Weekend Update

What a difference a few years makes. A couple of years ago, I would have spent this past weekend on the couch watching College Basketball and obsessing over my bracket. Not so much this year. Did I watch some basketball? Of course I did. I did miss the one game I wanted to watch, but I caught the last three minutes of the UNLV game and got to see them punch their ticket to the Big Dance.

Rather this weekend was filled with lots of running. On Saturday, I let Keds sleep in as she was really sick and was up most of the night hacking. I was able to spend most of the morning watching the History Channel, which I never do anymore. It was quite the interesting program on the Apocryphal books of the Bible. Took me back to my sophomore year New Testament class, only without have to talk about the Gospel of Q. I did find it ironic, though, that the Virgin Mary gets more mentions in the Qu'ran than in the New Testament.

After lunch, we headed out shopping as I needed a new suit, for a couple of reasons. First, all of my suits are simply too big. My navy suit is the closest to fitting, but the pants are still a little big. Second, I am out interviewing for a new job. I have a second interview on Wednesday, and wanted to make sure I wore something different. I know that sounds a bit girlish, but I did and I'm not afraid to admit it. Our first stop was the Outlet Mall on Charleston.

As many of you out there know, I am something of a brand snob. I got hooked on Brooks Brothers suits before I moved to Vegas. They aren't too pricey at the outlet mall and they are cut really well. So that was our first store. After purchasing a brand new charcoal grey suit, three dress shirts, three ties and a belt I felt more than a little satisfied. Since it took way less time than we had planned, we decided to shop the mall for spring/summer clothes as we both need them. It was a productive day, and pretty much wiped Keds out.

Sunday started off with me picking up my Mom for church. She got the biggest kick out of it. She was so happy that we were going to Mass together, she could hardly contain ourselves. When I was a kid, I always had mixed feelings about Palm Sunday Mass. You came home with a present (a palm frond), but you had to stand for the Passion. When you are 8, standing still for like 20-25 minutes is a really long time. Some parishes let you sit now, but not St. John Neumann. We stood like real Catholics. One quick funny story - as Fr. Bede was coming around the Sanctuary blessing the palm fronds with holy water, when he got to our row, he "reloaded" and pretty much aimed for Mom. She was soaked. We couldn't help but chuckle (respectfully, of course, since we were in church).

I don't know why, but the Passion definitely effected me this year. As I was listening to it, I could see a little piece of me in each of the main characters. Definitely a learning experience. I enjoy the opportunity to grow in my faith and have it connect with my everyday life.

After church, Keds and I headed out to run some errands. They were all home-related and pretty routine. We rounded out our weekend with dinner with my folks, which was pleasant. I don't know what's up with my Dad, aside from his obsession with our carpet cleaner, he's been really, really cool lately. He hasn't hassled us, and is actually friendly and engaging in conversation. What's even more surprising, there are new stories!

On Monday, we had dinner with the Bowens. A traditional St. Patty's Day feast of Corned Beef, Cabbage and Potatoes. I am personally not a huge cabbage fan, but the corned beef was awesome! Keds once again pulled together an absolutely fabulous dinner.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm sure I'll post something later on this week!