Friends | Peaches Prattlings

{June 20, 2014} Rain Rain Go Away…Didn’t stop us though!

As the saying goes…”Come again some other day”! There are things we want to do and you are ruining them! Not completely, but still.

Wednesday night there was a huge storm, it rained all day and well into the evening. It was so bad that when I went to pick up KS to go to work, from the front door of the hotel to the car I got soaked. I was wearing khaki pants and when I got in the car, I was so wet, they were dark brown in front! Apparently it’s the rainy season, why? We’ve had snow, now rain? How about some nice even keeled weather?

Today it rained most of the day, which was fine for me, I was at the hospital working, but for CKM, she was running in between the raindrops! She decided she was going to go to the Archaeological Museum, Art Museum and Science Museum, she’s a museum kind of girl. It was easy to find parking, but dodging the rain drops is not that easy.

After work, we met back at the hotel to change and head out. There is an arts festival going on right now in Ann Arbor and we were going to go to hear a band play, but they got rained out, so we decided to go grab some food and Irish Pub fare it was! We went to Conner O’Neills for some futball [it was on, Honduras was playing Ecuador, Ecuador won, go Ecuador! Boy those fans are fanatic! We went for futball, good food and best of all, good company. it was yummy! http://www.conoroneills.com/annarbor/

After dinner we walked around town, did some window shopping, found some fun treats for ourselves and CKM found lots of goodies to take home with her.One of the places was Cherry Republic, nothing but things made with cherries, for miles! And tastings, chocolate covered cherries, cherry soda, cherry wine, cherry tea, you name it, it was probably made with cherries!

After shopping, we decided it was time for dessert so we got in the car and headed for…you guessed it, Insomnia Cookies! I have been talking enough about this place that CKM had to try it for herself. We got a few cookies and some ice cream, sat and enjoyed our dessert.

Now we’re at the hotel relaxing, checking email and talking to you! Who knows what tomorrow holds, I am done work at 6pm and CKM is going exploring until then! Then we are doing something fun together. Can’t tell you what that is yet [I don’t know to tell the truth!] but I will tell you all about it tomorrow!

Until tomorrow, have a great night!

http://a2sf.org/desktop/

{June 2, 2014} And again…surprise!

Last surprise of the weekend, or is it? Kidding, it is.

Sunday morning came liesurely, I woke up about 7:40, but stayed under the covers for a while, no one was trelling me to get up, so I took full advantage.

I got up, showered, dressed and headed to the kitchen to get to work. We had a party to set up for, yes folks, another party! And a surprise party at that!

AS, my sister’s sister-in-law, had a milestone birthday last week and Sunday, my sister’s family threw her a surprise party.

Friends and family showed up at noon and AS and her hubby JS, showed up at 12:30 and we all yelled surprise, as one is apt to do at a surprise party, then we and happy birthday.

We had burgers and fries and chips and beer and ice cream cake, what could be better?

That was the last surprise of the weekend. About 2:45, dad and I headed to the airport to send me back to Michigan, I needed a nap!

{May 31, 2014} I did it…again!

Surprise number two! I couldn’t tell you, I wasn’t sure if you’d keep a secret!

So, after last night’s surprise for my sister, today there was another! First, I got up way too early for a Saturday morning, but EJS was surprised and excited to see me and when I got out of the shower, MGS was up and confused and then excited.

I had spoken with ACS about throwing a surprise party for GES about two weeks ago and finally on Monday I sent out the e-vite and people responded like crazy! So how to keep her occupied until everyone gets there? She sort of took care of that, she was having a Silpada jewelry party from 9-11.

Not exactly keeping her out of the house, but we had everyone grouped on the front lawn at 11:30 to surprise her and surprise her we did! We really tried to keep everyone out of sight, but she saw someone she knew shouldn’t be there and thought, now why am I seeing him? Slowly she began to see everyone else and then came outside and we sang happy birthday. It really was a great surprise!

Someone said “only at the S house, could you send out an invite in Monday and have around 50 people show up with food in hand to have a party!”And it’s true! Everyone arrived about 11:30 and were gone by 2:30, it was perfect!

She really was surprised and it felt so good to feel the love and know that if the tables were reversed she’d be there first thing!

I surprised my sister! I surprised my sister!

{May 17, 2014} It’s time to go back to Michigan

I slept in again..until 8am, hold yourself back!

I got up, said good morning and then headed out with ACS for a dump run. They don’t have trash pickup at their house, so once a week they take trash and recyclables to the dump. Sometimes MGS likes to go and help, today the girls were very busy playing with all their new stuff from papa, so I went with ACS to the dump. We made two runs, one was trash and plastics, we came back for the cardboard.

On the way back to the house after the first run, we stopped at a farm stand and got some apple cider donuts, you know the ones with the sugar and cinnamon on them? And when they’re warm..oh boy! When we brought them home, GES and dad said the same thing I did, how much we loved them and they reminded us of when we were kids and went apple picking and then got the donuts after, ah..memories.

After the two dump runs, I got some work done, then I headed up to the New England Running Store to meet RG and try on some new sports bras and found one that fit and held me in perfectly! I got a few other things and then headed home for lunch with the family. That was nice, the rain had finally stopped, the sky cleared up and it got nice and toasty, we were able to sit outside on the deck for lunch, felt good to sit in the sun.

A little more work and then it was time to shower, get cleaned up, pack and get ready to head out. The nice thing about today was it was very laid back and relaxed, no rush to get anywhere.

About 3:30 I said goodbye to LaLa and GES then dad and I headed out to the airport. It was nice to have some one on one time with my dad.

We got to the airport, said goodbye and off I went, looking forward to the next visit.

I got back to Detroit and KS picked me up, we went to dinner, enjoyed some laughs, checked into the hotel and here I sit talking to you!

{April 29, 2014} Busy day!

The day started at 5:15am, what?

The alarm went off at 5:15, I snoozed until 5:30, I thought it was fair. (Luckily I only have to go a mile!) Showered and dressed, had to dress in pants, shirt and sweater, not the dress I was hoping to it was too cold! Mother Nature..what’s up? (I never mind wearing my Danskos though)

Off to co-teach class starting at 7, we have to be there at 6 for classroom setup. Good class, lots of good questions and people with interest in what we were teaching. After class, we were exhausted. We went full force from 7am until 4:30 with an hour for lunch, a very successful class. We both headed in our respective directions.

I put on my workout gear, with the intention of walking to Whole Foods, but it started raining, so in the car I went. Got some good veggies and tofu and vegan cheese, I so miss cheese! Moving on!
I got back to the room, made a quick lettuce wrapped cheesy veggie burger with raw mushrooms, it was fantastic!

I ate quickly because I had a Face Time date with SDL and Miss A! Always a favorite time for me! What a doll baby, how I love that little girl! It was so good to see both of them, catch up on the little things and even the big things, important to have that time.
Maybe next time I can read her a bed time story!

After our face time, I was thinking about the treadmill or passing out, I was do tired!

TS called and we chatted for a while, then decided to get together we went out for drink and food, I drove, no drinking, shocker! We caught up, commiserated, ranted, laughed, it was just what we both needed.

On the way back we talked about the amenities each of our hotels have
she came to check out the gym and pool at my hotel and then we made a decision, go put on our swim suits and meet at the hot tub and we do!

It was so relaxing to sit in the hot tub and talk to a friend, just what the doctor ordered!

Now I’m back in my room talking to you and realizing the alarm is going off in a few hours, I have a CVT class at 8:15.

ZZZZZZZZZ. GOOD NIGHT.

{April 21, 2014} Happy Easter

To one and all.

I hope all my friends and family who celebrate Easter have had a fantastic holiday.

I love seeing all the wonderful photos on Facebook some with the Easter Bunny, some with parents and grandparents, at Easter Egg hunts, eating chocolate bunnies, enjoying themselves. Seeing pictures of LB, Baby A and L enjoying what we sent them via the pictures their moms posted on Facebook and tagging us, makes us feel so good!

As a kid, I used to spend spring break with my grandmother in Philadelphia. We would go down to the square in front of her apartment building, The Rittenhouse Claridge, I would search for Easter eggs and then we would watch the Easter Parade, everyone dressed in their faster finest, the women in their Easter bonnets on their way to church. so wonderful! Then we would go home and Watch Easter Parade with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland.

I hope whatever you did to celebrate was enjoyable and just What you wanted.

Here are a few of the fun pictures I found on Facebook, enjoy.

(The first one was for me)

{April 16, 2014} Boston Strong – One Year Later

One year ago today life in Boston was changed forever.

At 2:49pm, Monday, April 15th, there was an explosion at the finish of the Boston Marathon and less than a minute later, there was another explosion less than two blocks away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Marathon_bombings

I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day, it was quite an experience. All of Boston was affected, as well as the entire country and everyone was affected in their own way, not one experience was the same. I’m going to tell you what my experience was like as I have incredibly strong ties to Boston as you know.

I was visiting DCM in Colorado right after he moved, we were going to go apartment huntung and wouldn’t you know it, by the second day, a freak snow storm, and I mean a snow storm, slow getting to work for DCM and I was stuck in the hotel, but I was working, so I wasn’t bored. I think I knew the Boston Marathon was happening that day because it’s one of those things you know, but that was about it. I knew that RG would be announcing the finishers and one or two people I knew would be participating, but that was it.

I was working and then I got the first call from SDL, “Is your family ok?” “Um, yes, as far as I know, why?” There was a bombing at the finish line and she wanted to check on me and my family. I immediately tried to get in touch with my brother-in-law who happened to be downtown in Boston with EJS, we eventually made contact, so I was able to breath at that point, from my family’s side. GES was in London for work trying to do the same thing, a little nerve wracking to say the least!

I then tried to contact everyone I could think of that might have been in the area, I reached out to RG, I had been checking her Facebook page and finally her husband posted on her page that she was ok. Next I tried JCT because I knew she was working in Boston somewhere and I wanted to be sure she was ok. She was close enough to feel the rumble, but she not close enough that she was in harms way, she was safe. I checked with CC and he was ok, so I was able to breath a sigh of relief over all.

The calls, texts and Facebook messages started pouring in, it was wonderful how many people thought about me and my family to see if everyone was safe and ok and how I was, I am a very lucky person. And I was able to tell them everyone was ok, that felt good.

It’s been a year and Boston has remained strong, just like the campaign says, Boston Strong. Never forgetting what happened as so many lives were touched. There were 3 deaths and 264 injured in the blasts, the fourth casualty was the officer killed during the manhunt for the two bombing suspects. The road to recovery has been a long one and will never be forgotten, like the bombings of 9/11, this did not kill the resolve of the people or destroy us like it was hoped by the ones responsible.

You can’t meet someone in Boston who doesn’t know someone who was there/involved or afftected personally by the bombings and their resiliance and sense of community is amazing.

Today was the one year anniversary and the tributes were touching, heart wrenching and heart warming. It was timed perfectly inside the Hynes Convention Center, to include The Boston Pops, Boston Children’s Choir, the former and current mayor of Boston, former and current police commissioners, survivors who were injured, Vice President Joseph Biden, just to name a few. Then everyone went outside and headed towards the grandstand at the Marthon Finish Line for a moment of silence at 2:49pm and then the bells began ringing, the flag was raised and the national anthem was performed. It felt good to be there with my sister to stand side by side when the national anthem began. The bagpipes were mournful and appropriate.

The celebration ended with members of the honor guard from different branches and cities marched down the street carrying the flags for their cities and branches.

It was eerie, fitting and touching and a day that we will never forget. I will close with the closing from Vice President Biden “Next Monday, on Patriot’s Day, when 36,000 people line up to start the marathon, you will send a resounding message around the world … that we will never yield, we will never cower, American will never stand down. We are Boston, we are America. We respond, we endure, we overcome, and we own the finish line.”

http://www.wbur.org/2014/04/15/boston-marathon-tribute-ceremony

{April 14, 2014} A zissen pesach

Tonight began the holiday of passover and it’s time to start the celebration.

The day started like any other Monday, I got tosee the girls go off to school. Before EJS left for school we broke the matzoh brittle and had to taste test it and the macaroonS of course, we had to Make sure they were fit for others to eat…wink wink!

After the kids and ACS left for work and School, we got down to the business of cooking. GES and BR got a lot done as well as and myself, but not to worry, there was plenty to do!

There was cooking, straightening, cleaning, setting up, dishes washed, dishwasher unloaded, loaded, unloaded, loaded, Presents wrapped.

In the middle of the Craziness we went to watch EJS’ gym class perform “their Sentence”
They each Start with a letter, improv stuff in between and a period or balled up pose to end.

after we got home, we continued to work on stuff and at 5, I went to pick up EJS from school, ACS got home with MGS, AS was there before her husband JS, then BF and BR showed up with their adorable Kids, LS arrived and then Zafta, our group was complete.

We sat down to the seder and the food began to fly, all sorts of wonderous treat from homemade chicken soup with matzo balls to the fantastic desserts.

Everything was wonderful for the celebration was fantastic friends and family we’re together , not to be missed.

After a few hours of good food good friends and family laughter and warm it was time to make care packages and everyone head home.

then came the really fun part, cleaning up. Haha. We did say that next year we should hire someone to help serveand clean up, so we said it again this year, let’s see if we remember!

After that, it was stories and bed time, trying to keep your eyes open and then zzzzz!

I already fell asleep once, writing to you! That tells me it is time to go to sleep! I bid you a good nite abs good Pesach!