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Heaven will have a chocolate fountain!

No celebration should be called complete without a chocolate fountain, and some great fruit to dip in it! This was part of the dessert table at the banquet that I mentioned yesterday.

Centerpiece....

My church, Core Community, held a banquet on Sunday in honor of our campaign to create a community center.
Our vision is "To acquire a community center to serve the city that would also provide worship space. We envision a space that is a hub of multiple communities - artists, musicians, the physically needy, businessmen... Leadership forums, regional training, music venue, art gallery, social mercy..."
You can learn more about it at our website: www.corecommunity.org

Still celebrating....

Wow, those shots look HUGE!! These were enjoyed recently to celebrate a friend's birthday. Yesterday we celebrated with fireworks, today with shots....we will see how we can celebrate tomorrow!

Long overdue video....

I promised a looong time ago to post my little video of the 4th of July fireworks, but I didn't know how to post it until now finally Blogger has a little video button. So, here are some fireworks to start out the week with a bang!

Back to Ribfest...

I kind of got ahead of myself....this is the stage where my friends played at Ribfest last month. The stage was amazing, and it was great to hear them on such a big scale. I'll post a video soon so you can all hear this great band that i keep talking about. In the meantime, go to www.myspace.com/chrissaubmusic where you can hear his songs. He even has a new single on myspace that won't be out until September 15th when his newest CD is released. If you are in Omaha, check out his schedule on Myspace and go visit us!

Omaha at night....

After a concert the other night I was walking around downtown with a new friend. The weather was beautiful, and everything looked so pretty that I just had to take some photos. We walked around the lake on this path you can see here. Well, I walked along the rocks on the side of the path, and was reminded of the times my dad took me there when I was little. I loved to walk on those rocks, but my dad didn't so much like the fact that they drop off into the lake. Well, I never fell off then (or now), but I did sit down on them to take this picture. There are ducks on the lake/pond, and they swim up close to the rocks when people feed them bread crumbs. So, this is my take on a "bird's eye view" of Omaha's skyline.

Ribfest

Here is another shot from Ribfest. These booths were in the bottom corner of yesterday's photo.

Update: Oops. I looked closer....these booths were actually to the RIGHT of the booths in the bottom corner of yesterday's photos. :-) There were a lot of booths!

Storm clouds rolling in....

The last week or so has been full of thunderstorms. I love to watch and listen to storms. My friend, Chris Saub, and his band played at Ribfest. I'll post more pictures in the next few days of the booths close up, but I love this one of the clouds coming in. As soon as the band finished packing up and got on the road, it started pouring.

A question of Black and White...

Most of my photos lately have been of music events, so I decided to give you a break from that and show you a little bit more of the city. This photo was taken at Village Pointe. It was not so many years ago that the most frequent dining that went on in this area was done by cows. Ok, well, really I don't know what exactly was there, but there wasn't much. Now, however, you will find a beautiful and classy shopping, dining, and entertainment area. During the summer, there is an open area where you can bring a lawn chair and listen to live music. My friend Chris, who you have read about before, has played there a few times. The area really is quite pretty, with flowers and sculptures in the roundabout driving areas, like the one in the picture.

Braving the heat.....

Here is part of of the crowd who braved the incredible heat to stay outside and listen the music at the Taste of West Omaha. The blue and white striped tents housed some of the different food vendors who participated.

Rock Stars!!

Here is Lemon Fresh Day again, along with my beautiful friend and amazing business mentor, Aileen. She wants to be a rock star and she put on a great show up on stage - for one song at least.

A Taste of Lemon...

Here is another shot of Lemon Fresh Day at the Taste of West Omaha event. They put on a great show. I'll post a shot of the crowd tomorrow.

Singing at the Taste of West Omaha

Here is my friend, Danny Garcia, singing with Lemon Fresh Day at the Taste of West Omaha. Roja, a Mexican restaurant is in the background. The stage was set up in the parking lot, and there were many food booths from different vendors, and tables set up all around the lot. According to the event's website, despite the extreme heat, over 15,000 people attended the weekend 2 day event on August 4th and 5th. It was definitely hot out there, but it was a lot of fun. When the guys played the sun was pretty much right behind them, so I didn't get great pictures of the stage, but some of the closeups came out alright.

Lemon Fresh Day...

Lemon Fresh Day played recently at the Taste of West Omaha, and I will be posting a few more photos in the next few days. Also, more about the event tomorrow.

I actually watched another band!!

I have a couple of friends who laugh because the only band I go to see all of the time in Omaha is the Chris Saub Band. Well, I recently went to a couple of shows of another band - Lemon Fresh Day. They played a couple of weeks ago at the Prestige World Class Lounge. We had a great time at the shows, and I got some fun shots of my friend Danny in the band.

Hello, again!!

I have posted a photo of Myth before, but I had to show them off again! Omaha is getting cooler all the time - and this place is one of my favorites! Brian and Joanna, the owners in the picture, are fun and friendly, and extremely COOL! If you are in Omaha, you have to head on down to the Old Market, stroll around and take in the sights, then grab a table at Myth and cool off with one of their tasty martinis. On Thursdays, you can sit back and listen to some of Omaha's finest musicians.

*Now, really, if that didn't merit a comment from a certain lurker out there, then I will have to draw on some creativity that I don't think i have in me!! :-)

Band shot at the concert...

Here you can see more of the band! The horn players joined in on the recording of the last album, and it is great fun to see them live!

It's been toooooo long....

Here is my friend Chris (Chris Saub - I have shown pics of his amazing band before!) playing in an outdoor concert at the Village Pointe stage. They have an outdoor concert series in the summer, and it is a great family event. There were a LOT of people there that day!!

*PS - I have started a business! I am super excited, but that has kept me a bit occupied lately. I'm starting to get back into a routine again, so I will hopefully once again be joining the faithful daily posters! No promises - I will take it one day at a time.....:-)

A few more fireworks......

Thanks for the comments last time! Here is another shot of the fireworks from the 4th.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

I was lucky enough to watch the fireworks from the roof of Harrah's Casino, in Council Bluffs across the river. On the left is Omaha's skyline. It was an amazing show!!

Snake spit....

....because really, what's more fun than getting spit on by a snake???

Worth the wait!

It was great fun watching the kids wait for these buckets to flip! They would get so excited and would all scream as they saw the bucket start to tip over.

Sorry again, about the wait! I've been having internet issues this week. However, I do have good news!! I finally bought Photoshop Elements. I'm so glad I did. I didn't realize it had so many capabilities. Now, I can do a little more to my photos that pass them through a quick crop and enhance in iPhoto. So, bear with me as I learn how to master Photoshop!

Hero of the day!

Another photo from the water park. This guy was the hero of the day for all of the smaller kids. The buckets in the photo periodically fill up with water, and then, when they are full enough, they spill over and splash all of the kids below. Well, it seems that sometimes this did not happen soon enough. Imagine the happy screaming from all of these kids when this guy was successful in tipping the bucket!

Summer fun

My favorite 9 yr old decided to have his birthday party at a water park here in town. I work days, so by the time I leave work, the hottest part of the day is usually over, so it was great fun to be outside all day!! I have several pictures I'll be posting of this great park, but these girls seemed to have to right idea for keeping cool.

Nice chandelier....

Here is the bar area of the Stumble Inn. The big bull-pen was off to the right as I took this picture. The antler chandelier was begging to be shared. I was holding the camera up, waiting for people to move so I could take the picture, and didn't notice the smoke until after I took it, but I think it looks kind of cool. This bar is not technically within Omaha city limits. Last year Omaha passed a smoking ban law, so most places are now smoke free.

Rodeo

Sorry, everyone! I know it's not a great quality photo, but really, the bull-riding still makes me giggle when I think about it. Somehow, I can't imagine getting up voluntarily in front of all of those people to get thrown off a fake bull, much less paying for the experience. Large quantities of alcohol would have to be consumed, and I'm not really much of a drinker. Still I applaud these brave souls....they have more guts than I do! I'd much rather stand outside the ring and take pictures!!

Ride 'em Cowboy!

A friend recently took me to the Stumble Inn. We had a blast hanging out with some friends and watching the brave (and/or possible drunk) souls who rode this mechanical bull in front of everyone in the bar. The place has wood floors, antler chandeliers, and this huge pen in the middle where you can pay to ride the bull. I got some great photos, but no bull-riding for me that day.

Posting has been sporadic this week, sorry about that! Thanks for those of you who keep coming back to visit! I love, love, looove my job at the hospital, and I know how lucky I am to be able to say that, but after all, it is a hospital, and we deal with emotional things like illness and death. As an interpreter, I get to know my patients very well sometimes. This past week or so has been very emotional and tiring with one family in particular, and I haven't made it out to take many photos. It's a blessing to know that in some small way, I can help make a difficult time for someone maybe just a tad brighter.
However, my camera and I are planning to spend a lot more quality time together in the upcoming days!! :-)
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Life Net....

At the Donate Life event that I posted about recently, the Life-Net helicopter made its annual appearance. They open the helicopter for taking pictures, getting in to see what it's like inside, and the pilots are there to answer questions. The kids love it! I work with some of the EMTs who fly sometimes, so it's fun to see them there. Close to the end of the event, the helicopter takes off and everyone can watch - from the safe distance behind the row of security guards whose elbows are in the picture. I'm very proud of my hospital! Patients are brought in from many places, and I frequently hear/see the helicopter as I'm arriving or leaving work.

Woodmen Tower

The Woodmen Tower, in downtown Omaha, was the tallest building in the city for over 30 years. With 30 stories, it reaches a height of 478 ft. It is the home of the Woodmen of the World insurance company. In 2002, First National Bank's opened its new headquarters in a 634ft building which now ranks as the tallest. The Woodmen Tower has been my "skyline" since I was little and moved here. I was driving downtown recently and snapped this photo from my car (hence the fuzziness). There was an eerie glow to the city that night, and I like the light in this photo.

Progress....

This is a new shopping center that is being built in my old stomping grounds. I grew up in a suburb of Omaha. This is in Papillion, where I went to high school. When I was little, and not even that long ago, this whole area was farmland. I was amazed to see all of the stores that are already opened in the area. It will be beautiful when it is finished, but it was kind of sad also. The whole area is soooo different from how I remember it. I guess it's all in the name of progress.

Omaha has the best music!!!

These are my friends! Chris Saub, Matthew Tobias, and Steve Packwood. They are the Chris Saub Trio, and the best band in Omaha, and pretty much anywhere. It's possible that I could be (slightly) biased, but they are amazingly talented. They played a few days ago at a bar called Two Fine Irishmen, and that is where I took this picture. I took a short video of them also, and as soon as I figure out how to put it up here, I will do so. In the meantime, check out their website and listen to their music www.chrissaub.com. The guys, and Chris by himself, play all around town, about 4 times a week. They played at the Omaha Entertainment Awards (this past January was the first year), and are frequently featured on the radio here in Omaha. To give you an idea, here is a description from their website about the newest CD:
"Aero Regalla" contains 12 new vibrant tracks. Though the album falls under the umbrella of Pop Rock and Roll, listeners will be delighted to find tracks representing other genres: Big Band Swing, Party Funk, and Smokey Rhythm and Blues, all accompanied by a new horn section. A "love opus" and a "soaring anthem" are accompanied by a string section. Even the "Rock and Roll" songs have their unique influences: 60's Brit Rock, 70's Riff Rock (Led Zepplin), coupled with modern tonality and freshness. Intelligent lyrics, creative arrangements and eclectic pop songwriting will allow this album to stand on it's own.

Theme day - View from your bedroom.....

The view from my balcony is much more fun....but here you see the view from my room, which is the theme after all! Sadly, my flower boxes have no flowers.....They will soon, but I'm not known for my gardening skills. I'm working on that. From the balcony the only view is of the sky and the trees, which I love. If you look back in my archives, I actually have a few pictures taken from my balcony. During the crazy snowstorms, it was the safest place outside to take pictures! And the lightning shot that I posted was also taken from the balcony whose corner is visible here.
Be sure to check out the rest of the Theme day shots from these great cities:

Seattle (WA), USA - Manila, Philippines - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Toruń, Poland - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Seoul, Korea - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Vantaa, Finland - Madison (WI), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Omaha (NE), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Stockholm, Sweden - Grenoble, France - Lubbock (TX), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Arradon, France - Hyde, UK - Joplin (MO), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Kansas City (MO), USA - Naples (FL), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Manila, Philippines - Sydney, Australia - Stavanger, Norway - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - London, UK - Chandler (AZ), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - Singapore, Singapore - Hamburg, Germany - Sydney, Australia - Tenerife, Spain - Moscow, Russia - Lyon, France - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Villigen, Switzerland - Anderson (SC), USA - Oslo, Norway - Evry, France - Hayle, UK - Mumbai, India - Kitakami, Japan - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Los Angeles (CA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - La Antigua, Guatemala - Paderborn, Germany - San Diego (CA), USA - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Madrid, Spain - Lyon, France - Selma (AL), USA - Shanghai, China - Baziège, France - Cologne (NRW), Germany - North Bay (ON), Canada - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Stayton (OR), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Austin (TX), USA - Hong Kong, China - Trier, Germany - Joensuu, Finland - Paris, France - Greenville (SC), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Cork, Ireland - Bastia, France - Vancouver, Canada - Brookville (OH), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Mainz, Germany - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Zurich, Switzerland - Torino, Italy - Montréal (QC), Canada

In the clear...

Hey, everyone, I'm back!! I was a little over-ambitious and still had planned to post in the last few days....hmmm....I'll think better next time and warn you. I was on call from Sun afternoon until Tues morning, and still worked my regular shift Tues. Wednesday was still kind of a blur. So, now my sleep schedule is now back to normal, which means I am no longer a zombie and will return to regular posting. I love my job, so understand that I'm not complaining about the overtime, but it does leave a little less time for other interests! Today's photo is one from the storms a couple of weeks ago. I heard an announcement a few minutes ago about a storm watch, so this might be going on outside again. Have a great day everyone!

Meet your thoughts here....

The title of my post was the inspiration of the name for this great new music venue, Myth, in downtown! I love the title, and I fell in love with the place as soon as I walked in the door. Omaha has a great local music scene, and we have been sadly without a great new acoustic music venue for a while. My friend Chris Saub (the best musician anywhere, in my opinion! Check out his website to hear some amazing music!) played there on the opening night. I got to meet the owners afterwards. They are the couple in the photo, with one of the bartenders in the middle. The place has a great atmosphere, wireless internet throughout (soon I will be blogging with a martini in hand!), and NO televisions, which helps a lot with the ambiance. I love the place and will be heading back soon!

If only I were still this flexible!!

These are 2 of my favorite kids in the whole world. They are my friends' and not mine, but I love them more than I can express, and I'm so blessed to be a part of their lives and to watch them grow up. It definitely is an amazing thing to remember back to changing the diapers of a little tiny baby, then to come back to the moment to watch them do things like this crazy jump!

In a galaxy far, far away.....

.....actually, it's still just Omaha. Not a quality photo, but I thought is was fun enough to post. The last time that I went out downtown, I came out of a club with a friend, and this is the scene we found in the street. Stormtroopers in the middle of the Old Market. I heard one guy walking by in the street say, "Dude, if I could get chicks like that, I'd dress like a Stormtrooper too!" I took some pictures, but we didn't go talk to them. I'm not sure exactly why they were there, but they were swarmed by people wanting to take pictures of and with them.

No lifeguard on duty....

This is Lake Manawa, another photo from our day at the lake on Sunday. The little girl by the lifeguard stand is a little friend of mine. It was a beautiful day at the lake. We're planning on going pretty much every Sunday during the summer, so I'm excited. Lake Manawa is actually in Iowa, but it's only a 20 minute drive from my house.

Donate life...

Saturday was the Life-a-thon, the yearly event sponsored by the Nebraska Medical Center. I work quite a bit with transplant patients, so this is an issue that is very close to my heart. There is a walk/run, a carnival for the kids, a pancake breakfast, and the Life Flight helicopter is there for people to explore. I took my friend's kids (like my niece and nephew) with me and had a blast

A day at the beach....

No, I was not lucky enough to go on vacation to an ocean this week! I spent the afternoon at the "beach" at Lake Manawa, with some friends. It really is a beach....it's on a lake, so not quite the same as the ocean, but it's the closest you'll find in the middle of the United States. My little friend in the photo here was pretty pleased with herself when she succeeded in completely burying my foot.

Street scene....

Here is the scene in the street in front of one of the buildings I showed the other day. I'm on my way out to go have a glass of wine on the patio of a French restaurant on this street! I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!
Update: We actually ended up going to the Upstream. It is the shorter, tan-colored building in the middle of this photo. We sat on the patio, right under all of the trees you can see in front of the building. The patio is right on the intersection, so there is plenty to see. Last night, there were some people across the street with some amazing telescopes. Our waitress told us that Venus was very close to the moon, or something like that (I'll have to Google it!) and people were paying for a look through the telescope.

M's Pub

Here we have a couple more of the beautiful old buildings of the market. On the first floor of the one in front, you can see M's Pub, which is one of my favorite restaurants in the Old Market. It is THE place to enjoy a nice relaxing glass of wine out on the patio, watching the people stroll by. Here is what the founder has to say about the place - quote taken from M's Pub's website:

We opened for business on January 18, 1973, to an enthusiastic clientele which we have tried never to disappoint. The present owners cherish the Pub, and have greatly embellished the menu which remains imaginative and unusual.

Is it a restaurant or is it a Pub? Is it, perhaps, closer to being a European cafe? You, dear customer, may be the judge. For it is you who rule in this establishment.

--Mary Vogel, founder of M's Pub in 1972

History and Omaha.....

One of my favorite things about the Old Market is that it is the heart of Omaha's history. Omaha was born and established as a town through these old businesses. As new businesses have taken over, some of the buildings have been torn down, or have had drastic makeovers, but many of them still show the original company names or advertisements. I hope that this sense of history is saved for many years to come.

Music in the Market

I love the street musicians in the Old Market! I played the flute long ago (and still can - just not nearly as well as before), and I love that this guy played all sorts of songs, with no sheet music, calmly leaning against the railing as the people sped by.

On the patio...

Mr. Toad's is a great bar on one of the main roads of the Old Market. I have many memories of great get-togethers there with friends for birthdays or other celebrations. This patio, in the picture, is a great spot to have a drink and watch people enjoy the Market.

Hello again!

Today I'm sharing two photos to make up for the interruption yesterday! I was with my mom, celebrating Mother's Day, and arrived home late at night....to find that my computer would not connect to the internet!
I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! In the first photo, you can see a family ready to head out on a carriage ride....I don't know them, but my story is that they are a mom and her children in honor of Mother's Day!

Here you can see one of the second floor hallways of the Passageway. Walking down this hallway, you can look through little windows on one side to see the great hallway from my photo the other day, and on the other side the entrances to the shops that line the Passageway.

Souq

This one of my favorite stores down in the Old Market! They have beautiful clothing, decor, and jewelry items. I can almost imagine I am in a far away place as I browse through the beautiful hand-made items from India with the fragrance of incense all around. This is the first store in sight as you enter the Passageway that I showed the other day. This photo shows the outside entrance, but there is a door inside the store that leads to the Passageway. Most of the stores that you can access from inside the Passageway also have doors leading to the outside. It really makes the Passageway seem like a secret world inside.

Stretch....

So, the other day, I showed you an old-fashioned trolley with a wedding party touring around the Old Market. Today, we see another, more modern mode of transportation for special occasions. Along with spring, comes prom season. I saw from far away that this stretch limo was filled with high school students going to dinner before prom. I did the same thing when I was in high school, and seeing them sure brought back some memories!
**As an added bonus, you can see the air freshener hanging from my rearview mirror, along with the great necklace that my sister brought to me from Namibia! I was on my way home when I saw that the limo was on that street, and had to snap a quick photo. :-)

Worse than legal charges.....

Yesterday, I mentioned shopping in the Passageway. I tried on a few things, and was delighted to find this sign in the dressing room! I did not shoplift anything, but I did, however, buy a beautiful pink shirt made in India and some pink and sparkly bangle bracelets to match!
I'm not sure exactly how the spotlight effect showed up as I played around with the contrast of the photo, but I thought it was kind of fun and decided to leave it.

Old Market Passageway

One of my favorite parts of the Old Market is the Passageway. As lovely as it is inside, you can't really tell that it is there from outside. The door looks like the entrance to another store, but upon entering, this is what you see. Along both sides of the bottom, and also of the second floor where I was standing, there are lots of really fun, eclectic stores. I couldn't resist doing a little shopping, and bought some great new bangle bracelets at a store that has lots of different things from India! I haven't eaten at Trini's, the Mexican restaurant in the photo, for a long time, but it was really good the last time I was there - and the delicious smells were making me hungry as I walked around with my camera!