Travels and Travails

I'm back from Washington state!  It was a rushed trip with very little down time but that was good because I wanted to get back home.  Let's start with last Wednesday.  I got my 40 pounds of chicken breasts.  The 40 pounds of chicken thighs which I got last month, arrived flash frozen.  I expected them to be not frozen.  So, I thought the breasts might be flash frozen too.  My plan was to toss them in the freezer at my mobile home and get back to work.  They were not frozen so luckily, I had a box of freezer bags there and I stuffed the chicken in all of the bags.  That was done and I rushed back to work. 

On Thursday, my mother came to my house to spend the night before our trip.  Friday morning, my mother, nephew and I loaded up her car and we drove to the Phoenix airport because Southwest Airlines does not fly between Tucson and Phoenix on the days we wanted.  After not being able to find the economy parking lot 3 times, we ended up in $25/day parking but my mother graciously paid. 

This is how we found our car when we returned. Took a picture of the parking map. It worked well.

 We made it to the gate and my nephew and I went on a hunt for lunch food.  Once on the plane, I pulled out the Kindle Fire that I bought for my mother with this trip in mind.  There is a whole story behind that which I should tell you.  Here's the short version:

Mom's computer dies.

I look for computer alternatives and find a Chrome Bit for $85. (It's a Google computer that runs apps)

I try to buy all of the components on Amazon needed to turn a Chrome Bit in to a complete computer.

I need something to add to my order to get free shipping.

I see a Kindle Fire on sale for $40.

I think this might be good for the trip and as an interim way for my mother to get her email.

I start to think that Amazon Prime might be a good idea.

I sign up for Amazon Prime and cancel my mother's Netflix since she can use mine (I have the 2 screen plan).

Ok, so, I downloaded some movies on to the Kindle.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to buy noise cancelling headphones so my mother could not hear the movie on the plane.  I worked great for me though.  She was able to take it home and get it connected to her wifi so she has email access until I bring her Chrome Bit down tomorrow.

My sister was waiting to pick us up from the airport and drive us another hour and 45 minutes to the rehearsal dinner where we met the groom's family.  The next day was the wedding.  Simple and sweet, the bride bought her dress for $11 at the thrift store.  Sounds like something I would do.  There was a brunch reception and then off to pick up a headstone for my father's grave.  Yes, we mixed a wedding and burial in the same weekend.  That night was a barbeque at my other sister's house.  The next day was the burial and then ice cream and good-bye's to everyone. 

My nephew stayed another night with my sister while my mother and I went home.  It was 112 degrees at 7pm in Phoenix when we landed.  We got home around 9:30pm and I was so happy to be home.  My nephew is now safely at his grandfather's house in Minnesota and I have 3 weeks of not having to think about another person's wants and needs.  Maybe I can get some cleaning and organizing done around the house, that is, if I don't squander my free time watching all the free TV shows and movies that I now have access to on Amazon Prime!

Time Zone Hopping

What a week.  Sorry I have been gone so long but traveling wears me down.  We left for Ohio last Tuesday.  The day started at 4:30am and we arrived in Pittsburgh at 4:30pm three hours ahead of Arizona's time zone.  That would make it 1:30pm AZ time.  We met up with my sister and her children, checked in the hotel, went out to eat at Bob Evans (I had never been there) then dropped my nephew off with a student at the dorm who hosted him for 3 days.  The next day consisted of a campus tour, sitting in on classes, eating at the cafeteria and a leisurely walk down memory lane for me.  My nephew had a great time.  He met fellow anime and video game aficionados with whom he could converse until all hours of the night or morning.  Hopefully, this experience will motivate him to bring up his grades so that he can go to college right after high school.

I was reminded how much I dislike travel.  I will not fly American Airlines again if I can help it.  I could not believe that I had to pay for a premium seat for two of the flights because I did not know that I had to choose my seats before all the free seats were gone.  There was nothing "premium" about the seats either.  I did not get to sit next to my nephew on any of the flights.  Snacks were for purchase only.  No free peanuts or pretzels.  Boarding took forever as the gate agents read off the list of preferential groups, gold members, elite status, credit card rewards members, there must have been around 10 different groups that boarded first and then the remaining folks were lumped together.  The only reason I picked American was because the flight arrived close to my sister's flight.  She took Delta and got free cookies but they damaged her bag so I can't say that was better.  I will go back to flying with Southwest whenever possible.

I am glad that I went and have the memories but I am happy to be home.  My mother did a wonderful job of looking after my dogs.  They were all happy to see me and I could tell that they were more relaxed because they were familiar with the person caring for them instead of a stranger.  It is going to take a month to get back on track with the bills.  I travel so rarely and when I do I tend to spend money more freely than normal.  I paid for dinner for the group and handed out gift cards to my nieces and nephew and the kind students who showed my nephew around.  I am glad that I am careful with spending other times so that I can spend money on things that are important to me, like this trip.

I am back at work this week and my nephew still has another week of spring break.  Next week we will start the last quarter of his junior year.  Only 9 weeks until school is out!  Yes, I am counting the days.  If all goes according to plan, my nephew will be able to drive to school next year and we will live in the house in town.  The mobile home will be sealed up against the pack rats and that project will be put on hold for a year or so depending on how my life goes.  Then, once my nephew goes to college or whatever he chooses to do, I'll continue with my plan to move out to my property full time.

Off to the Faire

Weekends are so short!  Last Friday, I arrived at the mobile home, as usual, puttered around a little bit, cleaning and pulling some weeds and just decompressing after a long week.  Then we loaded up the car with dogs, suitcases, and food and drove 30 minutes to the house in town.  I can't even remember if I made anything for dinner.  I was thinking about cooking some fish sticks but the lack of ketchup in the house made me put it off. 

The next morning, the dogs were up at 6am but I convinced them to let me sleep until 8.  After feeding them I cooked some eggs and bacon...mmmm...bacon.  My nephew isn't a bacon fan.  More for me and the dogs.  The dogs are definitely bacon fans.  After breakfast we got in the car and headed north to the Renaissance Faire.  Now, I had been warned that it was an hour and 45 minute drive and I had drawn myself a map.  My nephew was driving and I was the navigator.  2 hours later, I realized that we were way off course.  I had missed the turn off.  We turned around in a tiny town called Mammoth and I bought a map at the gas station, for future use.  3 1/2 hours later, we found the Renaissance Faire.  I was happy that we finally found it even though I would have rather been at home. 

First stop, stand in line for the bathrooms.  Next stop, buy some questionable food.  I wish I had seen the pizza before I bought the flauta platter.  It was chicken and green chilies inside a flour tortilla rolled in panko bread crumbs and deep fried.  The bread crumbs were overkill.  Next stop was the wooden sword shop which drew my nephew in like a magnet.  He didn't find the right style so we wandered to the next wooden sword shop.  Still no luck so we wandered some more.  It was my goal (and his, sort of) to find a show that he could watch and review for his school assignment.  Finally, I saw one starting in 15 minutes so we walked some more and came back for the show.  It was a musical group called Ghazaal Beledi with fire-eating belly dancers.  Definitely not boring.

After that, I was ready to leave but my nephew still wanted the perfect sword.  He found out where the other sword-makers were located and mulled over his choices, and mulled, and mulled.  He finally pick out a painted sword for $35 but I convinced him that it would be better to buy an unpainted sword for $20 and paint it himself with my many cans of spray paint.  He agreed.

I drove home and it took us 2 hours and 15 minutes with one quick stop for gas.  I was so happy to be home and out of the car.  It was a good experience compared to my nephew being inside playing computer games all day but I missed my Saturday to relax.  Oh well, maybe next Saturday.

Tales from My Trip

Since I got back from Minnesota on Monday morning, I had to jump right in to the work week.  I think things are back to normal now.  Two of the dogs refused to eat while I was gone.  They sure are eating a lot now!  It was a good trip but, of course, I am sorry for the reason my sister and I went in the first place which was for a funeral.  I got in late on Thursday and my sister picked me up since she got in much earlier.  We stayed near the airport and Mall of America which was convenient.  My sister's husband got us "elite" status at the Marriott which meant free wifi and breakfast.  Breakfast was good on Friday morning but on the weekend they made us go to the restaurant instead and they wanted us to pay an extra $4 for eggs and breakfast meats.  We said no and tried to be happy with toast, cereal and fruit.

It was really good to see my nephews and meet all of their relatives.  The nephew that I have guardianship for came over and said "Take me with you!" but he was just joking.  He is what I call a 'highest bidder' kid.  If I had said he could came back to Arizona and play video games and watch TV all the time he would jump at that in a second.  I think he is in a much better place in Minnesota surrounded by family and friends of family.  It will be harder now that his grandma is not around.  Someone needs to learn to cook and they will need to help out around the house more.  Hopefully their aunt and uncle will have an opportunity to be more involved in their lives.

We saw a little bit of St. Paul, mostly when we were lost.  the Mississippi is impressive and there are colleges and churches on every corner is seems.  St. Mary's cathedral looked just like the cathedrals in Rome.

So fancy!  I wonder how long it took to build.

The boys grandmother was the one who arranged for the Pieta statue to come back to the cathedral permanently after it toured the country.  It is an exact replica of the one in Rome.  The one in Rome has a plexi-glass barrier because someone attacked it with a hammer.  I could get much closer to the one at St. Mary's.

One evening we went to my nephew's football game (the older of the two brothers).  They lost but it was fun anyway.  I rarely go to football games.  Some of the visiting relatives were there too.  He had 11 family members cheering for him.  I wonder if he appreciated it.

Another evening my sister and I had a chance to roam around the Mall of America.  I can't believe there are that many stores.  We never made it to the fourth floor.  We did get quite lost but managed to find our shuttle back to the hotel.  I bet we would have lost our rental car in the parking lot if we had driven ourselves.

It was a good trip and I got to hang out with my sister which is a rare occurrence.  This trip cost me just under $1,000 for everything.  That is less than I expected so I might add $500 on to next month's extra mortgage payment.  I'm not sure though because I have more news that affects my finances coming soon and I haven't decided to just use money from savings or to put off my mortgage repayment for another month.

A Million and One Things

This week has been so crazy and it is only Wednesday.  On Monday, I still wasn't feeling 100% but I had to go to work so I did.  I took some cold medicine and must have spend a good 20 minutes staring at my computer for no reason and then laughing to myself because I was staring for no reason.  On the way home my truck started idling funny at stop lights.  It was shaking and sputtered when I accelerated.  I had to stop at the feed store to buy more turkey food for my quail and then to another store to buy cat litter.  The truck was still shaking and sputtering.  As I turned on to my street, the 'check engine' light went on so I knew I was going to have to take my truck to a mechanic.  When I got to the front door of the house, I noticed a trail of ants going inside.  Ick.  I followed them and one group branched off to the kitchen while the other group went down the hall.  I turned on the hall light and it was burned out.  Ahhhh...too many things going wrong at once!  I changed the light bulb, sprayed some bug killer at the door, mopped up the ants, and then proceeded to do all of my regular chores.

I tried to think of a nearby mechanic but I only knew of ones that had over-charged me.  The only one that I heard good things about was 40 minutes away near my mother's house.  I called my mother and she said I could borrow her car so the next morning I got up early and drove all the way there.  Luckily, the truck was acting normal again, although, that turned out to be a bad thing when the mechanic couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.  The check engine code said that it was mis-firing but they checked the spark plugs, wires, and fuel injectors and couldn't find the problem.  I also asked them to fix the automatic door lock because it wasn't locking.  At least that is fixed now  So, after work I took my mother's car back and picked up my truck  It was a long day.

Today I had my dentist appointment for my permanent crown.  It went well, I think, but I still have a problem with one of the teeth on that side and I will have to wait until January to fix it because I am all out of insurance money for this year.  I shall chew carefully.  After the dentist, my truck started acting up again, shaking and idling rough.  I ignored it.  At least the 'check engine' light didn't come one.  I stopped at Walmart to buy the only sinus medicine that works for me.  It is the Walmart brand of sinus decongestant and I have relied on it for years.  They didn't have it.  I was shocked  I'm going to have to check another Walmart or (heaven forbid) actually find another brand that works.  I hope I can find enough of the pills in my purse, truck, and cabinet to get me through this weekend.  My sinuses have been giving me a lot of trouble lately with all the weather changes and then I was sick so my ears are plugged and I am going to fly tomorrow and that always messes me up.  Maybe I can buy some at a Walmart in Minnesota.

So, I leave tomorrow but before I go I have to write out instructions for the house/pet sitter.  She will be staying here and taking care of the dogs, kitties, quail and garden.  I attempted to hook up a simple drip watering system tonight but it got too dark so I will have to finish it tomorrow.  I should have done it long ago.  It would have saved me a lot of time.  I dusted off my suitcase and washed some clothes for the funeral which I haven't worn in a very long time.  The last time I traveled I went to Washington state to help my parents pack for their move to my house.  That was 2 1/2 years ago, I think.  That pet sitter made such a mess in my house, I never wanted to leave my dogs alone with anyone again.  Luckily, I trust my new pet sitter.  She works at an animal shelter so I am sure she can handle what ever happens even if my dogs aren't very well behaved for other people.

I have a ton of little things to do so I will try to get some sleep and not think about all of the things that I might forget.  Flying really stresses me.  I'm always afraid I am going to miss my flight or forget something important.  It is only 4 days.  I'll be back in no time at all.  I can do this.

The Unexpected Trip

I'm feeling 75% better today.  Unfortunately, tomorrow is Monday and I have to go back to work.  Well, no one will notice if I sleep at my desk for a while, I hope.  I must be better by Thursday because I am flying to Minnesota for the funeral of my nephew's grandmother.  I hate leaving my dogs but, hopefully, the pet-sitter is available or else my mother is going to have fun taking care of my dogs, cats, quail and garden.

Friday was a sick day although I logged in from home to answer a few emails.  I hate missing a day and coming in with tons of emails to answer.  I spent most of Saturday and Sunday taking it easy.  At least my throat doesn't hurt anymore.  Now it has moved in to my sinuses and I have the most annoying headache (like headaches aren't always annoying?).  I'll feel better tomorrow right?  I have a lot to do before I leave.

Post Office Hunt and Summer Flights

When my nephew was here for Christmas break he left his phone charger behind.  This wasn't a big problem because he only uses his phone when he travels so the next time he would need it was when he comes here for the Summer.  Summer is coming fast so I put the charger in a padded envelope and searched for the nearest post office.  I know there is one a few miles from my work but I have been faithfully walking at lunch and didn't want to go.  I wanted to go after work.  That post office was not on my way home but I located one that was close to my route.  I drove there yesterday and didn't see a post office so that was a waste of time.  

Today I looked up the address again and used Google maps to zoom in on the satellite photo.  As I suspected, the post office is inside the Chevron gas station that I drove by.  I've never seen a post office in a gas station.  Anyway, after work I stopped in and their postage machine was down.  Well, now I know where the post office is but that didn't help me mail my package.  Out of desperation I stopped at the UPS store and thought I would try shipping it UPS.  Turns out that the UPS store also does regular mail.  I had no idea.  Or maybe I forgot.  It was a good thing they did mail too because the clerk said it would have cost around $12 to mail my little envelope with UPS.  I paid $3.00 and crossed that little chore off my list.  Next time I need to mail something I need to remember that the UPS store can do it and they are only a mile from my home.  So convenient!

In other nephew news, I thought I was going to be able to skip the drive to Phoenix this year because I found a Southwest flight that had one stop but didn't change planes.  I figured a 14 year old could handle that by himself.  After I bought the ticket, Southwest changed the flight so that it does change planes.  Oops.  I called them and after being put on hold a really long time, I was able to change the flight to Phoenix which is a direct flight.  I was happy until they sent me an updated itinerary.  The price was the same.  One of the reasons that I like Southwest so much is that they don't charge a change fee and they give you credit for the difference in plane fare if there is one.  The Phoenix flight was $80 cheaper than the Tucson flight.  Normally, changing destinations is not allowed.  I think I would have had to cancel one ticket and bought a new one but it was Southwest who changed their flight so I thought I had a good argument.  I sent my explanation and question to Southwest customer service and waited.  The next day I had a response and they gave me an $80 credit which I have to use by March of next year.  That is fine because I am sure that I will be buying my nephew another ticket for Christmas break.  

I am very glad that I paid attention to the ticket price and asked for the credit.  It almost makes having to drive to Phoenix worth it.  Well, maybe not, but it makes it a little better.  One of these years my nephew will feel confident enough to change planes.  Maybe I should pay him the amount I would pay in gas to Phoenix as an incentive to try.  I'm willing to wait until he's 16 though. 

Days Of The Week

What day is it? I can't keep the days straight when I am not sitting at a desk next to a calendar wishing for Friday. Only one more day and then the long trip home begins and the frantic weekend to get the house ready. One step at a time though. We got the Uhaul truck today and tomorrow we will begin to load. There is still a lot of stuff to pack but my mom has to say yes or no to it all so the process is slow.

We went to Walmart today which is basically the only place to shop in this little town. It was lightly snowing outside and some of the natives were wearing tank tops while I was bundled up in a snow jacket and hat. I forgot to buy headphones for the trip home. I meant to download a movie for the flight here but ran out of time. I tried using the free headphones from the airline to listen to music but they hurt my ears and I couldn't hear anything anyway because I was near the engine. I should download a movie right now while I have the time and maybe I will remember to buy some headphones when we stop at Target on the way to the airport. Now that I put it in writing I will remember, right?

Travel Trials

Yesterday started with plenty of time to get everything done but I should have known that things would change since my trips always begin with speeding to the airport. I planned an hour to go pick up my dog-sitter. She said she was all packed and ready. I think 2 hours had passed before I finally got back home, threw my stuff in a bag, grabbed a dog and dropped him off at an adoption event and then sped off to the airport.

I raced though the drive thru and got a few chicken sandwiches to eat later on. I parked in one of those parking lots with a shuttle bus and when I got there I was the only one there for many minutes while I wondered if anyone knew I was there. The shuttle did show up though and took me to the airport. After waiting in line to check in and then again for security, I bought an overpriced chocolate milk and ate my sandwiches.

I was hoping to have a few minutes in Denver to get some water, eat my apple and make use of the free wi-fi, but no, when I found my flight on the monitor I had only 15 minutes before it left! I had some trouble following the signs but after running across 4 moving sidewalks, though the shops and the giant circle cutout that showed the downstairs area, I made it to the gate before they closed the doors. Of course I had a window seat so I had to climb over everyone and then since I didn't have time to use the restroom, I had ask them to get up again after we took off.

My plans of downloading a movie before I left did not pan out and I didn't have time to buy new earphones. I tried listening to some music with the free earphones that they gave out but the roar of the engines it drown out. I tried to sleep but the rambunctious children in back kept things lively. We landed early so my sister wasn't there yet. Another 2 hour drive and I finally made it to my parents' house. Now the real work begins. Everything that is going to Arizona has to be loaded up by the end of the week. I need a nap.

Home Again

I made it home. I left an hour later than I had planned but luckily there wasn't much traffic and I made it home by 6:30 after I picked up my 2 dogs. My little dog was so happy to see me he just jumped all over me and licked my face. I wish I had a video of him. He was so excited. My bigger dog was happy too but he had been in a fight with one of the other dogs and he wasn't in a good mood. They are both sleeping soundly on my bed tonight. The foster dogs aren't here yet. I will pick them up tomorrow.

It was an interesting trip. The best part was seeing everyone and that we got to stay at the beach. The bad part was the getting sick part and all of the noises at the beach and very little insulation in the walls. It was very hard to get a good nights sleep and the people talking, beeping microwave and clinking spoons in the morning made it impossible to sleep in. One of those white noise machines would have come in very handy. I must remember to put that on my Christmas list.

Well, I am home and I wish I had more time before work on Monday and I also wish I could have stayed at the beach longer. Shouldn't I at least get an extra day because I was sick on a holiday? We were just starting to figure out a routine. It takes a while for 19 people to figure out how to maneuver around each other in a small space. Next time it should be 2 weeks. One week to get all the chores, sickness, whatever, out of the way and the next week to have fun and relax! Oh...and next time I should get to bring my dogs. I saw so many dogs on the beach. My dogs would have loved that.

Down Hill

When your vacation goes down hill, it is not a good thing. Of course, since my vacation started with a rain storm, it really didn't have far to fall. People started feeling ill last night and this morning, more than half are sick with a stomach virus. I'm feeling queasy myself but maybe it is just out of sympathy.

Anyway, Thanksgiving is cancelled for the day. The current menu is lemon lime soda and saltine crackers. Maybe people will feel better tomorrow but I doubt it. That is too bad too because I am not going anywhere for Christmas so this was my one holiday to celebrate with family.

Oh well, there is always next year. I just hope I am feeling up to the long drive home on Saturday.

Vacation Fun

I'm here at our rented beach house looking out at the wind, rain, and coooold weather even though my nephew insists that it is warm compared to Washington State.

Tonight I had the bright idea that we should all go to the end of the pier and have dinner at the restaurant. It was windy when we left. We had a nice dinner of cheeseburgers and milkshakes and it started to rain...hard. By the time we left it was really coming down and we had a long walk back.

The waitress gave my mom a plastic bag to use as a poncho and bags for her shoes. We finally made it home and put all of our wet clothes in the dryer. These are what memories are made of right?

No News Is Good, Bad, or Annoying

My realtor sent me an email and said that she hasn't heard any update on my short sale house. She sent the other realtor a message to see if he knows anything. She also said that she finally heard back on another short sale and it was accepted. It only took 7 months. 7 months!!! I hope mine doesn't take that long. I want to be out of here (or have a block wall built out here) before the weather warms up and the snakes wake up!

In other news, I got the rent for this month. Yay! I don't have any big bills to pay but...I have my road trip to California next week so I will have to pay for gas and food and Disneyland. It will be great to see my family though. 2 more days of work this week!

It's Good To Be Home

I am back home and the dogs were thrilled to see me. I am sure the cat was happy too but she doesn't do thrilled very well. While the flight to DC wre entertaining, the flights back were arduous. People were cranky because flights had been cancelled. Flight attendants were cranky too. My flight was 40 minutes late and then the connection was 40 minutes late. Both flights had turbulence and I ate something that didn't agree with me which meant climbing over people to get to the bathroom twice. Plus the seatbelt sign kept going on and off and on because of the turbulence. I thought I was going to get yelled at for going to the bathroom but managed not to somehow.

I sat between a elderly couple because one wanted the aisle seat and one wanted the aisle. There was a little bit of bickering between them which made the flight a little awkward at times. The gentleman was a WWII and Vietnam veteran. He flew a Liberator aircraft over France and got hit with flak. He crash landed in a vineyard and was rescued by the Free French. They took him in to their farmhouse and had a champagne party all night. He went back to visit them in the 80's and their son, who was the same age as their own son, came to the US for a while to visit. After that he went to Law school and became a medical malpractice attorney. He was still in the reserves and got called up for Vietnam where he flew a front loading cargo plane.

What I admired most about him was how much he said he enjoyed his work, both being and attorney and flying military planes. His son is now a physician of who he was very proud. Now he is retired and fills his time with veterans groups. I don't think he will be around much longer but he seemed to have lived a fulfilling life.

Whenever I meet someone who loves (or loved) their job it makes me feel like I need to work harder to find something that I love to do. Hopefully I can focus on that goal this year.

Touring The Sites

Today we went to see the Smithsonian Museum of American History. It was interesting but not as comprehensive as I expected. The two things I remember most were Kermit and the original Kermit muppet and Julia Child's kitchen since I had just seen the movie where they showed it. After that we went to Arlington Cemetery where it was freezing cold and the baby had a screaming fit. After that we had a lovely dinner at a diner. Love those family memories!

Shopping Spree Day

Another freezing cold day with the family. We managed to go shopping today and I spent $201 on gifts. Next year I think I will give them all gift cards when we are at the store. That way they can figure out their own budgets, combine their cards or add more money if they like, and then they can keep the extra if they want to.

Tomorrow I think we are planning to go to a museum. Not sure if we will make it or not. The baby and smaller kids make the schedule unpredictable. I don't mind though. I came out here to visit with family so anything we get to do together will be fun.

Movie Day

We headed out to go Christmas shopping today but ended up just going to see Disney's Tangled. It was a remake of Rapunzel and it was pretty good. I don't remember the last time I went to see a movie....oh wait, it was UP at the drive in. The drive in was much cheaper than this movie. $8.75 for the matinee. They had it in 3D too for a few dollars more.

I am having a nice time here in Washington DC. We haven't gone sight-seeing yet. It was windy and cold today so being outside was painful. A few of the family have colds so that is throwing a wrench in our plans. I hope I don't get their cold but it is probably inevitable. It is kind of a tradition now. Someone has to be sick for my visit. Two years ago we all had the stomach flu at Christmas so I suppose I should be happy that it is just a cold. I think we are going to try to go shopping again tomorrow.

The Day After Christmas

My plan worked! I brought a suitcase full of dirty laundry to my sister's house and now I have a suitcase full of clean clothes. I wish I had brought more dirty clothes!

I had a lovely Day After Christmas. The kids waited to open their presents until I arrived so it was just like Christmas morning. I still haven't gone shopping with them so there were no gifts from me but I think we will be braving the malls tomorrow.

The flight was very festive. The Southwest flight attendants not only decorated the plane with lights, they wore Santa hats, had blinking light necklaces, recited the safety rules to "Twas the Night Before Christmas", sang to us when we could turn on our electronics, and passed out candy. Plus, the seats were much more comfortable than US Air and they didn't charge for luggage. I think I know which airline I will be flying from now on.

Home Sweet Home

I wrote this post yesterday while in the airplane:

I am in the air flying back to Phoenix right now. I was hoping for free WiFi in the Spokane airport like Tucson had but no. They only have a subscription service. That may be good for business people but it certainly isn’t very convenient for the occasional traveler.

On the way up to Spokane I made it through Tucson airport security without any problems. I made sure I separated my luggage and all of the questionable items like liquids and my netbook. I even took my sweatshirt off because once I got the “wand” for being too bulky when I was wearing a sweatshirt. When I arrived at the Spokane airport for my trip back I got the full treatment. I went through the backscatter xray machine with my hands over my head and joked that I was a reindeer. Good thing the TSA agent was in a good mood. I probably shouldn’t have joked at all…not after the woman got thrown off our plane on my way up for laughing too loudly. Next I got a closer inspection from a female TSA agent who said my ponytail was what made me have to go through super-inspection. That’s good to know. She also looked at my watch. Good thing she didn’t look too closely or she would have noticed that the back is suspiciously glued on. Next time I fly, no sweatshirt, no ponytail, and my watch will go in the bin with the rest of my possessions.

I was hoping for a window seat so I could get some sleep but I am stuck in an aisle seat again. I get a window seat on my connecting flight to Tucson but it is only an hour. Better than nothing I guess. I can’t wait to get home and see my dogs. I haven’t left them since last Christmas. It is nice to know they will be happy to see me. I mean, I used to travel and leave my cat behind but she really wasn’t that enthusiastic about my return. It was more like “where have you been?”. I’m sure she was happy on the inside.
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My flight to Tucson was delayed because of mechanical issues. I made it to my house at 3am. The dogs were sooooo happy. It was a very nice home-coming. Then we all settled down and went to sleep. They woke me up at 7am and I fed them but sent my coworker a text that I would be late and went back to sleep. Around 10 I got up and leisurely cleaned the mobile home and got ready for work. I used a half of day vacation so I didn't go in until 1pm. It was so nice to have a little time to get my home organised again so that I didn't have to come home to a bunch of chores.

I asked my HR person how much vacation I have left. I still have one day after using the half of day today and I get 12 days of vacation again on December 8th. I think I can make it. That is only a little over a week away.

The Long Weekend Is Over

It has been fun up here in the snow but it must come to an end. I am supposed to work tomorrow. I don't remember if I have one vacation day left or only a half day. Well, even a half day would be helpful. I am anticipating being tired after my long journey home. The weather in AZ has gotten considerably colder. 49 is the high for tomorrow. Not as cold as 25 in Washington but still cold to me especially because I will have to be outside more.

I should come back up here next Summer when it is warmer. Maybe my Mom has a project she wants to work on. I decided not to bring the Hoover floormate back with me because it was heavy and awkward. I guess I'll just keep cleaning the old fashioned way for a while longer. Maybe I'll still find one at Big Lots or on clearance. I suppose I will survive without one until my mortgage is gone. After this trip I should really tighten the purse strings a bit tighter.