Direction.

Direction.  

In my job, direction is something I am always thinking about....but in the same way, it's something I don't think about at all.  The direction I'm going in doesn't matter, because gate H1A in Chicago looks the same as K10 in Atlanta.  Airports are airports are airports.  The direction of the plane is guided by someone else, and I am just along for the ride.  My life goes in 40 different directions at any given time, and I have learned very avidly to roll with the punches.  

But in my life, I would like to think that the direction I'm going is decided by me.  Sure, it has had its bumps and bruises along the way..but we are only human, right?  I've been thinking a lot recently about where my life is headed.  5 years? 10 years? 20 years from now?  I like to think that I "know" what my life will look like by that time, but the truth is...no one knows.  Well, besides the big man upstairs.  I read a post today about twentysomethings and how our lives are "suppose" to look by the time we're 25.  Married, baby on the way, 2 bedroom house with a picket fence.  But is there really a "standard" on how or what or where we should live our lives?  According to society, there is.  When did we forget about our own goals and desires and start thinking about what society thinks our goals should be?  

People ask me all the time if I regret moving to Paris, or if I regret becoming a flight attendant.  I am certain the look on my face when asked is somewhat grotesque...because I cannot imagine what my life would look like today if I had not done those things.  What direction did that decision have in my life?  Goodness....I can't imagine my life without going there.  Think of all the wonderful friendships and experiences I would have missed out on.  Think of how much "growing up" I did in Paris.  And how it molded me into the person I am today.  He has and (I fully believe) will continue to put the people in my life that need to be there.  

If there's anything I've learned...it's that life will fall into place, exactly how God intended.  We can ask Him through prayer for understanding, and grace, and compassion to help us grasp what he is doing with our lives...but he is truly the only one who knows the direction we are headed.  

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

SkyRest

Just in case you weren't weighed down with a million carry-on items....you could always bring this along...ya know, just in case you wanted to annoy the person next to you.  

Not to mention that it has to be stowed in an overhead compartment for taxi, take-off and landing.  

Silly Skymall.  

Way Overdue

I just realized that I never posted about my lovely visit to Sacramento this summer!!! Ah!  I have been missing Ashleigh something terrible lately...and my crazy schedule is awful for planning Skype dates.  She was in the States this summer for about a month, and was spending a few days with her family in Sacramento, then heading up north for the rest of her time to the summer camp she loves and adores and to see her friends there.  Since it was easier for me to visit her in Sacramento at her grandmother's house..I planned to pop over to California after Holly's wedding the middle of July.  

Holly's wedding was a success.  Held in a beautiful Episcopal church in Fort Worth, TX, her ceremony was short and sweet and everything you would want in a wedding ceremony.  Her flowers were gorgeous, the food delicious and the band played some classic hits.  (minus Love Shack but we won't go there...)

Her cake. It was almond and strawberry!

The girls. 

Then, I jumpseated to Sacramento because all of the flights were full...(4 hours in a jumpseat = not so comfortable.  free ride = one happy camper) 

Flew right over Lake Tahoe. So beautiful!

I arrived into Sacramento and her uncle was kind enough to come pick me up from the airport along with Ashleigh and her cousin Carla.  I met Carla in Paris for a brief couple of days during her visit, so it was funny we were seeing each other again!  We drove around a quick tour of downtown Sacramento, showing me all the highlights before we pulled up to a precious house a couple of streets over from where Reagan lived during his term as governor.  A neighborhood which her aunt will then explain to me as the "fab forties." 

It was, as always, so good to see Ashleigh.  I kept looking around and pinching myself wondering if I was really here.  If we were really sitting together...having conversations...enjoying each others company again.  It was mind blowing.  I only had 36 hours so we had to make the best of it!  The weather in Sacramento was amazing.  It was the middle of July and we were able to swim in the warm sun during the day, but cool enough to where we needed a light sweater at night.   The breeze blew through the orange trees and the sky was bright blue with not a cloud in sight.   

Her grandmother's pool is where we spent most of our time.  Catching up on almost two years of missed time.  We've had several skype dates but its nothing like the real thing.  It was just fabulous.  

Typical. 

We had dinner with her family one night, and her uncle cooked pizza with a gluten-free cauliflower crust (that healthy California livin') the next.  Her aunt took us shopping so Ashleigh could get her usual American goodies then it was back to the pool for some qt in the warm Cali sunshine.  

Our visit was too short (as I'm sure all future visits will feel), but my days off always end with a vengeance, and so I took the 11 pm Jetblue red-eye back to New York's JFK airport.  The gate agent kindly asked if I wanted an exit seat...so I took it.  Then I get on the plane and realize it's the exit seat that doesn't recline :\ and I am instantly pissed off.  But, it is a free ride all the way across the country so I bit my tongue, changed the channel on my screen to food network, and tried to get some shut eye.  

Serendipity and Sephora

I have beginning to enjoy New York more, now that it isn't 95 degrees and the middle of summer.  I'm beginning to feel my way around the city...slowly but surely, and as I get to know it, I am more inclined to venture out of the fine borough of Queens on my days off.  Paige and I have had the same days off lately, which makes it more fun to wander around and have someone to lunch with.  

Saturday was one of those days.  My friend Olga (from North Carolina) was coming into town, with her mother (who was visiting from the Ukraine), but we weren't meeting up until 5:30.  So after I got back from Toronto at 9am (on my day off...that's another story in itself), Paige and I ventured into the city for a little Serendipity and Sephora.  Tenee and I have been telling Paige about Serendipity for awhile now, and how quintessential it is....not to mention forcing her to watch the movie to make that "connection."  Mom and I went to Serendipity on our visit to New York City in 2008, and it was such a special treat! Just across the street from Bloomingdale's, you can't miss the ever-growing line out of the door!  

And I've looked at the new Marc Jacobs eyeshadow palette now 3 times trying to justify spending $60 on 6 eyeshadow colors.  I figured if I had looked at it 3 times, pulled it out of a magazine to remind myself, and tried it on every time I passed a Sephora....maybe I should probably just buy it.  So-that's just what I did.  And I LOVE it.  

Tiffany lamps inside Serendipity.

The MORE than giant menu.

Chocolate Blackout Cake-we split it and we still couldn't finish it. 

The "young" chicken sandwich. Roasted chicken sautéed with almonds and butter on a raisin bread served with house made russian dressing?  Why, hello delicious.  

I left Paige at the Sephora counter while she was getting her skin "matched" for some new foundation.  It was already 4:45 and I was meeting Olga and her mother near the entrance to the 9/11 memorial site at 5:30.  Thinking it would be a quick ride down, I hopped down into the metro at Lexington and 53rd planning to take the E train straight to the World Trade Center.  Well, it had other plans for me as the E was down for the weekend (per usual) so I had to take the 6 train to Canal, then switch to the R train to Cortlandt Street.  Turns out, for the rest of the year, the R isn't stopping between Canal and Court Street.  Well ......*choice words*......perfect. Already 5:25 I hop out of the metro onto Canal Street -HUGE mistake on a Saturday and am immediately bombarded with asians wanting me to buy Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Coach bags...ahhhhhh I hate that street on ANY other day, much less a Saturday!!! If you can't afford to have the real thing-don't buy it!  You are not fooling anyone.  I had no choice but to take a cab if I wanted to make it on time.  I had until 5:50 to get there, so I spent 10 minutes trying to get an empty cab on crazy Canal Street, saw some people getting out of one...ran over and told the guy to step on it.  10 minutes and $10 later....I made it just in time.  I was what New Yorkers called:  fashionably late.  

We passed through security at the memorial, walked down a long winding path and entered into a quiet garden in the middle of Manhattan.  When I was here in 2008, I remember my mom and I peeking through construction fences down near Wall Street and peering into a giant hole in the ground.  They were still clearing out wreckage, and now.....it seems like none of that ever happened.  

In the distance you can hear water falling and the occasional sway of the Oak trees lining the pathway.  Visitors are hushed, remembering the tragic events of the day.  Nearly 3,000 names line the edges of the waterfall, each representing a person or a family lost that fateful day.  The 30 foot falls circulates water into what was the foundation of the twin towers, into what is seemingly a rather small space, considering the height of the buildings.  Did you know that the World Trade Center complex had its own zip code?  10048.  

The new World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the United States at a stout 1,776 feet tall.  It reminds me of The Shard in London...and doesn't seem very original, but-the mirrored sides reflect off the skyline and at certain times of the day, you can see the reflecting pools bouncing off the building.    

The "survivor tree" is this Callery pear tree that was planted in the 1970s  in the World Trade Center plaza.  The tree was reduced to an 8 foot tall stump in the wreckage at Ground Zero.  It was taken to another New York City park and nursed back to health and grew to be 30 feet tall and was returned to the WTC site in 2010.  

After our visit to the memorial site, we took a walk down Wall Street and hopped on the Subway to Times Square which was a bit overwhelming for her mom.  Small town Ukraine doesn't even compare to busy, bustling, loud, bright Times Square.  People were swarming the area, taking photos from every corner.  Since I have quit taking pictures in Times Square, I just see how many people's photos I can photo bomb.  It's quite fun actually.  I did ask some really sweet French girls if they would snap a photo of the three of us.....asking me if I was French and after telling them that I was american receiving the all so welcome comment, "You speak French very well."  Why, "merci...merci beaucoup."  

Here Kitty Kitty....

Skymall magazine find of the day:

A cat toilet.  I really don't think this needs any explanation at all.  

Skymall

I began composing my second France post, and realized that I wanted to wait until I received the photos that Didou took on her camera before I posted them.  

Which brings me to my second topic of interest this week:  Skymall Magazine

There are so many very interesting things in the seatback pocket in front of you in an airplane, I felt that I just must share some of my favorites.  Then it turns out there are too many to name all at once, so I think I will post them in a series.  The first?  

Doesn't everyone need a life size verson of a yeti beast in their front yard?  

I know I sure do.  He's got just the right amount of hair, the sweetest face, and feet that are just the perfect size for my garden.  And....the best part?  He's a mere $249.99!  

Paris Paris Paris!!!!

So it may come as a surprise (or actually, not really) to many of you that I decided a couple of months ago that I would try and get to Paris at some point in August.  Didou and Padi have been emailing me asking me when I am coming for a visit.... and I certainly hope they were serious because their wish came true!  I was able to get 7 days off the end of this month, so I listed myself on several flights out of JFK and a couple out of DFW and was just going to cross my fingers and hope for the best.  

I listed myself in business class and in coach, obviously preferred business class, but would sit in coach if I absolutely had to.  One of the giant perks of my job is being able to fly for extremely cheap.  No one can ever tell me that I did not enjoy the benefits of my job.  If I were to quit today, I would be completely content in the fact that I used my flight benefits wisely.  (Which, explains the reason why I am never in New York.)

The night I went to JFK in hopes of taking the 5:15pm flight out, I looked online and the flight had been oversold by 10.  (Whyyyyy do they do that in the first place?)  So I had lost all hope and began chipping away at my fingernail polish out of nervous habit.  Everyone had boarded the plane and there were still two standby passengers ahead of me.  She called them both, then I heard my name. Eeeeeek! And a business class seat at that.  YES, I was in.  

It was hard for me to get excited about coming to France, because I had no idea that I was going to be able to even get here.  I couldn't let the anticipation build because I didn't want to be disappointed.  

But as I rounded the corner to my favorite place in Paris, Place de la Concorde ...and I saw that beautiful Tour Eiffel (my, she is a beaut), the Louvre to my back, those magnificent fountains and the Arc de Triomphe shining in the distance I couldn't help but pinch myself in awe that I was here.  I never dreamed I would be back so soon.  My goal was just to meet the family in the south, but since I was able to get away a day early, and dearest Rozy said she would have me at her place one night, I had the chance to spend the entire day in Paris.  I didn't want to run around from place to place all day....so the Champ de Mars or the Arc de Triomphe didn't make the list.  Montmartre certainly did.  As well as my favorite shoe store, of course.  

The sun was shining bright and almost reflecting off the pavement.  It was hot...so hot that it was one of those days that if I had still lived here, I would have hated.  One of those days where I would have escaped to the movie theater just for some air conditioning.  

But I couldn't keep my mind off of little Marie-Cesare and my excitement to see her.  And the rest of the family of course, but that little girl had changed my life, and I wanted to know how hers had changed since I've been gone.  

I ate crepes and macarons and visited my favorite boulangerie in Montmartre, Coqueliquot, for my favorite sandwich:  beurre, jambon and gruyere.  On a freshly made baguette.  It was a delightful day.  I sat on the steps of the Sacre-Coeur and enjoyed people watching, I entered the Sacre-Coeur for a quick rest inside the magnificent and breathtaking church, then walked over to the Place de Tertres where the same artists were painting creation after creation.  I headed down to my favorite crêperie, where I learned (the most heartbreaking news of all) that it had been turned into a Starbucks!!!! ZUT!!!!! Right there on Place de Tertres...there it was: a nasty, public, chain coffee place where drones of people were getting Grande caramel macchiato's instead of piling into the small café's nearby to get a quick café au lait and enjoy the ambiance.  OH MY it was just seriously saddening.  

I wandered down through Abesses, through my favorite book store and to the metro to meet Rozy. We went for a quick drink with some of her coworkers and then wandered around for awhile, got my luggage and headed out to hers.  We found some sushi along the way for dinner.  Turns out, Rozy has a full out cute little apartment!  Not really just a room, but she has a separate bathroom INSIDE her room, a CLOSET, and a garden!!! Not too shabby!!! 

I was shattered and had not slept in about 28 hours, so I didn't make it too late...but we had breakfast in bed the next morning and I was off to the train station to head down to Provence!