Hey all! Thanks again for all the congratulations and everything. They are much appreciated.
When we got back to Surprise I still had all last week of work...talk about unable to focus! It would have been bad enough from the great weekend but of course it was also the week before Christmas, myself and the kids were checked out! I did pretty well I think considering all the excitement.
So Saturday was me & Ivan's 7th anniversary, and the day we had set aside to celebrate Christmas together. Ivan's knows what he's getting from me (an Xbox 360) but it's coming after the holidays, simply because I wanted to make sure I had enough money for everyone else and the trip. But I wanted him to have something too that day, so I got him this bartender's kit for making the perfect cocktail (a two-in-one gift, 'cause I will definitely see the benefit of that!) haha It came with a recipe book, a pourer, a shaker...and the first drink he picked was AMAZING! It's called a Mustang Sally-- had vodka, Watermelon Pucker, Raspberry Liqueur, and lemonade. Seriously one of those drinks where you cannot taste the alcohol at all. He got me a 3 month membership to our massage place! Basically that is 1 massage per month and then any more you buy are discounted, so like an hour long massage only costs $39! Madness! So Sunday I went and got my first one (lovely!) and then I picked up my friend Kametia and we got manicures & pedicures. (More lovely!) Oh we also rented some movies over the weekend. We watched Hancock (loved it) and Wanted (I was unsure at first but ended up really liking it). Then we went over to Gretchen's and watched Tropic Thunder (as everyone should enjoy this movie!!)
Yesterday was my travel day back home. At the time I bought my tickets, they were cheap flying into Bloomington, so I booked them there. Normally I fly into St. Louis and someone comes to get me, it's a direct flight which I like, and usually cheaper. So anyway, I made it to O'Hare with no trouble and surprisingly (not) this is where it all fell apart. The flight kept getting pushed back like every 20 minutes for almost 2 hours, and we changed gates 5 times! They gates were all fairly close to each other but we ended up back at the gate we started at! I'm convinced they did this just to keep us all busy and annoying different people rather than the same ones for a few hours. We finally get on the plane, back at good ole' H3A... only to sit there for almost 2 hours waiting for our baggage to be loaded...wow. Finally we start to take off, and then we slow down again, then we start to speed up, then we slow down...speed up, slow down, you get the picture. We pull off to the side of the runway and are told something's not right...duh. Finally we're told we will be going back to the gate and switching planes, but it's all ready for us! We go in and wait in the airport again for like an hour, and get back on the plane...to wait another hour for the luggage to be moved. Now...our old plane has just been sitting at the gate, and so has our new one...no passengers coming off or on so what were they doing the whole time we were waiting in the airport?? And why does it take an hour to do baggage? Anyway...after an hour we were finally, successfully in the sky, and landing in Bloomington after our measly 25 minute flight, 5 hours late... Oh well. I didn't have plans last night but it was entertaining to watch people. People in airports are just funny in general--rushing here & there, thinking that their time is more important and complicated than anyone else's. Every 30 seconds calling someone new with the play by play as they sit in the airport.. "ugh another gate change," "Uggh we're delayed again!" Not to discredit how annoying it is but you have to watch sometime and just laugh. I've come to the conclusion that people secretly love the 'drama' that comes with delays and changes, they re-tell it (as I am now!) and I think it makes them feel important.. "Oh I'm FLYING today, just sitting at O'HARE, and my flight is DELAYED" yada yada yada. It's interesting. Amusing. I'm guilty of it I know. (To be fair, I re-tell everything!!! haha)
So today my plan was to Christmas shop and see Celeeste, eat some Steak-n-Shake (can I get a hell yeah-- we don't have those in AZ or CA but the closest thing to it is Johnny Rocket's for those who don't know, and I think Steak-n-Shake is right up there with McDonald's for curing hangovers) Anyway...my mom's old car that I always drive when I'm home wouldn't start. I don't know what the deal is, good chance it's because it's ridiculously cold maybe?? So I've been stranded at home with my mom's Bichon Frise-- Bo, who is a cuddly, warm companion for nap time. And you guessed it, now that my mom will be home from work, the roads will be so bad I don't want to go anywhere anymore. It's been freezing rain so that equals like a 1/2 inch of ice on the roads, at least that's what my brother's telling me. So I'm sending out an SOS for a freakin' grilled cheese with bacon and a bowl of chili from SnS!! Tak-Chels-a-Sak! That's all I really want. And yet I don't want to ask anyone because I wouldn't want to be driving on the ice either. So I will munch on waffles (mom, we need syrup!) and candy canes (did you know the guy who made candy canes made them to represent Jesus--hence they are in the shape of a J and the white & red represent the body & blood-- suck on that!) I think my brother will be passing by soon and he's gonna pick me up and take me to his house so I can at least see some of my nephews.
So I'm thinking this Christmas will be $20 bills wrapped in little boxes! Good things these kids love money right? All my Christmas shopping done in 30 seconds at the ATM...but I still need me or my card to at least get to the ATM... dang. Oh well.
Anyway, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! This is what being home (when home is the Midwest) is all about!! Talk soon!
Chels
