Peaches Prattlings











{February 2, 2015}   Superbowl Half Time Show

Why watch the Superbowl? Why… the commercials and half time show! What else is there?

I know, I know, there is a football game going on, but as we already know, I’m not a huge fan of the sport and I only watch the Superbowl or go to a party to socialize and that is what I did. Just before half time, GES, MGS and I went next door to join the neighbors and partake in the festivities.

I enjoyed the half time show, there I said it, I enjoyed it. I like Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot. Let’s see… Katy Perry wore more clothing than is typical of a Superbowl half time show performer, in fact they all did. The only performers that were not fully clothed were the back up dancers, and they were wearing 1950s style bathing suits, covered a lot up.

The choreography was good, everything kept moving, no technical difficulties, the dancers were great, the lighting was terrific, the sets were great, some very clever. She puts on a good performance and you can see why she is popular with the teeny bopper set, lots of bright colors, some of the sets and costumes almost cartoonish.

I didn’t realize I knew as much of her music as I did, it was a lot of fun to watch and listen to all the girls in the house sing along, at the top of their lungs.

Enjoy the entire Halftime Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-PWEZEcuJA

There were costume changes, but not as many at one of her concerns, wow!:  yhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pprB6AbKEPA

One of my favorite videos of Katy Perry, and I have actually never seen another, but I love Sesame Street, this was a great play on Hot and Cold. htps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHROHJlU_Ng

Enjoy!



{February 1, 2015}   Superbowl commericals

What’s one of the main reasons people watch the Superbowl? The commercials of course!

This year, the cost for a 30 second commercial…$4.5 Million dollars, I wish I had that kind of money! Oh well, it reaches a ‘gazillion’ people, right? Worth it for the company… they wouldn’t do it otherwise, would they?

There have been some great commercials over the years and I will share a few with you. This year, I fell in love with the Brady Bunch Snickers commercial, mostly because it had Danny Trejo [Machete] is in it and you know how much I love that movie! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RasdnWfPC_E

A great one that premièred in 2011 which was a hit and one of my favorites, the VW Darth Vader: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n6hf3adNqk

But… the one that gets me EVERY time is anything with the Clydesdales and this one was the brothers one and I watched in just now, boo hop hoo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTbLBL2P6YA

Here’s something that kind of bugged me over the last few years. It used to be that when a company premièred a commercial during the Superbowl it was new and a surprise, but now, half of the commercials have been on TV for a while or on youtube, so they’re not a surprise or special and then I think…what’s the point? I know it’s to sell products and advertise, but that was half the reason people show up to Superbowl parties or to even watch the game. Come on, surprise me!

Here is a compilation that I found of the 25 top Superbowl commercials, I didn’t watch the entire video, but I don’t always agree with everyone else on what’s awesome, but have some fun watching.



Their, they’re, there…your and you’re…and it does not stop there.

We’ve talked about grammar, spelling mistakes, punctuation in the past and as you know, it bugs me just a wee bit.

Just a little thing, but it bugged me tonight. I was out at a great restaurant and went to the bathroom and the sign said: “We pride ourselves on keeping our restroom clean. Please let me know if you find it otherwise.”

“We” pride ourselves and let “me” know. Plural then singular, I know it’s not much, but it bothered me.

Let’s just say, if that was the worst thing about the restaurant, it was pretty good!

grammar



{January 30, 2015}   Falling asleep on the sofa is…

AWESOME!

Next time I do it, just leave me there, chances are, I will sleep through the night and wake rested. As it happens now, and when I was married and with DCM, if I fall asleep on the sofa, apparently, I am comfy, cozy and tired. Someone wakes me and says, JJ, go to bed, guess what happens…I get into bed and I am now wide awake!

There is something magical about the sofa apparently, it just sucks you in that you have no control, you could be sitting up or laying down, it doesn’t matter, if that couch is comfy, there is no hope for you! And we all know how I feel about naps, so underrated! Especially by kids! As adults, we know, for the most part, that if we close our eyes to get some rest, we won’t miss that much. Kids, different story, if they didn’t see it, it didn’t happen.

Tonight, prime example, I sat down with ACS, nodded off, woke up on my own and then took myself upstairs where I sit and write to you. Am I tired, yes, will I fall asleep? Remains to be seen, but I know that I am quite tired now, so I am going to see what happens..test my theory!
Goodnight!



{January 29, 2015}   Personal lives in tv shows…why?

Why do characters have to have personal lives in certain shows? Does it help?

Case in point, as I talked about last night, I am on a Criminal Minds kick and right now, I am up to the episode where one of the main characters ex-wife is killed by a serial killer. There were a few episodes leading up to this point and I have a vested interest and I am boo-hooing like a baby.

There are shows that are all about personal lives, like sitcoms or shows like Bluebloods, it’s a show about an entire family of cops and they get together weekly for meals, you’re going to have personal lives and drama.

The ones I don’t get are things like Criminal Minds, all the Law and Orders, the crime dramas. Unless there is a continuing, unfolding story, why do they have to have personal lives? Can’t they do their jobs without having personal lives and conflicts? They can have personalities and personality flaws, but do they have to get divorced? Spouses and loved ones die? Aren’t there other ways to get those characters off the show?

That’s about it.



I love crime dramas… there’s something wrong with me, right?

I love murder mysteries, I rarely read anything that isn’t a murder mystery, sometimes the more violent the better. The things people think of, come up with, there are some sick people out there! Some of this stuff comes from actual cases, but where does the rest come from? Wait, I’m reading them, what does that say about me?

When I read, I can use my imagination, see things in my mind that I am reading, ick. I watch these shows and I wonder what sick mind is sitting around thinking of these ideas! And then I think…I am one of the fans of these shows, what does that say about me?

What made me think of this? I’m watching Criminal Minds. I love this show and I’ve watched it pretty much from the beginning, but there have been episodes I’ve missed so I decided to do what I love to do with shows I love. I find the series on Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime and I watch it from the very first episode, in order. I’ve done the with British shows, like MI-5 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160904/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1], there were ten seasons! That was a lot of viewing! Midsomer Murders [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118401/?ref_=nv_sr_1], to name a few and now Criminal Minds [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452046/?ref_=nv_sr_1], there are ten seasons there as well, I don’t know if they have plans to stop, but as there are so many sick people in the world, I don’t see that happening!

I’ve seen most of the episodes, but I want to watch them in order, there are some dynamics of the show… the team, their personal and professional lives, sometimes I wonder why they have personal lives, it seems to get in the way of the show, I think I talked to you about that before. I will watch some of the episodes I know inside and out because I think they are good or I just feel like watching them again, but then there are some that I am like, uh, no thanks!

What does it say about us as a society that we are fascinated by these shows, what they represent, what they show, what they give us insight into and maybe some ideas, bad ideas because killing is wrong, but ideas. Forget society, what does that say about me? Most people don’t watch it because its too violent, I love it. I have always had a weird fascination with serial killers, but a fascination from afar, I want to know how they did it, why and how did they get caught, that is the important thing, they got caught and I am not looking for pointers, I want to know they can’t come after me!

Want to hear a funny story? When I was married, I used to watch those true detective shows and while I was watching, I might be crafting something, marking off a stitch and the wasband thought I was taking notes! I once went away for the weekend, and he had a nightmare that someone was coming up the stairs to kill him and being away, I had the perfect alibi! Hmmm..paranoid much?

There may be something wrong with me, but I like it and I’m not changing. Next episode please!



{January 27, 2015}   Movie Trailers

Movie trailers are addictive!

Do you love them as much as I do? Do you start watching one and all of a sudden, you’ve watched ten? Do you find yourself watching them for hours?

Sometimes I will go to IMDB.com to find out something about a movie, actor, director, you name it and then I might see a trailer that I want to check out and boom… I’ve watched ten trailers or more and I cannot tell you where the time went or maybe even what I watched!

Do you know IMDB.com? It stands for Internet Movie Data Base and it is DA BOMB! Yes, I said DA BOMB! It one of the best movie/TV/actor, etc, resources I have ever found and so many people know it, if you don’t already know it, go! Live it, learn it, love it!

The great thing about trailers is that they give you insight into a movie, the bad thing about trailers is they sometimes tell you too much. When the wasband and I used to go to the movies, if we saw a trailer that showed too much, one of us would say “Well, now we don’t have to go to see that movie!”. There have been some great trailers that give you just a taste, makes you want more.

Then there are times there are so many trailers that by the time the movie starts, I have no idea what I am seeing. I used to look at DCM and he would tell me what we were about to see!

Some trailers make you scratch your head and say “huh”? I was looking for a link and stumbled across the trailer for Fantastic 4, I got excited thinking it was going to be a continuation from the last movie, The Silver Surfer, but no… it seems to be as if they are starting the series over. I knew that was coming with Star Trek, not Fantastic 4. But I digress.

I majored in Communication Media when I was in college, I wanted to work for Children’s Television, possibly even direct on Sesame Street, how cool would that have been? One of the thing I absolutely loved about studying film and television was thinking about how I could explain a movie or TV show to the public, in essence… create trailers. Give people just enough to understand and be intrigued enough to want to see the movie, but not enough to give the entire movie or show away.

I think there are times I could sit in a movie theater and watch trailer after trailer after trailer. How about you?

http://www.imdb.com/?ref_=nv_home

images (5)



{January 26, 2015}   My weekend in Atlanta…

Was it busy? Yes it was! Was it awesome? Yes it was! Do you want to hear about it? Yes you do!

I told you a few things here and there, but here is the blow by blow, so to speak.

Friday I arrived in Atlanta, after an uneventful flight, which is always a good thing, and watching The Equalizer. Let’s just say, I heart Denzel Washington! This was a feel good movie in the best sense of the word! [Now, if you don’t know anything about it, until I write a review, just know it is a violent movie, but awesome!]

After I landed, I got my rental car and did something I should not have done, but I did anyway, which I told you about on Friday…I went to Fellini’s Pizza for a slice, salad and soda, ah memories [http://www.fellinisatlanta.com/fellinis.html]…After a filling lunch, I went to Junkman’s Daughter [http://www.thejunkmansdaughter.com/] to look around and met a charming chick working the shoe department upstairs, Twinkle, we had a nice chat, she really wants me to give Hedwig and the Angry Inch another try, I promised to.

Then I went to see CC and JC and their adorable son MC. They bought a house a few months ago and have asked me to come and see it when I was in town, unfortunately, I was not able to the last few times, but Friday, it was on! CC and MC had made some very yummy and healthy cookies earlier, they were so excited to share with me! While I was getting a tour of the house, MC kept saying “Ladies, ladies, come on!” How cute is he! And what a great visit we had!

After I left, I headed to JCT’s house to spend the night. She was on her way from the airport herself and I was going to get there before her, so I was lucky and got to spend some one-on-one quality time with her mom, who I affectionately refer to as Mom. We talked health and happiness, kids and crocheting, had cups of tea, it was wonderful. Then JCT’s brother GC came home and we chatted for a bit, until JCT came home.

When JCT came home, we talked and talked and laughed and talked until almost two in the morning! Isn’t that happens when besties get together? Did you forget… this is still only Friday!

Slept a few hours, got up, chatted, caught up some more then it was time to shower and head out to meet CKM for brunch at Home Grown, http://www.homegrownga.com/, waited a few minutes and then hopped up to the counter for breakfast.

After a great breakfast and good conversation, we headed to the Hot Chocolate 5k/15k Expo to volunteer and I picked up my race packet. Our shift was 1:30-6:30, our feet hated us at this point! After the expo it took us almost an hour to get out of the parking deck! Then another 30 minutes to drop CKM off where she was meeting friends for dinner. The only other bad thing was that RJS was having a get together for her birthday, which is actually today! Happy Birthday! And I missed it, but I made up for it today, sort of.

I headed to JT’s house to wait for BG, I was going to crash with him since we were riding to the run together. I was so tired, I just crashed art JT’s house. A few hours of sleep and 5:30am on Sunday we were in the car and on our way downtown, smooth sailing for a while, then lots of traffic, taking us about an hour to go about five miles, par for the course, ha ha, runners joke.

I hope you were able to check out my posting on the Hot Chocolate race yesterday. We were both a bit tired and sore, my feet were mad at me, but we did it! We headed back to BG’s to shower and headed back downtown to Sweet Melissa’s, http://www.sweetmelissas.com/, for brunch with some good friends.

After brunch, I drove to JCT’s because I left my Surface charger, grrr…and then to SDL’s house for a visit and some quality one-on-one time. Lots of talking, laughter and love. I crashed there for the night, even got to brush Miss A’s teeth for the first time…so many new firsts with her!

This morning I headed to see RJS for a little bit before making a mad dash for the airport and getting to the gate a few minutes before the flight took off! Even luckier that it took off at all, as a huge snow storm is coming to Boston tomorrow!  So bad that they closed Logan airport at 8pm tonight!

So… that was my weekend, you tired? I am!



{January 25, 2015}   15k…goal accomplished!

Today I accomplished a goal…I completed my first 15k!

That is 9.32 miles, for those of you “not in the know”. CKM and I have participated in the Hot Chocolate 5k for three years and I also did one in Denver, for the past three years, she and I volunteered at the race expo, handing out bibs.

This year, I decided to participate in the 15k, one of the reasons is that CKM was not participating and the other… the medal! Remember… it’s all for the being or the swag!

As I have told you about my ‘racing’ history, I have done 5k’s, 10k’s, a few half marathons and a number of mud runs, both 5k and 7miles. The only race I have thought about and have not completed…a 15k. I cannot say that anymore!

Last weekend, if you remember, I was at Disneyland for a 10k on Saturday and half marathon on Sunday. The 10k was successful for me, the half marathon, not so much, I was disappointed in myself because I did not finish. I was close to the 9 mile mark when I got pulled from the course.

Today, the run was 9.3 miles and I finished! That was a huge deal for me! There were also people behind me, another goal!

This time, BG and I did the run together, well, we started at the same time. BG is a runner, he does 10 milers, half marathons, that is his speed and I admire him for it. They divided the run into 7:30 and 8:40 start time, 5k and 15k in each start. I was in the 8:40 start time and BG said he would start with me.

We carpooled at 5:30 and it was smooth sailing until two exits away from our exit and then it was sit and wait and sit and wait. We finally got to the stadium, parked, got ready and headed out to the start.

BG took off, as he should and I started running at my snails pace, ran about 3 miles, then walked then ran, then walked, then ran. I ran about 5 miles total out of the 9 miles. I felt good, my feet hurt, but it felt good!

Here comes the 9 mile mark, then it was only .32 to the finish! I crossed the finish line and got my medal! It was such a feeling! Then it was pick up the finishers mug, then meet BG to head to pick up my car, shower and then head to brunch.

This is going to be my last race for a while, keep checking my posts to find out why.

I’m happy!

Hot Chocolate 15k/5k – Atlanta
Atlanta, GA    Jan 25, 2015 7:35AM
57143
02:30:25
16:09
roomfield, CO
a43

INTERVAL TIME OF DAY CHIP TIME CHIP PACE GUN TIME GUN PACE
Start 8:33:47AM
5K 9:20:25AM 00:46:39 15:01 min/mi 01:40:16 32:17 min/mi
10K 10:09:50AM 01:36:03 15:28 min/mi 02:29:40 24:06 min/mi
Finish 11:04:12AM 02:30:25 16:09 min/mi 03:24:02 21:54 min/mi

WIN_20150125_235212



{January 24, 2015}   Volunteering at an Expo

Today we volunteered.

Over the last six years or so, CKM and I have volunteered at different events, many being different race expos. We have volunteered for the Peachtree Road Race 5 times, even received our five year volunteer pin this year!

It is fun to volunteer, sometimes depending on the job they give you. One year we volunteered in the company store, that was alright, especially when it was busy, a few years we gave out race bibs, the last few years for the Peachtree Road Race, we volunteered with the elite and invited runners, too cool.

Today, we volunteered at the Hot Chocolate 5k/15k expo and gave out race bibs. You have to show up with the confirmation that has the QR code on it or your photo ID, plain and simple as that. Apparently not so simple for some people. No confirmation, no picture ID, “but I’m picking up for a friend, can’t I just tell you their name?” NO! Just give us something, a face book photo, something!

It was fun talking to people, when you could chat for a minute, it got so busy! I met a lot of Jennifer, always cool. And also, a lot of Stephanies, the reason I bring that up is that for some reason, the two names seem to get swapped a lot! I have no idea why!!! People were excited to be there to pick up their race bib and goodies and goodies they are! Some people were cranky because of the traffic and all the other events in the building they had to get through, but a lot of people were still happy.

There were a bunch that this was their first time doing the Hot Chocolate 5k, for some… their first 5k ever. What a great thing! I love meeting people who are doing their first race ever, I remember mine, The Atlanta Women’s 5k, I still remember seeing my time when I crossed the finish line, I almost cried, that is an amazing feeling! I hope everyone can feel that at least once!

The only bad part, being on our feet for 5 hours, standing in one spot, not so great since I am doing the 15k tomorrow, this should be interesting! But the best part… getting to have brunch and hang with CKM!

All in all, a good time was had by all! More on the race tomorrow!



et cetera