Hyatt Regency Dallas Reservation Confirmation

I'm going to the ALC!

Christmas Card

Thanksgiving Fixins

Oh my goodness, look who commented on my FB post!

My Favorite Veteran

My dad is the handsome Navy seaman on the far left.

Gypsy!

Because Halloween is actually tomorrow, I wasn't planning on dressing up at work. After several people asked what I was going to dress up as, I decided to cave in. Luckily I pulled all this out of my closet and didn't have to buy a thing!

The US Airways sign is being taken down and our new American Airlines sign is being mounted. I'm excited to be part of the new American, but I am sad that the US Airways name/logo will be gone.

US Airways' final flight closes curtain on another major airline

Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY 10:19 a.m. EDT October 16, 2015

A file photo of a USAir Boeing 727 at Washington's National Airport in 1995.  USA TODAY file photo

It's time to say farewell to US Airways. One of the USA's most storied airline brands fades away Friday night with Flight 1939.

The overnight red-eye flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia marks the last ever departure under the US Airways name as the carrier's merger with American nears completion. Shortly after the flight departs San Francisco at 9:55 p.m. PT, American will unify its own reservations systems for the flights of both airlines. There will be no more US Airways flights once the plane lands in Philadelphia, scheduled for 6:18 a.m. ET.

US Airways' fade into the history books will be a nostalgic one. Flight 1939 is scheduled to begin Friday morning in Philadelphia, a traditional US Airways stronghold. From there, the Airbus A321 – still painted in US Airways' colors – will continue to Charlotte, which grew to become the airline's busiest hub during the past decade. Next is Phoenix – the former headquarters to 2004 merger partner America West.

From there, Flight 1939 heads to San Francisco, then returns to Pennsylvania as the last-ever US Airways flight.

American will commemorate the last day with gate-side festivities at each stop. And passengers on the final departure from San Francisco will cheer the US Airways' name with an onboard champagne toast.

"We definitely wanted to give a nod to US Airways and everyone that helped us build this airline," American Airlines spokeswoman Martha Thomas told USA TODAY. "We wanted to make it a special experience for employees and customers."

Even the flight number is rooted in history. Initially the San Francisco-to-Philadelphia red-eye was to operate as Flight 434. But in August the carrier switched the flight number to 1939. That was the first year of operation for All American Aviation, a small Pennsylvania-based airmail outfit that would grow to become a regional player known as Allegheny Airlines.

Allegheny changed its name in 1979, adopting USAir to reflect the expanding footprint of the airline after growing in previous mergers with Mohawk and Lake Central Airlines. Bigger mergers with Piedmont and Pacific Southwest (PSA) followed in the 1980s. The company underwent one last name change, adopting its current US Airways name in 1997 before yet another merger in 2005 – this time with America West.

Now, the US Airways name is on the verge of disappearing.

US Airways' reservation system will go dark Saturday morning just after midnight. US Airways' website will follow. And at airports across the nation, airline staff will begin removing US Airways branding after the company's last flights on Friday. The goal is to have American Airlines signage up in its place by the time flights begin again on Saturday morning.

Certain pieces of US Airways will hang on a bit longer. It will take American until "late 2016" to repaint all of its planes in the colors of the new American. And US Airways flight attendant uniforms will remain until update uniforms for all the cabin crews are introduced, also expected to come next year.

American spokeswoman Thomas cautioned the airline still has some "behind the scenes" work to do even as the US Airways brand fades away.

"It's done for customers, but there's still a lot of integration work left for us to do behind the scenes," Thomas says.

As for Flight 1939, American spokesman Ross Feinstein says the airline has had "strong demand" from customers wishing to be on the flight – especially the San Francisco-Philadelphia leg. Coach class is near capacity and first-class seats have been sold out since July.

Feinstein says the "vast majority" of people on the flight appear to be aviation enthusiasts and "avgeeks" wanting to witness US Airways' final flight.

For passenger Mark Littell, Flight 1939 will have special meaning. Littell grew up in the shadow of the Pittsburgh airport when it was still a hub for the airline in the 1990s.

As US Airways is about to take its final flight, we take a look at the history behind the airline industry giant.

'I grew up seeing and hearing (then) USAir's planes land all the time," he says. "Most families in my community were directly impacted by the hub there, and I eventually worked in concessions in the airport's US Airways terminal by the time I was in high school."

That led to a connection with the airline that's lasted to this day.

Littell moved away from Pittsburgh as an adult, traveling full-time for his job in the medical profession. He flies more than 100,000 miles a year, mostly on Delta. But once he saw Flight 1939 announced as US Airways' final flight, he booked a ticket "to fly (them) one final time." He'll be among those on Friday night's San Francisco-Philadelphia leg.

Littell says he's happy to see US Airways become part of the world's biggest airline, but concedes it "will be sad to see the memories of the US Airways name fade."

Despite that, Littell says "it really is the employees who make an airline, and I know US Airways employees will be a great addition to the new American."

The INT Training Department (Larry, me, Gloria and Cathy) with the US Airways sign, which will be taken down tomorrow. It's also our Be Pink day, which is why we are all wearing pink!

Be Pink

This year for our Be Pink for breast cancer awareness campaign, I had Jennipher do pink highlights. 

The highlights faded a bit, but here I am representing on our company-wide Be Pink day.

 

Here’s What No One Tells You About Having Both Depression And Anxiety

by Anna Borges, BuzzFeed Staff

1. It’s freaking out at the idea of getting anything less than a stellar score on a test, but not having the energy to study.
2. It’s having to stay in bed because you don’t have the will to move, but unraveling at the thought of what will happen if you miss school or work.
3. It’s feeling more tired the less you move, but your heart racing at the thought of taking the first step.
4. It’s getting more tightly wound the more mess piles up, but only staring at it and thinking, "I'll clean tomorrow."
5. It’s making six million to-do lists just to untangle your thoughts, but knowing you’ll never actually cross anything off.
6. It’s believing that every canceled plan will end your friendships, but not having it in you to follow through.
7. It’s feeling hopelessly low that you’re still single, but canceling every first date because the thought of going through with it gives you heart palpitations.
8. It’s fearing every day that your partner will get fed up and leave, but your anxiety whispering in your ear that they deserve better and should.
9. It’s ignoring texts and turning down invitations, and it’s aching when the texts and invitations stop.
10. It’s the constant fear of winding up alone, but accidentally isolating yourself because you sometimes just need to hide from it all.
11. It’s wanting nothing more than to crawl home and sleep at 2 p.m., but your skittering, panicked pulse keeping you awake at 2 a.m.
12. It’s alternating between feeling paralyzed in the present and scared shitless about the future.
13. It’s not enjoying the good days because you’re too gripped by the anxiety that the next low is around the corner.
14. It’s sleeping too much or not at all.
15. It’s needing a break from your racing thoughts, but not being able to climb out of the pit of yourself.
16. It’s needing to do everything, but wanting to do nothing at all.
17. It’s coping mechanisms and escapism, because when you’re not trying to hide from one part of your brain, you’re hiding from the other.
18. It’s wondering if the things that are making your heart feel heavy are things your anxious mind just made up.
19. It’s sitting awake at 3 a.m. worrying about a future you’re not even sure you want to have.
20. It’s feeling too much and nothing at all at the same time, which means feeling like you can never win.

Last Night's Flick

Cade and I gave Allan the American Sniper DVD for Father's Day. I was a bit surprised to learn that he hadn't watched it yet. So, last night the 3 of us got comfortable on the couch.

I'm not normally interested in war movies, and I was hesitant on watching one about a military sniper. Honestly, the only reason I did watch was Bradley Cooper.

I completely understand why he was nominated for an Oscar and I'm totally crushed that he didn't win. His committment to honor the legendary Chris Kyle was nothing short of amazing.

I Got My Invite!

Laying Out

This was my view this afternoon while I was suntanning on my back deck. What a gorgeous day!

A (Partial) Night At The Theatre

Chad had been very kind to allow me to use one of his comp tickets to come to see him in Twin City Stage's production of Is He Dead? 

I'd planned to attend on opening night and to participate in the champaign reception that only occurs on opening night. My boss, my co-workers, my variable instructors, my trained observers, everyone knew I was going to the theatre and needed to leave work by 7p.

While not part of my job description, I am also a counselor, psychologist and bartendar rolled into one. So when one of my newhires had to speak to me, I asked her to see me before her dinner break. I knew this would keep me from the champaign, but I didn't want a newhire going postal.

At 7:30p, with the newhire crisis diverted, I was packing up my office and signing out of various work applications. At this time I could still make the curtain. Alas, my phone rang and without thinking I answered it. A supervisor had to speak to me about a newhire who was days away from coming out of probation. Resigned to the fact that I wouldn't make the show before 8p the supe came to see me.

Ultimately I didn't get out of work until a bit after 9p. I headed to the theatre and was lucky to get there right at intermission. I can tell you that the second act was great and the audience loved the show.

Chocolate Does Help...

Bookmarks Festival

Chad was a dear to go with me to this year's Bookmarks Festival. It was a rather overcast day, but at least it didn't rain!

I wanted all the books but forced myself to less than 5. Here's what I bought:

150th Anniversary Edition, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
The Lost Daughter
Serafina and the Black Cloak
I Love You...Now Hush

This is what's in the truck. 

A Night At The Theatre, "Stop Kiss"

Last night Chad and I went to go see Spirit Gum's production of Stop Kiss.

It's a challenging script in that various scenes are presented out of order, and there are great many scenes in this show.

I thought the guys were terrific. Michael Ackerman brought an honesty to George, the main character's friend with benefits. Ken Ashford was great as Detective Cole. Nick Zayas played the quietly seething, but still in love role of Peter.

Nichelle Wright played dual roles of Mrs. Winsley and a Nurse. Sarah Jenkins played the main character of Callie and Becky Hill McLaughlin played Sara.

I had great expectations for Sarah Jenkins, but unfortunately her performance never acheived the depth necessary for the story. I never quite believed her inner struggle. Becky was very sweet in her protrayal as Sara, which didn't really work. As a matter of fact, I felt the show would have worked best had Becky been cast as Callie and Sarah cast as Sara.

Overall it was a good production and I'm so glad this important piece of theatre was produced locally.

A Night At The Theatre, "tick, tick Boom"

I've been in love with tick tick Boom's music for as long as I can remember. The songs "See Her Smile" and "Why" and "Louder Than Words" are on the Top Played on my iPod. The music is absolutely outstanding.

Triad Stage did a wonderful production several years ago that Sam and I attended. When I heard Threate Alliance was going to do it, I was going to pass on seeing it. That is until I heard David Joy was going to be playing Jon.

Ken loves to tease me about my crush on David and he even gave me his comp ticket to see the show. He also reserved a seat which would offer prime David Joy viewing. I knew I'd be in for a very enjoyable night of Davi theatre.

Crush aside, David was absolutely fantastic as Jon. David has a great rock-n-roll voice so "No More" was especially kickin'. He can tear your heart out with his ballads and "See Her Smile" brought tears to my eyes. If ever there was a role David was born to play, this was that role.

Kaylee Gonzalez played Susan and other various characters. While she wasn't new to Theatre Alliance, I'd not seen her before. She certainly held her own with David. James Crowe played Michael and other various characters.

Overall, it was a great show. I was so thrilled about the production that I didn't even realize my boss was also in the audience. I didn't find out until this morning's training meeting. She also has a crush on David so we spend the first 15 minutes talking about him and the show.

A Son Day on Saturday

Merger related training, etc. have been keeping me incredibly busy. As such, I've been working long hours and haven't seen much of Cade so far this summer. This morning I asked if he wanted to go to breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised that he agreed.

We went to our usual haunt for pancakes and eggs. We had nice conversation, both bringing each other up to speed on what's going on in our lives. Cade and I have always had great conversations, and I relished every moment during breakfast.

After our meal I figured he'd want to go home so he could return to his PS4 games, so I tentatively asked him if there was anything else he wanted to do. I was somewhat shocked when he asked if we could see the Minions movie. Maybe he was missing me as much as I had been missing him? I immediately jumped on Fandango to see the movie times and the movie was starting within 45 minutes.

We headed over to the Wynsong. Since we'd just had breakfast we didn't get any popcorn. We got into the theatre, which was pretty crowded. We were able to get seats on the aisle.

Honestly, I don't remember much about the movie's plot. It had some silly moments and it tied in very nicely with Despicable Me. For me, it wasn't about the movie. I was enjoying Cade's laughter and I was almost brought to tears simply watching him watch the movie.

Supreme Court rules same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states

From Justice Anthony Kennedy in the closing paragraph of today's historic opinion:

"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered."

A Night At The Theatre, "Abundance"

Yesterday was a big theatre day for me and Chad. Not only did we see Pippin but the Cissna's invited us to see Triad Stage's production of Abundance.

My attention was captured from the moment the lights went down until the final cast bows. The story itself is riviting, the collective talents of the cast the show was fantastic, and the staging was inventive and beautiful.

I loved everything about the show!

An Afternoon At The Theatre, "Pippin"

My only exposure to Pippin was the movie version and I only watched it because I liked William Katt. (Remember him from The Greatest American Hero?) I was aware that the Broadway revival was hugely popular, so I was looking forward to seeing the show with Chad.

I did enjoy the overall show. I'm not a fan of the storyline and there are some memoriable showtunes. What I liked best about the show was the circus theme. I loved watching the circus performers.

A Night At The Theatre, "Southern Hospitality"

 Myla and I attended Stained Glass Playhouse's production of Southern Hospitality. If it hadn't been for the fact that April was in the show, and knew we were coming, we would have left at intermission.

The director, Justin Bulla, did what he could with an awful script and the varied acting ability of his cast.

An Evening At The Theatre, "Disney's Beauty and the Beast"

Last night I had the pleasure of attending Mt. Tabor High School's production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. When Chad told me he had chosen this musical for his spring production I was hesitant. I need not have been.

Seanna De Vine was an excellent choice for Belle. Not only does she look like Belle, her voice was absolutely beautiful. Brie Vaughn was fantastic as Mrs. Potts. Sarah Rivers played a very (appropriately) frisky Lumiere and Ben Keen was quite animated as Cogsworth.

The townspeople/enchanted objects were wonderful in their own right. The most precious performance was by Zachary Lundquist. He handled a malfunctioning "torch" with aplomb.

The best performance was Ben Gardner's Gaston. He embodied his character so thoroughly that during his numbers I felt like one of the swooning Silly Girls. Kudos to him also for not missing a beat when the bench he jumped up on teetered and fell over.

The kids worked hard under Chad's direction and the overall quality of the show was impressive. It's the best show I've seen at Mt. Tabor in a few years.

Thank You, Teagan

Spring affects me the same way every year. It's the one time of year that gets me into a full blown "I'm going to organize the entire house" mood. It usually only lasts for one weekend, and usually it's only contained to one area or room of the house. This year it's Sam's old room.

What usually weighs me down in these types of endeavors are the walks down memory lane. And Sam's room is full of memories! Some things I can't deal with or part with. Some things I can and am willing to do so. 

I found a ton of stationary in one of Sam's desk drawer. Now I could have recycled it, but Sarah Hasty, one of our variable instructors, has a daughter named Teagan. Teagan is cute as a button and will often come into our Newhire Classes to sing a song or two. She was the first person I thought of for the mound of stationary.

Today a letter was laying on my desk. A thank you note from Teagan. My heart smiled for the rest of the day!

 

 The Easter Bunny was good to all of us!

Birthday Cards

 

 

Birthday Cheers from Kathy

             Hope you have a great day!

 

Kathy Bockhoff

An Afternoon At The Theatre, "A Bright New Boise"

"We plop you down in a break room in Boise, Idaho for a little over four days and you watch a story unfold in which five characters' lives change forever. Their stories include polarizing topics, unexpected behavior and unfinished business."

Thus begins the director's notes in Paper Lantern's production of A Bright New Boise, which Chad and I saw earlier today. I'd not seen the show or read the script before so I had no idea what I was in for.

The first thing you notice is the incredible set designed down to the tiniest detail by John Bowhers. The lights go out and you are immediately transported.

The entire cast: Lee Spencer, Beth Ritson, Phillip Wright, Taylor Murphy Hale, and Emily Mark gave outstanding performances. There wasn't a weak link anywhere on that stage. Amy da Luz did a fabulous job of directing the production.

This production was as good as any Broadway show I've seen.

Surgery, My Scars Are Healing

March 6

March 12

March 15

March 17

March 20

More Post Surgery Update

From: Cheryl Ann [mailto:cinberry@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2015 1:21 PM
To: Gamble, Gloria
Cc: Boles, Larry; Fitzgerald, Catherine
Subject: CAK Update

I had my post op visit today. The incision is healing very well. My blood pressure is fine. The pain meds (and the diclofenac and gabapentin) were what was causing it to dip a bit. It's in a normal range now so nothing to worry about. 

I asked about the fatigue and that too is normal for recovering from surgery. 

I did ask if I could go off the gabapentin. I don't like taking it because it blurs my vision. We did make a plan to ween myself off it. 

I have been cleared to return to work on Monday, part time hours for 2 weeks. I was surprised by that. I did get a little lecture - while the incision is healing well, the muscles need time to mend too. 

Post Surgery Update

-----Original Message-----
From: Gloria
To: Cheryl Ann
Cc: Larry; Cathy 
Sent: Fri, Mar 13, 2015 10:06 pm
Subject: Re: Hello

Wow that is a lot.  It is amazing how bad not doing much can make you feel and the drugs play havoc on your mind and body.  The blood pressure issue is a little worrisome though.  At least the pain has subsided.  Take care and take it easy and keep us posted.  We'll be glad to send you some work if you get bored with all that other stuff!!

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 13, 2015, at 12:07 PM, "Cheryl Ann" <cinberry@aol.com> wrote:

It's been more than a week since I came home from the hospital. 

As far as I know, the surgery went well. At least that's what Dr. Hnilica told my family. Lol. He updated them that the herniation in the L5 lumbar was worse than originally thought. This is what was causing the, at times, severe pain down my left leg/foot. The cartilage between the L4 and L5 discs had "exploded" and was "squeezed" against the nerve. He removed the cartilage and "spot-welded" the rest of the disc together. Again, that's what he told my family. I saw him for 5 minutes in the holding room, as he drew dots on my back. I was in the OR for less than 2 minutes before I was out.

I did stay overnight. Ruth, Tamara, Marcia and Johnetta took very good care of me. It was difficult to sleep with the leg compression thingamajiggs squeezing and the IV machine beeping. I think I slept all of 3 total hours! I mostly flipped TV channels as I didn't think to bring a book. 

Allan and Cade brought me.home around noon on Wednesday and I went straight to bed and slept the rest of the day, aided by my good friend Oxycodone.

On Thursday, my mom came over and made beef stew. I did a couple of very slow laps around the inside of my house, took my Oxycodone and again mostly slept. Oh yea, and Mom taught Cade and I how to knit hats on a knitting loom. 

On Friday Mom came over again and brought a blood pressure cuff. She was worried because I still looked really pale. She also changed my bandage. I wasn't feeling the greatest as she was peeling off the super duper suran wrapping they put on me in the hospital. Since I can't really see the incision, I asked her to take a photo of it. She bandaged me up, I looked at the pic (a small angry looking scar) and then we continued to talk for about 10 minutes. After that I got really light headed and asked her to walk with me to my room so I could lay down. Apparantly, as I got to the side of my bed, I passed out. Luckily I face-planted right in the middle of my bed. Now, I am puny when it comes to blood, scars, and all that icky stuff, so it's quite possible I passed out due to seeing my own incision. (And on an iPhone no less!) It's also possible I passed out due to low blood pressure. 

I've been tracking my blood pressure ever since and it has been low for me. I'm experiencing dizziness and blurred vision, which may be from low blood pressure. It can also be from the gabapentin. According to Marcia, narcotics (Oxycodone) can also cause low blood pressure. But I was taking the gabapentin and oxycodone before surgery and my blood pressure was normal during my pre-op. I haven't been taking the oxycodone much this week, mostly at night so it won't hurt as much when I turn over.

I've read 3 books, knitted 4 hats, played tons of games of Trivia Crack and am on Season 2 of House of Cards. I'm trying to stay up, either sitting in a chair or walking my house, but I do get tired easy. I also can't twist, bend over or lift anything over 10 lbs. (Fun fact, a gallon of milk is 10 lbs.) Also, I'm just not feeling "right." Yes, the pain in my leg is gone (whoo! hoo!) but I still feel off somehow. This and my low blood pressure are on my list to discuss with Dr. Hnilica during my post-op. It's currently scheduled for 10:30 on 3/20, though I'm on the list to call if something comes available sooner. I originally thought I'd be able to return to work on Monday, but I have to wait until after my post-op visit.

Cheryl Ann

-----Original Message-----
From: Gloria
To: Cheryl Ann
Sent: Tue, Mar 10, 2015 4:09 pm
Subject: Hello

How are you doing?  

Surgery, Slow Recovery

I've been tracking my blood pressure ever since last Friday and it has been low for me. I'm experiencing dizziness and blurred vision, which may be from low blood pressure. It can also be from the gabapentin. According to Marcia (one of my post surgery nurses), narcotics (Oxycodone) can also cause low blood pressure. But I was taking the gabapentin and oxycodone before surgery and my blood pressure was normal during my pre-op. I haven't been taking the oxycodone much this week, mostly at night so it won't hurt as much when I turn over.

I've read 3 books, knitted 4 hats, played tons of games of Trivia Crack and am on Season 2 of House of Cards. I'm trying to stay up, either sitting in a chair or walking my house, but I do get tired easy. I also can't twist, bend over or lift anything over 10 lbs. (Fun fact, a gallon of milk is 10 lbs.) Also, I'm just not feeling "right." Yes, the pain in my leg is gone (whoo! hoo!) but I still feel off somehow. This and my low blood pressure are on my list to discuss with Dr. Hnilica during my post-op. It's currently scheduled for 10:30 on 3/20.

While still a little angry looking, my scar is healing. I'm able to view the picture without passing out!

Back Surgery Get Well Cards