What a Way to Start a Week

I woke up on Monday morning at 4:00 AM and had a hunkering to go fly. Luckily, Big Boss was up for it! I headed to the airport to prepare the airplane. Four passengers arrived, and we were wheels-up shortly after 6:00 AM.

Our first stop of the day was San Diego. Just as we were landing, a huge fog bed rolled in! We landed just in time as the visibility dropped to less than a quarter-mile just after we touched down! We could see it moving across the runway as we got closer to the airport...such a weird (and apparently rare) phenomenom! After we taxied to Landmark Aviation and got our passengers on their way, Terry and I drove to a breakfast place for a quick bite. Because I don't think eggs and hash browns were the healthiest option I could have picked, I didn't take any pictures of what I ordered. But it was delicious. Don't you worry.

Not long after we arrived back at the FBO, we got a call that Big Boss wanted us to pick him up further north at John Wayne Orange County Airport. We lucked out and got to fly right over Disneyland! Oh, how I long to go to Disneyland. We got fuel and coffee for the airplane and then played the hurry-up-and-wait game while anticipating the arrival of our passengers. An hour later, we were on our way to the mountains outside Los Angeles to San Bernardino. We were just here a few weeks ago, so I didn't mind a return trip to the beautiful Million Air FBO. Our passengers were only gone about an hour, and we were soon hopping up to Whick's neighborhood to Modesto (hi, Whick!). The Sky Trek FBO here is outstanding...letting my passengers borrow a crew car instead of asking them to pay $80 for a rental used just two hours. 

After a short stay on the ground in Modesto, we continued a little further west to Napa, California. I've never been here before, but it isn't too far from Oakland. I could tell that from the dreary weather! It drizzled the entire stay. After getting fuel and not daring to get dinner (since they said they would be very quick), we stayed at the FBO and waited for their return. I was keeping my fingers crossed that this next flight would be our last, since we were already on City #6 and it was after 9:00 PM. No such luck. When Big Boss arrived, he announced that we were headed to Bakersfield...which we had flown over earlier in the day. Back-tracking 45 minutes isn't so bad unless you know it still isn't your last flight of the day!

While in Bakersfield, we made a mad dash for some dinner. It's an awful moment when the only thing open is a Taco Bell! We ate quickly then returned to the Atlantic Aviation at the airport to wait for our passengers to return. I called to arrange some hotels at our next destination...Seattle-Tacoma Airport. We flew 2.5 hours and landed around 1:30 AM. I had already been up for a while, and I don't know that being done for the day had ever felt so good. By the time we arrived at the hotel, a Fairfield Inn really close to the airport, it was after two o'clock. 

I worked 22.5 hours and flew to eight cities. The word "exhaustion" doesn't do it justice!

Phoenix - San Diego - John Wayne Orange County - San Bernardino - Modesto - Napa - Bakersfield - Seattle/Tacoma

The Perfect Pantry

Although I was home this week (surprise!), it was a hectic mess. After being gone for a whole month of nonstop work, I had a million projects that were begging for my immediate attention. Towards the top of the list was getting my pantry put together at last.  It has been quite a process getting to this point, and I'm thrilled that it's finally a great, functioning tool in our home. Now that the pantry is done (for now), it's time to reveal the finished product!

I say done for now only because there happens to be lots of excess space that will eventually be filled with more food storage (adding a little more each month with any excess grocery money). It feels wonderful knowing that we won't die next time Phoenix gets hit with a killer blizzard!

This pantry is...heavenly. I know it seems like a long time coming (it was for me, anyway). It took over a month from start to finish. But the wait was certainly worth it as everything came together to create our perfect storage space.

We stacked the dryer on top of the washer to make room for our latest addition...Mr. Free Freezer! We swapped our old dining set for our neighbor's old freezer. After getting the shelves organized, it was time to haul Mr. Freezer into place. Even if it dies next year...it will be a Free Freezer until then! What a blessing!

Just like every room in the house that we finally finish, I find myself walking by just to take a peek and to feel the satisfaction of a job well done (we hired some of it out, so I can brag about how awesome this pantry truly is. Right? Guys?). We couldn't be happier with our new pantry room. It is our last big home project for a while now that all of the excess funds are heading towards my student loans. But it's certainly a project that we get to enjoy every day!