365-3 | Peaches Prattlings

{May 12, 2015} Taking your kids [cats] to the doctor [vet]

It doesn’t matter if your kids are two legged or four legged, taking them to the doctor/vet is not that much fun.

Dogs, from what I see and understand, love getting in the car, not so much for cats, you kind of have to trick them to get into the pet carrier, then carry them into the car and listen to the cries all the way to the vet.

Then into the vet’s office and the visit begins. On the scale, hold her in place, then comes the dreaded…taking of the temperature. At least with children, after a certain age, they can hold the thermometer under their tongue, babies and pets…not there!

That’s when I turn my head away or at least try to get out of their line of sight so they don’t associate it with me! Oh my but the look on their faces! Luckily, it doesn’t last that long and the memory is gone, fingers crossed.

Shots are worse, I always leave the room so I am definitely not associated with that pain!

The hard part is that with animals, a lot of times, we don’t know what’s wrong with them until they do lots of tests, since they can’t just look at us and say “mom, my tummy hurts”, that’s why I’m doing this or that.

And just like with our two legged babies, we would take the pain away if we could, wouldn’t we?

The best we can hope for is painless tests, quick diagnosis, easy treatment and speedy recovery, right, not much to ask for is it? Oh, and lack of memory, especially with us taking us there!

{May 10, 2015} Happy Mother’s Day

Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. ~Author Unknown

No truer words have ever been said, wouldn’t you agree? Today is Mother’s Day, the day we say thank you to the woman who gave us life or raised us or both.
No matter what we think of our moms, if it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t be here.

Did you get a bouquet of dandelions? If your kids are older, do you remember getting them when your kids were little? I think florists should offer dandelion bouquets as an option for Mother’s Day, I have a feeling there are a lot of mom’s who would get a kick out if it!

My nieces are no different, after dinner, we went for ice cream and in the field…just there for the pickling!

It was a nice day, a little normal crazy, but nice. Got up, kids were “trying” to be quiet to let mommy sleep…there were handmade cards from the girls, beautiful and hugs and kisses.

Then I was coming down the stairs “go back up!” Ok! It was my turn! Hand made cards! You know I love that!
My dad made us fabulous pictures that I will share soon and I made my sister cry, but it’s a good thing.

Breakfast was tasty and entertaining, a few normal Sunday activities and then later we all went with out for Mother’s Day Lunch with AS’ family, there were twelve of us, the service was terrible, but the company was great. The tradition continues with home made ice cream after.

Everyone seems to have their own traditions for Mother’s Day, what are yours? And whatever you did, I hope you enjoyed them and at least…”called your mother”

http://www.quotegarden.com/mom-day.html

{May 9, 2015} A triple date

Tonight, I went on a triple date, it was fun.

Question…there are dates, that’s with two people, then there are double dates, that’s with two couples, after that, are they called triple dates or are they just dinner with friends. Things that make you go hmmm…

About two weeks ago, PSM forwarded me an email from his sister-in-law, JM, about going to dinner with them and another couple A&J T. Of course, I would love it! GES and ACS had a prior engagement or they would have joined us, but as I like to say, there’s always a next time.,

PMS picked me up on the bike and we went to Season’s 52: Fresh Grill, a nice restaurant with a nice atmosphere and ambiance, we were in a round booth in the back of the restaurant. PMS, his brother SM are first cousins with JT and it’s nice that they all get together and it was nice to be included. The cool part was that S&JM’s son J babysat for A&JT, so convenient!

The food was good, they had those dessert samplers in the cups, perfectly portioned for tasting.The conversation was great, there were lots of stories and laughter, catching up and good times all around.

It’s nice to go out with other couples, when you’re part of a couple. It’s something different, a chance to catch up with friends, or in this case, family, a chance to laugh and relax and just have a good time and that’s what we did, we had a good time.

Does it get too crowded if its more than three or four couples? I think its just the right amount to still be intimate, more people and its a gathering and not as cozy. So, when’s the next one?

https://www.seasons52.com/

{May 8, 2015} EPIC FAIL

Delta…Detroit airport and SPG are not far behind.

Today was my last day on this project that I have been on in Buffalo. It has been a very long day and it’s not over.

Grab a cup of coffee or maybe you might want to take a nap…this is going to be a doozy and you might be as tired as I am now when you finish reading this.

As you know, we went live with our application on Friday, so Go-Live support in the command centers starts at 6 a.m. Being that it starts at 6 a.m., that means I get up at 5 a.m. and I leave by 5:30 AM so that I get there by 6 a.m.

I packed last night and then this morning I got up, took a shower and just had the little things left to throw into the bag.

I got there on time, started working and didn’t see a person who needed help for a few hours so I was able to get a lot of data entry done. It was a pretty quiet day, happy to say.

I said some goodbyes, it was nice, the client thanked me for everything and hoped to work with me again in the future, that always feels good.

Let’s just say, I was on track to have smooth travels and get to Boston before sunset…HA, I say to you…ha!

When I left the hotel, I realized I had left my sweatshirt/dress, I love this thing and cannot replace it, so if it were to go missing, sad me. I got it at H&M in Chicago for $10 and I have never been able to find it to replace it should it be time to retire it.

I called the hotel, they said they would check and get back to me. Who do you think called first? Yup, you guessed it. I called and got “no, no one found it”, ok. I’m thinking, could I have left it at the restaurant on Wednesday? No, why? Because I was wearing it last night over my jammies.

I decided to stop by the hotel on the way to the airport, just in case, and luckily, the hotel is literally across the street from the airport. I get to the desk, again no, but let us check with the housekeeping staff, just in case. They have it! Wahoo!

My flight was at 3:42, I need to have my bag checked in 45 minutes prior to the flight to make it on the flight. I got to the hotel about 2:20, enough time to get the sweatshirt, get gas, return the car and get my bag on. Yeah right…

It was 2:50 before I got out of there! I think they called on the walkie talkie three times before she showed up, 15 minutes after she said she had it…once, the girl at the desk asked if I wanted to go get gas, then come back. I wouldn’t have made it.

I left, went right to rental car return, I don’t think I drove more than 75 miles (with Avis, if you drive less than 75 miles, you don’t have to fill the tank). I got onto the airport at 2:58 and looked at the line…there was a group of six people at the Sky Priority desk trying to figure something out as I watched the minutes tick by…they finally moved out of the way, the guy in front of me finally got his turn and then someone called me over. There are definite advantages to being a medallion member and I do not take those for granted.

I said I hoped I made the 45 minute cut off, she said Buffalo was 30 minutes, but it was nice to see I was trained right! I got through security, got to the gate, grabbed a few snacks and then got on the plane. I’ve mentioned I love first class, right? Well…

We sit there, it’s a little baby planelet and it’s a little warm. One of the overhead bins has a broken latch, we can’t leave until someone fixes it…seriously? Do like my dad does and duct tape it! When in doubt…duck it!

No..we wait ALMOST AN HOUR for a technician to come on and take the door off…then we sit on the runway for a while, since we’re in line now.

The air never really came on, so the flight was full of people sweating and fanning themselves. I got up to go to the bathroom just after my drink was delivered. The only bathroom was in the back of the plane and as I get back there, there was a small line. People saw me standing there and because I thought I was being polite and not wanting to crowd anyone, more and more people got up to go you the bathroom. Seriously?

I get back to my seat just as the fasten seat belt sign, we’re landing, came on. I am connecting in Detroit. Since it was my last day on the project, I thought it would be nice and ok to take Delta and a connecting flight. Yeah right….

We landed 2 minutes after my connecting flight took off, great. I called Delta and I was already rebooked on a flight leaving 7:50pm. And first class, thank you. Not terrible, it was 5:50 by now, so get some dinner and walk leisurely to the gate at the other end of the airport.

I take my time walking through the airport, there’s a Japanese restaurant I like there. Being there made me miss my Michigan days and friends…road trip KLS, KNOB, AM!!

Dinner was good, leftovers for later, head to gate A2. On the way, new updates…the flight is leaving at 8:00…8:50…9:00…9:25…I get down to A2, sit there for a while and then they announce…the flight has moved to A77..WHAT?

So..make the walk back to the other end of the airport, bags getting heavier on my shoulders. I finally get there and ask what happened…I have no idea what she said, sorry. Then we wait, and wait and wait. They said something about mechanical issues, slight, but have to be checked. Groan. There were other flights in the same boat.

9:25pm comes and goes, I doze off and I’m so glad I woke up when I did, they were boarding! It’s 10:53 and we are just now taking off…

Finally, the air came on…

There is a bed in Boston with my name on it. Please don’t wake me before Sunday!

{May 7, 2015} Tonight’s talk is about…Bellybuttons!

Yes, you heard right, belly buttons!

I was inspired today to talk about belly buttons simply because earlier today my belly button was itchy. Does your belly button ever get itchy? This got me to thinking about belly buttons and all things related.

We start off life with our belly buttons being the conduit for nutrients, so to speak, that is where the umbilical cord is attached and when we are born, it is something that is watched and treated and cleaned and cared for and eventually it falls off, the umbilical cord, not the belly button! Some mommies keep what falls out, ok…

Our belly buttons develop either “innie” or “outie” and it becomes something we are fascinated with when we realize our fingers fit perfectly inside, well, if they are “innies” and we spend lots of time showing our friends and parents and anyone who will look, we love our bellies! If they’re “outies” we show them off how different they are and we poke them back in to watch them pop out! How cool and inventive are we!

Did you know that the wonderful pasta, the tortellini, was legend to be modeled after a belly button? There are many stories, one that I heard was about a sculptor who was in love with his model and invented the navel shaped pasta after her fabulous belly button. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortellini

I had a belly button ring at one time, I loved it! Then I had an x-ray and had to take it out, after it healed up, I had it done again, got infected, no more belly button ring. When I told my folks, they asked why and then when they were traveling once, they brought me a clay figure of a gnome sitting under a mushroom, my mom said “He’s contemplating his belly button” ha ha…

And we all know about belly button lint, we find it more in the winter, right? Lint from our sweaters and if you have a big belly, you probably have a big belly button and you could knit a sweater from what you pull out of there! Eweee…

It’s amazing how important they are to us, but are often forgotten. We like to adorn them with jewelry, in the 90s we wore crop tops, also known as belly shirts, we take for granted that we have them, its just there, but what if it’s not? The tv show Kyle XY had the lead with no belly button, since he wasn’t human. I was watching that show Botched, about bad plastic surgeries, and a woman had lost a lot of weight and had a tummy tuck and her belly button disappeared, she went to the doctors and while they were in there, instead of having to create a new one, they found hers! A friend told me about her dad who had surgery after the war and he never had one after that, fascinating!

I will leave you with the wonderful sound of quite possibly the most famous belly button in the world.

I hope you giggled, had a good belly [button] laugh!

{May 6, 2015} Some days I want to be Tony Stark

There, I said it, some days I want to be Tony Stark.

It’s not every day, but there are days…c’mon face it, he’s good looking, uber rich, uber smart and has some of the best toys known to humankind, right?

Boy genius, can build almost anything, has the means to do it and won’t stop until he accomplishes his goal, some times at great cost, but he really doesn’t care about much, aside from himself, so what does it matter, to him anyway. Well, he does care about Pepper Potts, she’s his kryptonite, so to speak, the only ‘thing’ he truly cares and worries about.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are times I would love to be each of the Avengers, one at a time of course, they each have amazing qualities and just think of all the good in the world I could do. But still, you have to agree…Tony Stark is bitchin’!

I took one of those dorky quizzes on FaceBook and guess who I got!

You’re part leader, part rogue. You value those around you, but if you’re convinced you’re right, you don’t care what anyone else thinks.

{May 5, 2015} Gratitude…saying thank you goes a long way

Don’t you agree?

There are different ways to show appreciation…you can say thank you, you can give a gift, a card, send an email, leave a note, flowers, sky writing, a smile. However you decide to do it, just do it, it means the world to some and makes a world of difference.

I know we say thank you for someone holding the door open for you, serving your food, delivering your mail, the person at the register, but do you thank people who don’t normally get a thank you, people who work behind the scenes?

Sometimes it is something that will make someone’s day. I make it a point of thanking people for things they do for me, even if they don’t do anything directly for me. Do you thank service men and women for their service to the country? Do you thank the person who cleans your hotel room? Do you ever thank the person who cleans the bathrooms in a public place? Your office? The airport? A stadium?

Tonight, the team went to dinner, a roll off dinner, as several us are done with the project this week and even though PM has been thanking us for all we have been doing, she thanked us a little more formally, with a hand written note [a lost art by the way] and a gift card, she didn’t need to go that extra step, but she did and it really meant a lot to me and I know to my team mates as well.

Please take that extra step to reach out and say thank you to someone, maybe you’ll make their day.

So, I say to you, thank you for reading my blog every day, I may not be able to reach out and shake your hand, but I can say thank you, I appreciate you and your support, more than you could ever know.

{May 4, 2015} A very sensative sense of…

Smell. This is a good thing and a bad thing.

I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but I am a wee bit sensitive to smells. Ok, we both know I’m lying, I am super sensitive to smells. Pook.

Now, like I said, this is a good and bad thing. Let’s talk about the bad first…cigarettes hit me hard and it can be on clothing, remnants of a lit cigarette as I walk by, as much as I enjoy being around animals, but…stinky dog smell in a small space, cat pee, even the tiniest bit, coffee, especially if someone is drinking it near me and the cup gets close, cooking onions, alchohol, bad breath, colognes, lotions, so much more…a lot of these things are subtle and then there is being vegan…fish is overpowering, meats get to me and can send me out of a room. I am over sensitive and I loathe it! I try to hide it, but sometimes it just doesn’t work and I feel terrible about that. So I apologize to any friends and family I have offended.

Now, I don’t want to be the total wicked, complaining nose…let’s talk about the good.

The smell of fresh cut grass, the ocean, warm fresh towels, the wind when the top is down on the car, suede, yes, I know, totally contradictory for a vegan, but oh my goodness…I love walking by Wilson’s leather! Babies, my nieces when they get out of the bath, my grandkids, my nieces hands after they wash them, a new box of crayons, an unfinished canvas, the air when it’s going to snow, the rain, the air after a rain storm, puppy breath! my cats after they get a bath or when they’re clean and want to snuggle, a freshly bathed dog, Spring, Fall, flowers [sunflowers, daisies, roses, need I go on?], fresh baked bread, butter, especially when you’re cooking with it, popcorn, crisp apples, fresh cut wood, new car, beach, the ocean, yes I know I said that already! I could go on, but I’m going to end here hoping to have redeemed myself.

So…what do you say, we drop the top on the car, pick up some suede shoes, sunflowers and crisp apples and head to the beach!

{May 3, 2015} Another fabulous day! Am I lucky? You bet your bippie!

Another fabulous day, awesome!

I have to tell you what I forgot yesterday, one of the best things and the perfect way to end the day. I got to the house just before GES and ACS, after they got home, I went in and right after GES, I went to EJS’ room and kissed her cheek while she was sleeping and then I went to MGS’ room and kissed her little cheek, SO cute and sweet while they sleep! Then chatting with GES a bit, talking to you then sleep…now that’s the perfect end to a day!

Today I woke up too early, it was after 7am, but still too early! About 8am, I had a visitor in the form of a very ticklish MGS, we giggled and laughed and tickled and jumped for about 30 minutes and then like a flash she was gone! Relaxed a few more minutes, then got up and took a shower, my hair felt waayyyy better!

Got dressed, checked on the laundry, saw AS & JS, who were there to hang out and pressure wash the deck, bonus! PSM showed up on his Yamaha, inspiring me a little further to get another bike…I miss Thing2! It’s coming soon! Then we all went to town to watch the Softball Opening Day parade starring EJS and ACS! Very cool! Then at the park we listened to the opening day ceremony, saw the first pitch, then PSM and I took off for brunch at Petit Robert Bistro, http://prbneedham.com/, c’est manifique!

The restaurant was charming, the food was good, the company was terrific and all I want now is to go to Paris, sigh.

After the restaurant, we headed back to the house, after a stop at CVS for some supplies for the week and as we all know, I am easily amused and excited on occasion, today, I found a travel size of the lotion I use, I haven’t found it in a smaller size, I usually have to take the giant tub, so wahoo me!

Back at the house, everyone was there, including JS and AS, who didn’t even know they were coming back! We went upstairs to see what was going on with the movies on my hard drive, finally fixed some of the issues, wahoo! Then we went outside and climbed into the hammock to hang out for a while, that was great!

About 5pm, GES, ACS and the girls went to dinner with the family/friends across the street and since my taxi was coming at 7, PSM and I hopped in Annie, dropped the top and headed out and on ACS’ recommendation, went to The Walnut Grill, http://www.walnutgrille.com/. It was terrific! We shared a cup of butternut squash soup, a salad, a VEGAN pizza and dessert. YUM! We will definitely be going back!

After dinner, headed back to the house and the taxi was waiting, perfect! Collected my stuff, headed to the airport and went right through security, I LOVE traveling without luggage! They changed the gate without changing the signs, luckily I got up to ask a question!

The worst part about today was my allergies killing me, but…I found my wonderful herbal allergy medication online, on the way to the airport, I am going to pick some up tomorrow. Props to PSM for the suggestion.

Got to Buffalo, picked up the car, got to the hotel and the guy at the desk recognized me, that was a nice feeling.

So…another great, wouldn’t you agree?

{May 2, 2015} What a day! A great day!

Today started early in Buffalo and ended late in Boston.

I got up, got showered and ready, headed downstairs for some breakfast, back to the room to brush my teeth and finish packing, thinking my flight was at 9:25, it was at 9:11am! Thank goodness PSM happened to ask what time my flight was, at 8:25am! Not to worry, I filled up the car last night and I wasn’t checking any bags and…the airport was across the street from the hotel!

I headed down, gave them my bag and some groceries to hold for me and off to the airport I went, dropped off the rental car and walked through security and to the gate. It was really nice not having to check luggage! Such a treat. I got to the gate, boarded about 8:50, we took off soon after and as I had no seat mate, stretched out my legs, read a little, played some games, watched the end of a movie and we were on the ground.

No need to stop at baggage claim, right to the taxi and away we went. I pulled up just as GES and the girls were getting home from karate. We hugged and spun, caught up and made a decision to get sandwiches and have a picnic on the lawn. While GES and EJS were off somewhere, MGS said “let’s surprise mommy and clean the basement!” Where did that come from? Sounds great, she will be so pleased! So off to the basement we went.

A little while after we finished they came home and we set up a picnic on the front lawn, it was great. The sun was shining and warm on our faces, which hasn’t been happening for a while. Some of the neighbors came over, EJS went to another neighbors house, some of the kids rode bicycles while the parents watched. Yes, it is that kind of neighborhood. And at some point, I went in and made popcorn to snack on, good thing, I was hungry!

It felt so good to be out there with the sun shining, good food and good friends, what more could you ask for!

We all headed inside eventually, then headed upstairs to get ready GES and ACS were going to a fundraiser at their temple and I headed out to meet PSM and his friend JP for dinner and a movie. But the best part…I got to pull Annie out of the garage, drop the top and drive! MGS watched me put the top down and shouted “That is so cool!”

We were going to eat at the pub, but the wait was about 30 minutes, while the Japanese restaurant next door, no wait, guess who won! After a yummy dinner, we headed to the movies to see The Avengers: Age of Ultron, review coming later. After the movie, we went to JP Licks, an ice cream place. Since I don’t eat ice cream, I got a sugar cone filled with sprinkles and some teeny peanut butter cups. It may not have been ice cream, but at least Ii felt like I was participating!

Then it was time to drive home, I hung out across the street for a bit with MF and OF and their friend T in front of their fire pit, it was the perfect end to the perfect day.

I hope your day was just as fabulous!

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