A New Adventure | Peaches Prattlings

{June 16, 2014} Day 3 in Chicago – Time to Get Cultured!

Day 3 brought more sunshine, I was ready for the new day and looked at my suggestion list.

The Art Institute of Chicago it would be! http://www.artic.edu/

When I got there, I found out it didn’t open until 10:30, so I walked around a bit, talked to dad and then headed across the bridge to the entrance, paid my entrance fee and headed in. I’ll post a few pictures from the group I took, somewhere around 100.

I went through some Photography, mixed media, Modern, then Impressionists, some sculpture, American Classics finishing up with Modern again, what my dad and I love. They had pieces by some of my favorite artists, artists I don’t know and several of my favorite pieces and I learned a few things about some pieces I never knew.

Art is so many different things to so many different people, how it affects them, what type of reaction it elicits. Some pieces are created to do just that, make you react, other pieces are created that will make you wonder, question, but no matter what, art is supposed to make you feel and that’s all an artist can ask for.

I know that I enjoy the impressionists more than any other period, as much as I love modern art, some of the things you scratch your head at, make you laugh, revolt, I get the biggest surge of emotion when I look at pieces by Monet, Manet, Degas, Pissaro, just to name a few. I smile, I feel happy, well most of the time, some of the subjects are just too disturbing and sad, but when I look at something like Monet’s ‘Water Lily Pond’ I feel at peace.

I look at certain pieces and there is just so much perfection in each brush stroke, not a hair out of place, almost like a photograph, or a portrait by Jean-Etienne Liotard and while I love those pieces, the grand strokes of Van Gogh or the hurried, seemingly crazy strokes or a Manet or Money make me feel warm and welcome and invited. I had a Ferris Beuller moment, staring at Seurat’s ‘A Sunday on La Grand Jatte’, staring at it for a long time, getting lost in the scene. I want to be a part of that world.

I will always be grateful to my parents for introducing us to an amazing world of wonder and opening or eyes to all the beauty the world has to offer and how to appreciate them and a love of art and museums that is unparalleled.

I would love to sit and talk to you for hours about the works of art that I love and when you have time, let’s do that, right now, I’m just going to share a few pieces with you that captured my attention and my heart. You may know some of them and if you don’t, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

{June 16, 2014} Chicago: Day 2. Didn’t think I could keep going did you?

The day started leisurely again, woke up when my body said so.

I missed breakfast in the lounge, but it was all good, I showered, got dressed and headed out. I’m going to brag, but I looked adorable in one of my new dresses from Old Navy and new white skips, I felt very summery. I stopped at Jamba Juice for a Tropical Greens drink and it was yummy! Green goodness to start the day right!

I walked up Michigan Avenue heading towards the John Hancock Building to see the 360 view from the top. I knew I was in no rush, so I took my time and walked in and out of some stores, some that I hadn’t been in a long time, picked up a few things here and there and kept on walking. This part of Michigan Avenue is where the shopping is at! Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstroms, just to name a few.

I went into a few museums, like the McCormick Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum. http://www.chicagoriver.org/get-involved/attend/mccormick-bridgehouse-chicago-river-museum. It was very cool to be able to walk to the top to get a view of the river and to learn about the workings of the bridges and how the city has worked on the problems with the river water.

Along the way, I passed several pairs of seats from Wrigley Field, painted with different themes, donated by different groups, how much fun are they!

The next was a gallery, the Chicago Water Works, with some great pieces by Jason Reblando. http://www.jasonreblando.com/

I finally got to the John Hancock Building and used my ticket from my new friends last night to go to the top. It was quite a view! Amazing how many rooftop gardens and pools there are! And the beaches along the shoreline, too cool! So many buildings, still a lot of green space, really enjoyable to see. http://www.360chicago.com/

While I was there, I paid a few extra dollars to stand on a platform, hold the handles and look out and down while you are tilted forward, looking 1000 feet down. It was quite the experience, only eight people at a time. I recommend it! http://www.360chicago.com/tilt/

Check out the Lego rendition of the John Hancock Building, very cool!

As I was walking back, I found a sweet little church courtyard I went in and had a seat and enjoyed myself for a while, thinking about everything and nothing. The nice and interesting thing is while you are sitting there, in this beautifully tranquil courtyard and look up, you see the buildings of the city, reminding you of where you are.

On the way back, I passed The Chicago Tribune building, which was founded in 1847. Look at where some of the bricks that are part of the building were brought from!

I went back to the hotel for a much needed rest to the feet [don’t tell my podiatrist what I have been doing to my feet for the sake of looking cute!], phone and person re-charge.

I headed out after six for Grant Park and the Blues Festival again for Aaron Neville and Dr John! Fantastic!

Check out the nod by the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building to the World Cup!

I can’t wait to see what adventures tomorrow will bring!

{June 13, 2014} Taking Amtrak to…

I have a few days off after working 12-14 hour days over the past week and it is most welcome!

With this much time off I decided to take myself to Chicago! I’ve been a few times for work and an interview, but never for pleasure so I think it’s time.

Chicago is about 4 hours from Ann Arbor and after three hours sleep and twelve hours of work, who wants to drive? Yeah, not me.

I looked at flights and then I remembered Amtrak! KS and I have passed the station many times and we’ve talked about taking a trip and train travel. It always makes me nostalgic for when I was a kid and my grandma M, my dad’s mom, would Come to NYC, meet my family at Penn station and she and I would get on Amtrak and head to Philadelphia.

It was always so much fun- being on the train, going to the snack car, all of it, and I thought this would be like that, not so much.

Now, I did take the train from Buffalo to NYC when I was in college, to go home, but it’s been a long time and I was worth friends.

It’s incredibly reasonable. The roundtrip ticket was less expensive than what I would pay for parking at the hotel, if that tells you anything. Someone else gets to drive and I just sit back and relax.

Or so I thought.

There are three sections- Coach, business and quiet. Business is what it sounds like, get some work done the quiet car is just that, quiet, no talking, no cell phones and music or movies with headphones only. Guess where I am…

Let’s just say going back will be Business or the quiet car. No talking, mouthing off, obscenities, especially with kids on the train, drunks, showing off, screaming kids, parents screaming at their kids, so happy to have headphones!

I also forgot how much the train cars shake. It’s definitely been an experience and I’ve enjoyed it, no matter what the trip and fellow passengers have been like, watching the scenery go by while the sun was still up.

I have a feeling the hotel will make up for all of that. Tell you more tomorrow!

{May 9, 2014} It’s ladies night!

Tonight, downtown Ann Arbor hosted Ladies Night.

It was great! KS and I headed down to find a place to eat and decided at Blue Nile, an Ethiopian restaurant, it was fun and tasty. They bring everything out on a platter and you eat it with bread and/or your hands. (I don’t normally take pictures of my food, but here you go!)
http://www.bluenilemi.com.

After dinner, we headed out in search of ladies night activities! We started at the first store and got our “passports”, a card that had about 30+ stores on the back and as you go to each of those stores, you get a stamp or sticker and after 15, turn the passport in by 10pm and be entered to win a prize!

We also got a blinking ring, who wouldn’t love that? Shopping, discounts and bling, bring it on! The cool thing was to see all these blinking things all over town, especially when there were little groups together, very fun!

Each of the stores and restaurants participating stayed open late and offered at least 20% off the entire store, great incentives! The thing we enjoyed the most was getting to go into the stores we don’t normally get to go in because by the time we go out to dinner, the stores are closed.

The only thing I bought was at a book store, 2 brown paper wrapped books “Blind Date with a Book” there are three clues to what the book is about, but you won’t know until you open it! I got one for me and one for my sister, I can’t wait to find out what they are!

We had a great time, and made the decision that since we couldn’t get to all the stores, we would get together Sunday, go downtown, find some food and then go to all the stores we didn’t get to, anyone want to join us?

What a great idea! Opening up the town, giving people access to wonderful shops, getting people downtown who might not normally go into stores they might not normally go to and it felt fun to walk around and enjoy the evening. I think all smaller towns should do this every few months.

{April 26, 2014} It’s Spring…ahhhh gnats!

It’s Spring, finally! and with that comes new life and growth and… gnats!

I have started going for walks outside, which has been great except for the gnats. As you walk, they swam around your head almost following you as you try to enjoy yourself and swatting as you go. I passed one woman swatting her own swarm. We nodded hello to each other and said “It’s Spring!”

Ok, enough complaining, here are some of the great things I witnessed on my walk. I tried to get a picture of the gnats but every time I stopped moving, they flew away.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

New blossoms and growth beginning

Green grass… No snow

Trees on full bloom. I’m imagining the Cherry blossom tree in front of my dad’s house is in full bloom.

This made me think maybe even the forsythia in the back (one of my favorite plants, the entire back fence line beautiful in yellow).

Spring flowers; tulips in all colors, daffodils, crocuses.

Children’s toys in the yards.

Weeds starting to come in or as with with this dandelion… the flower every child picks as a bouquet for their mommy.

People starting to work on their classic cars.

Robin Red Breast show up.

See, even most of the mountains have no snow. (Which was one of the weirdest things to me when I moved here, shouldn’t they have snow?)

Ponds and lakes no longer frozen.

Boats ready to be put in the water and enjoyed.

In full bloom.

Go ahead…make a wish. (Please don’t make me sneeze?)

Not the usual sign you see when going for a walk…though your neighborhood.

There you go, half the mountains have snow.

Such color. Wait, that doesn’t count, (get your groan ready) because it’s ‘for’ever green. Ugh.

Happy Spring, I hope you enjoy it!

{April 25, 2014} It’s Spring…ahhhh gnats!

It’s Spring, finally! and with that comes new life and growth and… gnats!

Ok, enough complaining, here are some of the great things I witnessed on my walk. I tried to get a picture of the gnats but every time I stopped moving, they flew away.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

New blossoms and growth beginning

Green grass… No snow

Trees on full bloom. I’m imagining the Cherry blossom tree in front of my dad’s house is in full bloom.

This made me think maybe even the forsythia in the back (one of my favorite plants, the entire back fence line beautiful in yellow).

Spring flowers; tulips in all colors, daffodils, crocuses.

Children’s toys in the yards.

Weeds starting to come in or as with with this dandelion… the flower every child picks as a bouquet for their mommy.

People starting to work on their classic cars.

Robin Red Breast show up.

See, even most of the mountains have no snow. (Which was one of the weirdest things to me when I moved here, shouldn’t they have snow?)

Ponds and lakes no longer frozen.

Boats ready to be put in the water and enjoyed.

In full bloom.

Go ahead…make a wish. (Please don’t make me sneeze?)

Not the usual sign you see when going for a walk…though your neighborhood.

There you go, half the mountains have snow.

Such color. Wait, that doesn’t count, (get your groan ready) because it’s ‘for’ever green. Ugh.

Happy Spring, I hope you enjoy it!

{February 21, 2014} A Job!

Here it is, as promised!

A job! A job! I got a job! Can you tell I’m excited? Well, I am! I will tell you about being unemployed some other time, I just want to tell you about this new adventure in my life.

I was applying for a lot of jobs over the last few months and to be honest, I don’t remember all the ones I applied to, I have some records, but not all. I was contacted by a recruiter for a training position, specializing in Epic, multiple modules.

Epic is an amazing company, when I was with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, training Epic: ASAP, I looked the company up and realized I was hooked! The campus, the philanthropy, the mission, the ideology, the naming convention, I wanted it all! Out of all the software applications I have trained on, Epic captured my attention more than any other. One of my goals in life is to go to Madison, WI and tour the campus and all it has to offer. Ok, enough of an Epic commerical.

I spoke with the recruiter and she told me about the position and I was hooked! Everything about it was what I was looking for…Training, on a software application I know and appreciate, travel, which I’ve been wanting to get back to for a while, waht could be better? After I spoke with her, she set up a phone interview with a trainer/manager for the company. After I had my next phone interview, I spoke with the recruiter again and asked if I was available to fly to Chicago for an interview. As it happens I was.

I have never been flown anywhere for an interview, it was exciting, off to buy a suit! I had to get a suit, for the company and the other things I had worn to past interviews, if you don’t get the job, then you don’t wear that again for another interview! I was actually on the phone with JASC while I was looking!

This all happened in a blur! I flew out to Chicago on Sunday, December 15th, had my interview with two people on the 16th, two very different people, giving me a lot of insight into the project and the company. I went home Monday and sat biting my nails waiting! I was told in my first phone interview that if it goes well, they would bring me back in January for a second interview.

I got an email on Tuesday that it was a go and they wanted to move on, whew! Did I have some time to talk? Ok, so even if I didn’t get the job, I had a second interview, so it was a start! Let me tell you, I finally took a breath and almost started crying, I have no idea why, but I was exctied!

Then i sat and waited for her to call. When she did, we had pleasantries, then she asked me what I thought about the interviews, I gave her my feedback and when I was done, she told me that the partners got together and they wanted to move forward, excuse me? They wanted to make me an offer! WAHOO! A job that I really wanted, benefits, pension!

February 10th couldn’t come fast enough! And some of the friends who knew kept asking how the new job was, I kept saying, I’ll tell you in February! And I know I’ve been alluding to a job for a while, but I wasn’t ready to talk about it, I wanted to start before i said anything.

Here it is! I am a Project Associate with DELOITTE! Yes, I said Deloitte! http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/index.htm. This is a fantastic company to be a part of, and I’m not just saying that because they hired me! I am a software trainer, training on Epic, specifically the Willow module and I will be in Michigan, traveling back and forth for the length of this project, approximately six months.

I have it all! A great new job for a great company, training on something I really like and enjoy, training, which I love, traveling and have a great group of people to work with and, oh yeah, they pay me! Ding ding, we have a winner!

So, that is my news and for those of you who have been in the know, thank you for all of your love and support through this and for those of you wondering, now you know and thanks for the good vibes!

I’m off to finish packing so I can head out tomorrow, another adventure awaits!

{February 19, 2014} First outing with new co-workers

Tonight, I had my first official social outing with new co-workers and I want to tell you about it.

First, I have been wanting to tell you something, but things keep coming up and my post tomorrow should be about this, but…I GOT A JOB!!! I GOT A JOB!!! I GOT A JOB!!! ok, there you got, it’s out and I’m sorry if I hurt your eardrums, but I’m a little excited. Soon, promise!

So, my job has been in Michigan for the next few months, traveling back and forth to Denver and points in between. There are 27 of us in this particular group, there is another group from the company and another group coming in, we are going to be about 100 strong! Get this, in my particular group, the dynamic is interesting, there are 4 guys and 23 gals, go figure! Girl power!

We have been going 90 to nothin’ as the saying goes, working on all sorts of stuff for both organizations and after Monday, we were separated into our particular tracks that we are going to be associated with and aren’t all going to see each other on a daily basis.

Two people had the great idea of getting together for a happy hour/get together/relax/blow off steam gathering tonight and it worked out perfectly! It wasn’t official or planned early enough, but we still had a really good group and guess what…ALL CHICKS! So, it was kind of a Girls Night Out! We had a good meal, good drinks [I had coca cola with cherries!], GREAT cookies, good conversation and A LOT of laughter!!!

We went to a Max & Erma’s, less than a mile from the hotel, so I walked. The walk wasn’t bad, my choice of footware wasn’t the smartest! Since there is still a lot of snow and ice, sneakers may not have been the best idea, but I made it safely and had mostly dry feet. Guess what I saw when I walked in! They all shouted, turn around a look! It was a University of Michigan MONOPOLY Board! I was home!

So much fun was had! KNOB was the one who texted me initially and got the ball rolling, I texted KS and AAS. When I got there, KNOB, KS, MS, EU, TS, TS, VR, RM were all there getting their happy hour on! I was only a few minutes behind. AAS was the last to arrive and said the funniest thing! She knew we wouldn’t talk about her if she was there! Is that a riot! We definitely laughed out loud!

We talked about our day, what we learned, our thoughts about the things we had learned and what was to come. We talked about our experiences in the field, our experiences with the modules we are going to be teaching, funny stories being road warriors, doing 5ks, traveling, so many things, and honestly, the only thing we said about the people that weren’t there was who was missing! We seem to be a very agreeable group! I am happy and lucky to be a part of this group!

At the end of the evening, we decided that Wednesday nights would be our get-togethers and we would pick a different place each week to go to, giving those of us not from the area a way to experience new places, maybe I can get a group together to do a 5k! The nice thing about getting together now is that in about 7 weeks, our schedules are going to be totally different and scattered that there may not be many opportunities to get together on a regular basis or much at all, well with the entire group.

All in all, a great time and I’m looking forward to the next event and getting to know these people even better!

{February 8, 2014} Activity…fun, realization…bah, visit…yeah!

I know, please explain.

I went skiing today…fun and realized I was an adult…bah. I knew I had a few hours before the visit, and I knew I wouldn’t have a chance to go until next weekend, so I suited up, got in the car and Annie and I headed to Keystone.

We were about (ha ha, when I was telling DCM I said we, he said who did you go with? Annie of course!) thirty minutes from Keystone and hit some traffic, took a less traveled road with a bunch of others to bypass the traffic then got back on the highway. Right before the Eisenhower Tunnel, we all slowed down, there was ice and snow, no where to turn around, so just keep going. On the other side, same thing, slow going, ice and snow, but I was about ten miles from Keystone, I figured I’m here, might as well still go.

It took me about 2.5 hours to get there, not turning around! I geared up, the boots went on much easier this time! Of course, it helped when I realized they were on the wrong feet! Oh brother! My shins are a little bruised from the boots, but I kept going. I got on the gondola, made it to the top, put on my skis and pushed off.

This is where I had my realization. As I started down the mountain my body started to inform me it was not completely happy with me. My shins hurt, my knees were protesting. Now, if I was younger or had purchased a one day ticket, I would have said forget it and kept skiing, all day. Here I was, in a little discomfort, it started snowing, which looked very pretty by the way and I knew I had to drive home.

Grownup me said, when I get to the bottom, I’m done, going home. Pook. I’ve had a few defining moments, well, not monumental moments, but for me they were defining moments, I was a…ugh, don’t say it…Grownup! I went to Savanna once and went on a tour of the city, voluntarily! The first time I went to Epcot on my own and enjoyed the science and learning stuff, heaven forbid! I’m a big kid at heart, but I’m starting to listen to reason, sort of.

So, down I went, enjoyed it, admired the view, the snow and then headed to my car. Activity, fun…realizing I’m a grownup…bah.

Got home, took Annie to the car wash, she was sooo happy! finished straightening up, blew up the new air mattress, made the bed with new sheets and comforter, hung a curtain and we were good to go! DCM got home and we were off to the airport to pick up…DCM!

She just spent the last two weeks in Las Vegas with her sister, brother-in-law and LB and her sister LSS! DCM requested that his daughter bring his granddaughters with her, but for some reason she didn’t listen! However, LB was so distraught when her aunt Pow Pow, you know her as DCM, left, she cried at the airport, all the way home and for about an hour after that! She didn’t want her Pow Pow to leave and wanted to come to see Grandpa and JJ! So sad, cute and sweet at the same time!

We got there in time to wait for her to come up the escalator, then wait on her luggage, apparently there was a back up in holding. We headed to the car, dinner at Fazolis, a fast food Italian restaurant that we all used to go to in Atlanta, no longer, so it was a nice treat. On to the new CEC sales office, great job by the team headed by JS and TT for her fabulous mural, very cool. (Sorry, I forgot to take pictures!).

Then home, meet the kitties, get a five cent tour of the apartment, settle in and get comfy.

Who knows what’s on for tomorrow, I’m sure it will be fun! I’ll keep you posted!

{February 7, 2014} Today…Annie skated and then I went skiing!

Let me explain…

I was going to go skiing on Tuesday but it started snowing in the morning and continued well into the evening, that was out. Yesterday the roads were too slick for driving, so stayed home. Today, I was going! The roads had cleared up and it wasn’t too terribly cold, just minus 4, so why not?

Last night and tonight it’s -16, you have to use the numbers…writing it out doesn’t seem to have the same impact! When I left the apartment this morning, it was -7, then got up to a balmy 0, but no too windy, so good to go. I headed to Keystone where I went two weeks ago, I was comfortable and wanted to run there again, I’ll try something else soon.

The funny thing was that it was -4 here, as I was driving into the mountains…it got up to 27! It was 22 when I got to Keystone and stayed there most of the day. When I got home about 5:30/6, it was back down to 4.

Driving most of the way was fine, even on the mountain roads, no problem, got to the highway, still good, then I decided to take the pass, 6W, not the brightest idea. I had taken it last time and thought it would be ok, not completely. We made it safe and sound, I say we, my car, Annie, and I. This road was covered with snow and some ice, not too bad, but not really the ideal conditions for a beetle bug. There were a few times that there was almost no visibility, that was fun. So, as I mentioned in the title, Annie skated, more like slid a little and thank you for the warning indicator that we are sliding, I couldn’t tell! The interesting thing is that as we got closer to the resort, the road was clear, up in the mountain, what happened to the rest of the road. Needless to say, we did not go the same way home! Took the highway the entire way, will remember that next time!

I was also smarter this time, I ate lunch before I left and had a snack with me and a bottle of water. I got there, boots went on a little easier headed to the lift and up I went! This time was much better! It took me 26 minutes to get down the mountain, about 3.43 miles, not too shabby, wish that was my running time!

I got to the bottom and headed to Kickapoo Tavern, where a very nice Lindsay waited on me. I had a cup of chili and some hot tea, just the right amount. It fueled me to go back up, next run was 3.21 in 21 minutes and the third run was 3.19 in 19 minutes, something like that, apparently I’m getting faster. Someone said it takes them 5 minutes, I’m good with taking my time.

It was nice on the mountain, not too crowded and it snowed a little, very pretty.

There was a guy on one of the gondolas with a flask, I don’t know if I’ve ever actually seen anyone drink from a flask, outside of a movie or TV show.

After three runs, it was a little after four and I was a little tired and my knees weren’t thrilled with me and I decided it was time to head home, especially with 1.15 hour drive home. It was a pleasant drive, made it just after DCM got home from work.

The pass I got is the Epic Local pass, http://www.snow.com/epic-pass.aspx, it gets me into ” Unlimited, unrestricted skiing or riding at Breckenridge, Keystone, Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton and Arapahoe Basin with limited restrictions at Canyons, Heavenly, Northstar & Kirkwood. Also includes a total of 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek with holiday restrictions.” Not too shabby, huh? Thank you daddy!

And when I saw the price of a day ticket, I have to go exactly four more times and it has paid for itself! I have a few more days in Colorado to use it and I will be using it in another location soon (details on that coming soon). The cool thing was when they scanned the bar code, I was greeted by name, always a plus and then I get emails with stats on my runs among other trivia.

Here are a few pictures from my day.

Man…I want a Go-Pro camera! When I get one, I’ll post video!

Today wiped me out! Goodnight!

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