Monday, May 30, 2016

And Then They Bloomed ...

I have spoken at least twice (here and here) about my troublesome hydrangeas. I had determined that this would be their final year, having not bloomed for years. Last winter I just left them as they were - I didn't trim off the dead parts or fertilize or cajole or anything. I just let them be. So imagine my surprise and delight when this year they have bloomed like crazy, with all shade of blue and purple.

Why this year? Maybe they heard me discuss with our landscaper about how I was going to tear them out if they didn't bloom. Maybe just leaving them alone gave them the space to get themselves together and do their blooming thing this year. Maybe they are a certain variety that blooms whenever the heck they want to, and they wanted to this year.

I don't know - I'm just going to enjoy them. And maybe take a lesson from them. Sometimes you just have to have to be left alone, to have some space, and to get ready to do what you're made to do.
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Today's blessings include: beautiful flowering hydrangeas

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Molly's Home!!

Molly has been in Hong Kong for the past week or so for a school trip related to her getting her MBA. And yes, she went to Hong Kong Disney. At least twice. And yes, she got an annual pass. She said it was because it was cheaper than getting tickets for several days, but I think she really wanted to add to her Disney annual pass collection.

Anyhow, as her helicopter mom, I naturally tracked her flight back. On my phone. And here's that pictorial history ...

Yes, it's 3am in Nashville. I had to make sure she took off, didn't I? Yes, it seems like she veered a bit off course, but it appears they got back on course. Which is headed home, which is most important!

Okay, so maybe I got a few hours sleep. Clearly I should have stayed awake, because WHERE THE HECK ARE THEY HEADED? TO THE NORTH POLE? IS SOMEONE ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL? WHERE'S THE RADAR PERSON??  Clearly sleep time is over for me ...

Okay, so the radar person must have awoken, because now they at least are headed in the right direction. Albeit off course a bit. Wonder if Molly is looking out the window ...
 
Okay, now they are back on the blue line. And almost to New York City. Which means she's only a couple of hours from Nashville, via plane, provided that pilot stays on course ...

Guess he decided to take a shortcut ... Whatever - she's home (almost!)!!
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Today's blessings include: watching Molly's flight home; Molly actually being home!

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Pawpaw Time


Not all photos are just little kids. Sometimes big kids get in the photo, too! Especially when the little kid is just so darn cute!!
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Today's blessings include: Pawpaw and Emmatha time

Friday, May 27, 2016

Captions


Lindley: "I want to walk across. But I don't want to fall in the water. The water looks kind of cold and yucky. But I still want to walk across."

Sam: "I will go with you. I will hold your hand. I will stand in the yucky cold water and help you get across the water on this log." And what he really means is, "I will always be beside you, to hold your hand when you need me, to get you across whatever might prevent you from achieving your hopes and dreams and goals. And even though you may not want me, or need me, or even know that I am there, I will be. Just waiting for you to stick out you hand and look over and call out my name."

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Today's blessings include: photo to love and hang on my wall

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Fashion

Back in the old days, when I was a child, fashion was basically what your mother told you to wear. And in my case, it was usually what my mother sewed for me. She was an excellent seamstress, and most of the time, I wore whatever was in my closet. At least until I was in junior high (another relic of times gone by) and developed an opinion. Also, in elementary school, girls weren't allowed to wear pants until I was in fifth grade and then only if they were "pants suits". And in sixth grade, we could wear these contraptions called "culottes" which were baggy kind of shorts, with flaps in the front or back. Anyhoo, that was then. This is now:

No photos, please! Fat chance of that ...

I shall banish you with my magic want. As all pre-schoolers can!

I will stand still for a photo. I shall not smile. Hurry up!!
So now you know the current fashion - sparkly silver shoes, a pink scarf (artfully tied around one's neck), a magic wand, and killer sunglasses. And of course, the look of death to those who try to cross you. I think it will work for the workplace!
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Thankful today for: taking Everley to school; beautiful day

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Gee Whiz, LaLa!!


 Baby Emmatha:  "Oh my goodness, she's taking another photo. Can't she see that I am sleeping? When I wake up from the constant clicking, she's going to be pretty ticked that I'm awake now and she can't nap while I'm napping - because I'm no longer napping!! Geeze - LaLas can be such a pain in the butt sometimes! And speaking of butts, I think someone needs a diaper change ...."

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Today's blessings: Emmatha and Everley time; eventual nap time

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Little Girls

Today I took Everley to school. Sometimes the best way to get out the door is to propose a stop at Krispey Kreme. As you can see, that was the case for today. And sometimes a KK hat needs to replace the adorable headband chose at home (which gets relegated to the table, hopefully not to be forgotten in the rush to get to school on time).

Anyhow, some days just go better when one starts with a chocolate doughnut covered in sprinkles.

And speaking of little girls, 30 years ago, another little girl made her way into this world. Molly Morgan Davidson was born. When the OB asked me for her name, and I told him Molly, his response was "Good Golly Miss Molly." And so it's been ever since!  Happy Birthday Molly!!
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Today's blessings include: taking Everley to school with a stop at Krispey Kreme; Molly's birthday!

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Technology - Ain't It Great??

Molly is in Hong Kong. Am I worried? Nope. Mainly because there's nothing I can do about it. And hopefully she's seen the same movies/tv crime shows as I have and is aware of any dangers (and her class had a meeting about what to do in case of emergency). But it is nice that I can track her on her phone - okay, so track her phone and hope that she is with said phone.

Of course there is the time that her phone kept saying she was at the cemetery and we got all nervous when the entire time she was in the movie theater next to ours ...
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Thankful today for: Apple phone tech to track important people; safe travel for Molly and friends; fun Saturday with Everley and Emmatha


Friday, May 20, 2016

Travel

Today Molly leaves for Hong Kong for a brief visit as part of her MBA program. While there she and her classmates will be talking with business leaders and visiting their companies. Oh, and of course on her free day she will visit Hong Kong Disney (duh). Her flight is the stuff of my nightmares. Mainly because it's a billion hours long (like maybe 12?). As one who flinches at the thought of any flight, certainly the length of this one is mind-numbing.

Anyhow, I tracked her flight overnight and totally assured myself that indeed, I shall not be visiting Hong Kong Disney anytime soon. Hope her flights had some good movies showing!

They left from Detroit and at this point are over Greenland.
And apparently the top of the world ..

At least they seem close. Or closer. Than they were.
And why am I up at 3:38am?
Because my baby is flying over the top of the world!!

They made it! Guess I'll go to bed now ...
By the way, you get the Amazon ad for freezies ...
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Thankful today for: Molly's safe flight and the fact that I'm not on it; technology that lets me see where Molly's flight is/was

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Throw Back Thursday


There was that time that my sister Marilyn and I were taking a road trip to Disney World with our daughters and their friend. And although we were driving a minivan, we decided it would be a great idea to put all the bags on top of the car in the roof rack. And we really had no idea of what we were doing, just that we had a lot of rope-like material. And we thought everything was dandy until a neighboring car started honking at us as we traveled down the interstate, indicating that one of our carefully placed bags was now hanging on the side of the car. And that didn't deter us, since we were a few hours down the road and about to pass a rest stop where we could reconfigure the bags (hence the photo above). We didn't realize that this would be the first of several of such stops (hence our happy expressions) and that we would eventually toss the offending bag into the car, to be held by whichever daughter and/or friend happened to be closest to the door...  At least we had plenty of rope-like material (which we also didn't realize that would stretch, mainly because it was rope-like material).

Oh well, at least we didn't have to stop for someone to throw up (or was that this trip?). I know this wasn't the trip when we ran out of gas.  Or got lost (wait - I think that happened every trip).

Road trips - not for the faint of heart, if you're traveling with the Lewis sisters!!
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Thankful today for: fun memories ; travel plans made

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

My Assistants ...

I am not sure if Maggie Cat and Minnie Cat think (a) they are Emmatha's day care helpers, or (b) they will get the remainder of Emmatha's bottle, should Emmatha not want it all, or (c) they are just jealous because Emmatha gets to cuddle while drinking her bottle and they don't, or (d) they are extremely jealous of each other and after one jumped up on the recliner, the other one jumped up just to prove a point. At any rate, today they have decided that they don't want to miss out on anything, and therefore must sit as close as possible.

Of course, it's also possible I might have overthunk the entire minds of these cats ...
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Thankful today for: "together time" with Emmatha and Maggie and Minnie; a few successful attempts at getting things accomplished while also experiencing "together time" with Emmatha and Maggie and Minnie

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

It Takes A Village

Back in the Dark Ages, we had to go to "town" to get things. Of course, nothing was open on Sundays for shopping purposes. Most of the shopping that I was privy to consisted of having a purpose and going to said stores to achieve that purpose. In the town where I grew up, there was no mall. And it was a big day when Wal-Mart opened up in town. My, how times have changed.

Maribeth has currently schooled me in the modern art of shopping. Which means that there is no "going" to get stuff - it can all be delivered to you. As in your front door. Which is fine by me, since I am not a shopper. But in case you are unaware of your shopping opportunities (based on your locale), let me share my knowledge ...

Shipt. This is a service that will go to the local Publix grocery store (at least here in Nashville), select your desired products, bag them up, and bring them to your front door. All you have to do is sign up, order your stuff online (and include a tip), and it is delivered to you. You can order a bag of flour AND fried chicken. You just have to pick a delivery time (which if it's around dinner time, the fried chicken will be quite handy) and create your shopping list. There have been times that Maribeth's shopper has texted with questions or substitutions. And when you have a new baby and a four-year-old and a job and a husband deployed in Cuba, having someone shop and bring in your groceries is quite nice!

Gas. Okay, so I don't exactly know the exact name of this company. Since I drive a Prius roller skate and only drive places in the radius of about five miles, I only have to put gas in my care about once a month. But Maribeth has to drive a ways to work and drives a mini-van, so her fill-ups are more frequent. Again, with her current life, finding time to stop and gas up the car while the kids are content and not having meltdowns is sometimes a bit difficult. So she found a company that will COME TO HER HOUSE AND GAS UP HER CAR. Sure, there's a small fee, but worth it for the time saved. The same company will clean out/wash her car for an additional fee.

Amazon Prime Now. You should be aware of Amazon, the internet super store. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can get your purchases fast. But now there's a Amazon Prime Now that will get your purchases to you within an hour or so. Sure, the item you want has to be in their inventory, but so far I've had delivered a mini-frig, diapers and pull-ups, and toilet paper, just to mention a few. Sure, I could have gotten out and gone to the store, but at the time, this was a lot easier than packing up the car with whichever child I was entertaining at the moment.

So, what's the final verdict? Lazy or convenient? I guess it all depends on your perspective. And whether or not you've got the time and energy to shop. I personally think of it as time management. And helping the economy by giving people a job to do and money to earn. I still pump my own gas and visit the grocery store and Target/Wal-Mart on a regular basis. But it's certainly nice to know that if I needed it, there would be somebody to help me out by doing it for me!
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Thankful today for: Shipt delivery person bringing dinner and other groceries

Monday, May 16, 2016

Two of My Favorites

Yes, I know. They are quite wonderful!!
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Thankful today for: quiet Monday at home

Letting Go Of That One ...

In 2016, I was going to wog/walk/crawl 2016 miles. I had a plan and it looked doable. And then Maribeth had a baby and my IT band decided to revolt and trying to keep up with exactly how many miles I accomplished became impossible. And so I have had to admit defeat. However many miles I will manage to do in 2016 shall remain unknown, mainly because I just don't have the motivation to try to figure it out.

I hate to admit defeat. I hated having to admit that I would not be able to do the Tinkerbell half marathon earlier this month. But there comes a time that you have to admit that something's not going to happen and let it go. And by letting it go, you have to really let it go and not beat yourself up about it. Because letting it go is not the end of the world.

Sure, you have to decide what you're going to keep going at (like getting this blog back on track) and what you're not (like 2016 miles). But in the end, I think you know which thing is which. Sometimes it takes more courage to admit that something is not going to happen than it does to keep dogging something attempting to make it happen. You just have to know and admit which is which.

So I won't be doing 2016 miles this year. Maybe next year. But I am going to get this blog back to where it should be. Seriously.
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Thankful today for: quiet Monday at home; accomplishing a few tasks; Emmatha time

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Emotions

And how is your day going? I think we've covered all the emotions here today ...

Sadness, frustration, anger, irritation, disgust, impatience ...

Silliness, joy, playfulness, happiness

Peaceful, content, restful
I would show you my own emotion-photos, but I think they would be more scary than anything else!!
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Thankful today for: Everley and Emmatha time

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Happy Saturday!!

Having survived yesterday with no injuries, I thought I would show some happy photos from today!!

Side smile - a good way to start the day!

Take away my pacifier?  I'll fight you!!

Baby sleeping. No cats were involved.

Big sister sleeping. Cats are probably somewhere close.
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Thankful today for: Everley and Emmatha and Lindley time; sleeping babies!

Friday, May 13, 2016

Happy Friday!!

Today is Friday 13th. Like several other designated days, I do not like Friday 13ths. Am I superstitious? Maybe. I just don't like any days with spooky connotations. So what shall I do to negate the whole theory behind Friday 13?  Here's a list of 13 ideas ...

  1. Go on a wog. But I might slip and fall and twist my ankle, so maybe I won't be doing that.
  2. Eat some comfort food, like a chocolate bar. But I'm trying to lose weight, and I heard that chocolate bars cause a weight gain (especially if you decided not to go on a wog), and probably because of today the weight gain will double, so maybe I won't do that.
  3. Take a soothing bubble bath. But the bubble bath I might use will probably be the one that some researcher had decided to cause weight gain and adult onset acne, so maybe I should just skip the bath for today.
  4. Take a hot relaxing shower. But what if my hot water heater has a malfunction because of today and all of a sudden hot scalding water pours out of the shower, making the above mentioned adult onset acne even worse? Never mind about the shower.
  5. Pick some of my flowers for a table arrangement. But what if the bees are buzzing about my flowers and unknown to me, have chosen today as National Bee Stinging Day and concentrate on my poor, burned, adult onset acne face? Better stay away from the flowers.
  6. Clean out a closet. But what if all the boxes of junk that I have been storing fall on my bee-stung, burned, adult onset acne head, causing a concussion? Better stay out of the closet.
  7. Read a book. But the only book I can locate is that one about getting rid of clutter, which would entice me to venture into the closet, where potential injuries are lurking. And the resulting concussion would probably cause me to forget that I had already read the book, and I would reread the book, causing another venture into the dangerous closet. No book reading today!
  8. Go out to eat. Which would be fun, until the manager kicked me out of the restaurant because people were afraid of my puffy, red, peeling, adult onset acne face, not to mention the fact that I was walking in circle mumbling to myself due to my concussions (however many of them I had acquired by that point).
  9. Enjoy the granddaughters. How delightful would that be?! That is, if they knew it was me behind the mask I would have to wear due to my scary face. And the fact that in my concussed state, they would probably convince me to use all my credit card dollars on purchasing things from ToysRUs.com. Those tricky little girls need to stay at home!
  10. Go to a movie. But I would probably choose the wrong movie, like my mother did when I was little and sent us to the movie "Toys In The Attic" which she thought was a kids movie but was really a gangster movie, and I would choose what I thought was a documentary about Texas but instead was a porno like "Debbie Does Dallas." As if my concussed brain would remember it anyway. But I will stay away from movies today.
  11. Catch up on emails. I haven't heard from my friend in Nigeria who has riches for me, if I would only send him some money to release the riches. And if there were any dollars left of my granddaughter-overtaken credit cards, then not only would my Nigerian friend have his money, but I would also have met singles in my area and had my penis enlarged. I think I will stay away from my emails today.
  12. Watch television. Which would be easy, but in my present state resulting from all the above, I would probably watch and see that a terrible storm is coming like that time I was watching and saw that a killer tornado was coming. In Chicago. I was living and watching television in Orlando. I'll just keep the television off for today.
  13. Call my friends on the phone. Which would be great, if I could remember their numbers in real life, much less in my Friday 13 state. Which means I would probably call some total stranger who will now have my number in his/her contacts, and this will be the call that will drive the total stranger over the wall and will try to steal my identity - that of a overweight, old lady, wandering around mumbling to herself while her face oozes and peels, and whose identity isnt worth peeling since she no longer has any credit anyway.
So, I think I shall just stay in the bed today. When does tomorrow get here?
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Thankful today for: it's Friday!; sleepover with Emmatha and Everley

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Throwback Thursday

Once upon a time, I decided I would do a marathon. I had never done any kind of a race before, and thought this would be a good idea. I'm not sure that anyone in the family thought this was a good idea, or even that I would actually go through it. But I trained (in my own way), and when the time came, Sam went with me to document the whole thing.

Yes, it took around seven hours. But I finished, and it started a whole lifetime of doing this race and that, and has even created a whole generation of runners/woggers/walker. So here I am finishing the first one. Who knew??!!


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Thankful today for: meeting with Renee at Molly's to discuss remodel; lunch with Lisa at Cheesecake Factory; Lindley time

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Wishful Wednesday

Do you ever wish for that magic lamp and genie that would immediately grant you three wishes? Sometimes I do. But how could I limit myself to three wishes? And what would they be? I've thought a bit about this, and have come up with these three wishes ...

Wish Number 1:  I wish for a slim and healthy body. But wait, I could do that myself. All I need to do is eat right and exercise. And keep at it. Oh well, guess that wish is out.

Wish Number 2:  I wish that I could win the lottery and have loads of money to do fun things and help others. But wait, I would be considered wealthy to millions of people. People who have no idea where they will sleep at night, or when and what their next meals will be, or even how they will be able to exist another day or even hour or even minute. So why would I need more when I have already been blessed by so much? That wasn't a very good wish.

Wish Number 3:  I wish for world peace. Okay, so I'll go the Miss America route. But what does that look like? Would one person's idea of peace overstep another person's idea of peace? Who determines what peace is? So maybe I should just start where I am, and create peace in my own little world. Maybe I can start of loving others regardless my opinion of their lives. Maybe I can start closing my mouth and start thinking with my brain before I make comments about things. Maybe I can strive to listen more and help effectively and make things better. Maybe the truth is really in the song - "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." So maybe this one wasn't the wish I thought it would be.

So looking back at the wishes I thought I would make, maybe they weren't so lofty after all. Maybe they're actually wishes that I could get, just by working a little harder myself. So does that make me the real genie?

Just something to ponder ...

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Thankful today for: making plans for lunches and vacations and projects

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

And Here We Go Again!!

And I was on such a run. I thought for sure I would catch up. And then I didn't. Oh well, let's take another run at this ...

For all intents and purposes, it's the middle of May. I know, you were thinking I would have my monthly post bemoaning yet another passing of another month in this apparent whirlwind of time that I find myself in. Since you were expecting that, just attempt to remember all those posts. And in case you don't remember, here are a few key phrases - "where did month go", "things not done", "exercise and weight loss nonexistent." Now do you remember?

So, in honor of the fact that time is indeed passing, I decided to offer a few quotes about the subject. And maybe I'll learn to concentrate on the idea that it's not the time, but the experiences that matter. Speaking of which ...







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Thankful today for: Quiet Tuesday in between trips

Monday, May 9, 2016

Meanwhile, Back In Nashville ...

This was going on. Maribeth does quite the job with finding matching clothes! And one day we will look back on these and comment, "Remember when they used to like dressing alike?" Wonder which one will rebel first ...

Emmatha always looks a bit unsure -
maybe she will be the one who balks at matchy-matchy first!!
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Thankful today for: sleeping in my own bed; Mother's Day gifts from Sam and Lindley; Emmatha and Everley and Lindley time

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Happy Mother's Day!!

So I didn't get to do the half marathon today (well, rather I chose not to attempt the half marathon today), but I did manage to see Molly at the finish. And this is what I got in return!!


Happy Mother's Day!!

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Thankful today for: not attempting the race; seeing Molly finish and her get a great finish time; fun, quick drive to the airport with crazy taxi driver; safe, smooth ride home (especially the first leg); fun encounter with my seat mates, who actually took my window seat

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Tinkerbell's 10K

So yesterday after doing the 5K, my right leg was a bit iffy. Nothing particularly wrong, and my ankle was okay, but I could tell something was off. And today after about a mile, I knew something was off. By Mile 4, I just wanted to finish before the sweep vans came by. And by the finish, I knew tomorrow's half marathon would be out of the question - since I knew that by scraping by through Mile 6.2, there would be no way I could eek out seven more miles.  Just to give you an idea of how I felt ...


That would be me, to your left, in the floral skirt and purple skirt (just in case you thought that was me in the hat and pink tutu). As you can see, I had already wrapped my knee, but it just didn't work. I was thrilled just to finish, and had to admit that tomorrow would not happen. Disappointed? Yes, but I would rather try to protect my knee from totally blowing up. And as it turned out, later that night I could barely move it.

Oh well, there's always another Disney race - or so I hear ...
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Thankful today for: finishing the 10K; sweet runners who would ask how I was doing and encourage me along the way; watching "Keanu" with Molly

Friday, May 6, 2016

Tinkerbell's 5K

This is probably my favorite 5K, because of the start. The race starts on Main Street of Disneyland, which is The Magic Kingdom to those of you who have never been to Disneyland. Here's how it starts: 

Once Tink is through flitting about, the three corrals are started. We wog around Disneyland, then out and about to the finish in Downtown Disney (again, a whole different concept to you never-been-heres).  Molly stayed with me, and we had a pretty good time, as evidenced by our stellar official photos:

We got our pledals! (That would be plastic medals to the unedjicated).

The things moms have to do ...

A Happy Mother's Day Weekend Photo!!

Because we needed to check on something.
Like the movie schedule.
Or the lunch menu ...

Obviously I am a pushy kind of mom ...
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Thankful today for: fun 5K with Molly; watching "Captain America - Civil War"

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Disneyland - Day 1

It's always nice to come to Disneyland the night before, because we get to go to bed and then wake up and have a full day to do stuff. Otherwise, we would spend half the day traveling to get here, and then be super tired because of the time zone thing, and by the time we recovered, it would be time to leave. So in other words, today we awoke refreshed and ready to do something. And so here's what we did ...

1. Got our Disneyland tickets. Which originally were 2-day park hoppers, until we realized that for not that much more, we could get season passes, which would also give us big discounts on buying stuff and eating stuff, two of our favorite activities. The cast member who helped us was super friendly, so it was all good.

2. With passes in hand, we went to early opening hour at Disneyland, since we were staying on property (a whole different meaning than it is at Disney World). We immediately went to Starbucks and had a bite of breakfast before going to Space Mountain (that supposedly now has a Star Wars theme) which broke down while Molly was in line.

3. Decided to go to the expo and get our race stuff. Molly was going to sell some Disney running shoes to a girl, who decided she didn't want them, but another girl did, but she hadn't arrived yet, so Molly was having fun playing sell-shoes-roulette. Side note - she did eventually sell them to Girl #2. We got our race stuff and exchanged our 5K shirts for kids small for Everley and Lindley (which they may never wear, but neither would we if we had kept our adult sizes).

4. Went to the movies. We saw the "Mother's Day." It was pretty much what we expected. Nice and cute but nothing to write home about. Unless you're doing a blog. If you've seen Garry Marshall's other "holiday" movies, then just replace some of the characters and you've got the plot for this one.

5. Took a nap. Because we could.

6. Ate at Storyteller's Cafe. Because we never have. And because it is KB's birthday and we wanted to eat special. Of course, we thought it was going to be a buffet, but it wasn't at lunch. And we had two waitresses - we think maybe the first one was covering for the second one, so we're not sure who got the tip. And speaking of tips, I tipped over my iced tea - and it wasn't a Long Island Iced Tea. And so we checked this one off the list.

And that was about it. We ended up going to bed since we have a 5K tomorrow. And sleep is always more important to us than actual training!!
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Thankful today for: nice cast member ticket lady; meals and movies with Molly

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

We're Off To Disneyland!!

That would be Molly and me. We're off to participate in the Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend. Because that's what we do. We hope to see our DL pals Tammy and Sharon, and have a bite here and there. And maybe get a few wogs in. But today is travel day, which proved to be rather exciting. Here's how it went ...

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5ish. Molly got off work early and went home. I asked if she wanted me to pick her up and bring her to my house to wait for Steve to take us to the airport. Meanwhile, Handyman Bill was over to replace a ceiling fan in the kitchen.

I had to mail some letters bills, so I decided to make a USPS drive-by enroute to pick up Molly. While I was dropping off the mail, I got a phone call, from a 800 number. I don't always answer those, but thought it might be about our flight, so I answered.

The first comment (automated) said that this was a call about the cancellation of our flight, and did I want to hear about it. I decided I did. The second automated voice said that this call was about a cancellation or a delay, would I like to hear about that? Again, I decided that I did, so I punched the appropriate button. The next automated voice said that our flight was cancelled, but we had been rebooked for tomorrow at 6am, would that be alright? I quickly said that would not be alright, and was told that the automat would connect me to a person. In which country was not specified.

Dude came on the phone and gave me info about the new flight, to which I said that was unacceptable. He said he would look at rebooking me. Of course, all of this was going on while I was driving to Molly's. I explained that there were two of us flying together, could he make sure we got rebooked together? He found Molly's reservation (after several chats back and forth). He found a flight - through Ronald Reagan (check your map to see how efficient Nashville - Ronald Reagan - LAX is). I told him that was not acceptable, either. He then asked if I wanted him to check other airlines, to which I replied in the affirmative.  He also wanted to know if I wanted to hang up and call him back once I got to Molly's, to which I very strong said no, that I was at her house (as if I would hang up with a live person and attempt to get a live person on a call back).

During this time I had arrived at Molly's and started banging on her back door (it was locked). She came to the door, rather confused. I explained what was going on, and asked her if she had received such a call.  Apparently she had, but decided not to answer the 800 number. Go figure.

Anyhow, I gave the phone to her, put her luggage in the car, and headed back to my house, so we could get on the computer and check for our own flights (this was not Southwest, by the way). We got back to our house, where Bill was still installing the fan. We found a Southwest flight that was leaving in about an hour. Meanwhile, Dude gets back on the line and says he found 1 seat - maybe. We tell him we want refunds, to which he says we can call back later for that if we want. Again, we have a live body on the phone, so why sever that? He gives us our cancellation number and then tells us we will have to call back tomorrow, since he can't do anything about the actual refund.

We book our Southwest flight, and call Steve to see if he can take us. He's at the Sounds baseball game with his work cohorts, and wouldn't get to the house in time to take us - mainly because we need to leave like now. So Molly calls Lyft and gets us a ride. Lyft Dude shows up in a tiny Prius like mine and looks confused - that should have been our first clue. He's not sure if he can get our luggage in his car. Then he proceeds to take the longest possible route to the airport, driving well below the speed limit.

Eventually we arrive at the airport and get in the TSA precheck line, which is ridiculously long and filled with first-time TSA Pre people who don't know what to do. The good news? When we get to our gate, Southwest has upgrades available, which means we get to board with the A group instead of the C28 and C30 boarding cards we had gotten 30 minutes prior.

The best news? We made it to Disneyland!! Oh, and Bill got up the ceiling fan - we left him all alone when the Lyft Dude arrived!!

Maggie Cat in the bag - only because my suitcase was already closed!

A long and winding road - from way up high.

This always amazes me!

I also love snow on the mountains - even just a little snow!

We're not in Nashville anymore!!
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Thankful today for: fun travel arrangements with Molly; odd Lyft Dude; Bill putting in new ceiling fan; upgrades at the airport; new plane for our ride; quiet ride to our hotel

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Does This Baby Do Anything Else But Sleep?

Apparently not. Apparently Lala is boring. 
Which is fine with Lala, because when baby sleeps, Lala sleeps!!


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Thankful today for: sleeping babies; getting packed for Disneyland