Technically the weekend is not over yet and I am more than thrilled about that. What is better than a two-day weekend? Why a three-day weekend, of course! Granted the third day of my weekend is mostly going to consist of a 5 hour drive back to Omaha, grocery shopping, unpacking, and laundry, but hey… it could be worse. Plus I have so much to be thankful for and so many great highlights from this past weekend to help keep me happy and entertained throughout the day!
When we last left off, I was headed to Des Moines for a conference for work. During my two and a half days in Des Moines, I ate a lot of good food, had a great time with my co-workers, met new people, learned a lot about academic advising, and gave a presentation.
Shortly after we arrived on Wednesday night, we ate dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Des Moines: Zombie Burger. I ordered the same burger that I ordered the last time I was there because it is amazingly delicious! A vegetarian patty, cheese, chipotle mayo, fried jalapenos, caramelized onions, and guacamole. Yes. It was as good as it sounds. I also has a side of coleslaw. Despite having a less than normal appetite due to nerves, I still managed to eat every bite 😉
A little bathroom selfie after my manager and I presented our research findings at the conference. To say that I was relieved would be an understatement. I am not much of a fan of public speaking, but all in all in went quite well!
After the presentation and my nerves had subsided, I got more of my appetite back. I was very pleased that the lunch options were incredibly vegan-friendly. I ate a side salad (not picture), a stuffed pepper, asparagus, and the most delicious roasted red potatoes. I definitely left with a full belly.
At the end of the second day of the conference, I met up with my brother (who lives in Des Moines) for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. It is quite vegetarian-friendly, which I love. I ordered a vegetable salad that I did my best to eat most of (it was huge!). Of course this salad was eaten with a slice of their delicious bread.
Despite not being incredibly hungry, I made sure to save a little bit of room for a slice of cheesecake. I had been to The Cheesecake Factory many times, but had surprisingly never tried their cheesecake. Since I had $26 comped for work, I decided to splurge a bit and ordered a slice of the Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple cheesecake (it has Butterfingers in it too!). Let me just say, my first Cheesecake Factory cheesecake experience was a damn good one.
After drinks with my co-workers, we went to bed and then woke up for the final portion of the conference on Friday morning. We started things off with a delicious breakfast: scrambled eggs, the most deeeelicious breakfast potatoes, fresh fruit, and a mini lemon poppy-seed muffin. I would love to eat that breakfast again and again.
The conference was over by about 1:00 on Friday. Since it was Memorial Day weekend, I decided to head home to see my family, boyfriend, and friends. Since I was already in Des Moines, I was able to cut two hours off of my normally five hour drive which was fantastic. The second I got home, I spent a good hour loving on my puppy dogs and then went out to eat with my parents and boyfriend for Mexican food. Ahh, cheese enchiladas. I will never tire of you.
With full stomachs, my boyfriend and I went to our friends, Eric and Ashley’s, new house and broke in their gorgeous back porch with a few beers. I hope to spend lots more evenings like that this Summer.
Saturday began with a morning 5k walk with my mom and two doodles to raise money for the local animal shelter. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we all had a great time. Is there anything better than puppy dog time?
On Saturday evening, the boyfriend and I went out for the necessities: beer…
…pizza…
…and ice cream!
I kind of like him 😉
I finished off a wonderful weekend home with lots of puppy dog and family time on Sunday.
And capped it all off with a cookout at one of my best friend’s cabin.
Now it’s back to Omaha and a four day work week. I hope your Memorial Day weekend was as wonderful as mine!
