365-3 | Peaches Prattlings

{August 11, 2015} I miss wearing dresses!

Did I really just say that?

I’ve always enjoyed wearing dresses and skirts, here and there, I enjoy getting dressed up and going out, it’s fun and flirty. When I started with my company, I wore dresses sometimes when I taught class, even in the winter, I love my knee high boots.

When it got warmer, I don’t think I wore pants more than five times, it’s dresses four to five days a week, I get to wear heals and show off my gams. I even wear them on the weekend sometimes, it’s just easier!

Now that I am doing support in the hospital, it’s slacks, blouses and close toed shoes. I will say that I’m glad I’m wearing pants and long sleeves and some sweaters, hospitals are very cold places. But…

darn it…I miss wearing dresses!

{August 10, 2015} Thank you for the compliment!

Today, I got a compliment on my calves, cool.

I have been working with a personal trainer, along with the project manager on my project, MS. It’s been great working with a trainer, but even better, working out with a friend, it’s nice to challenge each other and commiserate with each other as well! You know, the trainer is trying to kill us after all!

We have yet to do the same circuit twice, we do some of the same exercises, but we haven’t repeated circuits, which is cool. Today we pushed ourselves, or I should say CG, the trainer, pushed us! We took turns, either on the elliptical or treadmill, going until a quarter mile and the other person had to hold a plank. I felt really bad, MS is a lot faster on the elliptical than I am on the treadmill!

One of the times on the treadmill, CG came over and said I had killer calves, something to that effect, a great compliment from your trainer. I told her it was all my dad, well that and a little hard work!

I am working on a lot of areas that I want to improve, but the one place I really like and would not trade…my legs, I like them in a skirt and heels, working it!

Dad does have the best legs, thanks dad!

{August 9, 2015} The weekend in New Hampshire

A new weekend, new friends, new experiences, new food, what more could you want!

Another eventful, wonderful weekend in New Hampshire, sounds pretty good, huh? I got lucky and had the weekend off, so I got to take advantage of the opportunity and join PSM up at the house in New Hampshire. We headed up Friday evening, I got back to the hotel from the hospital, remember…I am working at a hospital, I’m fine! about 30 minutes before PSM and Mollie picked me up and away we went.

We didn’t hit too much traffic, it was good, and unusual! Could be because it was close to 8pm. We got to the house about 10:30, settled in and relaxed, then conked out about one am, luckily I was able to fall back asleep after the alarm went off at 5:30am! PSM was not so lucky, poor guy! We finally got motivated and decided to walk into town to get some breakfast. It was a really nice walk, about 2.5 miles and it was off the beaten path, so to speak. We walked through the neighborhood, then the next, came out of there, crossed the street and walked on the path that was created behind the trees, off the street, then across the street, same thing, until we got to the street, about a quarter mile from our destination. It was a good walk for Mollie too.

After a great breakfast, we waited while the other families showed up, we decided to wait for them at the restaurant, easy to find. The first family, J&AH and their kids, C and B, every sweet kids and great family. Next was C&CV with their kids, O and E. E and C are the boys and were so excited to see each other, the girls were just as excited to see each other. After a nice reunion, we all piled into the two cars and headed back to the house.

M&K and their son JT were the last to arrive, another nice reunion, then everyone figured out where they were going to sleep, kids in one room, parents in other rooms, the kids were excited, there are bunk beds, what kid isn’t excited! All of these people have known PSM for a very long time and they are all part of the group who call him Boo. Even the kids!

That is frustrating sometimes…I call his name a bunch of times, but then I say “Boo!” and he hears me, geesh!

After everyone settled in, we headed out for a hike to a trail less than a mile from the house. All the kids piled in the back with Mollie and away we went. We hiked/walked for about a mile and a half, maybe two, possibly, came to a spot where we could go in the water. Lots of rocks and deeper pockets for swimming, the kids had a blast! Swimming, jumping a bit, skimming stones. Then it was back to the path to head back to the house, perfect timing so we could shower, have some snacks and then head to dinner, reservations at 7:30, there were 13 of us!

On the way back is when I twisted my ankle, fun…One of the kids gave me their walking stick, very sweet. We all piled back into the truck and headed back to the house, chilled out, wine and cheese, beers, special concoctions made by our two resident bartenders, AH and KS, I did not partake, but everyone seemed to like it.

The sad part was that C&C got a call that one of their dogs had gotten out and mom had to go because the dog would not come to anyone except her, we were all bummed out. 5:30 this morning we got the news that the puppy was home! Wahoo!

Off to dinner, all piled into the two vehicles again, apparently we were the kid mobile, they are so funny! Dinner was good, good food, conversation and company, then off to get some ice cream, well, most of the party had ice cream, yours truly and PSM were good and skipped. After everyone was happy with dessert, back to the house.

Right to jammies, brushing teeth and movies while the kids fall asleep, one even on the floor, he was so tired!

The rest of us huddled around the table and put in $20, thanks to PSM for covering me, and got down to playing Texas Hold ‘Em. Yup, yours truly included! I held my own for a while and as we neared 2:30am, I starting betting pretty hard, I was winding down and getting tired, I still needed to write to you, of course! I did this in between rounds. Finally about 2:45, we all cashed in and split the money, oh, I was the banker! It was kind of cool having that much cash in my pocket!

We all cleaned up and headed to bed, crashing out pretty quickly and slept until about 8:30am, it was lovely! No alarms!

Tired yet?

This morning, we all got motivated, sort of, and everyone decided they wanted breakfast from the same place PSM and I ate at yesterday and Dunkin’ Donuts, so orders were placed and away the guys went. We took showers, packed bags, stripped beds, threw towels and sheets in the washer and all cleaned the house, people were coming in about 5pm for the week.

The cutest thing, at one point this morning, all five kids were sitting on the sofa playing on their devices, but all the same game, they were in the same Minecraft world. AH laughed and said that they came all the way to the mountains to play games together!

After the house was cleaned and everyone was packed, all the families went to take the gondola up the mountain like we did a few weeks ago with GES and family. PSM and I headed to the craft fair happening in town, it was great! I got some Chanukah, Christmas and birthday shopping done! I am thinking I may go online to find some of these vendors, I want more! Not to worry, I did pick up a little something for myself and…one of the vendors found out I was buying gifts, gave me one of her products for free, how cool is that!

Then we got some lunch, headed out for home, PSM dropped me off at my hotel, I picked up the car and headed to GES and ACS’ house for dinner with the F family across the street. Grilling out, burgers, dogs, corn, the works, it was great! MGS even gets excited seeing PSM, running and jumping up for hugs, I love to see that, I know her parents do too! She was excited to see Mollie too!

After good food, friends, conversation, it was time to come back to the hotel to hang with the cats, unpack, get ready for the week and talk to you.

I am sure you are tired, I am, and you just read about my weekend! How was yours?

{August 8, 2015} Ouch…twisted again..seriously???

For of you that know me, you know my ankles suck, yes, I said suck. Sorry.

Once again, I turned my ankle. We are up in New Hampshire with friends of PSM’s and we went for a hike. There are 3 families with a total of five kids, one dog and the two of us.

We went about half way, found a swimming hole, everyone had a good time, I’m not sure who had more fun…the kids or Mollie!

On the way back, rolling alalalalong and OUCH! Foot turns, ankle rolls under and I almost go down, almost…

That hurt a lot. I am tired of my weak ankles. I know I am kvetching, in Yiddish that means complaining, but I’m tired of it. I never know when it’s going to happen.

But, everyone was very nice and helpful, someone gave me a tree branch to use as a walking stick, PSM held my arm, when we got back to the house, people helped me ice and elevate my ankle and everyone, including some of the kids asked how my ankle was, very thoughtful.

So, I know I can’t get replacement ankles, just going to have to figure out how to save them!

{August 7, 2015} C’mon…Really? Move over an inch!

Do you think your car is that special?

I cannot stand when people take up two parking spaces, even more so when it’s not anything special. I don’t like it when it’s a Porsche or corvette or whatever. You don’t deserve two spots.

As we all know, I la la la love my car, Annie the Beetle Bug and to keep her from getting nicked and scratched, I park her at the far end of the parking lot, giving me a better chance of not being parked next to anyone. Problem solved!

When you take up two spots, you’re just screaming I think my car is better than yours. Or…you just can’t park!

{August 6, 2015} 1000 Posts – OMG!!!

I have written 1000 posts! Can you believe it!

It’s amazing! I have done one thing 1000 times! And you’ve been reading it all along! Wow!

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, and baby, it’s a hard habit to break! I mean it! When I decided January 6, 2013 that I was going to blog every day, I was really hoping I would keep that promise to myself. When I started my blog in 2009, it was just a way for me to express myself, a little bit of therapy, but then in 2013, it was something different and became something more.

Then it was one day, then two, then twenty one, then all of a sudden, it’s one hundred, then two and now it’s ONE THOUSAND! Who knew I could do it! Well, I’m sure my dad would say he did, thanks daddy!

There have been a few days I was too tired, so my posts might say “I’m sorry, I’m too tired, but here’s your post”! I’ve woken up in the middle of the night realizing “Oh No! I didn’t blog!” And proceed to write a post. Then there are other days I’m so sorry I have fallen asleep in the middle of blogging, wake up and finish. Then there have been 3 times [i am pretty sure it’s only been 3] that I have fallen asleep or forgotten altogether, mostly fallen asleep and missed it, but I’m pleased to say only 3 times! That;s not too shabby.

My friends and family have fallen under it’s spell and follow my blog every day and you know you’re in that group, thank you!

I can’t always think of what to write, I know you find that impossible to believe, but some of my posts that come very late at night, that’s because I can’t always think of something, but on the other hand, I blog late because that’s when I started and it feels wrong to blog before the sun goes down or 10pm. There’s that 21 days to form a habit thing again.

August 4, 2015, I had 1000 posts, go me! And go you for reading it. There is a part of me that thinks if you weren’t reading it I would still write, because, after all, it started out just for me, but on the other hand, well, who are we kidding, I’d keep writing, I like it and I like thinking of new and goofy things to talk about.

Wow, 1000 posts, here’s to the next 1000, stick around, it’s bound to be a fun ride!

{August 5, 2015} Chutzpah

Chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning audacity, cheeky.

This is something you exhibit, maybe you’re being a little cheeky, obnoxious. It also has good and bad connotations. On the good side, maybe you did something brave, took a chance…on the negative side if you do something that people can’t believe you even opened your mouth or even attempted.

Perfect example…I heard a story about someone who was on a team, actually the team lead, and they had a shift where they were in charge of the entire team, and the shift happened to be overnight.

The chutzpah comes in when this person’s manager was out to dinner and saw that person out and about, when they should have been at work leading their team. Now, it was perfectly acceptable for him to have gone out to get some dinner, maybe be gone for maybe 30 minutes to an hour at the most. Now this manager saw him not only having dinner but locking lips with some random person, moving on into the night club and to his car until about 12:30 a.m.

When we was approached by his manager, he didn’t see anything wrong. [Let’s just say he is no longer on the project]

That, my friends, is chutzpah.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutzpah

{August 4, 2015} Happy birthday DWS…Daddy!

Yup, now you know his initials, DWS.

When I was a kid and I saw manhole covers in the street, I thought it was my dad…Department of Water Services…DWS! Cool, huh?

When I was a kid, I thought my dad was the bees knees, that hasn’t changed.

When I was a kid, my dad was my hero…nothing has changed.

When I was a kid, my dad kissed my boo-boos, cleaned and bandaged my skinned knees…nothing has changed.

When I was a kid, my dad listened to my problems and told me everything would be ok…nothing has changed. [thank goodness!]

When I was a kid, my dad was my biggest champion, telling anyone, and me, that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to…nothing has changed.

When I was a kid, my dad would make me laugh so hard I would pee in my pants…nothing has changed [that last part is unfortunate, ha ha].

When I was a kid, my dad would listen to my bad jokes and laugh…nothing has changed.

When I was a kid, my dad would recommend books and movies and music, nothing has changed.

When I was a kid, my dad would take us to Burger King and let us eat junk food when mom was out…nothing has changed.

When I was a kid, my dad and I would laugh at the same silly things…nothing has changed.

When I was a kid, my dad introduced us to art, music, opera, theater…today, nothing has changed.

I could go on and on and on, how much time do you have? I should really say our dad because GES and I share the same DNA and amazing experiences with our dad. My dad is still one of the first people I call with news, both good and bad, because he can help make the bad bearable.

How awesome is my dad…let me count the ways…one, two, three…ha ha. Yes friends, you have permission to blame him for my warped sense of humor!

When I was young, my dad was ten feet tall, figuratively, and to a wee tot, literally, as I have grown older, only the height has changed, not my opinion.

I talk to my dad every day and if I don’t, I feel lost, literally until I get to talk to him the next day. He gives great advice, sometimes sought after and sometimes not, but when he gets going, look out!

My dad is an amazing man, he is the world’s best grandfather or papa, as he is affectionately called, nothing slows him down, he’s enjoying being retired to the fullest, no moss growing on him!

I know I’ve told you different things about him from time to time in a post, he’s a page turner! There is so much and not enough reward!

I will leave you with this. I value and treasure my dad and the relationship, and I have felt this way for almost 44 years, think anything is going to change? I sure hope not!

Happiest of happy birthdays…papa, papa D…to one of my favorite people, I hope this year brings you joy and happiness, all that your heart can hold.

Happy birthday! XOXO

{August 3, 2015} Happy Birthday JCT

Happy birthday to my friend JCT.

JCT and I met in October 2009. I remember because that was the first well paying job I got after my divorce and it was the beginning of so much including a fabulous and true friendship. JCT and I met, started talking and we hit it off right away, within a day or two, she even gave me a piece of Star Wars memorabilia, how cool is that?

JCT is married to a great guy named JT and their daughter ST is a fabulous girl who is blossoming into a wonderful young woman. Her mom, who I affectionately call mom and brother, GT are wonderful people who have treated me so well and made me a part of their family, I love when I go to Atlanta and get to see them. The last time I was there, when we were saying good night her mom said “I love you girl”, that made me feel fabulous and loved, it was great.

JCT and I talk about once a week or every other week, we catch up, talk about work, commiserate and share joys, achievements, family news, whatever we can think of. The great thing is that when we talk it’s as if no time has passed, like we saw each other the day before.

I love seeing her, we have a kind of tradition if I am going to stay at her house for part of the weekend. I land, go to one of our favorite places, pick up food, then head to her house where I don’t eat half of it because her mom feeds me! Who’s complaining!

We watch movies, talk, laugh, goof off, giggle, stay up too late and enjoy the time we have together.

She is a confident, a sister, a friend, all rolled up into one and I wouldn’t have her any other way! Today, we celebrate the day she was born and what a day it was!

Don’t ask about the unicorns, it’s more her daughter’s thing, but I still think of her every time I see them!

Happy happy happy birthday JCT, I love you my friend! XOXO

{August 2, 2015} The perfect weekend! Happy birthday GES

You may have heard, but in case you haven’t, my baby sister, GES, turned 40 this year!

And when your sister turns 40, then you have to do something big! So…after several months of working on schedules…you try arranging a weekend away with a mother of an 8 year old and 5 year old! This weekend it was!

We headed out by The Acela, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acela_Express, the high speed train run by Amtrak, it took a little over 3 hours to get from Boston to NYC and if you read my post on Friday, you know I missed the train GES was on by seconds! I hopped on the next one and came in about an hour after she got to Penn Station in NY. We found each other!

We headed out of the train station and walked to the Grand Hyatt, which was literally right next to Grand Central Station, an amazing classic train station. It was about a half mile between the two locations, but it was fun to walk through Times Square and see all the people, commotion, hear the noise, smell the different smells, it was fabulous! I know I’m a New Yorker because as we were pulling into Penn Station, I saw all the graffiti on the buildings, felt the vibe and I had an overwhelming sense of calm come over me, it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and my chest opened, I was home, sigh.

We got to the hotel, eventually got to check into the room, they were a little busy. Went up to the 31st floor, settled in and then went to the Grand Club level to get some drinks, membership does have its privileges…Then we went ventured out to see what we could bring back for a nosh, found some salad, back to the hotel to eat and watch Pitch Perfect 2, don’t bother, sorry, we were disappointed.

Eventually, we turned it, but not after a few times marveling at how great it was to be together and that’s what it’s all about!

Saturday, we slept until 9:30am, what a treat! For both of us! We got out of bed eventually, then headed back to the club level, you have to use your room key to get to the floor, how fancy! We had breakfast on the outdoor patio, it was really nice to be up that high and having breakfast outside. GES sent a text with our photo to some friends and said “We slept in and having breakfast at 10:30…I can go home now!”

After breakfast, we headed back to the room, showered and got dressed, then headed out up to Broadway to meet dad near the theater. What theater you ask? We were meeting at the Palace Theater to pick up tickets for “An American In Paris”! Dad was taking us to see a 4 Tony award winning musical! http://www.broadway.com/shows/american-paris/?gclid=CjwKEAjw__atBRDfqe-9voylym8SJAAOBeQ_2siOl7q4i8Ihd82lMMywru2hEbAWUWls-F29JOPjpRoCx9Lw_wcB

After we picked up the tickets we walked to the M&Ms store, a three level store with candy, clothing, housewares and more! It’s an experience and if you’ve never been, you must go! I’ve been to the one in NY and Las Vegas. We stocked up on some Chanukah and Christmas gifts, how good are we!

Then it was off to the theater! Our first show, as I said, was An American In Paris and after waiting on line to get into the theater for what seemed like forever, we were in for a treat!

This was a fabulous musical based on the 1951 musical film starring Gene Kelley and Leslie Caron, which is one of my all time favorite movies! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043278/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1. The musical was a little different from the origianly screen production, but it was so amazing! Thank you daddy!

After the production, LaLa, dad, GES and I all walked around for a bit and went to Trattoria TreColore, http://www.trattoriatrecolori.com/menu.html, one of our favorite Italian restaurants in the Theater District. We had a lovely supper, celebrating my sister and dad’s birthday.

After dinner, we parted company and GES and I headed the few blocks to the next theater, the main reason for this trip…to see KINKY BOOTS!!! We have loved the movie Kinky Boots, Kinky Boots, The movie, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434124/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1, since we first saw it years ago. I’ve probably seen it close to 50 times, I’m not kidding!

It’s based on a true story, about a shoe factory that makes shoes for men and when the factory is going under, Charlie, the owner of the shoe factory, meets Lola, a fabulous drag queen and he has an epiphany…they go from “making a range of shoes for men to shoes for a range of men” thus going from Price and Son Shoes to…The Kinky Boots Factory!

RG had a connection who got us fabulous seats in the orchestra, row K off the stage! The show was fabulous! It was produced by Cindy Lauper, who I la la la LOVE! She’s one of my idols from my childhood in the 1980s! I had a poster of her, ala “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” over my bed growing up! She’s one of my favorites and Harvey Fierstein wrote the book!

I cannot begin to tell you how fabulous this show was. We love this movie and to see it come to life on the stage, which amazing music, lyrics and choreography. We got some tshirts and I got…a bag! It looks like an old fashioned Pan Am flight bag, I’ll show it to you another time! GES said it’s a great bag, thanks for helping my problem!! I’m not complaining!

After the show we walked back to the hotel, reliving the show and every wonderful moment, from the sounds, the sights, the drag queens, all of it. And being together, that was the best part! We got to the hotel, got some hot teas and took them to the room where we relaxed, I wrote to you, watched movies and just enjoyed our time together.

Eventually we both fell asleep, my faster than GES, imagine that! Slept until 9:30 again, how nice! This time we showered before we went to breakfast, took our food out on to the patio again and just enjoyed ourselves again, deciding that we needed to do this again, at least once a year. Well, we said that numerous times over the weekend! So it’s going to happen!

After we went back to the room, we finished packing and headed out towards Penn Station, stopping at the Crocs store, I found some shoes for work, hopefully they will treat my feet right after 12 hours! Then the two blocks to Penn Station to stand and wait and wait and wait until the train came in and they told us what track to get to.

People can get a little testy while waiting for the train, oh well. We found some seats, settled in and started to watch a movie. The WiFi didn’t want to help us, so I pulled out my portable hard drive and we watched Better Off Dead, with John Cusack, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088794/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1. Then we started watching We Hot American Summer, I’ll keep you posted!

We got to the train station, headed to the house and had dinner with the family and some neighbors, then I headed out to the hotel to check on my kids, unpack, write to you and then sack out, I have to be at work at 6am tomorrow, gotta go!

If you have the opportunity, when Kinky Boots comes to your town, go see it! Kinky Boots, The Musical, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinky_Boots_(musical)

Happy Birthday GES! It was such an amazing weekend! I cannot wait to take another sister/girls trip with you!

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