2009 (2)

Catching Up

Is it September already?!?

Thanks to all who wished me well in my recovery of pneumonia. I’m doing much better, and I’m almost back to normal. Just don’t mind me when I break out into spontaneous coughing fits.

I took two trips to California in August. I attended my twin nieces’ first birthday party, spent some time on the beach in Ventura County, reconnected with friends, relaxed, spent time with family, and ate some really great food. No trip to California is complete without visiting some of my favorites…El Torito, Jack in the Box, La Tolteca, BJ’s Pizzeria, Legends Diner, and smoothies from Juice it Up.

Taylor is FINALLY done with school. He successfully completed the algebra course that’s kept him from his diploma for much too long. He’s sent for his transcripts and applied for graduation from Utah Valley University’s Global Aviation program. He won’t be able to walk for commencement until spring, but he’s very relieved to say he’s done with school before his 30th birthday (which is in 3 weeks). To celebrate, he was able to bust open his new XBOX 360. We purchased it months ago on a killer sale, and he faithfully kept the box sealed until he passed his final. Next week he’s going on a hiking trip to Yosemite with his cousins, a desire he’s had for many years. And did I mention that he turns 30 this month?

Rosie started 3rd grade two weeks ago. She likes her new school and rides her bike almost every day. She turns 9 next week and is obsessed with her birthday. I don’t think we’ll do much of a party for her this year, but that hasn’t kept her from obsessing about it for the last 8 months.

Overall, I’m doing better than I have for the past few months. I’ve struggled through a “major depressive episode” that has been an experience unlike I’ve ever had. I’m working with a great counselor and getting regulated on some meds. I’m still living life day to day, but I’m feeling more hope. I’m back into the job search, but it’s been frustrating to see the lack of opportunities and low pay scale(especially in Utah County) I’m pretty sure I want to stick with administrative positions in healthcare…but I wouldn’t mind a change either. I miss the security of earning a regular paycheck and helping provide for the family.

As odd as this may sound…I’ve been missing Michigan. I was unhappy for much of the time we lived there, but recently I’ve been thinking about the friends I made there and how beautiful it was last fall. There’s been rumors about displacements within Taylor’s company which might move him back to Detroit, or possibly Memphis. It would be a good thing because he’s flown so few hours on reserve this year in Atlanta. If he’s ever going to upgrade to captain…he needs to be flying a more intense schedule. We’re sad that we’re living apart, but there’s a sense of stability I’m feeling in Spanish Fork that makes me wonder if we’re supposed to stick around here for a while. It breaks my heart that Rosie’s already on her 4th school in 3rd grade. Unfortunately, that means that Taylor and I will have to live apart for an undetermined amount of time. It’s not preferable, but we’re making it work.

Recent guilty pleasures: chocolate-covered cinnamon bears, Dooce, Hulu, melon Hi-Chew, Diet Dr. Pepper, and Connie and Carla. Oh, and I made the BEST batch of my banana bread ever this week. I want more…mmmmm!!

Deja Vu

The majority of the last few days have spent packing like a maniac. Yes, you heard that right packing. I’m moving again. And I was just there six short months ago, preparing to move from Michigan to Georgia. It’s like deja vu…the same stress, the same mad box collecting, the same sorting, the same stuff..but this time it’s without all the same excitement. A variety of circumstances have occurred over the past few months – healthwise, employmentwise, moneywise, etc – necessitating a new living arrangement. All our stuff is going into storage here, and we head out on the road with a car full of things this week.

Rosie and I are moving out to Utah for an undetermined amount of time. We have offers for a free place to stay, and will be living in a home in Spanish Fork. We’ll also be spending a lot of time at my parents’ house in Lehi. I’ll be using this time to get my health back in check, spending time with family and friends, and figuring out the next step. I’ll then be looking for work, both in Utah and Georgia. Hopefully an Atlanta job will pan out, and our family can be back together soon. Taylor will be moving into a crashpad with some other pilots, and he’ll fly out to Utah whenever he can. We’re so sad that our family will have to live apart for a time, but we’ve got to do it.

Thank you for all of your kind comments over the past few weeks. Your concern and prayers mean so much to me. I’ve been feeling down for quite a while, and I tend to withdraw when I’m struggling. I hope that things will be looking up for our family soon. And in the meantime, I have all my favorite things about Utah to look forward to.

CRYptic

My family will be going through some difficult changes in the upcoming weeks. To say that I’m feeling overwhelmed is an understatement. Plans seem to change daily, and I pray that the decisions being made will work out for the best. I know there are no easy answers. I know it will probably get worse before it gets better. I am grateful for a loving and supportive husband, a sweet and empathetic daughter, and all my other friends and family that have helped me through the past few weeks. I know I can get through this.

One of my favorite songs is “Why Georgia” by John Mayer. The lyric that always gets me is “I wonder sometimes about the outcome of a still verdictless life…am I living it right?”

Am I living it right?

500th Post!

I am excited to report that I’ve been blogging continuously for nearly 5 years (my bloggiversary is June 8th, 2004) For those who haven’t known me very long, or just recently found my blog, here’s a list of blog highlights for your viewing pleasure:

6/14/04 – The first time I blogged about my sleep problems (Yep, almost 5 years ago)
6/24/04 – Getting to know me, 2004 style
6/27/04 – Some depressing poetry after a bad breakup
7/7/04 – When the tides turned with Taylor on the 4th of July
7/11/04 – My last date with someone else, and my first kiss with Taylor
7/14/04 – The first email I got from Taylor, and rundown of our first dates
8/31/04 – Taylor’s proposal, and meeting his parents
10/25/04 – The wedding and honeymoon to California
6/4/06 – Why I love living in California
4/15/07 – My visit to Florida to see Taylor at Jet University
6/16/07 – All the concerts I’d attended up to 2007
9/13/07 – Ode to Rosie on her 7th Birthday
11/9/07 – My first trip to Detroit Michigan
11/16/07 – 6 Odd Facts about Me
11/16/07 – Ode to Ramblin’ Rod
11/27/07 – Taylor’s Birdstrike
11/23/07 – My last Christmas at my home in Murray, UT
1/13/08 – My dad’s car accident that nearly took his life
1/22/08 – A list of over 11,000 Miles I traveled in the US in one month
1/30/08 – My semi-famous gooey banana bread pudding recipe
2/14/08 – Pics of my dad’s crash
2/24/08 – One of my favorite trips to California
3/2/08 – Adventures in teaching primary
3/10/08 – An impromptu trip to New England
3/12/08 – My personality type – ENFP
4/13/08 – When Michigan started getting me down
5/6/08 – On a day I wish I were medicated
8/10/08 – My 10 Year High School Reunion
9/20/08 – Rosie’s Baptism
10/2/08 – Ode to Clint
10/4/08 – The story of Taylor and I – 4th year anniversary edition
10/19/08 – Our family trip to Hell (MI)
10/29/08 – Rosie and I at the NKOTB Concert
11/14/08 – Why my blog will not go private
11/22/08 – A Twilight Girls Night Out
11/27/08 – My Quest to find Pirates of Penzance on DVD
12/2/08 – Technology Decade
12/5/08 – The Importance of December 5th
12/15/08 – The Top Twelves of 2008
1/1/09 – 2008 Year in Review and my Life Soundtrack
1/11/09 – One Year Since the Gaping Jaws of Death
1/22/09 – Pilot Wife Resources
1/15/09 – My Memphis Valentine
2/28/09 – Missy Higgins, et al
3/1/09 – My choral life
3/20/09 – NKOTB Photo Megapost
3/30/09 - Return to me
4/5/09 – Pilot Wives Club Chicago Meet-up: Oh, What a Night!

And there you have it! My favorite and best blog posts of the last 5 years and 500 posts! Which ones are your favorite?

Post 499: MIA?, Portland Trip, and non-revving nightmare

Thank you to all those who checked up on me to see if I was okay. “A week without blogging? Are you seriously ill?”, several people asked. No..I’m not ill – just in need of a break from the rigors of creativity and daily blogging.

The Portland trip was exciting and exhausting. Rosie and I flew in Friday night and stayed in Tualatin with the Grahams, a family that my family has known for decades. Saturday was fun, start to finish. I had breakfast with Coral, a middle school friend, at Rose’s in West Linn. We had the cinnamon roll french toast (to DIE for) and got caught up on all we’ve missed in the last 12 years. Next, we drove back to Tualatin by way of the Wanker’s Corner general store (where we got drinks and snacks.) Our original purpose for going to Portland was to attend a wedding reception for Rosie’s cousin…but we didn’t realize we’d put the wrong date down until after we got their gift. We met Carisa, an elementary school friend, for drinks at Starbucks. She’s getting married this year, and it was fun to hear all about her fiance.

For lunch, we went to Newport Bay Restaurant with my aunt Laurie and cousin Christi. We hadn’t seen each other in 7 years at Grandpa Gene’s funeral, so it was lovely to have some family time with relatives I rarely get to see. We did a little shopping around Washington Square Mall, then I followed Laurie over to Auntie Dona and Uncle Bob’s house. Their daughter Margi found out I was over and she immediately joined us. We caught up and reminisced for the afternoon. Aterwards, I dropped by my cousin Jillian’s apartment. Her husband just graduated medical school, and they’re off to Colorado at the end of the month for Ben’s pathology residency. They gave us a McCormick and Schmick’s gift card, so we had a free super-fresh seafood dinner there after pics at the Portland Temple. We arrived back at the Grahams’ around 9, visited until my eyelids could no longer stay open, and set my alarm for 3:40 am.

We woke up, packed our bags, and went out to our rental car. Once inside, we realized that things were missing…my Blackberry and Ipod chargers, some papers and food items. It didn’t look like the car had been broken into, so I’m guessing the rental car’s alarm clicker wasn’t working. Luckily the chargers can be replaced. We drove to the airport, grabbed some breakfast, dropped off the car, and waited through a horrid security line at PDX. I complained over the 40 minute wait…but little did I know the non-revving disaster I was about to encounter.

We tried for the 6:00 am ATL flight – we were part of the 9 that didn’t make it on. Then we tried for the SLC flight – denied again. Tried for a MSP NWA flight – nope. Tried for another ATL and SLC flight – was told our best option was to get an ID-90 pass from Horizon, fly to Seattle, and get a SEA-ATL non-stop flight. We waited till we didn’t get on another MSP flight, went out of security, purchased the passes, walked across the airport again to Horizon’s gates, where the gate agent said our luck was pretty bleak to get on a SEA flight standby. So we went back across the airport to try for the last SLC flight – denied again. Finally, we made it on a MSP flight at the last second, and we had to check our bags. Once we were in Minneapolis, we were too late to make it on any outgoing flights. Taylor Priceline’d an “airport hotel” that didn’t have a shuttle and was nowhere near the airport. We paid so much in cab fare that we could have gotten a really nice hotel. We got about 5 hours sleep before the 3:30 am alarm woke us up, the cab took us back to the airport, and we were crossing our fingers for the 5:15 am ATL flight. We were top of the list, made it on, and were able to sit together. We touched down in ATL just before 9:00 am – which meant I was late for work.

It was a bittersweet trip: wonderful visits and horrible trip home. Was it worth it? I say yes cautiously : this experience has put the fear of the flight Gods back into me. I don’t think I’m going to tempt fate like this again when flight loads aren’t wide open. The next time I fly will be on a confirmed positive space ticket.

Spring Break

Tomorrow evening I’m planning to take a little spring break trip with Rosie to Portland (Taylor and Rosie went to LA last week, lucky ducks!) Rosie’s cousin is having his wedding reception this weekend, I’ll meet up with some extended family and old jr. high friends, get some Burgerville USA sweet potato fries, and enjoy the green, green beauty of the Northwest.

This is my 498th post. I’m in draft mode on my 500th post, but it may take a while to put together. And I still need to do my bio on Mary. So if my blogging is sparse for a while, please forgive me. Enjoy your weekend!

Pilot Wives Club Meetup in Chicago: Oh, What a Night!

I’m back from Chicago now, and what an exciting/fun/crazy trip it was! This is me with Misty at gate D1A. We were so sad that it ended up being such an ordeal to get out of Atlanta. There had been really bad thunderstorms and a tornado watch in Atlanta the night before, which caused a huge backup of standby passengers all through Friday. We had tried for a Chicago flight together with Becky, but it was oversold and we tried for Milwaukee. About 20 minutes before the flight was scheduled to leave, Misty realized that she had lost her iPhone. Becky and I made it on the flight, but didn’t have a way to contact Misty. She tried for many flights out of ATL, including ones home to Orlando, and was stranded in ATL for the night.

Becky and I arrived in Milwaukee around 5 pm, and we were picked up by my old friend Shanna. We used to do plays together at the Draper Theater in 1995. She had moved to MKE for school and work, and we hadn’t seen each other in a decade. She saw my status message on Facebook, and she graciously offered to drive us down to Chicago. We had 90 minutes to chat and get caught up. We arrived in Chicago around 7 pm (after a series of wrong turns from bad cell phone map directions). We had dinner at Basil’s restuarant in the hotel. Kristen from PWC was from Chicago and joined us for dinner and dessert. Because of the people that couldn’t come due to missed connections and no flights with open seats, there was room at the hotel for Shanna to stay for the night.

In the morning we had breakfast at the hotel. There was a nice breakfast provided with made-to-order omelettes…yum! After eating, Shanna drove us to the Bless Spa, which Summer had gotten a recommendation through the hotel for. The “spa” ended up being a cut-rate slightly shady hair salon with bad decor and Russian and Latvian women who spoke with heavy accents. We almost bolted before getting the services, but did it anyway. Massages, pedicures, manicures, and waxing commenced. Here are my cute toes post-mani:


After the *ahem* spa, we walked across the street to Ram Brewpub for lunch. I got a grilled havarti and turkey sandwich with salad and sweet potato fries. The food was good, and the conversation better. We shared carrot cake and watched part of the Bulls basketball game. After a quick stop for necessities at the 7-11, we went back to our hotel to take it easy and get ready for our night on the town. Unfortunately, flight loads from Detroit were bad because of the Final Four, and she was unable to join us for the evening. Summer unveiled the new Pilot Wives Club logo, and details of the updated website.

Summer and Becky with their cute silver purses

Me and Summer

All ready for a night out on the town with the ladies! Notice the cute necklace courtesy of Jen.

Becky, Nicole, Summer and Jen…Pilot Wives Club represent!

Waiting for the “El”train to downtown

Inner city pressure

View of Dearborn Street…We got a little lost, as Jen hurriedly checked her GPS on her phone to find the right way for us to go. After crossing the same street 6 times, we finally found the Bank of America theater to pick up our tickets for Jersey Boys at will call.

This is Chicago! We finally made it!

Becky and Summer waiting for dinner

Jen and I

The Marquee for Jersey Boys

Jersey Boys was so fantastic! It was the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and the music was incredible! A must see! All their best hits…Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man, Rag Doll, Dawn, Let’s Hang On, Workin’ My Way Back to You, Opus 17, and of course…Oh, What a Night! The absolute highlight of the show was the Frankie’s solo of “Can’t Take my Eyes Off You” with full brass. I had goosebumps from head to toe! If you have the chance to see Jersey Boys, you will love the music and energy. (Disclaimer: there is some language and sexual innuendo, so I would say it’s not for the kids or young teens)

We took the blue line train back towards O’Hare to our hotel, and decided to go back to the airport and take the shuttle (instead of walking in the dark streets back to the hotel) Unfortunately, there were some big problems with the shuttle driver, we waited an hour despite confirming with the driver multiple times, and we didn’t get picked up until after 12:30 am ! (Becky arranged to have another hotel’s shuttle pick us up) We stayed up eating chocolate, courtesy of Kristin, till about 2 am. Becky and I got two hours of sleep because Becky and I had the alarm set for the wrong time zone. Since we were up and ready, headed back to Atlanta on an earlier flight. She got on the 7:00 flight, and I got on the 8:15 flight. Taylor and Rosie picked me up, and we arrived home just in time to watch General Conference.