I’ve worked every day since the last Monday in August, so I decided to take a day off once things quieted down. When Jody mentioned she had an appointment in Calgary today, I decided to not go in today so I could join her and Gary. I love taking Wednesdays off; it makes the week seem so short! Oh, and before anyone gets any ideas, I did not call in sick or use some other immature tactic to get off of work. I just let the office know last week that things had quieted down and that I was taking today off for myself.

We left at 9 and had breakfast on the way into the city. Our first stop was Ikea where we wandered around for about an hour. Jody had said that Gary wanted to go there and that he had something else he wanted to do after her appointment. So on the way to said appointment, I asked Gary what it was he planned to do after. He smiled and said, “I’m taking you gals out to dinner.”

I bet my eyes lit up because I knew where we were going! “The first part starts with R and the second with L, right?” Yup. Red Lobster! Gary had had that in mind for some time and a commercial last night did him in. Dinner was his contribution to the celebration of my three years on the road. Awwwww.

It was coming onto one when we got back in the van after Ikea, so I put an order in to the Roving Delicatessen for half a chicken sandwich with some cheese and tomatoes. The whole concept of turning around to the guy in the backseat to put in an order for lunch never ceases to amuse me.

Jody’s appointment was by a giant mall and I estimated (correctly) that there would be about two hours to kill, so I decided to do some shopping for things I haven’t been able to find in Lethbridge. Gary handed me his cell phone so Jody could call me when they were done and the van keys just in case. “But I’m not giving you my wallet!”

My shopping didn’t take any time at all! I just wanted some cotton tops and some deeply discounted sandals for finishing off the summer and for next year. I had no trouble finding either. I did some window shopping after, picked up a piña colada Julius, and sat down on a bench to check my email and read a bit. The time passed quickly and before long I was hanging up on Jody since I hit the wrong button on Gary’s phone. 🙂

We headed straight to Red Lobster after. It was early, but we hadn’t really had lunch and there would be no crowds. After perusing the menu we all decided that the endless shrimp promotion was the most appealing offer so the parade of plump pink goodness began. They had so many different varieties to choose from! I tried their shrimp Alfredo linguini, the garlic shrimp with cheese topping, and the grilled sweet and spicy shrimp skewers, but there was also plain garlic, fried, and more! The Alfredo and skewers were my favourite; I actually had two skewers. Add to that biscuits, salad, and the carb of your choice (rice for me), and we rolled out of there!

There is so much I could have done at home today, but it was lovely to get out and shake up the routine a little.