A secret handshake…what’s next?
Dedication, ambition, crazy even. ..well, why?
I was actually getting tired and thought..you’ve had a good life, nice friends, good food, great…time to get some sleep and as I lay there thinking, I need sleep and started to doze off, all of sudden my brain woke up!
Uh oh, I have to get up! I have to talk to my fiends tonight!
Thank you for being patient while I blather on with no agenda or rhyme or reason!
Happy Wednesday!
Today started a new venture.
I had been looking for a new project since I left Chicago and a few weeks ago I found one! I interviewed and a few days later, ta da! Awesome! I found out one day short of my one year anniversary with my company, how cool is that?
The project is in, wait for it…BUFFALO! What? I left Boston this morning and it was 15 degrees out, snow everywhere, I land and it was 0 in Buffalo and now… NEGATIVE 7, it’s cold!
So, let’s talk about the day…Uber, as much as I love you, no love today, could not get a car to save my life, as the saying goes, so I decided to drive myself, craped some paint off the wheel well of my car scraping against something, it happens. Annie was adjusting, she hasn’t been out of the garage in almost a month! Oh my! The traffic was bearable, but people didn’t want to let me in, not nice! Oh well, I still made it to the airport within an hour. The funny thing with the toll roads, almost everyone has a transponder to pay, so the cash lanes, which I was in, were empty, but I still had to merge with everyone.
I got to the airport, then drove around, in what seemed like circles for quite a while before I found the open parking lot, all levels but the top were full. The guy sitting next to me on the flight said it took him almost an hour to get into the parking deck! Oh my! I found parking and then headed towards American Airlines, where I booked my flight, but oh no, you can’t check in there, or get my boarding pass online, grrr, I had to go outside and across the airport to US Airways check in and drop my bag, really? I know the two airlines are merging, but it’s been a while and it would be nice if some of the merging was done. Oh well. I made it through security, love my TSA pre-check, headed to the gate, stopped for a breakfast sandwich, I asked for no cheese, guess what I got…
Then it was time to board, already started before I got there, which was nice, didn’t have to wait long. I did stare at the woman two in front of me wearing FLIP FLOPS! Going from Boston to Buffalo in flip flops, what? We walked out of the gate, out of the airport, down the steps, across the tarmac a bit, up the stairs, onto the little baby “planelet”. The guy sitting next to me was very nice, a lot nicer than the flight attendant, not sure if was a bad day, not my fault.
There ended the so-so part of my day.
I arrived in Buffalo to the oh so balmy 0, eventually met up with my new co-workers and we shivered our way to the car, headed to one of the locations for the project for the start of Train the Trainer, T3, for those of you not in the know. I met the team I would be working with, had some lunch and started the training and orientation, including schedules.
After orientation, we continued working on the documentation and then about 7:00 we went to dinner at a place called The Lodge. The food was good, company enjoyable, service was s l o w…
Got to the hotel about 9:30, checked in, unpacked my frozen luggage, I actually used the hair dryer to warm the clothes up! I was not getting into frozen jammies!
Here I sit, talking to you, the alarm is set to wake up and walk on the treadmill and get started learning the new application tomorrow!
What an experience this was! Oh my goodness!
EJS has been taking ski lessons since she was about three years old and each year, she just keeps getting stronger and better at it. She takes lessons each season on Saturdays and MGS is doing the same.
This week, the schools are out for mid-winter break and today, I was EJS’ play date! We drove up to Nashoba, http://www.skinashoba.com/, where she takes lessons and she’s very comfortable with each run.
We got up there about 11:30, found a place to stash our stuff, get her a hot chocolate, which was too hot, btw, so we left it with our stuff and when we came back at lunch, it was just right, sweet!
Then it was on to purchase lift tickets for both of us and away we went! GES has been telling me what a great skier EJS is and today I got to see it!
The runs there are a little shorter, so it gave us the opportunity to do a great deal of them and we did. We probably skied at least 8 runs before we went in for lunch, about an hour later.
She is, as GES says, a very good technical skier, she did the chair lift on her own, didn’t want me on the chair, ok, just wait for me so I can see where you’re going!
Watching her was so much fun, I had pride “There was my niece, skiing on her own, no poles, no fear, just go!” Then there was…where is the little girl I played with? She’s in there somewhere.
I wish I could show you the video, but I’m in it!
After skiing the second half, after lunch of course, we packed it in, grabbed our gear and away we went. We did stop to have some fried dough with powdered sugar, yum! And on the way out “Thank you, JJ” for what? “For the funnel cake and spending the day with me” Did my heart melt or what? So very proud!!! Shows she was raised right!
Sleepy time!
I love museums, practically raised in them.
I am inspired to write to you today because the family went to the Boston Museum of Science today, thanks PM for the suggestion.
Different museums have different meanings to different people and are seen in different ways, as you can imagine, just like everything, right? Going to a museum by yourself is enjoyable, if you are into museums, for the same reasons as going with others, but sometimes it’s just more fun to go with others, to enjoy, admire even, be inspired, learn from each other and what you see and maybe even laugh a little. The last one I do with my dad often when we go to the modern art sections of museums and scratch our heads and think…hmmm…really?
Now, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love modern art, there are some artists that some people don’t get, like a Rothko or Stella, even a Pollack but I really love them, their paintings may look like gibberish to some, but I am moved and see meaning when I look at them. What I’m talking about are the things that don’t make sense to us, like a black dot on a blue canvas or a pile of insulation on the floor, maybe they are about the struggle to stand out in a sea of people or how to stay focused when there is chaos all around, I don’t know! But my dad and I wonder often and laugh often, but that’s alright. The point of art is to elicit a response and that’s just what it does and tell you the truth, it doesn’t matter what we think, it matters what the artist who created it thinks, right? Ok, moving on.
Going to museums with kids is another experience entirely, to see things through their eyes is a feeling like no other…the wonder, the fascination, the excitement, the boredom, the laughter, the enthusiasm, the interest. I’ve been to art museums with them, The Museum of Natural History in New York City, http://www.amnh.org/, and this was the second time I was with them at the Boston Museum of Science, http://www.mos.org/, and they didn’t disappoint. It’s interesting the things you think they will find interesting and maybe they don’t and then there are things you never thought they would be interested in and bam! MGS and I had some fun laying on a bed of nails, didn’t hurt and she loved it, remembered it from the last time and wanted me to do it with her again, it was great!
I’ve loved experiences I have had at different museums, dad and I go to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, http://www.mfa.org/, when we are in Boston together, we have a similar technique of touring exhibits and different galleries, another one we have enjoyed together is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, http://www.metmuseum.org/. You could get lost in there, walking around for days, doesn’t that sound wonderful?
I remember an art class I took in high school, he went with me to the Met and The Guggenheim, http://www.guggenheim.org/, and the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA, http://www.moma.org/, to research particular artists. Going with my dad was a different experience than with my mom, a memory I will treasure and I would love to share with you, but not tonight. But I will tell you that that is probably one of the greatest gifts they ever gave me, a love and appreciation for art and museums. Maybe one day I’ll give you my personal guided tour of my favorite museums.
Living in Atlanta, I joined the High Museum of Art, http://www.high.org/, they had some great exhibits that would come through, it was never enough pieces, but it was nice to be able to go whenever I wanted. The best part was that sometimes I would go with a friend or two, but sometimes…if there was a really special exhibit, a large group of us would go.
My two favorite museums in Paris, France, not Texas, just for clarification, are Musee D’Orsay, http://www.musee-orsay.fr/, which houses one of the biggest Impressionist collection and L’ouvre, http://www.louvre.fr/en, where “To see each of the 35,000 art objects in the L’ouvre, taking 60 seconds for each, would take roughly 25 days each of a full 24 hours.”
There is so much more I want to tell you, so many more museums to talk about and I promise that I will, go into greater detail about the museums that I have visited, the museums that I have loved and museums I have not loved, [and I almost got carried away and posted works by a slew of artists I love, but I will leave you with pieces by the artists I named earlier, Pollack, Rothko and Stella. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Pollack, Rothko, Stella
Today is Gotcha Day! And Valentine’s Day! Could anything be more wonderful?
What is Gotcha Day you ask, well, I’ll tell you. That is the day that Miss A and SDL became official!
SDL has wanted kids for a long time and started the adoption process many moons ago. Finally, it was getting closer and I remember getting an email from her, “Auntie G…how would you like to see a picture of your niece?” Let’s just say, I had tears in my eyes when I opened the attachment and I couldn’t say anything to anyone! Not fair! I wanted to shout it to the world, but my lips were sealed!
SDL started going to a far off land, Kazakhstan, to meet the little one who would soon be her pride and joy.
She had set up a blog so that some friends and family could keep up with their progress. It was great! Every day she would post so we would know what was going on and on the days she visited with Miss A, pictures of the two of them. Soooo cute!
What a doll baby! She was adorable and wonderfully fat (only when children are babies is it ok to tell a mother her baby is beautiful and fat!) and she smiled like crazy. Simply wonderful.
There were multiple trips to Kazakhstan for bonding and paperwork. Finally…the day had come…it was going to be official!
Mother and daughter were officially a family, it’s called Gotcha Day and what a wonderful coincidence that their Gotcha Day was February 14th, Valentine’s Day.
As you know, Miss A is not only the light in her mother’s life, she is so very precious to me and I love spending time with her, watching her grow and blossom into a bright, precocious, soon to be five year old, I cannot believe it!
What better day to become a family. Happy Gotcha Day to SDL and Miss A and Happy Valentine’s Day to them and everyone out there!
No flowers, boo.
Today I had a new experience, a first for me. A little background…I was diagnosed with Severe Gastritis somewhere between 21 and 23, it’s been a while. The reason I was diagnosed is that for a long time, every time I ate, I was nauseous and/or would throw up, so my mom took me to a GI, or Gastroenterologist.
I had my first endoscopy at that time, it turns out I had eaten a hole in the lining of my stomach from taking too many Advil, due to allergies, fun, I know, right! I even have the pictures, wanna see? So, the doctor put me on Tagamet, before it was over the counter, and a strict list of things I couldn’t eat. Want to be jealous? Fried food, spicy food, citric acid, caffeine, colored soda, chocolate, apple skins, potato skins and if I eat nuts, I have to chew them really well. I used to eat Tums like they were candy, I got to like the tropical kind.
About the same time, I was diagnosed with Lactose Intolerance, which was wonderful understanding why I would get sick from a sip of milk. For years I took Lactaid pills, tried to avoid a lot of dairy products, but still ate them. Let me tell you, that first sip of Lactaid milk, after years of not drinking milk…like manna from the gods! Happy me!
Eventually I couldn’t even have Lactaid Milk, so it was soy milk, then I developed an allergy to soy milk, really? Oh my goodness, my tongue would itch so bad, I’d scratch it with a fork! So, no more soy milk and limit my soy product intake, to be on the safe side. Almond, Rice and Coconut milk it is! I slowly started to cut some more dairy out, but I couldn’t stay completely away. Finally, in August, I said enough is enough and cut out dairy completely, boo hoo, I miss cheese! I miss pizza! I know, there are substitutes, but they are just not the same, but it’s what had to be done. I feel a little better, but not completely.
Ok, fast forward to today. I gave up dairy last year and I really try to avoid all the things I’m not supposed to have, but I still live with nausea, 24/7, some days worse than other, some better, but it doesn’t seem to go away.
I have a new PCP, primary care physician and when I told her about the nausea, she prescribed Prilosec, after a few weeks, I called to ask how long it was supposed to take before the nausea goes away. She told me to stop taking it and would I be interested in seeing a GI. Yes, please.
I was able to get an appointment and today was the day, so away I went…in the snow. She was very nice and a few times confused when I told her some of the things that bothered me, but had a plan. The second was some blood work, the third and fourth are some tests, very boring as the doctor said, the first is tomorrow, I will let you know.
Yes, I know I went out of order because here is the first thing ties back into why we are here today. She did a somewhat physical exam, I stripped down to my skivvies and got to wear a lovely hospital gown, at least this one has ties in the front!
She listened to my heart and lungs, she checked my neck, she tapped on my belly to see if there was any pain and lastly…she had me roll onto my side, look out the window and ooh, you’re going to put your finger where?
No, it wasn’t a surprise, she told me what was coming next, but it’s not the most pleasant of experiences, so it helps to joke about it, wouldn’t you agree?
She told me the gel would be cold, I asked if I would at least get flowers, she laughed and said no. She was in and out, so to speak, pretty quickly. It was a tad bit uncomfortable, but not horrible, not saying I want to experience this every day, but it was endurable.
All seemed normal there, she was going to send out for tests, to be sure. It was over and then it was time to get dressed and go, which I did, with a new story to tell.
Take care of yourselves people, we only have one life and one body and we should care for it!
I may have talked to you about snail mail before, but I am here I am doing it again, with a twist.
My dad is a great supporter of snail mail, he sends letters back and forth with EJS, I believe LaLa does as well. There have been times we’ve exchanged letters, the old fashioned way, and I enjoyed it and here and there we write, but not consistently.
I have a very dear friend, CGS, who is great at letter writing and I actually owe her a letter, which I will be completing very soon. We were great about writing back and forth for a while, then life gets in the way, then great about it, then…
Well, it’s a new year and I want to try something. Three years ago I set out to blog every day and except for one day last year, I have done it. They say, as I’ve said before, it takes twenty one days to form a habit and I would like to form a new one.
I was inspired a few weeks ago and bought a brand new box of stationary when I was at Barnes & Noble, hard to get out of there without buying something fun, this time was no different.
So…I have my new box of stationary and I want to use it. I want to send letters, it has 30 sheets and envelopes, let’s see who wants to help and exchange with me. I am going to put a post on Facebook to see who wants to become my pen pal.
There are two people who will have letters in the mail in the next two days, I hop they know who they are, daddy…wink wink.
Today I started with music and ended with murder!
Oooh, that sounded so ominous! Let me explain…
This morning I accompanied MGS, along with JS and the twins, N&E, to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for one of their Family Concert series, this was “Keeping Good Company” Musical Partnerships of Inspiration and Innovation, fabulous! Thomas Wilkins was the conductor and what a way he had with the audience, especially the kids! He was personable and witty and engaging and the kids enjoyed it all, I’m not sure if they enjoyed it as much as the adults, but it was a lot of fun.
The conductor talked about the pieces that we were listening to, made us think and questions and wonder and use our imaginations…what did this piece make you think of? What emotion did that piece elicit? How about thinking about this in this way or that. Inspiration and innovation, that pretty much sums it up. There were pieces we each liked and some we all agreed upon. There was even a piece from Star Wars: Phantom Menace, how cool is that?
All in all, a great morning. http://www.bso.org/brands/bso/education-community/children-families/family-concerts.aspx
We got home after a nice lunch and watched How to Train Your Dragon and Despicable Me 2, both renamed by MGS as Dragon [1 or 2] and Minions, which I am sure your children have done the same thing!
Later, GES, ACS and some friends went to their temple for a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater extravaganza! “Marriage Can Be Murder!”
The mother of the bride has planned for the perfect wedding, but before her beautiful daughter can even say “I do” a bloody killing mars the happy day.
It is up to you, the wedding guests, to find the motive, and make sure that love lives “happily ever after”.
As soon as you enter the Temple, you will become part of the mystery and the fun, do the chicken dance, catch the bouquet, question the suspects and solve the crime. You could even become the evening’s “super sleuth” and win a prize!
This was a lot of fun, we had to dress as if we were going to a wedding, so ‘no jeans and rock-n-roll’ t-shirts. I have to say, there were very few people who were not dressed as if they were going to a wedding, some people even pulled their fur coats out of the closet!
When we got there, we mingled in the lobby area and had hors d’oeuvres, drinks and cast members would come and interact with us, thanking us for coming all this way for the wedding, giving us background, doing some improv, it’s a great time.
I have done dinner theater before, murder mystery, in fact, both on the actor side as well as the patron. I always thought about getting back into it. I have also hosted many murder mystery dinners, I think I told you about the one in Boulder last year, so much fun! GES, myself and some of her friends there tonight talked about doing one…I’ve got a new one, unopened in the box, downstairs…
We started with the wedding, but there was a murder! Oh no! So, while they were figuring things out, we went into the fellowship hall for dinner, even had wedding cake for dessert!
One of the fun things was that they used attendees as part of the show, like bridesmaids, wedding planner, father of the bride and the rabbi, who was playing…go figure, the rabbi!
In the fellowship hall there was dinner, dancing and frivolity and towards the end of the evening, we were asked to submit our guess for who dunnit!
The first thing the detective did was to read the “bonehead” answers and call people out on them. Not to worry, almost everyone there was a member of the temple or new someone, so it was all in good fun.
Then there was a prize for the correct answer, problem was…there were a lot of us. [notice I said us] so she picked a name out of a hat for the grand prize, tickets to another murder mystery event put on by that company.
So…I started the day with music and ended with murder, what a day!
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
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!
Peaches Prattlings 