365 | Peaches Prattlings

{August 6, 2013} Goodbye, work, travel, delays

The day started with my sister waking me to see if I wanted to say goodbye to the girls, what do you think?

I dragged myself out of bed, brushed my teeth, (I thought that would be best for everyone) ran downstairs to say goodbye to my girls. Never gets easier, but knowing I’ll be seeing them sooner than later helps. MG wanted to know where I was going and why I wouldn’t be there when she got home from school, then she wanted to know when she would see me again, I told her as soon as I could. My favorite question at that point…”how many minutes?” How could you not love that?

EJ let me kiss her on the cheek and forehead, didn’t look up, I’m kind of used to that, she doesn’t like it when I leave so if she doesn’t look at me, it’s not real and I’m ok with that, feels good, to be honest. And I’ll see them soon enough during FaceTime, I’m not worried, ah technology!

They left and I checked my email, then took a quick shower and GES and I got down to work. There was a call and reports and emails and spreadsheets, oh my! AS, my sister’s sister-in-law (did you get all that?) came over to help out, it was nice to see her, since we missed each other Sunday when they left. She is a great cook!

About 3:15, we headed out to the train, I had a conference call at 3:30, I gave my sister one of the headphones and we listened together, that was interesting. It went well, I got on the train and headed to South Station, got on the Silver Line bus to the airport, which hit traffic, fun. I was, however, early enough that I could get something to eat, a Fuddrucker’s veggie burger, yum! I need to find out if there is a Fudd’s in Colorado.

Boarded the plane about 6:40 for the flight that was supposed to leave at 6:45, hmm…we finally took off at 7:30, at least that’s what I think the time was. Then…let’s just say, I watched the last half of one movie and another full movie and possibly could have watched part of another one. We were supposed to land in Minneapolis about 8 something, after circle for what I heard was an hour, we landed about 10:20, 10 minutes before we were supposed to land in Denver, and 45 minutes after we were supposed to take off, go figure.

I did sit next to a very nice woman and we chatted for a bit on the way, we had a seat open between us, that was nice, we could share a tray table and sort of spread out. As we were coming in for a landing, the woman to my right asked me what I had been watching. It was the original “Yours, Mine & Ours” starring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. That took us down the road of classic movies and actors and favorites and sharing, the woman in the seat ahead of her joined in. I always love those conversations, you know, about movies, imagine that! (I’ll give you a review of that movie another time).

The good news is, all flights were delayed coming in, so my flight was probably delayed. When I got off the flight, the board said my flight was leaving at 11:20, as of about five minutes ago, we were told we might leave at 11:50, fingers crossed.

I was lucky to find an open charging port, my phone was almost dead, you know…DED dead! My iPad is at 39% and the flight is about 2 hours, lets hope for the best. I am going to post now and tomorrow I’ll let you know if and when I got out of Minneapolis!

{August 6, 2013} Goodbye papa, camp, dinner, games

Up early, hang with the girls for a few while sister and brother-in-law got the girls ready for camp and school respectively.

Say bye-bye to papa, “why?” so cute! Out they went…dad and I went to breakfast at a new place, well, new owners and name. Food was decent, would have been better if the server had listened to my order, oh well. Company was great, conversation was good, that’s all that matters.

Dad dropped me off at be house, we said see you soon and he was off. I got settled in and started my day, first conference call went off without a hitch, then it was emails, calls, spreadsheets and updates.

I finished about 4:15 to go get EJS at the bus stop. MF was also on her way, she’s the fantabulous neighbor who gets EJS off the bus some afternoons and babysits as well. She’s going into her second year of college, criminal justice, very cool. When she’s around, I’m invisible, it’s too funny, she love having me here, but when it comes to getting off the bus, M picks her up and no one else will do (I’m not the only one! Mommy, daddy, papa, doesn’t matter!)

The entire family is an extended family to ours, COF calls me Auntie J, love that! She’s fantastic and a lot of fun to hang out with, MF is her husband, a great guy and great to talk with. Their other two daughters, JF and OF are very sweet girls and will watch EJ and MG sometimes. I always enjoy coming to visit to get to spend some time with them.

The great thing about this neighborhood is the people, my sister and brother-in-law got very lucky. If we’re not sure where the girls are, they’re probably across the street, they are very comfortable being there, just hanging out. Or they could be at some of the other neighbors, everyone looks out for each other.

It was 30 minutes of TV, bath, then A was home with MG, play a little, get ready for dinner. After a dinner outside on the back deck, which was comfortable, it was wonderful, bath for MG, games and stories. When I was saying goodnight to EJ, she said “I wish you could stay longer!” Sigh…who doesn’t want to hear that! I’ll see them soon!

GES had a conference call starting at 9:30, yes, that was 9:30pm. She is a director of global HR, she’s on with Australia, England and California, she’s a whirlwind and very good at what she does! I hope she gets to get some sleep tonight!

I feel so useless, she’s down there on a conference call in the middle of the night and here I sit playing on my iPad and blogging! I’d keep her company if she wasn’t on the phone, I don’t want to get in the way, I just go down and smile at her every once in a while.

Ok, not sure how to end this after that! So I’ll just say, g’night!

{August 4, 2013} What a day! Breakfast, pool, party, futbal!

Good morning dad/papa! Happy birthday!

The day started with a sleep in, 8am, wow! I walked upstairs to hear happy birthday singing to my dad, terrific. While GES was making breakfast, I did a quick walk down to CVS, I needed some green juice! Then back for a delicious breakfast of eggs and cheese, sausage and eggs, bagels and blintz souffle, Y.U.M.! I’m going to get the recipe and share it with you!

After breakfast, get readying its time to go to the pool! Wow, EJS’ swimming has improved so much over the year, swim lessons are just the trick! Molly is improving lesson by lesson as well. We swam and splashed and played with noodles, and lunch and snacks and it was time to leave.

GES, EJS and I all went to the grocery store while AS, dad and MGS went for a drive, guess who they were trying to get to fall asleep? At the grocery store, we picked up a few needs things and a Carvel ice cream birthday cake. For those of you who don’t know Carvel, it’s a great ice cream store that’s been around for over 75 years. Growing up in NYC, there were Carvel’s everywhere I still remember when they opened one in Georgia, too awesome! I haven’t found one in Colorado, but I’m looking. http://www.carvel.com/

The story behind our getting a Carvel cake…in the summer, we always had a Carvel ice cream cake, vanilla on the top, chocolate on the bottom and chocolate crunchies in the middle, yum! A tradition was born a very long time ago! Last year, we were I the Birkshires for day’s birthday, we found a Carvel cake at the grocery store, tradition was not lost and this year the tradition continued!

The cake was to celebrate day’s birthday, the reason we needed a sheet cake, we threw him a surprise birthday BBQ! All the wonderful “usual suspects” were there, the friends and extended family. There were adults and kids of all ages, there to celebrate papa’s special day! We had burgers, dogs, veggie burgers, turkey burgers, salads, (I need to give you the recipes) chips, drinks and cake, sounds perfect!

We played, we swung, we ran, we sang, we shouted, we caught up, we laughed, we smiled and we ate, sounds perfect, right!

Almost as soon as it started it was over and we were out the door, it was the perfect afternoon! But the day wasn’t over! We piled into the cars and headed to the Gillett Stadium, Home of the New England Patriots! We were going to see a New England Revolutions game! They are the professional futbal team (soccer for those of us on this “side of the pond”). They were playing Toronto! It was a great game, we lost, but what a great evening, a lot of fun! I got the girls some cute Patriots jerseys, so cute!

There was pizza, popcorn, cotton candy, water and beer for the grown ups. We all and a great time!

http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/

After the game, it was to go home. Here I am to tell you about my day say goodnight!

Happy birthday daddy!

{August 4, 2013} Movies with kids, dinner with adults

Today was a full day!

It started with me sleeping in a wee bit, thank you! Watched my dad play games with MG, got an awesome video of them, it was precious! then she wanted to play with me, she taught me how to play Temple Run! Then we played a game with dad, it was a lot of fun.

Next, it was off to the movies to see Monsters University, dad hadn’t seen it yet! with RG and her twins, S& A, except for RG and her kids, dad was the only one who hadn’t seen it of our little group. It was still funny and charming and sweet the second time.

I don’t know how often you’ve gone to the movies with little kids, but it is so awesome to watch their faces as the movie starts and when things happen, watch their faces light up, look surprised, shocked, laugh, giggle, it’s amazing. So cute when they climbed into my sisters lap. The kids we had with us were 3-6 years old, all better behaved than the pre-teens behind us, very annoying.

After the movie, we went for a walk through the shopping center, stopping at a wonderful little toy store, EJ bought something for herself with her own money, very impressive.

Next was COSTCO, needed to get some shopping done, we tried on winter jackets that made us look and feel like giant stuffed animals! We had fun shopping and sampling, how could anyone still be hungry after all those wonderful treats? Apparently my nieces! It was churros for everyone!

Back home, unload the car, unload/load the dishwasher, chill, ha ha ha for a few minutes, then showers and out the door. Poppa was taking the girls out for pizza and I was a happy and willing stand in for my brother in law for drinks and dinner with a group of their friends. When we were leaving, the girls didn’t want me to go, awe..that was a first!

We met at M & D’s house and climbed into the two suburbans and they hired for us to go to Cambridge. We started at Brick & Morter fro drinks, then walked to Reverie for dinner.

The company was great, the food, not so much. Everyone knew each other from either kids in the same camp, synagogue, school, book club or lived in the same area before moving to this area. Everyone was genuine, funny, goofy, smart, witty and all around enjoyable to be around. Thanks to my sister for letting me join her, it was a lot of fun. I can tell how they feel about her, it made me happy.

We got back to the house, walked to the house, we said goodnight and went our separate ways, her upstairs, me downstairs, change into jammies and get ready for bed.

You tired from all that? I am!

Night night!

P.S. Happy birthday to my good friend JCT!

{August 3, 2013} Surprise!

Ok, so now I can tell you what happened!

Bottom line…I surprised my dad for his birthday! Surprise! Happy Birthday Daddy!

I called my dad a few weeks ago and asked what he was doing for his birthday, this coming weekend, and it was a few things in NY, so I was going to fly up and surprise him and then last week he decided to come to Boston to spend his birthday so guess what I did tonight!

It was last minute, so flights were interesting, time and connection wise. I don’t know if you’re like me, but you want the shortest trip time, least number of legs, stuff like that. Travel time wise, this wasn’t a bad flight, there was a layover in Detroit, well, we landed and I had about 15/20 minutes to get to the next flight and total, it was about 4.5/5 hours, just seemed to take a long time, but I made it!

On the first leg of my flight, Denver to Detroit, I sat next to two very nice guys and a pilot joined us in the jump seat. They were great, we talked about movies, music, flying, football (well, they talked football) and things to do in Denver. Hi guys! Thank you to the pilot for giving me a list of about 15 things to do and places to eat. Look out DCM,we have things to do!

The second flight was fine, the woman to my left complained a bit too much, but her loss.

When I got to Boston, my fantabulous sister, GES, picked me up at the airport, we drove to the house and we were chatting before going to bed and EJS was coughing, so GES goes upstairs to check on her. I came up about two minutes later, she was coming out of the bathroom, saw me and her face absolutely LIT UP! She grinned, ran and jumped into my arms, right there, that made it all worth it! It reminded me of one of the times we were at Atlantis, she was about three and they had just gotten there, they got off the shuttle, she saw me and her little face lit up and she came running up to me! There is nothing like that feeling in the world!

This morning, it was up about 7 to see the girls before school and camp. MGS saw me and looked at me sideways, then hid behind her mom, she looked out, realized who I was, remember she had just gotten up, she ran over, tackled me and kissed me, ahhh..there’s my Miss M!

A and MG left for school and work and it’s Friday, that means its Dunkin’ Donuts on the way to work! GES and I drove EJ to the bus (it was raining, by the way) for camp, we dropped the car off for inspection and walked home. We both cracked open our laptops and started working.

A few times during the day, dad would call one of us and tell us where he was in his journey, we both played along so well. Right before he got there, we took quick showers, not quick enough apparently! Just as I turned off the water, he was here!

GES met him after he came in the house, they were chatting when I snuck down the stairs and crept around the corner, as he turned from the kitchen counter, I walked into the kitchen and said “Happy Birthday Daddy! Surprise!” He was surprised and yet, not so much! He’s a smart guy and had a feeling.

I was not too surprised that he had an idea, I’m kind of known for surprising my family with a visit. There was one time in college, I came home, walked into the restaurant and my mom went nuts. My dad looked up and it was as if I was supposed to be there. He was still surprised and it was the best birthday present ever!

The rest of the day was laid back, pick up EJS from the bus, a little shopping, wait for A and MG to get home, cook dinner, set the table, wait for B & B to come with their two boys, J and his new baby brother G, what a doll baby! I got to hold, feed, burp, snuggle and love on G, it was awesome.

Everyone finally left, it was games, stories and bedtime. Whew.

Happy early birthday daddy!

You’ve now had stories, it’s night night time!

{August 2, 2013} Time zone consideration

Ok, so…my original topic for tonight won’t work because it’s tied into something else and I need to finish it before I can share, so, I promise, when it’s finished, I’ll share.

Tonight, I want to talk to you about time zones and consideration of those time zones. I’m sure wherever you live, you believe the world revolves around you and your time zone. Hey, when I was a kid, growing up on Staten Island in New York, I thought everyone had to know that there were five boroughs that make up New York City and they are…? (Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Manhattan, and now you know. Did you know that Staten Island and Manhattan are the only two true islands? Little bit of trivia for ya)

I have to tell you, and I think you’ll laugh about this. I went and looked at the title of this post and it was originally time zen!

So, back to my point about time zones, being in the eastern time zone, I looked at everything in that zone, EST, I knew that Pacific time was three hours behind, Paris, France is six hours ahead and Hawaii is five hours behind. I was always a bit wonky on central and mountain time. I know that Central is one hour behind and now, because I live in Mountain Time, it’s two hours behind eastern. See, I can be taught!

Moving to Colorado and MT has been an adjustment, for everyone, people back east have to remember not to call me at 9am on a Saturday, and who’s going to do that anyway! because its only 7am for me and I need to remember that when it’s only 9pm in Colorado, it’s 11pm back east! It’s confusing when watching some shows, things that come on at 9pm eastern are coming on at 7pm mountain, so prime time TV starts a little early. How about the night time talk shows, watching David Letterman, Jay Leno or Conan O’Brian at 10pm is a little unsettling! (Good thing I don’t watch them!)

I remember when DCM moved and didn’t always remember the time difference, so when he would text me at 11pm MT to say goodnight, it didn’t translate that it was 1am EST for me! Sometimes I had already fallen asleep! Ok, who are we kidding, not very often, but it happened!

One of the cool things I did, sort of, I think I’ve told you, is I have kept my east coast hours, 9-5pm eastern is 7-3pm mountain, so that means…I get up at 6am to do a few miles, then start my day at 7am for calls, etc. but then…at 3pm, it’s bathing suit time (sometimes I might go for a walk/run, mostly when I don’t seem to wake up at 6 with the alarm) down to the pool for a few hours of sun, reading and usually a nap, very underrated activity! until DCM gets home and we get dinner started. Not too shabby!

Now, I don’t mind having calls at 9am eastern, that’s 7am my time, I’m up and ready to go, but 6:30am mountain? That’s not fair. So this morning, I got up with my alarm at 6, well, ok, 6:15, the snooze button is too convenient and got on a call at 6:30am, I was not exactly my normal bubbly self, sorry.

I know I’m very aware of other people’s time zones when I schedule calls, why can’t other people be so observant?

I need a nap!

{July 31, 2013} Duck Dynasty

I tried people, I really tried.

One of the good and bad things about moving in with DCM is that we have cable all the time, so I get to see some TV shows I have missed (Criminal Minds, Leverage), basically the shows I can’t find on Netflix, Hulu or online and a lot of movies, which was what I was doing before.

So, here comes reality TV, why? I still don’t get giving rich people money so we can watch them be obnoxious, vile, rich, useless. You’ve got people thrown together in a house, summer camp, n a bridge, would they do half of that stuff if weren’t watching?

And then there is the flip side, there’s the exploitation of toddlers, white trash and rednecks, when did watching the type of people you would find on “the people of Walmart” live become big business?

We as a society become obsessed with certain shows, I’ll admit, there was a time that CKM and I were addicted to Hoarders, we’d sit on the phone watching in our respective homes, “did you see that?” “OMG!”

My mom! My mom, for those of you who knew her, might be shocked by this, but she la la la loved The Osbornes! That cracked me up!

I think I told you that one of the things I enjoyed about traveling for work was staying in hotels and having cable and being able to flip channels. Now, please keep in mind, on my last contract, I wasn’t in any one city more than two nights, so there wasn’t a lot of sight seeing to be done, sometimes I got to my hotel in enough time to grab some food and sac out for an hour or two before crashing, so TV it was, a good way to wind down and decompress.

There is always a new reality show that people talk about and right now, it’s Duck Dynasty, a family in the Louisiana bayou, staying true to their roots while building their empire of duck calls and decoys, Duck Commander. We got through about 15 minutes, it was the very first episode and there were a few funny moments, sort of, and then they lost me when the guys went out to find frogs because the momma was going to be filming a cooking show the next day. Um, not something I can handle, I once saw frogs legs at a grocery store and couldn’t eat for three days!

I just don’t think I can do it, I hear so many people talking about it, they talk about how funny it is, it’s just not for me. I have heard that the women are ga-ga for their guys, they don’t have a lot of the same drama as the “rich people” reality shows, something to be said for that.

But when I watch some of these reality shows, I feel like my I.Q. drops a lot, so I think I will be skipping the majority of these shows and leave them to everyone else who is fascinated by them. Just like they say there is someone for everyone, there is an audience for the reality show market and more power to ’em!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2229907/?ref_=sr_1

{July 30, 2013} Moonstruck

I don’t care what DCM says,,this is one of my all time favorite movies (he says I say that about almost every movie!).

What a cast! I can’t even imagine anyone else in those roles. Cher truly earned her Oscar for this role, wow. Do you remember what she was wearing when she won? Nicholas Cage was too much in this tortured role, the brother of Cher’s new fiancé, by new, I mean one day.

Victor Garber is her philandering father (I can’t be giving any spoilers, this movie came out in 1987!), Olympia Dukakis as her mother, and she deserved her statue for this performance. Danny Aiello was great as the bumbling fiancé.

At the heart of the movie, there is a love story, settling, opera, passion, evolving, la Luna, family, food, food and more food. And the one liners, oh my word! They’re stick with you that you might still be quoting them today. “You got a love bite on your neck!” “Your life’s going down the toilet!”

I still remember going to see this movie with my parents and…even though I have it on VHS! and DVD, when it comes on TV, I still feel compelled to watch. Don’t you?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093565/?ref_=sr_1

{July 29, 2013} A waste of time, follow up and “really?”

Ok, so today is going to be a serious, “Really?” kind of post, so bear with me. But there should be a big belly laugh towards the end.

Today started like any other Monday, get up, started working, entering my time, got everything done and then headed out to my follow up appointment. This appointment was the follow up after the EMG, if you remember, that was the nerve test they did to see if I had carpel and/or cubital tunnel syndrome. I was hooked up to some stuff, they sent shocking signals to different parts of my arm, then the acupuncture needles, same test. The process was cool to watch and learn about, the feelings from the shocks, not so much!

Turns out, no carpel or cubital tunnel, wahoo! So, what’s next? Well, it turns out it’s something to do with my shoulders/neck, tension. Thorasic something? I’m so sorry, I’m having a moment, I left a voice mail to see if someone could tell me exactly what it is, I apologize.

The first available appointment with the original specialist, after the EMG on July 12th was today, July 29th., ok. Off I go, about 40/45 minutes in the car, get there, wait about 10 minutes to get into a room, then wait for about 25 minutes for them to get my records, what? I actually heard the nurse calling the other office, where I had the EMG performed, got transferred about 6 times, forget mispronouncing my last name, I’m used to that.

[As I was arriving to the doctor’s office, I got a call from the vet about my cat, Jymy, to see how he was feeling after his appointment last week. I said she was doing better, ha ha, yeah, happens all the time; I spelled her name that way for a reason]

So, after waiting about 25/30 minutes to see the doctor, he came in, this is the one I told you about before, didn’t have a lot of time, I’m sure he’s very good at what he does, just very busy. He spent approximately 6, maybe 10 minutes telling me he couldn’t do anything else for me, since it’s not carpel or cubital tunnel, it’s not his area of expertise, so he suggested I go back to the doctor I saw who did the EMG for further care…what?

So…I now get back into the car, get on the phone to call the other office for an appointment. After 10 minutes of “your call is important to us, please stay on the line” I was disconnected. I called back and finally spoke to someone almost 10 minutes later, I have my appointment for my shoulder issues a little over 2 weeks from now, it’s a good thing I’m not in debilitating pain! It was only 3:30 and there was traffic, it felt like I was back in Atlanta, but unlike Atlanta, eventually the traffic cleared and it was smooth sailing home.

Let’s sum up…40/45 minutes there, 35/40 minute wait, 10 minutes with the doctor and 45 minutes home, Nope, not a waste, right? Good thing I don’t go anywhere during the day, it wasn’t a total waste of gas, especially since I’ve lived here almost 2 months and only filled up the tank in my car twice, not too shabby.

I realized I was a little hungry, so I thought I’d grab a quick bite at Del Taco. When I got to the intercom to order, since I had never been there, I asked what the rice and beans were cooked in. [I learned a tough lesson a while ago, I need to ask, just because it’s not a meat product, what the food is cooked in, once I asked if the beans on the menu were truly vegetarian, yes. When I got them, I asked if they were cooked in a meat stock, they taste like beef. The response, yes, but they’re vegetarian, not served with anything, yes, but they are cooked IN beef stock! that’s not vegetarian!] and her response to my question “In a pot” WHAT? “REALLY???”

In a pot???

That should have gotten a good belly laugh. I was so done!

{July 28, 2013} Sliding Doors

You know how there are certain movies that you can watch over and over again? For me and almost anyone I know that has seen Sliding Doors feels that this is one of those movies.

(I just finished watching it, if you guessed that’s why I’m writing this post)

Sliding Doors is a movie of “what ifs”, which is a game everyone has played with themselves at least once or a thousand times in their lives. “What if” I hadn’t gone to the club that night, “what if” I had taken a left turn instead of a right.

The movie takes “what if” to a whole new level; it plays the movie with both scenarios happening simultaneously. Helen, played quite brilliantly by Gwyneth Paltrow (I say brilliantly because it takes place in London and brilliant is a smashing word they use, which I love, which leads me to my next thought, with all the amazing or brilliant talent there is in the UK, why did they pick an American access for the lead? Not that she wasn’t, as I said, brilliant. There was one other American, Jeanne Tripplethorne, but she played an American, hmmm).

Helen is sacked from her job (ok, slight spoiler alert) and her story or stories hinge(s) on whether or not she catches the train home, we see what happens when she does and when she doesn’t. This is also where the real story begins. It also leads to the thought or question, if something is meant to be, will it or should it?

We see the parallel lives which could very well happen, whether or not certain events occurred after the train. And we also wonder if the people we meet, would we still meet them if we had gone that way?

I like to think, for somethings…If it’s is meant to be, it will be.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120148/?ref_=sr_1

Email Subscription

What was I thinking?