My Random Musings | Peaches Prattlings

{December 8, 2013} Lazy day movie marathons

Don’t you just love lazy days? Don’t you just love a good movie marathon?

Today was one of those days, we got up, got some shopping done, I don’t think either of us thought we were actually going to buy out the grocery store, but that’s what it felt like, headed home and it was lunch, lazing on the couch and movies, then dinner and more movies.

For Chanukah, DCM gave me a bunch of movies, you know how much I love movies and the ones he gave me except for one all come with a DVD, Blue Ray and virtual copy, so let’s just say my iPad movie collection runneth over and when I get my 400 disc DVD player here to Colorado, I may very well be out of room!

What did we watch you ask? Well, we started off with one neither of us had seen, Smurfs 2, loved it! I’ll have to do a separate write up. Next was Turbo, cute the second time and DCM hadn’t seen it yet, I do know that I apparently was a little tired because I dozed off somewhere in the middle, but I own it, so I can do that!

Next was Star Trek: Into Darkness, still wow! And I have to tell you, I have Star Trek (2009) which I have watched a lot lately traveling and I still love it and get chills, this one too, Kahn is still a bad arse!

Lastly was Men in Black III, still fun and touching and I had forgotten that Alice Eve was in this movie as Agent O and we had just watched her in Star Trek, both movies modern and having a 60s flair, hmm…

One of the things I love about watching DVDs is that you get the extras, such as behind the scenes, the making of, bloopers, deleted scenes, things that give you a better insight into how things happen, why they happen and how did they do that. I love blooper reels, especially in animated or Muppet movies, there is something even funnier with that.

So, all in all a good day, relaxing and enjoyable. What’s on for tomorrow?

{December 6, 2013} Am I the only person who didn’t watch The Sound of Music?

Apparently there was to be a remake of The Sound of Music and it was going to be performed live on TV, tonight!

Did you watch it? And in answer to your next question…no I did not watch it, there are just some things you don’t mess with. I know, I know, if it was on Broadway we might go, but I have to question this venue and by the looks of the posts on Facebook, I didn’t miss much.

I like Carrie Underwood, but from what I’ve seen, people are not fancying her rendition of Climb Every Mountain and such and then there are the posts about “Vampire Bill” singing, Stephen Moyer, who has gained popularity being on True Blood. These aren’t broadway stars, I wonder if it makes a difference.

There were other posts that made me laugh, as in a new drinking game: every time someone drops a note or a key, take a shot, ouch!

I don’t have much to say tonight, I know, shocker! I was just inspired when I was on Facebook.

Go…climb every mountain, forge every sea, find some raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens…have a cup of tea with jam and bread and do, rei, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3141866/?ref_=nv_sr_1

{December 4, 2013} The Company Holiday Party

Ah yes, the time honored tradition of the company holiday party.

Tonight, we went to the holiday party hosted by DCM’s company at the Boulder Country Club and it was a very nice evening,

Every company celebrates the holidays in different ways. I worked for one company that started off with a big shin dig at a hotel, I think they did that two years in a row. The next year, it was a company wide meeting at a hotel, some snacks and some drinks, the following year, we all got gift certificates to Honey Baked Ham and the next year, a card signed by the executives. Hmm…

The company I was just with hosts a lunch, everyone brings a dessert and the company provides the main courses and then we do a gift swap. One person is tasked with purchasing something for each employee, they are give a spending limit of $75 per person and then you draw a number and the first person picks something, then the next person can pick something or take something from someone, it gets very heated and a lot of fun. Last year I got a wireless printer, which I had been wanting for a while.

So, every company is different and it’s nice to see how they choose to spend their time, money and resources.

Tonight, we got dressed up, it was cocktail attire, and boy did my Marine look good! He had on my favorite purple pin striped shirt, with his Marine Corps tie clip, go figure! under a black suit, weehoo! I wore a lavender dress with a black sweater, no I was not being matchy matchy, it just turned out we were both wearing purple, complimented each other. I wore black tights and some new black shoes which are going, they are too big!

It took us a few minutes to get there, we had to go slow because it started snowing! The roads were slick, we didn’t think we were getting snow until Friday and the temperature says 16, but feels like 5, what?

We arrived, got our name tags, found our tables and then began to mingle. It was really nice because I knew a lot of the people that were there. I’ve met some of the wives at girls night, I’ve met DCM’s co-workers at functions, the office or at poker games, so it was nice to be able to socialize and catch up with some people and not feel like the odd woman out not knowing anyone. But if you know me, you know I’ve never met a stranger, just like Will Rogers, and it doesn’t take long for me to introduce myself to anyone.

The club was decorated very tastefully, there were lights done just right, icicle lights hanging from the rafters, the tree was nice and classic and there was a menorah when we walked in. It made a very nice atmosphere.

The food was good, plenty for the vegetarian to eat, thank goodness! We’re in Boulder, of course there will be vegetarian options! The desserts were ok, but the main meal was really good.

There was a cash bar, but…thanks to an anonymous donation, the drinks were paid for.

Everyone seemed to a have a good time, there were only two speeches, one from the owner and CEO, thinking back to the holiday parties from the last few years, how they started out with about 4 or 5 people, then last year about 7 and this year there were about 15 tables of ten, not too shabby! and the other from one of the investors, both were short and sweet, thanking everyone for the great job they are doing and here’s to more to come.

We mingled, we joked, we talked the only shop talk was when I asked people what they did for the company. The subject of poker came up a lot, everyone is ready for the next game and everyone that hasn’t come out is ready for the next poker night! Let’s just say it made DCM’s night! We joked that he should have brought the travel set I gave him for Chanukah! Of course, we both gave people grief when they gave excuses why they hadn’t been there, all in good fun.

Then it was time to get the jackets, hobble down the stairs from the uncomfortable shoes and ask if I could be picked up at the door so I wouldn’t have to walk too far, get in the truck and drive very slowly home.

All and all, a very nice evening, thanks to the planning of PS and JS. Thank you and happy holidays!

I’m sure everyone will be talking about it tomorrow at work!

{December 3, 2013} I guess it’s finally catching up with me!

You may or may not know, I don’t sleep very much each nite, about 5-6 hours if I’m lucky, 7 if I’m really lucky, more than that, I’ve hit the lottery!

I’ve been like this for a long time, although, when i was a kid, i loved to sleep! My dad would walk down to my room and turn off my alarm! I used to be able to sleep long hours through the night and if i didn’t, then I would catch up on the weekends, oh, i could sleep until 12/1pm on a Saturday!

In college, I would try to take later classes, but sometimes i just showed up in my flannel pajamas. When there was a fire drill, the signal was above my bed, they would have to come and wake me up to go outside!

Now, I sleep way less than that, but my body tells me when I need sleep. I’m usually up between 1-3 am most nights, some nights I have to force myself to sleep! I seem to function well on 4-5 hours a night. I also can’t seem to sleep past 7/730 am, sometimes 8am if I’m lucky! The cats don’t let me sleep in either! Even on the weekends I seem to wake up at 730, what? not cool!

Well, the one thing that I have always had is that my body will tell me when it’s time for sleep and when I’m tired, boy howdy, I’m tired! Every once in a while, there’s a nap and the rest of the time, if I’m getting sleepy about 9 or 10, i know I’m done for! I actually started getting a little tired tonight and that would be what inspired this post that you are kind enough to be reading!

So, as I sit here at 11:26pm, I realize that I am tired and as soon as I hit publish, I’m sacking out!

So, with that being said, as my nieces say, “its night night time” so…Good night!

{December 2, 2013} Some days I really love my iPad!

As you know, Chanukah started last week and we celebrated in Atlanta, that you may not have known.

I don’t know if I’ve told you about my menorah collection, maybe I will tomorrow, but tonight, I want to talk about my iPad, sort of. So, the bulk of my collection is in the storage unit and we didn’t go to get one before we left and I didn’t bring any home with us.

We got in after sundown and most of the stores are closed by six on Sundays, I can usually find something at Bed, Bath and Beyond, so I did what any smart, techno-savvy girl would do in this situation, I went to the App Store on my iPad and searched for a menorah!

And boy did I find a lot! There are different types, shapes, colors, backgrounds, options like prayers, songs, games and the one I downloaded even had a regular burn or fast burn! You even had to move the shamash (full explanation tomorrow!) to light the other candles!

So…tonight being the fifth night, I share with you the miracle of lights (and Apple!).

{November 30, 2013} Our Pets…oh how we love and name them!

We love our pets, they are our family, our children or furry children as we like to call them.

It’s always interesting to hear what people name their pets and why. Some people give their pets “human or people” names and some give them made up word names, some named after sports teams, some named for a favorite food. SDL has two cats, Boogie and Jack, CKM has a sweet puppy named Sasha, BJS has one cat named Oscar and another called Queenie. DCM had a dog named Lykin [sp?], SR has a furry child named Spencer. LK had a precious black lab named Jazz, think she was a dancer? Now, they have Divit, Twinkie and [jiminy crickets i can’t remember, I’m sorry!] LD has a white fluffy cat named Bella and KS has a ragdoll named Molly, love that name!

If I listed everyone and their pets, we’d be here all day! I’ve had some doozies, as a kid growing up, we had cats, cats and more cats, only had boy cats and when I was on my own, all girls, or so I thought! We had Rocky Raccoon, he had a mask around his eyes and rings on his tail, then there was Rocky II or…Rocky Baby Bubie, as I affectionately called him, next came Rocky III, do you sense a theme? He was GES’ personal baby and plaything. When I was in high school, Newgat [New Cat, sort of] joined the family, he was part Maine Coon and grew and grew and grew!

Then, when I had my own place, I inherited Gabby (that was the name she had), from a friend, she was a black cat, looked like a persian and she was my baby. I thought she needed a friend, so I got Jymy, boy was I wrong! When Gabby was gone, I got a set of sisters, I wanted to name them something clever and Peanut and Butter stuck! Along the way there was Biscuit, who I thought was a sweet little girl, then after I gave her away..something came up that made us realize we were wrong!

I’ve had a bunny named Money Penny, love James Bond I do! I also had a few rats as pets, yes, pets I said! There was Gwendolyn, I was working for the renaissance festival, so I was all ‘renaissancey’ and then there was Priscilla, I was a huge fan of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, she had a sandy hood and tail. Then I had Ginny, she was sweet.

Isn’t it crazy what we name our “kids”? They all mean something to us, even though others may not be able to figure it out.

Want to share yours?

{November 29, 2013} Bonehead move of the day!

So, we all have bonehead moves that we make from time to time, sometimes more than others and today, I had a douzy!

Yesterday we had Thanksgiving or “Turkey Day” as some people call it, celebrated as most of the nation and I made a fantastic champagne turkey as I have made for years and it’s a big hit, I’ll give details on that in another post. This fantastic champagne turkey is cooked in a roasting bag, a full bottle of champagne.

As the turkey is cooking, there is condensation leaking from the bag, did I put a baking sheet or anything underneath so today there was self cleaning happening in the oven. Not the bone headed thing. By the way, the oven is clean.

Then we took the turkey out, put it on the stove-top and since the bag is full of liquid, it hung over the roasting pan a bit, dripping a little, still ok. Then opened the bag to cut the turkey and get ready to eat…liquid spilled out and there was a healthy puddle on the stove-top. We had some micro fiber cloths, which I LOVE, they are super absorbent, which we sopped up as much liquid we could and left a towel on the stove-top to keep collecting liquid, just to stop it from dripping down the front. After dinner, I put the cloths in the sink, rinsed them out.

Now, it’s time for the bone head move…

Today, it was time to do some laundry, I grabbed all the clothes from upstairs and the clothes and put them in the washer and started it. I go about my business, hear the washer going, or so I thought…when I go to the washer to swap it out and guess what I had done…I had loaded the dryer, including detergent of course and ran the load! DUH! I still can’t believe it, I have no idea what happened! The only thing I can think is that in the apartment the washer is on the right, while in the house, the washer is on the left, sigh.

After I swapped the load to the washer, oh boy! I cleaned out the dryer with kitchen cleaner, you could see where the leftover turkey juice left residue on the drum, it was less than shiny, not so after I cleaned it! I had to have DCM clean part of the dryer as I am short and the dryer is a top loader with a HUGE stainless steel drum, I almost have to climb into it to get clothes out!

So, there you have it, bone headed move for the day. And just in case you were wondering…the clothes are clean and smell great!

{November 28, 2013} I am thankful

Today is Thanksgiving and as is tradition, we tell what we are thankful for, I want to share.

I am thankful for the basics, I have a roof over my head, two in fact; one with the man I love in Colorado, and the other in the city I left behind to host the people I love on a day like today.

I am thankful for the two furry kids I have, giving me unconditional love whether I want it or not.

I am thankful I know some amazing people who want to share this holiday with me and I am so thankful they can all cook!

I am thankful for my friends who have become family and welcome me with open arms when I “come home” and want to see me every chance they get and rearrange their schedules to do that.

I am thankful for friends who think enough of me to send text to say hello, wish me well, send me a Thanksgiving text, a joke or a smile.

I am thankful for friends who feel strongly enough about our friendship to confide in me when they are in need and trust me enough to know that I would never betray that trust. I am also thankful that I have friends I can confide in and rely on that I know would never betray that trust.

I am thankful that I have touched some people in such a way that even though we don’t talk or text very often or at all, they will reach out at random times to say hello and how are you.

I am thankful that I have people in my life I can be myself around and as silly as I want to be.

I am thankful that I have made friends in Colorado that want to spend time with me and think I’m the bees knees!

I am thankful that there are so many of you out there reading my blog, that I know I am not writing this just for me and you like it, you really like it! I am thankful that so many of you will comment and give me virtual hugs and advice and opinions.

I am thankful I have the freedom to write whatever I choose and I am thankful that you have the freedom and right to like, dislike or ignore anything I have to say.

I am thankful for the men and women serving in the armed forces helping to give me the freedom to be able to write what I please.

I am thankful I find something to blog about every day!

I am thankful so many of my friends have given me the opportunity to be an aunt to their amazing children who I love so much.

I am thankful for two wonderful daughters to DCM who welcomed me to their lives and allowed me to be a grandmother to their spectacular children who I have fallen in love with.

I am thankful all those parents let me get/make their children’s Halloween costumes, they can’t even imagine what it means to me!

I am thankful for DCM, who gave me an amazing excuse to move to a new state and explore new things, make changes, laugh at the same jokes, love the same movies, cook together and be silly together.

I am thankful to my extended family in Boston and the northeast; my brother-in-law who is a fantastic father to my nieces, someone I can joke with and cut up and let’s me slam on him and is learning to return a slam or two, someone who will pretend to keep up with me during a 5k when he’s used to running 8-9 miles for fun. His brother and sister-in-law who are great and fun to be around and are excited when I am there. For the neighbors who call me Auntie J and all the friends that are excited to see me when I visit and have gotten their kids to call me Auntie J. For LaLa who has been a great grandmother to my nieces who loves them very much and makes them feel special.

I am thankful to have a father who is kind and generous and courteous and funny and giving and smart and wise and lets me be me and is there for me when I need him and even when I don’t think I do. I am thankful that at 42, I am still “Daddy’s Little Girl” and thankful that I know I always will be. I am even more thankful that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gained more than a dad, I’ve gained a valued and treasured friend.

I am thankful for a sister who is everything to me, the ying to my yang, the macaroni to my cheese (and if I go on, I will make us nauseous!). For giving me two of the most beautiful, intelligent, sweet, silly, goofy, special nieces in the entire world, yes I am biased. I have become such a proud big sister, you can’t even imagine. And yes, I am the big sister and I will always be the big sister, and I am thankful there are times that as big and mature and successful she gets, she still needs her big sister to pave the way, knock something down, hold and hug her and tell her everything will be ok and it will.

Lastly, I am plain ole thankful that you allowed me to share what I am thankful for with you, so…Thank You.

I hope you had a very special and happy Thanksgiving.

{November 27, 2013} My dollar store Thanksgiving!

It sounds so trashy, don’t it, but it ain’t! (Ouch, that hurt my ears just typing it!)

Since I moved, I don’t have anything for hosting 14 people, so I decided it would be paper plates and plastic utensils for everyone! Fair enough, right?

So I went to Party City and got some plastic utensils, about $2.90 per pack, and you know I needed one pack of knives, one pack of forks and one pack of spoons. Then I needed plates, a pack of 40 dinner plates for $3.47 and a pack of 40 salad/dessert plates for $3.47, I didn’t get cups there because I didn’t want 100 cups!

Then I went to Costco to pick up a turkey, great deal! $1.09 per pound, 19 pound bird, $17.00 with an instant rebate, I am rockin! Then I found these really nice white plastic plates with a silver band, they look real and they were $8.90 for the pack (16 each) and I bought the fake silver utensils for $8.00, I spent $16 when I would have spend three times as much for the same thing at Party City. I had seen these plates at D&Ds the night before and I thought it would be fun to look a little fancy. Mission accomplished.

I headed to the dollar store to see if they had a few things I needed and lo and behold, I had the answer! I found some nice square paper dinner plates, salad plates, clear plastic utensils, cups, napkins, I bought two sets of each, spent $7! How cool am I? Guess what went back to Costco and Party City! You bet, that was about $25 back in my pocket! I feel like a Rockerfella!

I then bought the aluminum pans I needed, measuring cups, spoons, etc, a cutting board! all Betty Crocker! some serving spoons and even a stainless steel knife/fork set for carving the turkey! I spent a total of about $42 (that included some canned veggies and some spices I needed, I forgot to add to the picture) and I was set!

Don’t knock the Dollar Store until you try it!

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

{November 26, 2013} To Mac-n-Cheese or not to Mac-n-Cheese…

That is the question.

Now, before I go on, I want to let you know that I will be talking about my week later and the wonderfulness of my evening as well, but right now, I need some advice!

Since I’m hosting Thanksgivingka this week, I am working on the menu. I am making the turkey, yeah, I know, the veg-head is making the turkey and a cheese cake (lactose intolerant girl!) and people are bringing things.

Now there is a debate…as no one has said they are bringing Mac-n-cheese, I feel that I will have to make one, which I don’t mind, I like it. Growing up, we didn’t have Mac-n-cheese at Thanksgiving, it was something I had for the first time in the south, along with sweet potato casserole with the marshmallows (I love sweet potato, and sweet potato casserole with brown sugar, yum! but still out on the marshmallows).

The way I make it is a little different, I take the regular box mix then add some yummy stuff to it and bake it.

Talking with CKM, she didn’t think we needed it, then to get another opinion, I asked SV and DV, their new baby WJV didn’t offer much of an opinion, but boy is he C U T E!!! (There is more emphasis when you separate the letters like that, just so you know). DV said yes, it’s a staple and we should have it, SV said you could go either way. For me, it just seems like it’s not thanksgiving without Mac-n-cheese, but I’m really ok either way.

So…please weigh in and let me know what you think!

Oh, and we sit down to eat at 4, let me know if you’re coming and I’ll make sure we set a place for you! Come early and hang while we prep!

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