Belfast, Ireland

I hope this finds all of you happy and healthy this holiday season! I wanted to share a bit of Belfast with you. What a blessing to see cities around the world preparing for this wonderful Christmas season and the birth of our Savior! Belfast was no exception and was decorated from top to bottom. I even got lucky and enjoyed a Christmas market in the center of the city! What a treat!




As I spent this trip doing a little Christmas shopping, I thought I'd include a few more photos from a prior visit. (Notice the leaves on the trees and blue skies!) My observations of Belfast? The Irish people are some of the warmest, friendliest people that I have found anywhere. On my flights they tend to be the most humble, polite, and appreciative passengers that I've had the privilege of serving. In contrast, within the city of Belfast there is still a presence of "unrest" with a "division" of the people still lingering from years past. Hotels and restaurants throughout the city have "security" men outside the doors once the sun goes down. It is such a contrast to the people as a whole. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse of Belfast.

Copenhagen, Denmark

What a thrill Copenhagen was! One of the most beautiful hotels I've stayed in, and both the city and the people were lovely . Interesting that I was there on a Sunday, and other than restaurants & convenience stores, ALL stores, shops and businesses were closed. Remember when OUR country used to be that way? A true "day of rest", family day, Lord's day? Although it wasn't the most desired for this "sightseeing" gal, I was glad to see it. The Scandinavians really do seem to have a higher quality of life in many ways. An obvious observation while traveling. They are "dressier" while out... many wear jeans, but they are dressed up... you can tell that it is a special thing to be out and about enjoying leisure time. And oh my! The waterfront area! With it's colorful buildings and docked boats! It looked like a post card! I only hope that I've captured the flavor of it all in my photos. An interesting side-note as a Flight Attendant? Because the cost of living is so high in the Scandanavian countries (a Big Mac meal can cost around $15!) they tend to enjoy our free beverages & cheap cocktails and on flights many passengers will order 2 or 3 beverages (per person) every service! Whew! It challenges my memory! Ha! We certainly earn our pay on those flights! High maintenance, but a very polite, classy group of people. Well, bye for now. I'd love to hear from you on my "comments" if you enjoyed this, ok? Love to all!

Life Outside of Travel...

I've been looking forward to posting some photos of my travels to Stockholm & Copenhagen, but first I wanted to share a glimpse of what means even more to me... my family & friends! What a wonderful summer and fall I've had making memories that I'll treasure always!!

First was family time at Becca's new home. What a blessing to see their family of 6 with 2 stories of comfort & beauty! I am so happy for them! It is well deserved! Julie, Mom & I threw a housewarming, open house and enjoyed meeting many of their neighbors & friends.

What fun I had in Chicago with Julie & family celebrating Julie's birthday! Always "first class" when Bryan is in charge! What a beautiful city! Julie even found a "Chocolate Cafe"... wow! Yummy! And I couldn't get enough of little girl time... I was in heaven!

I had a "whirlwind" trip to lovely Orange County and so enjoyed all the girl time there! (and Uncle Darrel! ha!) Barb & I strolled the Dana Pt. Harbor, with so much to catch up on, then I had a great lunch with my lovely "escrow daughter" Lisa. My cousin Tracy's daughters Bat-Mitzvah was a blast... a perfect party! Dinner with girlfriend Linda & family at CPK... yum! And as always, I cherish any time spent with my favorite Aunt & Uncle, June & Darrel, from AZ and look forward to their visit out east later this month.

Next came a few weeks with my Mom "beautifying" my little Condo! It's truly been transformed! Our whole family stands in "awe" of Mom's stamina & love of painting... an incredible gift to all of us! Check out my new "brick red" kitchen! I love it! Mom & and I enjoyed shopping & our meals together were the best!

Part of the above "beautifying" was in preparation of a visit from my best girlfriend of over 40 years! Wow! Is that possible? Linda and I spent 4 fun days of discovering NJ & NYC!! (Now I'm ready for the rest of you to visit!) We lunched at a beautiful tea house, shopped & took a "fall foliage" train ride in New Hope, saw Legally Blonde on Broadway, took a rick-shaw ride through Central Park, ate in Time Square and spent a warm sunny afternoon at the Jersey Shore. Even more we had HOURS of encouraging, deep "girl talk" and were so pleased to discover that we are studying the very same devotional right now! It means so very much to me that the Lord is one of the greatest gifts that we share in common. Sisters of the heart for sure!

Well, I hope this wasn't too long... there was so much to share! But now you know how much all of you mean to me... and if you're reading this and we haven't had a chance to get together, let's work on that for 2008, ok? Until next time, I hope you enjoy this, and I look forward to keeping all of you involved in my travels... because I really do take you with me in my heart! xo

Hi All! I'm hoping to stay connected and in touch with my new blog! I'm sitting "Airport Alert" today, which means a four hour shift here in the Crew Room, waiting to see if they need me for a last minute flight assignment. Definitely not one of my favorite things to do, but I have gotten some great flights in the past while sitting "AAA". Such is the life of a "Reserve" Flight Attendant! As you all know... I do LOVE my job and I'm so grateful to have enjoyed a regular schedule (we call it "holding a line") through the summer. Hope this finds all of those I care most about doing well... I look forward to sharing photos & thoughts from my travels soon!

My New Blog...

My new blog....