My day | Peaches Prattlings

{August 22, 2016} Oh my…delicious!!

A really simple and fabulous meal in Chicago!

After work LJ and I needed some pampering, so mani for her and pedi for me. Let’s just say, I like blue, it’s not my favorite color, but apparently it was today! Fingers…aqua, ring..blue, sunglasses…aqua, sneakers…blue and now…toes, sounds good to me.

After our pampering…food! It was 8pm by now and lunch felt like yesterday! I know I’m exaggerating, just felt like it! So we headed to my hotel, dropped my bags off and went across the street to a place I’ve wanted to try, just haven’t hey, so we went, Viapano.

This was a great place! It’s nice and open, high ceilings, wooden just about everything, slightly rustic, but definitely modern, if that makes sense.

It’s a counter service, so, first, you get a card that you put on a tablet in the counter when you order, the chef puts in a code and you pay at the end from the card. There was pizza, pasta, soup, antipasto, insalata, lots of choices.

You order at the counter and wait, then you load your food on a silver tray to take it to your table. Everything was self service, like a fast food chain or actually, I felt like I was back in school!

This is definitely not fast food as everything is cooked fresh to order. One line for appetizers and salad, another line for pasta, and so on. In got a small salad and bruchetta from one line, then on to the pasta. The pasta is in individual bags behind the chefs, you select what you want and they cook it right there in front of you, it tasted like fresh made pasta, yum! They cooked mine al dente, nice.

While the pasta cooks, they have the giant wok like pans to cook whatever you ordered with the pasta and the chefs check what you want, how spicy you want it. It’s ready in about 7-8 minutes, however long it takes to cook the pasta.

I ordered spaghetti with aglio e olio, garlic and olive oil, which I love and added fresh spinach. I liked the he threw a little salt in with it, cuts the bitterness and I don’t have to add it, very rare! The garlic, oil and salt were the perfect combination.

The presentation is very appealing and the taste…molto delizioso!

http://us.vapiano.com/en/magazine/

{August 20, 2016} Bad Moms

I’m a bad mom, my sister’s a bad mom, are you a bad mom?

If you have the opportunity, go see this movie! GES and I both wanted to see Bad Moms and today was a good day for it.

We met at a theater in between us a while before the movie, walked around and talked, it was nice.

Then it was time for the movie, we got some popcorn, candy and drinks, exact movie watching food. We settled into our seats, reclined and settled in for 20 or 25 minutes of previews, I’m not sure if I could tell you what they were!

Mila Kunis is the lead, she’s the perfect mom, or so she thinks, two kids, husband, job, gets the kids where they need to go, everything is perfect…sure…now she’s the feed up mom

Christina Applegate is the stay at home perfect mom PTA president for the past six years and a tyrant. Jada Pinkett Smith is the judgy mom, Annie Mumolo is the very clueless mom, Kathryn Hahn is the single, and let’s face it, slutty mom, and Kristen Bell is the frazzled stay at home mom.

They want it all, but they are just human and can they really do it all? Ever worried that you’re a bad parent? Screwing up your kids lives? Been told, by your kids, that you suck, you don’t know what you’re talking about? Normal, yes, I said you’re normal.

I love my kids, but I remember days looking at them like they were aliens. I remember the day I got my first eye roll, the sigh, the I’m never going to be like you. I freaked out here and there, but no need, normal.

And that’s what this movie is about, women finally remembering that they’re people, human and allowed to cut loose, have a moment, let the kids go without brushing their teeth once, doing their homework on the bus, being, well…a bad mom. That makes you human.

So…are you a bad mom?

Go see this movie and find out!

{August 18, 2016} Fails and wins this week

This week was interesting.

No problems with my flight Monday morning, I would put that in the wins column. Tuesday night dinner…ended up with a bitter salad because the manager or waiter, not sure and I apologize for that, I said vegan, he mentioned what they usually do and I said I can’t, so I came up with a solution, apparently he didn’t like that and kept walking away when I started to ask a question, after the fourth time, I said just give me the salad. Fail. But…still had a nice time at dinner, it was the company.

Wednesday morning, I worked out, 40 minutes on the elliptical, win. I got back to the room, took a shower and when I was finished, guess what was missing…towels. huh? I had 4 hand towels, 3 wash cloths and a bath mat, seriously? Epic fail!

I called down and barely an apology, big fail. I talked to the concierge on my way out, she did something about it, win. I went to the place I like to get breakfast from, almost every day, and ordered the same thing, egg and avocado sandwich. I get to the office, eat a little, start to feel weird…cheese on the sandwich…epic fail. I called the restaurant and told the person who answered what happened and today, she bought my breakfast, win. I got back to the hotel last night, two sets of towels, win win!

I left for the airport at 245pm, got to the airport just as I get notification, delayed…really? Apparently the weather in the south had almost every flight in Chicago was grounded. Flight should have left at 455pm, then 6pm, then 625pm, I think we finally took off about 7 something. Fail. Flight out of Detroit, first class, win. Ten hours to get home…fail.

Now, I’m at home, in my jammies, snuggling with my furry babies. Big win.

Goodnight!

{August 18, 2016} Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbour?!

What?

For those of you not in the know, you’re thinking this girl is crazy and does not know her history, maybe she was absent that day.

For those of you who knew instantly, rock on! Tonight, I went to a movie theater to see Animal House on the big screen! It was awesome!

I went with my friend from work, DLP. I asked her Monday if she wanted to go with me and she did! We left the office, went to have some dinner then movie! No previews, which was bad because we got there at 704pm, the restaurant was next door, and I needed the potty! I came in just as it was starting, there was a little intro from like you see on TCM, some background about the movie and the actors, then they were off!

I have to apologize to DLP, I quoted lines as it went, I’m usually pretty good about it, but I couldn’t help it tonight!

It was so much fun to see it on the big screen! I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this movie, but never on the big screen! It was awesome!

My one regret…not seeing it with my dad!

What’s next?

{August 14, 2016} Welcome home EJS!

And we’re all very happy she’s home!

EJS has been at sleep away camp for the past three weeks, I think MGS has been a little lonely without her big sis, but she has has a lot of personal, one on one time with mom and dad, let alone Papa, LaLa and Auntie J…

GES, ACS and MGS left this morning to pick up EJS from camp. And from the pictures GES texted it looked like a very happy reunion indeed!

They got home, I met them there, got hugs, caught up and hung out until B&SM and M&C O’F came over to have pizza, salad, home made cookies and welcome EJS home.

After dinner a little play and everyone went home, GES and I sat in the car and talked for a long time, it was nice to have some one on one time, doesn’t happen very often. We even made a possible for next weekend.

Home and now talking to you and I have to crash soon, alarm is going off way too early!!

{August 12, 2016} Sometimes…fortunes are spot on!

How does Confucius know so much! And how did he know to put it in my cookie?!

Ever notice how some fortune cookies say really silly things and sometimes give good advice and sometimes you just scratch your head and wonder what the person was thinking when they wrote it. Or maybe it’s just a giant automated computer program that generates random messages to be put in the cookies.

One time, LaLa had a fortune that said “next time you leave the house, go left”, seriously?

Ever get an empty cookie? Boo

One of the things I seem to do when I’m on the road is order takeout Chinese, especially when I’m working in the hotel. I don’t order that much, but I wonder how many people they think are ordering, I always get 2-3 cookies.

Well, last week, two spot on fortunes…

“Stop searching forever. Happiness is just next to you.” That could be so many things, PSM…well, he’ll be next to me when I move, right? My family here in Boston, my kitties right here in bed with me.

“Life to you is a dashing and bold adventure”. Oh my word, do I even need to explain?

Spot on…

{August 11, 2016} Wardrobe malfunction

Not quite Janet Jackson at the superbowl wardrobe malfunction, but enough.

Ok, I think I’m exaggerating.

So…the shirt or nice tank top I was wearing yesterday was a little low cut. It seemed ok when I bought it and tested it out with my cardigan, but it was not to be yesterday, I was very conscious of it and slightly self conscious.

So, after work I made the executive decision to buy a new shirt. I new some new short sleeve shirts for work. I bought a few cute ones, I’m happy, I’ve been wearing the same ones over the last few weeks.

I decided to wear the emerald green shirt, I think they called it a cocoon shirt. It’s nice, only thing is, it’s got a deep V, but the “flaps/collar” overlap.

Everything seemed fine until I got to the office and things started to show. One thing I haven’t told you is that I’m, well, let’s just say, well endowed and leave it at that.

I got to the office and realized there’s no way the neck is going to stay closed on its own, so I go in search of a safety pin. Now, i have a lot of them…at home. All the races I’ve done in the past I have safety pins from the bibs and kept them. I used to keep some in my bag. Not today…go figure.

It’s also interesting that is the one thing hard to find in an office! When DLP got in, I thought, perfect! I bet she has one! Unfortunately, she was meeting with someone and had had a bad morning…ummm…

I apologized profusely for interrupting, met the person she was meeting with and asked if she had a safety pin. Her response “Are you flashing people in the office?” Umm…trying not to!

Lo and behold we found one in her desk, I thanked her profusely, headed to the restroom to fix the issue and the rest of my day…smooth, ahhh..

{August 9, 2016} A good day and a red letter evening…

The day was exciting, the evening riveting, ha!

I taught another great class, it was nice when some of them came in and told me that they heard the class last week was great and I was pretty good too.

Here’s where it gets riveting, hold on to your hats! After class, I went back to the hotel, ate left over Chinese food from lunch, finished my updates to the materials, did my hair, put on my jammies, painted my nails, cross stitched while I watched movies, talked to you and then I’m going to pass out.

What an exciting life I lead! Hold me back! Actually, it was nice, after the very busy weekend and the crazy travel day yesterday, it was nice to relax and almost do nothing!

How was your day?

{August 8, 2016} What a travel day!

Did anyone else get caught up in the Delta debacle?

My flight was scheduled for 535am this morning as it has been for the last few weeks out of Boston. I got to the airport about 430am and the security lines were crazy, I’m so glad I have TSA Pre-Check! The lines for bag drop were crazy and at the Sky Priority line for Delta it was almost out the door with ONE person working, what!? Apparently the system was down, I thought just at check in, so luckily, I had two small bags and decided to travel with my checked bag. Off to security I went.

I get to the gate and find out that the system is down globally! No idea why, but down, uh oh. Since the system is down, they can’t print paperwork for the pilots and if they can’t print paperwork, we can’t get on the plane. They also printed paper tickets for us in case they can’t scan.

So, about 630, they still have no updates, I get on the phone to call my travel company. I wait for 30 minutes to talk to someone, it’s understandable. I get booked on a 730 Jet Blu flight, problem is…by the time I get to the terminal it’s too late to check in and get a boarding pass, so I call the travel company. One hour later, someone picks up the phone…

I am now booked on an 11am from Boston to Chicago. So, off to the gate I go, sit down, plug in and get to work.

Finally get on the plane, 1st row is nice, nice guy sitting next to me, was in the same boat I was, I think quite a few people were…

I finally got to Chicago, took a taxi to the airport and got in to the office about 2pm, only for hours late. But…everyone knew what was going on. GES texted “Are you on Delta?”, when I emailed someone at work to let them know I’d be late…their only response, “Delta?”

How did you all know? It was on the news! While I was switching terminals, there were at least four news stations there.
I got to the office, printed what I needed and in less than two hours, out the door for Amtrak for Springfield! I got to Springfield, took an Uber to the airport for a rental car, then to the hotel. It’s about 930pm, think I’ll make it past 1030? We’ll see…

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2016/08/08/delta-air-lines-system-outage-causes-worldwide-delays.html

{August 7, 2016} A car show and a cookout…pretty good day

I got to sleep in a minute, it was nice.

I got a little work done and headed to GES’. We went to a car museum which happened to have a car show happening today.

The museum is on the Larz Anderson Estate, http://larzanderson.org/. Very interesting history, it’s the home of America’s Oldest Car Collection. There were Electrmobiles, Porsches, BMWs.

Outside there were Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferrari, a McLaren and so many more. It was a lot of fun, especially watching the folks at the exit waiting for cars to leave and gun the engine and take off down the street.

After the car show we went into Brookline for one of ACS’ favorite pizza joints from when he lived there.

Then back to the house to hang out for a bit until we headed across the street for dinner, all sorts of goodies on the grill. Good food, good conversation and lots of laughter.

Now, home, packed, talking to you and ready to head to the airport in a few hours. For another great week!

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