Happy Friday

I love days when happiness fills the air, and today is one of those days. Not totally sure why: it’s not like a best friend is getting married or a new baby is entering the world. But the fact it’s the start of a three-day weekend, we are heading to Lake of the Ozarks AND I met up with Carrie and the girls last night for Sex and the City 2 is enough to make me smile this beautiful Friday morning.

Who’s seen SATC2? What did you think?

I loved it. Watching the flick in the awesome Fork and Screen might have contributed to the fact that I loved it so—I mean, who doesn’t like to enjoy a few Boulevards while watching a movie!?! But I did really like it, cool theater or not. Puns galore, and you know how I’m a sucker for those puns. The Abu Dhabi trip tied in fairly naturally and I was worried that would be way too forced. And most importantly, more in this movie than any other SATC episode or flick did I feel I, and my girlfriends, could relate to Carrie & Co. Don’t get me wrong—my friends and I aren’t riding camels in the desert any time soon. In this flick, the girls just seemed a little more down to earth, and that I enjoyed. Some of the chicks I went with last night enjoyed the first SATC movie better. I did not. It was depressing! Yes (SPOILER ALERT), in the end, Carrie and Big got together. But who wants to watch 90 minutes about a woman stood up on her wedding day so depressed she can’t get out of bed? Not this happy-go-lucky gal.

So, I recommend it. That said, I recommend a lot of bad movies (well, good to me, bad to others), but if you are in the mood for a fun, chick flick, SATC 2 won’t disappoint.

Or maybe when it’s on DVD I can have the entire blogosphere over to watch it on the Fitch’s new TV.

Um.
Yeah.

Lesson learned: don’t send husband TV shopping with his friend or you might end up with a television larger than your stand.

And to this I say ew.

Typo

I realize I make typos in my blog. That's pretty atypical for me in non-blog life as I have to write and proof and write and proof all day for work, but I think that's why I am a little more lenient in this space.

Typos so drive me nuts though--especially in professional settings--so when I spotted this typo in US Weekly's enewsletter this morning I had to share. Who sees it? Leave it in the comment field--let's see which readers have eagle eyes!

Follow the blogger

Do you read my blog?

Ya' know--stop by and check it out once in a while? See what words of wisdom I have to impart.

If so, why not become a follower? All the cool readers are doing it. It's very easy--simply click "follow" down and to the right of this post and you will, in no time, become an official follower of "The Honeymoon is Over." I don't haze my followers nor do I make them go through a new follower orientation. So do it. Let me know you're reading. Maybe you'll get a Christmas card out of the deal. And then you can get posts delivered right to you via Google Reader. Ooohh--maybe I'l have a giveaway for my followers. This will be so much fun!

Okay, first things first. Just go ahead and follow.

Please?

Doing what it takes

I write this post as I am sitting in bed behind a locked bedroom door.

I had great intentions of chillaxing in the basement tonight and catching up on DVRed Grey's and Desperate Housewives episodes, but it is storming quite a bit and I got scared.

I got scared.

TFitch is in Denver for a few days on business.
He's been gone 15 hours.
There's a little thunder and lightening.
And I got scared.

Which begs the question: how did I do this for a year? How did I not get "scared" when he was working in Kentucky--11 days there, three days here--for 385 days.

I did it because I had to.

I had no choice.
It was a decision we made.
Getting scared, or for that matter, mad, frustrated, sad or lonely would do nothing.
I did what it took.

Now, don't get me wrong--it wasn't roses and sunshine all the time. I had my moments. I had my breakdowns. My tears. But for the most part, I like to think I did what it took.

I will; however, admit I didn't do it alone.

My friends were fabulous, but especially Josh and Shannon with whom I would have been lost without. They truly went above and beyond the call of friendship duty. Rides, dinner dates (x 1,000,000), "Can you please come over and help me with XYZ"-requests. And the same with my parents. From watching Macy or stopping by to let her out when I couldn't get home in time, to changing porch lights at a moment's notice.

Let me not forget Macy who was excellent company.

When you have to, you do what it takes. I like to think I did. But I know I didn't do it alone.

As for tonight, I've heard great things about Hulu.

If this was a Successsories picture...

...it would say "patience."

Good finds at the Goodwill

I recently found some awesome blogs* that have inspired the thrifter/DIYer in me. So, last night I went to the Goodwill by our house to shop around.

Among my purchases--totalling $14--were:

These gems. Aren't they beautiful?

If you say yes, you are LYING! They are hideous as is--hence their temporary home at the Goodwill! But you know what they say! One person's trash is another person's treasure. Wait until I get about 18 more of these, give them a fresh coat of paint and they display the postcards we collect on vacations! I can't wait! The postcards are currently hanging on a bulletin board in our home office. YAWN! Not sure where I'll display these--might need a bookcase, and I have an idea for that!--but soon they'll be just what I had in mind. The only question now is the color! I'm thinking either white, black, gold or maybe something totally different! I'll be sure to keep you posted on how this project progresses. Our office needs some help, but it's a struggle. We're at the mercy of the electrical outlets and phone cords (Internet) and in addition to being cute, the office needs to be functioning since it is where I work. More to come, more to come.

The other gem I am most excited about (bought five things total) is the medium Wilton Armatele bowl for $4.99. It's in great shape and matches one I already had at home. This bowl retails for $39.99. A little soap and water and now my find is good as new.

Happy Friday! I have an itch to hit up some garage sales, but it's not going to be very warm in Omaha this weekend.

* Blogs include but are not limited to: Remodelholic, Domestically Speaking, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia and more.

O! What a City.

Omaha.

It's more than steaks.

It's more than some place in middle America.

It's a whole lot more than a lot of people think, which is why I'm so thrilled CNN and Southwest's Spirit Magazine have both profiled our great city within the last week.

Read.
Watch.
Visit.
Know what makes Omaha part of The Good Life.

Nashville

A few bloggers I follow are from Nashville and they have been chronicling the flooding taking place in their hometown. I had no idea until I saw the photos on their blogs. I realize I was out of commission a lot last weekend with Legally Blonde and running, but it doesn't seem this travesty is getting the attention it deserves. Maybe it's changing. Nonetheless, visit Beth's blog to see for yourself the devastation taking place in Nashville...and keep all of Nashville's residents in your thoughts.

I was running.

It's over. The training--over. The anticipation of what to expect--over. My first half-marathon--over. And I'm full of emotions: happiness, sadness, relief, muscle pain.

I can't stop looking at the pictures from yesterday and reliving it; you'd think it was a vacation or something. It's all still so vivid.

Start line: after hitting play on my Shuffle and "Eye of the Tiger" comes on---which I downloaded (kind of) as a joke but was coincidentally the first tune on my playlist: "Is this happening? Am I in a movie? Whelp; here goes nothing."

Mile 1: "Hello Kappa house! Man, I need to pee already. Ah, there's a bunch of Kiewit people in this. TFitch could have ran with me. And, hey, there's a group of Kappas. Hey sistas."

Mile 2: "Hey! There's TFitch and my bro! I thought they'd be having Bloodies at The Bar. Hey guys! What a fun surprise."

Mile 3: "If this was a 5K, I'd almost be done. Which would be nice considering how much I have to pee. Excuse me team of three frat guys that are walking. This chick needs to pass you. Ha ha ha ha ha. Hey, that shirt that says 'this sounded like a good idea months ago,' is funny. Isn't that the truth!?!?"

Mile 4: "Cool; our first water stop. How nice they put lids and straws in the cups so the water doesn't splash all over. I'm thirsty, but I have to pee too bad to drink and the porta-potty lines are too long. Think I can hold it for nine more miles? Excuse me, spectator dude that's smoking? The runners do not appreciate breathing your carcinogen into their lungs at this time."

Mile 5: "This isn't so bad. I'm kind of on running auto-pilot. Hey - there's the Person family! Hey Pitsy!"

Mile 6: "I can't hold it any longer. Porta-potty, here I come. Yum. Some fast food restaurant smells delicious. DAMNIT; I broke a nail!"

Mile 7: "Alright, approaching the Bike Rack, where I told TFitch and Kalin to stop and see us. It will be fun to see them. And more than half-way finished. I can do this! I'm so glad we drove the route yesterday so I know where we are going. Hey, Coty and Lucy!! Wasn't expecting to see you out here! That was a fun surprise!"

Mile 8: "I don't see them. They must have bailed. They're probably drinking. Oh, there they are; up on the right. Hey fellas! Good to see you here! I'm feeling pretty damn good!"

Mile 9: "I lied. Going to try this Gu Kelli recommended. It's in my pocket. The guy said Orange Sherbet was a good flavor. Here goes nothing. Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod. I am going to barf. Spit spit spit spit spit this shit out. Back into my pocket the Gu goes. Oh, and fantastic. A freaking hill. Well, might as well run as fast as possible and get this hell over with. Ah, Otoe street. Makes me think of the Neals. I love the little kids giving high-fives. Sorry to these kiddos though; after that hill I just can't do it now."

Mile 10:  "I thought this course was flat. I'm going to try one of these orange slices (which will leave my hands a sticky mess). And maybe some Gatorade. I haven't had any Gatorade yet. That sounds like it will give me some energy since the Gu did not. I wonder how they fill all those cups. Do you think there's an assembly line and one person fills, one person lids and one person straws? I wonder what would be the most efficient. Is this Antelope Park? Where are we?"

Mile 11: "10th and A street. That means we're almost done! But I know we have to at least go past O street, and since we're just now approaching B, that means we still have C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M and N streets AND the stadium is past O street. I might die. Dear God, please grant me the strength...I could really use some Rhianna right about now. Uh huh, uh huh."

Mile 12: "OHMIGOD. Surely this water stop indicates mile 12 but there is no sign. I need a sign. I need a freaking sign that says '12.' This freaking sucks. Give me some water. No lids and straws? Shit. I'm not stopping. Instead I will pour it all down the front of my shirt and use it to cleanse my hands from the sticky orange residue. Ah, here's O street, which is full of bars. Damn a Boulevard Wheat sounds awesome right now."

Mile 13: "Ah! The 13th mile marker. I think I am going to cry!" and I kind of do

Finish Line: "SSSUUUUHHHHH!!!! I'm done! I can't believe I am done! That went fast. That wasn't sssooo bad. It was awesome in fact! I need some water stat. How cool to be on the 50 year line INSIDE Memorial Stadium. I did it!"

Since I continue to relive yesterday morning mile by mile, that must mean it was a good experience. But will I do it again? I'm not sure. This was personal challenge I made with myself months ago, that I successfully completed. I'll never have the experience of a first half-marathon again; do I want to compete with the feelings I have today? I don't know.

What I do know is how awesome it was to have the amazing support from friends and family like I did. While Josh and Shannon were ultimately there to cheer on Dianna, it was so nice to be able to see them in the stands after. TFitch and Kalin--who chauffeured us to Lincoln at 5:15 am on a Sunday (the morning after a golf tournament, nonetheless) and played route stalkers--were awesome and made a huge impact. It was one of the first things Lindsay and I discussed after crossing the finish line. Mom and dad--now I think you know why I was so excited to have you come to Lincoln. And to my friends that mailed cards, sent text messages, left voicemails and posted Facebook messages--thank you.

For now, I think I'll continue to reminisce about what a great weekend it was and the fact my first 13.1 is done.