probably house broken.  She wants nothing more than to be with us.  See how cute she is?

 

 

 

I took her to the vet to make sure she wasn't pregnant, treat the flea wounds, and verify it wasn't something horrible like scabies or mange, and that we weren't all going to die some horrible death of some contagious disease.  Yes, it was only skin-irritation due to the fleas.  Antibiotics is clearing it up and her hair is already growing back at the base of her tail!

 

We finally found the right person to take her, and she goes to her new home in two weeks.  They were meant for each other.  Jeff lost a dog several months ago, and honestly needs a canine companion.  He came over and stayed the night a week ago and fell in love with her.  He finally committed yesterday to take her, after he moves into his new house soon.

 

Isn't that lovely?   

 

Well it is a lovely story.  Then karma kicks me in the butt...  We come home Saturday night, and find out that... guess what?  She's in heat.  OF ALL THE TIMING.  I was calling to get her spayed next week.  I could just scream.  Well it turns out, you CAN get a female in heat spayed.  Today was the day.  She's recooping nicely in a warm garage.

 

She's the short one in the middle here, with the green collar.  Joey is on the ground, and Jessie is the furthest away.  Keystone is obviously the big one:

 

The fur flies at my house!

We may have had a little challenge, but I'm still so happy she will eventually go to live with Jeff.  They were meant for each other--two great peeps.

Speaking of vet visits... guess who's balls are in a jar? Unfortunately, not Todd's....

 

Topic 4: We broke ground Sunday! We are building a one+ car garage. We are very excited about it, because it will hold all our yard equipment. And it's the structure next to which our chicken coop will be. CHICKEN COOP!!!! We originally planned to have part of the garage as the chicken coop, but decided against it. So we got a free standing structure that IS a chicken coop. That means I WILL HAVE CHICKENS THIS YEAR!!! Wahoo! I only want like 4 plain ones to start out. Maybe Rhode Island Reds. And we'll add on next year with more exotic birds after we figure out what the heck we are doing. 

 

For some unexplainable reason, I'm worried about keeping them alive. I'm sure I'll have tragic posts about drama yet to unfold--stay tuned for my Chicken stories.  

 

Topic 5:  My Crappy Day Package is off!  I joined Doing My Best's CDP exchange.  This is where you sign up to buy things to send to some total stranger.  And someone different sends you things in return.  And you can open your little gifts when you've had a crappy day.  Thus Crappy Day Package exchange....  Today is the deadline to send it.  the following picture is what I am sent.  I hope the recipient likes it. 

I actually have a lot in common with her, except she's a tad younger.  I am excited about our common interests.  Maybe we will connect and start interacting online.  The last CDP I participated in was... a little lackluster.  The person I sent stuff too... I'm not sure she liked anything I sent but at least I know the package did make it.  I'm not complaining, I just really don't know.  So maybe this time, I did better and this person will like some of the stuff I got her!

I found it hard to find good ideas of stuff to get her, even with common interests.  It's just so hard when you HAVE to buy/make things and you haven't seen the perfect options.  It's even more difficult when you are buying for a total stranger.  I'm not real great at mandatory shopping.  I like having all year to find the perfect birthday or Christmas gift for someone.  That way, I don't HAVE to find the right gift, it finds me in a way.  Anyhoo, it's done.  13 little packages in total on it's way to California.  My lucky number. 
 

Little packages of happiness on their way to California!

Topic 6: We mailed in our taxes LAST THURSDAY!!!!!  My old friends will understand just how freaking amazing this fact is.  My goal was to break as even as possible.  We did it.  AND ON TIME!  

 

 

Last Topic:  What a tragedy.  My heart goes out to Boston on today's senseless tragedy.