6.20.2007

first class...here i come!

Work has slowed down, for about an hour, so I thought I would quickly recap my Cleveland experience and our celebratory weekend. My morning routine is officially off-track, and I miss it! Gone are the days where I can leisurely walk into work and check my daily blogs and the gossip websites, at least for a while anyhow. I can’t wait until I have some time off before school starts!

First off, let me share my experience with Continental Airlines. On my way to Cleveland, I thought the staff was terrible and rude. When I asked for a diet coke, the flight attendant rudely said, “Did you miss it the first time around?” “Yes, I was asleep actually,” I replied shocked at her question. Who cares if I missed it the first time around, I’d like a diet coke, I thought. I wanted to ask for another diet coke after I finished the first one, just to upset the flight attendant. But I chose to not be an annoying flyer. As I was waiting to board the plane for my return home, I was surprised to hear my name being called over the loud speaker. When I inquired about it, I was told that I was bumped to first class. “Yeah! I’ve never flown first class, I’m so excited!” The people in line behind me laughed as I quickly accepted the seat change. Once on board, I was approached by a smiling flight attendant who asked what I would like to drink. I had to call Rob immediately to share. I was seriously bursting with happiness! Rob’s response, “Honey, you better deflate your head when you land in LA, otherwise you won’t fit in my car.” My response, “The limo you're picking me up in should have enough room.” After we were in the air, I was asked if I wanted a “cold plate” – shrimp cocktail, fresh fruit, cheese and crackers. I happily ate my cold plate with a glass of red wine as I watched West Wing and snuggled with KeeKee. It was the best flight experience I’ve ever had!

Cleveland was a very fun experience. I was so happy that my agency and our clients even considered me for this meeting, since I’m leaving in a couple weeks. The meeting was only going to last a couple hours and in the middle of Friday afternoon so I had plenty of time to explore the city – since last week I didn’t have much on my plate, I wouldn’t really have to work remotely. My flight arrived in Cleveland at 6:30pm on Thursday, so I thought I would have a few hours to walk around the downtown area. I was disappointed when my cab driver told me the city wasn’t very safe, especially with the NBA Finals going on. I ended up ordering room service and watching more West Wing – another addiction (I rented the entire 4th season for my flight). My dinner: a “Love Me Tender” sandwich – peanut butter and banana! It was delicious! Can’t wait to make it at home. Because Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, many of the hotels have music theme accents. I topped off my dinner with some cheesecake…Do you think there is some sort of Chocolate Eaters Anonymous? Alone and eating a giant piece of chocolate mouse cheesecake – I could be the perfect candidate.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

I was so happy to get home to my husband, even though I was only gone for one day, I really missed him! I wish he could have experienced first class with me too! Saturday we had a couple parties to attend. Sarah’s 2nd birthday party, the Dora the Explorer party, was so fun! I was surprised how much I laughed. It's really cute...Ken and Kelly have Sarah call us Auntie Alyssa and Uncle Rob-O - it's the sweetest thing ever! Toddlers are really hysterical, not to mention, totally adorable!

Sarah, the birthday girl




Sarah and Jayden, more hugs

Jayden loves Dora

Corbin (it's so cute how little kids "pose" for the camera)

Brendan recently had his 1st birthday party and loved cake

All the kids


Uncle Rob-O and Sarah (seeing Rob with her melts my heart)


Saturday evening we met Rob’s mom, dad and sister (Laura) and my dad, brother and sister-in-law (Gabe and Mimi) at the Spaghetti Factory Newport Beach. It was so fun to hang out with our families and celebrate our dads. We are so fortunate to have healthy dads. We have some friends who no longer have their fathers, so it was a special and memorable evening for us to really appreciate our family.

The happy dads (Rob's dad, Terry and my dad, Gil)

The silly dads

Everyone (Marie, Terry, Gil, Laura, Gabe, Mimi, Rob, Me)

Marie posing with my apple martini

Sunday, Rob and I had what we thought was the perfect day…2 movies - Duran Duran Reunion Tour (his choice) and Catch and Release (my choice). Unfortunately, we had a memorial service to attend in the evening for a member of our church who recently passed away. It was a beautiful service where lots of music was played and many stories were shared. Really, the perfect evening to remember our friend Tony.

Wow, today was a long one. Next time I’ll keep it short and sweet…

3 comments:

Nanette said...

Those pictures make my ovaries hurt! So cute! So glad you had a great trip and that the flying experience ended well!

Mrs.D said...

Sounds like you had a great trip! Neat pictures of the hall of fame.

~ Jolene said...

no, I love the long posts! :) Those kids are precious! I can't wait to be a mommy!!! Wait, did I just say that out loud? :) Love that you flew first class. You won't ever want to go back anymore...trust me! But in my case, sometimes you have no choice!