A Few More Photos.....

A few more Photos from my visit home.....

 Alyssa and her Other Papa

 My Daughter, Julie and Alyssa Bug.

 On the Drive to Moms....

 We're at Mom's!!!

 Seeing my mom in just a minute and a half!!!

 Kathy(Clay's widow), Adrianna, and Alyssa!

 My Baby Bro- Charlie.

 But when he's with his wife Doris- He's Chuck.

 My Mom and her Fiancee, Dennis.

 My mom let Alyssa play with HER baby dolls....and Alyssa made sure EVERYONE got to help take care of them. Lawd, that young 'un and her dolls!!! LOL!!!!!

 Little Paris Hilton and her TWO purses/handbags. She got her brother, Christopher to put her money in them equally. Poor Bubba!!!

 All tuckered out from a day of shopping with Mommy and Nana. Choosing colors and flavors for her birthday cake was exhausting!!!

 My Bezzie Rhonni and my Sissy Tee. Dinner at Silver Bay for Seafood!!!!! YUMMMM!!!

 My Eldest son, Frank, and most of his family.....Sophia, Devon,Nicholas,Seth, and Samuel. Elijah couldn't make it, unfortunately. Neither could Katelynn. Hopefully next time?

 Alyssa's aforementioned Birthday cake. LOVE it!!!!

 Boots go with everything......

 Eddie giving Julie some Good Morning Sugah.....I love a man who isnt afraid to show his love.

 Sophia giving Frank some Afternoon sugah........Gotta love it!!!

 My sissy Nina, looking like a Cyborg with the bluetooth. hahahahaha!! <3

Yep- my little country girl, Boots DO go with everything!!! Even a LBD as you will someday realize!!!

Jet Lag-Part Three

So, there I was still in Philly and guess what? The flight to Manchester was late AGAIN!!!! By two hours.

I have no idea what the hold-up was- by that time I was tired, hungry annoyed and just wanted to be HOME. When it finally arrived, I boarded and  sat down and didn't get up for the entire flight.

When I got to the Customs gate in Manchester, I went thru with no probs whatsoever. Boom-Bang-Boom, Done.
I showed y'all a photo of my carry on I bought for my trip over....the nice bright red faux alligator one? That's how many clothes I brought over. I bought a few outfits while I was there,  plus my sisters bought me an AWESOME pair of leather cowgirl boots while I was there-they said it was Birthdays and Christmases we had missed- and so I had loads more coming back that I did going over.
Luckily I found a roller one in one of the Thrift Shops we went to with my mom while I was there that was perfect for the trip back so I bought it!!4 DOLLARS for a case that would have cost me $50 had I went to a shop and bought it brand new and all my clothes fit in it!!!!!
So on the way back- I had checked baggage instead of the carry on. I actually left the carry on at my daughters for her to use since she doesn't have any luggage at all. I think she used he babies diaper bag to stuff an outfit in when we went to stay at my moms a night while I was back visiting. LOL- So now she has an actual proper BAG to use. Bless her.

Anyhow, so After I got my luggage, I got enough money out of the ATM to cover my taxi and then rolled my bag out to the ground transportation area and hailed a cab. It took me home and I was never so glad to see my bed in my entire life!!!!

Not that I used it.....I greeted my sweet husband and after we had a brief chat I said I was starving and he chuckled and said if I hadn't just had such an ordeal he would suggest going to our breakfast place for a Full English.
I looked at him and said I would LOVE that!!!!! He looked at me kinda sideways and asked was I SERIOUS? I said I was and he reluctantly said okay.
He was reluctant because our breakfast place is in St. Helens which is a 60+ mile round trip. I didn't care. I was hungry and I was home.......so we drove to The Lemon Tree Cafe and had our Full English Breakfast...
Bacon(Country ham to my Mercun Friends and family), Black pudding(a kind of sausage patty), fried eggs over easy, stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, a hash brown, fried bread, porky beans, and toast. and it was GOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!

After eating that we walked down to the shopping district and walked around for about 20 mins- there was nothing we wanted to actually BUY, we was just enjoying being with each other- and then a wave of absolute and utter exhaustion hit me and I asked if we could head home. My sweet husband put his arm around me, kissed my cheek and said of course....and away we headed, back to our lovely flat in Manchester.......

I was

HOME SWEET HOME.

Jet Lag-Part Two

Okay, so after eating my lovely French Fries, I walked over to the gate. I wasn't about to leave and try and find a hotel on my own in a city I didn't know my way round.

It was freezing so I managed to buy a blanket in one of the shops in the airport. That was a fluke too because the guy was just going to lower the gate but he let me get the blanket when he heard how long I was going to be stuck there. He also was sweet enough to suggest that first thing in the morning I could go and try and book one of the mini suites there IN the airport...basically a room the size of a walk in closet with a bed and a TV screen that showed the time and flight statuses. (Which I did, but, unfortunately, they were all full. Danggitt.)
I absolutely couldn't believe some of the prices in that place....in ALL the shops of the airports. Blinkin' ell.
That little lap blanket cost me 20 dollars. And the McDonald's meal cost me 12. And a meal I had later on cost me another 22....and that was a Turkey and Swiss Sammie, a diet soda, a milk, and a chocolate bar. That was breakfast the next day. Then I got another McD meal just before my flight came in and that was another 20. Honest to God- I spent as much on food that day as I did on my food the rest of the week on my visit.
Anyway.......I walked the terminals(slowly and carefully in bits and using the moving walkways as often as they were available) off and on the rest of the night and the following day to stay awake.
At one point I saw a young lady- early 20's maybe- sitting by herself at one of the gates looking as tired and bored as I was, so after walking a few steps past her, I turned around and asked her if she minded if I stopped and chatted with her for a few minutes. She smiled a HUGE smile and said PLEASE do!!!

Now- I would have a few photos- I had forgotten to bring my cameras with me(TOTAL BLONDE MOMENT!!!) but I used my daughters while staying with her, and I had thought I could use my phone camera for the traveling part of it..... but Nooooooooooo, My phone NOR tablet would open to past the first screen for my entire trip. So I couldn't even retrieve my phone numbers from my phone!!!! And on top of that my phone battery had died..... I have no idea what was wrong with it.
Anyway, the sweet girl was from Ohio, traveling to Kuwait to do something with teaching Kuwait guys how to play American Style Football......I didn't quite understand it all, but it sounded very exciting!! I can imagine doing that when I was her age!!!
She had a charger and offered to let me try and charge my phone to see if location had anything to do with the problem, so I graciously accepted her offer. We sat and had a lovely hour long chat about this and that while it charged. Then when I turned it on- it stayed on and allowed me to pull up my contacts on it JUST long enough to get my husbands mobile number written down before it went dead again!!So then \I contacted HIM and let him know I was stuck in Philly and for how long and told him I would just take a taxi home when I finally made it back instead of him driving in to pick me up as we had planned.
When I got home Paul got my phone and looked at it and he said the phone was just knackered.....He ended up giving me the phone that had previously been his before he got his new one! Thank God he had kept it!!
So Big Shout Out To Laura From Ohio!!!!

I've said it over and over again- Angels walk amongst us on Earth. That makes TWO I met on my trip, in case you're counting.


To Be continued.........

Jet Lag- Part One.

I am beginning to wonder. Ever since I got back I am just exhausted!!

That may be because of the 24 hour layover in Philadelphia tho.


Okay so what happened was this.....

I had my lovely visit and then it was time to come home.....so after a tearful goodbye at the Greenville Spartanburg Airport with my kids, Julie and Frank, and their partners Eddie and Sophia(both absolute darlings as well!) I went thru security and began my wait for my plane which was coming from Vegas -taking me to Philly.
Turns out it was delayed due to the storms that week. And there were some DOOZIES!!!!
Well, I'm still having a few problems with my foot from the break- I KNOW it's been a few months but as you get older (not that I'm saying I AM) you have a bit of a longer healing time....and seeing as how I'm not allowed to go on the treadmill for 15 minutes at the gym yet because of it- I didn't think RUNNING across a bunch of terminals trying to get to the next flight was going to help it any. I had a 2 hour(almost) window but my flight from GSP was delayed by an hour and 40 mins. So I mentioned I was worried about the flight and why to the gate attendant and she was so sweet and set up an assisted boarding when I reached Philly- in other words, I was met with a wheelchair and taken directly to the little VIP golf cart and driven to the gate of my flight in Philly. A bit OTT, but I really appreciated it!!
Shout out to Darlene G of United Airlines!!!! <3
Anyway, so the flight FINALLY got there, and when we arrived in Philly, I was rushed to aforementioned gate.....and even with all that- I STILL missed the flight by 5 blooming minutes!!! Grrrrrrrr!!!
So, they drove me to the Special Services Desk who informed me that I had already been booked for the next flight.......... in exactly 24 hours.
Whaaaaaaaa????? Is there nothing at ALL before then?????
Nope- Apparently, there is only one flight a day out of Philly to Manchester UK. They said they could book me onto a flight to Heathrow in London and from there to Manchester, but I would arrive at the same time as the one scheduled in 24 hours, so I declined.I saw no reason whatsoever  to add yet ANOTHER airline and airport-especially one as HUGE as HEATHROW- into the already FUBAR situation. So, I was stuck in Philly for 24 hours.I asked about a room since my flight wasn't until the end of the next day....nope- United doesn't do that........Meal voucher? Nope- that either. Oh well.........
Luckily, I thought, there's a McDonald's literally STEPS across the way from my gate IN the terminal. So I went there and stepped in line to order food. I was starving....didn't eat anything since breakfast with my kids at 8AM that morning. Was at GSP at lunch and was too upset to even THINK about trying to eat at that time.....same on the flight to Philly.....wasn't gonna happen.
Anyway, I was second to the counter and the guy in front of me ordered a Big Mac and coke. Sorry sir, We don't have Big Macs. Okay, he'll have a QP with cheese....Nope- don't have that either. Waiting for their food delivery truck to get there which has been delayed by- you guessed it- the storms. Okay, so what DO you have then?.....
Fries and ice cream and Drinks.
Seriously. That's ALL they had. He left- I walked up and ordered two LARGE fries and a Large Full Sugar Coke. And I almost ate it all!!!


To Be Continued.........

I'm Back!!!!

I'm back from my USA Visit!!!

You'll be hearing more about it in the next few days, but for now Here's a few Photos.

My Beautiful Little Grand Daughter -Alyssa Mckenzie.

She is AMAZING!!!!!!

My Daughter, Julie(Alyssa's Mommy)-Me- and My Eldest Son, Frank.

Goddess Night Out.

Left to Right:

Rhonda(Rhonni)(40+ year Bezzie)

Me

Tee(Sister)

Nina(Sister)

Julie(Sister-Daughter)

Me and My Babies

(a few are missing- it's REALLY hard to get everyone in the same place at the same time!!)

More Later- along with a few stories. But for now this will have to do- I still have jet lag really bad.

Going Home.....

Every once in a while, a Goddess must return to her roots.

And this Goddess is returning to her Valhalla in a couple of days. She will be spending time reconnecting with her Demi-god and Demi-goddess and sister Goddesses  for a blissful seven days.

I will be eating, and drinking, and shopping and getting, and giving, much love and adoration.

It will be hard to leave my Mere Mortal(aka My hubby, My God) behind for a week, but he is looking forward to a week on his own as much as this Goddess is looking forward to her time with her family.

I had a frank discussion with my husband about my job situation. He was most understanding about it and suggested I not worry about it until  after my holidays and until the situation becomes unbearable at work.
I had expected him to be vehemently opposed to the idea, much because the job I may be changing to is in the town we just moved from- around sixty miles commuter every day, but it turns out he's very supportive about it. After all he says- It's just a train ride away and as long as the pay is enough for us to still be comfortable and be able to afford our bills and the travel expenses, it won't be a problem. Who knows.....maybe at some point he might change jobs and we might move back to the area, too. Heck, his parents are moving to Spain in two years so maybe we might even be able to buy their house at that point.

But that's far into the future.

Right now, I'm just glad  things are working out the way they are.
One of my best friends(whom I consider a sister) has moved to a new job, has a new man in her life and she is finally happy. I think she may be on her way to a blissfully happy relationship, just like me and my Mere Mortal.
I'm going home to Valhalla to reconnect with my family.
I have the most wonderful husband in the world.
I have a decent job- and the promise of a better one as a possibility in the future.

Life is good.