Okay, so the worst story from our trip is probably the hellish trip home. It was really bad. Like, worst trip home EVER.

Well, maybe not, but it felt that way.

So we get to the Orlando airport early, breeze through security, and then get to our gate. They announce, after a bit, that the incoming flight is delayed, so we'll be a bit behind, but only a few minutes, so it doesn't matter. Well, we already had a forty minute connection to make in Houston, so that freaked us out a bit. My mom lets them know, and they arrange for one of those little cart thingies to pick us up at our gate and take us to the next gate, since my mom needs help getting around right now.

Well, we get on the plane, after the smoothest boarding I've ever seen (everyone else had connections, too, so we were all on our best behavior), and as they close the doors, the pilot announces that there's weather in Houston, so he has to taxi until he knows whether or not he'll be able to land.

So we taxi for a bit, then take off, but he's pretty sure we'll be on time.

Yeah, no. After a few minutes, he announces that we'll have to fly around and approach Houston from another side, so we'll be about 30 minutes late. Then, after numerous other announcements which didn't end up being accurate, and my mom having to barf, which is no fun, we finally land in Houston about twenty minutes late. I check my phone, and there's a text from the airline, saying the next flight is delayed until 6:55, which gives us an extra hour, so we're good, and not freaking out.

We get on the airline cart thingy and are driven by the most sullen man on the planet to this area and dropped off. We stand there forever and then finally a nice lady comes over to push my mom in her wheelchair, and she uses her walkie-talkie to call in to see what gate we're at. Not only did the airline change our gate, but they bumped our flight back forward (did you know they could do that???) so she hauls butt with the chair, taking us through the back way, while we all run to the gate so we don't miss our flight.

Wait...this isn't even the bad part.

We all finally get on the plane, and it's a little plane, with single seats across the aisle from a pair of seats, so me and my husband are in single seats a few rows apart, with him behind me, and my parents are together across the aisle from me. In between us is a family with a "21-month-old."

Oh, and props to the guy who asked if it wouldn't just be easier to say "two." Yes, guy. Yes, it would.

Anyway, Dad comes on to the plane apologizing in advance for the kid. Oh, holy crap, we should've known. Pretty much screamed the entire time, whenever her whole family wasn't doing whatever she wanted, which was usually running up and down the aisle. SCREAMED. Like, bloody-murder-I-am-being-stabbed-my-shoes-are-on-fire screaming. Oh, and have I mentioned I have a bad ear that can't deal with loud, high-pitched sounds? Yeah. That. My husband was right next to them, so I can only imagine how bad his headache was.

So, we all survive, get off the plane, finally home, get our luggage, get to the car, and stop at McDonald's on the way home so we can get some food. On our way out, a crazy drunk hobo attempts to start crap with our family, but, thank goodness for him, his friend tells him to knock it off.

Because I was in no mood. He would've lost whatever teeth were still in his head.

So, that was the trip home. Glorious day, no?

Well, we got to go on the big trip to Disney World with my parents. So that's where we were.

Also, I had a gross surgery in my jaw...called an apicoectomy (look it up, it's not that painful, but, holy crap, it's noisy and bloody while they're doing it), and so far (I'm on my second day after), it's healing nicely except for the fact that I'm swollen and I look like I've been punched in the face. Hopefully, this will help with all the jaw pain. We'll see.

And, finally, it's Thanksgiving, and I have so much to celebrate today. My mom has started putting on weight, and my dad is getting to go back to his speed-walking, which makes me very thankful. I have a beautiful kitchen and tons of counter space for pie-making, which makes me thankful, as well. We have family and friends here and more coming for Christmas, and I'm extremely thankful for that, too.

Mostly, though, I'm thankful for my husband. He's pretty cute.

So, that's the update. I do have stories, but I'm making pies and just don't have time right now, so they'll have to wait. Happy Thanksgiving!

Just in case you're wondering, I'm scared today. Scared of a country run by a TV reality show star with no political experience who runs his own business "empire" an inch away from bankruptcy at all times, then throws in the towel, suffering no real financial consequences, and starts again.

I'm afraid of a people who voted for him, who think that belligerence, bullying and hate are the way to go, and who aren't concerned with civil rights because they've never experienced racism, sexism, discrimination due to a disability or hate because of the way they were born. Not all Americans have the same privilege.

I'm afraid for the angry young people who are enraged by the fact that, in a state like ours, our votes don't even count because of the electoral college. They have every right to their frustration, but less idea of the fact that rioting doesn't solve anything and tends to make these situations worse. I hope that they will be smart enough to see the potential consequences of their actions and channel their anger into something that will actually create change.

I'm afraid that now the ultra-rich are in power, and the middle class will continue to disappear and we will be made to carry even more of the tax and social burdens that our government doesn't see fit to care about, especially since the new President-elect has the House and Senate on his side.

Finally, I'm afraid of losing all of the social progress we've made over the last several years, and of our country again devolving into a place where people's morality is legislated, and people who don't fit into the narrow, heterosexual and/or same race box can't choose the person with whom they want to spend their lives. These are personal moral and ethical choices, not a matter for anyone to have a say in besides the people directly involved. All types of people...they're people. Just people. Doing what they need to do to get along in life and have a little piece of happiness.

I will not leave, I will not run, but so help me, I will not stand for the people I love having to hide in the shadows again. And I will sit tight and keep hoping for an America with class and manners. 

Not holding my breath for that last one.

Kind of want to barf.

I have this new piercing in my left ear, called a daith piercing. It's supposed to help with headaches, but as I've only had it a week, and I've been taking a ton of ibuprofen to try to deal with some other stuff, I can't tell if it's working yet. No headaches, though, which is pretty unusual for me.

But, as I said, ibuprofen.

Anyway, it's been a weird week with this thing, mostly because even though the piercer said it was okay to wear earplugs to sleep, I've read way too much on the Googles about how that's not a good thing, so I'm trying to give it some time.

And now I know I'm addicted to earplugs.

When those bad boys expand inside my ears, it's like I am in a cocoon of sleep. It's great. Earplugs are the awesomest thing I've ever used. And now, sleeping without them is lame and sad.

Also, I am a right side or stomach sleeper. Always. And for some reason, all I want to do the minute I fall asleep is to roll over onto my left side. Seriously. Last night I kept waking up on my left side and thinking, "No. This isn't right. I'm doing something wrong." But then I'd have to figure out what it was and I am way too confused when I'm sleepy so I just sat up until I figured it out, went back to sleep, and then repeated the procedure FIFTY MILLION TIMES.

Ugh.

Change is just unavoidable, I guess, but I sure do hate it. Less headaches would be glorious, though. We'll see.

It seems October just isn't my month for blogging. Oh, well. 

At any rate, I happened upon something hilarious this morning and wanted to share. Okay, it's probably just hilarious to me, but whatever.

I was in college during the first election where President Obama was running. If you know me at all, you know that I don't really talk politics because, well, fighting. I hate it. I am a registered independent, and I will never argue about stuff unless it's with immediate family because I HATE IT.

I am a licensed conflict avoider.

Anyhow, it was a crazy time on campus, and there was a lot of vandalism happening, and I remember freaking out because my husband and I had just gotten a brand-new car (I was 30....I went to college really late), and there was this completely insane kid in my music theory class who was saying he was going to bust out all of the windows of the brand new cars in the parking garage to show, and he seriously said this, "...those capitalist swines (yep, he said swines...I remember because I was trying not to laugh) who they're dealing with." He also made a number of other statements, mostly regarding the evils of Christianity and anyone who voted republican. Then he asked if anyone had a dollar so he could get some more coffee, and I pretty much realized maybe more coffee on that kind of insane would be a super idea.  Super. 

Yeah. So I started parking all the way upstairs in the farthest space from the elevator, because I was betting he'd be too lazy to walk out to the far spaces, and I was right. He eventually told someone that he busted out a couple of windows and then moved on, because I'm imagining that took more work than he'd thought, and he probably also didn't want to have to go to jail or anything like that. I would bet no busting even happened, because car windows are pretty thick and I feel like it wouldn't have been worth the effort. Still a pretty big d-bag, though.

Fast forward to this morning, and I saw that a friend liked a picture of these two really cute little kids on their mom's Facebook page. And then I noticed the last name, and I thought, "Hey...that is an unusual last name, and that kid looks vaguely like the guy from college. So, of course, I go to the mom's page. Yep, she's married to that guy.

The funniest part? Guy lives in a swanky house in the suburbs, and his wife went to a Christian college, and is a religious Republican. Yep. Mr. I-Hate-All-Things-Conventional is living the dream. I also saw a picture with a pretty new looking car in their driveway...windows intact, naturally.

Ah, how times have changed. Cute kids, though.