a few airport adventures

I was in NE last week and my flight to NE was delayed an hour due to a mechanical issue with the aircraft. My initial thought was, "Well - good thing we didn't identify the mechanical issue while in flight." But most people's responses were, "WHAT?? a delay?? This cannot be!!" Then they subsequently get loud and obnoxious and start yelling at the counter people at the gate. I get the frustration of your plans having to change but did they miss the beginning of that message?... a MECHANICAL issue!! Not to mention, while we were all sitting in Albuquerque, the airline was calling us up one by one if this delay was going to cause us to miss our connection so our connection could get rescheduled. I thought this was incredible because usually they send you on your way and you have to figure it out when you're at your next location. I got my flight all figured out and I got to Lincoln safely and successfully.

This got me thinking about other airport stories throughout my 29 years of life. One that sticks out the most was when I was flying by myself(don't recall where) and I was sitting at the gate. This gentleman turned to me and asked, "Could you watch my bag while I run to the bathroom?" I stared at him and said in all seriousness, "Well - they say you should never take unknown baggage or packages from someone you don't know. Sorry." His mouth dropped open and he grabbed his bag and walked off. He was not impressed with my response but hey, I was following the rules!

Another was when I visited Mike down in FL(while he was training for 6 months in GA prior to us moving to DC) and when I was leaving, I was hysterically crying(like 'can't catch my breath' crying) because I didn't want to leave my love. This older woman came over and sat down by me. She asked me if I was ok, gave me a tissue, and said that everything was going to be ok. How nice of her, huh?

My last story involves Mike and I and our first flight was delayed so we had to jump off our first flight and run to our next. We must have been going somewhere warm because I was in flip flops...so off we ran(and it was quite a long way) and I left Mike is the dust!! Now it wasn't officially declared a race but I definitely beat Mike to the gate. :)

Any interesting airport stories you want to share?

In other news ~ Mike has been at the AZ/Mexico border for almost 2 weeks on a work detail...he gets back on Tuesday(which also happens to be his birthday)! Can't wait to be reunited with my hubs again!

some things just don't get better!!

You know how I mentioned Mike and I are working out in the morning a few days a week?? Well...we've gone five times and hearing the alarm go off at 5:15am is still not an enjoyable experience. I also despise hearing my husband telling me to "wake up"(in the nicest/semi-quiet way possible of course) 10 minutes later as he opens the bathroom door and the light shines into my face. It is just absolute torture I tell you!! BUT ~ it still feels incredible afterward. I've gotten back into some consistent strength training(by consistent, I mean about 3 times a week) and getting my runs done in the morning is great so I don't have to worry about it after work.

So, I guess there are some positives...but, I again tell you that hearing the alarm at 5:15am is TORTURE! Maybe some day I'll get over the 5:15 alarm but that day will not be today!

News Bulletin ~
Just wanted to share this link to a news video about one of Mike's cases last week. The BLM "agent" that is referenced is my beloved husband. My Hero!! I think I'm more excited about this than Mike...I think I've told practically anyone who will listen to me about this. :) His 10-hr work day on Friday turned into about a 15-hr work day because of this case. Boo! BUT I did get to go out to dinner with my hero after he got home at one of our fave's, the Guadalupe Cafe. YUM-O!

Happy New Year...a few days late

Happy New Year!!

We rang in the new year at Buffalo Thunder Casino("Santa Fe's Playground") with friends Anne, John, & Natasha. It was a really great time and we were so happy to start the new year with new friends in our new city!

A new year means a new gym for me...right when we moved to Santa Fe, I paid a 3-month membership to the local community center. It's an amazing community center but they don't have a single TV! Since I am best friends with the treadmill lately due to the snow and cold, it's pretty much torture to be on a treadmill for long periods of time without being able to watch TV. SO ~ I joined Anytime Fitness, which is the gym Mike joined awhile ago since he could go to other centers when he is traveling for work. And the absolute best thing about the gym??...Individual TV's on each cardio machine! A-MAZING! It's also great to go to the same gym at the same time with my hubs again. On that note ~ Mike works out in the morning during his first hour of work(let me remind you his work week is Wed-Sun and he only works out Mon-Fri) so I suggested, "Well, why don't you go at 6am instead of 7am Wed-Fri so I can go with you so I can be back to be logged in to work by 7am." Uh - right - brilliant Kirsten! This morning was the first attempt and although it was absolute torture for me to hear the alarm at 5:15am, we made it and I felt super when I "got" to work this morning. We plan to give it a try again tomorrow.

Any New Years Resolutions, you ask??
Not really - I never keep them so I'm not putting things on paper this year but my major goals(well I suppose 'goals' could be considered 'resolutions') this year are:
1. Run two half-marathons(first one is scheduled for March - not sure on the second) ~ depending how the first half goes, I might be convinced to try a full marathon again...I'll report back in March.
2. Get better at snow-boarding - I think we're heading out to Ski Santa Fe sometime over the next week to work on our skills.

Welcome to 2011 everyone!(Can you even believe it's 2011?) Hope everyone makes a point to be a little healthier this year than last year and get/stay active!