Dining Delights | Peaches Prattlings

{July 5, 2014} A marathon of a journey…for real!

Ok folks, get ready, this is going to be a douzy! We’re packing two days into one post! I owe ya!

Picture it..July 4th 4am! What? Yup, that’s when my day started…along with a bunch of other people in Atlanta, getting ready to participate or volunteer, or both, for the 45th running of the Peachtree Road Race.

I got up, hoping not to wake SDL or Miss A and I was successful. I got up, dressed and out of the house by 4:24 and I was on the road by 4:26. I made it to Phipps Plaza to park by 5am, they were closing the road by 5:30. I met up with CKM and checked in for my post. It was our 5th year volunteering for the Peachtree Road Race and this year, we got a special pin! We get a pin every year we volunteer and every five years you get a special commemorative pin and we earned it!

Then we went to our post at the start, we were going to be corralling the seeded runners, getting them ready to line up to go forward and run their hearts out. First there was the Original 110. This group consisted of some of the original 110 runners from the first Peachtree Road Race in 1970 and there were also some of their grandkids, it was really cool. http://www.peachtreeroadrace.org/press-center/history

Next came the wheelchair racers and they were fantastic. It’s a lot of fun to watch them take off, it’s like a giant windstorm came through. They have several rows of the racers, the last row are the runners who push the wheelchair participants, makes you feel all warm and fuzzy and so proud! The men’s and women’s winners were both American! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peachtree_Road_Race#Wheelchair_race_divisions

Then came the Women’s 10k World Championship followed a few minutes later by the Men’s 10k World Championship. Both the men’s and women’s winners were American in this race group as well! http://www.peachtreeroadrace.org/articles/view/landry-hastings-win-on-picture-perfect-peachtree-day

Before The Original 110 group, a duo sang America the Beautiful and before the Championship races, they sang The National Anthem. It’s amazing to see the flag flying, all the participants looking up at the amazing flag with their hands on their hearts, some, like me with our hats in our hands covering our hearts and to feel such pride as I listen and sing and know that it has so much meaning to me and to this country and I will be honest, there is no other song that makes me tear up when i hear it as The National Anthem.

Then Group A followed a few minutes later by Group B and at that point CKM came running across the road to return her placard, I had already returned mine, since I was on that side of the street and as soon as Group C went, we jumped in at the very end, crossed the start and we were off!

We had a lot of fun, walking, talking, hi-fiving kids and adults alike, seeing great costumes and signs and enjoying the beautiful 67 degree morning! Yes folks, I said 67 degrees in Atlanta in JULY!!! That was unheard of, but it was perfect! I actually had long sleeves on for a while!

It took us officially 1:49:33. Out of 28693 women participating, I came in 25589. I’m pretty proud! There were 28478 men, 29694 women and 57171 total finishers. Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

I really enjoy the tradition that CKM and I have had for the past 6 years and I look forward to volunteering and participating in the Peachtree Road Race as long as we win the lottery and get numbers!

There was another cool thing that happened. Meb Keflezighi, who won the Boston Marathon this year and was the first American to win the Boston Marathon since 1983 was doing the Chase Keflezighi, fundraising for Kilometer Kids, a kids running club, hoping to raise $75,000 by starting LAST at the Peachtree Road Race and had a goal of passing 22,500 participants!!! You know he did it! http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/keflezighi-runs-down-pack-at-ajc-peachtree/ngZBG/

After we crossed the finish line, we made our way with thousands of other participants to get our coveted finishers t-shirts. I know I always say that I do these races for the t-shirt and this is one a lot of people will say they do for the shirts. This is one of the few races that you only get your shirt after you finish the race. It really is a coveted shirt and people wear it proudly like a badge of honor!

After the run, we got our shirts, some fruit and popsicles and ice cream and started to walk to get something to eat. I want you to keep in mind just how much we walked. We just finished a 10k, that’s 6.2 miles. Then we walked about 2.5 miles to get to the Flying Biscuit Cafe for some breakfast to include some creamy dreamy grits! Oh My! So worth the 45 minute wait, with everyone else! http://www.flyingbiscuit.com/

After brunch, we started walking towards the MARTA [train] station and decided we didn’t want to get on the train with everyone else so we were going to walk down to the next station on Peachtree Street. Neither one of us remembered that there isn’t a MARTA stop on Peachtree until we were almost back at the start so…we walked the 6.2 miles back to our cars! What? In total we walked about 16 miles! That is crazy! CKM realized she had walked a half marathon, unofficially is what she said while she was laughing through the pain! [Please send good vibes to her for the seven blisters she got on her feet!] Yes you did! And it was great practice for me for the half I’m doing in February. Although…I might be doing one in Las Vegas in November, I’ll keep you posted! I need to get her a 13.1 t-shirt!

Tired yet? Just hold on!

After we got back to our cars, I headed out to Suwanee to see my friend LK and her family. I met them at the pool and we had a great time! As soon as I changed into my bathing suit, I jumped in the pool and stayed there until we got out to go home two hours later! It was great, we talked, I played with the kids and got some extra sun.

At the house, we made pizzas for dinner, the kids had friends over, there was a lot of laughter, shouting and fun. After dinner, we showered and dressed, I carved a watermelon basket, I’m getting better at them! And then went up the hill to the top of the cul-de-sac for some snacks and fireworks! I talked to a couple who’s son lives in…wait for it…Broomfield! What are the odds! and some other very nice neighbors they have. One of the older neighborhood kids were letting off fireworks, some of them were really good and some just noisy.

About 10pm, I walked the youngest, K back to the house, we put on jammies and cuddled under the blankets and a little while later everyone else came home and found us dozing on the love seat. After she sent the kids to bed LK I sat, folded laundry and talked, it was really nice. I know I’ve told you about LK, we grew up together and being in that house is like being at home and I love it.

Like the last time I was there, I had an allergic reaction to something so I took a Benedryl and got a little sleepy, let’s just say. I wrote to you and then passed out, waking today about 11:40am, it was awesome! I had woken up about 6am and then 8am and I decided that was not going to be the final word and fell back asleep, I got a text that woke me telling me there were pancakes on the counter! Thank you! It was so awesome to catch up on some sleep and I will be able to go another few months on 3-4 hours a nite! SO NICE!

I got up, showered and dressed, had some pancakes and then everyone came home from wherever they were. At 2:30, they were all heading to the pool, so I kissed and hugged everyone, got in the car and headed to TS’ house.

I told you this would be a long one!

At TS’ house, I found SF and her friend C, they were going to a movie nearby and wanted to see TS’ new furniture. It was nice to catch up with them and after they left, TS and I got down to business, catching up in person!

I have to tell you, she was the first person to tell me that reading my blog was like sitting across from me at the table, she always knows what’s going on in my life and sometimes feels like she’s hearing things for the second time when I tell her a story!

We talked about going to a movie and then time got away from us and we talked until it was time to cook dinner and we cooked together, it was great! Eggplant with pesto, sauce and mozzarella [well, the cheese was for TS], asparagus and multi-colored baby carrots and some cold salads she had picked up, a feast!

After dinner, we kept talking, finally her cat, Molly came downstairs to say hello, we cuddled and TS and I kept talking. All of a sudden, we realized it was 12am and we needed to get some sleep, we’re going to tour the Oakland Cemetery tomorrow, which I’m very excited to do since I have never done it!

Tomorrow or Monday, I will post photos from this weekend! Right now, I wish you all a great night and get some sleep, unless you already fell asleep from this long post!

{July 3, 2014} Atlanta Day 1…What a day! First class, Beetle, good food, good friends, expo, walking!

Are you ready? I’ve had a long day, you might need a nap!

The day started way too early, as it always does when I fly out early and today was no different. I opened my eyes at 6:10am, unsure why my eyes were open at 6:10am, when I had just fallen asleep a few hours earlier. Then I remembered that I was flying to Atlanta at 8:30am so it was time to get up.

First thing I did was call Ryan at the front desk and say “Ryan, I have a 6:30am wake up call…I’m awake”. I had already packed last night, so I showered, dressed and walked out the door to get into my new black Beetle, I miss my Annie! Headed to the airport, waited for the shuttle for what seemed an eternity, finally got to the airport and checked in for my first class seat! I got the email yesterday that my request for upgrade was granted. I didn’t have to pay, I am automatically on the upgrade list. Go me!

I got to Atlanta got my bag, which I saw later one of the sipper pulls is broke, pook, and headed out to Avis to get my car. I looked at the reservation which I had made for today through Monday and for some reason it only showed today to tomorrow. Huh? I talked to the woman at the counter and she said it’s all good, I’m not just Avis Preferred, I’m Avis First, that seems to hold some weight. The very nice woman at the counter said I can give you an upgrade for no extra charge, but it’s a Beetle! Go figure! I’ll take it!

I headed downtown to meet CKM for lunch. The place we originally picked out was closed so we found something better, a cool NY deli where they yelled and it made me feel at home! A fantastic egg salad sandwich and a potato knish..yum! http://www.reubensdeliatlanta.com/about-us

Next, it was over to the Georgia World Congress Center to pick up our race packets for the Peachtree Road Race tomorrow. Then we followed tradition, ours, and walked around the expo looking at the different vendors and picked up a few things. I’ll show you pictures soon, I’m so beat! Bottom line, we had fun, tried stuff on, bought so some stuff and laughed a lot

After we were done with the expo I took CKM back to her car and headed to meet SDL and Miss A for dinner. I felt really bad that I wasn’t able to meet them at the pool earlier, I love watching Miss A swim!

We met at Smokerise Pizza where I got baked eggplant and pasta, it was tasty. We caught up while we ate and SDL fed Miss A and then, i held out my hand to Miss A, she took it and began walking like a champ! She even let go of my hand, walked a few steps and then pushed my hand away and stood on her own for at least ten seconds! I almost burst out crying!

Anyone who knows Miss A knows what a big deal this is! So…I walked around with her for about thirty minutes and her mom, SDL, said “you know you can’t leave now, right!” I’ll take it! What a joy, so much laughter!

After dinner, we headed back to SDL’s house, had a bath, read a book and then it was time for night night and here I am telling you about my day. Ok, enough? Nap time?

Yes, definitely nap time, I have to get up at FOUR AM to meet CKM at Phipps Plaza so we can participate in our fifth year volunteering for the Peachtree Roadrace, we get a special pin for our five years! And then we are going to participate in the Peachtree Roadrace.

Now it’s time for lights out! Good night!

{June 21, 2014} Long day, goodbyes, a new experience, good food and good friends…Sounds good to me!

What a day!

Today was my last 12 hour day supporting the pharmacy at the hospital. It was bittersweet, I was happy to be finished with this part of the project, happy to not have to get up at 5am, be there at 6am and stay until 6pm. Happy that they were comfortable and confident with the application to not need our continued support, they are helping each other and know what to do if it’s a big issue.

Sad because I’ve spent two weeks with these people, I know it doesn’t seem like a long time, but when you spend 12 hours a day with them, you get to be friendly, friends. You laugh a lot and get silly, those wee hours of the morning are for silliness! You talk, get to know each other and have a good time. And when it’s time to go, they tell you how much they appreciated you being there, it feels so good and then hugs goodbye and you walk out the door. Who knows if our paths will cross, but I will remember them and maybe they’ll remember me. Well, some will because I became “snack girl”! I was responsible for bringing snacks mid-shift, I’ll take it!

CKM had a much more entertaining day! She started at the Farmers Market, lunch at the blue tractor, the library book sale: everything you can fit into a bag for $5! Then the Ann Arbor book festival, how could you go wrong? I lucked out with a t-shirt and rubber ducky from the festival, thank you!!

When i was done with work, I met CKM and we went to see ‘Architects of Air: Miracco’. “Miracoco is a glorious amalgam of engineering, technology, science, and art. The central dome features a spiral lattice of scintillating points of light on a field of iridescent hues. The outer domes explore the dodecahedron, using reinforced restraints to render a geometry that is more visible and precise.”

The entire structure was made of pvc pipe stretched so thin it becomes soft and pliable, very interesting. Even more interesting was that all the stitching was done by hand, really impressive! There were four different sections in different colors, blue, green, red with no artificial light, all natural.

http://a2sf.org/event/architects-of-air-miracoco/

Then we headed down to main street to Cafe Felix for dinner. The waiter said it was French with their own flair, um, not really. It was good, but we didn’t get the feeling of French, that’s ok, a new experience and tasty dinner. http://www.cafefelix.com/

After dinner we walked, went into different shops and bought a few things here and there, I’m doing well, I’ve gotten some chanukah and christmas presents already! Last stop was Cupcake Station, yum! She got a mini cupcake and I got a few cookies to bring back and share. http://www.cupcakestation.com/

Now, laundry is in, CKM is packing and I’m talking to you, sounds like a full day!

[Best part…NO alarm clock tomorrow! shhhh…sleeping!]

{February 19, 2014} First outing with new co-workers

Tonight, I had my first official social outing with new co-workers and I want to tell you about it.

First, I have been wanting to tell you something, but things keep coming up and my post tomorrow should be about this, but…I GOT A JOB!!! I GOT A JOB!!! I GOT A JOB!!! ok, there you got, it’s out and I’m sorry if I hurt your eardrums, but I’m a little excited. Soon, promise!

So, my job has been in Michigan for the next few months, traveling back and forth to Denver and points in between. There are 27 of us in this particular group, there is another group from the company and another group coming in, we are going to be about 100 strong! Get this, in my particular group, the dynamic is interesting, there are 4 guys and 23 gals, go figure! Girl power!

We have been going 90 to nothin’ as the saying goes, working on all sorts of stuff for both organizations and after Monday, we were separated into our particular tracks that we are going to be associated with and aren’t all going to see each other on a daily basis.

Two people had the great idea of getting together for a happy hour/get together/relax/blow off steam gathering tonight and it worked out perfectly! It wasn’t official or planned early enough, but we still had a really good group and guess what…ALL CHICKS! So, it was kind of a Girls Night Out! We had a good meal, good drinks [I had coca cola with cherries!], GREAT cookies, good conversation and A LOT of laughter!!!

We went to a Max & Erma’s, less than a mile from the hotel, so I walked. The walk wasn’t bad, my choice of footware wasn’t the smartest! Since there is still a lot of snow and ice, sneakers may not have been the best idea, but I made it safely and had mostly dry feet. Guess what I saw when I walked in! They all shouted, turn around a look! It was a University of Michigan MONOPOLY Board! I was home!

So much fun was had! KNOB was the one who texted me initially and got the ball rolling, I texted KS and AAS. When I got there, KNOB, KS, MS, EU, TS, TS, VR, RM were all there getting their happy hour on! I was only a few minutes behind. AAS was the last to arrive and said the funniest thing! She knew we wouldn’t talk about her if she was there! Is that a riot! We definitely laughed out loud!

We talked about our day, what we learned, our thoughts about the things we had learned and what was to come. We talked about our experiences in the field, our experiences with the modules we are going to be teaching, funny stories being road warriors, doing 5ks, traveling, so many things, and honestly, the only thing we said about the people that weren’t there was who was missing! We seem to be a very agreeable group! I am happy and lucky to be a part of this group!

At the end of the evening, we decided that Wednesday nights would be our get-togethers and we would pick a different place each week to go to, giving those of us not from the area a way to experience new places, maybe I can get a group together to do a 5k! The nice thing about getting together now is that in about 7 weeks, our schedules are going to be totally different and scattered that there may not be many opportunities to get together on a regular basis or much at all, well with the entire group.

All in all, a great time and I’m looking forward to the next event and getting to know these people even better!

{February 11, 2014} I had dinner in Canada, what did you do today?

Sorry, I laughed out loud when I wrote that! Let me explain…

I am in Detroit for orientation [details coming soon] and as I mentioned the other day, we are across the river from Windsor, Ontario. There were a few of us who joked about going to Canada for dinner, so tonight, when we were done with our session, one of the women, KS and I decided we were going to go to Canada and go to dinner. We were hungry, so off to the rooms to drop our stuff, freshen up and head out.

I called my dad and he asked what I was doing for dinner, I told him and he laughed, along with me. When I talked to TT, I told her and it was her old stomping ground, too fun! You know…the drinking age is 19 in Canada.

We got the car, found the tunnel, paid the toll to get into Canada, showed our passports at the border, apparently my answering the guard in french, when she said hello and asked a question in french was wrong, ok. We found the restaurant, supposedly in Little Italy, didn’t look like any Little Italy I know, a few italian restaurants and that was about it. We went in and joined the other six diners.

The food was decent, the service was terrific and the company very enjoyable. We laughed, got to know each other, we’ve only known each other for two days, but have become fast friends. After dinner, we drove back into the US, to the hotel, laughing all the way and up to our rooms, we’re next door to each other, agreed on a time to meet in the morning to go downstairs and said goodnight.

I’m still chuckling, working in the US, dinner in another country, home to sleep in the US. Tee hee hee.

Good night!

{June 18, 2013} A great dinner tonight

Tonight, I made a yummy dinner!

One of the things I’ve really enjoyed being here is DCM and I cooking together, we’ve only been out to eat a few times, most nights we go to the grocery store, pick up what we need for dinner and cool dinner together.

I was in the mood to cook and I thought a home made pizza would be nice. I went to Safeway, one of the major grocery stores in Colorado, they have a really nice fresh produce section and a large selection of healthier options.

So, for dinner, I got a flatbread, layered on sauce and shredded mozzarella, added some ground up sausage and green olives to half (that’s DCM’s staple for pizza) mini yellow and red peppers and spinache on my half (I made it perfectly so the meat and sausage didn’t touch my side!) and added some more cheese to the top and baked at 375 for about 15 minutes, well, I just kept looking to see when everything was melted. Lets just say it was Y U M M Y!

Then…while the pizza was baking, I whipped up a carrot cake, even had some cream cheese frosting, it was really yummy, came out wonderfully lopsided, but who cares? You cover it with frosting and who can tell? (The secret for frosting a cake is to let the cake cool completely, better even in the fridge so the cake is firm, easier for the frosting to spread and stick, the frosting has to be warm, so it’s easily spreadable).

Lets just say dinner was easy to make and delish and inexpensive, a great combination!

{May 30, 2013} An artichoke bigger than your head!

First, if you remember, I said how it was surreal with no cats around me? Well, I’ve heard one, twice! Kind of freaked me out, but I’m ok now. And tonight,I got to eat with no one wanting to smell my food!

Second, I ate an artichoke that was bigger than your head! It took me about 1.5 hours to eat it, but I ate it!

Remember how I packed everything to move? Well, as I was coming back to Atlanta last night, I started to wonder how I was gong to cook this bad boy! I found one pot in the cabinet, more of a teensy tiny pot that holds maybe 4 cups, max…this was not going to work! I did remember that I ran the dishwasher before we left and I had clean cutlery. My one sharp knife in the house, a Quikcut Paring Knife from Pampered Chef, a really small knife, but sharp enough to cut the end and the leaves.

I went online and found a recipe/instructions on how to cook it in the microwave and let me tell you, Y U M! I didn’t have any plastic wrap, so I followed the instructions, cut the tips, rinsed the artichoke, sprinkled with lemon juice (helps cut down the bitterness) rinsed again (not a fan of lemon anything)
double wrapped in wet paper towels and a microwave safe bowl. Cooked for 7 minutes, that wasn’t quite enough, added 5 more minutes and it was done!

I like to melt some butter, add fresh garlic and sometime either bread crumbs or Parmesan cheese for dipping. It was terrific! When i normally cook them on the stovetop, it takes 30, 35, sometimes 40 minutes to cook. This was so easy, I’m definitely going to have to it again!

I bought the artichoke at the Walmart near the apartment. Sometimes they have really good produce, and sometimes, they will carry what the supermarket doesn’t.

It was funny, on the shuttle to the airport yesterday, aside from finding out way more than I wanted to know about some people, when I showed them the artichoke, we started talking about genetically modified fruit an the controversy. I said, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs, so, if I’m going to go due to genetically modified vegetables, I’m ok with that!

I attached the web page where I got the microwave recipe.
http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-cook-artichokes-in-microwave.html

Happy cooking!

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