365-2 | Peaches Prattlings

{September 27, 2014} Two and a half days at my sister’s house…Think it’s been busy?

You know what it’s like when I come to Boston to be with my family, never a dull moment! And so far, we are not disappointed!

Ok…you know what these weekends are like, grab some caffine, take a nap and settle in!

I arrived on Thursday, as you know after my work/travel day, got smothered in hugs and kisses and just as quickly as I got there, we hit the ground running. Dinner [fun, fun, fun], bath [fun, fun, fun], bed [fun, stories, fun, games, fun, night night]

Friday morning began too early, but that’s what it’s like here! Everyone left for school and Peanut, dad and I went to the vet’s office, check out the sign they had, don’t you just love it!

After the vet, we took Peanut home and headed out to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and had a great time! We saw an amazing exhibit featuring Jamie Wyeth, http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/jamie-wyeth?gclid=CjwKEAjwwJmhBRC56KOelNOXhxUSJAB_w2uN12khBXEl8PtUKBuFOVgyj5KTXzzgIXBopdaMcYlWJBoCSyHw_wcB [this is the exact exhibit we saw], son of famed painter Andrew Wyeth, http://www.andrewwyeth.com/, his most famous piece, Christina’s World, http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=78455. Dad and I really enjoyed this exhibit. Jamie Wyeth was famous for painting the Kennedy’s, in fact the John Kennedy portrait was just donated to the museum by Jamie Wyeth. He was a court artist during Watergate and had an amazing eye for detail, as well as being in with Andy Warhol and Rudolf Nureyev. Amazing! I loved this self portrait.

A spot of lunch in the museum cafeteria, then on to the modern art…to look at through one half closed eye. There are pieces we liked and others we cocked our heads to the side and said :”huh?” Here are a few I enjoyed.

After the museum, a few errands on the way home and then it was time to pick up EJS from after school, which she loves, almost as much as being picked up in the convertible! Home to see everyone and gather the troops, it’s time for dinner and out the door we went for Chinese while GES went to girls night. Home again, stories, books, bed. Not to mention a great deal of silliness! There is nothing like being fought over…I want Auntie J to read to me! No I do! It’s a great feeling, but exhasuting! I sat with one for five minutes, then the other, then the other, finally calling in reinforcements to sit with MGS while I sat with EJS. Tired yet?

GES came home and we bonded a bit on the sofa watching bad tv. Then it was off to bed, yeah right!

Up by 8, had to leave to go first to watch MGS have gymnastics at 8:45, good thing they live about 5 minutes away! It was great, all those tiny tumblers! Then it was back in the car heading to EJS’s soccer game, she has got some talent in her. Now, I am not being biased, this is being backed up by my dad, who played 4th grade through college and was All Conference, my sister, who played against my dad when he coached for an opposing high school and my brother-in-law, who still plays on an adult league today, so when I tell you she’s good, she’s good people!

After soccer, it was playground for MGS and me, then off to the town square for breakfast and a festival of sorts. Half local vendors and politicians and half stuff for kids to do or things to buy. We were there for about two hours and dad and the girls racked up a lot of free stuff! After that it was home for a few minutes, hang with the neighbors, then take EJS to a birthday party, cat food on the way home and then home for a while. GES left to pick up EJS from the party, then went to get her skis for the season. Eventually, dad and ACS took MGS to a local high school game and I stayed home and finally took a shower!

Dressed and time to do my time and expenses, almost done! Then it was time for dinner, leftover Chinese food and then watched Dolphin Tale, I will probably be taking the girls to see Dolphin Tale 2 next week, as EJS asked if we could go tonight, but it was too late in the day. We watched the movie, it was great, btw…upstairs for much needed baths, stories and bed. Fighting over me and Poppa, how can you beat that!

The kids finally fell asleep, dad went up not long after and GES and ACS just got home about 30 minutes ago from dinner, had a great time and now friends, this is where I leave you, I have loved every minute of it, but I am now tired! I need to go back to work to get some rest!

Goodnight!

Positivity Challenge – Day #11
1 – I am thankful I got to see both nieces performing. MGS at gymnastics, then over to EJS at soccer, both fantastic!
2 – I am thankful that my nieces fight over who gets to sit near me!
3 – I am thankful my sister and brother-in-law feel comfortabe with me and Poppa, my dad, to go out with friends and let us spend the time with the girls.

{September 26, 2014} Some one else’s day

I was going to tell you all about my day, but I want to talk about someone else’s experience.

When I log into WordPress.com there is a news feed of blogs that I follow and I check them out, read other posts to see what people are thinking and writing about and the first one that came up was NuckolBall, written by my college buddy, Mike Nukols, you remember, the guy who created the app “101 Kick Ass Things for Dads to Do with Their Kids”. Well, Mike writes a blog called NuckolBall, the tagline is “Raising my boys to be baseball fans whether they like it or not”.

Tonight’s post was entitled “Goodbye, Mr Jeter”, about taking his son, Jack, to Jeter’s farewell game at Yankee Stadium. There are news stories all over about Derek Jeter retiring, his last home game, his last game, you name it, there are stories and tributes all over the place.

But the one that stood out was Mike and his recounting of going to the final Derek Jeter game at Yankee Stadium with his son Jack and what he went through to get there, what it’s like going to the game with his favorite person to go to a baseball game with.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a baseball fan, but I do enjoy going to a game, the people watching, feeling the energy of the crowd, get a pretzel and soda, that is the life. But to read Mike describe the game itself and seeing it with his son, I was moved to tears and the emotions that welled up inside of me was incredible, I even surprised myself. It was descriptive and charming and spoke volumes about the love this man has for his child.

I wanted to watch a game with them. Thank you Mike.

Goodbye, Mr. Jeter

Positivity Challenge – Day #10
1 – I am thankful that all was well with Peanut at the vet today
2 – I am thankful to have an appointment next week to get her fixed
3 – I am grateful to have amazingly talented friends

{September 25, 2014} It’s a work and travel day…

The day started too early after very little sleep, you’ve met me, right?

I was leaving today and I packed most everything, I said most. It’s crazy, I had brought a lot of my stuff to my sister’s house the last time I was here, but there appears to be more that I realized, so…I packed up all my clothes to bring with me and when I go back, I’ll take as much as I need for the few days I’m there and bring what was left in the room back with me.

I got to work at 9, then turned right around and walked out to go to Indiana to the facility I was supporting to pick up materials and look for a chair, yes I said a chair. There were chairs loaned to the project from another hospital that were for the trainers and half of them grew legs, yes I know chairs have legs, ok, they grew feet and walked away…

Then back to the office, turned around and left with JS to go to another facility, drop off materials and look for chairs. No dice. Back in the car to go to the office and on the way had a call. Dropped JS off at the office, headed back to the hotel to finish packing and load the car to head to the airport.

Got to the airport in plenty of time, checked in, headed to the gate and waited. Time to go, got on the little baby planelet and sat down, wrong seat, window, not aisle,so moved over. After the flight, the woman behind us handed us our bags because she knows how tough it is when you’re in the front row and can’t have anything at your feet and sometimes the only place to put your stuff is three rows back.

Don’t you just love how everyone stands up the millisecond the plane lands? As if that will get them off sooner. I got off the plane in Detroit, headed to my next flight in another terminal, got on that plane and sat next to a great guy who works for Delta, been working for them for 35 years! That is commitment! We talked about plane etiquette, the differences between coach and first class, different airlines, his son, who is a championship Formula 1 driver, his ski lift chairs, yes, I said ski lift chairs! He bought an entire ski lift because his wife wanted one ski lift chair and then went crazy. He finished two for them and then is selling the rest. He said when people come over, they go straight to those chairs and if they have too much to drink, they lower the bar and say “The bar is closed” Ha ha, it made the flight more enjoyable.

Off the plane, head to baggage claim and wait and wait and wait and then it just stopped, great…While I was waiting for my bag, I used Uber for the first time, and what a great experience! For those of you who don’t know, Uber is a car service that uses a mobile app to complete the transaction. You put in where you are and where you are going, you can request a quote and then request the car. You will get a notification that the car is on the way, a picture of the driver and the car! You will also get a phone call from the driver telling you how far away they are.

This was a great service! Fast, efficient, clean and cheaper than a car service or taxi, I’ll be using them again! https://www.uber.com/

Hello family! Carry stuff in, get hugs and kisses [nieces, daddy, sister, brother in law, cats], put my stuff down, time for dinner. After dinner it’s play and then night night. Snuggle up with the girls, sweet dreams “Sleep well, get up well, I love you” Something we have been saying in my family for years and now my nieces know.

Hang out a bit, come down to write to you and now I am going to crash! Gotta get up and take Peanut to the vet, oh joy! Happy Thursday!

Positivity Challege -Day #9
1- I am thankful I made my connecting flights today
2 – I am thankful my dad is so awesomely cool. [He brought me a lactose intolerant t-shirt]
3 – I am so very thankful I got to kiss my sister, nieces, dad, brother-in-law and wish them a L’Shana Tova [Happy New Year] in person today!

{September 24, 2014} Farewell…So Long…Auf Wiedersehen, goodnight

No, I am not going to start singing, but if I did, you would have to listen, ha! No, I did not watch The Sound of Music tonight.

Tonight was a team dinner, a farewell of sorts. The project I have been with for a little over a month so far, is winding down and wrapping up and next week I will be heading for parts unknown, well, I know where I am going, you do not! So there. Awe, come on, you know I’ll tell you eventually!

As we are nearing the end of the project and some people are rolling off sooner than others [oh brother, I had a seguay here, I will hold my tongue], there was a team dinner with everyone from Deloitte that was in town to join and there were a lot of us!

The nice thing was it was very relaxed and no one seemed to talk about work, well, except when I asked someone what they did for the company and when JM got up and thanked us all for the fantastic job we all did on this project and go-live, which I’ve talked to you about a few times. Then two of the guys got up and gave out “awards” like “Most time spent in Indiana” you remember that I am in Kentucky for this project, but the Sheraton is over the Ohio River in Indiana, so one of the guys stays there. Then there was the award for the most Starbucks runs, PM and I got newest members because we came on just a few weeks ago. Our prizes…chocolate bourbon balls! Guess who is going to benefit from those? Dad and ACS, you’r welcome!

It really was a fun time talking to everyone, sharing stories and laughing, non-stop laughter and really good food and conversation about where we were going on our next projects, where we were from, what we were doing for the weekend because almost all of us were going home for a long weekend! WAHOO!

All in all, a fabulous time was had by all and some people were going to continue on with the night and go have an even better time at some of the finer establishments that Louisville has to offer, but I came back to My hotel to pack because I am going in to the office tomorrow and then to the airport because I’m heading to Bahston!

I want to thank JM for the opportunity to be a part of this team, I believe that everything happens for a reason and my couselor PD told me to call JM and I did and he remembered me when it was time to fill a need, so good things can happen. I also would not have met all these great people or spent the time in Louisville if it had not been for this project.

So, in closing, as we are having a gratitude festival…I want to say thank you for the opportunity to learn something new, be a part of a great team and an amazing go-live experience and I look forward to working with some of you again!

Goodnight!

Positivity Challenge – Day #8
1 – I am thankful to have made it through this past year with my family and I look forward to a new year full of good health, much sweetness and tremendous happiness
2 – I am thankful for an amazing group of people that I got to work with on this project, albiet a short time, but I am lucky to have gotten to know them
3 – I am thankful they think I am funny and now some of them are following my blog!

{September 23, 2014} Getting pulled over – funny story

Ok, I know I’ve talked about my lead foot before, which has gotten me in trouble on more than one occasion. Well, this is not one of those occasions.

I was driving home from the hospital where I was working on Friday night, it was about 1:15 in the morning and I was driving between 48 and 50 on the road and the speed limit was 45, so I was doing alright. There weren’t many cars on the road at 1am, but I did see the two police cars sitting in a parking lot.

I was going along and all of a sudden..blue lights! Oh NO! What in the holy blue hell was this!? I pulled over, did not take my advice and call 911 and tell them I was being pulled over, but I did and then there was the flashlight. “Good evening ma’am”, I just love the ma’am thing. “Yes officer?” He asks for my license and leans into the car and turns the dial for the lights to A for auto, my headlights weren’t on! Seriously?

It looked like they were, I can’t see over the hood, but it looked like there were lights on. Maybe you couldn’t see the tail lights, but the headlights come on when you open the car door. I started laughing and said thank you I had no idea where that was! I thought the dial was to increase the light on the dashboard, like in my car. This was a rental and a lot I don’t know about it. Hey, did you know that they hide the trunk pop button on cars now, it might be somewhere in the dash, it’s not on the floorboard where it should be so there I go turning off the car to pop the trunk from the remote.

He did check my license, no issues, wahoo! And then when he came back to the window to give me my license, we ended up talking for about thirty minutes, he knew about the project I was working on and then he gave me his card and said if I needed anything while I was in Kentucky to give him a call. Think he was flirting with me?

We told each other a few jokes and then I was on my way. Crisis avoided, license intact!

Positivity Challenge – Day #7

1 – I am thankful when my friends don’t get mad if I don’t respond to a challenge right away, but they know I will do it
2 – I am thankful for having great co-workers
3 – I am thankful that I am going to see my family soon and spend the new year with them

{September 22, 2014} Was it worth it? Nope.

I believe I told you a few months ago about giving up dairy because I was lactose intolerant.

I now call myself an ovo-vegan, I eat eggs, but no other animal by-products. Well, giving up dairy has been interesting, tough and not fun. I will say that there have been times I have snuck a slice of cheese here and there, maybe on an egg sandwich. There haven’t been too many times, mind you, but I do miss it and I always have to ask myself, is it worth it? [how my body will react].

So far it has been alright..so far. And then it came crashing down.

Well, tonight I went to a steakhouse with some co-workers, I found something yummy to eat and not just veggie sides, so this was a treat. Everyone laughed when I asked our server, in reference to the salads, which would be worth getting sick for. So, beets with salted goat cheese it was. It was delicious, yum! Was it worth it? So far! Then there was the polenta with sun dried tomato pesto, orange tomato slices, eggplant and garnished with little pieces of fried onions and leeks. OMG! I ate half of it and for dessert, about three bites of warm apple cobbler.

Was it worth it? Let’s just say, by the time we left the restaurant, I was beginning to regret my decision and when I got to the hotel, well, let’s just say, I am renewing my vow to eat no more dairy or any of the things on my no-no list.

In closing…was it worth it? Not really. It was delicious, but in the long run, I’ll stick to non-dairy please and thank you.

Positivity Challenge – Day #7
1 – I am grateful when I find something delicious I can eat at a steakhouse [that isn’t just veggie side dishes]
2 – I am thankful when people want to invite me to join them for dinner
3 – I am grateful to be so lucky to have people in my life who want to know where I will be on my birthday!

{September 21, 2014} It’s not your food so don’t take it

Have you ever had food taken from the fridge at work? Frustrating ain’t it?

Do you work in an office or have you? Have you experienced putting food in the refrigerator and mistakenly didn’t put your name on it and it was taken you were very upset. And then the next time, you put your name on your food and it was still taken and you were really mad!

Who in their right might takes food that belongs to someone else? Especially when there is a name on that package! You actually opened the bag that was tied with a knot and took food out of it? I am not talking about people that are homeless taking food from a store or stand, and I apologize if that was harsh. I am talking about people who work in an office, professionals who can afford to buy their own lunch or bring it in. You took the time to make your lunch and now it’s missing.

So, what set me off? I went to the grocery store today to get something for lunch and brought back a spinache and quinoa salad, which was quite good, minus the onions, the cranberries helped. I also bought some juice and a hummus cup with pretzels. I got back to the hospital to have lunch and finish my shift, put the juice and hummus in the refrigerator, looking forward to the snack later.

Let me step out and set the scene. During Go-Live, in the Command Center, there are always snacks and drinks, to keep people happy and snacking. On the counter are the snacks: crackers, potato chips, candy, fruit and in the refrigerator: water and soda [coca cola, sprite and mr, pibb]

Last week, someone put a note on the bottom shelf saying “Do not take this” and someone took one of the drinks, he was visibly upset, understandably so. Next, my turn…about three hours after I ate my salad, I was ready for hummus, I was tired of chips and crackers and trail mix. I went into the fridge and guess what wasn’t there! Yup, there were plenty of snacks on the counter, but someone decided my hummus and pretzels was better and while I grant you that it was, it was mine and then it was gone. pook, grrrr.

Get your own food and snacks!

Positivity Challenge – Day #6
1 – I am grateful that the police officer that pulled me over the other night was friendly and in a good mood [blog post tomorrow]
2 – I am grateful that the police officer had a good sense of humor
3 – I am grateful it was for headlights and not speeding!

{September 20, 2014} Opportunities

What is it they say…when one door closes, another opens?

Actually, the full quote is “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Alexander Graham Bell

Well, I am kind of in that situation now. I believe we’ve talked about this, but…with my job, I need to find new projects to start when the current one is complete or close to it and I was so fortunate to have found this project just as my last one was wrapping up. As this project is going to wrap in a few weeks, I am fervently searching for my next project.

I have spoken to countless people about different opportunities that may or may not be out there and who could I talk to next. This has been an interesting experience and I am learning so much. I had schedule what I thought was to be a call to discuss upcoming projects and it turned into an interview, one I wasn’t completely prepared for, but progressed and completed with flying colors, it seemed to me.

I interviewed two Fridays ago, and then I received an email last Friday telling me that she had not forgotten about me and would be in touch by the end of the week.

I was on the fence about the project to begin with, but then turned my attitude around and saw where it would have been a positive opportunity one I would not turn down if it was offered. I even began to look forward to the opportunity.

Well, yesterday, just as promised, she reached out to let me know that I did not get the project, door closed, and that is ok. Why, you may ask and you may. Why, JJ, tell us, why! Well, as Alexander Graham Bell said, When one door closes, another opens and I really do believe that. I believe there are contracts with clients being signed almost daily and the perfect opportunity will come my way and that door…I will open!

Positivity Challenge – Day #5

1- I am grateful that it is easier thinking of things to be grateful for than my blog posts sometimes!
2 – I am SO THANKFUL that so many people, friends, family and strangers [no more] who read my blog and even comment on it!
3 – I am grateful there are new people discovering my blog every day, sometimes by chance!

{September 19, 2014} Rental cars

Like a lot of road warriors, I rent a lot of cars.

One of the cool things about being a road warrior [and for clarification, a road warrior is someone who is on the road for work either 100% or close to it] is that you get to drive a lot of different cars. It’s almost like test driving a new car before you buy it. And if you are in the market for a new car, this could be a good way to see if one of the cars you rent is what you want.

I have driven some great cars and some not so great. My profile has me set up to rent a compact two or four door car. Part of that is for pricing and part is because I am not a huge fan of driving huge cars. As you know I drive a beetle convertible, so that is the size that I am most comfortable with.

When I was in Ann Arbor, I had a few beetles, those were upgrades, huh? I’ll take it! I’ve had SUVs, recently a Ford Focus, which is nicer than I imagined. I’ve driven Mustangs, Challengers, Chargers and with my lead foot, a good idea? I even had a Seabring convertible, now that was cool! Right now, I think I’m in a Ford Edge, an SUV and way high up off the ground, it’s interesting. I’m waiting to get a pickup truck, now that will be fun!

Maybe I’ll go back through my rental agreements and make a list one day. But not today!

Positivity Challenge – Day #4
1 – I am grateful for the amazing pillows at my hotel
2 – I am grateful for the opportunity to try out all different cars when I travel for work
3 – I am grateful for Netflix – to find a show and watch the entire thing!

{September 18, 2014} Your bad day is not my fault!

Not a new topic but I encountered this, so I wanted to share.

I went out to a new restaurant for brunch, and one of these days I will tell you all about the new restaurants I tried, with pictures! But not today. I went to Dish on Market Street, http://dishonmarket.com/ and when I sat down and my server finally decided to grace me with his presence, getting an idea of how this is going to go? I knew he was in a bad mood, but this was not my fault.

He said hello, never told me his name and his demeanor was sullen, asked what I wanted to drink, I ordered water and before I could ask for tea, he was gone. When he came back, I ordered tea and then asked questions about some items on the menu, I know, me ask questions, go figure…

His attitude was crappy overall, and when I asked another server if my server was having a bad day, she said yes, they both were and I said, but you don’t show it, thank you!

I can totally appreciate that you are having a bad day, we all have them, I know, I waited tables, but you are in the service industry and it is your job to be pleasant and make the best of it, your tip relies heavily on my service experience.

So…even if you are having a bad day, say whatever you need to in the back, but when you come to my table, as harsh as this sounds, please suck it up and deal and be pleasant, because I will be pleasant back and maybe it will be catching. And your tip will show it. Do you need a hug? Just ask!

Rant over!

Positivity Challenge – Day #4
1. I am grateful that I have inspired people with different things/challenges I have posted [Nod to EV, who is taking the challenge herself! XOXO]
2. I am grateful to be able to use the word Positivity. It tickles me as a word and FaceBook doesn’t think it’s spelled correctly.
3. I am grateful to be able to brag on my friends [I just told a co-worker about Mike Nuckols awesome app ” Kid Dad Fun: 101 Kickass Things for Dads to do With Their Kids”]

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What was I thinking?