Weekending

I'll back up to Thursday a bit- I mentioned this a little in my Friday post but I was gone from the house almost the entirety of the day. It was a long one but everything ended up being all right. I was awake at 4:00 am so I got a run in before work. Went to work, got home, and within about ten minutes of being home, was back in my very full car along with Alyssa, destination Columbus to move her into her new place at Ohio State. 

We were worried about the parking situation because her apartment has no designated parking for those who opted out of the multi hundred dollar per month parking pass. We got lucky, however, and found a spot not far from her place. Also, her boyfriend stopped by to help us get everything out of the car and he mentioned that in a pinch, either that day, or anytime we need a parking spot, there's a possibility of parking at his fraternity house. It has, apparently, more spots than guys who purchased a parking pass and there are not assigned spots. It sounds too good to be true but it's good to know that in theory we could have a parking spot if need be. 

Alyssa's boyfriend's fraternity- we walked to his house to meet him but we didn't go inside. I remarked that the house was stately and looked like a southern plantation. He told us that it actually had once been a stop on the Underground Railroad- secret rooms and tunnels were found that lead all the way out to the Olentangy River. He also said that this building had once been the governor's mansion for the governor of Ohio. So lots of history which was interesting to learn about. 

Back to move in- Alyssa's apartment complex had those big bins on wheels and we were able to get everything out of my car in two bin loads. Alyssa's place is really nice- it's new so everything is, well, new and nice. I won't post all of the pictures that I took- I may write more about that later. We got everything out of the boxes and bags that we'd packed and started to arrange items in her room. We made notes of things I still needed to bring to her place (we knew we were headed back to Columbus on Saturday). We left her place briefly to get dinner. We found a Mediterranean restaurant and got food to go. We sat outside to eat and chatted for a little bit before I had to leave for home. I was relieved that everything worked out!

lamb, rice, lettuce and cheese bowl...

Our outdoor dining spot...

Friday was another early morning for me- this time it was 3:30 am when I woke up for good (I think 4:00 am was the latest I slept in during the week…). I ran and then got ready for work. When I got home from work in the early afternoon, I allowed myself to relax at home for a little bit (I probably allowed myself to relax too much because the afternoon got almost got away from me!) and then went out to Wal-mart to get more items for Alyssa that we realized we'd forgotten and/or that became obvious she needed once we saw the layout of her room.

Once home, it was almost time to head out to a really causal dinner. We were meeting some friends at a local food truck spot to get some dinner from the food truck. It was great to see our friends, catch up, and laugh. The sweat bees that swarmed us were another story but nothing is ever perfect, right??

An ambitious name and description for a potato chip!! (I do appreciate the effort, however!)

The food truck just happened to be in the parking lot of Goldie's Ice Cream in Centerville so we had to have dessert, too :). Having this Biscoff sundae seemed like a summer full circle event. I first had this sundae in late May during what seemed like the beginning of summer. Here it was nearing the end- the sundae tasted great (of course!) but it did hit a bit differently. 

Once home, we watched a show in the series we're watching, I Will Find You and then we went to bed.

Saturday morning I slept in until close to 7:00 AM which was all kinds of wonderful- good from a sleep perspective- I know I needed it. However, I realized that I was in a bit of a time crunch (there truly is something to be said for those 3:30- 4:00 am get out of bed times- you do get a lot done even if the things you get done (especially toward the end of the day) are done in a state of fatigue!) since we needed to get to Columbus (about an hour and a half drive) to bring items to Alyssa, for Donnie to build some small pieces of furniture/help her hang items in her room, and get back home in time for our evening plans.

I ran, showered, and then got busy making zucchini bread to bring to Alyssa. Waiting for the bread to finish baking did delay us by a few minutes from our original goal time of leaving but the look on her face when she saw the bread and felt the still warmness of it in her hands and exclaimed how grateful she was for the bread made the slight bickering that had ensued between Donnie and me when he realized that I was baking bread and it would delay our leaving before we left  all worth it :). Aaaaand we got everything done and back in time for our evening plans so it was all good, lol. 

I also remembered to pack these refrigerator pickles for Alyssa that I'd made a few days prior. Spears and slices 'cuz when you're making it yourself, a jar can have some of each :). The cucumbers, dill, and garlic all came from the garden so there is that, too, that makes the jar seem that much more brag worthy, lol. Kidding, sort of. What's the point of having a garden if you don't brag about mention how neat it is to use/consume that which comes from the garden??

Another carload!

Blog friends are among the best givers of practical advice and 

While Donnie was putting together some furniture and Alyssa was putting away more of the items we brought to her, I walked to a Target that's nearby. For one thing, I was meeting our neighbor's son there to give him something. Our neighbors had moved their son (a freshmen) into OSU earlier in the week. Something they'd packed (and that their college student needed) had slid under the seat and they didn't notice that they hadn't unloaded it so the parents left OSU with the item in the car. Our neighbor texted Donnie on Friday to see if perchance we were going to OSU soon and if so asked if we could give the item to their son. It worked out since we were heading up that way. Anyway, I met my our neighbor's son (gosh, I remember the day he was born so clearly- I saw his dad in the driveway and asked if the baby was a boy or a girl (they hadn't found out) and I can hear my neighbor's voice proudly telling me details of the baby- his name, etc and I can remember days of hanging out with his mom as our kids played in the cul- de sac and how this boy potty trained himself before the age of two (WHO does that?) and how he taught himself math from being obsessed with Lego's (from the Lego instructions he picked up on multiplication) and is, in fact, a math savant, and I remember when he first started playing rec soccer and he'd score ten goals a game and went on to play club soccer at a high level and could have played soccer in college but he's super into academics and wants to concentrate solely on his difficult major) and chatted with him for a bit. I resisted telling him I remember the day he was born, etc. seeing as how standing in front of a Target when he was with a friend to pick up his item did not seem like the appropriate environment in which to impart sappy recollections of his babyhood/boyhood and so I handed him the item, briefly exchanged pleasantries with him and then went inside Target to buy tape that we needed to tape photos to mats for Alyssa's decor.  And that was that. 

Target had a photo display area 

and lots of game day clothes (and half clothes)  

There was a CFA next to the Target so I picked up lunch for us and brought it back to Alyssa's place. 

We were with Alyssa for about four hours- it didn't feel super rushed though it would have been nice to have even more time. But her room is about 90% set up and she can do the rest on her own. 

We drove home and were home for about half an hour before we left for Dayton to see a Dayton Dragons baseball game. Of course it had rained in the afternoon and so the ground was wet as we walked into the stadium. The theme of the game was armed forces and there were patriotic displays and representatives from various branches of the military. 

We had a suite as part of Donnie's work event. Instead of a company picnic, the owners decided to buy a suite and provide, food drink and game tickets to everyone in the firm and their families. It was a fun evening!

There was so much food- burgers, sides, a taco bar and a dessert tray

Richard, one of Donnie's colleagues, and me

Gem and me

Donnie's office manager brought made in China America swag for the kids and kids at heart. 

We got home late and then spent an additional half hour outside feeding a stray kitten that was in our driveway when we arrived home. Bless his little heart- we looked for him in the morning but couldn't find him. 

Sunday, we did nothing. Not.a.thing. (Mostly) It was wonderful and restful. We watched church from home- not something we normally do unless we have a conflict. No conflict but we both felt like we needed a day to be at home. I baked a second loaf of zucchini bread (the batter was already combined) and did one load of laundry. The rest of the day consisted of reading, talking on the phone with friends and family/texting the kids and some light clean up/organizing. Donnie picked up pizza for dinner. 

The loaf I baked looked good- this went into the freezer after it cooled down. Will get it out soon when we have friends over for dinner. 

Linking up with Holly and Sarah for Hello Monday: