Costume Party!

I love dressing up. But dressing in a costume to portray a whole new identity is a lot more fun!

This year for Halloween I knew I would be going to my friend's house. Early in the day we would watch the college football game between Nebraska and Missouri. But after that we would celebrate a couple of birthdays while being in costume to celebrate Halloween at the same time!

My original idea for my costume was to use one that I had from a prior year. An Angel. But last week at bowling, one of my team members gave me a different idea based on an email she had been sent. It had a picture of lady dressed up like a "retired Hooters girl." Wrinkly skin, gray hair, saggy boobs....you get the idea. But the photo was very revealing in the upper regions of her body. The shirt was cut off at the bottom to show the lower half of the saggy boobs! My team mate Vicki, thought I should dress up like that. I thought it would be very funny! Plus, none of my friends knew about it and would be very shocked too! It looked easy enough to put together.

And so I started my hunt for all the items that I would need to pull off the costume of a retired Hooter's girl. I drove to Hooter's and bought a t-shirt. Next I went to Mangelsen's for a gray wig and makeup to give my face more prominent wrinkles. Once I had those things, I figured I could find a pair of orange colored shorts in any store. Much to my dismay, it was a more difficult task than I thought it would be. I went to 3 stores before I finally found a pair that would work.....at Scheels. My final stop was at Dollar General to purchase some pantie hose and bottle nipples or pacifiers that I could use for the, well....you know.

I ended up getting two pacifiers and took them apart to use just the nipple. I used finger nail polish to paint them flesh color. Then I used towels to stuff the pantie hose for the breasts. Once that was all done, I applied my makeup to give my face more wrinkles. Then I was able to get dressed. It turned out better than I thought! I had the same reaction from everyone that saw me. Once they realized it was Me behind the get-up, they were just falling over in laughter!

Later in the evening, we all went to three different bars and boy oh boy, did I get noticed! I had people asking to have their picture taken with me all night long! And yes, we went to Hooter's! I helped the employed Hooter girls wish some young men a "Happy Birthday" at their table. They couldn't believe what they saw once they took a look at me! It was great!

I almost won the costume contest at one establishment....I came in second to a younger girl dressed in a sexy police uniform. Go figure!

A luminary on my porch to greet the children that stopped by.....

The guys....

Jamie and Trisa

Tammy and Steve

Tina

.........and last but not least....Me! (I hope your not offended by this! Sorry if you are...)

I had a blast that night and so did everyone else! We haven't bar hopped for years and I'm sure it will be a long time before I do it again!

Birthday Party and Pumpkin Patch Outing

Today was a busy day. Even though I didn't have to work, it seemed like the day was still hectic. I made two deliveries of Tastefully Simple products in the morning and then the afternoon was planned out for me. My friends Lisa and Scott were having a birthday party for their little girl Madison in the afternoon. Her birthday is actually October 27TH and she will be four years old! (I remember going to see her in the hospital after she was born...they grow up way too fast!) Today being Saturday, college football day, of course the Nebraska Cornhuskers were playing a game that afternoon as well. So some people were getting together for that instead....namely some of the guys. But the birthday party people would gather later for the game after the party was over. Except me....I had other things happening.

Madison had a few little friends over for playtime and then gift opening. It was funny to watch Madison's expressions when she opened her gifts. She has developed quite the "Miss Thang" attitude and it was pretty cute! That was followed by the cake and ice cream for everyone.

Later in the evening, after I left Scott and Lisa's house, I drove straight to Vala's Pumpkin Patch. You may remember all my photos from our visit there last year. Any of my coworkers that had planned on going could attend anytime during the day today. We all had free tickets to go and some had planned on being there in the evening to share in the food that was being provided. We were roasting our own hot dogs and marshmallows. We also had chips and drinks to go along with that. There were two bon fires for us to use. There are many other areas that people could reserve throughout the patch that also had bon fires for their own groups as well.
We always reserve the huge tent that they have available for large groups in case it's a bit cold or windy. It's a nice place to leave extra items instead of carrying them around the entire patch. People could also purchase other food at various stands. I always have to get the fudge. My favorite flavor is Peanut Butter. It's unbelievably creamy and soft! And of course the Kettle Corn is awesome as well! Aside from seeing my Southwest family roaming around here and there, I always see someone I know there as well. It's such a popular attraction and everyone loves to go. It's a great family atmosphere with a lot of activities for young and old alike.

After spending several hours there and enjoying the perfect weather of no wind and temperatures in the mid 60's, I helped clean up the tent and pack up the leftover "paid for" food that we would be taking back to work and decided to go home. What a great day it had been.
I was just as excited to get home and sit down to relax. I could smell the scent of bon fires on my clothes. But it's a nice scent and makes me love autumn because of it!

15 Years = Ruby, Rose, Crystal, Watch

October 16TH, 1995; my first day at Southwest Airlines in Omaha. Know what that means? Yesterday I celebrated my anniversary with the company. It's been a great ride too. So much has happened in my life during this long journey. And so much has changed within the company as well throughout these last 15 years. Thanks to SWA, I've been able to buy my house and live comfortably while enjoying a schedule that's pretty nice. I have Sundays and Mondays off and I'm done working during the week at 1:30 PM. The rest of my days are free to do whatever I like! I also get 4 weeks of vacation time each year. LUV it!

I've seen many people come and go in the Omaha station. I've trained new hires and showed them the ropes. I have also been the treasurer of our local Culture Committee for roughly ten years too. The committee is responsible for fund raising in our community and putting on our station Christmas party and other employee outings throughout the year. Our largest charity is the Ronald McDonald House and that's throughout the entire system wherever we fly.

Last week while waiting for an airplane to land, our manager came into our break room and said he had an announcement to make. He had in hand, a blue box. It was for me! I knew what it was. A watch. Any employee that has a 15 year anniversary, is given a watch from our CEO, Gary Kelly. I also received a nice letter from him and a 15 year pin with two inset rubies. So I actually received two of the four aforementioned items. Cool, huh? After my one year anniversary I got a pin but with a different stone. That seems like lifetimes ago! I'm still amazed at how long I've actually been in Omaha. It's a great city and I have met many wonderful friends. Would you like to see the watch and pin? Check it out....

You can click the picture to see it up close.

It's a brushed silver polish finish with our airline symbol in the middle.

My 15 year lapel pin.

I'm very proud of my job and what I do. My body might tell you otherwise after all these years of such physical labor but I feel it's kept me in better shape than I might otherwise be in!

Lauritzen Gardens

It's a beautiful time of year to see all the vivid colors of the changing leaves on trees. No matter what part of the country you visit, you'll see some gorgeous scenery. The same holds true here in Omaha. Except we have one hidden gem of more than just changing leaves. Lauritzen Gardens offers 100 acres of floral exhibits along with the trees that are the perfect setting for photo opportunities, parties, weddings and the like. We actually saw a young couple having taken, what we guessed were their engagement photos. It's the perfect location. Now I'm excited for the Christmas season to see the Poinsettia Show that they put on!

I've lived in Omaha now for 15 years and not once have I taken the time to visit this awesome attraction. It was discussed as a possible outing back in 2008 when my brothers' family visited but it didn't seem like it would be as exciting to see as the other places we did go to. Wow....we should have gone! I never knew it was so pretty! And I've never known anyone else that's visited there either. You've got to go! This time of year showcases all the different colors of Mums that they have been growing all summer long. My friend Trisa and I had the day off from work and decided it would be a good time to check it out.

Once we got there, we learned of a tram ride that you could pay a little extra for and ride around the majority of the gardens. So we did that first. Then we decided we would walk around later and look a little closer at certain areas that may catch our eyes.

Before driving through the entrance gates, here is what we saw...isn't it pretty?

After parking the vehicle, we walked through some delicately placed trees and shrubs and saw all these flowers. We hadn't even walked through the front door yet! This is called the Arrival Garden. We parked in the (appropriately named) Parking Garden. Nearby was a pond with many lily pads floating around the surface of the water.

Other displays right outside the front door of the Visitor Center.

This is inside the big Visitor Center.

The wind socks are decorated as Carp fish. They are huge!

A tall version of Mums...

Once again, inside the Visitor Center...gorgeous! Trisa is looking at all the details.

(Visitor Center) There is a small pond just beyond all these flowers that has many Koi fish. These fish can live anywhere from 50-100 years.

Once we walked out the back doors, we were in the Festival Garden. Below, is a portion of the fall decor that had been set up for the fall and Halloween holiday.

Trisa posing for me...

We walked further down the hill and came upon the Victorian Garden. It had a regal looking brick wall built up around it. This was my favorite section of the entire site.

Here we thought we would try out the timer on my camera. It worked. We both look lovely on this crisp, cool day.

Another view of the Victorian Gardens.

Victorian Gardens.

Once we were done marveling at all the displays and colors, we continued on our journey on the winding path ways and ended up here, The Garden of Memories. Anyway can make a contribution to the Gardens and have the names of loved ones that have passed on, listed on various plaques that we saw displayed throughout this area. They were listed by year of passing. Nearby all these names was a small reflection pool. It was clear and serene.

Part way down one of the many hills, was a Model Railroad Garden. There were several trains all going around the tracks in different directions on different tracks. It was so neat. They all had the whistles blowing when they passed over the trestles. The whole garden is made "green"; all natural items. There are little buildings mixed in throughout the tracks. They are miniature replicas of buildings that are in down town Omaha.

One of many trains that was in motion....

Here a man is working on one of the tracks and adding a Locomotive.

You can see the different buildings scattered amidst the tracks and bridges.

The next five photos were all taken inside the Rose Garden. Mixed in with the pretty roses of every kind you can imagine, were more Mums. There were so many vivid colors of these as well that no matter where you looked, it made you almost gasp in surprise.

The Rose Garden.

A Clock amongst the Mums in the Rose Garden.

I'm not sure what kind of plant this was but the purple things that hung from the plant almost looked like pea pods.

While riding the tram, we saw so many things in every direction. So I'll just stick a few various pictures in here next.

Along the pathway in the Tree Peony Garden.

A cute waterfall in the Garden in the Glen.

On the way to the Rose Garden. You can see the white fencing which surrounds the Roses.

The Herb Garden; it wasn't hard to notice when we rode by in the tram!

A little sitting area.

Sandhill Cranes sculptures in the foreground.



Sunpu Castle Gate and Mt. Fuji Replica Garden.

We didn't see each and every seperate garden. But we saw the majority. There were also others such as The Children's Garden and a bird sanctuary. The last part of the tram ride took us to the south side of the Visitor Center called Kenefick Park. Here sit two actual train engines. Big Boy No. 4023 and Centennial No. 6900. They are easily seen from the interstate and greet motorists as they enter Omaha. I've always seen them from the road myself and thought it would be neat to get up close and personal. Well I have now! One word....HUGE!!!

The back of the huge display with the American Flag in the center. The two train engines are behind and to the left (your right) of this display.

Centennial No. 6900

The sign at the bottom of the big hill that you have to climb in order to see the train engines.


Big Boy No. 4023
It's a little bit longer than the other train. There were two sections.

The view of the hill to the west of the Visitor Center.

From atop the hill where the train engines rest, looking north toward the Visitor Center and Parking Garden.

The two train engines are situated in that they form two sides of a four sided box. One looks eastward and the other looks southward, nose to nose. Apparently it was quite the chore to get both engines to the top of the hill. Visitors aren't allowed inside them but there is a platform that one could stand on and look into Big Boy.
It only took us a couple of hours but we didn't actually go into every single garden either. The weather was perfect and there wasn't any wind to make it miserable.