Does NOT Come From a Bottle

I am a natural blond. I do not color my hair in any way shape or form. Not because I'm some kind of naturalist hippy or lack vanity. I'm broke. I have two in daycare, one in high school and a husband who has been out of a job for over a year. I would LOVE to spend a day getting my hair done, manicure, pedicure, massage. AAHHH I used to do those things. Now I go to the Hair Cuttery, which I've grown fond of by the way, and spend $15 on a cut. I'm OK with that. To get a massage I have to lay on the floor and hope one of the kids will pounce on me. Mani/Pedi? Forget about it. I would rather spend my money on the kids anyway. I enjoy seeing them get tickled over new outfits or some trinket from the dollar store.

Well, the time has come for Joey to come home for a couple days before actually being shipped off for a year. So it falls on me to make his travel arrangements. Easy enough assignment. This I can handle. So I hit the Internet looking for deals. FYI...what I finally spent on tickets is no deal in my book. Man do the airlines know how to stick it to ya. Now with this fee and that fee? That's a whole 'nother rant for a whole 'nother posting. I need to keep focused on the topic at hand.

First our search starts with a google on "Airline tickets". OK. Search results finally settled on a number so stinking big I shut my browser, turned off my computer, curled up under the computer desk, in a fetal position. How are you supposed to choose a reputable establishment from all this? So, I default to looking at company names I see on TV. When I get overwhelmed with this kind of thing, I just pick something that sounds familiar. I do not have the patience to shop. My wardrobe is testament to that. So, Expedia wins. I need to give them a shameless plug here. It was easy breezy booking a flight with them. For a round trip ticket I was first offered several departure times, then they offered arrival times. They didn't lump them together like a couple of other sites I went to. Also, it saved me from going to each and every airline website and doing the same search repeatedly.

I started stressing out about his departure time from Texas and his arrival time to Florida. He can't leave too late in the day from Texas because the Army is dropping the guys off according to the earliest flight out, which is about 6am. That would put them arriving at the airport before 5am. No matter what time their booked flights leave, all soldiers get to the airport at the same time. Also, (I know this from experience) no matter what time soldiers get to the airport, they head straight to the bar. Yes, you can get a beer, at the airport at OH Dark Thirty.

Here is where the blond moments begins. I can't book his departure from Texas too early because that would make his arrival in Florida too early. I have to coordinate picking him up from the airport with what time I get off work. I don't have the leave time to be take off work on his arrival day ... so I'm trying to make sure he gets to Florida later in the afternoon so I don't need to take any time off from work. It is a delicate balance so neither one of us is inconvenienced. So my friend at work got sucked into my drama and was offering advice. You would think she would catch on not to pop into my office when she can hear the high-speed clicking of the keyboard.

Between the two of us we decide the best plan was to book him an early flight out of Texas and park his car at the airport overnight. I could FedEx his keys to him with a map to his truck. It would be like a mini Pirate Treasure Hunt with a vehicle at the end!! Problem solved right? I was so excited that travel plans were made, tickets bought, he had transportation from the airport. Yeah. We have Monday the 31st off from work....it's a flippin Federal Holiday.