What Was I Thinking???

Two weeks ago my phone was having trouble with some web applications. To talk about it almost sounds snobbish or technically elite. Those who know me, know that I am neither a snob or technically anything. Anyway, when I tried to access the weather or movie application, my phone would look like it was "thinking" and then immediately, revert back to doing nothing.


Being that I'm on vacation and don't really feel like I have my bearings in order, I accepted a somewhat menial response when I called customer support. They said that there was an outage of some sort at my current location that should resolve within a day or so.

It's now two weeks later and it's really becoming the princiciple of the matter. Granted I don't NEED to access the weather or movies remotely, but since I pay for it and am supposed to have this "convenience", I thought that I should take care of it.

On our way to dinner, I decide that's a fantastic time to call in, assuming the problem would be resolved in a matter of moments. An hour and a half later, I am finally getting those peculiar applications up and running. Mind you, the agent on the phone had to "reset" my phone to get them to work. Well, now I have access to the weather and the movies. YEAH!!!


However, I unsuspectingly forfeited ALL other informtation. EVERYTHING on my phone has been erased. All 248 contacts, all 45 songs, every email account, all of my text messages, phone history... everything. For some who don't use their phones in this way, it wouldn't be a problem. But, as many of you know, I DO use my phone in every way possible and this is quite inconvenient for me--- wah, sad face.


So, here I sit at 11:30 on a Friday night, trying desperately to recover any scrap of information. And, the kicker is that I'm not even home. I'm on vacation. What was I thinking??? :o)

Week Two in AZ

As our first week of vacation drew to a close, we were surprised to find out it was not actually ending. To quote the Carpenters, ''We've only just begun...'' We were going to be enjoying the company of beloved family and friends for three additional weeks.

Hesitation slowly moved over me as the ''control freak'' in me panicked since this wasn't something we planned. I kept thinking of all the loose ends I had left untied thinking we'd we back in a day or so... There was gymnastics and piano. There were meetings and field trips, nail appointments and birthday parties, not to mention a much anticipated local mission trip. All of that would have to wait or be cancelled.

The whole vibe of our trip would change as well. People can feel differently when you are visiting for a month instead of a week. There isn't a pressing urgency to make the most of our short time. It becomes far more relaxed.

We had thoroughly enjoyed our first week aside from me having a cold. We went to dinner with family. We hung out with old friends and had sleepovers. We went to movies and swam a lot. We were already so thankful for the time we had.

But, now we would have even more time. Our second week included a birthday bbq party for my baby brother, a day trip to Tucson to see an observatory, my mom accompanying us to church, and more swimming.

Though it was unplanned, our additional vacation time here has turned out to be quite a blessing.

At this point, I just hope Texas doesn't forget us... :o)

Wrestling a Small Bear

I don't know what I was thinking as a I planned and booked a trip to visit family without my husband. I know that in summer he is super busy and unavailable for travel. The kids and I start missing the cousins and grandparents and are willing to be without Daddy in order to see them.

The flight was booked for mid-day without thought of the nap schedule. Really though, it wouldn't have mattered since any flight would interfere with a morning nap or an afternoon nap. After being dropped off mid-morning, I thought I was a genius to feed my darling children in the airport before boarding the plane. Turns out the Uno pizza was too hot and so was the soup, so we packed it up and headed to our gate. Amazingly, we were able to board first since we were traveling with children under the age of 5... YEAH!

We got situated and comfortable in our seats. I don't usually look around to see who is sitting near me to avoid any dirty looks directed at the person who dares fly with small people. Well, the take-off was great and the kids all sucked their candies to alleviate the pressure build up in their ears. And, once we were at proper altitude, they were able to watch their movie, listen to their music, play their games and eat their food.

All was going well, except for the small creature that was being "contained" on my lap. He is 1 1/2 and VERY active. He was not sleepy and is not docile. He wants to grab all the magazines in their holders and tear the pages. He wants to smile and wave at all the business passengers next to us. He wants to play peek-a-boo with the gal behind us. And, he wants to grab the ball cap of the guy in front of us. My heart is pounding and my forehead is covered with sweat. I inwardly beg in a whisper, "Please, please, calm down. Please, just be still for another hour and a half..."

To no avail, the beast keeps on. It was an uneventful flight in the way of turbulence and aircraft mechanics. But, it was quite busy for the mom trying to wrestle the small bear in seat 17D.