The friendly skies - gettin' you there

The trip TO Florida was a nightmare. United Airlines sucks - they couldn't get a plane to Des Moines until 3 hours late so we missed our original flight out of Chicago to Fort Myers. Then there were huge storms in Charlotte, where the next flight we could get out of Chi-town to Fort Myers originated. Argh!

Saving grace. I went into suck up mode in Chicago, as we had to switch from United to US Airlines. We ran through the airport because again United staff was not helpful to us. The tram Nazi put the fear of God in me when I stepped over the line to go down the stairs to the tram to the proper terminal for our flight we thought we were late to. Turned out due to the storms, the flight was late. After I played nice, Paul (Mr. Not-As-Nice) got the back row and I got row 5. The guy in my seat asked if I'd like to sit in 1st Class - Row 2. Would I!

So I got bumped to "rich girl" status - and we sat on the tarmac for an hour awaiting storm passage in Charlotte. First I had a cranberry juice. Then I had another with vodka - FREE! It was awesome. Made me wish I were rich all the time...sigh. In Charlotte we hustled right to our next flight and didn't arrive in Fort Myers until nearly 2 a.m. Cindo had called it a night and we needed to rent a car. My bag arrived but Paul's didn't.

We pulled into my beloved Gulfview around 4 a.m. Cindo let us in. Paul had some wine. He slept in his undies. I was glad to have my bag. Vacation had arrived. Paul's bag arrived that evening.

I'm off

View at the Gulfview - this year we'll be on the 21st floor.

We're off to Marco Island for a few days. I'm leaving my beloved Dell behind. I know...cold turkey. But I'm determined to get back in touch with all things non digital. Okay you got me - I'll have my Blackberry. hehe.

But no watching TV whilst surfing NY Times, Washington Post, Facebook, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal. Yeah, I usually make the rounds - the curse of being a fast reader - I get ALL the bad news.

I am looking forward to bonding with sisters Cindo and Betso, and their adopted sister Paul. We'll power walk on the beach, read by the pool, talk about our lives, have cocktails and eat at our fave places.

Cindy's husband Brian Lefebvre (whom everyone calls Bolder or Oldie Moldie Boldie)is going through a medical issue - a serious thing that Cindy and he will need to deal with once she gets home. I'm sure we'll discuss that a lot. Betsy is a nurse by training - is married to doc Wayne and will have some valuable input.

It's definitely time for my post winter vacation. I was getting a bit sour at work, with my life in general. I need my Marco break! TTFN!

Just for my lil niece LeLo

IronRite

In CubicleLand this week (aka the beautiful Wallace Building) Angie, Becky and I discussed how we recognize certain of our co-worker's walks. How they actually sound as they make their way through the aisles of the joint - usually 5th floor. And we all have our own etiquette styles.

Angie's desk is at the end of a longish aisle and some people hover and wait for her to notice them - even though her back is to the opening. Others, like me, trot right in unless she's on the phone or involved in a conversation with someone I don't feel comfy barging in on.

My back is to the opening of my cubicle and lots of people try to make some type of knocking noise to get my attention. When I'm deep in thought, it usually scares the heck out of me! There is a little doorbell sticker on the support beam in my cube, but it doesn't really work.

I can recognize some of my co-worker's distinct walks without even turning around - which brings me to the family portion of this blog. The house we grew up in had a huge laundry room and Mom seemed to spend lots of time there - smoking and laundering. The laundry room contained the usual stuff - washer/dryer combo, a table where Mom would lay out folded clothes and a utility sink with 2 sides where she could bleach and soak stuff.

There was also a row of hooks where we could hang up coats and a place for boots - great for winter. She insisted we use this entrance from the patio during sledding playtime. There was a mounted pop bottle top remover (for Dad's poker parties no doubt) and a phone mounted on a wall with an extra long cord so you could even talk in the next room - with the TV in it.

On the end of the room, a clothes line was strung up so she could hang stuff as she took them out of the washer or after ironing. The ironing board was set up right below it. And the focal point of the room was the IronRight. It was a huge machine she used to iron sheets - but I even learned to use it to iron tee shirts. You had to watch out cuz it could sure screw up the pressed on applique! And the controls are knee operated and could shock you!

The ceiling of our laundry room was never finished and insulated. So you could hear everything through it. Mom didn't bother to march around through the TV room and up the stairs to yell at us - she'd just yell through the floor. And she liked to yell at Susi about the way she stomped on the floor when she walked. Evidently Susi didn't float like a graceful young woman at that time. Mom would yell, "quit stomping!"

I wonder what it sounded like when Betso was doing her flippy flops in the living room?

Tanners

Sarah cut my hair in Creston today at the Salon by Quick Pawn. Sounds classy, no? Perhaps, not so much. In fact Sahar is way more classy.

When I walked in the door, all the chairs were taken - somber faced people awaiting their tanning beds. Why do so many people spend their hard-earned money on tanning? It's surprising to me...

But I'm not a tanner. It must be somewhat addictive. Some of my friends - Patti, Jeanne - the Antisdel girls are big tanners. When we were in Northfield last weekend, we ran into a friend of Vicki's just back from Mexico. Her face watch very tan and blotchy. Ick!

I'd rather be pastey white! Guess that wish came true...

Ahhhh

I had my toes done yesterday. Top Nails in Waukee once again. I went there a year ago before my Marco trip and decided to trip it again. Last year the young man did my pedicure, but this year a young woman got the nod.

I was lucky to walk in and get right in - she revved up the massage chair and heated up the water for my footsies. I love the routine! Into the water and out - then she removed my old polish. My foot "artist" rubbed my legs down with sea salt and then put some oil on them. It was fantastic.

As a sidenote she put the polish I purchased on too. And a top-coat. She was insistant that I should push the button on the chair and run the massage. It did feel pretty good - in fact I felt better than I had all day. My pedicure turned out pretty well - but the overall experience was well worth the $30! (including tip)

Today was "Tornado Drill" day at work. We had to tromp down the stairs to the tunnels deep in the bowels of the state offices near the State Capitol. It's very loud there, but I'm sure quite safe!

Sorority rejection

The first thing that happened to me at my beloved Iowa State University was that the Greek system chewed me up and spit me out like a bit lugie. Then all the smart cute girls stepped on me on their way to the pretty cute girl dance.

I was a fairly confident high school girl. I knew (and know) I'm not gorgeous. Never was. And I've admitted freely that I don't have the girl gene. Girl tools don't work easily in my hands. Give me a curry brush for a quarter horse gelding and I'm at home. Put a mascara wand in my hand and I'm a bit shaky - even now at age 53. Mrs. Elming tried her best in 8th grade Home Ec to teach about the womanly arts of cooking, sewing and makeup. It just didn't take.

I wasn't the most popular girl at AHS, but I always had lots of friends and the smart ass thing worked for me. Keep them laughing! My mother had been a Kappa Kappa Gamma at the U of I. Cindy was a Kappa at Drake. My grandma, Momo was Pi Phi. By God I was a legacy, I was a shoe in! So I put a resume together and thought I was good to go. Little did I know....the late 70's were the height of Greekdom. Chicks were fighting to get in.

Rush week began few days before the rest of the students arrived on campus. I noticed the other frosh girls seemed kinda sophisticated! But I plugged away touring each of the some 15 sororities on campus Alpha to Zeta. (Picture me as Flounder on Animal House) Sadly I started to picture myself as a sorority girl - getting enthused about this prospect.

At the end of the process - you pick the sororities you're interested in and they pick you. But if you're not picked by anybody, you get a blank paper. And that's what I got. So I called my mother crying and she came to get me for the Labor Day weekend, while the other "picked" girls were busily doing fun Greek activities in fun pretty cool ways. Undoubtedly the girls on my dorm floor who had been selected. They knew the ugly truth - I'd not been "cool" enough to be Greek.

God was smiling down on me that next week when I got back to campus with my tail between my legs, my little spirit crushed. A nice cool girl named Vicki who didn't give two hoots about sororities walked into my dorm room and asked if I wanted to go buy a football ticket with her. The rest is history. I got over it. Sure it still hurt sometimes - especially that first year. But I got involved in my own life - in the dorm and then in an apartment with my own good friends. And I didn't need no stinkin' sorority.

How ironic years later in Creston when I Leslie Bullock Goldsmith was selected Zeta Iota "Girl of the Year" of my sorority. Who is cool now? Go Greek!

Susan is

Getting married! My friend Susan Grose is getting married! Not only that she's got a hot younger guy - Brian. I've known Susan practically since I moved to Creston - she was in my sorority. Spose I should explain that whole statement. You see I was a sorority reject in college, but I Creston, Iowa, Beta Sigma Phi welcomed me with open arms!

As a new kid in town, I was more than happy to be asked to join a ready-made group of friends! Julia Stuetelberg, wife of my Atlantic classmate classmate Dave who was a chiropractor in town put my name in as a candidate for this social sorority. My buddie Mary Faber called to ask me - Mary - the queen ambassador of friendship! Bobbie McFee, Mendy Ritzman, Susan Grose, Diana McKim, Gwen Buck - these are a few of the women I was fortunate enough to meet that first year of sorority.

Sorority meetings were my chance to get out of the house - to talk to real girls my age. It was the start of beautiful friendships! I didn't get to know Susan as well as some of the other people - but have always liked and admired her. Back then she was married to Dick Grose - an older guy who was hard to get to know. Dick and Susan divorced a few years ago and Susan began dating cute Brian a couple years back.

Last year she announced her engagement. I suspected she might be like Patti Kralik - eternally engaged. (Dean's been her fiance for the past 18 years or so...) But a couple weeks ago she surprised me by stating that April 30th is the date they set. Yippy! So we've all picked songs for the DJ to play. Susan's getting married!