My Life on the road | Peaches Prattlings

{April 18, 2021} It’s a beautiful Sunday in Chicago, what should we do first?

Well…not set an alarm for one! That was easy! We got up eventually, took showers and got ourselves ready to greet the day. First…since we didn’t want to have to carry our bags around the city all day, so we arranged with the hotel to keep the room for the day, wahoo!

Eventually, we ventured out in search of breakfast. I was disappointed that the Chicago Diner ‘Meat Free since ’83’, one of my favorite places to eat in Chicago, unfortunately, it wasn’t open until 12p, maybe next time we go to Chicago, we can eat there. We decided on a place that was less than a mile away, Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe. It had a high rating, so we were excited. We put our names on the waitlist, we didn’t actually have to wait too long, it was quite busy. Chicago seems to still be waking up from quarantine.

When we finally got a seat, we waiting for quite a while before anyone came over to the table, our server was nice enough, but frazzled, according to her, it was crazy busy and they were backed up in the kitchen. Not sure if they had enough staff working. We finally got to order, PSM got his decaf coffee pretty quickly, but my chai latte, on the other hand, came just before the food, which was about 20 minutes later, and it came in a to-go cup, that was a first. I watched several drinks come out of the kitchen like that, I have a feeling they were low on kitchen staff. I was watching the people at the table next to ours, who were seated at the same time we were. Their drinks came at the same time mine did, and they still didn’t have food. Our food got there and we started eating.

We had ordered a vegetable skillet, requesting the hash browns be fully cooked, I don’t know if we’ve talked about this, but I don’t like my hash browns white, still looking like it was a just shredded potato. The veggies were good, the eggs as well. I will say the pancakes were good, we hoped they were since the restaurant was called Wildberry Pancakes & Cafe! The toast, on the other hand, was cold. Oh well.

We headed out for a stroll down Michigan Avenue, also known as The Magnificent Mile. You might be wondering why it’s called Michigan Avenue is known as The Magnificent Mile, click the link! It really is a beautiful street, the flowers are in bloom and one thing Chicago is known for, well in my opinion at least! is the artwork that is found on the streets, be it in the floral arrangements, sculpture, graffiti, even, and you know how much I love graffiti! I didn’t take any pictures of it this trip, sorry.

There were also quite a few businesses boarded up along Michigan Avenue, in preparations for the protests that happened on Friday. Many of those businesses were still open, and the foot traffic was lively, but not unreasonable and everyone was respectful of their space. We made our way to the T-Mobile Flagship Store, PSM had some questions, and if you remember my time in Chicago, I love that particular T-Mobile! After T-Mobile, we walked down Michigan Avenue, our end goal was Millennium Park, just looking in windows and watching people, and taking photos of the flowers as we went.

We were about to pass a Starbucks, what we thought was just an ordinary Starbucks, when it turns out to be quite a bit more than that! It was the Starbucks Reserve Roastery. Yeah, try saying that 5 times fast! ha ha. I can’t think of a better way to describe it “If Willy Wonka had built the ultimate coffee shop instead of a chocolate factory, the result may have looked a lot like the 15,000-square-foot Starbucks Reserve Roastery.” That is the description from their website about the first Reserve Roastery that opened in Seattle, of course, where it all began.

The Chicago Reserve Roastery is a five story building and each story houses something different, although, you can get coffee and tee on every floor, although, they don’t have all the same traditional drinks that you would get at your average, on every block, Starbucks. First floor: Coffee, tee, pastry, merchandise. Second floor: dedicated bakery. Third floor: the art, science, and theater of coffee: coffee creations, flights, nitrogen-infused gelato, and more. Fourth floor: Alcohol! A cocktail bar. Fifth floor: Rooftop terrace, reservation required.

It was quite the experience. After we toured each floor, and it really was something to see, and something to see at every turn, we ordered drinks. PSM got an iced decaf something and I didn’t want a hot drink, so I tried to order something similar to the Dragon Drink that I like, which is sweet mango and dragonfruit flavors, with creamy coconut milk, ice and a scoop of real diced dragonfruit. I love it! They didn’t have anything like that so I ordered something the person at the register recommended and I ordered it with oat milk. She looked at me kind of funny, I said I wanted something similar to the dragon drink, here goes. First…they made it incorrectly and while they remade it the way I ordered it, I got to keep the incorrect one. SO glad I did because the one with oat milk…yuck! it was awful! wow!

After Starbucks, we kept walking and eventually ended up in Millennium Park, across from where we had breakfast. We started with The Bean, which is technically Cloud Gate Park, it is a 10-ton elliptical sculpture is forged of a seamless series of highly polished stainless steel plates, which reflect Chicago’s famous skyline and the clouds above. Basically, it looks like a giant bean! It was designed by Anish Kapoor. The cool thing about it is when you get under it, your reflection is inverted and sometimes it’s hard to find yourself in it. It was gated off, which makes sense, since so many people get in there and touch it. Safety first! A cool thing…as we were standing there, we saw a couple just after they got engaged, the eruption of cheers and the now fiancé’s tears were very touching!

Then we walked to the gardens, flowers were in bloom, some just coming to life, some dying. I liked that there was one patch where they left the dying flowers to feed the new growth and the insects who live in it.

After the gardens, we walked to the Crown Fountain, two 50-foot glass block towers at each end of a shallow reflecting pool, designed by Jaume Plensa. They project images of faces which are animated and in the summer, they are true fountains. The fun thing is to sit and watch all the kids, young and old, running and playing in the fountain/water spouts. Right now, not much water happening.

Then there was an installation by a Chicago based artist, Christine Tarkowski. “When we call the Earth by way of distinction a planet and the Moon a satellite, we should consider whether we do not, in a certain sense, mistake the matter. Perhaps- and not unlikely – the Moon is the planet and the Earth the satellite! Are we not a larger moon to the Moon, than she is to us?“

This was the end of our tour of Millennium Park, thoroughly enjoyable! Now, we’re hungry! A few blocks and we are at a place I la la la loved when I was in Chicago, Native Foods. I would not have subjected PSM to an entire weekend of vegan, but I wanted at least one, maybe two meals, and this is the one I got. One of the things I have been thinking about since we planned this trip is their vegan Reuben sandwich, O M G! I lived on it when I was there, introduced so many people to it, who couldn’t believe it wasn’t real and my mouth is watering just thinking about it now! And it was the vegan Reuben I compared all other vegan Reuben’s to.

And guess what they didn’t have… O M G! NOOOOOOOoooo! I was heartbroken, what was I to do?! I ended up with a meatball sub with provolone and sweet potato fries, PSM had a brisket sandwich, remember…all vegan. For dessert, we didn’t care much for the peanut butter parfait, but my other go-to favorite…their oatmeal creme pie! It’s more like an oatmeal whoopee pie, to give you a visual. Oh wow! I was going to say OMG again, but you’re probably tired of it! It is so yummy and good, another thing I got my non-vegan friends hooked on! I still get texts from friends I was on that project with, who will go there on occasion to get just that! Wow, that’s saying something! It’s so tasty, but soo, sooooo, soooo sweet! I couldn’t eat it all in one sitting and it was a little much for PSM, he did try it though, and declared it was all mine! muwahahah. Needless to say, it is going to take me a few days to eat it! Ha ha.

After lunch, back to the hotel to chill for a bit, then head to the airport, we have puppies to see! I can’t wait to find out what they got up to this weekend. First class home, then puppies! What a weekend! What’s our next adventure?!

{January 26, 2021} Goodbye Colorado…Missouri…Um, I’m trying to get there!

I really am trying to get home! As much as I didn’t want to leave Colorado, I almost never do when I visit, I did want to get home to my family. Apparently Mother Nature thought it would be funny to make my 12+ hour drive a 14+ hour drive, not funny.

I actually slept later than I had all week, go figure! Every day that I had wanted to sleep past 7/7:30am, no dice, this morning, I got up at almost 8am! And…this is the day I wanted to leave a little earlier, maybe by 8am so I could take advantage of the daylight for driving. I didn’t set an alarm thinking I kept getting up early, but no dice. So…the plan was to leave between 8:30 and 9am, just like I had when I left St Louis for Denver.

I got on the road, no issue, then…apparently it had snowed, and snowed a lot, outside of Denver, the entire state of Colorado, then Kansas, and if you’ve ever made that drive, you know both states seem to go on fore…ever!!! There was snow on the ground, in the fields, it was white, white, white! There were some places I couldn’t see ahead of me or on either side of me, then it would clear, ahhh.

I filled up my gas tank and it was just slushy, but when I pulled into the first rest stop along the highway, not only did I inch my way up to the house, I actually had to put on my waterproof winter boots with the fur because the snow was at least 6 inches in some places and a foot in others. Pretty to look at, not fun to walk in, with Chucks on!

Some of the roads had snow and some ice on both lanes, other areas it was clear on one side, where the trucks had been driving over the road. I loved when cars or trucks would go by and slosh my car with wet, grey snow, thanks a lot! This was a drive that had to be made carefully for a lot of it. There were a lot of electronic warning signs up along the highway.

There were some areas that were absolutely beautiful and some areas, well…even snow couldn’t make it pretty!

I have to say, I’m glad I didn’t wash my car after skiing on Friday or even Sunday. I knew I would be driving and thought about getting her washed before I headed out this morning, really glad I didn’t. Almost every rest stop and gas station, I was getting the packed snow out of the wheel wells, washing the windshield and wiping as much of the ice from the car doors. Fun! Bottom line, she will be getting a bath this week in St Louis!

Now, you’ll love this…or maybe it’s just me. And that was pure sarcasm…At some point during the week, the driver’s side washer fluid nozzle seemed to stop working…the passenger side is fine, driver side, not so much. So…if I crane my head to the right, I can drive looking out the passenger side! HA HA! I did a lot of window washing, let me tell you! Then…somewhere around Topeka, KS, I turned on the wipers, they swished and the driver’s side wiper FLEW OFF! really?! I promptly found an Auto Zone and $70 later, I am now the proud owner of a pair of Rain-X Quantum Wiper Blades, huh? I don’t remember them being so expensive, but they are! And really expensive for something that only lasts about a year and a half! But…I really like the Rain-X brand, and they are on snug as a bug in a rug, so I am quite happy and when I got home…they are still on! HA HA

I was tired of the food I had been munching on for the week and decided to stop for some grub. There aren’t a lot of options for me, but I know I can get a sandwich at Subway, I have always liked their veggie patty, and then I started to want one. I stopped at no less than FIVE Subways along the road, the first…the toaster was out. I would have asked about the patty, but you have to cook it, so no dice. The next location had just closed, and they just started closing earlier the day before. The next two locations didn’t carry the patty and the last location, the girl behind the counter had no idea what I was talking about. Sigh…vegan ham and cheese it is! At least my stomach stopped grumbling!

Back on the road, munching on my sandwich and listening to a podcast or some comedy on Pandora radio, I didn’t get tired until about 11:30p, I had effectively been on the road about 12+ hours at that point and I had about another 2 hours to go. I was doing alright and didn’t start to get tired until about midnight and at that point, I was so close to home, I wasn’t getting a hotel. I did, however, stop at almost every rest stop and every few gas stations on the way!

Best part…pulling into my driveway, walking into the house, peaking in on the fur babies, who had noticed that I was home [I had to ignore the whining! SO hard!], putting on my pjs and crawling into bed, pulling up the covers and…zzzz…

{January 24, 2021} Hello Breck…What a Day!

Today was my last day of skiing and I decided on Breckenridge and I was not disappointed. To be honest, like Keystone, I have never been disappointed in skiing at Breckenridge.

It was 25 when I left Golden and 23 when I got to Breckenridge, but crisp and clear, so not terrible. You can tell that it snowed over the last few days, you could see snow on some of the mountains as I drove. Breckenridge was looking good! I found a parking lot and started to get set up for my day. The nice thing was that there was no snow in the parking lot where I parked, so I could step on the ground to get my boots on without fear of wet feet! Yeah!

I struggled, not as much as yesterday, but struggled buckling my boots. Funny enough, one of the women in the jeep that pulled in next to me was having the same issues. Oh boy, as much as it sucks, it’s nice to know someone else is experiencing the same thing! We chatted for a minute and then I was off and running, well, not running, there is no running in ski boots, at least not for me!

I took the gondola up to the first level and got off and went to stand in the very long lift line. The line went a little up the hill, so I trudged up with everyone else and inched my way down with everyone else, finally deciding to put my skis on when I got to flat land, I watched a lot of people standing sideways inching towards the flat spots. Up and up and up we went.

The slopes were wide open and smooth, there was some ice in a few places, they haven’t had a lot of snow over the past few months, but it didn’t get in the way. The ice wasn’t like East Coast ice, that was a plus. The music was on shuffle, never knowing what was coming up next. I swished and swished and swished, even a few straightaways. One of the runs I even shouted “I’m so happy!” and I was. It was such a great feeling!

I took a video of me swishing and swooshing down the hill, I completely forgot my GoPro, duh. One of these days I’ll get it set up and remember to take it with me, grrr. Let’s just say…my hand was mighty cold after 2 minutes and 33 seconds!

Eventually, I made it to the bottom, I can’t tell you how many runs I completed, but it was great, it even started snowing at some point, from the top of the mountain, it seemed as if there was low visibility, but it cleared up as you make your way down, still snowing, but easy to navigate. At the bottom, I used the facilities, had some lunch and decided it was time to go.

Part of me wanted to keep going because it’s my last day in Denver, but my body was telling me something else. Heart vs body, hmmm…body wins! I picked up my skis and headed to the gondola and headed back down to the bottom and towards the shuttle back to the parking lot.

It seems that a lot of people had the same idea, the same people I was ‘getting ready’ with at the car were at their cars to get disassembled, so to speak, at the same time, what are the odds? Granted, if you live in Denver and know you can ski many, many, many days during the season, even if you have to drive 2 hours, it’s worth it to go for just a few hours. It was the same for us when we lived in Hawai’i and would go snorkeling or to the beach, just to go to the beach, we’d go for one to two hours and go home, fair point.

Got ready to drive, headed out, got on the highway and then…what was supposed to be an hour and a half drive…red lights, no movement. I was already on the road about 45 minutes, maybe an hour and I looked at GPS, because of an accident on the highway, the delay was 1 hour and 4 minutes, really? It took me two solid hours to get back to the hotel. I was done! On with the pj’s! Figure out food and talk to you.

Tomorrow is my 12 hour drive back to PSM and two fur babies! And I’m already trying to figure out when I can come back to Denver to get some more skiing in before the end of the season. Hmmm… Despite the traffic, a great day, thank you Breck! Overall, three great days of skiing, fabulous visits with friends and a fabulous trip. Thank you Keystone, Breckenridge, Denver, and Colorado, I heart you!

{January 23, 2021} Treat after Treat after Treat after…

What a day today was, it was treat, after treat, after treat! I admit it, I’m spoiled, and I’ll take it!

Since I couldn’t get a reservation to ski for the day, I made other plans. First… last night I pulled down the blackout curtain, hoping it would help me also in a little. Well, any guesses how that turned out? It’s all good, more time for me to do nothing! Ha Ha!

I thought about going to a yoga class or doing a virtual livestream class and then I thought about something PSM said, you’re skiing, you don’t have to do yoga, true, but I thought it might help, who knows. Then my body said, “um…yeah, you’re good, take it easy” and I listened, go figure! I laid in bed, turned on the tv and vegged out, it was fabulous! Then I got up and made myself an egg sandwich, moved to the couch and continued my relaxing journey! Not a bad way to start a Saturday.

I decided to be a little productive, checking emails, updating a friend’s resume, and making plans for the day, all while relaxing, that works for me! My friend texted that she loved that I had no plans and I have to say, it is refreshing to not have plans when you’re visiting somewhere. It all depends where you are and what you’re doing, right? I used to live in Colorado, there is a lot that I did, but there is also a lot I haven’t done and depending on what it is, I want to share it with PSM. This time, I’m only here to ski and see friends, and since I have the pass and I’m not that far from the mountains, take it easy.

I finally got motivated and headed out the door for my first treat of the day. I drove downtown to see LJ, she has a great apartment overlooking Denver and the view of the Flat Iron Mountains is fabulous! She shares the apartment with her boyfriend JS and their kitten, Steve. OM G, what a doll baby! Cutest little orange tabby with a lot of energy and a name tag that might be bigger than him!

We sat down and talked and talked, about everything and nothing, and just like all our conversations it went all over the place, par for the course, of course! All the while Steve took turns biting my toes and fingers, pouncing on me and other things, and settling in next to his mom’s side happy as can be. Oh my am I getting my fix!

After a bit, we looked for a place to go and LJ is one of the friends I have who tries to go vegan with me, a lot of places we called had a wait and we decided on…Edgewater Public Market, I’m in! She’s been there a bunch and her yoga studio is there, same one PSM and I go to, which means…next time we travel to Denver, we can go to our yoga studio! She went off and got pizza and I got a vegan chicken Caesar salad from Meta Burger, another hit! I told her about my dinner from last night and she had to get a side of the vegan mac-n-cheese, she was not disappointed! And we talked some more, we can do this for hours, wait, we are!

Then…another treat! We both saved room and went over to Happy Cone for some vegan gelato for me and full on fabulous ice cream for her! We were both quite pleased. It’s a simple ice cream shop, ‘New Zealand style creamery handmaking ice cream, chocolates and happiness’ is the tag from their website. I believe Hap Cameron, the owner was the one who scooped our treats, I could be wrong, but it sounded like a New Zealand accent when he spoke…through his mask!

Then we sat and talked some more, go figure, then a strange smell wafted by and despite the masks, we could still smell it, it was probably someone’s food as a few people walked by, but it was time for us to get some fresh air, so we went to the outside heated tent and sat at a recently cleaned table and talked some more. I mean, when don’t we talk!? I’ve told you this before, one of my favorite things about my friends is that we can sit and talk about everything and nothing and it’s always as if no time has passed. Eventually, sadly, it was time to leave. I took LJ back home, we said our goodbyes and hugs and headed off in different directions. Looking forward to the next time!

I called AM and we worked on dinner plans, that was the plan after all, hang with friends! He called in an order at City O’ City, I think we’ve talked about it before, but I la la la love this place! I placed my order for ‘chikn’ n waffles. The chikin’ is fried cauliflower, not to worry, the waffles are actual waffles! It’s served with vegan creme fraiche, maple syrup, and carrot bacon. We also had seitan wings for an appetizer, y-u-m! There was a vegan pizza, and for dessert…a ho-ho cupcake and a whoopie pie. Let’s just say, if you come with me to Denver, I’ll take you to City O’ City. I’ll tell you how good it is…the first place LJ asked about getting lunch…City O’ City! Oh yeah!

I picked up the food and headed to AM’s house, it was AM and his daughter…AM! Ha Ha, his wife NM was at their house in the mountains, I was bummed not to get to see her, we kept missing each other this weekend. It was a great time! We talked school, a teeny bit politics, books, movies, podcasts, it was quite the dinner conversation!

When the younger AM went to bed, AM and I retreated to the den, popped in Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan‘s first movie together, Joe Versus the Volcano then spent the next 1.45 hours talking movies, discussing almost every movie on the wall, laughing, disagreeing, agreeing, howling, taking moments to actually watch some of the best parts of the movie. I think I’m going to have to dedicate an entire post to this movie, it is probably one of my all-time favorite, same for AM. What a great night, it really was, I’m still laughing!

What a day for me! Treat, after treat, after treat, after treat. I am spoiled and I’m ok with that! What’s next?!

{January 22, 2021} Meta Burger…What a Treat!!

Philly cheesesteak to be exact. And…VEGAN! And…FAB-U-LOUS!!!

Tonight I was looking for something to eat after I went to the local Indian Motorcycle Dealership of Denver dealership and went to my friendly neighborhood Happy Cow app and found Meta Burger, 100% vegan and only 6 minutes away, sold! I clicked directions from the Happy Cow app and away I went.

What I found was Edgewater Public Market, opened November 2019. I LOVE places like this…open space, exposed beams, open concrete floors, tables, food choices to satisfy almost any pallet, from what I saw, some in a food court type area, and some were along the walkways. There were a few stores, although it looked like they would be adding more, indoor and outdoor seating with strings of Edison bulbs. It was simple, open, inviting, and welcoming. It reminded me of some places I’ve been in the states and throughout Europe, a place I can see going with PSM on a date night, a girls night, group of friends, lunch during the week, or some fun on the weekend.

Quite a few of the restaurants had entrances along the outside and Meta Burger was one of them. Meta Burger doesn’t say they are vegan, their foods are 100% plant based. As they say, “Meta Burger’s Mission is to reshape fast casual dining through a metamorphosis of ingredients, atmosphere and company values in order to construct a better future for all.”

I’ve told you this before, but I absolutely LOVE when I don’t have to ask where they cook the food, is there dairy in the food, and other questions. My questions now are “Is it spicy”? And my favorite question…”what do you recommend?!” Should I choose between their burgers or classics? I get veggie or plant based burgers a lot, I wanted to try something different. “If I were to choose between the Philly cheesesteak or the chicken sandwich, what would you recommend?”

Philly cheesesteak it is and it was fabulous! It was strips of seitan, seasoned like Philly cheesesteak meat, peppers, onions, on a roll, and cheese sauce on the side. I skipped the grilled mushrooms, no thanks! and for a side I got the mac-n-cheese. I have to tell you, the cheese sauce, which was mostly potato based, was amazing and creamy and delicious and stayed that way, O M G!

The guy who took my order and helped me decide walked by while I was eating asked how I was liking it and I told him that normally I don’t finish my food and tonight, oh yeah! sandwich gone! Mac-n-cheese, well, the rest will make a good midnight snack! I will tell you that there wasn’t enough room to try some vegan gelato at Happy Cones next door. Maybe next time! Hoping there is a next time!

If you are in the Denver area, or within the vicinity of the Edgewater Public Market, give it a shot, I bet you could find something that would tickle your taste buds.

{March 23, 2018} This is the life…ahhh. Spoiler alert!

OMG! That is funny! I am saying spoiler alert like it’s a movie I’m about to divulge secrets on and it’s just another “I’m spoiled” moment! Ha ha!

So…I started the morning with a walk along the Mississip, that’s the Mississippi River for those of you ‘not in the know’. My hotel this week looks out over the Mississippi River, I think I shares some pictures the other day of the sunset from my balcony and dinner overlooking the river, the restaurant was a few blocks away.

They built a very nice brick walkway down by the river, railroad tracks on one side, river on the other. It was quiet, very few people out at that time, so it was nice walking along the river as the sun came up. Since the sun rises in the west, it was not in my eyes, but it did make a pretty picture over the buildings downtown.

Then it was off to work for a few hours and then to the airport for my three flights to get home. I flew BTR > IAH > LAX > HNL. That would be, in plain English for those of you not in airports every day! Baton Rouge > Houston > Los Angeles > Honolulu and I’m home!

BTR to IAH, smaller plane, I was in the 2nd seat and it was squished! I barely had room for my bag under the seat and nowhere for my feet, oh well. IAH to LAX, not too bad, it was a much bigger plane and I was on the aisle of a 3 seat row. I’m glad the little girl fell asleep because she was playing games on her phone at full volume and mom didn’t seem to mind.

I have started to enjoy the aisle seat more on flights, it’s interesting. Since I don’t sleep, or rarely, I don’t really need the window to lean on and then if I need to get up to use the lavatory, I’m not climbing over someone or waking them up to do it. Aside from when the carts come down the aisles, it’s not so bad.

Now, on occasion, because of my status I get upgraded. It all depends on the flights I’m on. Shorter legs or segments, if it’s not a popular flight or flight time, you have a better chance of upgrading.

I’ve been upgraded quite a bit over the last few years, not as much as when I first got status years ago. Now that everyone has the airline credit cards, everyone has a greater chance, but status definitely helps. I was upgraded flying to Hawaii once in the past, it was on Delta and the seats were huge and the food and drink were flowing. I’ve been dreaming about the sleeping pods in first class. I cannot stand when we board the flight and have to go through first class, ‘see what you’re not getting!’

Well, my friends, it happened! I was upgraded on a flight from LAX to Honolulu and I was in a SLEEPING POD!!! Yes! I made it to the big leagues! You thought I was spoiled before, O M G!! How will I live with myself now? Or how will anyone else for that matter? Poor PSM!

So, if you don’t know about the pods, they are individual seats, kind of a cocoon, with half walls between you and your neighbor so it’s private, but you can still talk to them, if you so choose. You have personal charging ports, the trays are collapsed and come up from the armrest, no, you don’t open a flap, they slide up! You aren’t bugging your seat mate when you need it. There are tv screens and remotes, you don’t even have to reach out and touch the screen! The remotes also have a game console on the other side of the tv controls.

The seats are like a recliner at home or a movie theater, not big and stuffed, but they recline! You can put your feet up or lay out completely flat! It’s a bed! And the footrest comes up to meet the cubbies/shelves in front of you so that your feet don’t hang off the end of the footrest. Then there is a real pillow, not that teeny scratchy thing in the back! They have real pillow cases and a soft blanket! Both from Saks Fifth Avenue, I only know because they are embroidered. Let’s just say, these sleeping pods are like first class on crack! LOVE LOVE LOVE.

The food was ok for airline food, there have been flights with better food, but it was something I could eat, go me! And…I take a chance every time I fly, since I’m either in first class or economy comfort, which comes with alcoholic beverages, I always ask…any amaretto? For the first time since I discovered amaretto and as I’ve told you, I drink it when I want to pretend to be a grown up…THEY HAD AMARETTO! It was an airline sized bottle of Disarono! I didn’t finish most of it, but I had it! I felt so grown up! HA HA! They even came around with a cookies and cream dessert! I couldn’t have it, but it was so cool, had real whipped cream!

And then…my friends…I settled in, watched a movie with my meal, let it digest and then…opened up that seat all the way, I was laying flat, put the blanket over me, soft pillow under my head and zzzzzzz. It was one of the best naps I have ever had!

If I could have one wish for you and my fellow travelers, is to have the opportunity to get a first class seat and be in a sleeping pod.

Life is good.

{March 20, 2018} Tsunami Tuesday…Welcome to the Team!

As we talked about, I started on a new project today and tonight was my roll on dinner.

Second day on the project had reviews, meetings, training and a project meeting at the end of the day where I introduced myself to the project team. It was also a day of getting to know my new team mates, we talked families, love interests, travel, work, you name it.

Then…there was more of that! That I liked a lot, getting to know my team mates. It’s very important to get to know the people you’re working with and hopefully have some things in common.

After the big team meetings, we went to Tsunami’s for good sushi and an amazing sunset! Isn’t it fabulous!

We had a few appetizers to share, seaweed salad, a cucumber salad and edamame. Then I had miso soup, a piece of tomago, a vegetable roll and a tofu roll. Everyone got a kick out of my reaction to the chili paste on the tofu roll…I was so not expecting it and didn’t realize it was chili paste! O M G!

The food was great, sunset amazing, company fantastic. A good sign for my time on the project, looking forward to new experiences.

{March 18, 2018} A New Adventure

I rolled off my Chicago project on Friday. Didn’t we talk about the great and final roll off dinner, that included me.

I got to Boston on Friday, birthday party on Saturday and now I am on a flight for Baton Rouge, LA for a new project! When I told people it was in LA, everyone assumed it was Los Angeles, go figure! So, I now say Louisiana, problem solved.

I got to Baton Rouge, Uber driver was nice, hotel is nice and when I called and asked if they had a room that didn’t face the parking deck next door, they moved me to a room with a nice view of the Mississippi river.

How about that view of the sunset…not too shabby. Yes, I do lead a charmed life.

Can’t wait to start my new adventure on a new project tomorrow! Keep you posted!

{March 17, 2018} We are about to have double digits in the house…let’s celebrate!

Technically 10 is a double digit, there are two of them, right? Why do we say 11 is really the first double digit. Is it because it’s the same two digits? I have no idea!

Doesn’t matter!!! EJS is going to be ELEVEN on Wednesday, can you believe it?! I, for one, cannot. Imagine what it’s like for my sister and brother-in-law! I remember so much from the last eleven years, I know, almost eleven, don’t push it! Ok, I’m going to stop here, because if I tell you everything fabulous about her today, what will I tell you on Wednesday, although I’m sure I could think of a few more!

Today we had the party. Originally EJS had wanted a bouncy house, they are super fun, but…Mid March in Massachusetts, that’s a mouthful in and of itself! But mid-March in Mass…touchy with the weather. Good thing they didn’t…it snowed hard this past week and there would not be a flat surface for the bouncy house this weekend!

So… it was a slimy weekend! She had six friends come over and they made…slime! The table was set with glue, laundry detergent, soap, shaving cream and lots of things to put into the slime, such as food coloring, beads, sparkly things, shiny things, everything that a kid could want for their slime and so much more!

Who knew eight kids could be so fascinated making slime for over two hours! There were containers galore so each kid made at least two, if not more! It was pretty cool and for once, the grownups barely made an entrance into the lab!

We hung out in the kitchen, munching on snacks of junk and healthy, a fine mix! Then after the slime had slung, the girls went downstairs to play games, then upstairs to play games, then downstairs and then it was time for dinner! Pizza, pasta, salad, oh my!

After dinner, it was Pitch Perfect and then ice cream cake and then pretend to go to sleep. Oh, did I mention it was a sleepover party too? The cutest thing to hear was them trying to recreate the songs from Pitch Perfect. Too perfect!

I think the last one went down about 11:30pm! Oh, I do not envy their parents tomorrow! Luckily, they all go home by 9am, we go to brunch and hear…crickets.

Eleven, wow. Yeah, that’s about it. I’ll tell you more on Wednesday!

{March 13, 2018} I paid for this torture!

I’m back in Chicago this week and I’m back in the gym. Ouch!

I will give you the entire rundown on my trainer soon, but just know that I am in pain! OMG! Some days, PSM would say I am walking like a constipated dog! Isn’t that a fabulous image?!

I have been working out on my own, well, virtual training. I use an app to show me what exercises I need to do. Being in a hotel or at home, I do a lot of no equipment workouts, there aren’t always weights, sometimes just treadmills and elliptical machines.

Since I’m here in Chicago this week and last, my trainer was super excited about me coming in to train at the gym. He’s been asking me to come in for months and here I am!

So… since everything I’ve been doing has been no equipment, any guesses what he and the other trainers are doing to me?! Yup, you guessed it! Weights, weights and more weights!

Every day they give me something new and oh my! Let’s just say last week was worse than this week so far. But the week is still young.

Tonight it was 630pm, tomorrow 630am. Let’s do this!

Ouch!

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