"Well, at least we're still alive"

Oh my gosh, guys.

So... our family's motto so far for our trip is "well, at least we're still alive." Ha! Today has been a whirlwind. So I woke up at 4 and was actually hungry, so I made a greek yogurt mess with pumpkin, a cranbran vitatop, dried cranberries, honey kix, cinnamon + unsweetened cocoa powder. And dark chocolate dreams pb, of course!



Dude, I so was not making a parfait at 4 in the morning ;) But then we left, got to the airport fine, blah blah blah... then we get on the plane. And wait. And wait. And then the pilot says "Folks, we have a kind of medium-big problem." Apparently the plane wasn't fueled up, and they were trying to fuel it with some kind of hose. But the hose wouldn't fit or something? They tried lots of hoses, and then they were planning on moving EVERYONE to a smaller plane (this flight was full, too). But then they decided to fill it the old-fashioned way, which takes a LONG time. I don't really remember the logistics of it--but we were sitting in the plane, on the ground, for 2.5 hours!! Then we finally left, and it was a 4 hour flight in the air.

Ok, so I mentioned before that I'm nervous about flying. I was freaking the HECK out. I've had panic attacks on planes before--it's the worst cause I feel like my heart is dropping, so then I think the plane is dropping when it's really not. But then I get even more freaked out and it's a ridiculous cycle. So I have xanax that I take for anxiety before flying.

I also know a lot about plane crashes, so I was totally freaking about the fuel sitch. A lot of times, stuff like this happens before a major crash or issue with the aircraft. I was sure that this was gonna be a new "Air Crash Investigation" tv show episode, and that the fuel would leak, the fuel gage would be off, or there'd be another problem... so I was pretty stressed out.

When the flight got underway, I was pretty sleepy since I took another pill after most of the first one had worn off during the 2.5 hours we were just sitting there. But I spent the first 5-10 minutes of the flight in tears and constantly preparing to go into brace position. I finally calmed down a bit and got some sleep. I just hate flying!!

Oh, and I've eaten more bars today than I've eaten in the past 2 years total! Haha, I never eat bars, but we were on that plane today for about 7 hours (counting the time since we boarded and waited to leave). And all that stress made me hungry!

I had most of this Odwalla Superfood bar:



(I had already eaten some, then thought I should take a pic of the bar)

I took the pic on the plane and let everyone wonder what the heck I was doing ;) But it was really yummy! No weird "green" taste or anything. It was moist, chewy and delicious.

And an apple:


I also had a Kashi chocolate coconut bar (I think I had 2 today? They were delish--they tasted like a candy bar!), and most of an Amazing Grass Chocolate Superfood bar, which was really yummy. I loved the chocolate coating! Oh, and a Clif Kids Chocolate Chip Z-bar. Yum!

We landed safely, thank goodness! No fuel problems or any other weird stuff with the aircraft. We landed quite a few hours after schedule, but at least we didn't have a connecting flight. And at least we're still alive ;)

Then the rental car wasn't ready... sigh. An inconvience, but again with those plane issues--"well, at least we're still alive." I grabbed a small garden salad and fruit bowl, along with a Desert Rose iced tea that I sweetened with stevia. I only got a pic of the tea:



Then we went to Green, one of my fave restaurants in Tempe. It's a vegetarian/vegan place.

Here are some pics of the restaurant interior:





I got the Spicy Peanut "Chicken" Salad:



Sooo good! I loved how the mock chicken was cooked--it was perfectly crispy on the outside, and so flavorful. And it was spicy! My mouth was tingling afterwards :) I ordered the "large" size, but I think I could definitely teach em a thing or two about how big a large salad really is! ;)

My sister got one of my fave dishes, the Jamican Jerk Tofu Salad:



The tofu is also seasoned and cooked to perfection. I love the spicy and flavorful dressing, too!

Our dressings on the side:



No idea why we got 3, though! They were all great, so we didn't complain :D

My mom got the Singapore Tofu, which is a rice noodle bowl with tofu and veggies:



Again, one of their strengths is how they cook the tofu. The noodles were pretty good, but my mom has had the apricot miso bowl and the thai peanut bowl before, and she'd recommend those more :)

My dad got a po-boy (can't remember what kind) and thyme fries:



He liked it :)

My sister and I also had a rootbeer Zevia:


I love that they sell single Zevia cans here!

Then we hopped over and got the key to my new apartment, then checked into the hotel, then went to JC Penny and purchased a mattress, then went to my old apartment, then went to Whole Foods, then had dinner, then my sister and I worked out, and now I'm typing this post. WHEW!

After all those bars and all that stress, it was so nice to have a simple, "Anne salad" for dinner:



Romaine blend, spinach, black grapes, cherry tomatoes, broccoli sprouts, mushrooms, and Annie's Island Marinade--all picked up at Whole Foods! The hotel we're staying in has a fridge/freezer/microwave :)

Grapes, too:



That was definitely a nice comforting meal!

I've got my appointment with the kinesiology advisor tomorrow at 9 am. We're also going to move my stuff to my new apartment--we rented a moving van. Then I have to get an AZ driver's license, get a car (either tomorrow or sometime soon), set up my new apartment... Oh my gosh, it's gonna be insane!

At least we got a whole bunch of stuff at Whole Foods so I can have nicer meals. Alright, I've been up for over 21 hours now, so I gotta get ready for bed! This time change (3 hours diff) throws things off a little, too. I'd love nothing more than to relax and catch up on your blogs, but that'll have to wait. I've gotta be up and at em in the early morning tomorrow! But ya know, at least I'm still alive ;)

Love ya guys!