My favorite refrigerator magnet!

August 31, 2008 1 Comments A+ a-

I've had this one for a couple of years--I love it!



















Other John Lustig comics here: Last Kiss

WARN letter

August 29, 2008 4 Comments A+ a-

Well, my airline has sent out WARN* letters to the most junior Flight Attendants. Like me. I received mine yesterday. (*WARN stands for The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.)

"After a careful review of our staffing with respect to the upcoming schedule, it is apparent that the steps we are taking to manage through this environment will result in a workforce reduction of 1,550 Flight Attendants. This reduction will be effective October 31, 2008.....

....I regret to inform you that based on your system seniority, you are at risk for involuntary furlough. Closer to the furlough effective date, after the number of voluntary furloughs has been established, we will know for certain whether you will be furloughed involuntarily. If necessary, confirmed notification will occur no later than October 1, 2008."

The Company is going to offer voluntary furlough and partnerships (job-sharing) first to try to not furlough the 500 or so most junior Flight Attendants.

I guess we'll all know in another month just what the deal is gonna be.

Celebs, Bar Baby, and Friends Come to Visit

August 28, 2008 1 Comments A+ a-

This past Saturday, I had a trip--flew from Washington, DC to Denver and we had newsman Ted Koppel onboard in First. Very nice man, heading to the Democratic National Convention. (I know you want to know, so.....he had the chicken salad for lunch.)

After a long sit in Denver, we flew to San Diego for the layover. One of the Flight Attendants, a crazy Brazilian, and I went over to the Gaslamp Quarter and watched the world go by from a patio restaurant with a couple glasses of wine. (I say crazy because she insisted on picking up the check--telling me that her husband had repeatedly cheated on her, and this was his credit card and that now he had to pay for everything she did--that would be her revenge....) Anyway, the weather was perfect--as is usually the case in San Diego, the wine was relaxing, and the company was insane! (I really didn't need to know about the uh...for-hire women her husband hangs out with, TMI*...!! )

The next afternoon, we flew from San Diego back to Washington, DC and had Ted Koppel's CNN reporter-daughter, Andrea Koppel on our flight. (Okay, okay....pretzels and Diet Coke.)



While I was on my trip, the Little Prince was in Norm's able hands. After a little yard work, the boys went out--to the VFW.

(Note to all who wonder about this baby sitting at a bar--the bar was closed. No minors were served in the execution of this photo.)





Since Norm had a beer while they were there, the LP apparently was the designated driver. (Yep, my baby's a team player--that's how he rolls!)



On Tuesday, my old friend Linda, her husband Dave, and daughter Shannon, came to visit for a couple of days. They went on a White House tour, which they said was great. saw the monuments and a little of the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. They packed a lot into a couple of days!! They very best part of their trip for me was just sitting around my kitchen table, sharing stories and margaritas last night!


Linda & Dave sent Norm & me a colossal fruit arrangement from Edible Arrangements--this picture doesn't do it justice--it was almost too big to put into my refrigerator--I had to move a couple of shelves to squeeze it in! And, the fruit was really fresh and sweet--it was totally not necessary, but definitely appreciated!


I so enjoyed their visit--good friends and perfect houseguests!





I am off work for a couple of days--I suspect I will be at my favorite place for the time off: right here at home!

*TMI=too much information!

Thank goodness for poop!

August 21, 2008 3 Comments A+ a-

Yesterday, blessed with gorgeous weather here in Washington--mid 80's for the high, low humidity, the Little Prince and I set out for the National Zoo. Of course, we took the Zoo Train* (aka Washington Metro) and then walked four blocks to the Zoo.
*The Zoo train is an equivalent adult lie to the whole Santa Claus thing.














The first animals we encountered were the slothy bears. Their glass enclosure has bamboo leave etchings all over it, which birds see and it prevents them from becoming kamikaze pilots--so it was difficult to see the bears. Little Prince was not happy about this. But, a nearby Zoo docent showed us a fur display and a claw of the hard-to-see bear. And, a photo-op with a statue with a baby on its' back. Note the expression of joy on the LP's face (not!)



This gleeful expression is brought to you by elephant poop! Yes, the LP was thrilled when he watched one of the Asian elephants poop--and then another elephant took a big whiff with its' trunk--and the game was on! The rest of the day was in search of animals pooping! It was his motivator to traverse the heat and hills and other Zoo hardships (walking).





Pygmy hippo--no poop.







Panda bear--no poop.




A poop-search break under a mist of cool water. The LP determines he needs one of these contraptions at his house. Mimi makes a note to coerce daughter in to getting one for this precious child....




Water-soaked and refreshed, let's head back out on our poop-quest.







Octopus--no poop. But, we sure did like looking at him!



On our way back out, we scored...big time! The Red Panda pooped, as if on cue.










A feeling of accomplishment and great joy for the young five year old Prince. We had found more pooping!





A snow cone before we go...








Mimi, taking a nap, once we got home. (This was exactly how I felt!!)








After sleeping in and a bacon and egg breakfast this morning, we are just chillin' here at La Casa de Quatros Gatos. I have to get packed because I start four days of Reserve tomorrow--and daughter Jennifer will be here for the Yankees game in Baltimore tomorrow night. This afternoon, Brendyn and I are going to see the 3D movie "Fly Me to the Moon." And watch more Sponge-Bob. And, play outside. Today is shaping up to be an outstanding day!!

Brendyn's here!

August 20, 2008 4 Comments A+ a-

After a trip to the Lego store, Disney store and a candy store.....the spoiling has begun!!!















Boxing with the Wii....

Let me eat cake!

August 19, 2008 5 Comments A+ a-

My dear, sweet friend Taneesha called me while I was driving home after finishing up my trip. Could she stop by and drop something off, she wanted to know.

A short while later, she appeared at my door with a huge box--and inside was this fantastic, blue-ribbon cake she made, just for me:


I have to 'splain--everytime she has stayed at my house, I have had fresh watermelon sliced up and we both eat it like hungry teenagers!











Look at the details....it even has sparklies on it! Tomorrow, the Most Amazing Child on the Planet will be here--and we'll cut it then.






My girl made me cry!! To have spent so much time and effort on my behalf--WOW!!





The cake is beautiful--but, not nearly as beautiful as Taneesha is!

Name this beauty...

August 16, 2008 2 Comments A+ a-


Me, before my hair turned blonde. 1967, third grade, Sacred Heart School in Jacksonville, FL.

What is UP with that haircut??

August 15, 2008 0 Comments A+ a-

I was working out with the Wii Fit today....the yoga is hard to do and get the breathing and centering just right. But, I like it. And, I do pretty good with it.

Then, I decided to start on some of the strength training--and the second exercise was the push up/side plank...like in this video...only you do it on the Wii Fit board. The Wii gives you feedback on your balance, and how well you're doing.

This damn game system that I paid for had the colossal nerve to call me...to my face...in my own house...a couch potato!

Almost made me cry!

California girl

August 15, 2008 1 Comments A+ a-

I start a nice little four day trip this afternoon:

Today:
Washington to San Francisco
San Francisco to Orange County
Layover 19 hours

Tomorrow:
Orange County to Denver
Denver to Ontario, California
Layover 15 hours

Sunday:
Ontario to Denver
Denver to San Jose, California
Layover 11 hours

Monday:
San Jose to Washington

Going to the chapel....

August 14, 2008 5 Comments A+ a-

My amazing man and I have decided to get married. (In our hearts, we already are!)

So our discussions have centered on where to be married. He asked me where I thought I wanted to tie the knot, and my immediate response was Hawaii. His was Ireland. A little research later and we have ruled out Ireland, Scotland and Paris, due to residency requirements (ya gotta reside there for 15 days prior, stuff like that...) In Sydney, Australia you only have to be there the day before--that could work...

Last night we came up with the US Virgin Islands. This one just might stick. Get married on the beach, then take a week off and go sailing. The more I think of this plan, the more I like it!

Wiener schnitzel and a bong

August 11, 2008 0 Comments A+ a-

It is always kinda cool to learn about some of the people I fly with at my US airline. There is Randy, an American who is a Frankfurt based Flight Attendant and lives in the 5th arrondissement in Paris. Heather is an American living and flying out of the London base. Yesterday, I flew with Gilles, who is French and lives outside of Paris and works out of the Frankfurt base. Leon is Dutch, lives in the Netherlands and also flies out of the Frankfurt base....and Rafat is a Palestinian who was raised in Kuwait, and is now an American citizen living in Philly, based in Washington. That is all so interesting to me!

Rafat and I hung out in Frankfurt this last trip. All the other Flight Attendants we flew with were Frankfurt based, so they went home when we arrived. Rafat and I were the only ones who went to the layover hotel. We explored the area around the hotel for about an hour once we arrived there--then I went back to my room to crash and burn! It was about 10:30 in the morning in Germany--but my body said it was 4:30 in the US...I had been awake for 20 hours and needed to s-l-e-e-p!





This is Rafat. We met downstairs in the lobby around 5 pm and went off in search of dinner--I was starving!















As we left the hotel, I saw one of these--a rickshaw or pedicab. Don't we need more of these kinds of cabs in big cities???



We found dinner at a German restaurant, and I ordered the wiener schnitzel. Deeee-lish!

After dinner--we walked past an outdoor cafe at another hotel called L'Emir and decided to stop and have an after dinner glass of wine and smoke shisha. The weather was perfect and cool, the cafe was nice and the shisha (hookah) was actually pretty relaxing. Rafat taught me all about the grades and flavors of tobacco (we smoked apple) and the importance of not having a cheap charcoal (like we did) and about turning the coal so it doesn't get too hot or burn out too quickly. Who knew??



(Face it, I'm a child of the '70's...this is a fancy bong!!)

















This is really the kind of stuff I want to do when I travel--not do the touristy stuff (occasionally, of course) but mostly to hang out and just live in the city I'm in--even if it is for a short time.





By far, the best part of my trips is coming home to Norm and hanging with him. And, he always seems to have something beautiful for me when I get home...these daisies were waiting for me yesterday. He is home today and is going to grill a couple of burgers for us tonight. Flowers and he's fixin' dinner? It just doesn't get much better than that!

Planning the Little Prince's visit....

August 08, 2008 2 Comments A+ a-

The Most Amazing Child on the Planet is coming to visit his Mimi for a few days later this month! I will return him to his mother spoiled rotten, I promise!!

"Dadre" (she calls me Madre, I call her Dadre...) Jennifer plans on a Yankees game while here (they'll be playing the Orioles at Baltimore.) And, when his Daddy returns from Baghdad, all three of them plan on seeing a Yankees game in New York. (I don't get the Yankee obsession they have--baseball games are watched out in the hot sun! That ruled me out of any love of the game right there!)







The Handsome Prince II* eating ice cream.














What is summer without watermelon???




So, I am thinking of things to do with him (definitely not doing all of these!)--the Baltimore Aquarium, the National Zoo, Great Waves (a small water park), the butterfly exhibition at Smithsonian Museum of Natural History...and, then there's the Lego Store at Tyson's Corner Mall (definitely doing the Lego Store)...so much to pick from here in Washington....do you have a favorite kid activity?

In the meantime, I am off to Frankfurt this evening. Back Sunday night.

Hope you have a great weekend!

*My son Chase is Handsome Prince I...

It ain't like it used to be...

August 06, 2008 1 Comments A+ a-

Duncan over at Stewed Beef just posted about what the legacy carriers are doing these days...jetBlue is charging $7 for a pillow and blanket kit, US Airways is charging $2 for water and almost all of 'em are charging for checking a bag.

With all the stuff we are selling, it makes me think the Flight Attendants will have to start wearing one of these:

Of beers and babes, seizures and fires?

August 05, 2008 7 Comments A+ a-

My trip to Frankfurt was fun. I flew over on the 777 and was the Galley person in the back. I had great people working with me and it all went really, really well. Plus, the three Flight Attendants I was working with in the Aft Galley were just super folks.

We had a small medical emergency going over--a man initially appeared to be having seizures, and a doctor onboard volunteered to take a look at him. The doctor wanted to land immediately, but the gentleman started to recover with the help of some orange juice. We learned the man had diabetes, and we got him recovered and fed, and he was fine. Had he not been, we would have probably dropped him off in Reykjavik, Iceland. I am really glad he was okay. He was met by medical personnel when we arrived in Frankfurt just to be sure--and he was fine.

I think short naps were had by all of us--and we met in the lobby of the hotel later that afternoon. Ondreya is on the right, and Brian is in the middle--they both wanted to head down to the river to check out the festival with me. Brian and I worked the flight over together, and Ondreya came on a later flight. She was also in my training class. (I heart her!!!)








Walking along the riverfront...








Beer was had by all.










Big ol' beers....




















The brats....















The babes...














The babe eating a crepe....
















Me and Ondreya













I have no idea what this is a picture of--monkeys and seashells?? I think the beers crepes had kicked in at this point...









And, right along the river, we rode this Ferris wheel--it had been years since I had been on one, and it was really pretty overlooking the river and the festival. And, the weather that day and evening was simply perfection!



Ondreya and Brian on the Ferris wheel.









The flight back was on the 747 and Ondreya and I were on the same flight back. There was a little excitement onboard that flight because the smoke alarm went off in the crew rest area. On the 747, the crew rest area is in the tail of the aircraft. We open the secret hidden door (okay, it's not a secret and it isn't hidden--it is back by the lavs) and climb up a tiny spiral staircase to a small bunk room with 6 bunk beds and two reclining chairs. Anyway, in the middle of the meal service, the smoke alarm went off. Not a good thing to have fire onboard, especially in the air, over the Atlantic Ocean. Three of us were off, halon fire extinguishers in hand. There was no smoke, and no smell of smoke when we got there--and one of the Flight Attendants was pulling panels off the wall, and digging around looking for any signs of fire. (Fire is just about the worst thing that could happen onboard a plane in the air, by the way.) We found nothing and reset the alarm/fan, with the Captain's direction. A short while later, the alarm went off again. Now we knew it is a malfunctioning alarm and has to be repaired, but still diligently looked for signs of fire--there were none. Only the folks in the back of the aircraft knew there was something going on--and it was resolved quickly and only two people asked me if everything was okay.

It was sort of ironic....in Frankfurt, as a couple of us uniformed Flight Attendants approached the gate area at the airport to board the plane, a man moved his children out of the way, so we could enter by the gate agent. He said to his children, "Move over, kids, if they don't get on, we don't get drinks." I turned to him, with a big ol' smile and said "Or safety."

I suppose it is fortunate that schlepping drinks is what the traveling majority thinks I am trained to do....

Ist dieses wie kühl?***

August 02, 2008 1 Comments A+ a-

***How cool is this?

I just received my Reserve assignment--I am going to Frankfurt tonight! River Main Festival is going on this weekend, and I think it is relatively close to the hotel--so, I am looking forward to that! Here is what one website says about the Mainfest:

Germany loves its street festivals and this is a great example of a traditional festival with sausages, spit-roasted beef and big wheels. This public celebration has taken place on the Römerberg since the Middle Ages. Snack bars, beer tents and amusement rides stretch for miles between Paulsplatz and the River Main. The river itself is a dazzling array of boats illuminated by multicolored lanterns. The highlights of the event are the fishing competition, windsurfing tournament and firework display.

Beer tents and fireworks....today, I LOOOOOOVE my job!

The Potties at O'Hare

August 01, 2008 6 Comments A+ a-

People all over the world lament flying into Chicago O'Hare. It has been recognized, repeatedly, for its' delays--this article says 63% of flights out of O'Hare are delayed! That's astounding!

I was based in Chicago (ORD) for five years. I commuted back and forth. I know this airport very well. There's plenty to complain about. But, the one thing I love the most about this airport: the toilets in the women's restrooms. (Okay, love is a strong word for toilets. I really mean to say that I like them. A lot.)


The womens' restrooms in ORD have this amazing invention. It's an automatic toilet seat cover. There is a little box with a count of the unused seat covers on it--you wave your hand in front of this box--and the toilet seat cover changes to a clean one--and the box with the count subtracts one from its' clean inventory.



Fresh and clean, every time--this is the best and easiest reason to love like O'Hare!

(Yes, I really took pictures of the toilet while I was there recently--sigh...the things I do for my blog!!)