365-3 | Peaches Prattlings

{August 31, 2015} What I did on my summer vacation

Do you remember when you would have to write a report or give a report when you went back to school?

I was thinking about that yesterday, It’s been so long since I’ve been asked that. But if you think about it, once you’re out of school, you don’t really have a summer vacation, unless you have a job that gives you the summers off and they are out there. I have to admit, when you first realize you’re not going to have a ‘summer vacation’ it’s an eye opener and kind of a bummer, but it’s something you get used to and make things work for you.

Hmmm…what did I do on my summer vacation?

I have to give a nod to PSM., he said technically next weekend is the end of summer because it’s Labor Day weekend but…we are going away next weekend and it’s September 1st tomorrow, so, although he’s right about the last day of summer, as we all know, it’s my blog so what I say here goes! Ain’t I a stinker?

In June, I started my long term residence at the hotel I am currently in; I went to Atlanta and got to celebrate KS’ college graduation and help TS get some packing done along with spent time with SDL and Miss A, I got to see one of my friends after a procedure. And of course getting deeper into my current project, as well as exploring more around Boston. The best part of June…we celebrated GES’ my baby sister’s FOURTIETH birthday! OMG

In July, PSM took our second international trip and went to Nova Scotia for his birthday, reinforcing that I don’t do well on cruise ships, but loved Halls Harbor and Halifax, looking forward to going back, especially on a bike trip! I got to get back in front of a class and teach a few classes. A few more trips to the NH house with PSM and some friends. Another trip to Atlanta and I got to see more friends and spend more time with SDL and Miss A and seeing another friend after her procedure and I got to spend time with KB and my grandson, Baby A!!! EJS went to summer camp and I got to hang with MGS. We also had a girls night to celebrate GES’ birthday and a family dinner for PSM’s birthday, a lot of celebrating! Throw in a sand sculpting competition and you’ve got one heck of a month!

August, the first weekend to be exact, sent GES and I to NYC to celebrate her birthday with a trip to the theater and theater and dinner with dad and La La to celebrate dad’s birthday, how perfect is that! I also started supporting the emergency department when the client went live. There were celebrations and farewell dinners, exploring and lots of fun to be had. We spent the last weekend in August exploring different cities, I saw Plymouth Rockas I told you about yesterday, what a way to wrap up the summah in New England!

All throughout the months there were also doctor’s appointments, I’m working on figuring out what’s wrong, we’ll get there eventually. Don’t forget I went on dates with my beau, family dinners at GES and ACS’ house, block parties and lobstah fests, could it be any better?

So, there you have it, what I did on my summer vacation, or at least what I could remember, along with the help of my calendar. I can’t wait to see what the fall brings!

How about you…what did you do on your summer vacation?

{August 30, 2015} Three and a half cities in one day, who knew!

We know how to live it up, let me tell you!

PSM and I were supposed to go to Gloucester a few weekends ago, but plans changed as they tend to do, so today was the day. Gloucester, http://www.gloucesterma.com/, is the city where the hospital was that I was doing support this past month. It’s a pretty city, from what I could tell while I was driving to work and I wanted to see it.

We grabbed something really quick at Dunkin Donuts and headed up towards Gloucester, city number one, it was about an hours drive. We found a place to park and walked up and down the main drag, looking at and in stores and for a place to eat, to no avail. I did stop and get some earrings, a new pair of hoops and some fun silver studs, I was needing them!

We chose a restaurant with no wait and there wasn’t anything for me to eat and when I asked the server if they had anything for a vegan, he actually asked if I had questions if anything was vegan, really? Moving on…

We stopped in one place, asked if there was a place they served brunch and we were directed to George’s and were we pleased! It made up for a lot, the food was in abundance and we were sharing! The server was fabulous and the food was great, well worth the wait and search. The table of people next to us were a hoot, while they were there.

After brunch, we headed to city number two, Rockport, http://www.rockportusa.com/. This was a charming, thriving, bustling seaside town. We could tell why people like to visit, stay, even live.

We walked up and down the different streets, alleys, shops, I even got to stick my feet in the sand and the water, a bit chilly but wonderful. Then we sat on a bench and listened to the water lapping on the shore and admired the sky. We stopped in a candy shop and got some candy sticks and bulls eyes, you know, the caramels with crème in the middle.

The streets were teeming with people and energy, the eddy was beautiful to walk out on and sit and think and just enjoy. We enjoyed the sights, smells, boats, waves, weather, wonderful.

After a few enjoyable hours, we went back to the car on to city number three, Essex, in search of dinner, at Woodman’s of Essex, but when we went across the street to Shea’s, http://sheasriversideessex.com/, to have a drink, we ended up getting a table on the deck overlooking the marsh, absolutely beautiful.

Before we went to the restaurants, we drove a little down the road to see the sights and ended up in Ipswich, but turned back around, that was the half city.

We started talking to the women at the table next to ours and what are the odds, one of them was a Nurse Manager for one of the hospitals that we were supporting during Go-Live! They were a lot of fun to talk to and passed the time nicely.

After dinner we got back into the car and PSM drove me back to the hotel so I could talk to you, share some photos and get some sleep, I’m back in the office tomorrow. I can’t wait to see my friends!

{August 29, 2015} One too many

Tonight I had one too many…desserts.

Ha ha, you thought I had one too many drinks! But on the other hand, some of you know I don’t drink, so good conclusion knowing it wouldn’t be hooch!

Today, PSM and I were at a party, it was the “after party” after a golf tournament he participated in. It was fun because I’ve met a lot of his friends and every time I go to another event, I know more people! I’m looking forward to arranging some more events and maybe some double dates!

Well, I knew there would be good food, they had made special arrangements for all food needs, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, you name it. Don’t fret, they had plenty for the meat eaters.

There were also chips and desserts, I had a few more chips than I probably needed, but I was hungry, what was bad was the desserts. Now, don’t get me wrong, they were good, but they were bad…for me. I split a black and white cookie with PSM, I took the white and he took the black, sometimes it’s actually chocolate, sometimes just black tinted frosting. I tasted another cookie later, it was too sweet, couldn’t eat more than a bite. After the b&w cookie, I dug into a cupcake, it was sooo good!

It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten that many sweets. I’ve really cut out everything I’m not supposed to eat, like chocolate. I don’t actually like chocolate, but I like the cookies. The bad/too much part came when I picked up a gluten free blondie, that was the big time one too many. Along with all the water I drank, it piled up to my throat and now I feel blech. I know I’ll be fine and tomorrow, back to no more crud for my system.

But boy did it taste good!

{August 28, 2015} Happy Anniversary GES

My sister is a survivor.

You can’t imagine how much I LOVE saying that!! The image below is the same one on the t-shirt I got her after she became a survivor.

When I say Happy Anniversary GES, it’s the anniversary of her last chemo treatment! The treatment that killed the cancer that tried to kill her, but…let’s face it, we come from a long line of strong, stubborn women, no way was it not going to work!

Happiest of happy anniversaries to one of the strongest, hardest working and hardest fighting women who is an inspiration to all of us, those who are related by blood and by heart. Anyone that meets her is touched by her strength and her perseverance and never failing positive attitude through all of it.

Happy Anniversary GES, I love you.

{August 27, 2015} Winter holiday music…seriously??

I was going to talk about Halloween decorations out already but I was side tracked.

I was flipping stations on the radio in the car and I couldn’t believe what I was hearing or seeing on the display. “Santa Baby” by Madonna, I thought…it’s a fluke.

Nope…it wasn’t because when I came back around, it was Pat Boone singing something else Christmasy…what is going on? The radio station was playing nothing but winter holiday music. I didn’t listen long enough to find out why.

A thought…Is it so hot out that the DJs thought we would enjoy some cold weather music? It’s almost fall, isn’t that music coming soon enough?

And the weather? I spent most of this past winter in Boston, didn’t they get enough?

I’m a beach baby, Santa, you can take a break and come back later.

Sandman Resists Melting Process

{August 26, 2015} Accomodating

Tonight was interesting.

As you know, I’ve been doing some testing to find out why I’m nauseous 24/7, well, this coming Friday is the next test, a glucose breath test. If this is anything like the other test, this is where they give me 8 ounces of glucose, then I get to blow into a bag every 15 minutes for 1.5 hours, fun huh?

So, part of the preparation for this test is to be on a very strict diet for 48 hours prior to the test, that means starting this morning no fruits or vegetables, what? What are you telling a vegan! I can eat any non-dairy “milk” products, rice, eggs and tofu. Yum…

This morning was easy, a nice omelet with eggs [real] and cheese [fake], it really was good and tasty. On the way in, I stopped at Dunkin Donuts and they have almond milk now, so almond milk/decaf tea, mmmmm.

Lunch was a little more difficult, I brought eggs and veggie hot dogs and coconut milk yogurt. I actually only ate the yogurt.

Tonight we had a team dinner, I know, “JJ, not another team dinner! Oh my! ”

Well, I called them to find out if they could accommodate me and my dietary restrictions. I mentioned eggs, rice and tofu. They said no problem, they didn’t have tofu, but could accommodate the rice and egg, great!

We get there and I introduced myself to the servers and said, “I’m a problem child” and we were all set. Eventually, I added an order of deviled eggs as an appetizer. The deviled eggs came out when everyone else was getting their entrees and I asked if they knew where my meal was. Oh…let me go check on that for you, hmmm…

“I’m not sure what’s taking so long”. “They are just waiting on the rice” What? I called earlier in the day to tell you of my dietary needs and it was the simplest food…So, everyone was about finished and here comes my food. I’m glad I ordered the deviled eggs, I was hungry! Finally, when the food came, it was very pretty, rice mixed with egg and tofu on top. How nice was that! And it was brought out by a manager, fancy.

So, all in all, I was quit pleased and full! And…I have lunch for tomorrow!

{August 25, 2015} Facebook can hurt

It’s true, what you see can elicit reactions.

I was looking for a different image and found this one and it was so fitting, especially when I got divorced, so my post is taking a different turn tonight.

After I got divorced, I was dealing with things, getting my into my life full swing, well, after a while anyway. I finally paid some attention to my Facebook account, just like everyone else was at that time. I think I had started it a few years earlier, but hadn’t done much with it. I was working my business, reconnecting, you know how it goes.

I wasn’t friends with the wasband, but I hadn’t blocked him at the time, I thought I could avoid looking. I can’t remember if I was friends with my son at the time, C had an account, T didn’t at the time. Well, I would check out C’s page and pictures of he and his friends and his girlfriend at the time, I think she and I were friends. I was friends with his best friend, BC and his best friend’s brother and step dad, you know how that goes.

Well, I would go through my son’s page and pictures, I guess I was friends with him, now that I think about it, and then I would see pictures of his dad and her and then I would “accidentally” click on his dad’s page, really? What was I thinking? I wasn’t, I was still a wee bit raw. That’s also how I got confirmation that he had gotten remarried, I clicked on his new wife’s page and her name was surprisingly the same as his. Any takers on how all that affected me? muwahahaha!

So, I promptly blocked the wasband and his wife, it was much easier that way!

That happened so long ago and I really am past it all, but let’s be honest, are we ever completely past it all? It’s part of who we are and what makes us…us. When I saw the photo I couldn’t help but laugh, where was that warning when I was “accidentally” clicking on the wasband’s pictures?

Of course, as they say, the best revenge is to be happy and guess what folks…

{August 24, 2015} Excuse…rude…much?

Surface Pro 3 is fixed, but at what price?

On the advice of someone, I upgraded to Windows 10, this was a mistake. I normally wait a while after something new comes out so I can see how it does and they can work out the bugs, but this time, I didn’t wait and jumped feet first. Splat. It totally horked, this is a word meaning messed up, my Surface Pro 3.

One of the things I la la la love about my SP3, ooh, I like that! Is the ability to have 3 windows open at the same time. Write to you, check my email and watch Netflix, not to shabby, huh? Windows 10 took that away, among other things.

I did my darndest to try to fix it, to no avail, so…the next logical step…restore back to Windows 8. I realized I did not want to take a chance doing this myself, so I took everything off and/or backed it up and then PSM and I went to a Microsoft store for support.

This store, if you are not familiar with it, look exactly like an Apple store, for those of you Apple nuts, except this one…all Microsoft products. I walked towards the help desk area and right off, didn’t get warm fuzzies, but I needed help so here I stayed.

The technician that finally helped me was good at what he did, but he was smarmy and obnoxious and holier than thou, not a fan. Apparently he thought I wasn’t too bright or should I say, tech savvy. When I told him one of the issues I was having was that Skype would not close, the window would stay open, his response “You have to quit Skype first!” Really Einstein? Gee thanks! I was glad to have PSM there to back up what I already told him and what I like…he can talk the talk.

It kind of went downhill, so to speak, from there. I wasn’t impressed, but he got the job done, definitely would not recommend this person to help others until he changes his attitude.

Would a little compassion hurt? For someone who may have actually been computer illiterate?

Let’s see what happens when he needs help with something…

{August 23, 2015} Happy birthday…mom

Today, August 23rd, my mom would have been 68.

I guess technically she would have been 69 since she passed before her 59th birthday, but it’s my blog, so she would have been 58.

I know I’ve only told you a few things about my mom, just something I keep close to my chest. My mom was quite the woman and since this is her birthday, I’m going to tell you what celebrations meant to her.

My mom loved to celebrate, it didn’t matter what it was, she made it great. I almost said my parties, but it was our parties, GES and I, as kids, they were some of the best parties ever, always so original. Until we were about 9 or 10, could have been younger, when we decided we wanted things like skating or bowling parties, we would have parties in the backyard or basement.

In the backyard, I remember an art party, she put up newsprint pads on easels or attached to the fence with paints and we had our own gallery. If it rained, we went to the basement and played games, all different stations set up and there were prizes for the winners, of course everyone was a winner!

I don’t remember the food, hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, but I do remember the cakes. Until we got them from a cake shop, they were home made. What more could you want?

Those parties were what inspired me for my kids, I made sure every birthday was special. There were parties with friends and then parties with just the four of us, I made a special cake and decorated the house, so much fun. GES does the most amazing things for her girls, I know they were inspired by what our mom did for us.

She was funny too, on my half birthday, she would sing Happy Birthday, but half the song. “Hap Bir T Yo!” Silly, right? well, it’s just what she did and I loved it.

I guess that’s why celebrating birthdays is so important, especially with the person I’m with, she and dad instilled that in us, value those you are with and let them know how much they mean to you, how much better the world is with you in it.

Happy birthday mommy, I love you.

And to my cousin JFS, my mom’s first cousin and 20 years apart to the day, I wish you the bestest birthday ever. We don’t talk often, but you’re always in my thoughts. Happiest of happy birthdays. XOXO

{August 22, 2015} What a day!

Sleep…here I come!

The day started normal enough, the cats woke me at 6:30 and I said no thank you and went back to sleep, woken up a few more times, then decided I had had enough and got up. Got showered and dressed and put the door to PSM’s.

I got there and Mollie was super excited to see me, she did donuts around the lawn, a nice welcome, hey cats…take some notes! Then off to The Friendly Toast for a great breakfast at the bar, first come first served. Then back to get the truck and head to Plymouth, Mass. Yes, that is Plymouth, where the Mayflower landed and we have Plymouth Rock! As seen in the photo, not the original thing, but there it was!

We walked through the rain up one street and down the main drag. We stopped for a cup of tea, walked into a few shops, then down towards the water again to the jetty and took that out to the end, it was quite enjoyable.

After Plymouth, we headed to a party hosted by two of PSM’s friends, G&J B. Really great couple and what a house! We also saw a bunch of the friends I have made at the ski house, that was great! We hung for a few hours, got a tour of half of the house. They have school lockers in their laundry room. Maybe the best idea ever!

Well, back towards the house, say hello to Mollie, grab some grub and here we are.

Now that I’m writing what I did, it doesn’t seem as exhausting as it was! I need a nap!

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