$8.28 Albertsons Trip

Went to Albertsons today to pick up a few things. Got everything below for $8.28.

Here's how:

Two 4 packs of Marcal Small Steps 2-ply toilet paper

$1.00/each at Albertsons

-2 $2/1 coupon from 10/18 Smart Saver (they adjusted the coupon down)=

FREE

1 single roll Marcal Small Steps Paper Towels

-coupon for 1 free roll of paper towels in 10/18 Smart Saver=

FREE

1 single box of Marcall Small Steps Tissues

-coupon for 1 free box of tissues in 10/18 Smart Saver=

FREE

4 boxes of General Mills cereals

4 for $10 at Albertsons

-2 $1/2 General Mills Cereals at coupons.com=

$8.00

TOTAL SAVINGS: $14.28

Cashier was a pain about adjusting the $2/1 coupons down to a dollar but she was old and had painted on eyebrows so I forgave her for it.

A light at the end of the Customer Service Tunnel

Ever since we moved I've had several really horrible experiences with customer service, particularly with customer call centers. The worst experience was with AT&T internet services. After we moved, they came out and hooked up our internet on a Monday, and the following Wednesday, they shut it off for no apparent reason. To make an incredibly long story short, Brett and I both spent hours on the phone with their customer care center trying to get the internet turned back on. We were told that the cause of the disruption in our service was due to an error on their end, but getting it turned back on was like getting healthcare reform approved. Finally, after it was turned on, I went online to pay our bill, but was given an error message that said because "changes" had been made to my account, I needed to re-register. I went through the same fiasco again, being transferred from operator to operator, being hung-up on and placed on eternal hold until I finally gave up. At that point, I wrote a letter to one of the executive vp's at AT&T in Texas. I assumed the letter would probably just get lost on some secretary's desk, if it ever made it past the mail room, so I was surprised when I received a voicemail from a lady in Atlanta responding to my letter. She was with Executive Escalations and was very polite and helpful. She credited our account for the entire month and told me if I had any further problems to contact her.

This really gave me a sense of accomplishment because I was proactive and it resulted in a credit on our account. I'm proactive all the time though, with little reward. Take last night at Wal-Mart, for instance. For weeks now the Great Value brand hamburger and hot dog buns have been priced .97 on the shelf, but they repeatedly ring up at $1.13. The cashier always adjusts it down for me, but they never make any effort to call a manager over or tell someone so that either a. the price on the shelf can be corrected or b. the price the register rings up can be corrected. This frustrates me, so last night I decided to go to customer service. I explained to the woman what was happening and she gave me this blank, I'm-off-in-an-hour-and-I-could-care-less look. She offered to adjust my receipt and I told her that had already been done, but that either Wal-Mart or their customers were getting screwed, and the issue needed to resolved. She told me the outside vendors change the prices on the shelf, at which point I told her it was a Wal-Mart brand, and she fumbled for words and then said she'd let someone know. Sure.....

Some Wal-Mart Finds and Bzz Agent!

After sitting on I-4 for about an hour and a half trying to get home, I had to go to Wal-Mart, which ironically gives me the same feeling as sitting in traffic on I-4. I did, however, find some good deals. I had two $3/1 coupons for any Fragrance Collection item by Glade, and the 2 oz. candles were $2.98 so that made them FREE!


I also had two $4/1 coupons for Glade Sense & Spray starter kits, which are regularly $8.99 and include the spray unit, a refill, and two AA batteries. Wal-Mart had them marked down to $5.00, so after my coupon, they were a buck each!


So here's your moral question of the day: Is it wrong to take all this stuff back to Wal-Mart without a receipt and get $16 bucks on a Wal-Mart gift card? Technically, the store still isn't out any money, but I think it's dishonest to purchase something on a coupon for the sole purpose of taking it back to make money on it. I also tend to think that if people continually do this type of thing, stores may tighten their coupon policies or stop taking coupons all together. What do you think?

When I got home, I found my Glade Sense & Spray BzzAgent kit waiting for me in the mail! BzzAgent is a word-of-mouth marketing website I joined (membership is free) to try new products and get free stuff. About two weeks ago they sent me an email asking if I wanted to join the "Glade Sense & Spray BzzCampaign" and receive a free starter kit. All I'm supposed to do is try it out and give an honest opinion of it to my friends and family, and to the online community at bzzagent.com. That isn't much of a commitment to get free loot! Plus, the BzzAgent kit came with four $4/1 coupons for the starter kits (which means I could potentially get $20 bucks on a Wal-Mart gift card-kidding, kidding!)

The Sense & Spray seems pretty cool. I usually use candles and plug-ins, but thought I'd give this a shot. In an effort to fulfill my obligation to BzzAgent, here are some things I notice about the product already:

1. CON: The spraying unit, though it does have a sleek design, is large and noticeable.

2. PRO: It's motion sensitive and locks for 30 minutes after each spray, so it's ideal for a bathroom.

3. PRO: I like that you can leave it and let it do it's thing, or press the button and spray it yourself.

4. PRO/CON: The refills are said to last 30 days, with about 10 sprays released per day, which is good mileage, but the refills cost about $3.49, which is high to me even if it does last 30 days.

I'll let you guys know how it goes after a few days of normal "bum traffic" in our bathroom!

Weekend Update

Parents were down for the weekend for the Avalon Park community yardsale. Mom, Melissa and I went out in the blazing heat for several hours to see what we could find. Got some cute stuff for the house, a brand new bottle of VS Pure Seduction lotion for $2, and a set of converter plugs for traveling for $1!

My mom also celebrated her 53 birthday on Saturday, and she looks fabulous! I hope I age as well as she has.

Made a trip to Walgreens on Friday afternoon and they were having their summer clearance. A pic of my "loot" is below. I paid a total of $12.19 for everything below. The baskets were like $1.25 each!






















We also figured out how to hook our computer up to our television this weekend. After several trips to Best Buy for needed cables, we successfully watched Dawn of the Dead last night via Hulu. We stopped about halfway through because of the f-bombs. If the only way you're grabbing the audience's attention is by peppering them with foul language, your movie probably isn't worth watching anyhow.

Free Eggs, no yokes!

Go to the site below and fill in your name and email address, and receive a coupon for a free dozen eggs (any brand) with your purchase of a dozen eggs!

http://www.goodeggproject.org/take-the-pledge/thank-you

Summer 2009

Since it has been months since my last post, I thought I'd do a brief recap of the summer: went to South Africa for a week with our friends, bought our first home, and that's about it! After all the angst concerning whether we'd get the house or not, I was approved on my own, meaning Brett didn't have to take on any additional debt (his student loans are all in his name only). We closed on September 17 and moved in the same night. We absolutely love it. We spent the first weekend attempting to be home improvement super heroes by installing our own cabinet hardware in the kitchen. it turned out pretty good! There is still so much to do, so much you don't think about when you live in an apartment; you need a water hose; you need a weed wacker; you need to buy air filters; you can't put chicken bones down the garbage disposal! There's a completely new attitude toward your living space-you care if you scuff the walls or if there are fingerprints on the fridge, because the walls and the fridge now belong to you.

We also had an awesome opportunity to go to South Africa this summer with our friends Ben and Melissa, who are originally from Johannesburg. It was the trip of a lifetime! We got to fly first class both ways for free, because of the boys' employment with Delta. Boy was it sweet! The flight was 15 1/2 hours and the seats laid down completely flat. They fed you CONSTANTLY and the food was incredible! The total cost for both of us to fly round trip in those same seats would have cost $18,000.00! Who would ever pay that?!

There is so much I could write about our trip, but it would take days and I just don't have the time. I took about 500 pictures and have only posted about 200 of them. If you'd like to see them, they are on my Facebook profile. We were blessed to be able to go on safari with Melissa's family so there are some really cool shots of "exotic" animals in their natural habitat! We would love the opportunity to go back, but the latest buzz is that Delta is considering selling the school, which would mean we'd lose our benefits. That's been the talk since we've moved here, though, so we'll see.

On a more somber note, I found out about two months ago that my x-husband, Nathan Hallisey, passed away. Though our relationship was poisoned with our addictions, I seldom think of the bad times anymore, and it was hard to accept his passing. Nathan was bright, quick-witted, and always willing to help out a friend. He loved his family and would have given the life he lost for any of them. Though we didn't keep in close contact, we exchanged hello's on Facebook from time to time, and I will miss watching and learning about the happenings of his life.

I hope to keep up with the blog again now that we've closed on the house and things have started slowing down again. I've started couponing and I'm anxious to share the deals I find so that perhaps others than find them, too!

Very Quick Update

Still working on getting that first house! We signed a contract on our "first pick" today, Savannah Park Townhomes at Heathrow. Link to virtual tours, etc. is here: http://www.realtourvision.com/tour/BU/tour.view.new.php?utl=BU-9695-JG0FY9-01

After their preferred lender gave me a glowing pre-approval, I found out yesterday, after making an appointment to sign the contract today, that I was suddenly no longer approved. Apparently, the lender pulled my credit again and my Bank of America Visa payment showed a monthly payment that was higher by $66.00. This is because I use that card to pay our bills, then pay it down by that same amount at the end of the month (thus resulting in the accumulation of reward points). I made a very large payment on the 23rd, which did not post to the account until the 26th. The lender pulled my credit on the 23rd, so the balance shown didn't reflect the large payment. Now I have gone just about mad about how a $66 payment increase (which I've already taken care of paid down to BELOW the payment she saw originally on my credit report) could disqualify me. In the end, the builder assured me they work with other lenders and could find someone to qualify me. So I signed the contract with a 30 day financing contingency. I should have been really excited today, but I wasn't. They gave me a bag full of booklets and paperwork to go through, but I'm not even going to touch it. I don't want to get any more emotionally attached than I already am if it turns out I can't get qualified. I ran my front and back end numbers on this and truthfully, if I do qualify for it, it truly will be a miracle.

They break ground on "our" house next week. I'm still looking at other properties in the meantime. I am afraid I got my hopes up for nothing :(

House Hunting, Mother's Day and P90X

If I've seemed MIA lately, it's because I've allowed two things into my life that are eating up a lot of my free time: house hunting and P90X. With interest rates low, my credit score higher than its ever been, and the real estate market being the best for buyers it might ever be in mine and Brett's lifetime, we've decided to buy our first home in Florida. This has meant evenings and weekends filled with MapQuest, model homes, and meeting our realtor to tour listings. It has unfortunately also meant that I've been spending every spare second online checking out listings, taking virtual tours, and searching the public records to find out how much they originally bought that house for. There is so much to know, and so much to consider. Should be buy a single-family home? Should we opt for a townhome or condo? Should we stay in Sanford, or move further out to DeBary, where our dollar might go farther? Can we afford the payments plus the association fee? Should we focus on new construction or look for a fixer-upper?

I've literally spent hours online looking for "the perfect place" that, obviously, doesn't exist. Then there's the issue of my credit. We're trying to qualify in my name alone, as Brett has already amassed a considerable amount of debt in his own name with student loans. My credit has been terrible since 2000. I attribute it to a number of things including not listening to my parents about getting into debt and, of course, that "drug" thing. When my mortgage broker initially pulled my credit last month, he determined I'd have to pay off the last remaining collection accounts that still showed on my report. I paid them off and got letters from all the creditors saying such. It boosted my credit score quite a bit, so I should be in good shape.

Another time-sucker the past 30 days has been P90X. If you aren't familiar, it's a 90-day boot-camp style training program designed to get you in the best shape of your life in 90 days. It comes with a nutrition guide, but I haven't been following it, as my goal wasn't to lose weight, just shape up. The workouts last an hour to an hour and a half six days a week and are absolutely grueling, which is the main reason I've stuck with it even this long. With other workouts I've tried, I might have broken a sweat, but at the end of the workout I never really felt like I had done all that much. After these workouts, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt I've burned calories and pushed my body to the absolute limit. My 30 day results are what I expected; I'm bigger all over. I've definitely gained some much needed muscle, but because I've been working so hard, I've also been eating a lot! This is supposedly normal, and my hunger and weight gain should level out during month two. The most impressive result I saw in my 30 day before and after pics was the magical "lift" the workouts have given my bottom! It's amazing!

Lastly, Brett and I went up to my parents' house for Mother's Day. Mom and I had a yard sale to raise money toward a down payment on mine and Brett's new place. It was a beautiful weekend, so we spent a lot of time outdoors. Here are some pics...

Juvederm Round 2

I got another tube of Juve this a.m. The last round still left me with fine wrinkles, and I wanted a complete fix. A friend of mine works for a dermatologist, and if you can believe it, I got an entire tube FOR FREE! This time, I opted not to have my face numbed. It was painful, but not bad, and when it's time to get it done again in a few years, I won't get numbed. Much easier to endure a little discomfort than a half a day with a numb face. However, I did have a random panic attack as the physician's assistant was finishing up. He had a little goop left so he put a bit in my chin where the crease is (no, I'm not self conscious about it, but it had to go somewhere!) and it hurt more than I expected, but again, nothing serious. It triggered a panic attack and I had to lie back and put my feet up-how embarrassing!

Here are the pics: original before, after 1 tube of Juvederm, and after 2 tubes. I am already bruising a bit but this guy did an awesome job!

Original Before

After 1 tube of Juvederm

After 2 tubes of Juvederm

Sweet Non-Rev Dreams

We'd planned to go to Manhattan this weekend, however New York has a late spring break and flight loads were awful, so we ended up going to Atlanta instead. Our friends Ben and Melissa, also non-revers, joined us. Things went seamlessly. We got 1st class on our flight from Daytona Beach (DAB) to ATL, which was my first time flying 1st class. I must say, it will spoil you. The leg room is incredible, the service impeccable, and you get as many snacks as you want! Once we landed, we got our rental car, which I'd booked the night before. The rate was $25.00, and with tax, it was supposed to be $38.00. Not so! We were taxed 34% (???) and with the mandatory insurance and refueling charge, it came to $110!! Next time, we'll take a shuttle or something! We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, and then spent the day at Six Flags, where I proceeded to burst a blood vessel in my left eye on the Batman ride, while experiencing the positive g's. SWEET!

I remind you of what happened the last time I burst a blood vessel in my eye in 2005:

I'm looking forward to scaring small children for the next month or so.

Here are some "plane pics" of Daytona Beach, Stone Mountain, Georgia, and Atlanta.

We ended the day with dinner at Panera Bread in the Atlanta airport. We got 1st class on the ride home on the 1st flight we listed for. Finally, a little non-rev luck for me!

Easter 2009

A few pics from Easter 09 at my parents' house. Brett was the sickest I've seen him so that Sat. night we went to the urgent care to get him checked out. He has a sinus infection and got an antibiotic. The doc also told him he had a heart murmur. He's never been diagnosed with one, and it's quite a scare for us, as it could affect his ability to renew his 1st class medical, and without a first class medical, you aren't flying. He went to the doctor here in Florida once we got back and that doctor told him he did have a heart murmur, and scheduled him for an ecocardiogram tomorrow. Please pray for good results :)

I made Brett an Easter basket this year and made a candy trail from the couch to the kitchen where I sat it.

Gidgit got a brand spankin' new bone, which she proceeded to take outside and bury. It's the first time we've ever known her to bury or hide anything, and for a while we blamed my parents' dog of taking Gidgit's bone and hiding it. Later, my mom was in her garden and noticed some loose soil in one spot. A little digging uncovered Gidgit's "booty."

Weighing my Options

You'd probably never guess it to look at me, but I've struggled with my weight, or my perception of my weight, since I was 19. I've starved myself, exercised like crazy, dieted, and puked enough meals to feed a small African nation. The result has always been the same: I'm never happy.

19 year old anorexic Misty

21 year old Tubby Misty
28 year old, sober, hormone free Misty

As I've gotten older, I've accepted some things about my body: my legs will always be muscular, never skinny and bird-like; I will always put weight on below the waist first; my thighs will most likely always meet in the middle. It's the way I'm made, and I'm okay with it. I'm thankful that I HAVE legs and arms, and a functioning, healthy body. And yes, I know that I am thin, and fortunate to have been blessed with what seems to be one incredible metabolism!

So here's my beef: A little over a year ago I went off of birth control, because I thought it was making me crazy. That, combined with having stopped drinking 2 years ago resulted in my shedding about 17 pounds. The last few months, though, I've been having horrible mood swings, so I decided to go back on birth control. Immediately I gained 7 pounds in 3 weeks. 3 WEEKS!!!!! I know "I can afford it" and all that crap, but come on-would YOU willingly sign up for 7 extra pounds that you KNEW was a direct result of a medication?

So which is better-normal, non-hormone induced body weight with multiple personality-like mood swings, or 7 extra pounds of PURE lard and a positive attitude?!

I even purchased an exercise DVD last week, The Firm 30 Minute Firm and Burn, and have done it the whole week. I've been cutting calories, and keeping track of what I'm eating-the whole 9 yards. The early results? As usual, I build huge muscles in my legs, but don't burn the fat off them, so the muscle merely pushes the fat forward, making my legs look "bulky".

Oh it's a no win situation. No matter what size a woman is, I don't believe she can ever be content. It's so silly, all this fuss about appearance. It could all be altered in an instant by some sort of accident or trauma. Our bodies are not who we are, they're just the flesh-suit we live inside of.

So, if you're a woman, and you've learned the secret to body contentment, let me know how you did it!

Because of My iPhone

You may have heard of the movie "Because of Winn-Dixie" in which a series of events happen to a lonely little girl because of a loveable dog. This blog isn't about that. This blog is about a series of very frustrating, very unfortunate events that all occurred because of my iPhone. It begins with my first non-revenue flying experience this past Friday, which I'd taken off from work to fly to Chicago. An internet-based group of pilot wives I am a part of, http://www.pilotwivesclub.com/, was hosting their first face-to-face meet up there this weekend and I'd planned to attend. Meanwhile, Brett was hopping a jet to Indiana for the weekend to visit his cousins. In the interest of time and detail, I've decided the best way for me to present this sordid tale is by time-line.

Friday

6:00 a.m.-Brett leaves for the airport to fly to Indiana
8:00 a.m.-Brett boards jet, gets first class, heads to Cincinnati to connect to Indiana.
8:30 a.m.-I go to the dentist to get a temporary crown re-glued
10:00 a.m.-I arrive at airport, see that flight to ATL looks good, but connection to ORD (Chicago) looks like a no-go. The guy next to me at the gate overhears a conversation I have on my iPhone about possibly diverting to Milwaukee (MKE) from ATL and then driving to ORD. He tells me the flight leaving from the gate before mine (which he is on) is headed for MKE by way of Cincinnati. Call Brett. He’s in ATL boarding the flight to IN.
10:30 a.m.-Visit the incredibly rude gate agent and list for the Cincy flight.
11:14 a.m.-Cincy flight is a no-go. Visit incredibly rude gate agent again and get completely ignored. Wait for kinder gate agent to arrive, re-list for original MCO to ATL to ORD flight. Meet 9 year veteran flight-attendant recently retired with Lyme's disease on her way home from getting medical treatments. Chat with her while waiting for flight.
12:55 p.m.-Board plane to ATL-flight is full, so no first-class.
2:05 p.m.-Arrive in ATL at gate A19. Call Brett-he’s made it to IN. Meet Nicole (pilotwivesclub) who has just been bumped from an earlier flight to ORD at gate A20. Walk with her to re-booking station to try to list for MKE flight. (Still both currently listed for 2:55 ORD flight.) Rebooking agent will not list us for MKE flight, which departs about a half hour after the ORD flight.
2:30 p.m.-Back to gate A20. Meet up with Bec (pilotwivesclub) who is also listed for the 2:55 ORD.
2:45 p.m.-Brief discussion with Nicole, Bec, and a 21 year old girl (headed to Chicago to visit her sister and "go clubbin" for her birthday) about the differences between Blackberry (Nicole's choice) and iPhone (Misty's choice).
2:50 p.m.-Check voicemail on my iPhone. Note to self to call mom at next opportunity.
2:55 p.m.-ORD flight is, as expected, a no-go for all 3 of us. Move to gate D1A to try for MKE flight.
3:20 p.m.-Arrive at D gates and confirm we are listed for MKE flight. Looks good; looks real good-like we'll all 3 be on.
3:30 p.m.- Eat an orange; get juice and pulp all over myself, but I'm starving.
3:35 p.m.- Collect personal items and get ready to board. Call Brett to tell him I’ve made the flight-wait, where’s my iPhone?
3:36 p.m.-I really can’t find my iPhone?
3:37 p.m.- Seriously, I just had it.
3:38 p.m.-Furiously sort through carry on several times.
3:39 p.m.-Where could I have left it? What should I do? I need to call Brett. Should I go back to A20? Perhaps I left it there. Or at the orange stand. Or just down the terminal.
3:40 p.m.- Make irrational decision to go search for my iPhone. Tell the girls not to wait up, I’ll make it to ORD one way or another!
3:41 p.m.- Rush back to gate A20.
3:50 p.m.- Arrive at gate A20. No one is there. Sneak around counter but don’t see that my phone has been turned in.
3:52 p.m.- Back on the tram to gate D1A. I’ll never make it.
4:05 p.m.-Arrive at D1A. I can still see the plane, and the jet way is attached. Break out in a run.
4:06 p.m.-See gate agent walk out of jet way, back into the terminal, pulling the jet way door closed behind her. “Is Milwaukee done?!!” “Yep, that flight is out of here.” Debate whether to argue with her. Decide it is useless.
4:07 p.m.-Ask gate agent to check flights for me. Milwaukee-no good. Chicago-no good. South Bend-no good. Orlando-no good. Detroit-no good. Savannah-no good. Jacksonville, FL-no good. Orlando looks the least not good. I request she list me, with an upgrade (which means I get priority over everyone except paid passengers and emergencies).
4:15 p.m.-Move to gate A16. Back to the A gates. Stop by A20. New gate agent there. Has she seen my phone? Yes, someone turned in a phone about an hour ago, she gave it to the re-booking station.
4:20 p.m.-Wait in line at the re-booking station.
4:25 p.m.-Speak to the rude agent at the re-booking station. She goes into the back and looks for my iPhone. She advises me that lost and found bucket was dumped into the city lost and found cart about twenty minutes ago and I need to check with the airport lost and found, but she doesn’t know where it is.
4:30 p.m.-Consult airport map. Lost and found is in the main terminal. No time to get there. Should I go? Should I try for this flight? I should try for the flight.
4:35 p.m.-Try to locate a pay phone. Found one, insert quarter and dial Brett’s number. “Please deposit 75 cents”. No more change.
4:36 p.m.-Go to the nearest retail store-a sandwich shop. Wait in line 10 minutes to get change. Finally get to register. “Can I get change for a dollar?” “Oh you should’ve asked me that while I had the register open with the last customer, I can’t open it now.”
4:37 p.m.- Finally get change, go back to pay phone and call Brett.
4:40 p.m.- Lose it.
4:55 p.m.-Orlando flight is a no go. Even with my upgrade, I was number 54 on the standby list. I’m told I’ve been re-listed for the next flight out of ATL to MCO, departing from the E gates on the opposite end of the airport.
5:15 p.m.-Wait in line for more change.
5:30 p.m.-Locate pay phone, call Brett to let him know I missed the flight. He tells me he has tried to call lost and found, but they are closed until Monday. Great.
5:50 p.m.-Arrive at E gates. Wait-these are the international gates-I must be in the wrong place. Go to gate on seat request ticket. Next flight is to Madrid. Wait in line to speak to gate agent.
6:15 p.m.-Gate agent advises that flight has been relocated to different E gate. Move to said E gate.
6:20 p.m.-Do not see my name on the standby list. Go to rude gate agent to make sure I’m listed. He says I’m not, lists me, and says “we’ll see what we can do”.
6:30-7:45-Get bumped from several other flights to various locations. Decide to see if I can even locate lost and found. Go to main terminal (out of secure area). Locate payphone, call Brett. He’s listed me for a 9:15 p.m. flight to South Bend that I just might make.
7:50-8:15-Go back through security, back to A gates. Get a black bean cheeseburger and fries from Chile’s and eat dinner-I’ve walked miles around this airport and I deserve it.
8:20-Begin making way to departure gate for South Bend flight. Stop by Delta departures board to make sure flight is still on time. Flight has been cancelled.
9:00-Go get more change.
9:20-Search for hotel kiosk or call center to get a room for the night. Can’t find it. Call Brett to see if he can find a hotel for me. I’ll call him back in 10 minutes.
9:30-He’s found one, but the rate is $150.00. Tell him I’ll find a cheaper one and call once I get to the room.
9:45-Look for a phonebook. No one has a phonebook. Where can I find a phone book? No phonebooks by payphones anymore. Ask a nearby Delta Clear agent if he knows of a hotel I can call. He directs me to a wall of hotel placards with phones to contact them. There is, of course, a line.
10:00-Begin calling hotels. No vacancy. No vacancy. No vacancy. No vacancy. VACANCY. The Sleep Inn, book room, call for shuttle.
10:15-Outside, wait for shuttle-it is FREEZING!
10:30-Hop shuttle along with two seasoned Delta pilots, who are good company and allow me to vent about my first non-rev flying experience.
10:35-Arrive at hotel, call Brett, and go to bed.

I’ll stop with the time line at this point. After I got to the hotel, I had Brett call the girls (pilotwivesclub) to tell them where I was. They called me shortly after, and suggested some alternate flight routes to Chicago for tomorrow. I wanted to go, but was leery of traveling to cities I didn’t know without my iPhone. Blast you, iPhone!! How week I am without you! If, upon realizing I’d lost my phone, I’d reacted rationally and not hyperventilated thinking of being without it, I would have been well on my way to MKE, and then on to Chicago. Nevertheless, the next morning, after sharing my continental breakfast with one of the Delta pilots from the day before, I headed off to the airport to try, try again. I rode the shuttle in with Rick (pilot from day before), a pilot wife I didn’t know and her mother-in-law, and some skeevy Delta pilot, obviously impressed with himself, who “never flies non-rev unless forced to.” It was great to be able to chat with other non-revers and share my frustrations. Each of them had their own non-rev nightmare, but all said that flying non-rev wasn’t typically that difficult. Skeevy pilot suggests that I didn’t get a flight because I was wearing flip-flops. Kick rocks, Skeevy pilot, I never wear anything but flip-flops unless forced to.

I got to the airport and arrived at my gate with no problems or issues. I was feeling rather embarrassed by my reaction to losing my phone the day before. Ashamed that I’d become so attached to a stupid device that I actually missed a weekend with the girls in order to find it. I begin to insert Twizzlers into my mouth for comfort. As I am rethinking the events of the day before, I notice the elderly lady seated next to me, missing half of her left index finger, and wearing a walking boot on her left foot, digging through her carry on baggage rather hurriedly. It is obvious she has misplaced something, but I don’t pay much attention. She’s in her 80’s, so I assume she’s lost her teeth or perhaps a bottle of medication. After a good search, she heads to the gate agent, speaks with her briefly, and the gate agent hands her the telephone. She makes a call and hobbles to her seat, quite flustered. Then I hear her mumble something that just about makes me laugh out loud-“Stupid cell phone-who needs them anyway!” Turns out, she left her cell phone at her hotel that morning. As she begins to tell me how crippled she feels without it, I feel my shame melt away, and find myself commiserating with her.

I made the flight to South Bend that morning, and had a wonderful day with Brett’s cousins exploring Indiana. Some pictures are below. On our return home, we made it to Atlanta, but still couldn’t get to Orlando. We ended up flying into Daytona Beach and having friends pick us up.

I think I got a crash-course in non-rev flying. I’m sure there will be many more horror stories to tell in what I hope will become my many travels. In several years, time will coat this experience with a golden glaze, and it will become just another funny story to tell.

Lovely South Bend Regional. Very small airport. Even has it's own tornado shelter.

The street Brett's cousins live on.

The plant that Brett's cousin Jodi works at. When we stopped to take a picture, some jerk pulled up and started questioning why we were on "private property."

Brett's cousins Josh, Courtner, and SarahJodi and his new baby, Chloe.
Jodi and his semi-new baby, Adam! Stephanie, Jodi's wife, Adam, and Courtney
A new 'stache for the collection. "Steakstache"
Downtown South Bend, Indiana

Notre Dame CampusBrett and I at Notre Dame
Now we can both say "yeah, we went to Notre Dame"

"Touchdown Jesus" on Notre Dame Campus