I'm On My Way To The U.K.

I've got my plane ticket and new luggage and I'm getting ready to go live with my husband in England.  It has been a very long, expensive and difficult process but we are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

• I have been living with my parents and then friends for a total of a year and seven months, which hasn't been easy for any of us. 
• I have submitted my letter of resignation and presented my employer with a document and resources regarding UK taxes and being an independent contractor in the UK hoping that they will need my services after I move.
• I had to apply for my settlement visa, which was probably one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. It took us months to get the proper paperwork together. For more details, see my post The Visa Application.
• I have been taking trips back and forth to my storage unit going through my things, throwing things away, giving boxes upon boxes to Goodwill. Today I had the ReStore pick up my furniture.  Months ago I even gave my truck to charity.

None of these things have been very easy for me to do but I manage to get this stuff done.  I plan on working from my UK home in the area of Salesforce consulting and administration.  I am very good at what I do and I absolutely love it! I'm hoping to find some work as a consultant or administrator when I get settled.  

My days in the US are numbered... here is what we have planned:

• Feb 1: Vernon arrives in Upper Michigan but very late in the evening.
• Feb 2: Vernon helps me move out of my friends' house.
• Feb 3: Early morning trip down to Madison, WI to spend time with my family
• Feb 10: Back to Upper Michigan to visit with friends and co-workers.
• Feb 12: Head across the UP and over the Mackinac bridge to spend time with my daughter in Kalamazoo, MI. 
• Feb 14: Visit more family in Detroit area.
• Feb 15: Non stop flight from Detroit to London. 

So there you have it. My schedule for my last few weeks here.  I'm worried I wont see everyone I want to see but I promise that I'll be back someday to visit.

There are a few things I haven't quite figured out yet. If you happen to have any advice, experience or input please let me know!

• Banking. I have yet to talk to my credit union about keeping me on as a member but we'll see what happens. I have to have an American account in order to receive payment from my American clients and take care of my ongoing American expenses.
• Mail. I've been looking at these mail scanning/forwarding companies and the security part makes me nervous.  One I've been looking at in particular is Mailbox Forwarding.  I really need to make a decision on this soon.
• Website. I need to create a website for my Independent Contractor status and I'm not even sure where to start.  I have a Google+ account and there is a way to add business information.  I need a new email address too. 

The worst part of this is leaving my daughter.  She's an adult in college and finishing up her last year but it has always been just the two of us.  Soon she will be venturing out on her own finding out who she wants to be, where she wants to live and what she wants to do.  This decision of whether to move or not has been a difficult one but Vernon has made it very clear to us that she will always be welcome to visit or stay any time she wants.  

My Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin links are located in the upper right under my profile photo if you are interested in keeping in touch or utilizing my Salesforce expertise.  

WISH ME LUCK! 

Missing Him Terribly

We got married!  The wedding was small and beautiful; and the reception was a fantastic celebration where he could meet my extended family and friends.  I promise I will post details, photos and video later.  I regretfully got away from blogging and I do miss it very much.  Things have been crazy and my mood hasn't been the best. Today's post will be a short one, but an important one.

One day last week a song came on the radio as I was pulling into the parking lot at work.  I had to sit in the lot for a while because this song made me cry.  It made me think of Vernon and I miss him so much.  Every time this song is on the radio I cry.  I absolutely love that it is by the Goo Goo Dolls, I have always loved their music.

He went back home to the UK just a couple days after the reception. It was a very sad day for the both of us and by far the most difficult goodbye we've had to do. Since then it's been back to the usual, chatting for a short time every day and video hangouts on the weekends. I cry a lot more because it's been 14 years and we are finally married but still apart. There are many factors both obvious and personal as to why we are not together, but one day we hope that will change.

MY ELEVEN YEAR RELATIONSHIP WITH TECHNOLOGY - UH - I MEAN VERNON (written as a guest post for another blog May 2, 2011)

Relationships change and evolve over time. Technology also changes and evolves. Sometimes they go hand in hand. Skype is eight years old. Myspace is eight years old. Facebook is seven years old. Twitter is five years old and iGoogle was launched five years ago as well. Eleven years ago, I met the man of my dreams, I had WebTV and I had no idea that we would be where we are today; in our relationship or in technology. If you are under twenty years old you probably have no idea what WebTV is. How would a couple maintain a long distance relationship without the technology listed above? Today’s kids probably don’t think about it and assume it’s been around since the dawn of time. We “old folks” know better, although I feel I’m speaking to a younger audience so I’ll tell you now…technology has come such a long way in the last eleven years.

Vernon in Michigan 2001. I’m such a Yooper!

Vernon and I met online. I was looking for young single parent support and he had made a post on a pen-pal site. I’m not sure how I found him because I was not familiar with this odd thing called “the internet” but he had everything I was looking for. He was a single parent, was my age, had a child same age as mine in addition to a younger child, and just wanted someone to write to, converse with, and interact with. Only negative was that he was a guy…. well, if he turned into a ‘perv’ I’d just stop writing him. We emailed each other for a while and discussed parenting, life, being single, working, and our pen-pal relationship turned into friendship which turned into something I don’t have a word for. Not a word that’s good enough anyway. We also wrote letters, you know, paper and pens and envelopes and stamps. Those kinds of letters. After several months, maybe close to a year, we finally exchanged pictures. Nope, no facebook yet, no picasa, we MAILED them to each other. I do believe that Vernon had a scanner and scanned a photo and emailed it to me. It took forever to download if I’m thinking of the right picture. We had already fallen for each other before exchanging photos. We got to know each other from the inside out. The photos were just a bonus.

As we got more familiar with the internet we became familiar with chat rooms. I don’t remember if it was yahoo or what, but we would have to log into the same chat room at the same time. I would create a private one so we didn’t have to be bothered by all the weirdo perverts out there looking for “cyber sex”.  I remember the first time some dude sent me a photo of his ‘junk’, that was pretty scary. It’s always a good idea not to talk to strangers, in person or on the internet. I then discovered an instant messenger program called ICQ. That was much better than chatrooms. So we used that and Yahoo IM.

We wanted to hear each other’s voice. I found a vending machine at the little shopping strip in my town and it sold international phone cards. I could buy one for $20 and we could talk for over 4 hours as long as we didn’t make multiple calls. Every time a call was made it would deduct some sort of fee that would lessen our minutes, so to get the most of our money we used it up in one shot. We did that about once a month. Sometimes I would fall asleep on the phone, or so he says.

There were no laptops, no wireless internet, and dial up internet was very expensive and the computers were very large and cumbersome. For a while I didn’t have a computer at all at home, just the webtv which had limited use. So when we did instant messenger it was while I was at work. Shhhhh.

Now with cloud computing (which is 100% of what my job consists of), digital photographs, Facebook, Picasa, iGoogle, Yahoo IM, Skype, webcams, I can go on, but you get the picture; our relationship has grown with the help of these tools. We are constantly aware of the other’s schedule, mood, and even when traveling we can keep in touch. We Skype once a week, only because of the 6 hour time difference and we both work full time jobs. Otherwise, we’d probably Skype every day. I have an awesome phone plan through Vonage where I can call him in the UK as often as I like and only pay one flat rate. I take advantage of that when he has days off of work and I call him when I get up at 6am. It’s a great way to start my day. I have uploaded web cam photos of myself and sent them to him a few minutes later. I record videos on my Flip Camera and he can watch them whenever he wants. He doesn’t feel like he’s missing out on major events and I can look at his photo albums any time I want. It makes the long distance relationship so much easier. Waiting several weeks for a letter is terrible. Don’t get me wrong, even with this technology, long distance relationships take a lot of work, but it just seems easier now.

Me in England 2011. We still look HOT!

Our bond was really strong from the beginning. I think that without this technology we’d still be together but the times in between visits and letters would be even more difficult and stressful. I don’t wish an LDR on anyone, but if you happen to be in one, take advantage of the technology out there, appreciate the time you have online, and make the best of it. Have fun and be creative.  I still manage to send Vernon postcards and the occasional letter or card. I guess I’m a bit old fashioned that way.

Our Summer Vacation 2012: S'mores, Sunken Ships and Monkeys Riding Dogs.

We are nearing the end of our vacation together and I wanted us to spend some time with my parents.  They were thrilled with the news of our engagement.  They were the last ones to tell before we made the news public. 

I had a big surprise planned for both Vern and Yaz, and couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces.  First, we spent the day and a fun evening at the lake. We had a campfire and made s'mores.  This was their first time having s'mores.  I think Vern really liked them... he had two!  While we were there the girls went four wheeling.  It's something Heidi likes to do when we have visitors.  Vernon has fallen in love with the U.P. and its scenery.  He also really came to love the hummingbirds.  He was insistent that there were no hummingbirds in the UK. I thought that was crazy, of course there are hummingbirds in the UK, with all those flowers... and after some research, we found there were no hummingbirds in the UK.  We even came across a story about a guy who tried smuggling a bunch of them wrapped up in his pants... and got caught in customs.  We thought that was amusing... poor little birds. I nearly convinced Vernon to get his mother a hummingbird feeder as a gift. What a sad gift that would have been. LOL  

Dad and Vernon did some bonding.... dad was teaching Vernon how to grill.  I enjoyed watching them.  Vern looked like he was having a great time grilling.

Ok, now for the surprise.  I took them to the rodeo! The rodeo comes to Iron River every year.  It doesn't get more American than that does it?  Everyone enjoyed themselves, from the barrel racing to the bull riding.  The girls were a bit creeped out by the clown running through the stands, but that's pretty normal right?  

At the rodeo, Yasmine asked me a very interesting question.  She asked me why we sing the national anthem so often and also noticed that so many people have the American Flag hanging outside of their homes.  Vern and Yaz were only here for two weeks, and in those two weeks, they had heard our national anthem three times.  At the car races, the water ski show and then at the rodeo.  It has always been normal for me so I never really thought about it. I just told her that we sing the national anthem before all sporting events and that Americans are very proud and patriotic. 

The coolest part of the trip for me was the Shipwreck Tour in Munising.  It was fascinating, interesting and eerie all at the same time.  The boat we were on had glass windows on the bottom and you could see the shipwrecks so clearly.  If you are ever in this area, I highly recommend it.  The views are amazing as well.

Kid Rock made a video up in this area.  When I hear this song I think of Vernon and the fun we all had up here as a family.

   

I miss you Vernon.

Our Summer Vacation 2012: It's Fun Being a Yooper!

Yooper:  a common term for residents of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  

It was important to me to show Yasmine what I could about Iron Mountain and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  I thought the Iron Mine would be interesting for everyone.  Heidi and I have already been down there, but we surely didn't mind doing it again.  I knew Vern would enjoy it, he loves that kind of stuff.  Of course we had to stick our faces in the wooden cutout... it isn't a true tourist trap without one. (Right Kim M? LOL)





The next day we went out on the Menomonee River with a friend of mine.  He was more than happy to give us a ride in his speed boat and show us some  amazing scenery.    The Menomonee River is the natural border between Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. In the photo to the left, we are facing west.  Wisconsin is on our left and Michigan is on our right.  Pretty cool.  I've been living up here for quite some time, but I've never done this before.  I had a blast! The girls really enjoyed it too. Vern went on and on how beautiful it was, and how awesome the houses on the river were. "If I lived out here I sure wouldn't be inside watching crap on TV, I'd be out here every day."  He also pointed out one of the houses and said that if he were to win the lottery that is the house he would buy and he would move up here.  Keep buying those lottery tickets Honey.  Again, like the relaxing day at the beach, it was nice seeing Vernon sit back, relax and enjoy a beer.  He really deserves it.

Look!  He's wearing his Loving From a Distance "Worth It" t-shirt! We both have one.

After spending an evening out on the river, we went home and had pastys for dinner.  Of course Vernon has had real Cornish pastys, but they wanted to compare ours to the "originals".  Everyone seemed to have enjoyed their dinner.  Considering the drought, the corn from a local farm in northern Wisconsin wasn't too bad.  

I wanted to squeeze in the ski jump at Pine Mountain but I never got around to it. I really wanted Yasmine to see it.  I believe I have already taken Vernon there.  Maybe next time.

Our Summer Vacation 2012: Pictures, Porketta, Pizza and a Perfect New Swim Suit

Vernon was here for two weeks in July/August.  He brought his daughter and the four of us had a wonderful time.  We started out on day one with family photos!  We were sad that Vernon's son was not able to make it but we really wanted to do this and it seemed like the girls enjoyed it as well.  My friend Nick of NJ Freelance is ridiculously talented and I so badly wanted him to take these photos.  We were so grateful that he said yes!

The first few days they were here it rained.  Here I told him it was going to be sunny and hot and it was just as it was back in England... rainy.  The midwest was experiencing a drought at the time, so it wasn't much rain, and in England they were having severe flooding which was causing mudslides and the like.  Two extreme weather conditions both with devastating results.  Fortunately we didn't suffer from the drought as much as they did in southern Wisconsin.  We just saw it in the produce department with the pitiful looking ears of corn and higher produce prices.

When I go out I like to be prepared, especially when it comes to weather.  Living in the midwest all my life that is the way it goes.  Still raining off and on when they first arrived I thought we'd try "Out to Lunch" in downtown Iron Mountain.  The city sponsors free music entertainment, vendors come by selling food and from 11-2 people can enjoy music while eating their lunch.  We all dressed warm and I even brought an umbrella. The second we got to the concert, the sun came out stronger than I have seen it all summer.  Poor Vernon burned his head and I was hot in my jeans.  Poor Yasmine had long sleeves on.  I blame myself for telling everyone to dress warm.  Heidi and Yaz went to the downtown shops and looked around.  Yaz found some cute souvenirs to take home to friends and family and she got herself a really cute sweatshirt.  Oh... and Vernon had his first Porketta from Crispigna's and he loved it!  They make great Porketta!  I love how he trusts me when I get him to try new foods.  Me... I'm not so adventurous.

Our first weekend together we took the girls to the mall in Appleton, WI.  We had a great time.  We were surprised at how long the girls were gone.  Vernon and I stopped at a few places, but ended up in the food court, hanging out, people watching.  It was nice just hanging out together.  The best part was when we all had lunch at Rocky Rococo's!  It is my most favorite pizza in the entire world.  Some days I actually consider driving the 2.5 hours to Appleton just to have their pizza.  It's so so good.

Vernon enjoyed his pizza, and I believe that Yasmine did too.  It was awesome that they tried out my favorite pizza place. 

Before Vernon and Yasmine arrived I had purchased the most amazing swim suit.  I had not bought a swim suit in probably over 10 years.  I really wanted something that would support my chest and be comfortable.  Well, after searching and searching which seemed like for months, I found Linda the Bra Lady who specializes in garments for women blessed in the "chestial region". I found a beautiful suit top. I found a matching skirt bottom on another site. Vernon loves it and I got many compliments.  Vern and I went to the beach at Lake Antoine here in Iron Mountain.  It's a nice family oriented beach and park and it was not crowded at all.  We had a relaxing quiet afternoon.

We had a great start to our visit together and to Yasmine's first time out of the UK.  It was really important to me that I show her as much as possible, focusing on what we have and do here in the beautiful Upper Peninsula.  

ONE MORE DAY

Vern will be here with his daughter tomorrow night.  I'm very excited and very stressed because I have so much to do yet.  I hate that I'm a procrastinator but I usually get done what I need to get done.  I did a countdown on my personal facebook page.  My friends and family that follow our relationship have been very excited for me which is really nice.  I posted a number photo or graphic that I pulled from Google Images every day.  I started on day 42 which is a number with a very important meaning to us.  It really feels like I just posted number 42 yesterday.  

I have an itinerary posted on TripIt so Vernon can see what I'm adding and provide feedback and input.  I live in a pretty cool place, although all I seem to do is complain about where I live in the winter time, which lasts from October to May.  But, between June and September, I really do like it up here.  We will do things that are very American and very north woods. We may even throw a bit of Yooper in there to make it even more fun.  Lots of family time is a must, which will include games, cooking, Wii, the beach (need to show these Brits that even though we are land locked, we still have beaches) and of course the free activities around town like concerts at the park.  I think we will have a great time. 

I apologize it has been so long since my last post. I will blame it on work and school.  I really enjoy blogging and reading and interacting with my fellow bloggers so I'm not really sure why I would put that off for so long. 

If you are in a Long Distance Relationship, when are you planning on seeing him/her again?  Otherwise, if you are one of the lucky ones who has ended the distance or never had distance between you in the first place, do you have vacation plans in the works? 

We will be taking lots of pics and video so there will be more for me to post after the visit. 

Romantic Proposal and Dream Honeymoon!

My good friend and fellow blogger is a finalist in a contest where she and her fiancée can win a fabulous honeymoon!  All it takes is to CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR SARAH AND CHRIS! and then you hit the "LIKE" button under the video. I have watched this video over and over again and I tear up at the same spot every time! Help these two great people get their honeymoon.

They have been enduring a long distance relationship just like Vernon and I; and I only wish them the very best. Please take the two seconds to hit that like button.

THANKS! <3 <3 <3 <3


UPDATE:  They won and went on that fabulous honeymoon!

Injury

April 13 was a very sad day, a very trying day, and a very painful day for me. When I say painful, I mean it in the literal sense. Yes, every time I have to leave Vernon it is painful, but this time, I experienced pain in more ways than one.

I checked in at the airport at the Air France counter. I get someone who can barely speak English... HELLO! WE ARE IN ENGLAND! WTF??? And I find out I do not have the seat that I confirmed 4 times through their partner airline since I made the reservation in January. You cannot reserve a seat when booking with Air France. I find that UNACCEPTABLE. I checked in early and I wanted an aisle seat. I told her the seat that I had reserved and confirmed 4 times and that I wanted THAT seat. I did a lot of research on planes and seats and locations of bathrooms and ratings of the locations of the seats and I paid for that seat and when I booked the plane was pretty much empty so I should have first pick of the coach seats. Well, every other airline lets you do that, but NOT Air France. UNACCEPTABLE. I was very upset that I did not have my seat and tried to understand her broken English and I told her I wanted an aisle seat close to where I had reserved the seat I didn't get. She found one for me, and I was sort of happy.

I had a long layover in Paris. I witnessed a lot of impatience and mistreatment of Asian travelers by the TSA. Obviously there are a lot of Asian travelers that pass through this INTERNATIONAL airport, where were the folks that could speak something besides French? UNACCEPTABLE. It was my turn to go through and having traveled before, I know the drill. I took my laptop out of its case, put it in a bin, then the BITCH looked at me, grabbed the empty laptop case and yanked it out of my purse with such force everything in my purse went everywhere. She just smiled and said "sorry". I wanted to punch her in the face. I just looked at her and said "What was that for?" I got nothing. NEVER have I been mistreated so badly by the TSA.

I boarded the plane and I was directed toward my seat. There was a girl sitting in my seat. It was on the aisle. I politely informed her she was sitting in my seat. She said her seat was the correct seat. I showed her my boarding pass and she said, yes, your seat is the second one in, mine is on the aisle. WELL SON OF A BITCH! That stupid incompetent non English speaking moron put me in an inner seat. I apologized to the girl and she got up and stepped into the aisle.  I had my carryon, was stepping over the girl's stuff, over the seats, making my way to the inner seat and POP! My knee exploded and I dropped like a sack of potatoes. I ended up in 2 seats and some poor guy's lap. I just lied there, not really sure what happened or how injured I was. The nice girl asked me if I was ok and I said "I don't know". I got into my seat and realized that I think I did some damage as I was in a ridiculous amount of pain. I fought back tears and didn't know how I was going to survive the 9hr flight from Paris to Detroit. Thankfully the girl I was sitting next to spoke to her family and they all switched seats so I could sit in an aisle seat next to a nice girl sitting by the window.  Once I got to Detroit I was in the worst pain, I limped through the airport, had to get my luggage and go through customs. Then I had to go through security again so I could get to my destination. The TSA in Detroit were much more pleasant that the ones in Paris and I was happy to be home (almost). Airport employees would see me limping and gripping the wall and ask me if I wanted a wheelchair. I just wanted to be left alone and I was miserable and upset and just kept telling them "No".

Well, it's one month later. I got an MRI and I have a partial tear on my ACL. I have been using crutches and can't get in to see the orthopedic surgeon until June 1st so now my back is out. I have been working from home for over a week, I can't get up or sit down without help. I have to call my daughter every time I need to go to the bathroom so she can help me stand up, I have to have her bring me my food and I'm taking vicodin every 4 hours. I'm in constant pain, I'm miserable, and I can't move. I'm worried that work will ask me to take time off and I'm out of vacation and sick time. I also recently lost 39 pounds from eating a balanced diet and exercising every day, and now that I can't even walk I've gained 5 pounds. I'm pissed and I'm upset and I'm feeling useless and neglected and very very tired. All because of stupid Air France. I will NEVER use that airline again. Oh yeah, and the food sucks too.... everything had this disgusting white mushy cheese on it and there were things I couldn't even tell what it was. YUCK.

Yeah, sorry about the venting, but the photo above is all I've been able to look at for the last week. If this injury affects my employment I'm definitely calling a lawyer.

A Castle, Shopping, and a Baby!

I have recently been to England to see Vernon. It was only for 2 weeks and I wanted lots of family time. Well, I got what I asked for as his sweet little granddaughter arrived in this world during my visit there. She is so very beautiful! I think he's going to love being a grandpa.

I told Vernon that I wanted to see a castle. He took me to Corfe Castle and it was breathtaking! It was extremely windy, but it was sunny and clear. There was lots of walking and hiking and now that I'm 35lbs lighter, I was able to enjoy all of that walking and hiking.  It was also my birthday the day we came out here. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my 40th birthday!

I am not only blessed to have Vernon in my life; I have a wonderful girlfriend named Victoria. She didn't have to be my friend, but from the first moment we met I think we hit it off. She is loving, caring, generous, supportive and understanding. She is a very good friend to me and it is so wonderful having a girlfriend to hang out with during my trips to England. Yes, I love spending every waking and non-waking moment with my Sweetheart, but a girl needs her girlfriends and I really love and appreciate her. I also have to mention our shopping trips. She knows where all the great stores are, especially the ones that carry clothes in my size. I've picked things up from Peacocks, Bonmarche, and Marks & Spencer. 

Yeovil, Somerset is my favorite place in the world, obviously because of Vernon, his family, and everyone else there that I love. Secondly, I love it for all the SHOPPING!

Vernon and I had such a wonderful time sight seeing, spending quiet time together as a family, welcoming a precious new life into the world, and spending quality time with good friends. I love the way I feel when I am with him, and I love knowing that he will be there for me forever. I really miss him.

 
  

21 DAYS!

This photo was taken during my last trip to England, December 2009. It seems like several years ago. Well, in 21 days Vernon will have his arms around me in Bristol airport and I can't wait. I'm sad that I have to leave the kid behind but she'll be studying for finals. Tonight I got a new camera, nothing fancy, and it was on sale. I have my flip camera for taking videos which I really love, and I've been picking up things like chocolate and Lucky Charms for the kids per their request. I plan on stocking up on Curly Wurlys as  they are mine and Heidi's favorite candy bar! But... I've been eating healthier for the past 2 months, down 25 pounds and I don't know if I'm smaller than I was when this photo was taken. I have all the same clothes but they are so worn and old it's hard to tell. I have a goal to lose 10 more before the trip but we'll see how that goes. I'm not worried about sticking to my new eating habits while I'm there. Europeans eat differently than Americans. We Americans are pigs and eat way too much. I love the smaller portions in the restaurants and even at the grocery store, the family sizes aren't really that big. I'll have to remind Vernon to fill the ice cube trays as I will be drinking lots of water and I like it COLD! COLD! COLD! Lukewarm water makes me gag. Yuk. Two weeks with Vernon isn't enough. It's overwhelming when I get there, then we get into a mode where it just feels so right when we are together. We can sit quietly in the car, in the living room, at the table, I fall asleep on him when we are watching movies, we are each other's missing half. I'll be turning 40 while I'm there. I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday, especially such a special one. I'm going shopping for clothes with a very good friend so that will be exciting. We've gone shopping together before, and we had a blast. Leaving is horrible. Just thinking about it makes me cry. We feel it creeping up on us when there are 3 days left, then 2, then 1, then we're saying goodbye at security and I have to sit all by myself waiting to board the plane. I cry a lot on that day. It doesn't get easier. I've done this several times and it just doesn't get easier. It's almost easier not going at all, but that's just flipping crazy. I want us to do lots of relaxing, lots of talking, cooking, and I want to watch movies. I did recently whine to him about wanting to visit a castle so he sent me several choices and I'll be picking out where I want to go. I still have to pick up some dramamine so I don't have a repeat performance of the time Heidi and I had our faces in the barf bags as we were roughly coming in for a landing in North Carolina. That was terrible! It's going to be a long 21 days.