So sorry for the lack of posts these past couple days. I may be in Omaha aka “The Big O,” but that doesn’t mean life has slowed down one bit for this Sometimes Healthy Girl.
I’ve had quite a bit on the agenda since arriving in town yesterday at 2:00. Priority tasks included a trip to my favorite grocery store to “window shop,”
Look at the size of that produce aisle...bigger than an entire NYC grocery store!
The ice cream aisle is enormous! Is it weird that I find this exciting?
An emergency pedicure (my mother was beside herself when she saw my feet),
Some quality time laying out by my best friend’s pool (since pools in NYC are far and few between),
I forgot what a pool looks like! (That cute blonde is Jamie, not Sometimes Healthy Jamie)
A sweaty run by the tiny man-made lake near my house (It’s not Central Park, but I love it!)
Thumbs up to sweaty runs in the Big O!
And last, but certainly not least, a night out with my bff’s for my Nebraska b-day celebration (Not to self: always plan a trip to The Big O right before or after my bday so I can celebrate twice without feeling self-indulgent.)
The gang's all here!
I’m sure you’re very curious about what a night out in The Big O looks like, so let’s discuss.
You Drive Cars Here?!
The first part of the night involved doing something I hadn’t done in 8 months…driving a car.
Look at me! Driving a car!
It felt strange. I’m sure it’s supposed to come back to me quickly, but I definitely felt a bit “out of my comfort zone” operating a vehicle. We have cars in NYC, but this Nebraska girl will never get behind the wheel in the Big Apple. I picked up my bff, Emily from her house (they have HOUSES here, not just apartments – can you believe it?). She was quite excited to see me, clearly!
Omaha has HOUSES, not just tiny closet apartments...fascinating!
After about 2 minutes, Emily informed me that I’m “the worst driver she’s ever seen” and forced me to drive within 5 miles under the speed limit. I relented but refused to go above 50 mph…we were passed quite a bit because Grandma Sometimes Healthy Girl doesn’t like to put the pedal to the metal.
Presents for the Birthday Girl
When we arrived at my friend, Jamie’s apartment, I was immediately greeted with presents and cupcakes. Now that’s my kind of welcome wagon! Emily gave me an iTunes gift card, so I could purchase some songs for Theme Song Thursdays and Jamie gave me nail polish in fall colors, so I could be prepared for the upcoming season. They also gave me a “Birthday Girl” certificate pin. I told them I “might” wear it after a couple beers.
Presents and cupcakes = good friends
While at Jamie’s apartment, I had a lot of fun looking through old pictures of us!
Our graduation pic!! I made the fridge - thanks Jamie 🙂
Jamie found this old poem that I wrote for her before we went to college. Back in the day, I used to write cheesy poems for my friends. What can I say? I’m a sap!
Let the Festivities Begin!
From there, we hit an adorable part of The Big O known as the Old Market. There are lots of fun bars and restaurants in this downtown area, and some of the roads are cobblestone, which gives it a very old-school vibe.
Headed out in the Old Market!
Because I can’t celebrate a bday without Mexican food, we hit up a local Mexican restaurant called Roja (My best friends said Chilis was NOT an option, and teased me relentlessly for including it on my Birthday Menu Dream Team.)
The food was delicious! I enjoyed a taco salad, with pulled chicken, along with chips and salsa and of course, beer.
Not good lighting on the taco salad...but it tasted good!
No margaritas for this girl – they hit me too quickly – it’s a marathon, not a sprint!
And a birthday meal for me would not be complete without cupcakes, so my amazing friends of course brought along some yummy cupcakes. Jamie got mini cupcakes, because, as we all know, when things are mini, they don’t have calories ;-).
Mini cupcakes are the way to a Sometimes Healthy Girl's Heart
Of course I had to have a couple...
A Night on the O-Town
From Roja, we walked to Sake Bombers, a bar that sits above a sushi restaurant. We enjoyed a couple of drinks here, but the bar was sadly relatively empty. I thought I had enough “celeb status” to draw a crowd here in The Big O, but apparently not. haha 😉
So we took the opportunity to take a really cool picture (for the blog, obviously).
"Get Bombed" - what a phrase.
And of course, being at Sake Bombers, we had to take a Sake Bomb.
Sake Bombs! The perfect way for best friends to bond
Sake Bombs make me happy...and they are so cheap in Omaha
From Sake Bombers, we headed to a local piano bar. On the way, I noticed a few girls walking together and one that wasn’t wearing any shoes. I couldn’t help but find this humorous, so I snapped a photo.
Omaha streets may be cleaner than New York, but not THAT clean
I also captured the “Omaha Skyline” for all of you. Just a tad bit different than NYC, wouldn’t ya say?
Not quite New York...but still kinda nice!
The piano bar had quite an interesting crowd. Omaha bars are just like any other bar scene – sometimes they’re happening and sometimes they’re not.
We did enjoy some entertainment from a bachelor party full of guys wearing M&M tshirts…only in Nebraska. 😉
The weirdest bachelor party ever?
They tried to get us to play along, but we really weren’t very interested.
Sorry guys...we can't dance right now.
Instead, we concentrated on finishing our rather large drinks.
Teamwork to finish the beer
Okay, I'll pitch in. You don't have to twist my arm.
From there, we hit up one more bar before calling it a night.
Last call!
It was so nice catching up with my close friends and hearing about all of the exciting things going on in their lives! I can’t believe that Becca’s son, Brody, is now speaking FULL sentences, considering the last time I saw him, he only knew 1 or 2 words. It’s amazing how things change so quickly. As I mentioned before, I’m really looking forward to seeing how much he’s grown up.
More than anything, I’m just glad to have a whole week at home, because it’s nice knowing I have lots more time to spend with my friends and family. Short trips home are always hard because there are so many people to see in such a short amount of time.
Oh Hello PB2
Yesterday was spent at the pool, grocery shopping and going to dinner with my parents. By far, the highlight of the day was seeing this baby at the local grocery store.
I've waited for this moment for so long!
PB2! I’ve always wanted to try it, but in NYC, it’s not easy to find! In fact, in NYC, you pretty much have to go to 4 different grocery stores to try to get everything on your grocery list. I’m always amazed at the size of grocery stores here and how I can get everything I want in one trip! It’s the little things for this Sometimes Healthy Girl 😉
I used the PB2 to make some overnight oats, which I’m going to enjoy right now before heading to the gym…in my air-conditioned car. Definitely not missing that 15 minute sweat-filled walk to the subway during a heat wave in NYC. After that, I’m headed to the pool to get in some QT with Becca, who took the day off from work. Now, this is what I call a vacation!
Back later with a “Top 10 Things I Love About Nebraska” list.
Question:
What’s something you’ve been trying to find at the grocery store lately but haven’t been able to?
Are you a fan of PB2?
i get SO excited for big grocery stores — please see my post “The Retail Embrace” — and they are definitely found far from major metropolises 🙂
http://sofiveminutesago.wordpress.com/2010/10/10/the-retail-embrace/
Love the post and love your blog. Thanks for being such a loyal reader! I am a huge fan of YOUR blog 🙂
I finally decided to write a comment on your blog. I just wanted to say good job. I really enjoy reading your posts.
Thanks for the comment and for reading! Hope you continue to enjoy 🙂
I love it! Great post! Had so much fun celebrating with you on Saturday. Can’t wait for a week full of more fun.
I am glad I made the blog! Your favorite twinkie, Allison
Sounds like so much fun! Good times with great friends are always the best!
I can never seem to find adobo peppers in chipotle sauce at my grocery store! I know they sell them at Super Wal Mart but 1) I don’t like Wal Mart, and 2) I’m not driving 30 miles out of the way for a small can of peppers!
Aww, seems like you’re having such a great time! It’s like a vacation but being home all rolled into one! How fun! I love big grocery stores. When I’ve visited NYC before, I would not call those grocery stores. 🙂
Agreed – NYC is lacking in the normal grocery stores department.
And it was just that – a vacation and home all rolled into one. It couldn’t have been more perfect 🙂
I think it’s funny that you love big grocery stores… and I has so much fun celebrating 🙂
looks like an absolute GREAT time back at home.
my sister in law grew up in queens and has lived in manhattan for most of her life and never got her drivers license. we tried to teach her when she came to okc for a visit, b ut she was terrified.
Oh no! Poor thing – I’m glad I grew up in Omaha so at least I learned how to drive.
Now that I’m back, I love being able to walk everywhere, but when I was home, I seriously would do anything to just get in that car and drive…I think it was all of that country music 🙂
Nebraska looks like such a fun, different place! hehe. Looks like you’re having a great time! Umm, I’ve been talking non-stop about the new UES Fairway lately because THEY HAVE EVERYTHING I WANT AND MORE. I seriously love it oh so much 🙂
I just came from there and while it is no Hy-Vee (no store shall ever be), it is a pretty darn good place. I’m loving the meringues that they sell there. Top em’ with Reddi Whip and you’ve got yourself a desert. Hmmmm wacky food combo?
What a great post, Nebraska looks wonderful and fun! I love big grocery stores too, I mean what could be a better destination?! 😉
Aw it looks like you had an awesome weekend!! Yay! I’ve been trying to find carba nada pasta….not happening thus far 🙁
Sounds like a blast! I can’t find PB2 either–I think I’ll have to order it! I can’t find pumpkin either; most of the grocery stores in my area sell it, but it seems to be out of stock everywhere.
I’m out of my Nebraska PB2 stock ALREADY…I’ve ordered more from Hy-Vee, via Sometimes Healthy Mom…who is shipping me a “what you can’t find in NYC carepackage.” what a woman!
Looks like you had a great night out back at home – love doing that… 😉 Esp when it comes with sake bombs.
Hey! Cute pics, love the blog 🙂 Looks like a fun night!
looks like your trip home has been fun! I feel like grocery stores in Vegas don’t carry many healthy options. I just found a grocery store thats a lil bit of drive but is has the healthier options I want!
I think the drive is worth it! The problem in NYC is that if you find a good grocery store and it’s far away, it’s NOT worth it. For example, the Trader Joe’s is a 12 minutes walk and 15 minute subway ride away from me…I can’t carry all of the the whole so in the end, I can only go there once in a while for special stuff.
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I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting
my own blog and was curious what all is required to get setup?
I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty
penny? I’m not very internet savvy so I’m not 100% certain.
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers
cute pictures recently posted…cute pictures