Apologies friends, I had a very long day and I am beyond tired and going to bed.
I did Red Rocks and a half marathon, so I am a wee bit knackered. I promise to tell you all about it tomorrow!
Will somebody come and rub my feet please?
Goodnight!
{November 16, 2014}
I’m tired!
{November 15, 2014}
Rock-N-Roll Race Pick Up
Today I picked up my race packet for the Rock-n-Roll 1/2 Marathon!
After working until 2pm, I headed out to the convention center to pick up my race packet. My number is somewhere around 46000! That’s a lot of participants! I had a nice chat with the two guys I got my packet from, about my fabulous motoactiv watch! Anyone who knows me knows I love to talk about it! [If I had a dollar for every person I talk to about it…I’d be a “dollaraire”!]
After I picked up my packet, I went into the expo to walk around and check out all the vendors. Not the same without CKM, one of our favorite things to do together at the Peachtree Roadrace Expo. I tasted some treats, drank some flavored water, filled out contest stuff and even filled out a sign, so true, right?
At the expo I usually buy a new outfil, soemthing new to run in. Do you remember the running dress I bought? I got SO much use out of it! I was going to wear it on Sunday, but then I got this from Burn Ink! It is so cute! It’s got daisies all over it, there is a running skirt, capri pants, shirt and sleeves. The crazy thing was the pants, I tried on my size and they were too baggy, I actually had to go down 2 sizes! Very uplifting! [And it came in a drop bag. I did not buy that bag!] I also got some KT tape for my legs and two shirts for some friends “I can’t tonight honey, I have a long run in the morning”!
The last thing I did was to go and get my legs and feet taped, fingers crossed my knees hold up and my bunions don’t rebel! The only bad part…to keep the tape on my feet, I have to sleep with socks on…for two nights! NOOOOO!
I’m looking forward to running the strip at night! I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures!
{November 9, 2014}
My weekend in Atlanta
I spent the weekend in Atlanta and now I want to tell you about it. Sit back, this might take a bit…
I already told you about my flight to Atlanta on Thursday, fun, but ended wonderfully. Friday I got up, had breakfast and got to work, had a few calls, then lunch, more work and then I went to the rental property management company office to pick up the key to my house. I then drove to the house only to be thwarted by two medium sized dogs barking at the door, so I messaged the property manager and told her that I would schedule a set time when I come back so they can put the dogs in the garage, oh well. I did get to talk to a neighbor for a bit, she told me the tenants are very nice and they are fitting in well in the neighborhood.
Off I went, back to TS’ house to get some more work done and then we went to a nice Medeterranian restaurant with SF, it was nice to catch up. The service was mediocre, every pot of tea was luke warm, but the food and the company were stellar, so the entire evening was a smashing success. That night, we watched The Call, which you probably read about the other night.
Saturday morning, we went to meet BG at Corner Bakery for breakfast. After breakfast, we went to a consignment shop so she could pick up some things she had there as well as money for stuff she sold, I got the cutest picture of a pair of Chuck Taylor’s, yeah, I know, like I need more stuff with no place to put it!
Then we went to the mall so I could pick up a few things from Victoria’s Secret and then back to my car, I headed out to see JCT and her family where her mom was doing a craft fair. After visiting with them for a bit, I headed to see SDL and Miss A!
We played and snuggled, and walked, what an amazing kid Miss A is! She is growing up so fast! And walking, wow!!! Eventually we went to get some dinner and her favorite Mexican restaurant, which I really enjoy, and I had been craving Mexican. We ate, talked, danced, walked, had a great time. Then back home for bath and bed.
This morning was breakfast and Skype time with SDL’s mom, MomMom, it was great to see her! After breakfast, I headed out to see KAB and baby A, who’s not such a baby anymore! It was so good to see my grandson! He’s one and a half and getting so big! W played and I got hugs and kisses, it was awesome! It was really good to catch up with KAB and J came home and we talked about the game.
I left there and headed downtown to Atlantic Station to do some retail therapy while I waited to meet CKM for dinner in Decatur. I bought a pair of boots and got some holiday shopping done!
Then I headed to The Brickstore Pub in Decatur and CKM showed up and we had a great dinner and caught up, so great to see her! It’s been too long! After dinner, we walked and talked and caught up some more, even better!
Now, I am chilling out, going to crash in a bit and head to Chicago in the morning. You tired after my weekend?
Goodnight!
{November 2, 2014}
Ireland Day 1 – Russborough House
This is Russborough House, considered to be the most beautiful house in Ireland. This was my first stop after landing in Ireland. The weather was great, overcast, but comfortable. Brilliant!
http://www.heritageisland.com/attractions/russborough-house/
{October 31, 2014}
Happy Halloween!
Oh how I wish I could show you pictures of my fantastically adorable family!
Halloween is such a great day, so much fun! Steeped in a long great history, mystery, fright, fun, color, pumpkins, candy, treat, tricks, costumes, legends, ghost stories, tradition.
If you were raised in the north, do you remember trick-or-treating when it was freezing out and you wore your costume over your snow suit, that plastic outfit and the hard plastic mask that had two small eye holes and teeny nose holes, you couldn’t see or barely breath, but you were so stoked to get the costume, you tried to sleep in it?
I have always loved Halloween, it’s so much fun. When I was with the wasband, even before we got married, we loved to celebrate Halloween. We used to throw the biggest Halloween parties, decorated the house BIG time! There were some kids who didn’t even want to come up the path! It was awesome. Needless to say, love Halloween.
I even sent a note to the tenants renting my house telling them what Halloween was like in my neighborhood, crazy amounts of kids, love it! Need lots of candy!
This was the first year I got to spend Halloween in Boston with my family and it was terrific! One of the joys I have is that I am the Halloween Costume Fairy! I get to get the costumes for EJS, MGS, Miss A, Baby A [I won’t be able to call him that much longer!], LB and her baby sister, L, how lucky am I. And…this year, I even got to buy a costume for my sister!
Miss A was Dorothy and SDL made her wheelchair look like a tornado with the house on top! LB wanted the family to go as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Baby A was Harry Potter! What a bunch of cuties! Want to get on Auntie J/G/JJ’s Halloween Costume Train, you let me know!
So…I asked what the girls wanted to be for Halloween and MGS says she wants to be Elsa from Frozen, EJS wanted to be Olaf, go figure! ACS was going to be Sven, the reindeer and GES was Anna, she had to have a costume. What a great looking family!
Dad picked up EJS early from school and then we took her to karate, a yellow belt needs her practice! Then we picked up pizzas on the way home and waited for everyone to show up. And by everyone, I mean several of the usual cast of fabulous characters! We ate, laughed, light the Shabbat candles, did the blessings over the candles, challah and wine. It’s nice to be with family at this time.
Then it was time for everyone to put on their costumes, if they hadn’t already, and what a sight to see! We had the cast from Frozen, The Incredibles family, a cat, a clown and S&A were a T-Bird and Pink Lady, awesome!
It was time to get out there and go door to door and trick-or-treat! The girls, as they’ve gotten older now go up and down the block and then around the block, so we kind of split off, EJS and I with HS, her dad and PK went to the right and everyone else went to the left.
It was nice walking with the kids trick-or-treating, meeting other families, kids in adorable costumes, so many people said to EJS when she went by “Hi Olaf!” Too funny!
I have tell you about something EJS did and I was so proud of her! A lot of the houses, just like this one, who have younger kids and go out trick-or-treating earlier, will leave out bowls of food, some with a note, some not “Please be courteous and leave candy for other kids”. I’ve never seen that, but so many houses did that and these kids were very respectful and only took a piece or two, didn’t go crazy.
So…my niece…there was a house that had a sign and a bowl and the bowl was empty, what did EJS do? She added a few pieces of candy to the bowl! Is that the most awesome thing you’ve ever heard of? So very proud was I and of course, the family when i told them.
Then it was back to the house to check out the stash, it was great, GES was trying to get through on the walkie talkie and EJS said “Are you done?” GES asked “Are you reviewing your stash?” “Yes” “Oh, ok, got it!”
Then eventually, everyone was back at the house for some snacks and of course, some candy! Reviewing the day, playtime and then off to bed!
Now, it’s about 2am and GES and I have been sitting on the couch watching shows on DVR and now Christmas movies! And reminiscing about all the Christmas movies we love, especially the Hallmark ones, we are addicted! OMG!
What a day it was!I am so excited that I was here to see the costumes in person and go trick-or-treating! It felt good when the girls asked me a few weeks ago if I would be here for Halloween and I could say yes. Here I am!
Happy Happy Halloween! Boo!
{October 29, 2014}
Playing dress up is no fun.
Let me rephrase…I love playing dress up, dressing in costumes, putting on a dress and getting gussied up for a night on the town.
Dressing in business professional attire for work is not that much fun. For the last few years, I have only worn business casual attire for work. That usually involves khakis, sweater sets, summer dresses, flats, sometimes boots. Now, with this position, I am in slacks, more formal dresses, dressy sweaters, belts, things that cinch. Oh, and there are the shoes! Boots with heels, shoes with heels, there is a pair of flats, but still…heels, heels, heels.
It’s a new sensation and I feel like a kid playing dress up. Don’t tell anyone, I’m getting away with it!
{October 21, 2014}
Flying etiquette
There was a time that people looked at flying as a luxury, well it was a luxury, now, almost anyone can afford to fly.
The time when flying was a luxury, people would dress to the nines for a flight, now, I am no longer surprised by anything I see. People wear cut offs, shorty shorts, jeans with giant holes, sweats below the belt, some people look like they just woke up or slept in their car before they got on the plane.
Now, I am not saying that I dress in a business suit or a dress with an oversized hat with big sunglasses, or even wear makeup, I like to be comfortable. I might wear jeans or a dress or comfy leggings with a sweater. I like to be comfortable, but still respectful. I admittedly am one of the ones who likes to take their shoes off and be comfortable on a long flight, but I try to at least keep my toes looking good.
So, I’ve discussed dressing, how about we talk about just plain courtesy. Just because you are in the middle seat, doesn’t mean you get both arm rests and if you get one, how about keeping your arm on the arm rest and not spilling completely over into my space and elbowing my sides. I know you might be taller or bigger than me and I may be small, but I still have personal space you should respect.
I know you want to relax and maybe recline, but I don’t want your head in my lap, I don’t know you that well, so please be cognisent of this when you decide to recline your seat all the way back. I can’t use my tray table at that point and if i was eating, forget about it!
The sun can be very bright at that altitude, do you have to have the window shade up at all times? On the flight back from Ireland, it’s mid-morning and all the shades are drawn so people can sleep or watch movies and about 5 hours into the flight, the woman sitting at the window in the row opposite decides to pull hers up half way, guess what comes shining like a flashlight in your eyes all the way across? I had to put my hood up just to keep the glare out. All five of us [the two in her row and the three in mine] were completely blinded by the light and not in a good way!
We are all cramped and tired and stiff, but come on people, a little common courtesy isn’t difficult, be nice to each other…put some clothes on, don’t leave the lavatory door open, don’t recline the seat all the way back, share the arm rest and for goodness sake, shower before you fly!
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23354814/ns/travel-travel_tips/t/airplane-etiquette/
{October 19, 2014}
Day One…back in the states
Ha ha, no, I am not doing a daily post being back in the states, just couldn’t resist, been on the day count in Ireland.
Well, I’m back and technically it’s 3:42am in Ireland, so I should be asleep right now! Actually, after I read to EJS after bath, the lights went out and I slept for about an hour, it was glorious! Here I am writing to you and in a few I will crash, I knew I wanted to stay up until a “normal” hour for me here so I could get acclimated quickly, I think I’m doing well.
The days started normally enough, got up before the wake up call, got ready, finished packing, took my bags downstairs, had breakfast, left for the airport, pulled into rental car return and remembered that I had forgotten to fill up the tank last night, only third time I have ever done that, but never when it was going to cost me this much…oh well, the price of stupidity…
On the shuttle to the terminal, I saw a rainbow, was that a sign? I checked in and because I am Silver Elite with Delta, I got Fast Tracked, just got through security a little faster, getting me to customs a little faster, not through, just to…a security guard was calling for all JFK passengers, so we skipped ahead to wait in the long line for customs giving the little Star Wars fan in front of me some Star Wars trivia, like…do you know that the reason that the reason Han Solo can speak wookie is that he was raised by a wookie nanny? There you go…
Boarded the flight, uneventful except for when they had to reboot the entertainment system, that’s when I fell asleep for a bit. I watched three movies, Chef, Million Dollar Arm and The Other Woman, not bad, great when they are free! I even had a vegetarian meal, it was quite tasty too!
7.5 hours later, we were in NYC, my phone now works! less than two hours later, I was on the flight for Boston, sitting on the runway for over an hour then 45 minutes later, in Boston waiting to figure out what carousel the luggage was coming to. Connected with GES, home just in time for dinner and presents, bath, bed, nap, now, I have two cats sitting with me in bed, boy did I miss them and as soon as I log off, I am passing out!
I feel weird not posting what I’m positive about:
Positivity Challenge
1 – I am thankful to be home with family
2 – I am thankful my nieces were sooooo excited to see me
3 – I love having my cats sleeping with me, I really missed them!
{October 18, 2014}
Day Ten in Ireland
Is it really my last night in Ireland? Has it really been ten days already? Where did the time go? All of it brilliant!
I started the day with breakfast and then with my printout of directions, I headed towards Kildare County, Punchestown Racetrack, http://www.punchestown.com. I got a little turned around, so I decided to try the GPS and of course, it didn’t work, so I followed my instincts and ended up where I was supposed to be! Go me!
I got to the racetrack exactly when the 5k started, checked in and took off five minutes after the start. I had to have a potty break of course, I had been on the road for over 1.5 hours! I got on the course, there was a 5k and 10k going on and it really was a beautiful setting, I even saw a rainbow as I was running!
As I came around the bend, about 4k, I was joined by the 10k’ers, all encouraging me to keep going, it was cool. There were some hills and lots of wind, but we all made it. I saw some signs that for mud runs that were held there too!
I finished 43:15, I was happy, especially for not having trained at all, I’ve been walking a lot this past week and a half, just not running. No tshirt, but I have a Bibb, I’m happy!
After the run, I headed to the hotel to shower and get ready to head out again. I got on the bus and went back to downtown Dublin, just walking around, experiencing everything, the sights and sounds. I was looking for St Patricks Cathedral, but go figure, I couldn’t find it. Not horrible, I toured Trinity University a bit, what a beautiful campus and walked around until I found a vegetarian restaurant then walked off lunch, what a beautiful city!
I think everyone who lives in Ireland was in Dublin today! So very crowded, bustling and busy, I loved it! This is not a place for the faint of heart! I walked into a shopping center, Powerscourt Commons, a lovely indoor mall of sorts, three levels, all brick on the inside. I was about to turn the corner and was greeted by a guy who was raising funds for the Heart Association. We started chatting and a very nice guy, I finally met a red headed Irishman! Well, the hair he had left was red, lots of freckles.
We talked about travel, he actually lived on Tybee Island for a summer during his time at university, then he recommended a great place for dinner and did I miss my opportunity, “would you like to join me for dinner?” Yup, missed it. Oh well, wasn’t meant to be…
After a less than exciting Italian dinner, I headed back to the hotel, started writing to you and now I need to pack to get ready for tomorrow, heading home. I can’t believe it’s been ten days, what a great ten days it’s been and knowing that I will come back to see the things I missed makes it easy for me to go home with a smile on my face.
I think it is so fitting that I finished my positivity challenge, three things I am grateful for for thirty days, on my last night in Ireland.
I hope you have enjoyed my posts for the last ten days, I have enjoyed sharing them with you. It may take a few days, but I will get my photos to you, I promise. My next post will be from Boston at my sister’s house. Have a great night!
Positivity Challenge – Day #30
1 – I am thankful that I finished the 5k this morning in really good time for not having trained.
2 – I am thankful to know that I will come back to Ireland to visit and see all the things I didn’t get to see and I know that the next trip with be with my twin, Nathan Beach!
3 – I am thankful to KNOB for tagging me to do this, it’s been wonderful.
{October 17, 2014}
Day Nine in Ireland
I got the sweater…where’s the boy?
Today I got up earlier than ever and then errand my book, showered, packed and headed down to the pub across the street for breakfast. My waitress had just gotten back from three weeks in Spain, why don’t we do holidays like that?
I stopped by the chemist on my way out because I did not want to bring this cold back with me as my souvenir! The sudafed is working wonders! I got on the road and drove and drove and drove, I stopped in Kildare, but realized I am going to be there tomorrow, so I headed on to Dublin.
As the gps couldn’t find things and I stopped using it last week, I wanted to do what I could from memory and I was pretty darn good! I did stop by a hotel at the airport for help, but I got there! Then I chilled for a bit and got on the bus for City Center. I got off at Trinity College and did something I haven’t done since I got here, retail therapy!
First thing I did actually, was get some lunch at KC Peaches, a lovely place with delicious, healthy, home grown ingredients sandwich. Then I headed to the Sweater Shoppe! And I got it! You guessed it! My Irish knit sweater! It was really hard to decide what looked right and felt good where I wouldn’t itch thinking about putting it on! Merino wool is itchy!
Ok, so I have the Irish knit sweater…where’s the Irish boy? Maybe I have to wear it to find him! Then I went into a few stores and picked up a few things, I can’t tell..someone might be reading this!
I walked up and down the streets, it’s a serious bustling city, I love it! It started raining on the way and never really let up. Someone asked me to pick up a tshirt at Hard Rock, so I headed to Temple Bar, http://www.templebar.ie, where all the bars seem to be, well, not all, but chunked together. This is where it happens! The noise, the music, the sites, the sounds, lovely! This is where you go for a bit of craic!
After The Hard Rock, I walked around the area and found…Boxty! http://boxtyhouse.ie, a restaurant that had and knew what a boxty was! OMG! I was in heaven! I ordered boxty scraps which were boxties cut like French fries, yum! And some awful vegetables, when the waitress said they were awful, I should have listened. But…the homeless guy I am sure enjoyed them both!
After dinner, I had the bread and butter pudding, yum! Very light and not a huge portion, easy to enjoy and walk off.
I spent some more time walking around, then found the bus and headed back to the hotel, unloaded the rest of the stuff from the car, brought it to the room, had a quick shower and headed downstairs for my complimentary drink and some live music.
I ended up getting an amaretto and cream, it was ok and I’m working through the effects of the cream, but that’s my problem! I sat at the bar for a while waiting for someone to notice me and ask what I wanted to drink. I saw out of the corner of my eye, a guy down the bar tell the bartender I was waiting. When I caught his eye later, I thanked him. I thought he was waiting for someone, he had a bouquet of confetti roses.
I told him they were pretty and he came over to ask me if I wanted to smell them and then tell me that he bought them at ya the grocers today and would give them to the first nice person he talked to..guess who.
We proceeded to talk for about an hour, I found out all about him, his company and the girl that got away that he’s trying to win back good luck! It was fun talking to him, he’s from Montreal and in Dublin in business.
I also talked to the singer, when he was finished, a great guy who was a lot of fun to listen to. He would ask if the crowd liked someone and I answered, so he directed a bunch towards me! He was funny and very talented and gave me his card, so I could email him to get a few tracks he wrote, lucky me!
Now, here I am sitting in bed writing to you and needing to get some sleep because I’m running a 5k in the morning! Wahoo! A 5k in Ireland! Go me! Something I wanted to do and now I’m going to do it!
Goodnight!
Positivity Challenge – Day #29
1 – I am thankful I found my way to the hotel…sans GPS (with a little help from a very nice person)
2 – I am thankful to have found a restaurant that serves boxty!
Peaches Prattlings 