Kelsey AKA Floridian

This past week I had an awesome four-day trip! It was so easy that I definitely felt like I more so vacationing than working. There was only one leg per each day of the trip, just the way all trips should be!

The first day I arrived in Chicago late in the evening, and didn't have time to do much before heading to bed. The next morning my friend Maria, who was working the trip with me, and I were picked up at our hotel by my friend Eric, who so generously offered to be our tour guide for the day. We then drove to the train station and picked up my friend Heather, who I had not seen since February. Us four then rented bikes and rode along Lake Michigan. We had perfect weather, and it was absolutely gorgeous out. Naturally we were a little hungry after several miles of pedaling so once we made it to Navy Pier we ate lunch at Jimmy Buffet's MargaritaVille. Unbeknownst to us, our day in Chicago just so happened to coincide with free hug day. I'm not actually sure what the cause Free Hug Day is trying to bring awareness to or what the point of it is, but we did see large groups of college age ish people wearing tie die t-shirts that said Free Hugs who were in fact giving away free hugs. Personally, I think Free Hug Day sounds like a perv's dream come true, this coming from one of the least touchy feely people known to mankind. Anyways, after our lunch we looked around Navy Pier and rode the big Ferris wheel. This was Heather and Maria's first time riding the Ferris wheel and probably my fourth. Every single time I ride it, my palms get sweaty, it gets hard for me to take deep breaths, and I freak out! Still not sure why I always insist on riding it.

After our day in the city, we flew out to Los Angeles. Eric and I randomly decided that since he had the next couple of days off, he should try to fly standby with me. Luckily he got on the flight, and so he was able to spend the whole next day sightseeing with me. I have never been to Disneyland, but every since I started working for Disney World, I've really wanted to go. We decided that since we had a full day in Los Angeles and free passes into Disney, that we should go visit. So we rented a car, drove 30 minutes, and spent the day at Disneyland. It was almost an errie feeling being inside this park I had never been to because for the most part it was set up like Disney World, so I felt like I knew my way around. Due to us only having a limited amount of time and Eric not being super into the whole Disney thing, we only spent about 4 hours in the park. It was really neat to see though, and I definitely would love to go back when I have more time, and am traveling with fellow Disney nerds. Eric had never seen the Hollywood sign or stars, so after we left Disney we went to Hollywood and took the usual touristy pictures. Even though I had done all of that before, it was still fun to be in Hollywood. I LOVE California!

After our busy day in California, we flew back on a redeye to Chicago. I'm actually quite used to red eyes, and actually prefer them to day flights. However, working a red eye after playing tourist for an entire day with no nap was ROUGH. Thank God for coffee! After arriving in Chicago and getting minimal rest, we flew back to Fort Lauderdale where our trip ended. Super fun four day!

These past few days I have been off, and after being gone non stop for nearly three weeks I've been indulging in some good old fashioned R and R...as well as grocery shopping, random errands, cleaning, working out, and hanging out with friends. My big news for the week is that I am officially a Floridian. Yesterday I switched my license, and I have to say I was a little nostalgic about doing it. I don't even know who my governor is!

This quote really doesn't tie into anything in this post, but I saw it this week and thought it was interesting and thought provoking. Enjoy!

"Before you embark on a journey of revenge; Dig two graves" -Chinese Philosopher Confucious

Longest Post EVER

I'm currently on a flight back to Fort Lauderdale, and can honestly say I'm pretty excited to be headed there! It's been exactly two weeks since I've stepped foot into my apartment and am ready to go to my gym, sleep in my own bed, and get some clean clothes. Two weeks ago I left for a four-day trip with planned layovers in New York City, Chicago, and Las Vegas. Keyword here is "planned." Due to weather, our flight from NYC to Chicago was cancelled, and we ended up spending two nights in NYC. Unfortunately, we didn't get much warning about the cancelled flight, so we weren't able to go do anything super fun in New York. Despite the rain, another flight attendant and I did venture out to Union Square and split a gourmet carrot cupcake. Delicious! The next morning the crew and myself deadedheaded (meaning we got paid to be transported to meet our next flight, but did not physically work the flight) to Chicago where we met our plane that was headed to Vegas. Very randomly, a girl who I went to WIU with was on my Chicago to Vegas flight. Fun to see a familiar face on my flight! Although I have flown into Vegas several times, this was my first layover there. My friend, Maria, our first officer, and myself went out on the strip for a few hours. We all had fairly early show times the next morning, so I doubt this will go down in the record books as my wildest Vegas trip ever, but we did have fun. Not to brag, but after feeding the quarter slots all night, I did come out $.50 on top. That you, Vegas! Late on Friday evening I arrived back in Fort Lauderdale and I spent the evening at Maria's. Since I am still car-less (gurrrr) Maria, being the awesome person she is, stayed up until 4:00 A.M. and drove me to the airport to catch my 5:45 A.M. flight to Saint Louis. The stars all aligned perfectly and I made it on my flights from Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta and from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale on the first tries! The last time I had been home was the first week of May. Four months is just about my being-away-from-home limit, I start getting cranky after that. From the moment my plane touched down in Saint Louis I was busy, but I seriously loved every minute of my visit. My sister in law, Stacy, picked me up from the airport, and we may or may not have rocked out to a couple Lifehouse and Adele songs on the drive home. After a quick nap and saying my hellos to the fam, I headed to my friend Cassandra's wedding with my high school girlfriends. The golf course wedding was beautiful, and thankfully the rain held off for the ceremony and reception. I had an awesome night drinking too much champagne, dancing, and laughing with some of my favorite people in this whole world. Last September when Lindsey, one of my best friends since I was five, got married, I worried that being a married women may change her and make her more mature. After engaging in a "who can lick out the tiki torch flame" competition with her, I think I have nothing to worry about. We even completed the night with her father in law providing five of us obnoxious partygoers with a sober ride home. I'd go as far as saying I'm actually benefiting from this married friends business.

The next day after attending church we had the entire Schutz clan together. It only lasted one hour, but for those 60 minutes all 12 members were in the same place at the same time. I'm pretty sure it only happened because I begged them months in advance for us all to take a family Christmas card photo to ensure we wouldn't have to send out holiday greetings featuring individual pictures of mom and dad, all three siblings with their families, and then Kelsey, the single, solo, party of one sister. Thankfully they all obliged. Even at 23, being the baby of the family still has major leverage in the Schutz family On Monday, Jackie was kind enough to loan me her Dodge Challenger to drive to Macomb for the day. Not gonna lie, I kinda felt like a B.A. when I drove the beast. In all reality though, I was a nervous wreck the entire time I had it in my position, and seriously topped her out at 60. I met up with my former supervisor from Catholic Charities, Carrie, for lunch at Chick's. Then, I had ice cream with the hilarious April Hutter, and I finished the day visiting one of my favorite families, The Zanollas, for dinner. Working at Disney, I've met a lot of kids in my time, and I can honestly say these kids are off the charts on cuteness levels!

Tuesday I drove to Springfield and met my best good friend, Jenny Raabe, for some excellent sushi. That girl sure knows the way to my heart! Afterwards I spent the night at my sister's and was assigned the difficult task of being " baby rocker" from about midnight to 7:00 A.M. for the newest man in my life, Joseph. He is such a sweet baby, he seriously never cries!

The next few days I spent around the farm, biking, hanging out with the nieces, attending both of their open houses, trucking with my dad, and spending time with my mom. I even had the privilege of dropping both girls off at school one morning. Lana, the fourth grader, is officially too cool for school. Let me rephrase that, too cool for ME at school, as she refused to hug me as she left the van. Ouch! Friday morning, my mom, Stacy and I went to Peoria to visit my aunt, uncle, cousin, and my cousin's new baby, Sam. While we were in town we also got to see my great Aunt Kate, who is 91, in amazing shape, and has an awesome, upbeat attitude about life. I hope to be that perky at 91! Friday night I attended my cousin Blane's high school football game. My only thought after leaving the 40-0 game was how thankful I am that I was able to cheer for winning North Greene Spartan football teams when I was in high school. It was painful to watch! After the game, my friends and I had an entertaining Weiner roast together and then hit the local watering hole, The Horn. Speaking of painful games to watch, Saturday I drove to Columbia, MO to watch the WIU vs. Mizzou football game. I left during the third quarter, but rumor has it the final score was in fact 69 to zip! Rough weekend for my Alma matters, indeed! As much as I do love football...players, the real reason for my Columbia trip was to see my friend, Jenn, whom I had not seen since graduation. As is usually the case with good friends, we picked up right where we left off a year and a half ago! So good to see her! Sunday I drove back to White Hall and arrived just in time for the Schutz family's big Sunday lunch. Impeccable timing, eh? After an afternoon nap and five-mile bike ride with Kristen, we had the last hoo ra for my homecoming. Twenty people came over for some delicious soup mi Madre made, and we ended the evening with a competitive game of Apples to Apples. I value all of my friends, but there's just something extra special about the big group of fiends I grew up with. Maybe it's the fact that we can all tell stories about each other from 15 years ago. Or maybe it's just that I never laugh as hard or as genuinely as I do when I am with all of them. Love, love, love them! This morning I quickly said my goodbyes and and "I'll see ya in a month" and headed back to the mother ship, aka the airport. My mama drove me to Saint Louis, and I think we're doing better with this whole distance thing, as we only started crying as we pulled into the airport this time. After our initial big hug and telling one another goodbye, we parted ways at the terminal drop off. With tears in each of our eyes, we waved goodbye to one another as we each prepared to return to what has become our new normal...living hundreds of miles away from each another. The captain just announced our initial decent, and as I peak out the window from my free middle seat I can see the ocean. Looks like I'm home.... my other home. :) Hope you all have a great week!

Silver Bullet Bites The Bullet

So to answer your burning question of what has Kelesy been up to since she last blogged...I've pretty much been dealing with the aftermath of my car accident. The day after my last post my friend Liz moved to Orlando to do the Disney College Program. She had driven all the way from Chicago to Orlando solo, so I really wanted to be in Orlando to welcome her to the great state of Florida. It had been storming that day, as it has seriously been doing EVERYDAY since then, so I decided that since there might be flight delays, it'd be quicker to drive. Fast foreword to 5:30 P.M. that evening. It had just finished raining, but the roads were still slick, I'm driving about 60 MPH in the far left lane on I95.Mr. McRedtruck to my right, who is going about 45 MPH decided it'd be a good idea to not turn on his blinker, nor check his mirrors, and pulls into my lane. The silver bullet, AKA my 2008 Corolla, smashes into the back of his truck, bounces off, and slams into the concrete divider.

Fortunately for me this was the 1st accident I've ever been in and honestly for it being a really sucky situation, the whole post wreck process went very smoothly. My friend Michelle was my angel that day by not only driving to West Palm to pick me up, but also buying me peanut butter cup ice cream, taco bell, and calling the insurance companies for me I was still very shook up. the officer on scene was also very kind and took the time to speak with both of us in order to get the complete story. In the end I walked with only a few bruises, the other driver was found at fault and I have a rental car for the time being.

Since I was in a pretty bum mood about the whole wreck situation, Lita drove down the weekend following the accident to cheer me up. Have I ever mentioned what good friends I have?! We spent the weekend watching How I Met Your Mother, IKEAing, cooking, and topped it all off with a good 'ol fashioned Rascal Flats Concert.

Within a week of the accident my bruising from the seat belt had faded enough that it only looked like I had a small hicky on my neck...awesome. Any who, I finally felt good enough to go back to work. My mom was raised with her Grandma Strand telling her that, when you don't feel normal, do something normal. So with all the craziness that the accident brought, it was actually kinda nice to return to the normalcy of work.

After a few days of work, it was time for more fun. This time my friend Eric came to spend a few days soaking up the Florida rays on the beach. As I previously mentioned, it's been raining non-stop here, so we had to go to plan B: drinking pina coladas next to the beach. Equally as fun! Although the sun never really came out, the crabs did and we had fun walking on the beach and finding them. We also saw the movie Our Idiot Brother. If you have plans to see this movie, I have some words of wisdom.... DON’T! Seriously, horrible movie!

The BEST news I have to report is that I'm officially an aunt cubed! Joseph Benjamin Six was born on August 27th at 9:00 PM to my sister Genny and her husband ben. I was very excited to see pictures of him, but it really tugged at the ol heartstrings when I heard him cry on the phone. I cannot wait to come home and meet him.

Speaking of home, it's been four and a half months since I've last been there and I'm very ready for a visit. If all goes as planned, I will be there September 10th through the nineteenth. Get excited!!

Not Old, Just Older

Greetings friends and fam! I'm currently writing this blog fat and happy from my hotel room in Boston on a very rainy and blah Monday. My flight was delayed getting into Boston last night so we rolled into our hotel at around 3 A.M. This was really no problem for me as my natural sleep pattern does not allow me to even feel tired til right around 4 A.M.! Lovely, right? So I took the liberty of sleeping in until the crack of noon today. Because I'm trying, half heartedly, to train for this half marathon I drug my arse down to the gym and ran four miles....very slowly, but none the less I did them. After my run, I felt like I deserved some hearty food. I've really been craving some good seafood lately and, despite the monsoon outside, was determined to find some today. Thankfully another flight attendant was feeling adventurous as well, and we took the train downtown and ate the BEST seafood I've ever had in my life! We ate at Legal Seafood right by the water. I had grilled scallops and shrimp that were caught this morning, and an awesome crab cake. Well worth getting poured on! Mmmmmm!

Last week in between two of my trips, being the amazing friend I am, I offered to help Lita move into a her new apartment in Orlando. She was moving out of a furnished apartment and was in need of some furniture. Luckily, a friend of hers from Boca was getting rid of a nice couch and loveseat, and told Lita she was welcome to them. The only catch was that Lita would have to haul them from Boca to Orlando. So last Sunday I picked Lita up from the airport, and her, me, a Budget moving truck and two couches putted down the road for three and a half hours. Despite almost soiling myself from a few of her lane changes, it was actually a pretty entertaining way to spend the afternoon. We're thinking of taking her cross country soon!



This past weekend I had a few days off, so my roommate, Stephanie, and I decided to fly up to visit my friend Neil at Ohio State University. I'm not positive, but I think I have driven through Ohio on my way to Virginia before, but have never actually gone on a trip where my destination was Ohio. Because Columbus is a fairly small city, there were no non stop flights from Fort Lauderdale to Columbus, so we had to connect in Atlanta. Flying standby definitely puts a different spin on traveling. We missed two flights going from Atlanta to Columbus (because they were oversold, not because we drank too much at the airport bar). A lot of the flights to Columbus were looking full, so at one point we looked at the flight schedules and were contemplating where else we could fly for the weekend, a fun perk of having free flights to anywhere in the US! Finally we made it on a flight to Columbus, on an airplane the size of a mini van. My seat was seriously locked in an acute angle! It was free, I'm not complaining!

Once we got to Ohio, Neil was there to pick us up and it was so good to see him! After napping during the afternoon, Steph and I got all dolled up in our college going out attire (short dress, stilettos, teased hair, Coach clutch, a bottle of Svedka in one hand, fruit punch in the other) and headed to the Frat house down the street. Most of the time in life I continue on in my day today activities without really stopping to reflect. It just feels normal that I don't live at home anymore, I have a job, I travel, etc. But there are moments where I feel like life throws me one big reality check. The reality check I got from this weekend: I am no longer in college! Now I am no way under the impression that I am old, I am a mere pup in the whole circle of life right now, but I am definitely over the college phase of my life! As I sat in the frat house filled with 21 years old, I had an overwhelming urge to ask for the music to be turned down so I could have a conversation without screaming. After we left the frat house, we headed to Ohio State's equivalent to WIU's Forum. While everyone else seemed to be enjoying the grinding game, Stephanie and I wondered from room to room searching for a bar that had stools we could sit on. And then there was the next morning... we weren't feeling so well. In fact, we ended up taking the 7:00 P.M. flight home because that was the first time all day we felt like we could compose ourselves on an airplane without tossing our cookies. So in closing, best wishes you Leathernecks, Buckeyes, Salukies, Cougars and Hawkeyes as you return for yet another year of the college life this week. I think I'm gonna sit this one out :)

NYC to LA

I started off my week with a two day trip, laying over in New York. I do love New York layovers because there is so much to do in the city, however the hotel we stay in is slightly sketchy. Not only is it in a creepy location (right by a rundown subway stop in Queens), it's also spiritually creepy. According to some of my fellow flight attendants the hotel is haunted. I'm not exactly a ghost expert, and am not even sure if I by into the whole ghost thing. My best good friend Jenny swears there are three things on this Earth that you just don't mess with: spiders, tornadoes, and ghosts. I've taken her words of wisdom to heart, and call me a baby, but try my hardest to avoid New York layovers. Since I didn't know anyone else on the trip, I knew I would be forced to spend the night in my hotel room alone. So I did what anyone in my situation would do; I went out with my crew, drank a few vodka pineapples, walked back to my hotel room at 4:00 A.M., and slept soundly in my bed.... curled up next to my Bible!

Tuesday evening I left for a two day trip to Los Angeles. This was actually my first time being on a layover in L.A. and I LOVED it! During my April visit to L.A. my friends and I did a lot of touristy stuff, but never actually made it to the ocean, so yesterday was my first time seeing the Pacific! The water was WAY colder than the water in south Florida, but the Pacific beaches were much wider and prettier! The waves in the Pacific were also much bigger! One of the flight attendants I was with is very familiar with the area, and offered to show me around for the day. We ended up walking about two miles from our hotel to the ocean and renting bikes. There is an awesome bike path that runs the entire way from Manhattan Beach (where we started) and Santa Monica Pier. We biked all the way to Santa Monica and back, which was a 26 mile round trip! AKA I biked a marathon yesterday! I was totally in my happy place the entire time! We rode through Venice Beach, which was very hippy ish, but none the less pretty cool. We also saw Muscle Beach, where there is literally an outdoor gym for people to work out on the beach. It basically seemed like a playground for meat heads, but hey, to each there own. The culture in California is so much different than Florida. It's much more environmentally conscience, and overall just more chill and relaxed. The temperature in L.A. is also much more milder than South Florida, so me being the really intelligent person I am, didn't factor in the whole the sun is still out, I may need sunscreen thing. Walking through the airport was a wee bit embarrassing last night as people were literally turning there heads to stare at me. Upon walking onto the aircraft the captain, being ever so tactful, greeted me with a, "What the hell happened to you?!" Needless to say, I'm trying to only partake in inside activities today that require me to show no emotion, as it is PAINFUL to move my face!




On a different note, I've been reading the book My Year With Eleanor. Basically, this book is about the author's year of trying to live a year based on Eleanor Roosevelt's quote, "Do one thing everyday that scares you." I would only give the book an ok rating, however I have learned a lot about Eleanor Roosevelt. What a cool lady!

"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear, for newer and richer experiences." -Eleanor Roosevelt

Sum sum summa time

So this month I have been working pretty much all red eye flights. I actually don't mind the schedule since I am a true night owl at heart. One of the only downfalls to this month's schedule is that I have very few overnight trips. However, I managed to make up for it by having a great time on my one layover of the month in Boston.

I'm on line with my friend Maria this month, which makes trips 100 times more fun then getting stuck with a senior flight attendant who routinely eats a bitter sandwich for breakfast every morning, and probably should have retired about five years ago. Last week we spent a full 30 hours in Boston, which is such an awesome city with tons of things to do and see. We started our morning by hopping on the subway and heading down to the Quincy Market. For being a born and raised country girl, I'm quite proud of myself for learning how to maneuver around on the subway in so many different cities! There were so many food choices there, it was hard to pick just one place to eat. Sticking to my true classy form, I took Maria to Dick's Last Resort...the restaurant where you pay to be insulted and eat mediocre food. There is actually a Dick's Last Resort in Chicago that I have already been to several times, but I'm always highly entertained by this restaurant and continue to come back. The restaurant is famous for making dunce caps out of white paper and writing insults on them. As we sat down I was reading the hats of some of the other patrons and was amused by one little girl's hat that read "I eat my boogers." I also enjoyed another women's hat that read, "Yes, this is a padded bra." I wasn't quite as amused though when our waiter came to our table and awarded me a hat that read, "I'm not as hott as I think I am." Rude. We then spent the afternoon watching some really talented (and some really strange) street performers. The weather in Boston was fabulous, and it was a nice change to be outside for an entire afternoon without feeling like I just took a shower, fully clothed.

Because my family does things slightly unorthodox at times, my brother Chad and sister in law Stacy ended up buying a car last week in a town that is just about 20 minutes away from me. In order to pick the car up, Stacy flew down to Fort Lauderdale and was able to spend a couple of days with me before driving the car back to Illinois. I still had to work during the nights, so I think we actually only spent a grand total of about 12 waking hours together. I was still pretty impressed we were able to cram in a day at the beach, lunch at Rattlesnake Jake's (once again, do I know how to pick a classy joint or what?), and of course frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf. I also made her earn her keep by taking out our trash, airing up my bike tires, and fixing my computer. It was a very short impromptu visit, but I always love getting to spend time with my family!

I usually try to pick up during my days off if I know I'm just going to spend my days being lazy at home, but this past week I decided to take a little staycation for three days. It was so nice to sleep, clean my apartment, lay out, and hang out with friends. Ahhh, I'm relaxed just remembering those three days!

Love to you all!

Ten Thoughts

1-Time goes by so freaking quickly. I just got my bid packet for the month of August...AUGUST! How crazy is that?! Ya wanna know when time didn't fly by? Second grade! I remember staring at the clock during spelling time and thinking at times the clock had actually gone backwards. I'd like a happy medium.

2-My trip to Alaska was AWESOME! It was gorgeous there, and I was able to see a glacier, a Moose, and lots and lots of mountains. I think I had my sweatpants and beanie off for maybe 20 minutes of the entire trip, so to say I was cold there would be a major understatement. The best part of the entire trip was getting to spend time with my cousin Lindsey. It's creepy how much we are alike.


3-After training for a half marathon last year, and being really disappointed that I wasn't able to run in it due to a scheduling conflict with work, I've decided to give the whole half marathon thing another shot. If all goes as planned I'll be running in the Miami Rock n Roll Half Marathon on December 11. I start my training on August 1st. Wish me luck!

4-Crystal Light Strawberry Kiwi packets, delicious!

5-Last week my nieces Lana and Bridget, and my cousin Ashley flew down to spend a few days with me in Florida. They are some of my very favorite people and I had a blast with them! While we were in Boca we hung out at the pool and the beach, rented funny movies, ate way too much ice cream, and went to Boomers, where we rock climbed, rode go-carts and bumper boats, and played arcade games. Over the weekend we went to Orlando and hung out at Disney for a few days. I was really impressed with how well the two little girls did with being away from home for five days, being as young as they are.

6-I'm going to try to ground myself for the month of August. I obviously LOVE traveling, but I'm ready for some time at home during my days off. I'm hoping to get back to Illinois for a visit in September. However, there is a certain baby that is due in August, and I'm not actually sure how long I'll be able to stay away once I start seeing pictures.

7-I've been primarily working red eye flights this month, and as horrible as that sounds to some people, I've actually really enjoyed it thus far. I have no problem staying awake all night, the passengers sleep the entire time (therefore, they aren't ringing their call bell and bothering me), and I don't have to deal with traffic on my to and from the airport. I think it's a win win situation.

8-I am now the proud owner of an iPhone. I've actually been against the whole smart phone craze for quite some time, because frankly I don't really think they're necessary. However, I have to admit that I love it and it's made my life 10,000 times easier. I no longer have to carry my laptop with me on trips, nor call my family and friends to google things like flight times, train schedules, directions back to my hotel, etc. I think they all appreciate me having the phone too.

9-During the summer it rains a lot in Florida. Like seriously everyday at 3:00 in the afternoon it pours for about an hour, and then it's sunny again. Weird.

10-A lot of my friends have recently gotten real people jobs. Like they work at insurance agencies, loan offices, marketing companies, probation departments, schools...it's weird. With that being said, I'm very proud of how accomplished all of them are. A lil shout out to Allison, who had her first day of work today! I think I did well in the whole picking out friends department, if I do say so myself :)