Making Friends Is Hard

All my life I've found it tough to make friends. I still have quite a few friends I made as a child growing up in a small town. Those friends are amazing, because they've stuck around this long. I thank them for that. Making friends as an adult is the hardest though.

Making friends is hard enough, but making them as an adult is even harder. I'm often shy when meeting new people, but once I get to know you I come out of my shell. Being in a crowd of people intimidates me too. I'm much more relaxed around a smaller group of friends. Circumstances don't always allow for comfort though. I suppose I probably have to bust out of my comfort zone if I ever want to make new friends!

My husband and I left Colorado almost two years ago, and we just moved to a new city in Florida this past January. That doesn't make it easier to have friends. Sometimes it feels like we're in that awkward in-between phase of married life where we aren't quite newlyweds anymore but have no children either. It's almost like we aren't sure where we fit at the moment. We aren't sure we want to make a life in Florida either. Awkward. Kind of like middle school all over again.

For anyone out there who moves a lot...
where do you meet new friends?

Pilot Wife Rant Here

Sometimes it's not easy having so many parts of your life, literally, up in the air. As you may have noticed, the name of my blog is Piloting Life. My husband is a pilot, and I started this blog years ago after stumbling upon some entertaining pilot wife blogs. They made me realize I wasn't the only one who was being left alone on and off for days at a time. Reading those blogs encouraged me to start my own blog, and today it's not simply about my husband's flying career. This blog is about our life.

Due to my husband's career choice, we live a slightly different life than most of our friends and family. Many of my friends still live in the small town where I grew up, and sometimes I envy them. My husband and I have had to learn flexibility when it comes to our living arrangements, because, for the most part, his job dictates our location. We could technically live anywhere we wanted, but that would mean long commutes for my husband... and more alone time for me. That wasn't an appealing option for us, hence why we live in Florida when we'd rather live closer to Denver and the west coast. Sometimes living far from friends and family is hard!

My husband currently has one of those really, super rare pilot jobs where he's home every night. Let me tell you, it's sort of like finding the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Sometimes I worry what life will be like again if/when he goes back to a job with overnights. I'm terrified of getting too used to him being home every night. I can't help but worry about whether or not he'll be around when we have children, and how will I protect our home if he's gone for a few nights at a time. In the rare instance of my husband being gone for a night, I currently keep my pepper spray on my nightstand. You can never be too careful. Maybe I'll learn to shoot a real gun some day. The things you do for peace of mind.

While we're incredibly thankful for my husband's job, it often throws a monkey wrench into our plans. We are slowly painfully learning that life usually throws better things your way when you learn to be patient and let go. Life doesn't always go your way, but you can learn to embrace life's ups, downs, turbulent moments, and smooth landings. All I know is I'm just trying to enjoy the view!

Any other fellow pilot wives, military wives,

or wives with traveling husbands out there?

How do you deal with life's uncertainties?

Life Lately

I've been thinking a lot about our recent move these past few days. It's still so obvious this place doesn't feel like home, how can I not think about it? Moving is hard. However, this move was much easier than our move from Denver to Tampa Bay, because we only had to move two hours away as opposed to cross country. While it's exciting being somewhere new, we are slowly adjusting to this new place. I know we need to give it time before our new location feels more like home, but sometimes you just want instant familiarity and good friends. Like I said before, moving never really gets any easier no matter how many times you do it. I need to keep reminding myself that all good things take time.

sometimes you just need to look at the bright side

With that being said, we're still not entirely unpacked and settled. There are still plenty of things lying around the apartment. Mostly things that don't have a hiding place yet. I'm hoping a trip to Ikea next week will solve some of our small living space storage problems. Good old Ikea.

trusty reading material to keep me busy

This weekend will be nice for some time spent together. My husband has Saturday off of work, and it falls perfectly on the day of the next big NFL playoff game we're hoping to watch. Go Broncos! Peyton Manning is amazing. Is anyone else still watching football... is your team still in the race? I hope there aren't any Ravens fans reading this, because they're going to be crying tomorrow. Sorry. ;)

Happy Friday everyone!

On Moving All Over the Country

If you're new to this blog, you may have missed the part where my husband switched airline jobs almost two years ago. His job change is the reason we moved from Colorado to Florida in the first place, and this month we're moving again. This time, thankfully, it's only an in-state move as opposed to a cross country move. This month we'll say goodbye to the Tampa area and hello to Orlando. Even though we're only facing a short-distance move, we'll still need to learn a new area, make new friends, and settle into a new place. We are looking forward to the move and the changes it will bring though.

My husband was recently awarded a base change, hence the reason for our upcoming move. (Forgive me if you're reading this and already understand the workings of an airline). Many pilots live near, or in, their base. Some don't. The pilots who don't live in base commute (sometimes cross-country) to their base for work. The airline my husband currently works for doesn't have very commutable schedules, so we opted to live in his base as opposed to having him commute cross-country. If he commuted, there's a good chance I'd only see him a few days a month. For that reason, the airline basically dictates where we can live right now, because living across the country from each other isn't really an option for us. I often wish it was more simple than this, but it's not. We're attempting to make the best of what the airline gives us, so we're moving.

We're moving with the hopes of my husband getting better seniority, schedules, hours, and options. A pilot's seniority (their employee number) basically determines their quality of life. Typically the earlier you were hired and longer you've worked for an airline, the better your seniority number. Everything from being able to use your vacation time on certain dates to getting certain days off of work hinges on your seniority number. Switching bases is a slight gamble, but it's one we're thinking will pay off for us. We've thought about this move for quite some time, and things began falling into place for it to actually happen.

Just recently I was trying to count all of the moves I've had in my life, and it's quite a lot. I technically moved at least once a year during college, and I usually lived in a new/different apartment each year. Counting each of those moves around campus, I've lived in over 12 different apartments, dorms, and houses by now. Moving doesn't necessarily get easier either. Not only is it tiring moving all of those heavy pieces of furniture and boxes, but starting over again in a new place can be a tough adjustment. I'm still not exactly sure where home is yet, and I still believe it's more a state of mind or a feeling than a physical location. We're learning to feel "at home" no matter where we happen to live.

Letting Go

From the perspective of someone who can be quite the perfectionist at times, I know how difficult it can be to let go. I had a cute green security blanket that I slept with for quite a while, and I sucked my thumb until I was older than five. Awesome. I know. Those things aside, it's hard letting to. We grow up and must let go of all the expectations we had for life as a child, because, quite frankly, things change. Life all around us changes. Little disturbances create big waves, because we hold onto something too tightly. We cling to people, places, or things that make us feel safe and comfortable. It often takes a little bit of faith, some honesty with ourselves, and a whole lot of trust, but letting go allows us to really live this beautiful life.

a view from above...

For someone who often struggles, but is getting better at dealing, with life's curve balls, I really enjoy flying for some odd reason. I absolutely love it, flying that is, not the crying babies and crowded airports part. For the few hours I'm in an airplane flying from point a to point b, I feel like there's no worry in the world. Zooming through the sky at 20 or 30-something thousand feet is almost therapeutic to me. I know that all you anxious fliers out there are trying to figure out how anyone could ever feel relaxed and peaceful in an airplane, but I just do. It's hard to explain the exact feeling.

All I know is that flying isn't much different than life. We're zooming along at cruising altitude, there are ups and downs, and every once in a while there's some turbulence thrown in just to shake things up, literally. All I know is that flying, like life, takes some faith and knowing that everything will work out just fine. I certainly don't want to die after having lived my life in a fearful state of mind all the years I've lived. Have faith that you'll arrive safely at your destination, and hopefully you enjoy the ride, and the view, along the way.

clouds or not, the view is grand

If only I could apply that mentality I have in flying to every waking moment of life. If I could let go half as good as I fly peacefully, things would flow much smoother around here. Life's curve balls, or turbulent patches, would not seem nearly as severe with a little faith that everything will be fine. Sometimes knowing in your heart that a safe landing awaits is all you need to get through a rough patch. Knowing. It's so much easier said than done, but it's worth a shot. What do you have to lose? Let go.

Barking Herons and Other Things

After feeling a bit cooped up in the apartment last week, we made the decision to get outside and finally do something. So we drove along the Gulf coast and found ourselves a nice little roadside park where we enjoyed our impromptu homemade lunch waterside.

My husband's flying job has him on reserve (basically he's on call) almost every single day, so we can't get too far from home, or the airport, depending on how you look at things. Him being on reserve definitely puts a kink in our lives most days, but we managed to get out for an afternoon. It just meant bringing Nate's uniform with us just in case he got called for a flight. Thank goodness my husband's work never did call.

After driving south of a very crowded Clearwater Beach, we came across a quiet little park near Redington Shores. We parked our butts on a nice little bench next to the intracoastal, and we enjoyed our roasted chicken and provolone sandwiches. After inhaling slowly eating our lunch, Nate dipped his toes in the intracoastal, and I got a little too close to an agitated Great Blue Heron. Yes, you heard that correctly.

I was really trying my hardest not to harass the wildlife, but with a 50mm prime lens on your camera getting close enough (we're talking just a few feet away at one point) for a decent shot is a must. I swear one of these days I'll get a zoom lens, and then I won't have to piss off any more birds. That will be the day.

Did you know that the Great Blue Heron makes a barking noise when annoyed? Well, they do. Unfortunately I know from experience. Wikipedia says that the heron's voice can be described as the following: The call is a harsh croak. The heron is most vocal during the breeding season, but will call occasionally at any time of the year in territorial disputes or if disturbed. 

You learn something new every day, huh? Apparently I encountered one disturbed heron, either that or we were about to throw down in a territorial dispute. I'm glad it was not the latter. That could have ended badly... for the heron.

Enjoy your day!

Now you don't have to watch National Geographic today.

You're welcome. (:

Pilot Wife Problems

My husband is a pilot. Hence the title of this blog.

... and together we're piloting our way through this crazy life ...

{ notice that I am in the left seat... sorry honey. hehe }

When I married someone with such a dynamic career, I thought maybe I had an idea of the lifestyle I was getting into at that time. Let's be honest though. I had no idea what adventures, and misadventures, life had in store for us! I'm sure there are still plenty of adventures and life lessons to be had, because change is inevitable after all. If there's one thing I know when it comes to having a pilot husband, it's a constant reminder that life is all about the journey and not the destination.

Being married to a pilot is not always easy. I've had my fair share of time reflecting on change and doing my best to embrace it. Life is a constant push and pull, a balance if you will, of our personal wants and what the world really needs us to do. My husband and I are still in the midst of change, and it's not always easy to handle. A year ago we did pick up and move from Colorado to Florida, and it still doesn't feel like a place to call home. We're even contemplating moving again, but that deserves a post all it's own some day. Until then, we're doing our best (usually) to make the most of our time here.

My husband's job could take us anywhere really. If he changes airlines, we could move again. The fun never ends. (insert sarcasm here) Sometimes it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I am learning to have faith that we'll end up exactly where we need to be. Maybe it's Florida. Maybe it's not. Until then, I hope to remember that I ultimately always have control over how I respond to situations.

I'm sure that wives out there, no matter their husband's profession, share some of these problems with me. Having a pilot husband has just forced me into dealing with some of these internal struggles. Being married to a pilot has been a blessing and a curse, that's for sure, but isn't that life in a nutshell. Life isn't perfect, and it has the potential to be messy, but we just keep moving and push through it. I'm so blessed to have the husband I do, pilot or not.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Visit another pilot wife blog to read about Joanna's humorous take on dealing with the shit that happens while the husband is away. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Shit Happens

Here are some of my old posts relating to

more pilot wife (or any wife) problems:

Missing My Husband

Out of Sync

Anxious Waiting

Our Situation aka Constant Uncertainty

I Dig Your Blog

Fellow pilot wife, Joanna, passed along the "I Dig Your Blog" award to me recently. You can read about her experiences as a mother and pilot wife over at Daddy... Daddy, come back! Thanks for choosing me, Joanna. Now... are you all ready for some randomness?

The rules of this award are to share 3 random facts about yourself,

and then pass the award along to 5 other bloggers.

Here are a few random facts about me:

1. I've visited 26 out of 50 states in the United States, and I hope to see them all some day. (I really need to update my travel map). The northwest and northeast are two parts of the country I have still never seen. I still think that northern Michigan (where I grew up) is one of the most beautiful places I have seen so far. If you want to know more just ask me! (Switzerland is pretty beautiful too, but that's a whole other blog post.)  I want to see the world, and my dream job would involve travel and writing about travel.

* here's a photo of the lake where I grew up in Michigan *

2. When I was in 8th grade, I broke my ankle while on a field trip to an amusement park/water park. After going on a few rides in the amusement park, I went with some friends to the water park where I broke my ankle on the first slide we went down. It was still one of the most painful things I've experienced yet! (No we don't have children yet.) I was escorted out of the water park on a golf cart, and everyone stared at me. It was incredibly embarrassing. One of my teachers drove me to a local clinic where they x-rayed my ankle and told me that I would most likely need surgery. The biggest perk of breaking my ankle was that I didn't have to ride the bus home. One of my teachers drove me home in the back of her station wagon, and she bought me a Snickers and fast food on the way home. I ended up having surgery and spending most of my summer in casts, and I'm pretty sure that my left leg is still slightly smaller than my right because of it. Yup.

* if you look closely you can see my super white leg just above my air cast/sock... cool, huh? *

3. I am an only child. Yes, you read that correctly. I have no brothers or sisters. At times I wish that I had siblings, but sometimes (mostly when I hear about how siblings fight and hate each other) I think it's pretty nice being an only child. I never had to share my parents either, so that was pretty cool. Everyone knows that only children stink at sharing. However, there are times when my dad and his brothers, or my mom and her sister, get together and share memories of growing up that I feel like I missed out on a special bond. I suppose that's partly why I loved our golden retriever, Gnomie, so much! She was my dog sister. Don't judge me. We all know that dogs make better listeners than humans do anyways.

* me, my grandparents, and my 'sister' *

(just in case you can't tell us apart, I'm the one with the monster feet slippers on)

So there you have it.

Hopefully you learned at least one new thing about me!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This is the part where I choose 5 bloggers and tell them: "I Dig Your Blog"

Hopefully you learned some useless incredibly useful and random things about me,

but now it's time to learn about some other bloggers!

I am passing this award along to:

Maggy at Living Tall

Courtney at Eric and Courtney
Michelle at Living a Life of Love
Gentri at Gentri Lee

Now go and check out

these lovely blog friends!

Piloting Life Cribs: The Crashpad Tour

I wanted to give you all the tour of where I have been residing for the past few days and nights.

This crashpad has been "home" to my husband for the past six weeks.

My husband's crashpad currently has a rotation of about eight guys "living" here. You'll find pilots, a TSA worker, and an airplane mechanic all under one roof. I find it sort of discomforting that anything relating to aviation/pilots has the word "crash" associated with it, so I tried coming up with a different name for the crashpad. All I came up with was "overnight pad", but obviously that sounds rather "feminine" if you will. So crashpad it is. After all, it is a place for crashing each night.

My husband and I have been sharing his twin size air mattress, so that's fun. Really heated, or not heated depending on who wins the blanket, tug of wars ensue shortly after we both fall asleep. Not to mention the battle for space. Fun times. No magic happens here. Just sleep.

It's almost like we're sleeping in the cockpit of an airplane...

Flying high in the living room

In the "living room" you'll find posters of the cockpit where my husband and two other new hires studied throughout their training. Next to the cockpit you'll find a random palm frond. I have no idea what that's all about, but it adds a little color to an otherwise "vanilla" room. Who can argue with that?

 It's all about the coffee

The kitchen centers around the coffee pot. It's a staple at the crashpad. Coffee pots outnumber cartons of milk around here. You'll also find plenty of foods for grilling and the microwave, because we all know that when the women are away the men will eat foods not allowed at home. Let's be honest, there aren't a whole lot of fruits and vegetables in this crashpad kitchen.

The backyard has a few resident black widows, so watch where you step. You might also find some great smells floating from the grill. The crashpad is usually pretty quiet with people in and out at all hours of the day, so try to keep it down out here. That's the crashpad, folks!

I hope you enjoyed the tour...

Now get out of here!  ;)

Our Situation aka Constant Uncertainty

I'm currently so stressed out that we still have no idea when we are moving to Florida. After my husband finishes his flight simulator training for his new job, he has to complete IOE (Initial Operating Experience) in an aircraft. We still have no clue where or when that will take place. I am sort of freaking out here. The previous sentence is probably the understatement of the year.

We cannot make plans for moving, reserve a U-Haul truck, look for housing, or basically do anything to prepare us for this move to Florida yet. Please tell us something already! Waiting and patience are definitely not my strengths at the moment. You would think I'd be used to the uncertainty of the airline industry by now. I love me some stability in life, and that is one thing we have almost zero of right now.

My husband still "lives" in a crashpad in Nevada. I still "live" with my family in Colorado. We both still sleep on air mattresses like we have been for the past month. I really wish I could pretend that sleeping on an air mattress for that long is fun. Apparently my make believe skills are lacking with "old age".

At least my husband lives in a nice crashpad. If there is such a thing as a nice crashpad. When we drove out to Nevada and moved his things into the house, I had some serious deja vu. For good reason. The house my husband rents a room in is the same exact floor plan that my friends from college lived in years ago. I had stayed with my friends while visiting Las Vegas, so I showed my husband around his own crash pad when we arrived in Nevada. Funny how things work sometimes.

I am so proud of my husband for working incredibly hard! He is doing a whole lot of studying, memorizing, and practicing. The flight simulator training has been going well for him, and his simulator check ride is next week! I know he'll do great, because he is the best pilot ever! Even though he's been gone for a while now, the time has gone fairly quickly.

Now if we just had some idea of when we can move to Florida! (:

Travel and Airline "Perks"

From my seat I could see this brilliant bright blue lining the horizon. That blue then faded to a darker blue and then almost to an inky black sky filled with blazing, bright white dots. Flying to me is still a very peaceful thing, because it feels incredibly timeless. Soaring above daily life and across time zones feels almost surreal, especially when thinking about cruising inside of a metal tube above the clouds. I will never tire of flying. The quiet moments, the sunsets and sunrises, those are times when I love gazing at the world below. Problems seem to melt away into the horizon, and I almost forget where I am and what was bothering me. One moment just fades into the next, and before you know it you're somewhere else.

Although at times I could do without the crowds of people, crying infants, and seat backs reclined inches from my face, I still love to fly when I can. Window seats, early morning departures, or late night and quiet flights make most disturbances fade to the background. The smell of warm chocolate chip cookies seems to ease discomforts too. Even though we cruise above daily life below, the creature comforts of life on firm ground still exist. At times, the cookies and television on board the plane take away from the often peaceful experience of flying. Daily distractions or not, flying is such a peaceful thing for me.

Instead of a bright blue horizon, after the sun sets I enjoy the stars from a higher altitude than usual. Funny how they feel so close when you're sitting in the window seat. At times it's almost like you can reach out and touch a star or a cloud. Sometimes it's so easy to lose track of time and place while on board an airplane. Before I know it, I'll be driving myself home after spending time in the sky. For a moment, I almost forget that I just left my husband and am heading home without him. At times, it feels as if we're still together. Flying does that to me, and I welcome the quiet time to think about life and reflect on life below the clouds.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It is highly likely that I was born with an uncontrollable a tiny bit of a travel bug. I typically enjoy adventures, discoveries, and learning about new locations. For me, a big perk* of being married to a pilot is not just travel opportunities, but it's an opportunity to stretch outside of my comfort zone once in a while. Doing things that are not always comfortable force me to learn and grow. When things get too predictable, our life changes in drastic ways. For example, my husband's new job is taking us to Florida. While I've always enjoyed the water, beach, and sun, I had no idea that Florida would be my home some day. This travel bug is more of a learning bug for me, and I never intend to stop learning.

* An additional perk, of knowing people working in aviation, is when you board a flight that a flight attendant friend happens to be working. It also helps when they may or may not give you a free mimosa, or two. Not to mention the free DirectTV they may or may not have given you for free. All of the above things make flights just a little more smooth.

And I'm Off...

Las Vegas is one of those places that almost (notice I did say almost... you won't hear me complain about going again) stops being fun if you go too often, but I am thrilled of having the possibility of visiting the Hoover Dam this time! I guess that doesn't really count as Las Vegas though does it? Either way, I'm going to visit my husband who's still there for his job training! It's been about 2 weeks since I've seen him, and that is a little too long if you ask me. So off to LV to visit my favorite pilot.

I actually just got off of the phone with my husband, and he scolded me (in the nicest way) when I told him that I had to write a quick blog post before I went to bed. Blogger addiction, anyone?! It's 11pm here, and I have to be up at, oh, about 3am. He might be slightly worried that I won't wake up in time. The funny thing is, that even though I'm not a morning person at all, I always get up super easily (yes, even at 3am) when I have a plane to catch. There's some traveling blood running through my veins I tell you. If only I could figure out a way to make money traveling and writing about it. Goodnight blog friends! I just couldn't go to sleep tonight without a post for you all. I might have a blog addiction, but for now it's off to sleep.

Are there any places that you've visited too many times?

Does it start to lose the thrill after a while?

Do you have any vacation destinations that you never get sick of?!

Hey! We're Moving To...

This is the moment you've all* been waiting for

* (okay, so maybe not too many people have been waiting but whatever).

This is the big reveal of where my husband and I will be moving!

Goodbye Colorado...

Hello....

... are you ready for it?

Here it is:

Hello Florida!

Here we come.

We're going to have some big adjustments, good and bad,

to get used to...

* gators, snakes, and bugs...

* major humidity and heat

* water... and lots of it (this is more for my husband since he's never lived by water)

* palm trees anyone?! yeah!

* possibly hurricanes, yikes.

* green trees and sandy beaches (this will be tough getting used to I'm sure)

I've got to say, I am pretty excited for Florida **

** my husband said the HR person said that the base is subject to change but probably won't... whatever that means?!
I am just going to pretend that this will not change! Okay good.  (:

Anxious Waiting

I hope you all had a wonderful

Easter weekend

and that you feel renewed, rested, and loved

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As you may**, or may not, know... my husband and I are moving soon. We'll be moving to an all new (at least for us) state. I grew up in northern Michigan, and my husband grew up in eastern Colorado. Together we'll be moving somewhere all new, which is pretty gosh darn exciting, but it's also a little nerve wrecking too. This move means an all new start somewhere where we probably won't really know anyone. After I moved to Colorado from Michigan, I still feel like I'm not settled in Colorado, so it's sort of hard to imagine moving to an all new location, but I'm honestly excited for a new beginning with my husband. Hopefully we'll be moving somewhere that we can call home for at least a few years!

** you probably already know about this, because I can't stop talking writing about moving! ;)

If there is one thing I could practice right now...

it would be patience.

But I can't wait to find out

where we'll be moving!

 
 ** p.s. Yes these are recycled pictures, but I don't have a lot of energy for new ones right now. I have moving on the brain.

Missing My Husband

This is sort of a rough time of transition for my husband and me. I haven't seen him in almost two weeks, and that's a 'gosh darn' long time* if you ask me! If you've been keeping up with my blog posts, then you might know that he's currently attending training in Las Vegas for his new job. One thing helping me through this transition is knowing that, once my husband gets through training, he'll be home every.single.night. That is a very rare thing when it comes to pilot jobs, and we're both excited to spend more time together! Him being home every night also means that I won't have to sleep with a can of pepper spray on my nightstand every night anymore. That's a major perk of this new job if you ask me.

* {I know that two weeks is nothing for military wives or some professions where people are separated for much longer periods of time... how do they do it?!}

©Alison Rose Photography

On a more serious note, I am incredibly proud of my husband. He deserves every single opportunity that comes his way, because he never stops working hard to achieve his goals. He also possesses this great quality of never complaining. (The few times that he does complain are because stuff is seriously bad. Really. He's not a complainer.) He's so great at seeing the positive when things are tough, and he definitely balances me when I get a little crazy. A couple of days ago, I was having a hard time adjusting to being apart and having no place of our own, and he sent me the sweetest email reminding me that we will be together as soon as his training is done. It's not forever. Sometimes I get carried away, over exaggerate things, and in my mind think something is forever... when it's clearly not. My husband is very patient and calming (most times) in stressful situations. I guess that's one of the many reasons that he makes a great pilot. The email he sent me also contained so many thoughtful things and reminders of why I married this amazing man! He makes me so proud, and I can hardly imagine loving him more... *but I will, because he deserves every bit of it.

* {I really hope you didn't need a barf bag, but I really love my husband to pieces.}

The really incredibly great news is that he's planning on coming home for the weekend! I really don't want to go three weeks without seeing him. That's no good. Plus we would really love to attend the sunrise Easter service at Red Rocks Amphitheater like we did last year. If all goes well, meaning that he can catch a flight out of LAS, then I'll be seeing him tomorrow!

Have you spent a long period of time apart from a loved one? How did you make it?

Good Morning From the Sky

Yesterday at this time I was on an airplane over Las Vegas.

My husband and I took a little road trip out there (more on that later), and I flew back to Colorado on Frontier's first flight of the morning.

good morning sunshine

The morning sky and landscape were beautiful. I rarely have such great timing with flying, and the luck of snagging a window seat, where I get to experience a lovely sunrise. It's one of those really great things about flying that don't happen all of the time. The weather was clear and the sun was rising. Just lovely!

view from the sky

After takeoff, and snapping a few pictures of the sun rising over Las Vegas, I promptly fell asleep. Sorry there aren't more pictures of the morning flight, but I passed out from sheer exhaustion.

Do you enjoy the view from an airplane?

I hope you all had a great day yesterday and that you didn't struggle with too many Monday issues. (:

Advantages of Homelessness

Never in my life did I think that not owning a home would be something I would give thanks for, but it has happened. I'm not talking about being homeless on the streets, but more like not owning a home. There have been so many times recently where it makes me sad to think that my husband and I are almost 30 and don't own a home or have children. However, at this very point in our life I am incredibly thankful that we are not tied down by a home or children.

The reason I give thanks that we aren't homeowners is because we've been hit with this opportunity to relocate. My husband has been hired at another airline, and in a nutshell we'll be moving to where he'll be based. One of the rare things, about the airline he was hired by, is that they don't do overnights. Yes, you heard correctly. My pilot husband won't be staying in hotels, and he'll be home pretty much every night after flying. Crazy I tell you! It's a really new concept for both of us considering he's been working away from home for years. The only way that he can be home every night is if we relocate to the city where he is based, because if we don't then he'll have to commute. Commuting definitely defeats the advantages of no overnights, so we're moving!

We don't have a home or children, but I could imagine those things would make relocating incredibly difficult. The idea of picking up children and planting them somewhere new would be scary, not to mention, this isn't exactly a seller's market when it comes to housing. Basically, we have the freedom to move without the stresses of moving family (besides ourselves) to a new place. After all the whining I've been doing lately, about not having a home or kids, we've been blessed with an opportunity for change and growth. So we're taking it! Thank goodness we don't have major things holding us back or this opportunity would have been a much more difficult decision.

Owning a home would also make a move more difficult, because paying a mortgage plus rent somewhere new would be tough. My husband is already taking a huge pay cut (he has the possibility of making more in the long run), so paying two "rents" isn't an option for us now. We're actually moving out of our apartment and putting our belongings into a storage unit. While my husband trains for almost 7 weeks, I'm going to enter, as my uncle put it, the "nomadic period" of my life. Seriously. I'll be living out of my suitcase and moving from here to there while I go through this homeless time without my husband. I like to think of it as a "little adventure", because I sort of freak out when I start thinking about how weird all of this is. Thank goodness we won't have to pay for a mortgage and rent somewhere new.

At this point in our life, I'm actually thankful that we are not tied down by a home. Maybe being home-less isn't so bad after all. Being free from a home has helped us be able to take this opportunity for change and growth in our life, and I am a big believer in doing things that are sometimes a little uncomfortable. Had I not picked up all of my belongings after college and moved myself to Colorado, I never would have met my husband. We're both looking forward to a move and more time together wherever that is. There are too many things that might not happen if we don't try, so thank goodness for not owning a home! Who ever would have thought being a renter could be so freeing?

Goodbye Las Vegas... For Now

If you read my last couple of blog posts, you'll know that we spent a few days in Las Vegas. Each time we go, we try and do something new while we're there. This time we saw another Cirque show, and we stayed at the MGM Grand which we had not stayed at previous to this visit.

On our last morning in the hotel, we ordered room service before heading off to the airport. Since the passenger loads looked heavy, we anticipated a long day of waiting at the airport and wanted to fill up on a yummy breakfast before sitting at LAS all day. Good thing I love airports, because we sat around pretty much all day waiting for a flight with a couple of open seats.

We found our way down to the United flights waiting area, and were glad to find that it was incredibly quiet down there. Tons of seats were open for us to wait around, so we stretched out and enjoyed the sunlight and watched planes taxi around the airport.

A visit to the airport is no longer complete for me without at least one somewhat artsy photograph. I have a few fun pictures from the Detroit airport, and I snapped this one of the seats in the waiting area at LAS. Good thing there weren't too many passengers waiting around us, because I had to contort myself a bit in order to take this photo.

These seats were seriously some of the more comfortable airport waiting seats I have experienced. Love them! If I have to spend a day at LAS again, I know where I'm heading. That would be the United area in the D concourse. Don't forget a big bottle of water too.

After a day of waiting around, we finally got the last couple of seats on an evening flight into Denver. Las Vegas... it was fun, thanks for having us! You'll be seeing my husband again really soon while he trains for his new job. Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble... okay? Thanks!