Dining Delights | Peaches Prattlings

{October 9, 2015} Carbo loaded…check!

First…my sincerest apologies! I got back to Boston and the hotel and fell asleep mid blog. I can’t promise it won’t happen again, but I’ll do my best!

Second…tonight I carbo-loaded, with gluten free pasta!

I’m in NYC to participate in the Brooklyn Half Marathon tomorrow morning and what do you do before a race of a longer length, you eat pasta baby!

So, dad, La la and I went to Bruno’s Italian restaurant for dinner. I wasn’t sure if they would have gluten free pasta and since I gave up wheat and don’t feel any differently, I thought what the hey, but they had gluten free, it was pretty good.

So, now I’m settled in at the hotel, belly full, clothes ready for tomorrow, snuggled in the bed, electronics charging, alarm set, writing to you.

I’ll keep you posted tomorrow on my progress.

Good night!

{October 7, 2015} I ordered straight off the menu!

What? No changes? Nope!

JJ, say it ain’t so! We didn’t even know that was possible! Yes, yes it is, imagine that!

Tonight we went to the Black Rice Bar/Sun Restaurant, a place we went to the last time I was here, it was fabulous! Black rice, or the forbidden rice and so worth it!

We all started with the black rice salad, yum! Everyone else had shrimp on theirs, I didn’t. It was perfect as is.

Next, I had pumpkin stew…vegetarian, and when I asked, not spicy, but I know me, skeptical, but guys…it came in a pumpkin! And…not spicy!!

I also ordered one tomago, egg cake, on black rice, yum!

There was no way I could finish the soup after that giant salad, so I asked for it to-go. I joked and said “maybe he’ll give me the pumpkin”. (The service was terrible, I wouldn’t have put it past him) and guess what!

Lunch tomorrow!

Bottom line…I ordered straight off the menu, no changes! Go me! And it was fabulous!

http://www.suncuisines.com/

{September 30, 2015} Hap to me! I’m 44!!!

OMG! I’m 44, can you believe it?

As my friend KWH says…Hap to me! Hap to me! Hap to me!

First…I have to thank everyone for all of the FABULOUS birthday wishes, I am truly a lucky girl. My first birthday wish came early, it was yesterday and KWH texted to wish me an early happy birthday, a good way to start.

I got up and worked out with MS and CG, so I started my birthday sweatin’ my arse off! Felt good! I guess I’m not too old, I kept up, put in a good workout and didn’t pass out after. Wahoo!

In between working out and shower, I had phone calls and texts, I was off to a great start to my birthday. There were two texts from SDL and Miss A and JCH and my first call, PSM singing and wishing me a happy birthday [and it’s our 8 month anniversary, cool, huh?] A great way to start my birthday day.

Then GES, MGS and EMS called and sang happy birthday to me, it was awesome! Now, there is a tradition, much easier with younger kids, maybe you do this…after you sing Happy Birthday, you chant “Are you one? Are you two? Are you three…” when you’re a kid, it doesn’t take long, when you get older…so they sang “Are you one? Are you two? Are you five? Are you ten”…When they got to 40 [Are you going to stop us? Yes! When you get to 44!]. A fabulous call!

The next call was from my dad, another family tradition my grandmother started. “This is Western Union calling for JJ, is JJ available?” “I’m here” Then the singing started “Happy Birthday” and “Are you one? Are you two?” How much laughing did you do before 7:30am today? LOVE!!!

Then it was shower and get ready for work, head out in the downpour, crazy traffic, omg! As soon as I saw the highway from the street, I took back roads and it still took me 40/45 minutes to go 12 miles! Others, it took about an hour!

A little while after I got to work, HH came in to where I was with a bag containing a funny card and some glitter nail polish, which I loved! She’s the one who introduced me to the party nail, it was perfect! And then CH came in with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, sunflower right in the middle, so pretty and a really cute card that everyone signed, it was so touching!

I got a few calls while I was at work, SRH and LaLa I got to talk to, I missed a call from TS, but got a great voice mail and I hope we can catch up this weekend.

After work I headed to the hotel to grab a quick bite to eat and sit down at last and look at FaceBook and start to thank everyone for their amazing birthday wishes! I ran out of time before I had to go out, so I know what my evening activity will be tomorrow! I am so touched and thankful for all the amazing birthday wishes I have received and I’m still receiving, I am a very lucky woman. THANK YOU!

The text messages keep coming in! AM, ST, CWB and if I’ve forgotten anyone, I’m sorry!

Even Google got in the game!!!

PSM and Mollie picked me up about 8pm and took me to my sister’s house where there was a surprise party happening! ACS was home with the girls, there were some neighbors there already and then CO’F, JF and MF came over, then all of a sudden the lights were out and the singing and candles started! “Happy birthday to you” “Are you one!” OMG!

What did they put the candles in, since I can’t have cake? Gluten free, vegan cupcakes, how cool is my family!!! PSM and GES coordinated and it was great! I got to eat a sweet on my birthday and you couldn’t tell!!! There were also “regular” cupcakes for everyone else, which the kids of course loved.

While we were enjoying the goodies, LR showed up, with the cutest card from the family, this was getting better and then GES finally got home from curriculum night at the girls’ school, it was a party! A little while after everyone left, RG showed up, how fabulous and when I got back to the hotel, TS called, how lucky am I!!!

So…my presents! You can’t have a birthday without presents!!! I opened my gifts from my dad this morning and he nailed it! There was a mug, tote bag, t-shirt and mug all with Al Hirschfield on it. OMG! He is the best! I have loved Al Hirschfield since I was a kid! http://www.alhirschfeldfoundation.org/. And there were four musical and awesome cards!

When I got in the car tonight, there was a present from PSM. A cool set of picture dominos, you can almost tell a story with them! And there was a minion and a great card. What a great guy I have! Thank you PSM! And a card from his family, JM, SM and their kids, J and M. THANK YOU!

When I got to GES’, the girls ran up with hugs and cards, then after cupcakes…I got a Go-Pro camera!!!! And an accessory pack! And free storage in the cloud, OMG! That was my gift from dad, GES, ACS, EJS and MGS, wow, am I spoiled or what??? The answer is yes!!!

I do want to send a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to NB, my twin! Happy birthday my friend, I am so glad you’re in my life, I cant imagine my life without you in it! We’ve been friends since freshmen year of college and we are four hours apart, how crazy is that!!! Happy birthday!!!

So…I have had a fabulous birthday [if I have forgotten anything, please forgive me!]. I am off to a brand new year and you have all helped me start off on the right foot, thank you!

{September 29, 2015} The same server, really? Nooooooo

You have got to be kidding me! The same so-so server a second time? C’mon!

Tonight we had a roll off dinner for the entire team, including a few extra people and we were 13 people at a table meant for 10, a bit squished, but it was alright, we are a close knit bunch and enjoy each other’s company, so it was all good.

Last month, I think it was, we went to this restaurant and the service was terrible. It felt like we had a brand new server, turns out this was not the case. He was incredibly slow bringing water, I had to ask three times for water, while one person was ordering a drink, he walked away. Another time, he tried to take a drink from someone’s hand, the orders took a long time to come out, when it was time to order dessert, he left off half of us, so not a great impression.

Both myself and MS, the Project Manager said something to the manager and we got a $50 gift card, very nice and we came back to that restaurant for our roll off dinner and THE SAME SERVER!!! He is a very pleasant person, it’s just that his skills waiting tables are lacking.

We had to tell him we wanted to order appetizers, then I went to find someone so we could order our main meals. I talked to one of the managers and she said he was a good server. I mentioned that maybe he wasn’t good with large parties, she said they had considered that and had been working with him. Oh well.

I will say that the food was good, everyone was happy, but don’t get me started about the service!

{September 26, 2015} What a day!

Sleeping in, ha! A great breakfast, a trip to the airport, a baseball game, a scratched car, groceries and bad food, whew!

I’ve told you about my friend, ST, my first work spouse, we have worked together at a few companies since 2009 when we started traveling together training on hand held devices. We see each other sometimes when I am in Atlanta and we were talking a few weeks ago and I said come to Bahston for the weekend and here he is!

Last night was Rita Rudner and today was another jam packed day. We slept in, well, he slept in, the bed is oh so comfy, it’s hard not to fall deep into the covers and pillows and…I got some bedding and slept on the couch, you know where I’ve fallen asleep before and then had to decide…get up and get into the bed or stay right here? hmmmm…

So, ST slept until almost 9am and of course, I was up about 6:30, fun. We got motivated, then called CH, my friend and co-worker, who calls me Smurf! and we all headed towards Cambridge. We parked at PSM’s house, thank you, and walked to the Friendly Toast, I’ve told them about it a few times and away we went. We put our names in and the wait was about an hour. Somewhere along the way, I told PSM where we were eating and he and his nephew, JM, met us there and waited with us and waited and waited.

We finally got a table and it was so worth it, both the people watching and the food. I had an egg sandwich with vegan cheese on gluten free bread and a gluten free pancake, OMG! I was happy! Everyone was happy!

After brunch, we went back to PSMs, then headed to the airport to pick up CH’s husband, who had just landed, perfect timing! Then we headed to the hotel to freshen up and change for our next adventure.

Off to the T station to take the train to Fenway Park, for the Red Sox vs Baltimore Oriole’s. A Yankee in Fenway and I didn’t explode! We stayed a few innings, had some food and then we were done, just long enough for ST to get a hat that he now loves, a beer and some treats.

Back to the train, get to the car and found a giant scratch down the side, what? It took multiple tries to get through to someone at Avis to report the issues, geesh. Tomorrow, we’re doing something pretty cool, I’ll tell you about it then, but we needed supplies so to the liquor and grocery store went.

We get back to the hotel and realize we forgot something…lottery tickets, the jackpot $267M, think that’s worth $2? Oh yeah! So, out to the gas station to get tickets, then we went in search of food and went to a local pizza place that is supposed to be good. I was excited, gluten free dough! My order…gluten free crust, olive oil and garlic, no cheese and a few veggies on top, broccoli, spinache and grilled eggplant. What happened when we get back? Tomatoes. Really? Did I say tomatoes? Maybe I should have told her that I was allergic to tomatoes, didn’t know I had to. That’s why I repeated garlic and olive oil only, oh well…I called and they refunded the money. Someone might enjoy the pizza.

Now, we’re crashed out, in our jammies, can you say that about a guy? ST in the bed and I’m curled up on the couch ready to crash, we have a very early day tomorrow, can’t wait!

Until then…sweet dreams.

{September 24, 2015} What have you made in the microwave? A quiche?

I did!

Did you even know you could make a quiche in the microwave? To be honest, I figured you could, just wasn’t positive. C’mon, what can’t you make in the microwave!?

Well, the one thing I don’t like about my hotel room is no oven, as much as I microwave, but I would love to be able to bake things, you know what I mean? Well, I was going to pre-Yom Kippur dinner and I knew for their main meal, they were having brisket and that’s just not for me.

I thought about what I wanted and that’s when I started wondering if there were microwave recipes that I might like and I thought, quiche! And it was awesome! I followed some of the recipe and the rest I improvised.

I used polenta on the bottom of the pie pan, then I mixed some spinach, broccoli, a mix of different vegan cheeses and four eggs. It was a cross between a quiche and a frittata, score!

Then I put it in the microwave for 15 minutes and let me tell you, I would have preferred to eat it when it came out of the microwave, it smelled and looked great! In hindsight, I think I should have cooked it without the mozzarella on top and put the mozzarella on when reheating it the next day, but still yummy! I had it for left overs at lunch today, it was good!

So…yes, you can make a quiche in the microwave!

And now for my next trick…

{September 23, 2015} Family, family and more family!

Today was about atonement, praying and family.

We started the day at temple for Yom Kippur services. The services were nice, very family friendly, long enough to “fit everything in” but short enough to be too much for kids. There were some very poignant moments, things that make you think, make you feel, make you appreciate and make you want to do and be better, isn’t that what it’s supposed to do?

The most important part, I was with my family and happy to be there with them, the only thing that would have made it more perfect, dad and PSM.

After services, we went back to the house to relax, ACS and I even got in naps, between you and me, naps are very underrated! After napping, we all worked on getting the house ready for the onslaught of people who were coming over to break the fast and about five pm, they started showing up. All the friends who, as you know, because I’ve told you, are extended family, Auntie J was in her element with all the wee tots! It was fabulous, so many people were in the house and it filled up with love fast.

There were still people arriving as I was leaving to head to A&J T’s house to break the fast with PSMs family. I knew a few people when I got there, AT, her mother and her girls, PSMs sister-in-law JM and PSMs nephew, JM, a few cousins and an uncle. Slowly, more and more people started arriving to join the family. It was nice to meet more of PSMs family, cousins, aunties, uncles, put faces to names or names to faces, as it were. There were stories and memories and laughs and reflections and food and good times, really wonderful.

Now that he’s met my Boston family and I’ve met most of his family, it’s time for him to meet my Atlanta family, I know they are looking forward to it. We’re coming!

A great day, family, family and more family.

{September 22, 2015} If I have wronged you…I am sorry

That is the way you reach out to friends and family, loved ones, at this time.

Tonight is Erev Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year and part of the High Holy Days, along with Rosh Hashannah.

We observe by spending time with friends and family for the last meal before our 25 hour fast, sundown to sundown. We fast so that we can focus our thoughts where they should be on who we are, what we have done, how we will repent and on g-d. Some people begin the holiday, like my sister and I, going to Kol Nidre. “Prayer services begin with the Kol Nidrei prayer, which is recited before sunset. Kol Nidre is a prayer that dates back to 9th century Palestine. It is recited in a dramatic manner, before the open ark, using a melody that dates back to the 16th century.”

After services we go home to reflect and then in the morning we will go to services most of the day. As fasting brings our focus where it is supposed to be, spending the day in temple helps, with our focus, and not focusing on the fact that we are hungry!

“On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed. Who shall live and who shall die. Who shall prosper and who shall perish and the list goes on. We hope to have our names in the book of life on Rosh Hashana and sealed on Yom Kippur.

I know you noticed that I opened with “If I have wronged you” this is something we say to friends and family, asking for forgiveness for wrongs I have committed willingly or wrongs I have committed unintentionally. And hopefully they will say they forgive you and hope you feel the same way.

So, I will close with this…

If I have wronged you in any way this past year, I ask your forgiveness and hope you can forgive me. Amen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur

{September 20, 2015} Start with a 5k, end with a musical

That sounds like a pretty good day, doesn’t it?

Well, that’s what happened. Until earlier in the week I had forgotten that I had signed up for a 5k, go figure! So…the alarm goes off at 7am, we leave about 7:30 for what I didn’t know was a five minute drive to the start of the race! It was the Cambridge Fall Classic 5k, http://classic5k.com/fall-classic. I registered too late for the pint glass, darn it! We waited a bit and a few minutes before 8 I picked up my race bib and t-shirt. Hey what do I always say is why I do races…for the t-shirt! Why should this be any different!

We had quite a bit of time to kill, so we went to Dunkin Donuts so PSM could get some breakfast, I can’t eat more than a granola bar or banana before I run. Then we took Mollie back to the house and headed back to the race start, it was due to start at 9. I’m glad we showed up when we did to get my packet, the place filled up quickly. A trip to the port-o-potty. which, first thing in the morning is just fine. I think I was the first person to use it, it still smelled clean and the toilet paper hadn’t been opened yet and there was hand cleaner Wahoo!

I thought the race started at 9am, I was wrong, so PSM hated to leave, but he had yoga scheduled and we didn’t know when this thing would start! Besides, he’ll be there for my half marathon next month! The run finally started about 9:30 and I ran the first mile, then walked the second and did run/walk for the third mile. I thought I did pretty well since I haven’t much running in the last few weeks because of my back. So…43:54, I’m happy!

I accomplished my 3 goals: #3 – Time under 45:00, #2 – Finish with people behind me, #1 – FINISH! Check, check and check!

After the race I walked back to Paul’s place, showered, chilled and waited for him to get home. After he got home and showered, we headed to brunch, a veggie omelet with my fake cheese, yum! Gluten free bread, not bad and an order of French toast made with gluten free bread, honestly not bad.

Then a jaunt down to Marathon Running, http://www.marathonsports.com/, the running store by the start of the Boston Marathon, we passed over the start line, pretty cool. I got a new pair of my running shoes. It turns out they retired the ones I had, Mizuno Wave Runner 16, boo. They are now on 18, oh well, I like them, they’re just not the same. And when went to look for them online, no dice, wow! But it is a very cool store, the shoes weren’t too much, for that brand, gotta break them in before my next 2 races!

So…if you happen to find a pair of the Mizuno Wave Rider 16, size 8, please pass them my way! http://www.ethostream.com/CentralAuth/success/success.php?siteid=25504&mac=50%3A1A%3AC5%3AFA%3A57%3AA3&osmmodal=&RemainingTime=86400&portal=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.elementhotels.com%2FLexington&primaryAdProviderName=ValueClick“

Then next door to the candy store, where else! We bought smarties, no high fructose corn syrup! for us and Necco wafers for PSM. We had a total of one smartie each tonight! Let’s see how long it takes for us to finish these!

Then on to McGreevy’s Irish Pub and Sports Bar, this is the bar owned by the Drop Kick Murphy’s, big fans of the Patriots! how cool is that! http://www.mcgreevysboston.com/.

But wait…there’s more!

We head down to the Huntington Theater, http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/, to pick up our tickets for the evening. We don’t do things small around here!

After we picked up the tickets, we went to Ginger Exchange, http://www.gingerexchange.com/symphony/, a great restaurant that used to be Betty’s Noodle House, but Betty retired about two years ago. It really was enjoyable, I had vegetable pho soup with rice noodles, veggies and tofu, quite pleased. PSM had udon soup and got to add fresh red pepper chili paste, I think I saw some tears, he was happy.

After dinner, we walked the half a block back to the theater to settle in with everyone else for ‘A Little Night Music’, http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/season/2015-2016/a-little-night-music/, a wonderful musical about reunited lovers, passions reignited, jealousy, a weekend in the country, yup, that’s about it. And it’s where “Send in the clowns” comes from, kinda cool. After seeing it the show, the song makes more sense which in and of itself is cool.

After the show, it was back to PSM’s to get my stuff and head back to the hotel so I can tell you all about our day and what a day! Are you tired yet? You should be we walked 18,409 steps!

{September 18, 2015} A double date…The Book of Mormon

Tonight was so much fun!

After work PSM and I headed downtown to meet GES and ACS at Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner before going to the theater. They had gotten there first so had settled into some wings while they waited for us. We got there and placed some orders, my sister knows me so well, they waited to order guacamole, I do love it so! Oh man, there was so much garlic, yum! Those chips were sal-ty! A good combo!

It was great to sit together and enjoy each other’s company, we actually haven’t done that before, had dinner, just the four of us out on the town, very nice. It really was enjoyable to sit and talk, laugh, joke, find out more about each other and just relax, that was the best part, relaxing with my best friends.

After a really good dinner, let me tell you, their veggie burger was great! I had forgotten how much I liked it! Everyone enjoyed their food, bonus! We all headed to the theater in time to climb to the balcony, find our seats and settle in to enjoy the show. Luckily the two people who don’t like heights were fine! This is the second time I’ve seen the show and it was just as good as the time I saw it with dad on Broadway, but everyone else was seeing it for the first time and I can tell you they all enjoyed it, it was a great performance and a lot of surprises, things you might not expect, which may have made it even better.

The show pokes fun at religion, tied up in a Mormon blanket. It is clever and funny and if you are open minded, I think you’d really like the show.

So kids…what’s next?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Mormon_(musical)

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