My day | Peaches Prattlings

{April 10, 2015} There is a Five Year Old among us!

Miss A is a bonafide FIVE year old!

Where did the time go? She was 9 months old when SDL brought her home, I got to meet her right off the plane, with her Momom and Popop, what an amazing time that was! I still remember the day SDL sent me a picture, “Hey Auntie G, want to see a picture of your niece?” I about fell on the floor and I was tearing up, what a doll baby! Nothing has changed!

I am in Atlanta this weekend because it’s Miss A’s birthday. I made a promise, like I did to MGS and EJS, that no matter what, I would be here for her birthday, either on her birthday or the birthday weekend, depending on work, but I’ll be here and yesterday I flew in and didn’t know I was going to get to see her before she went to bed and we hung out until almost midnight! What a party animal she is!

She is a fabulous, precocious, amazing five year old and every time I see her, I am amazed by something new! I love our one-on-one times, just SDL, Miss A and me, there is nothing like it! Tonight, we went to dinner and when we got home, I got to do bath time, brushing her teeth and getting her dressed for night night, this is a big deal!

Every time I see her, she has learned something new, is doing something else on her own or better than the last time, she just amazes me, did I already tell you that?

So, here I am, for the birthday weekend and I am loving every minute of it! I can’t wait to see what year number five holds!

This video cracks me up and you will be seeing it again in a few weeks when someone else turns five!

Happy Birthday Miss A! I love you very much! Auntie G XOXO

{April 6, 2015} Annoyed

I’ve had so many good days, today was pretty good, just a few things annoyed me.

The day started fine, got up a few minutes early, a little because I was waking up and a little because ACS ran down the stairs getting ready to go to work.

Last night I did something I’ve never done before, I packed for a trip almost three weeks away, a little surreal, but I’m not going to be home very long between trips and next weekend I’m going to be in Atlanta, so I won’t have much time when I get back to Boston to pack.

This morning, I was looking at my bags and was wondering if I had enough britches, I decided to pack half in my bag for work and half in my other bag, sounds good, I can do laundry over the weekend and I always over-pack my britches, and I’m, ok with that, I’d rather over-pack than not have enough.

Dad is up and looks outside and says “Look, it’s Santa Clause!” Yup, my driver looked a little like Santa Clause, I found out a lot about him, he’s married 25 years, has a 21 and 18 years old, never been on a jet plane and has been clean for 26 years.

Then he told us a good joke, “What do you call Santa’s elves?” “Santa’s subortanelves!” ha ha!

I get to the airport, can’t change my seat, I tried over and over yesterday, then no other seats available, back of the plane I go. I miss my Delta, I already have my confirmation of my first class upgrade for Thursday. I had a fabulous veggie omelet, they used my cheese, so it was rich and creamy, I loved it! I had my own matzoh, so I was set.

I stopped at Wegman’s, picked up supplies for the week, lots of good stuff, then I get to the hotel, I’m on the ‘women’s floor’, ‘the what?’ They have little extras for women, like robes, slippers, love it. Then I start unpacking and guess what…NO BRITCHES! I had packed them all in the other bag! WHAT?

Great…so, I know where I am going after class…Victoria’s Secret for some new britches. now, don’t get me wrong, I heart Victoria’s Secret, even though she doesn’t have many secrets left…but I just bought new britches two weeks ago…grr

I left for the hospital, reviewed material with another trainer, we had plenty of time, no one was registered for the class, it was very productive.

Then I was heading to the mall and stopped at Walmart for one thing, ended up buying something else, go figure…As I was at the register attempting to pay, my card was declined, what? It happened again, not happy, so I used another credit card, thinking I would reach out to my bank later to see what was going on.

After I left the store, I got a call from the bank to confirm I had made the purchase, I proceeded to give the representative what-for, apologizing for being harsh, but I was ticked off, as you can imagine. A note is being made to my file, hmm…let’s see what happens next time.

After that, my trip to VS was not as much fun as it could have been, but I did have fun picking out birthday presents for Miss A, so that helped. I got back to the hotel, got into comfy clothes, had some dinner, talked to PSM, played with my new purchase and now I’m talking to you, Bad vibes are gone, I’m getting happy.

I need this…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U-rBZREQMw

{March 30, 2015} My day! Surprise snow…twice! Niagra Falls…once!

This morning started early, as every day does, so what else is new?

I get to the airport in Boston, drop my bag, get through security, weather is chilly, but nice, skies are clear. I got breakfast, had a nice sit down, well, as nice as the food court at the airport is, but nice is what you make it, right?

I went to the gate, hung out, had to put my jacket back on when they opened the door, brrr, still clear skies, then I walk down the jet-way and get to the door and what? Snow? Really? Come on! Ok fine…but someone needs to have a chat with Mother Nature, seriously!

So, then we wait and wait and wait some more, the flight was supposed to leave at 9:25, it was about 10:15 that the de-icing truck finally showed up from the other side of the airport! They only have one?! I’m glad I wasn’t teaching today! We finally took off and got in about 11:54, getting off the plane, SNOW! What? Not on the menu! I got my bag, rental car had apparently been cancelled, but they gave me one, thankfully. Headed to the hotel in the snow.

By the time I got to the hotel, no snow, clear skies, so I decided I was going to take a trip to Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. Skies were clear, only about a thirty minute drive, parked, walked down to the water and what started happening? Rain, fun. But I did not let that damper my spirits, truly amazing! I walked to the welcome center, taking some great pictures along the way, ignoring the rain, what a site, so majestic and breathtaking!

I picked up a few things, I don’t bring things from each week I am away, but I went to Canada!

When I came out, it was really coming down, walked to the casino, had some lunch, then headed back to Buffalo…In the snow and rain and sleet and it stopped when I got to the hotel! The sky is beautiful and clear and bright. I was done for the day!

Up to the room, jammies on, chilling out, getting some work done and hoping to get some much needed rest before I start teaching classes tomorrow morning.

I hope you enjoy my photos as much as I enjoyed taking them and being there. A great way to end the day. Amazing!

{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 27, 2015} Setting the tone

So many different things can set the tone for, well, things, right?

There are so many things I could give examples for here, but I’m only going to focus on my classrooms today, well, actually everyday. The class or students really set the tone for the class and how it’s going to progress, wouldn’t you agree?

I start every class full of energy, vigor and vim and I try to keep that momentum going for the entire class, but it doesn’t always work, especially if the class is full of duds. Perfect example was today, I taught three classes and the great thing was they were all full or close to full. SO much better than the majority of my classes over the last few weeks, no-shows, no registrations or really small classes.

Sometimes I tell jokes while we are waiting for other students to arrive, I think I’ve told some of them to you [What’s smarter than a talking parrot?…a spelling bee! wah wah wah], try to keep the mood light, especially since, for the most part, most of them don’t want to be there to begin with, I need to keep them entertained and learn something. I’m not sure that some of them realize how much it takes to be up there in front of them, especially when you look out and see blank stares when you ask a question or see someone fighting to stay awake. I think I told you sometimes at the end of the day, I don’t want to talk anymore, I know, me, JJ does not want to talk to anyone at all! What?!?

My first class today was pretty good, there was a good mix of people, they laughed when they were supposed to, followed what I was saying, took it as it was intended when I called them out on something, especially if they did something they knew they were not supposed to. I feed off of that and it helps keep me going and keeps them engaged.

My third and final class of the day, it was a mixed bag. I could feel some resentment from some people, who just did not want to be there, or felt that they were too good to be there, does not help keep the energy level up and I tried. In almost every class, especially the ones with more people, there are going to be slower learners or less than computer savvy students, those folks need a little extra love and I do what I can to give it to them, if the person next to them isn’t helping them, maybe because they are one of the other challenged students. When they left, I was done, officially for the day and emotionally for the week, done, stick a fork in me!

My second class was great, it was on to capacity, but we made it work. They were energized, motivated, asked good questions, laughed a lot and learned a lot. One women even kept saying “yes mommy” when I would tell her to do something, it was cute! Then I got my greatest compliment…someone who had taken the same class the week before said to me, as I was helping her, “you’re a good teacher” she said she was getting a lot out of my class today and I really was a good instructor, that made my day and helped a lot to keep me going and motivated.

I love getting feedback, from the students especially, it reinforces that I chose my profession well and it is where I am supposed to be. Doing what I love and loving what I do.

{March 26, 2015} Oh my my my…I want…ALL of them!

What a treat!

Tonight, I was walking to dinner, my first solo dinner since being on the project in Buffalo, well, solo outside of the hotel/room service and I saw a Shelby Cobra [for those of you not in the know, that would be the dark blue car with white stripes] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Cobra.

My mouth dropped open and I crossed the street just to listen to it start up, rumble and watch it being driven into the convention center. Oh my! I started talking to one of the guys working and asked a few questions, it was the Buffalo Motorama 2015 showing this weekend and when he asked if I was going to be around this weekend to see it, I told him I wasn’t and he told me I should go in and take a look! What? You don’t have to tell me twice!

I walked in and did my best to keep my mouth shut! I was drooling! It was classic car after classic car, beautiful, as you can imagine. There were Mustangs, Corvettes, Chevelles, Novas, to name a few… Buggies, hot rods, muscle cars, custom jobs, amazing paint jobs, fantastic engines, just wow! I am going to be vulgar and I apologize…this is a class car lovers wet dream, oh my!

I am no CKM when it comes to taking photos, but I did what I could. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed viewing the cars and taking the pictures!

I need to hit the lottery, I want them all!

{March 24, 2015} Oversleeping sets the tone for the whole day

Today I overslept, pook.

How you wake up can set the tone for your whole day, don’t you agree? Now, when I told the valet at the hotel I overslept and got up at 6:06am, he laughed and I laughed too, imagine 6am oversleeping, but when you get up by 5:30 every morning to leave by 6am, then 6:06am is oversleeping!

I set two alarms, the first at 5:15, I use that for snoozing, you know that wonderful stuff you do after the alarm goes off and it’s so nice. Then the next one goes off at 5:30, just in case I don’t wake up to the first and I hit snooze once or twice, then I’m up by 5:45 at the latest, call for the car and I’m out the door by 6am and in my car and on the road by 6:05/6:10 at the latest.

Well, this morning, my dreams were silly and I felt the need to see them through, couldn’t tell you what they were, but I know I was laughing in them, so why get up? I looked at the clock, said “Oh…” called valet and asked for the car. I rushed to get my teeth brushed, looked at my hair and realized I would be alright if I didn’t take a shower, it’s all about how you look when you leave, right?

Wasn’t it Fernando who said “It is better to look good than feel good and dahling…you look mahbelous!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXydX9p_ZxA. Good memories.

The good thing was, the hospital was about 20 minutes away, I made it in time to set the classroom up, of course, I had to wait for someone from security to come and open the room up, which is supposed to be open all the time, sigh.

Guess what happened next…I was there at 6:30 for my 7am class and no one showed up…what? So, I was able to eat breakfast, that was a plus…

The day was fine, people showed up to all the other classes, but I was still a teeny bit off. Left the hospital, got into the car, realized I left my lunch bag in the training room, went back, waited for security to unlock the door. Got back to the hotel, thought I lost my little electronic bag, oh my! I finally found it, it was hiding where I couldn’t find it.

After a while, I decided I was not leaving the hotel. I called room service, ordered got into the bath, relaxed, put on my jammies, ate dinner [wasn’t great, they messed up the order a bit], chilled out and now I’m talking to you.

Alarms are set, I’m going to get more than 4 hours of sleep and tomorrow is a new day.

{March 22, 2015} What a weekend!

I was at my sister’s house, so you know what that means! Yup, sit back, grab a cup o’ caffeine and away we go!

I’ve told you a little so far, but there is so much more! Ready…Set…Go!

Friday, I arrived earlier than I have the past few weeks, got to see my less than happy niece, EJS, who had been sick for a few days, GES and dad were there as well, he had gotten in on Thursday. My sister had some great news to share, so GO GES! A good way to start the weekend, so there was good and there was bad.

Shortly after I got there, we left the house to head to…wait for it…Cheesecake Factory! ACS and both girls love it, so it is now tradition to go there on their birthdays. We arrived before ACS and MGS and after we put our name down for a table, since they don’t take reservations, we started to go to walk around the mall and ran into father and daughter, what a greeting for Auntie! Sigh.

Then it was walking around the mall waiting for our table, up the escalator, down the escalator, up the escalator, down the escalator…when does this stop being entertaining? No MGS! No more up the escalator, down the escalator and no, I’m not chasing you! I really couldn’t, I was wearing shoes with a wedge, not running.

Finally it was time for dinner and a lovely time was had by all, with cheesecake and a brownie with ice cream, candle and serenading, then head home to eat the cheesecake. Did I mention it had been snowing when I got to the house? Hasn’t Boston gotten enough? They already hit their record…108 inches!

Home was more singing and then night night. [remember, that was just Friday night!]

It continued to snow until Saturday afternoon and a few hours later, it was as if it never was! Saturday morning brought ACS making waffles, yum! [always reminds me of Shrek when Donkey says “And in the mornin’, I’m makin’ waffles!]. Then it was running a few errands with EJS and GES. Then turn around, head home, have a bite of lunch, that would be the pizzas for the cancelled party and true buffalo wings imported from The Anchor Bar in Buffalo with their own blue cheese. People were happy. [and no, I did not eat a chicken wing!]

Sometime during lunch, ACS’ brother and his wife arrived, JS and AS to join us for a snack and then we piled into three cars and headed to the movie theater, where we met some other folks who were joining us, making it a total of 13 to see Cinderella [four kids and 9 adults, how does that work?]

It was a really good movie, I’m loving almost all of the live action fairy tale movies Disney is coming out with! This was not a musical, but it had a great cast and a strong script enjoyed by all!

After the movie, we went to dinner at a nice restaurant, The Met Bar, http://metbarandgrill.com/, where we met, ha ha…B’s husband, SM and their son HM as well as PSM. Dinner was a grand time, everyone talking and laughing and then there was more dessert and singing, lucky girl!

Finally it was time to head home, so we gathered the troops and wondered where MGS was getting the energy at almost 9pm, don’t ask me, I raced with her and chased her! Home and time for bed! [now, remember, that was just Saturday!]

Sunday started too early, I was hoping to sleep past 7…nay-nay said my body. At 6:30,. the desire to go to the bathroom was greater than the desire to stay asleep! Boo

Up and then upstairs, eventually ACS made pancakes and a giant one that he wrote Happy Birthday EJS, put a candle in it and we sang again! Now, that’s what I call a birthday weekend!

Dad and I went to return my ski boots and get new ones, long story for another day, then back to the house. EJS was already gone to Sunday School. Arts and crafts with MGS, then it was time to get dressed and go to the JCC to see a performance of Curious George performed by a local community theater group, really cute, then a Wellness Expo with a bounce house, among other things for the kids and face painting , of course! Only problem…it had to come time for swim lessons and GES met us with all her swim stuff.

After swim, home to play and prep for dinner. Did I mention I did a load of laundry in there somewhere? PSM arrived around 6 and we sat down to dinner. Not everyone had the same thing, but it was nice to be together. After dinner, ACS ran to the grocery store and brought dessert home, among other things and while he was gone, I made a banana bread, it was yummy!

After dinner, it was time for stories and bed, Curious George for MGS, go figure! I said goodnight to both girls and told them I would see them in two weeks. Back downstairs to have grown up visiting, then it was time for PSM to head home, I finished packing and now I’m talking to you.

And that, my friends, was my weekend! Are you tired? I am! I’m a little beat and the taxi is coming at 5:15AM!

Don’t get me wrong at all! I love it! It’s just another typical weekend here!

Goodnight!

{March 20, 2015} Being sick on your birthday…not a gift

It’s just a fact, right, being sick on your birthday sucks, to be blunt.

Tomorrow EJS turns EIGHT, more on that tomorrow, still OMG!

So…back to the point of the post. EJS had a cough that wouldn’t go away, they took her to the doctor this morning and she has croup, poor little bit. She stayed home from school yesterday and today, feeling like crud, not knowing what was wrong.

So, first, she had to miss the school field trip today, not a happy camper there. Then…her birthday party tomorrow was cancelled, bummer, but…it’s already rescheduled and almost everyone is coming, so that’s great! We went out for the traditional birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory, enjoyed and not enjoyed when you’re not feeling well. She put up a good front.

Hopefully tomorrow she will feel better, there is still a big day planned, which I will tell you all about.

Bottom line, your birthday should be a fun and happy day, not a day that you feel like crud, so I am sending EJS as many good vibes as I can, hope you can do the same!

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