A(nother) Trip to Omaha

I've spent quite a few weekends in Omaha recently. My sister who lives there is building a house. So we went there to help her move to an apartment when they sold their house. Then my niece had her 4th birthday party. Then my nephew was baptized. And this past weekend I went to watch my niece and nephew while my sister and her husband did some moving-related stuff. It was a rare chance to spend time with them by myself. Usually when I go to Omaha, I go with my other sister and her family.

I mentioned that my niece is 4, but I want to also mention that my nephew is 7 months old (and about 30 lbs). OK. He's not 30 lbs. But he's past 20 lbs. That's for sure. He's a tank. And he's not just fat....he's tall too. So....lifting him can be a bit of a workout. And swaying him to sleep in my arms while standing...yowza. But it's great. This kid smiles more than any baby I've ever known. Even when he's upset he takes a brief moment to smile.

And his big sister is amazing. She's very protective of her brother. If he's upset she'll come in and tell him it's OK because she's there. It's very cute. And she's also very smart. She amazes me often and this weekend was no exception. She flew through puzzles that I had no idea she could do. She also is very insightful and asked my I "don't live with a boy." Well, her exact words at first were, "Why do you live with two cats and nobody else?" Kind of hard to tell a four year old that it's because I'm a loser that nobody wants. ;)  Luckily I was able to distract her since I didn't want to spread my woes to her....

She also loves doing hair. So I sat for her while she poked, pinched, "braided" and balded me to her heart's content.

It was a great day. It was also nice to spend time with my sister. With her in another city, we rarely do get to spend time together. So while it included 4 hours on the road...I think it was well worth it.

New shoes...

So, last night I decided to take a spin around zappos.com for the first time. I've known of Zappos for a while, but never had shopped it. I found some boots (yes, it may be warm weather, but I still likey my boots from time to time). I was going to buy more shoes, but since I didn't need to meet a quota to buy for free shopping, I stuck to the boots I found for now. I purchased them and just checked my shipping order. The boots will be here on Wednesday. Now THAT'S service. Free shipping that comes mere days after ordering on a Sunday?!

I'd heard they had good service, but I didn't expect THIS. I am quite likely to be shopping there again. (In fact I'm fighting the urge right now)

Dangerous.

A Good Day for Nephew

Note: This post is mostly for posterity. I needed to have it written somewhere to make sure I remember it someday.

Today was my oldest nephew's first day of Kindergarten Orientation. He was nervous about it. In fact he couldn't sleep last night he was so nervous. And my sister tells me that once he got to the school, he was fine. But the best part, the part I want to remember is that after he was done, he told his mom that it was "the best day of his life."

I just love that. I hope that his love of school continues. He's so eager to learn right now. He actually didn't enjoy preschool because they didn't learn ENOUGH. They played too much.  Now, he loves to play, don't get me wrong. But I love that he wants to learn so much. Again, I hope that continues. And I may be a little biased, but the kid is VERY smart. He can already read basic words. He really and truly craves more.

I, for one, can't wait to watch him learn it all.

Nature and all it's glory

It's thundering right now. Thundering with some lightning and so far only raining lightly. I LOVE it. This is the sound of comfort to me. I even have a special radar page I coded to refresh with the latest radar images. Like I said, I love it.

And while I've been enjoying the show, I've been shopping for produce and local food online. It's the Iowa Food Coop. I joined several months back and am so impressed with the quality of real, local foods I get there. Grass-fed beef, wonderful goat cheese, free range antibiotic free eggs, homemade bread, organic lettuce, asparagus, and soon to come...locally grown strawberries. Really, there's so much more.

The reason I bring it up today is because the June shopping cart opened today (there's only pickup once a month) and I'm so happy going through all the different offerings (628 products this month). I just wanted to share my find with anybody from Iowa that's interested. It really is a great way to buy local, fresh, tasty foods.

Sorry if that sounded like a commercial. I clearly get no money for talking about them. Instead it's just a joy for me to share this with others.

And now it's back to watching the storms.

A Full Day = A Tired Webgal

Hello all, yes, I'm still blogging at a better pace....miracles do happen!

Today I took my usual trip to the Des Moines Farmer's Market. Now if I haven't said this before, I'll say it now (though I'm really sure I've said it before), I LOVE the farmer's market. I typically go very early to make sure I get in on the "good" produce before it sells out. Today was no different. I was there in time to snag some Iowa grown strawberries (score!). But first I had to stand in line for a really long time to get my breakfast burrito. I love that burrito, but the line is a little nuts. I think I'll try the crepe stand next time. I've also been meaning to try the papusa stand (loved them the first time I tried), but haven't been in a papusa state of mind that early yet.

I also scored some fresh eggs and some chemical free radishes. I saw a post on Green Lite Bites for roasted radishes and I was intrigued. And hey...a bunch of radishes was only a dollar. Awesome!

One last thing I had to try was a suggestion from Kristin of Iowa Girl Eats. I typically buy goat cheese from Northern Prairie Chevre (and LOVE it). But she suggested I also try out Reicherts Dairy Air, so I did and wow! Great taste and texture! I'll be visiting both places. (I got the chive chevre, by the way)

So after my wonderful hour downtown I headed home to relax a bit before my first giraffe feeding shift of the season at the Blank Park Zoo. YAY!

It was insanely busy when I got there. Seriously...it's a beautiful day, but I haven't seen crowds like that this early on....in well, ever. But it was great! It was literally the first public giraffe feeding of the year, so I was a little worried we'd even get the giraffes to visit the feeding deck. I did not need to worry. All four visited at one time or another. Though two were definitely the most interested. New this year is that instead of feeding the Rye crisp like cracker, we are feeding them romaine lettuce, which was another thing I wasn't sure would go well, but it did (after a little prodding for one picky, spoiled giraffe). The three feedings lasted on average an hour (and that's a loooong time for giraffes to feed). So it was a great success. One of the people I helped feed was even brought to tears by feeding a giraffe...as it turns out it was a life-long dream of hers. Aww. And then I started crying too because I'm a bit empathic that way. What a great moment to be a part of.

I was so happy to get to see and interact with the giraffes again. I never tire of them and their unique personalities.

And now that I'm home, I'm ready for a night of relaxing and catching up on Tivo. Hope everybody else had a great Saturday as well!

Gleek

So...in the interest of attempting to get back into my blogging groove I thought I'd admit my love of "Glee". Yes, it's true. I'm a Gleek.

I'm sure this came out of my near-obsession with "Wicked". OK....it's not a near-obsession. It's a bona fide obsession. And...to my delight the original Elphaba, Idina Menzel, has been appearing on it lately. Squee! Her voice is simply stunning.

And as much as her voice is great, it almost doesn't compare with several cast members on "Glee". I just absolutely LOVE this show.

And here is where I admit something else. I dream of being able to play the lead in a musical of this proportion. Here's where all those who truly know me start laughing. Yes, it's true. But alas, I can't carry any sort of tune, so it's not meant to be. But that won't stop me from being the best singer ever in my car.

it's been a long, long time

Yes, I've neglected this blog...yes, I doubt many (if any) of you check back anymore. I have my reasons, but maybe I should just get past them. I say that work doesn't give me access anymore, but I could blog at night. I rarely think of it, but I could. Or maybe I'll set up that feature that allows me to email in a post.

Anyway...not that much is really new in my life. Work is as work was. Same old, same old.

I need to lose weight. Same old, same old.

I need to exercise more. Same old, same old.

I've injured myself many times. Same old, same old. 

On the positive front, giraffe feeding at the zoo starts again this weekend. Yes! SO EXCITED for that. Hopefully I'll come up with more to write, but given a recent question about why I never write, I figured...I'd write.

uh....hi

It's been a while. I don't have a good excuse for not blogging other than life is boring. Or so I think.

I guess I could blog about any of the following...

• my recent dating experience
• work
• working out at 5:15am every day
• being sick

....but I just don't think it'd be all that interesting. Or maybe I just haven't felt like writing. Either way...I apologize for not writing lately...if anybody still checks. To show how sorry I am, I will share the following video from CuteOverload.com. It's a favorite of mine right now. 

A Monday Laugh to Share

I found this in my RSS feed this morning. Laughed heartily. Enjoy!

A Little Funny to Start the Year

from icanhascheezburger.com