What I love! | Peaches Prattlings

{July 15, 2013} What a day! Try to keep up!

Today was a whirlwind! Ok, the weekend was a whirlwind!

I got in to Atlanta yesterday afternoon. I know you’re saying, “What? JJ, you were just there last week” and to you I would say, “You are correct! Quite observant I might add! I have really smart friends!”

So, the whirlwind really started yesterday afternoon when I got to Atlanta. After renting a car, I called JCT to see when we were getting together and decided to go to Ikea, since I hadn’t been since it opened. After a while, we connected and there was a mis-communication so we didn’t get together, we were still going to see each other at brunch Sunday.

CKM and I were calling each other at the same time and it just worked out that we were both hungry and we decided to go to Farm Burger http://www.farmburger.net/ in Decatur, great burgers, fantastic veggie [quinoa] burgers, fresh cut friends and onion rings, great options for toppings. AL was able to join us, it was a nice relaxing evening, but by 9:30, I was done for, ready to get home and get into bed and away I went. I got to the house, registered for the Dirty Girl Atlanta for next year, Saturday, April 19th, to be exact if you want to join our team! Blogged, then lights out!

Today started at 10am, out the door at 10:30 to head down to Sun in My Belly, http://suninmybelly.com/, in Kirkwood for brunch. It was divine! I had a MLT! [Mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, basil and basil pesto panini Y U M!] I was fortunate enough to be joined by RS, CKM, SDL and her sister DJL and of course, wait for it, Miss A! [the fashionista was in top form! from the top of her head with a silver sparkly bow to her tank top [pink and orange butterfly with silver sparkly spots], jeans with a, wait for it…pink and orange belt down to her pink and orange sneakers!

We had fun at brunch, laughing, talking, catching up. It’s like no time has passed, love that!

JCT was on her way to join us and got a flat tire, had to wait for AAA, so she wasn’t able to join us, bummer! Unfortunately, she was heading back to Boston this afternoon, so I will have to wait until the next trip to Atlanta to see her or, maybe in Boston!

The best part…Miss A walked to me! she took about 6 steps from SDL to me, but she did it on her own! How proud am I? Can you feel it all the way through your pc?

Next, I headed to Smyrna to meet my dear friends, KH and JV and KH’s new baby girl, JH! What a DOLL BABY! cute face, big expressive eyes and wonderfully fat arms and legs, dimples everywhere! So squeezable and scrumptious! I got to feed her and hold and rock her. The rocking and patting finally worked and some of what had gone in came out, it was all good, no worries at all!

While I was feeding her we had a nice long chat, about all the things we would do together when she got older, games we would play, visits she would make, races we would run together [we’ll start off with a 100 yard run, then move to a kids 1 miler, then to the 5k, who knows where next!]

What a treat to see these two women, I haven’t seen JV in a few months and KH in over a year, both looking fantastic and KH, so happy and well in her new role as a mom, what a joy. The only person missing, TS! We all used to work together, JV and KH left on their own, TS and I, they said bye-bye. Looking forward to seeing them again, maybe our little foursome will be able to get together sometime when I’m back in town, only this time, it might be a 4.5!

After we parted, I went to see my friends and their new home, BG, CA and their son J. I’d seen pictures and heard stories when they were home shopping, always better to see in person! It’s a charming house, but you need a map to find your way! J helped give the tour, but you had to be careful! The hardwood floors were lava, you had to jump to the carpet and area rugs, then the kitchen tiles were ice, what were we to do! A few of the coolest features, besides the screened in porch, big back yard, great closets were the attic with a net up, almost like a batting cage, J and his friends and cousins love it! He has a bonus play room, which doubles as a guest room and the extra garage was fantastic! The previous owners had Harley’s and created this work space, it was a mechanic’s dream! I know that would have been my playroom!

After the tour, we sat down to chat, they realized what time it was, fed me some great salads left over from their family reunion and CA’s birthday [Happy Happy] and peach pie. Apparently it’s pie week at Whole Foods! All I can say is, who cares, it was yummy!

So happy for them that they found a house that they love, in a neighborhood they like and near schools that are great for their son, it’s been terrific so far and it’s only been a month!

All of a sudden, I realized it was after 10pm, BG had a 6:30am flight and had to pack, I had an hour drive home, so off I went.

Now, I’m at the house, writing to you and about to nod off, have to work in a few hours! G’night!

{July 13, 2013} Membership has its privileges

Today I was upgraded to first class and I loved it.

A few years ago, I was flying enough that I upgraded from just a skymiles passenger on Delta to Silver Medallion and not everyone was Silver, as it seems they are now and I was upgraded on almost every flight I took.

In three years, I think I flew coach about three times and I realized I went a fan! I didn’t want to sit in steerage! Ha ha . Well, when I lost my status a few years ago, I was back to steerage, sigh.

Since I’ve been Silver status again for a while, I am automatically added to the upgrade waiting list and today, when I was boarding, a new seat assignment popped up, 1A, wahoo!

So, there are a lot of advantages, one being more leg room, only two to a row and the customer service. I imagine when you’re paying those prices, you want a little extra. The flight attendants were very nice, and to be honest, I think these flight attendants were genuinely nice, they seemed that way when I get on the plane.

There is always a bottle of water waiting at your seat, along with a blanket and pillow. The flight attendants always ask if you want something else while you’re waiting to take off. Then when it’s time for food, for some reason, they were serving lunch on this flight.

There was a linen placemat (they called it a table cloth, since we had tables), then the food came it on a bamboo tray, real cutlery, wrapped in a cloth napkin, along with a salt and pepper shaker set. The food was very good, a Mediterranean salad with a side of grilled chicken, which I gave back, breadsticks and a giant oatmeal raisin cookie and if you wanted something else to drink, it came in a real glass.

There is something very nice about this level of service, it makes you want to fly and fly with them again. As we were landing, the flight attendant thanked each passenger individually for flying with them. This the of service is reminiscent of when people first started flying, they took pride in the way they looked for flying, you dressed, skirts for women, suits for men. There is something to be said for it, besides just nostalgic.

Not to worry dear friends, I promise not to get a big head about all this, it would be nice if it happens again or all the time, but if its only once in a while, it will be worth it, it feels good to be treated well, like you matter, but…

Why can’t this happen all the time? Why can’t we treat everyone like they’re someone all the time?

{July 12, 2013} A real rainstorm!

I know, I know, it’s been raining like crazy in Atlanta, why get excited?

As I said its been raining like crazy in Atlanta for the past few weeks and it might continue raining while I’m there next week for work. In Colorado, with 300 days of sunshine on average, we don’t see a lot of rain. Oh, it might rain, but for 3 or 4 minutes here and there, so rain is not something I expect to see.

There have been a few days where the forecast was thunderstorms, but nothing. Tonight, the sky got darker and darker, and not just because the sun was going down! It was dark and grey to the left and bright to the right (please don’t ask me if its east or west!), then you could smell it, a good rain was coming.

It had been thunder and lightning for a few hours and then…it started, sounded good, smelled great, felt wonderful, there was finally a cool breeze in that wind. For a long time, it was just hit wind, not refreshing, but when it cooled off, it was wonderful.

I told DCM, if we could put a screen on the balcony, I would get a futon or a porch swing and sleep right there, the sound of the rain, the cool breeze, what could be better?

{July 11, 2013} The pool was…open!

Yeah! The pool was open!

I decided it was time to get off my arse and get back to running/walking, so yesterday, I set the alarm for 6am, I walked the path across from the apartment, found out its half a mile to the end, so I did back and forth twice and did two miles. It felt good to get moving again.

The goal…two miles to start, add a third if I have time (in the morning), then start running it and be able to run the full three miles by December, I think that’s reasonable. There are a lot of walking paths around, but this is perfect for the start of my day, since I have to start work at 7am.

On my walk, I met Muskoka, a very cute six month old golden and her dad, John. I think I’ll be seeing them every morning, since they are in puppy training mode. I am meeting more and more dogs on my daily outings, it’s fun and then I get to meet a new neighbor, they’re usually attached.

Another reason I wanted to get up so early to work out, is so that I don’t feel as guilty when I go to the pool at 3:00 after work! Before when I didn’t go walking after work, I felt bad, not anymore! Yes I know I could go walking/running after work, but it’s a lot hotter at 3 than 6!

I did check after my walk and the chains were gone! The chemicals did their trick! I suited up, fit perfectly after fixing the straps, loaded the bag, applied sunscreen and off I went! There were two other people at the pool when I got there and two more showed up after. I ended up striking up a conversation with Holly and Christina, both very and live in the next building, we talked about Boulder, restaurants, shopping, skiing and college, yup, that about covered it! I made two friends!

So, the method to my madness paid off and I got to go to the pool and relax and enjoy myself, what could be better?

nice and

{July 8, 2013} Kids, Fellini’s, Vermeer, Goodbye

Today started leisurely, got up, watched a movie (it was way to early for both of us to be up) while I cross stitched, Safe..Jason Statham! Then DCM got up, we finished watching the movie, then got ready to greet the day, lots to do.

After we showered, packed and made sure we had everything, we headed out. We were meeting DCM’s middle daughter, AT and her boyfriend at Fellini’s on Ponce. It’s been a while scene we’d been there together, a tradition that I started a long time ago, whenever I would come back to Atlanta, I would stop at Fellini’s on the way home from the airport. I introduced DCM to this tradition and it’s stuck, well, since we seem to get in about 10:30 pm, it’s a little late by the time we would get to Fellini’s, so this time, on the way out. In addition, AT had never been there and it’s always nice to introduce people to things you like.

After we parted company DCM headed to the airport and I headed to The High Museum of Art to meet CKM for the “Girl with the Pearl Earring” exhibit. I had been looking forward to the exhibit and if you brought your Peachtree Roadrace bib, you got in free, sounds perfect.

The exhibit was nice, different Dutch Paintings from the Mauritius, which I enjoy, a lot of landscapes, still life’s and then we got into the self portraits and tronies, the face. One of the things I like about the Dutch paintings is the clean lines, sometimes, so clean, it looks like a photograph, as opposed to the impressionists, with great flourish and flair in their brush strokes. One thing I was disappointed with was that that there was only one piece, or very few if I am mistaken, by Vermeer, and The Girl With The Pearl Earring was the very last piece, on a wall to herself, behind glass, kind of like seeing the Mons Lisa the Louvre, except this was much easier to get close to!

It’s always nice to go to a museum with someone to get their perspective, see how they view differs prices and how their views differ from yours.

The exhibit is there until September 29th.
http://www.high.org/Girl-With-A-Pearl-Earring.aspx

Then it was off to the airport, drop off the car, get through security, hop on a plane, not sure what happened, when we booked we were sitting together…get off the plane, get on the shuttle, get in the truck, eventually get home, check the mail, check on the cats, unwind, blog, go to bed.

Good night!

{July 7, 2013} The Lone Ranger

Really liked it!

It was an interesting concept, the way they told the story of The Lone Ranger and Tonto, how they met, worked together, how the Lone Ranger became…The Lone Ranger.

There were plot twists and turns, laughter, family, honor, learning, trust, guns, bow & arrows, the mask, Silver and revenge. What more could you want?

Just to warn you, there are a few very violent scenes, with the main villain and between the Calvary and the Indians, some of it made me uncomfortable, a few tears were shed.

There were some funny moments, good one liners, Johnny Depp was great as Tonto, just like a lot of other roles, he nailed it, he was funny, serious, witty, confusing and respectful to the role.

Johnny Depp, lately, seems to think about the roles he takes and takes his time creating the character to make it and the movie meaningful, give real tribute to who he is portraying and I liked that.

Helena Bonham Carter was fun as Red, she was a tough old west broad who ran a pub and her girls, and took nothing from nobody! Armie Hammer was great as The Lone Ranger, steadfast, true, strong, goofy, sometimes tortured in choosing right from wrong. Tom Wilkinson was endearing and surprising and it took me until almost the end of the movie to recognize William Fitcher as the very bad bad guy!

Silver was great! I don’t know the real name of the horse, but s/he was great! Funny, intuitive, gentle, smart and steadfast, what more could you want. Oh, and very limber and had great balance!

As soon as I heard the music, I knew it was composed by Hans Zimmer, it had remnants of the music from Sherlock Holmes. We were waiting, waiting and finally heard it towards the end of the movie, the Lone Rangers theme! It was awesome, the William Tell Overture is such an iconic piece of music and movie history. (But…I kept hearing Anita Renfroe singing “The Mom Song”
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YYukEAmoMCQ). When you hear the drums and the da, duh, da, you know what’s coming and it was that iconic moment! And anyone who had grown up watching or listening to the Lone Ranger on TV or radio, got goose bumps and very excited! I was glad no one was sitting in front of me, because I was keeping time on the seat!

All in all, I think it was a good movie, told a good story and was a long time coming.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210819/?ref_=hm_ad_t1

{July 6, 2013} Boy how I love me a little fashionista monkey!

I woke up wishing I had taken the day off, oh well.

I started working this morning and luckily, since its a holiday week, it wasn’t too heavy with calls and emails, got caught up. DCM got up eventually and we went to lunch after my one call of the day. Welcome to Moe’s! After lunch, DCM went to see his kids, DCM, KAT, CS, LB and new baby A, lucky dog!

I went back to work and eventually CTS came over to pick up her new lawn mower and we caught up for a bit, it was great! She said that since I said I was moving and moved, we’ve seen each other more than we did before! No complaints here!

A few hours later, I went to meet SDL, her sister, DJL and you guessed it, Miss A!!! Ahhhh…snuggle, hug, kisses all over, bounce, jump, bounce, jump, giggle, snort, snuggle, kiss, hug, jump, bounce and do it all over again. Miss A was cute too!

We met at Texas Roadhouse, the rolls were great and the Caesar salad was tasty, veggies, not so much, but that’s not the main reason we were there. It was great to catch up with SDL and JDL and play and snuggle with Miss A, I got to play with her while her mom ate, then I handed her over and she had dinner, sweet potato, salmon, pork, apple & pomegranate sauce, fall colors!

She was in her normal fashionista fabulousness! Bright, sparkly and put together nicely, with a cute, pink, sparkly bow! Perfect! Made my night to get to spend time together with good friends, always happy when they can make time for me!

{July 4, 2013} I heard that holidays mean relaxing…

Happy Independence Day!

And a BIG THANK YOU to all the men and women who are currently serving and have served in our nations military, so that we can enjoy our freedoms. Hint hint, DCM, DA, CA, KS, MA, just to name a few.

As I mentioned yesterday, CKM and I have volunteered for the Peachtree Roadrace for the last 3 years, this being our 4th, next year, we get a hat and a special 5 year pin! The alarm went off at 3:45am…what? DCM had just gotten home about an hour earlier! (I did snooze for about 10 minutes, it was glorious! Ever notice that the few minutes of snoozing are sometimes more enjoyable than the entire night of sleep!)

Up, dressed and out the door by 4:08, go me! Off to Phipps Plaza to park and check in. We checked in by 5am, got our volunteer T-shirts, (we like them best this year) our pin, clearance badges and Waffle House discount card.

Pack everything we can in our plastic bags inside our bags inside our rain jackets…did I mention it’s been raining in Atlanta all week and there were flash flood warnings until tomorrow? Then we walk to Dante’s Down the Hatch to do our jobs. This consisted of telling the elite runners go this way and everyone else, no entry. Not very exiting or incredibly organized, but since when do CKM and I need something to do when there’s an opportunity to talk!

Next year…new assignment!

After the wheelchair racers went, wicked cooks by the way! Then the elite women, then the elite men, then…the elite volunteers, well, us! We went out after the A group, after finding out that you don’t have to cross the start line to get your time clocked at the end, so off we went! We’d already walked the .2 miles (as that tshirt says…it’s that darn .1/.2 that gets you ever time!) so we were in good company!

All I wanted was to finish before my official corral, P came by! We were hoofing it, getting our groove on! We went by the Moe’s and got tshirts there! (We walked a 10 Queso!) all of a sudden we’re at mile marker 2, then 3, were we faster than last year? I do know that the rain helped, not as hot as past years, but all in all, it felt almost anticlimactic when we got to the finish because we were finishing so early and it felt like no time had passed. We finished the run before our normal start time, how cool!

We held hands and ran across the finish line, got our coveted Tshirts, then went in search of snacks: bagels, bananas, cookies, all the good stuff.

When we left Piedmont Park, we must have walked another 2-3 miles to the MARTA station and instead of taking the train, hopped on a shuttle headed for the train, then…jumped in a cab back to or cars. Two reasons we took a cab… First, it was less hassle than the train and second, CKM had never ridden in a taxi, cross that one off your bucket list!

Got the cars, headed home and took a long hot shower, what a mechia!

Two of DCM’s daughters came over and brought new baby M, to meet his grandpa for the first time. What a doll baby! What a great to see them together, it was love at first site! After what seemed to be a very long time, DCM relinquished the baby to JJ! So soft and sweet!

KAT, DCM, DCM, Baby A and I all hung out and played, chatted and got caught up. I left to go meet CKM AND A for dinner and let DCM have some alone time with his kids.

We met at a Turkish restaurant, shared seem great food, great stories, lots of laughs and then went to see The Heat and we all know how much I liked that!

Now I am home writing to you, dear readers, ready to catch up on some much needs sleep!

{June 29, 2013} Jason Statham

Enough said, right ladies?

I can’t remember the last time there was an actor that when you say his name, women swoon and will go see whatever movie he’s in, just because he’s in it.

For those of you who have not been outside, read a paper, seen a movie or a preview, the Internet or been sleeping for a long time, here is a link to give you an idea of who Jason Statham is.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005458/?ref_=sr_1

Jason Statham started out as a championship diver, yes, I said diver. He was on the British National Diving Team and finished 12th in the World Championships in 1992. He’s been a model, go figure, a salesman and now..an actor.

He’s a ladies man, has that smoldering look that turns women to mush, he wasn’t Handsome Rob for nothing! He’s a man’s man, men can appreciate the way he fights and drives and for the women…of course, there’s that accent, sigh.

He’s got grace in a fight, can smooth talk his way into and out of different situations and even when he’s playing a bad guy, he’s good, you end up rooting for him.

People keep wondering what it is about him, there have been other British actors who do it, but none like him. Hugh Grant is charming and funny, Hugh Jackman is sexy and talented and I love Wolverine, but even he doesn’t garner the same reaction from all women.

Today, I saw something that made me think hmm…Steve McQueen! Steve McQueen was a ladies man, could make you swoon with a look or a grin, a man’s man, could drive like no one else, hmmm..sound like anyone else you know?

Bottom line, heck, just say it with me…

Jason Statham!

You’re welcome.

{June 29, 2013} The Heat

Go see it! Is that enough of a review?

Our cheeks and side hurt so much from laughing!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404463/

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