Fitbit

So when I was in Seattle, Audrey and Toren kept telling me about the Fitbit and how much they both love having one. Monday, I spent probably an hour researching the Fitbit, reading reviews, and watching youtube videos.

And I caved and walked to Target and bought one. Literally I walked to Target. Granted that sounds a lot more intense on the blog than in real life where the store is maybe an 8 minute walk door to door from our apartment.

I love it.

I've only had it two days, but I love it.

For those of you that haven't heard of it, Fitbit is a pedometer - and I could have bought a regular pedometer that's cheaper. What I like about the Fitbit, is it syncs with the (free) Fitbit app on my phone and with my online Fitbit account. Using the Fitbit account and my new little Fitbit Zip helps me to regulate my calorie intake based off of my physical activity.

Studies have shown that those who want to lose, or even maintain, weight have more success if they document it. And so I do. I document everything I eat and drink and based off of the news from my little Zip, it tells me how much more I can eat during the day. So it can fluctuate from day to day based off of my physical activity.

It's so cute. I love my little Zip.

A Blizzard

So let me just make this a public announcement - I am finally going to be starting a new job {cheering is acceptable}. I applied at Southwest Airlines for the same job that Scott's doing right now and I got it! His department is on a big hiring kick right now and they loved me!

I don't start until March 4th, so I decided to make the most of my very open days and go see Audrey, Toren and the little monkey again. And we had a blast. I went out there Sunday the 17th and it took over 12 hours to get there. But I was finally there and enjoyed a few wonderful days chasing Austin around and making pancake dots (of course).

I hate to sum up a really fun few days, but I'm sure Audrey would agree that running errands and watching Super Hero Squad does not a blog post make.

Oh although when I was there, Audrey and I went to this new jewelry store in the area called Charming Charlie. The store started in Houston (I live in Texas now, why haven't I heard of this?) and it's amazing. An entire store dedicated to accessories. You want shoes? They're there.  You want purses or wallets? Also there. You want all of the jewelry in all the trends? Oh yeah, also there. I was in love and also overwhelmed the second I walked into the store. And I already found where the closest one to me in Dallas is!

Anyway. This post is about the journey home. Now if any of you follow me on Instagram, you probably heard a little bit of this.

I left Thursday and took the first flight out of Seattle, which left at 6 in the morning. I know, that's gross and really early, but those flights are usually wide open and this was no exception. Every flight I was supposed to take had over 50 seats available and even though I was flying standby, it was going to be an easy trip home. The longest layover was 45 minutes, so not a bad trip at all.

Unfortunately when we were coming into St. Louis, the pilot came on saying that there was going to be some turbulence because it just started snowing. I looked out of the window and I couldn't see the ground until a few minutes before we hit the runway. We landed and pulled into our gate and I rushed down to my connecting flight because they were boarding.

And then a gate agent announced that the flight was going to be delayed.

Thirty minutes later, the gate agent said that no standby passengers tickets would be honored because so many flights were being canceled that the flight was probably going to fill up.

Thirty minutes later, the gate agent said that our flight was canceled. By this time all ticketing agents' lines were backed up with people trying to switch their tickets and get on the next flight they could. I checked the booking status online and most of the flights for the day were already full, so I was prepared to just wait it out and see if I can get on some flight - any flight - out of St. Louis.

An hour later, they announced terminal wide that all Southwest flights were canceled for the rest of the day. Awesome.

I called all the hotels in the area and managed to book one of the last available hotel rooms for the night. It was so snowy and miserable out there. The shuttle van took a very long time coming to pick me up because of the traffic and the roads.

Anyway I made it to the hotel and was able to sleep in a bed instead of an airport chair.

The next morning, I woke up and went to the airport first thing. I checked the booking status and all the flights except the very last one at 9pm were full, so I was just going in hopes that someone wouldn't show up and I would get a ticket.

I watched flight after flight take off. I waited 9 hours in the airport with no wifi, no laptop, no book, nothin'. I just sat and watched airplanes.

When I heard my name called for the 5pm flight to Dallas, I jumped and screamed because I was so happy to finally get a ticket. Two hours later, I was home and I was so happy to be there.

Stop The Maddness!

Yesterday, Scott and I started our Saturday morning by hanging out on the couch and catching up a little bit on our Hulu+ queue.  We turned on Shark Tank and halfway through the episode, we knew what our plans were. Two brothers, Peter and Yuen Yung came on the show seeking an investment for their sushi restaurant, How Do You Roll? which is like a fast food sushi place but without tasting like fast food at all.

Scott leaned to me and said wow that looks good so I responded with, well lets go! We booked the next flight to Austin and were out the door. After landing in the live music capitol, we hopped on the metro and made our way to downtown.

Look at that mid-chew grin! Clearly he enjoyed the trip.

Scott ordered two different rolls, the 3 Alarm and the Slammin' Salmon and according to him, they were both so delicious. Definitely some of the best sushi he has had. Since I'm not the biggest sushi fan, I ordered a salad (which was so delicious by the way -- their ginger sesame dressing was bliss).

We were only in Austin for 4 or 5 hours, but we had so much fun. This may become a weekend tradition where we pick a new city, fly there a day and explore new restaurants and sights.

Plant Update

Look at these little guys grow! I'm a proud Plant Mama. My little seedlings are growing more and more each day. This may not be as exciting it is for you as it is for me. The first thing I do when I wake up now is go to the kitchen to see how the plants grew in the middle of the night.

Parent's Weekend

Because Scott works at Southwest, we get some special perks. Not only do Scott and I (plus any future children) get free flights, his parents also get to fly for free. So this weekend, Mom and Dad Sorensen tried out flying standby for the first time. They made all their flights and said it wasn't that bad - which means they probably won't be home much anymore!

On Friday, the first item of the weekend agenda was to visit Southwest Headquarters to see where Scott works and tour the offices. We ate lunch in The Landing, visited where Scott's training rooms, saw where his new desk will be, visited the Marketing Department where Scott interned, and viewed the museum-like halls covered with Southwest memorabilia of the company's life.

There were several projects I had conveniently not had time to complete since moving into the apartment. So after a SWA-HQ visit, we hit Lowes and bought the supplies. Hello Laundry Shelving! It was quite the project because of the location of the shelves. The presence of our washer and dryer occasionally made it difficult to use the drill.

On Saturday we hit the pavement and walked around downtown Dallas, visiting the JFK Memorial. It was a beautiful sunny day which Mom and Dad appreciated because they could thaw out from the frozen Utah tundra. It was so interesting seeing where President Kennedy was shot and hearing all the controversy about where the shooter was, if there were multiple shooters, etc.

Today after church, we found the Katy Trail, a 3.5 mile paved walk, bike, run, and roller blading path that goes through Dallas. It was a fun way to spend a sunny 70 degree day and explore Dallas's Uptown area .

It was a fun weekend! We hate it to end but they are heading back to the chilly Salt Lake City tomorrow morning. Hopefully their trip home will be as easy as their journey here. But I'm sure they will be back soon when they can just walk on a plane and leave whenever they want.