A New Adventure | Peaches Prattlings

{April 19, 2016} White House and The Capitol, wahoo!

We toured The White House and The Capitol today, it was really cool!

We had 10am tour time for the East Wing of the White House, we had to be lined up by 9:30/9:45am. ACS dropped GES, MGS, EJS, dad, LaLa and I at the White House Visitor Center.

There was a background check before we got passes to get in. GES has a friend who’s brother works at The Pentagon and got us in, sweet!

We went through several security checks, showing our licenses, verifying who we are, that sort of thing. The last one was good, the guard told me to stand there, close my eyes and wait for the shock, so I did, cracked them up! Then we we were in!

It was a self guided tour, we started with some great black and white photos of different presidents, first ladies, visitors, dinners and even some first pets.

We saw the Blue Room, Red Room, Green Room, Library, China Room, Formal Dining Room, personal dining room. In a lot of these rooms, they are set up just for the tours, after the last tour, they set the room back to the way it was at the start of the day.

See how the carpets are rolled up!

After the tour, we went to get some lunch and then head to The Capitol for a private tour. GES has a friend from high school who works for a senator and got us this tour, it pays to know people! It was great to catch up with her.

She walked with us to the train that took us from the offices to the Capitol. It was cool, you would never have to leave the office, they have a hair salon, bank machines, food, coffee, whatever you need!

From there we went into The Capitol and began our tour. We saw Washington’s tomb, where he would have been if his descendant’s would have let him be moved from Mt Vernon.

We saw THE Rotunda! It’s under some construction, so a lot of scaffolding, but you can see a bit of the ceiling, where George Washington is represented as becoming a god.

In the Hall of Sculputres, there are columns that you can see where slaves and pages carved their names into the columns.

The last statue as we walked out was of Ronald Reagan and as he was famous for saying [regarding the Berlin Wall] “Tear down this wall!” At the base of the statue, the light colored stone is actually pieces of the Berlin Wall. How cool is that?

This is a tribute Flight 93, the plane that was brought down in Pennsylvania, the thought is that the plane, if not diverted, would have hot the Capitol.

We saw where the Supreme Court sat, it was awe inspiring.

Check out the spittoon, ick!

This is a replica of a hopper!

After the tour, we went to sit in on a sexton of the Senate! No pictures, sorry, we had to leave anything electronic at security.

Someone asked me what I took away from the being there. The interesting thing, I couldn’t tell you what they were talking about, after all the appreciation [“I would like to thank my constituent” “I would like to thank…”].

It was more just being there, in that room, where so much happens. It was live C-SPAN!

After the tour and goodbyes, we headed back to the hotel for a quick rest and then dinner at the hotel. GES and ACS went to dinner with some friends of ACS’ so it was just me, dad, LaLa, EJS, MGS, JS and AS. Lots of laughing and fun.

Then it was night night for the girls and when GES and ACS got back, ACS and I went down to the bar for a drink, it was nice for some one-on-one time.

Now, back in the room to talk to you and crash. Goodnight!

{April 18, 2016} Ruby slippers make everything better!

Oh yeah, Dorothy’s ruby red slippers…sigh.

I am in Washington, DC with the family for spring break week. See, I told you things would be better.

Today’s agenda was to start with breakfast, of course, then take the shuttle to the metro, I remember being awed by the DC metro system, then… The Smithsonian, Air and Space Museum. Big reason…EJS wanted to see Amelia Earhart’s plane. Cool, wouldn’t you say?

There were some amazing things we saw and learned today.

There was a sculpture garden on the way, some fabulous pieces, one by one of my favoriteartists, Roy Lichtenstein!

After lunch ACS, his brother and sister-in-law, JS and AS, headed back to the hotel with EJS and MGS for some pool time.

GES, dad, LaLa and I headed to the National Museum, loved it! All sorts of exhibits throughout our history. My one goal, Dorothy’s ruby red slippers! We saw them towards the end, so worth it!

Back to the hotel, swim with the girls, shower and off to dinner with the family.

Sounds like a better day, wouldn’t you say?

{April 17, 2016} It started with an explosion and ended flat

Cut off again? What’s with you Disney?

The Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon was scheduled to start at 5am. Up at 3:15am, uck…at 10pm last night I was trying to [using the] force myself to sleep, you know me, it was hard! So, up at 3:15am, out by 3:30am and at Epcot by 4am, took some pictures and then head to corral K.

At the start of each corral, there were fireworks. By the time corral K started, it was about 5:45.

And we were off. The thing about Disney runs and something people don’t realize, there are so many people participating that it gets bottlenecked in so many places and they have characters along the way everyone wants to take pictures.

We started at Epcot, through the park, then The Boardwalk, on to Hollywood Studios, out onto the highway.

Now…here’s where the flat comes in. At mile 5, there were a bunch of us just behind the 16 minute mile pacers and they cut us off and loaded us into the bus. The only other place I have been cut off was last year at Disneyland, but that was at the 9 mile point. At least there I got in more than half, this wasn’t even fully half of the half. What’s with that?

If you don’t want us to stop and take pictures, don’t have the characters throughout the park. And maybe control the bottleneck issues.

Now, I’m not saying I wasn’t slower, I’m not saying I was better than anyone, but seriously…what was it that they had to cut off the rest of us at 730am.

I did make a friend, a fellow “cut-offer”, we rode the bus together back to the parking lot and get this..she lives around the corner from my house in Georgia! She was disappointed that she didn’t finish, this was her first race ever, she was more disappointed in the swag!

Now, we did find the bright sides…we got our medals, we were done in time to go back to our hotels and have free breakfast, take a shower and make my flight, see bright side.

I’m still kind of miffed, I’ll be fine tomorrow, maybe the next day, I’m just disappointed. I know there will be a next time and I need to train for it, something I really want to do and let’s see what comes next. Onward and upward!

A week with the family will help, don’t you think?

[I tried to post more pics, keeps failing, I’ll keep trying]

{April 15, 2016} Goodbye Atlanta…hello Orlando…packet pickup!

It’s travel day, lots to do!

The alarm went off, so I could tell after I woke up, snoozing is amazing! JCT made me breakfast, yes, I’m spoiled! I got some work done, took a shower, repacked and headed to the airport. I did get to say goodbye to her mom and daughter, love them all.

At the airport, got thru security easily, boarded and settled in, started watching The Wedding Singer, I love when they have movies in the seat backs…then I can play games on my phone, tee hee hee.

I got my rental car, ready for it…a convertible beetle! In Atlanta a red beetle, here, a silver convertible! And I rented an economy, get this…they can’t give them away! Apparently, not a family friendly car with a week’s worth of luggage. Works for me!

I decided to head to the Expo at Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports to pick up my race packet for the Dark Side Half Marathon.

The shoes match the character’s outfit, fitting!

I was good…they gave us the Darkside shirt and Active Advantage gave all its members a free t-shirt. I bought a running belt, hopefully it will hold everything and not pooch, so to speak. There wasn’t a lot I couldn’t live without.

My other purchase was a new running skirt with a matching headband, isn’t it fabulous! Perfect for Hawaii, wouldn’t you say? There was a woman there who said it was perfect for Hawaii, she lives there! Go figure!

I got my knees and back taped with Rock Tape, hopefully it will help my knees and back on Sunday. I’m set.

On the way to the expo I had the top dropped on the car, stereo cranked and dancing my heart out, it felt SO good to be in a convertible, I can’t wait to see Annie again!

Then it was time to go, drop the top, crank the tunes, head back towards the airport to check into my hotel, order some food and relax.

Tomorrow is another adventure! Time to dream about Mickey, Minnie and Winnie the Pooh!

{April 8, 2016} Author jam session

Maybe jam session isn’t the right word, but it was cool.

You know how someone will pay a movie quote on Facebook and then someone else posts another quote from the same movie [I’ve seen it so many times with The Princess Bride]. Well, I had this happen with authors, pretty cool!

I was on my flight this afternoon, waiting to take off and taking to PSM on the phone and a woman was passing by to her seat and I noticed the author she was reading. I mouthed that I loved that author and she said I know!

Then I said another author and she mentioned another and back and forth. We must have mentioned at least eight authors each and we both knew the other persons. [The line was moving slowly].

I have to say…a very cool happening. A literary jam session, there you go!

{April 2, 2016} What a day! Karate…Volunteering…Red Nose…Dinner…Movie

I was thoroughly refreshed after four hours of sleep, but would it be enough? I was spending the day with my sister’s family, you know, a marathon!

I happened to wake up on my own at 8am, greeted the girls, had waffles made my ACS, he and MGS went off to gymnastics and EJS, GES and I went off to karate. After EJS went into class, my sister and I went over to Walgreens to pick up a prescription and then what do you do while you’re there? Why…walk around and look at deals, of course! And we found some good ones!

Including red noses for everyone! Do you know about Red Nose Day? This year it’s May 26th and every red nose product [red noses, bracelets, sun glasses, headbands with pompoms] purchased helps to fight kid poverty. “What’s poverty?” asks the nine year old when we picked her up and I gave her her very own red nose. So I explained.

I explained while we were on our way to Cradles to Crayons. This is a volunteering event that GES and EJS have participated in several times and I did once, I’m not sure if you remember me telling you about it. This is where people bring donations to the local high school and then the volunteers sort everything from clothes to books to toys. There are stations everywhere! We ended up in toys, counting and cleaning. Do you know how hard it is to count puzzle pieces when people ask you questions!

If an item is all in one piece, functioning and in good shape, it goes to donation, if it’s not the best, maybe it’s a coloring book that has one or two pages drawn on, or a pair of shoes with some scuff marks, it goes to Salvation Army. There were over one hundred kids, of all ages, and parents volunteering. It’s a very cool event and collect so many items that it helps so many kids.

What they do: Cradles to Crayons provides children from birth to age 12, living in low- income and homeless situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play. We supply these items free of charge by engaging and connecting communities that have with communities that need. https://www.cradlestocrayons.org/

After volunteering, EJS chose to go to the bagel shop, so she GES and I got bagels, took them home and enjoyed them in our jammies and sweats on the couch! ACS and MGS got home from lunch, well, ACS came in, MGS was having a great nap in the car, which was safe, dry and warm in the garage, ACS even brought out a blanket for her. She hasn’t napped like that for a long time, she was probably out there another two hours after they got home.

There was playing and hanging out until it was time for dinner and we were meeting another family, well part of the family, at the local Japanese Steak House, Fuji for fun, food and fire! Then off to Orange Leaf for frozen yogurt and home for night-night.

As the girls were falling asleep, ACS and I channel surfed, it was quite interesting, a documentary on drugs, March Madness, the Final Four and Pawn Stars, yup, interesting. He went up, GES came down and the two sisters watched the movie Sisters. It was just as funny as I remembered and I may have laughed so hard I peed in my pants, that funny!

I told you…marathon! It’s been quite the day and now it’s time to drift off to sleep, I hope. My goal is to fall asleep before 4am, who’s with me! Pleasant dreams my friends!

Cradles%20to%20Crayons

{April 1, 2016} I’m not a hypochondriac, thank gawd!

Now, I don’t want something to be wrong, but it’s much better when there is a reason and you’re not just a worry-wort, extremist, hypochondriac.

It happens, right? You feel like crap and you hope it’s not just in your head so you don’t sound like the whiney baby you feel like. And I’m not talking about a cold, go for it, be a baby when you have a cold, you deserve it, you feel like crud and you can whine about it.

I’ve had a few major instances where I was worried it was all in my head. Kidney stones are a big one, you can’t figure out what the pain is and you want it to go away and it won’t and you hate the idea of going to the doctor for a little back pain. Mine was the size of a dime the last time, so I am now perfectly fine going to the doctor when I think it might be a stone, I would like to keep my kidneys, thank you.

Another big one I might have told you about, my heel spurs. It hurt every time I put my feet on the floor, I was doing a lot of walking, racing, running, so I thought it might just be sore feet, but when I saw the x-ray and the thing trying to make its way out of my foot via my heel and to know there was a solution…ahhh.

Today, again, I found out I’m not completely nvts-nuts! I had the extraction on Monday that I told you about and it hurt, just like the surgeon said it would, but it continued to get worse. I needed the pain meds every four hours, no question, every four hours, the pain was crazy. I told the surgeon one of the things I was worried about was dry sockets, which I had when I had a wisdom tooth removed once.

I tried to explain what a wisdom tooth was to EJS, that it doesn’t make you smarter, ha ha. So, when I had the wisdom tooth removed years ago, the blood didn’t quite clot correctly so you get food and air in the hole that’s left. Well, the pain got really bad yesterday, every morning I have woken up almost screaming, I live with two cats, what do they care? Except when I was crying they did try to cheer me up with cold noses on my face and rubbing their heads under my chin, it helps a little, except for the cold wed nose thing.

My jaw started to get swollen and really tender to the touch, I’ve been icing for days and it’s frustrating. I was supposed to have a follow up appointment on Monday, but I changed it for today and I’m glad I did!

I have an infection and dry socket, go me! I told you, when I do something, I like to go all the way! He gave me a syringe that I can irrigate the tooth out, get anything out that might be in there, more heavy duty ibuprofen, some amoxicillin for the infection and a heavy duty rinse that tastes like peppermint, but makes everything else taste like blech.

So, it wasn’t my imagination, I am looking like a chipmunk for a reason, thank goodness! It’s something!

There was an episode of The Golden Girls where Dorothy wasn’t feeling well and no one could tell her why and she felt like she was going crazy. Then she found out she had a disease and the relief was overwhelming and that’s how I felt, I’m not crazy, there’s something wrong and the pain in excruciating because there is something wrong. [I threw that in there in honor of my friend SD, he la la la loves The Golden Girls!]

Now, I’m taking my meds and hopefully can sleep tonight and I’m on my way to a full recovery. My advice…take care of your teeth! You only got one mouth people!

Off to la la land with an ice pack in hand! Good night!

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{March 30, 2016} Ugh…the side effects

How do people get addicted?

I understand how people can get addicted to some drugs, I know, the euphoric side effects and what have you.

But I took oxycodine for pain medication and let me tell you, that one, first pill was also my last! It felt great, a short time after I took the pill, the nice warm sensation, I stated to get sleepy and then…it hit.

The nausea, it was horrible! I know I’ve told you that I’m nauseous all the time, but this took it to a whole new level, it was horrible and didn’t subside for a few hours.

Not to worry…I’m ok and if they could make that a side effect of a lot of drugs, I’m more talking about the bad stuff, there might be a lot less people getting addicted.

Count me in! Blech!

{March 29, 2016} What exactly are they doing up there?!

I know I live in a basement apartment, but come on! This is ridiculous!

It’s like I’m sleeping in my parents basement. Ok, so technically, this is the basement apartment in a converted house, now full of apartments, but I don’t make nearly as much noise as those people upstairs. It’s not possible!

I think I’ve told you before that sometimes they share my insomnia, I hear them walking around. That’s nothing new, I lived in an apartment with walls so thin, I could hear my neighbor brushing his teeth.

But this…there’s crashing and running and falling and I don’t know what else. It’s one thing when it’s daytime, that’s when I vacuum and do whatever, I even chalked up ask the noise this weekend because it was the weekend, I know there was a party by the music, ok, but it’s after 11pm, it’s been going on for a while and just now, crash, run, crash. Really?

What exactly are they doing up there?!

{March 28, 2016} Tooth out…data out…what’s next?!

When I go all out, I go all out, I tell ya!

Apparently I think Monday equals dental work. Last Monday I went to the dentist for a cleaning and had a cavity filled. Today, i went in for an extraction, jealous?

When I went in for the cleaning/cavity on Monday, as I told you I knew I would I needed a root canal. Well, you and I were both misinformed. I went to see the endodontics professional and as he took x-rays it was determined that it wasn’t a root canal that I needed, the roots were not dead, there was resorption, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tooth_resorption. Basically, instead of the tooth growing, it sort of ate itself, if you would, from the inside out. Ok, so, my teeth ain’t so smaht. What does that mean? It can’t be fixed and it must come out. Uh, ok.

I must tell you that whatever the doc did while he was in there worked, I was no longer in pain, ahhh.

So, as it is Monday, I go in for more dental work. This time, lots of numbing, split the tooth because it can’t come out whole with the whole in the middle. I’ve told ya, I go for the gusto. They start and about twenty minutes later, it’s done…tooth gone, hole in the head, oh so many one liners! two stitches, extra gauze in my pocket and instructions…pain reliever every four hours [what do I have at home? Uber ibuprofen and some oxycodine, oh yeah] I’ve been taking ibuprofen every four hours, just took an oxy, he said it would help with sleep, I’m gonna be hurtin’. I took my first oxy almost an hour ago and I’m starting to feel it, oh yeah…ha ha. And I’ve been icing on and off every 30 minutes, trust me, I’m timing it, I need it! I don’t have a soft ice pack in the freezer, the doc told me to use whatever I have, wrapped in a towel. I need to go to sleep soon, I’m running out of food!

That, my friends, as they say is that…on that front. Tooth is gone.

I got home and wanted to look something up online on my pc, so I hot spotted. I got a love note from tmobile, you’ve hit 100% of your hot spot data, what? I was at 80% on Friday, haven’t used it for anything but streaming this weekend. Last week, I used it for work.

Here’s the skinny…I have unlimited talk, text and data on my cell phone, all good. I also have 7Gb of data hotspot, great. Normally, I barely hit the limit, especially if I’m on the road for work, I use everyone else’s for my laptop. I don’t even burn data on my phone unless I can’t connect.

When I called a while back to confirm that using my Hotspot to stream videos [Netflix, Hulu, etc] would not affect my 7Gb of data. They have this great thing called binging, if you don’t have unlimited data, steaming music or video won’t count against your data package. Go binging!

What they do not tell you…if you use your hotspot, like I do, to power your Amazon Firestick, which I love by the way, when you search for a video, watch any previews or commercials [like Hulu has] count against your data. What?

So…I will not be using my Firestick for the next few weeks and I will be paying extra if I hotspot, unless I spend my time at Starbucks for their free WiFi. Oh well.

I am currently doing what I used to do when I was back in Atlanta, watch my movies or watch on my phone. Luckily, I brought my movies back from Denver, I’ve been burning them to a portable drive, it’s actually been great. I miss my 400 disc DVD player, but this works.

I am now really feeling the effects of the oxy, who’s ready to pass out with me! Tomorrow…I get to rinse! Maybe even eat hot food! Jealous?

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