A New Adventure | Peaches Prattlings

{March 29, 2015} A good veggie burger

I love a good (veggie) burger.

When I say I love burgers, I always mean veggie burgers, I have to explain as people give people me a funny look.

What I don’t understand is why more places don’t offer veggie burgers, it’s such an easy thing to have on hand. You can buy a box and keep them on hand in the freezer, especially burger joints or pubs, just saying.

I’ve told you about some good ones I’ve had, but tonight, while I was thoroughly enjoying my home made veggie burger, baked in the oven, not on the grill, at The Common Man restaurant with PSM, http://www.thecman.com/m/restaurants-and-menus/common-man-concord.aspx…let me just say Y U M!!! I decided that I need to keep track and share with you the different veggie burgers that I experience around the globe.

Who knows what other veggie burger lovers are out there, you know I love to share!

Here’s to a new venture of tasting and sharing!

{March 28, 2015} Today

What a day….

Today started too early…

Skied hard…

New boots…issues? not sure…

Knees buckled…

Giant bags of ice…

Good dinner…

Good company…

Too tired to say more…

Good night.

{March 18, 2015} New Phone..good and bad

I got a replacement phone today!

For a few weeks, I have been having trouble with my cell phone, my beloved Galaxy Note 3, I love this thing! Unfortunately, I have dropped it a few times, but it still works, and that was in the beginning with a bad case.

For the past few weeks, it has started to get fuzzy, the volume doesn’t work well, for calls, notifications, alarms [you know, for waking up on time], anything. The charging port seems loose, won’t keep the cable in, battery is not so hot either. There is also this double beep, like someone is listening…who wants to listen to my oh so stimulating conversations!? [I watch too many crime dramas and spy movies, maybe someone is taping my phone! ooh].

So, needless to say, I was not a happy camper these last few weeks and I am not due for a new phone until February, but I went to Verizon to see what they could do and they did! A new phone was shipped yesterday and now, it’s in my hot little hands.

So…the good…it’s new, no bumps, bruises or scratches, sound quality is good. Now, the bad…you have to download all those apps again, personalization, things like that, where your old phone was set up just so, now you have to start over. On the other hand…you have to start over! Fresh, clean, slate.

You just got a new cell phone /replacement phone…what are you going to do next?

“I’m going to Disneyland!”

{March 14, 2015} Skiing with my family! FUN!

This weekend we are all up in New Hampshire skiing and it’s been great!

I landed last night in Boston, PSM picked me up, we headed to New Hampshire where GES, ACS, EJS and MGS were meeting us to spend the weekend. I haven’t seen them in two weeks since I went to NYC to visit dad last week, so seeing them was great!

MGS saw me when I got out of the car and she was fit to be tied, what a greeting, EJS was still waking up from the drive, not as enthusiastic! MGS asked if I could sleep with them last night, I loved that!

This morning, we all got up, some earlier than others, EJS…had breakfast and hung out. There is also another family here to ski, friends of PSM, with two kids one year younger than both the girls, so there is playing, running, screaming, let’s just say fun!

The other family needed to rent skis, so we headed to the mountain. EJS was excited to ski with me again and MGS couldn’t wait to get on a chair lift with Auntie J! I was tickled. We got to the top of one of the lifts and away we went. What a great skier both girls are! EJS is getting better with her form and parallels, but…she just wants to go fast, which I totally get and she wants to beat everyone to the bottom, you go girl!

MGS is so stinking cute! She really got into her own this year and has made great strides, she is also fearless! There were many times where the girls would ski ahead and we would catch up or someone would ski first, then the girls, then someone taking up the caboose.

One of the times I was with MGS it was great because…I believe I told you she is a wee tot, well, those kids are so cute when you see them on the slopes and as we were skiing under the lift, people were looking at her and smiling and saying things like “you go!” “woo hoo!” It was a lot of fun.

It really was a treat to ski with both of them, to see and feel their enthusiasm and they are such troopers “one more, one more, I’m going to beat you to the bottom, one more”. It was neat to be able to ski with my sister again after all these years. I don’t think we’ve skied together since college, so this was fun. I loved watching her, she has great form and is a very smooth skier.

We skied from about 10:30am to 3:15pm, with a short break for lunch in between, really great!

After skiing, back to the house to relax, snack, have dinner and then eventually pass out on the couch in front of the fire. That sounds pretty good to me, I wonder what’s in store tomorrow!

Happy Happy to my friend TS!

{March 10, 2015} Niagara Falls at night

Tonight, an exciting and fun experience.

I’ve told you how I get to do cool stuff while I’m onsite for some projects, tonight was no different. We went to Niagara after dinner, how cool is that?!

Since we are in Buffalo for this project, we knew we would have to go to The Falls at some point, so JO found a deal for the Sheraton, we got the room, vouchers for food and drinks, a bottle of wine and a voucher for the casino across the way, great! So tonight, after work, we met downstairs and had dinner then walked less than a mile to Niagara Falls!

It’s night time, so it wasn’t easy to see very far, but it was still cool and beautiful. From about two blocks away you could hear the rushing water, then as we got closer, it got a little chillier and when we were there, we could feel the spray on our faces.

It was a fun experience and one I hope to do again, in daylight hours, but I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them!

{March 8, 2015} End with the Theater…as promised!

Oh brother was I tired last night! A 12 hour day can do that to a person!

Let me tell you how tired I was…I slept until almost 10am! Yes, me…the girl who doesn’t sleep, slept until almost 10am! It was awesome and now I am caught up for the month!

We saw…BOOK OF MORMON! OMG! SO FUNNY!

So…after the museum, we drove down town to the theater district, parked and walked around for about 1.5/2 hours, it was great. The sights, the sounds, the smells of New York City and Times Square and all of it, I was at peace, I love this city! No other like it in the world! And I love that I was with my dad!

We stopped in a Pret a Manger for a bite to eat, lunch had finally worn off and I didn’t want my tummy grumbling during the performance! Then it was time to go, we walked to the theater, found our seats and settled in to have a good time. If there was a little more leg room between the seat and the railing, it would have been better. I’m short, just imagine what it was like for my dad!

The show is so funny! The high level overview? Two young wide eyed missionaries, one “the perfect elder” the other…”the perfect screw up” well, that’s what his parents seem to think, who are paired up and sent to a remote village in northern Uganda. There are several missionaries there already, no converts and the village is terrorized by a warlord, can’t tell you his name, not PG, and the villagers are more worried about disease, torture and death than the lord. The less than perfect elder has a breakthrough with the villagers and presto-chango…new congregants.

Let’s just say the less than perfect elder, who has not quite read the Book of Mormon tells them his own version, so to speak. This one has Yoda, some hobbits, Darth Vadar, BobaFet, just saying. Do you get the picture?

There is singing, dancing, hilarity, flashy sequined numbers, from simple vests to an entire underworld red sequined extravaganza! There are lessons to be learned, friendships to be made, humility to be experienced, warlords to be defeated, body parts to be saved.

The important thing to remember, this show was created by the guys who brought you South Park, very tongue in cheek, poke fun at religion, among so many other things! If you are a very religious person or offended by bad language this show is not for you. But…if you have a good sense of humor and can take things in the spirit they were written, go see this show!

Thanks daddy, I had the best time!

Enjoy the opening number: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzS5rUEsy3M&list=PLF4A9BACDC3B1E6E3

http://bookofmormonbroadway.com/show

{March 7, 2015} Start with the Museum…End with the Theater…What a day!

I am a spoiled daddy’s girl and I love it!

Having a moment…did I mention, last night, that I am in NYC visiting my dad for the weekend? Well, I am and it’s been fabulous so far! I got in late last night, as I told you and then we stayed up until about 12:30 talking, it was great.

This morning I got a text way too early, as I had forgotten to turn off the volume, a mistake I will not be making this evening. So, no worries on getting up early, I’m getting used to it for teaching class, so it’s all good.

Dad and I talked for a good long while, got some breakfast, played on our pc’s, got ready and headed into Manhattan to have some fun! We drove in and parked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, headed in, but first, had to stop at the main entrance, go outside and get a knish! Mmmm…and for those of you not in the know, a knish is dough filled with goodness and often fried. Trust me, y u m! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knish

After sneaking the knish in, we sat down to munch on it and then headed into the museum for some culture. We started with some amazing Chinese calligraphy and images, I need to show you some of the amazing work my dad has done, in this medium! He really is gifted and I love when I get an original piece, sometimes he even writes letters on the back and mails it, how cool is that?

Aren’t these beautiful? He gets inspired looking at them, I love to see it and talk to him about what he’s going to create, it’s fun to see.

Then there were the Impressionists, which I love! Degas’ Dancer was there! I hadn’t seen it in years, since I was at Musee D’Orsey in Paris about 7 years ago! What a treat! I walk into this area, see Manet, Monet, Seurat, Pissaro and so many more and I feel a huge sense of calm and happiness wash over me, I am at peace and well, happy.

Somewhere in there, we have a sit down and some lunch, which was very nice, my view was of the park outside of the museum covered in snow, people out there walking around, it was about 30 degrees, a heat wave!

I have to tell you, I love going to the museum with my dad more than anyone. I enjoy going with others, but there is nothing like going with my dad. We have similar tastes and reactions, we sometimes both look at something and wonder “What?” “Really?” And we laugh at a lot of the same things, I absolutely love it!

After lunch, we went to one of my favorite areas, the Lila Acheson wing, where they keep the modern art. There are some pieces I adore and some I scratch my head, well I should say we scratch our heads.

There was the Lichtenstein and the Close and the Rauschenberg and the Stella and the…and the… I was happy.

Now, when I said we like to have fun…Take a look at this this one, I made my dad stare into it and I whispered “I want a pony, I want a pony”

Eventually, it was time to go and folks…this is where I sign off because I am one tired puppy and I need to get some sleep! I will tell you all about the theater tomorrow!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them!

{March 5, 2015} I’m on a runners high!

And I didn’t even run anywhere! But I did walk 17, 441 steps! Let me tell you how!

Today, I taught my first class on my new project and it was awesome! I got here last Monday and hit the ground running. Monday we did orientation, meet the other trainers, get the lay of the land, even started working on updates or talking points to some documentation.

Tuesday we did T3 or Train The Trainer. For those of you not “in the know” that is where someone trains the trainer, me, on the application. Depending on the size of the project, number of people to be trained, material covered, length of class times, a lot of factors, will determine how long T3 lasts. Well, we started last Tuesday and I taught my first class today!

During T3, we will watch a full class being presented and then over the next few days, the trainers will take turns doing teach backs, where they present to the instructors, to get a feel for the application and what they will be training and it gives the people running T3 an insight into the trainers strengths, weaknesses, how they will do in front of the class.

We started T3s on Wednesday, I was the second person to do a teach back and since I have more experience than the majority of the trainers on the team, I stayed to help them with their teach backs, go through the material, get comfortable in front of a class, some of them have never taught before. I had a lot of fun doing it and one of the reasons I enjoyed it is that when I am helping them, I am also reinforcing my knowledge of the product, so a win-win!

The first time you do a teach back on a new application is always the toughest, it’s new, unfamiliar territory and you want to get it right. After that, you’re golden. I have been practicing and I have been ready to go for a few days and today was the day. I was going to sit in on another trainer’s classes and be the co-teach and help her if she needed it, which she did not, just so you know! I was also there for moral support, which is always a good thing, I like think. It also helped reinforce things for when I was going to teach.

I’m always a little nervous when I teach my first full class, but I am good enough that you would never know it! Fooled you all! muwahaha! It was time for my first class and I jumped right in and I told some bad jokes, got people comfortable and got started and I made the 1.5 hour fly by, at least I think and hope I did! Everyone seemed to learn a lot and have a good time, which is a great thing!

I was done with the second class and I was over the moon! I barely even look at my notes during the second class, that felt great! I walked around, looked at what everyone was doing, guided them to where they needed to be and taught two very successful classes, I am so very happy to say!

Now, back to my 17k steps! How did I do that, you might ask…well I’ll tell you. It starts with getting up at 5:30am, getting ready for work, heading out the door and then proctoring two classes that you never sit for, walk around to get the keys for the classrooms, never sit while you teach, then do 3.1 miles on the treadmill!

And now, my friends, I think I just hit the preverbal wall, I am going to say goodnight and pleasant dreams! I have to do it all again tomorrow!

{February 28, 2015} Challenge issued…accepted…accomplished

Today I faced a new challenge, accepted it and accomplished it…with lots of help and encouragement.

I don’t know if you remember me telling about not having skied for almost 20 years before I moved to Colorado. GES and I skied as kids, for me all the way through college and the year after while I was still living at home and then I moved to Georgia and no skiing for me, the wasband wasn’t a skier and I never really thought about going to North Carolina to ski, so it didn’t happen, while GES continued skiing and eventually had time in a ski house in Killington, VT, where she met ACS, so perfection there!

One of the reasons I was so excited to move to Colorado almost two years ago was the opportunity to go skiing again. I know I’ve told you some of the stories. The first time I went to ski, the entire way up in the gondola at Keystone, I kept thinking, “Please let me like it again, please let me like it again”. I didn’t want to have wasted the money on skis and the pass. As soon as I put my skis on and started down the mountain I thought “Please let me get good enough to ski black diamonds again!” So awesome!

For those of you not in the know, there are symbols for each run, which is a path down the mountain and the symbols tell you the level of difficulty for each run. Keep in mind that the symbols are pretty much universal wherever you go, it makes it a lot easier to know those symbols even if you don’t speak the language. Beginners start with green circles, as you can imagine and then you move on to blue squares, more difficult, black diamond, which is the most difficult and double black diamond, really, really most difficult!

When I was skiing regularly. black diamonds were the way to go for me, since I started skiing again last year, I pretty much stay to the green circle and blue square, which, on some mountains are perfectly challenging. I skied black diamonds at Nashoba with EJS a few weeks ago and they weren’t very difficult, but for that particular mountain, they were the most difficult, which got EJS excited, because she’s skiing black diamonds. Someone needs to tell her the black diamonds are not the same everywhere!

Well, a few weeks ago, I went skiing with PM at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH. It was the first time we skied together and it was great, he’s a “real” skier, and by that I mean, he has been skiing for years and is incredibly graceful and enjoyable to watch as he skis or more appropriately, swishes down the mountain. He is a double black diamond skier, so I feel bad that he has to hold back because of me, taking my time and not doing double black diamonds, we did go down a black diamond a few weeks ago and it wasn’t horrible.

That was on one side of the mountain, today we were on the other side of the mountain with some more difficult runs. I also need to interject that we are here with two other families, friends of PM’s that he has known for years, and they all ski, including the kids. Collectively, they have a lot more experience than I do and ski more often, all incredibly nice, we’ve been having a great time!

Today, one family went to another mountain and the other family and the two of us went to Loon, as I said. We had a great time, all of us skiing together, run after run. The two girls got tired after a few hours and decided they were going to hang out inside while the grownups skied.

After a few runs, PM and I went down a diamond that didn’t seem too bad until I hit some ice, that was fun. But I made it to the bottom, in one piece, both key points to be made. We took the next run blue square and S and B went double black diamond. S said I was about her ski level and thought I could do that one, there was a steeper drop in the beginning, but once you get past that, no problem. Just like the black diamond earlier, it was a challenge and if I want to get better, I have to practice and take a change on a black diamond every once in a while, right?

I am always up for a challenge, S said she challenges herself with new things she wants to improve on each time she skies. Ok, I can do this, right? Double black diamond, how bad could it be? Let’s just say I fell on my personality more than once and I felt really bad that PM had to slow down and help me so much, but he is incredibly sweet and wanted to ensure that I was alright.

Let’s just say there was a lot more powder and ice than I would have liked and it was a bit steeper than I was prepared for. I fell a few times, slid a few times, it was frustrating, on top of feeling bad that PM had to wait on me, but he was a great help trying to help me up. The whole tongue sticking out of the corner of my mouth wasn’t cutting it!

S was great and hung around waiting for me and B went to go and get the girls, I appreciate that. It probably took us twenty full minutes to get down the mountain. The one thing I was really frustrated about was that I used to be able to do all that, diamonds, double diamonds and I know, in my head, realistically, I have a ways to go, I get that, I just want to be able to do things and keep up.

So…The challenge: Black Diamond and Double Diamonds. Challenge: accepted, what girl doesn’t like diamonds, wink, wink. Challenge: Accomplished, with a little help from my friends!

Now, it is time to crash! Tomorrow is another ski day!

{February 26, 2015} I didn’t start a fire! Wahoo!

No, this has nothing to do with actual fire, just bear with me…

You know I am a run/walker…I run, I walk, I run/walk. Well, I am also one with not quite thunder thighs, to coin that oh so charming phrase, I have thighs that like to hang out together and touch, if they were people, they’d be dating, how’s that, get the picture?

I’ve had this situation, let’s call it, since I was in college, high school even, most likely, so when I wore skirts, I usually wore bike shorts underneath. When I split from the wasband, I think I told you, I stopped eating, not advisable, and lost 30 pounds, not the best method, but hey, I looked fabulous! And for the first time, I could go out in a skirt and no bike shorts underneath! Wahoo!

Over the last seven years, I have put some of that weight back on and as you know I’m working on making it go away, it’s a process, but I’m willing to work at it, but I still wear shorts, running shorts now, when I wear my running dress to walk/run. I have forgotten them in the past and regretted it greatly while I was walking or running.

This week, I was back on the road, new project and in hotels, which, I actually like, for many reasons, but one reason is that I love to be able to get on the treadmill and walk/run, as it has been ffffrrreeezing here in Boston, not into running or walking outside, so hotel gym it is, happy me. When I got up at 6am on Tuesday to go to the gym, what did I realize I forgot? You got it, my running shorts, so what did I do? Go back to bed? It was so very tempting! But no, I put on my running dress and said, let’s take a chance!

I did, however, to see if it would work, put deodorant betwixt my thighs, where they touch, maybe it would work like glide, which I have used on my heels to prevent chafing, who knows. It worked alright, then I didn’t remember to do it Wednesday, no injury and again today, no issues, how cool is that?

Now, I’m not planning on going out and doing a full 5k or 10k or more running the entire thing with no protection, I am afraid of what would happen! but 3.5 miles walking at a good clip on an incline, no running shorts and no fire, let me just say…wa…hoo!!!

Happy 13th Birthday to my beautiful niece JK! When did that happen???

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