What I love! | Peaches Prattlings

{September 12, 2014} What a sap am I!

And I love it! I may have talked about this already, but I am so moved and so I move to talk about it again!

I am moved by music, specifically and tonight, by opera. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, coffee or champagne, but I la la la love it! I was raised on it and I can’t imagine my life with out it. I was getting some work done and then a notification came on my phone reminding me of an opera I enjoyed and I should come back to listen and I did.

And now I am listening to opera and getting very emotional. When I hear certain arias I am moved because I know what they are from and what they mean. For example, when I watch Moonstruck and they get to the scene when they are at The Met watching La Boheme, I start moving my head and closing my eyes and tearing up, I know what’s about to happen in the story, the opera that is and then when I hear that aria on the radio, I get emotional.

Next came Luciano Pavarotti performing, I Pagliacci, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbTWJTK2oCs, so moving, moving me to tears, then I thought about Paul Potts winning Britain’s Got Talent performing Nussen Dorma, from Tourendot, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA, and then one from my mom’s favorite opera, Madama Butterfly, so gut wrenching. Then there is the Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpVV9jShEzU, it sounds happy in parts, but the message is not. But this aria is… Papagena! Papagena! Papagena! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PCRhnmNhNY

So here I sit about an hour later, all worked up and emotional and in tears on occasion and just happy at how this music makes me feel, the feelings it has the ability to illicit. And to put a smile on my face to end this post, my all time favorite opera, The Barber of Seville and Figaro’s Aria, it makes me smile so very much, it’s happy, happy, happy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qHZkkgowdY

Enjoy!!!

{September 11, 2014} 9/11 – A day of remembrance

Today is a day of remembrance that no one in the world will forget. It was 13 years ago today that there were four coordinated attacks on the United States.

Today is the anniversary of one of the greatest tragedies in American history and we must always remember, first that there will always be those who wish to do us harm and that as a people we are strong and will rise up and not be defeated. That event, which was supposed to topple us only made us come together and be stronger and realize what we are really made of.

There are so many great tributes that you can see on Facebook, the news and everywhere you turn. One of my favorite quotes I borrowed from a friend as well as the photo below from another friend. I think the photo screams volumes, that we are not made up of bricks and mortar, we are made up of faces and people and love. Love is what keeps us moving and holds us together and makes us strong.

” … that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln

{September 10, 2014} It feels like summer vacation!

I know I am working and all, but there are days it feels like I am on summer vacation. And here is where I will tell you why.

Do you remember when we talked about traveling for work and people thinking that it’s so exciting you get to go to all these different places? That when you are in a city for one or two days it’s “Airport>Client Site>Hotel>Restaurant>Hotel>Airport”, well this situation is a little different.

Ok, so…You know I am all over the place working, first in Ann Arbor for six months and now, Louisville, KY for about 1.5 months. Since I am in locations for more than a few days, I get to go exploring. I get to try new restaurants and experiences and that’s why some days it feels like I am on summer vacation and tomorrow, I will go to school, stand up in front of the class and tell them what I did over summer break.

For example…Today I didn’t have to work! Wahoo! No 12 hour shift for this girl! But..I have to get up in a few hours for my new shift, 5a-4p, who wants to be me? But…I had the day off today, so what did I do?

First, I slept in, ha ha, I was up about 10am, after falling asleep about 4:45, I was really hoping for more, but oh well. I answered some emails and then got dressed, packed and ready to switch to a new room, a bigger one! [BTW..said room I am sitting in right now is having A/C is having issues and I am using a box fan for a cool breeze, new and bigger room tomorrow.

After getting dressed, I headed out and made for the walking bridge to take me to Indiana! It was very cool, a few miles to the bridge, a mile over the bridge and then walk around the little town of Jeffersonville and…got a much needed manicure! Oh my! Navy blue, very enjoyable!

After the relaxing mani, I headed back over the bridge and to the hotel, enjoying my time along the way. There are speakers on the bridge and they were playing classical music, I was in heaven! I meandered a bit and enjoyed the breeze, ok gusts of wind, but it was better than the surface of the sun hot that I have been experiencing since I got here, so we know how happy I was!

I walked back to the hotel, stopping in a few places for a bite to eat, but alas, alack, to no avail. Back to the room where the AC was still not fixed, but I was burning up anyway, so it felt pretty good. Showered and dressed, ran out the door to the car down to Bardstown road to hopefully get a pedicure, goal number 2! I got one, ahhh…much better.

Louisville has some great works of art all over the city and in the different restaurants and I have been enjoying taking those pictures, which, of course, I will be sharing!

Speaking of sharing, two women I met at the nail salon recommended some restaurants and then told me I should blog about my experiences, go figure! Done and done!

After the pedi, I walked down the road to Kashmir, an Indian restaurant for some dinner of “No, it’s not too spicy” by the Indian waiter and his father, never trust an Indian to tell you the Indian food is not very spicy! I won’t tell you how many glasses of water I consumed!

After dinner, it was back to the hotel to write to you, rest up and get a few hours sleep for my next shift.

Fingers crossed my next room has working A/C! G’Night!

{September 9, 2014} Grosse Point Blank

I LA LA LA LA LA LA LOVE this movie!!!

I know, I know, DCM says almost every movie is one of my favorite movies, but anyone who has seen this movie has to agree with me! How cold you go wrong with John Cusack.

Ok, I say that and I know there are movies that he has made that were awful, not everyone can make oscar winners, but even if they’re not oscar winners, some of them are great.

Do you know John Cusack’s film credits? He started early, I sometimes forget he was in Sixteen Candles, a small supporting role, but more famously in leading roles are Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer, then Say Anything, just to name a few. His career goes on for at least 36 roles, some great, some not so great, but…I LOVE this movie!

This movie is about a hit man with a conflict of conscious. He goes to his ten year high school reunion to reconnect with his first love, while at the same time fulfill a contract. Who knew gun-play and murder could be so funny.

There are some great supporting characters, Dan Aykroyd as another professional hit man, Minnie Driver is his high school sweetheart, Alan Arkin is his reluctant therapist, Joan Cusack is his funnier than anything assistant, Ann Cusack has a very small role as a funny drunken classmate, Hank Azaria as another hit man/federal agent, Jenna Elfman is goofy and Jeremy Piven is a manic classmate.

Bottom line, if you haven’t seen this movie, see it. There you go!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119229/?ref_=nv_sr_1

{September 8, 2014} I’m so tired…I might be seeing things!

Ok, I’m so tired I’m more loopy than anything else!

Who am I kidding, we’re tired! I have had the pleasure to work with a zone lead, who is also a nurse, VP, at the location I am supporting. Our shifts are 12 hours, as the facility is 24/7 and someone has to work days and someone has to work nights, guess who’s on nights for the first few days? Yup, yours truly and VP.

We started 3am-7am Friday night and then 6pm-6am, how much fun do you think we are having?

For people who normally work days, nights is a tricky situation, it takes a lot of getting used to and of course, we are only doing go-live support for a few weeks, not long enough to get used to the hours and then guess what is going to happen in three days, shift change, working days, so 6am-6pm, like that. Fun!

I don’t know about you, but the less sleep I get, I get loopy, well, more loopy than normal! especially if I have to function. I know you’re aware that I don’t sleep a lot each night, but it is still precious to me and I value it. The other night, I got five hours, but it was deep, deep, coma like sleep and it was wonderful, I was good to go!

No matter how much sleep you get, unless you work an overnight shift regularly, you’re going to get tired! It’s the same thing when you’re driving over the road. Just to clarify..I admire EVERYONE who works the night shift and has made it work for them.

About three and four am, you get loopy [I’m tired and getting more loopy, hence using the word loopy, a lot, too much, maybe] and really tired. Last night in particular, VP and I were sitting here, getting progressively more tired she turned to me to say she was going to close her eyes for about ten minutes and saw me with my head back, mouth open, dead to the world! OMG! So embarrassed! [but remember, she was going to do the same thing!] I was out for at least five minutes, but it was the best five minutes ever!!!

I am looking forward to leaving the facility and heading to the hotel at 1am, I got in at 4pm, same shift tomorrow, and crawling under the covers and hopefully catching up on some sleep. Shh..do not disturb!

{September 5, 2014} New places

I know I’ve talked about some of the trials and tribulations of traveling for work, but there are some terrific advantages.

One of them being, I get to try new places to eat and maybe do some touristy things. I know I talked about a few of the restaurants I went to in A2, Ann Arbor, for those of you not ‘in the know’ [I promise, A2 is EVERYWHERE around that place!

Well, here I am in Louisville, KY and there is a whole new world of places to try! I have asked for recommendations from people that I’ve met and so far, they’ve been great! I also like driving down the street an finding a new place which leads to another new place which leads to another and so on!

So…PM and I have found that! We’ve had a great time discovering new places! He knows he’s not KLS or KNOB, but it’s been great getting to know him and explore the city and all it has to offer together.

So far, I think we’ve done pretty well trying new places almost every day. Here is where we have been to date:

Gordon Biersch, a microbrewery and restaurant. It’s a chain, one that I frequented and enjoyed in Atlanta and PM had never been there. Once was good, twice, in a row…what? We went with the team, a welcome to Kentucky kind of thing. Ok, but that’s it, new places from now on!

We went to lunch at Wild Eggs, it was wild and we had eggs. groan. We also found Earth Friends Cafe, they had some vegan friendly dishes, the vegan Philly Cheese steak was AWESOME! Ok, that place I will go again! Safier Mediterranean, another place for lunch, is tasty and inexpensive and within walking distance to the office, so it gets lots of points. The baklava was yummy!

Decca was fun and interesting, the decorations were fun and the food…FABULOUS! I love anyone who can do magic with broccoli! The last three restaurants we’ve tried this week were The Grape Leaf for lunch yesterday, great hummus and baba ganoush, how can you go wrong there? I also had yummy lentil soup and a giant fatoush salad! Yum!

Last night we went to Sway, which is off the lobby of the Hyatt, where PM is staying this week and it was fabulous! Our server, Jean, made the evening, we became fast friends and I was so happy to pass on to her, as a tip, the $10 bill I had found earlier that day! And last, but definitely not least..today for dinner we went to Harvest, we had seen it several times and tonight finally went in. A wonderful creation with spaghetti squash, mmmm.

The great thing about these restaurants lately is that the staff has been terrific and the kitchens very accommodating to my needs as a vegan. Nothing bad to date! What can i say, I’m spoiled and i like me that way!

I have a list..who knows where we will go next! Stay tuned!

{September 4, 2014} We have a 2nd grader in the family!

EJS started second grade today! What? When did that happen???

Where does the time go? I am going to get sappy, you’ll just have to deal with it!

All over the country, mostly in the northeast, students went back to school this week. In the south, they went back to school last month, traditionally in the north and northeast, the day after Labor Day. You know the drill, pictures all over FaceBook of kids dressed and ready for the first day, some with signs, some not.

For my very wonderful, funny, smart and fantastic niece, yes, I am biased, EJS, started school today, second grade to be exact. I saw pictures posted on FaceBook, two of them, one with just her and MGS and the other with her sister and dad. Such great pictures!

Ok, here comes the sappy…I remember the day I met EJS for the first time, she was one week old, eight days to be exact [at least I think it was eight, could have been seven]. I saw her and held her in my arms and I was in love! And here she is seven years old and starting second grade.

When i got to their house on Friday, I opened the door and she ran and jumped into my arms, how much longer am I going to be able to pick her up? Who cares, I hope she does it for as long as she wants to and I can at least lift her off the ground a little.

Today, I got a call from EJS! She was calling to tell me about her first day of school. “We didn’t do any learning, we just got to know each other” and tomorrow is going to be a new day and the next step towards a great year. She likes her teacher and classmates, how can you go wrong there?

I want to wish EJS and everyone starting school this week a very good and successful year, whatever your grade. It’s going to be a great year!

{September 1, 2014} Pool day!

A day of rest? What’s that?

Today I did actually sleep in, until almost 9am! Wow! Did I do something good to deserve this treat? What is it they say…I need a vacation from my vacation!

We all got motivated, did coffee runs and had breakfast, then it was make lunches, pack up the cars and head to the pool! It’s been over a month since I sat in a pool, outside. I’ve been to hotel pools, but they’re all inside, this was great!

We were at the pool maybe three minutes and we were already getting pulled in! “Hurry up! I wanna swim!” EJS has been taking swimming lessons and has improved so much over the last year! She even took her test to get her the band to allow her in the four foot deep section without an adult! Next will be the test for the nine foot deep section of the pool.

We all splashed and played and had a great time, breaking for lunch then getting back in, not right away, took a break and then went back. Took another break later, read a little of my book, started to doze off and then it was time to go home. Oh yeah, a little FaceTime with GES somewhere in between, since she had stayed home to get some work done.

Back home, we showered and got dressed and did some work around the house and then ACS’ friend, JR, came over and we all went to dinner at a local Irish pub, it was fun and entertaining.

On the way home, stop at Petco to pick up stuff for the cats, some toys and scratching posts. Oh! Papa, or my dad as I know him, worked out a deal with EJS to help with the cats: food, water, litter, every day and each week, she will get $3, sounds fair to me! I’ll definitely be getting in on this action ! Thanks for thinking of it dad!

Home for bath, games and bed. RG came over to chat for a while, it was great to see her! Finished packing and now I’m talking to you!

Good night dear friends, I have a very early day tomorrow, back to Louisville!

{September 1, 2014} A country fair and lobster fest!

How does one follow a day at the beach? With a country fair and lobster fest, of course! Didn’t you get the memo?

The day started way too early, 7:30 to be exact, is there a pattern here? The bad part wasn’t the time, just the fact that I fell asleep at 3:30am! Party, Party, Party!

We got motivated and out of the house about 10:15, which was only 15 minutes later than planned, go us! We loaded the girls into the convertible again, they were ready for it, sweatshirts on this time, still continued to bundle up, windows up, top down and we were off!

We were meeting ACS’s brother and sister-in-law, JS and AS, at the 154th annual Woodstock Fair, http://www.woodstockfair.com/. It was a good, old-fashioned country fair, who doesn’t love that! There were rides for all ages, vendors, animals, exhibitions, car races, food, funnel cake, games and so much more. There were crowds of people, most of them smiling, some of the wee tots don’t smile so much when someone tells them no!

We started off taking a trip around to see some of the booths with fun goods. I got a new face mask that will double for the motorcycle and skiing. My last one had to be thrown away, this one is just like it, with pink flames! I will rock the slopes again this year! I did find a gorgeous pair of cowboy, or I should say cowgirl boots, of course, they were on sale for…$289. I just couldn’t do it, even though my birthday is coming up…it’s not the perfect pair I want, those I might spend that kind of money!

Then we got some fried dough, GES and I thought we were getting funnel cake, not so. But there was powdered sugar and it satisfied half the craving, and the girls liked it, what more could you want!

Next were the animals: cows, GIANT rabbits, chickens, roosters, chicks, ducks, sheep, pigs, alpacas, goats, oh my! There were sheep being sheared, cows being born, it was amazing!

I believe she was smiling!

We went into some of the exhibition barns to see different competitors and entries. There were race cars and music and entertainment and giant gourds! Oh my!

The sand art was amazing!

The living statue was creepy and cool, all at the same time!

I love handmade crafts!

Wouldn’t this be great for CBS Sunday Morning?

O M G!! The largest one was over 1100 pounds!

Finally, there were games and rides and oh did the girls love those! Bumper cars, carousel horses and ring tosses, oh my! Were we wiped out? Yes we were!

Back in the car, top up, windows down and to the house James!

When we got home, it was just in time to bring things to the driveway next door for Lobster Fest ’14! This is a tradition that the families on the block have been doing during Labor Day weekend for years. They have done it at GES and ACS’ house many times in the driveway, but this year…the neighbors weren’t there, so guess where we set up!

We had lobster, burgers, dogs, salads, veggies, dips, chips, beer, wine and LaLa’s famous home made sangria. For dessert, there was watermelon, champagne grapes, cookies and cakes, oh my!

We ate and drank and laughed and had the best time and then packed it in just as it seemed it would start raining and we beat the clock! We cleaned up, got the kids inside, baths, books, games and night night!

And then the second shower of the day for most of us, we were hot sticky messes! Now, I sit here writing to you about my day and after I load some pictures into this post I’m going to bid you a fond good evening. [fingers crossed i get more than 4 hours of sleep!]

What will we be doing tomorrow? Who knows…but as you’ve guessed, there is never a dull moment around this house!

Goodnight!

{August 31, 2014} A day at the beach…

Is there really more to say? Well, alright, if i must!

Today was going to be a day at the beach with a few other families, to spend time together and celebrate a 5th birthday of another wonderful munchkin who calls me Auntie J!

I got up about 7:30, not because I wanted to, by any means, I was hoping for a little more sleep, but, there you have it. No sleeping late in this house! As I’m trying to get my eyes open, about 7:45/7:50 I hear ‘Is it time to wake Auntie J up yet?” “No” was my sister’s response, but I was up so i went upstairs.

There was fun to be had! Wrestling, tickling, silliness, you name it, we had it. Then ACS was going for a run and invited me to go. It was going to be a 5 mile day for him, he’s training for a half marathon in a few weeks. Yes, I wanted to go, I haven’t run in 2 weeks, it was time. [and you know I’m participating in a half marathon in November, I need to get moving!]

We started off strong, I kept up with him and his pace, which was a little faster than I am used to, now that i have a rhythm that started to work, but I did it. I kept up for about 1.5 miles and then he kept going and i walk/ran the rest of the way. I did my five miles, just not all running, but I am quite please with what I did.

I met ACS and my dad at the grocery store on the way home, stopped for a few things and hitched a ride home, I’m ok with that. Then it was make lunches, pack the car and get ready to go! What better way to go to the beach than in a convertible with the top dropped, they loved it!

It was a beautiful day for a drive, with the top down, to the beach. Guess who was the only one not bundled up!

We made it to the house, quick change and it was beach bound, across the street and down the path, what could be better?! The sand was hot, the water was cold and the air was perfect. There is nothing, nothing I tell you, like time on the beach. It so made me want to buy a place on the beach or live there full time. Oh, why can’t Colorado have a beach, then it would be absolutely perfect!

We spent about four hours, maybe more, on the beach. A walk with dad, played a little with the kids, had lunch and then took a nap, glorious! I have to tell you, I never sleep so well as I do on the beach or right near it, there is nothing like it, did I already say that?

The kids had a great time and even started their own ice bucket challenge, so to speak. this consisted of dumping buckets of ocean water on their heads, so stinking cute! One started, then another joined in, eventually there were four of them!

After the beach we headed to the house for showers and a cookout and then singing and birthday cake with ice cream, what more could you want?

A few hours later it was back in the car, top up and drive home. On the way, EJS asked if she could ride in my car tomorrow to the fair, guess what my answer was!

On to the next adventure! Goodnight!

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