I'm home, home at last!
I stayed up until 1:30 am the night before we caught our 8:20 flight on Thursday. Ben does this thing where we sits in the suitcase and pulls all the clothes out while I'm trying to fill it. You know, because he's a baby, and it's fun. So I have to pack when he's not around. I was very very tired the next day, and Ben was, too.
Our first flight went off without a hitch. And I'll just say now that I am so very grateful to TSA for allowing families with strollers to cut in line. We wouldn't have made it to our flight on time otherwise. I was traveling with my sister in law, Velvet, and her two little ones. She also stayed up until 1:30 am the night before to pack. Nonetheless, we were a cheerful group. We were headed home! We had a two and a half hour layover in Dallas. We were dreading it, but it went by surprisingly fast with the help of the most awesome airport play area ever! On our way to catch our 12:25, we heard that our gate had changed, and we needed to get to a completely different concourse. DFW is pretty huge, yo. We made it at 12:08. Hooray! But wait, they weren't yet boarding, and the man and woman at the counter ignored us when we went to get tags for our strollers.
We thought maybe it was delayed, so we just sat and waited. Fast forward 15 minutes, and I see two lines of people at the counter. Hooray! We must be boarding! I go over to the counter, and see that the flight information on the board has changed. El Paso? Huh? "What happened to the SLC flight?" I asked. Gone. It left already. Wh-wh-what? We've been sitting here waiting for boarding to start! Apparently they boarded everybody that was there at precisely 11:55, and shut the doors. The lines of people at the counter consist of angry travelers who were supposed to be on that flight, just like us.
We spent the next several hours trying to get answers or a least a freaking meal voucher (for now, we had to wait for a 9:20 pm flight- MUCH to our chagrin) to no avail. I was told that we simply didn't hear the final boarding call- when we were sitting a merely twenty feet away, in view of the counter at the gate. We had come in on a connecting flight, so their staff knew we were in the airport. Why weren't our names called? I've submitted a complaint to American Airlines, and I hope to receive a favorable reply.
What we went through that day was outrageous. A complete and utter lack of customer service. I will never fly with them again. We spent twelve hours in an airport with three small children through no fault of our own and without any compassion from the airline for our situation. Luckily, our kids did really well.
The next day I caught a flight back home to Idaho. I'm so happy to be home. I've missed my husband, and I've missed my house. Oh, I have missed my bed so much.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
I'm in GA and have been for a couple of weeks now. It's always weird visiting my hometown. There are so many memories, and it was so long ago (well, relative to the length of my life so far). Sometimes I remember things as though they happened to someone else. I have a lot of regrets about the decisions I made. But I'm also really happy with the way things ultimately turned out. I guess if my present is where my past landed me, I could have done so much worse.
I like coming back, though. I like to see how much has changed. And obviously, I like visiting my family. That's probably my favorite part. I only wish that Chris could have come, too. He pretty much never gets to come with me because of work and/or school. Suck.
It would be nice to take a road trip across the country as a family, but Ben is so not ready for that. We would have to stop too much, and that would annoy the both of us. When we drive to places, we don't like to stop until we get to our destination. It works pretty well that we're both like that, but it doesn't work well with kids. At all. So, it will be quite some time. Well, especially since Chris is getting deployed again anyway. Double suck.
We had my father's funeral the day after I flew into GA. I wasn't originally planning on singing. One of my brothers and my two sisters have sung at most of the funerals that have happened in our family in the past 6 years. We decided at the last minute to sing some songs. I'm glad we did. The four of us sang the same hymn we sang at my sister, Sarah's, funeral- Lead, Kindly Light. Then Eve and I sang Blackbird and a song that she wrote about my dad several months ago before he died. We want to record it, and I'll post it if we manage to do it. It was a good service, though. I really felt closure, and the eulogizer even managed to elicit some compassion out of me for my old man.
I like coming back, though. I like to see how much has changed. And obviously, I like visiting my family. That's probably my favorite part. I only wish that Chris could have come, too. He pretty much never gets to come with me because of work and/or school. Suck.
It would be nice to take a road trip across the country as a family, but Ben is so not ready for that. We would have to stop too much, and that would annoy the both of us. When we drive to places, we don't like to stop until we get to our destination. It works pretty well that we're both like that, but it doesn't work well with kids. At all. So, it will be quite some time. Well, especially since Chris is getting deployed again anyway. Double suck.
We had my father's funeral the day after I flew into GA. I wasn't originally planning on singing. One of my brothers and my two sisters have sung at most of the funerals that have happened in our family in the past 6 years. We decided at the last minute to sing some songs. I'm glad we did. The four of us sang the same hymn we sang at my sister, Sarah's, funeral- Lead, Kindly Light. Then Eve and I sang Blackbird and a song that she wrote about my dad several months ago before he died. We want to record it, and I'll post it if we manage to do it. It was a good service, though. I really felt closure, and the eulogizer even managed to elicit some compassion out of me for my old man.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Finally!
I would normally be sleeping right now, but I got up to build a fire, so Chris wouldn't have to before he went to work. But Ben is asleep, and I can post. I'm really sleepy, though. My body isn't made to function before 8 at the earliest. Well, not when I have a kid that refuses to go to sleep until midnight or later. And even then, he wakes up a lot if I'm not in bed with him. I've kind of just resigned myself to the fact that this is just the way things are. It won't last forever, so I should just be patient. Sometimes it's really hard to be patient.
I'm gearing up to go out of town again. I'll be in GA with my family there for three! weeks! I'm pretty excited about it. I am a little grumpy about leaving my house for so long right after I got back from a two week trip to Utah, but it's worth it. I usually only get to go out there once a year. And I'm also supposed to sing at my dad's funeral with my brother and sister, but I just caught my second cold in as many weeks, so we'll see how my voice sounds when Saturday rolls around. Apparently, it also makes me form sentences with too many conjunctions.
How is it that I can think of things to write on my blog all day long only to have none of it come to mind when I'm actually sitting here typing. And I know some might tell me to write it down, but I pick my battles around here. If the cub sees his mama with a pen and paper, well, he just needs to have it.
I finished our taxes yesterday. Hooray! But because we're claiming the new homebuyer credit, we have to paper file, which kind of sucks, but it's worth it. Side note: Target makes generic cherry cough drops to compete with Luden's, and they are just as good. Actually, I really don't know that they could be considered as anything but candy. Nothing soothes a sore throat like some delicious candy cherry drops is what I always say. Anyway, taxes. They are done. The year that we don't overpay on our taxes will be the year that I hate to file. But it will probably also mean that our house is paid off and we'll both be done with school. So I guess that would be pretty nice.
I've decided that if I'm going to have an etsy shop, I need to put real hours into it if I actually want to to become a supplement to our income. Chris has reservations as to whether I'll actually make money doing it, and I really hope that I can. I have some designs floating around in my head, but I have no pattern making experience, so I'm hoping I don't ruin any fabric while I experiment. Because I hate to waste fabric. Really, I hate wasting anything that costs money. So stay tuned for the someday when I will actually start an etsy shop, I guess. But of course, that will be after I get back from GA. Poor Chris. I think he might starve to death while I'm gone. Man cannot live on ramen alone. It won't keep him from trying, though.
The Walmart here has put all of a woman's menstrual needs in one place. You can buy pads, tampons, woman targeted pain relievers, and Dove chocolate all from the same section of shelves. It made me laugh.
Speaking of pads (that segue just wrote itself, people), have you heard about the new iPad? I can't decide if it's awesome or not. Although, I think if I were to buy such a thing, I would purchase one of it's PC based competitors. Not that we'll be buying one in the next century. We have plenty of computers per capita in this house. (Sorry Chris) But last night, I was thinking about how cool it would be to have a small device that could access the music on our network and sing me to sleep. Because then I wouldn't have to have the foresight to divine what exactly I'm going to want to listen to later in order to put those musics on my phone. I'm also hesitant to buy an mp3 player because my phone plays music. But my phone's (which was not my first choice for a phone, but we got them for a penny! each on amazon) music player has horrible awful organization. I can't play an album in sequential order. I get to listen to it in whatever jumbled order the phone decides to play it. It's not set on any kind of shuffle or random. It's just stupid. But I just can't bring myself to purchase an mp3 player. If I could use one in my car, I might. But I can't use an FM transmitter because those plug into your cigarette lighter, and mine doesn't work. I have a feeling that it would cost more than it's worth to fix that. Eventually, someday, when I get a new car, none of this will matter (or maybe, just the cigarette lighter part won't matter). But right now, I plan on driving my Subaru for ever and ever until it dies. I like not having a car payment.
Wow, this post has been one long ramble. Sorry about that. I guess that's what happens when I've gotten negligible amounts of sleep and try to communicate.
I'm gearing up to go out of town again. I'll be in GA with my family there for three! weeks! I'm pretty excited about it. I am a little grumpy about leaving my house for so long right after I got back from a two week trip to Utah, but it's worth it. I usually only get to go out there once a year. And I'm also supposed to sing at my dad's funeral with my brother and sister, but I just caught my second cold in as many weeks, so we'll see how my voice sounds when Saturday rolls around. Apparently, it also makes me form sentences with too many conjunctions.
How is it that I can think of things to write on my blog all day long only to have none of it come to mind when I'm actually sitting here typing. And I know some might tell me to write it down, but I pick my battles around here. If the cub sees his mama with a pen and paper, well, he just needs to have it.
I finished our taxes yesterday. Hooray! But because we're claiming the new homebuyer credit, we have to paper file, which kind of sucks, but it's worth it. Side note: Target makes generic cherry cough drops to compete with Luden's, and they are just as good. Actually, I really don't know that they could be considered as anything but candy. Nothing soothes a sore throat like some delicious candy cherry drops is what I always say. Anyway, taxes. They are done. The year that we don't overpay on our taxes will be the year that I hate to file. But it will probably also mean that our house is paid off and we'll both be done with school. So I guess that would be pretty nice.
I've decided that if I'm going to have an etsy shop, I need to put real hours into it if I actually want to to become a supplement to our income. Chris has reservations as to whether I'll actually make money doing it, and I really hope that I can. I have some designs floating around in my head, but I have no pattern making experience, so I'm hoping I don't ruin any fabric while I experiment. Because I hate to waste fabric. Really, I hate wasting anything that costs money. So stay tuned for the someday when I will actually start an etsy shop, I guess. But of course, that will be after I get back from GA. Poor Chris. I think he might starve to death while I'm gone. Man cannot live on ramen alone. It won't keep him from trying, though.
The Walmart here has put all of a woman's menstrual needs in one place. You can buy pads, tampons, woman targeted pain relievers, and Dove chocolate all from the same section of shelves. It made me laugh.
Speaking of pads (that segue just wrote itself, people), have you heard about the new iPad? I can't decide if it's awesome or not. Although, I think if I were to buy such a thing, I would purchase one of it's PC based competitors. Not that we'll be buying one in the next century. We have plenty of computers per capita in this house. (Sorry Chris) But last night, I was thinking about how cool it would be to have a small device that could access the music on our network and sing me to sleep. Because then I wouldn't have to have the foresight to divine what exactly I'm going to want to listen to later in order to put those musics on my phone. I'm also hesitant to buy an mp3 player because my phone plays music. But my phone's (which was not my first choice for a phone, but we got them for a penny! each on amazon) music player has horrible awful organization. I can't play an album in sequential order. I get to listen to it in whatever jumbled order the phone decides to play it. It's not set on any kind of shuffle or random. It's just stupid. But I just can't bring myself to purchase an mp3 player. If I could use one in my car, I might. But I can't use an FM transmitter because those plug into your cigarette lighter, and mine doesn't work. I have a feeling that it would cost more than it's worth to fix that. Eventually, someday, when I get a new car, none of this will matter (or maybe, just the cigarette lighter part won't matter). But right now, I plan on driving my Subaru for ever and ever until it dies. I like not having a car payment.
Wow, this post has been one long ramble. Sorry about that. I guess that's what happens when I've gotten negligible amounts of sleep and try to communicate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)