What I love! | Peaches Prattlings

{April 18, 2013} Making People Laugh

Making someone laugh is great. Hearing a good belly laugh, terrific.

I think you will probably agree, one of the greatest sounds in the world is a child’s laugh. Why else would there be so many videos online,cellphone ringtones.

Are you able to make others laugh? Make yourself laugh? Laugh hard enough to snort? [yeah, the last two are me, more often than not].

I love getting someone to laugh.

I used to make my sister laugh when we were kids with childish body humor, ok, so it was even well into our teens and young adult hood, but we’re sisters, that’s what we do. Now, we share a look, a joke, an inside joke, sometimes, it’s hiding our faces when we don’t want to be seen laughing, is it wrong when a child is having a tantrum and you need to keep a straight face? One of the best laughs my sister and I had in recent years was when her first born was a few months old, and the three of us were in the park, it was wonderful to see her let go and fall apart laughing like that.

My dad has a great sense of humor, he loves to laugh and he can draw the attention of a comic on stage, I guess I take after him. He loves to tell a good joke and to hear one, i know that when I hear a good joke, sometimes I have to call him right away so I don’t forget. I told him one recently that I thought he was going to fall on the floor, even better, we were telling EJ a bedtime story and she made a gesture and said something that reminded us of the joke, and we had a very hard time collecting ourselves, EJ was taken with our laughter and couldn’t help herself, she started giggling and it was hard to stop, just kind of fueled us as well. He and I have laughed at the same things in movies, shared a moment, even a look. Sometimes he’s like my conspirator, it’s fun!

EJ and MG are giggle monsters, just get them in a hug and kiss their necks or snuggle up with them and start to tickle them, it’s non stop laughter and who doesn’t want to hear that! Miss A loves to bounce and have wind blown in her face, tickle her in the right spot, she becomes a snorter, which, in turn, makes me laugh and snort!

I like to make my friends laugh, mostly at my own expense, with dorky stories about myself, but sometimes it’s a shared memory, a look, but mostly…a dorky story about me, who wouldn’t sacrifice themselves for their friends? And shared stories are what we are going to look back on when we’re much much much older, to get us through the tough times and make us smile.

With DCM, we laugh a lot, mostly because we have a similar twisted sense of humor. We might be talking about something and one or the other will make a bad pun, “you had to go there, didn’t you?”. I’ll pull out a movie quote, sometimes at the oddest moments and he will bust out with a good deep belly laugh; while we are in a movie, I will make comments and he can’t help but laugh. Facebook makes us both crack up, his granddaughter LB, makes us laugh, especially when he wants to Facetime with her and she’s looking for me and Elmo, so sad, but also funny. Then, sometimes, when we are sitting together, I realize he’s reading a new post and I know exactly when he’s going to laugh [kind of like he did when he read “you had to go there, didn’t you?]

All I can say is enjoy life and at least once a day, have a laugh!

{April 17, 2013} Homey

Just what I wanted. Tonight was homey and just right.

This morning we checked out of the hotel and came to the apartment that DCM has been living in, it’s the corporate apartment for the company he works for. DCM dropped me and the luggage off, kissed me goodbye and off to the office he went.

I set up shop in the living room on a very comfy chair, mobile desk and got to work, I had a conference call right away. It was snowing all day, still snowing a little as we speak. The time difference is still a bit odd, it’s still light later, I start working earlier so i finish earlier by Mountain Time [3pm here, 5pm in Atlanta], that’s kind of fun! Same number of hours, but if i can fool myself, who am I to burst my bubble?

DCM and I chatted a few times during the day, always a welcome distraction. Then, at the end of my workday, my friend, SRH called to catch up and then DCM was home, that was fun, I told SRH I needed to go, my honey was home, I know, very silly, but it felt good.

We went to the grocery store to pick up food for dinner, couldn’t wait to not go out to eat or eat in the hotel room! We got home, chilled and then cooked dinner. What I really liked…we cooked together. After dinner, we chilled out together, watching some DVR’d shows, both of us on our laptops, geek city! And now, we are sitting back, relaxing on the couch, there is a fire going and we are like a regular couple.

Ah…domestic bliss.

{April 16, 2013} Mother Nature is a fickle woman!

When I told people I would be moving to Colorado, on several occasions, I was told, by different people, bring a change of clothes for every season when you leave the house in the morning!

Apparently, you can have all four seasons happen in one afternoon!

Well, here it is, the middle of April, when, as they say…”April Showers bring may flowers”. No where in that rhyme did they mention snow, let alone a snowstorm!!

I flew into Denver Friday night, it was in the 70s when I left Atlanta and it was in the 50s when I landed. Not too bad, I had worn long sleeves and had two jacket options in my bag, nothing heavy. Saturday was gorgeous! It was in the low to mid 60s, jeans and short sleeve shirt, maybe a light jacket, there was a breeze. Didn’t even need the jacket I took into the movie theater. Nice.

Sunday was a little chillier, but nice, mid 50s; long sleeves, jeans and a light jacket, still a nice day.

I looked at the weather forecast before I left Atlanta, it said lows of 40 and highs of 58 all week. Where was the snowstorm warning? Avalanche warning? It started snowing Sunday evening, with no signs of stopping. Wait, do I hear some music starting? “Oh, the weather outside is frightening…” The snow keeps coming and coming and coming.

Monday morning, it was time to find out what the traffic might be like from where we are staying to the office. Let’s just say, the 30 minute commute turned into over an hour, due to the snow, icy roads and cautious drivers. It only took me about 30 minutes to get back to the hotel. When it was time to go get DCM, there was at least six inches of snow on the truck, had to clean off the truck, something I haven’t done in a LONG time! Didn’t take too long getting to the office to get DCM, cleaned off the truck some more while I was in the parking deck, confused a few people because there was no snow inside the parking deck!

On the way back to the hotel, had to pull over to clear off the wipers, they started icing as we were driving. We got back to the hotel and ordered pizza, we were in for the night! The snow kept coming down, no sign of letting up and even though DCM left really early to the office, still took 1.45 to get there! Snow, ice, freezing… The snow kept coming, we had a total of 16 inches in Boulder! But what? Schools were still open? No rush on the grocery store? Streets were clear? Where am I?

Dorky, yet cool? There is so much snow in the bed of the truck…we put some ice cream back there to keep it cold!

The oddest thing for me? Aside from the winter storm warnings, there were avalanche warnings! No where near where we are, but still, I have never seen that on the news! Things started clearing up, but as we were driving back to the hotel, guess what started coming down? Who knows what tomorrow holds!

No matter what’s going on out there…I’m excited and what did this inspire? I may have to wait until next year, but…I’m ready to get back on the slopes!

{April 13, 2013} Olympus Has Fallen

Today, DCM and I went to see Olympus Has Fallen. I liked it more than I thought I would.

Mike Banning is a disgraced former Presidential guard who ends up in the thick of it when the White House and the President are taken hostage. [Not a spoiler alert, that is what imdb.com says].

I really did like it more than I thought I would. It started out a little slow, you need a back story to explain why Mike is a former Presidential guard and disgraced. I will tell you that it was incredibly violent, there was so much bloodshed and people getting blown up, there were moments that I covered my eyes and ears.

The cast was impressive, Aaron Eckhart played the president, he was introspective, loved his family and this country. Ashley Judd plays his very loving wife, Morgan Freeman is the Speaker of the House, when he has to take command of a situation, you are very impressed, not realizing how good he really is. Dylan McDremott plays another Secret Service Agent in the beginning and then working for the Korean Ambassador later in the movie. Angela Bassett was the Secret Service Director, she was a good strong character, she definitely commanded a situation, was very well respected. Gerald Butler was Mike Banning, a strong, steadfast and true guard, taking his job very seriously, even when he was no longer in the presents employ. He was a combination of Jason Statham, Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, who else can I throw in there? He was a force to be reckoned with!

After the fatalities, the next biggest victim? The White House. How many movies have we seen the White House get blown up, shot, lit on fire, explode? It was sad. I will say, it’s very cool to watch the efficiency in which the Secret Service rallies around the president and goes into lock down mode when the White House is under attack, precision, almost like a dance.

All in all, I recommend the movie, it had bad /cheesy one liners, gun play, explosions, twists [you know, how can he be the bad guy?], neck breaking, fighting and a computer whiz [and what action movie today doesn’t?] what more could you want?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2302755/?ref_=sr_1

{April 12, 2013} A better travel experience

This flight was so much better than the last one.

So, I had an interesting new experience today, I flew Southwest Airlines for the first time. I’m not sure if I liked how they do things. First, you don’t check in online and get your boarding pass, you get your boarding pass at the gate, I’ll get back to that later. When you get to the airport they give you a ticket, of sorts, to get through security, you turn that in at the gate and they give you a boarding pass with a zone on it.

Did I mention that since you don’t have a boarding pass, you don’t get to select a seat, they board in the herding cattle method. Ok, I might be a little harsh, but it felt like that. My zone was C28, that meant that I wasn’t getting on until the C group and in group 25-30, what? If you pay $12.95 online, you can improve your zone option.

This ultimately means that in the C28 zone, I had my choice of middle seats as far as the eye can see. Weehoo…

Ok, so, when you get to the airport, you check in, 2 bags free up to 50 pounds, that was a bonus, they give you a piece of paper and then at the gate, you get your boarding pass and still no sat assignment, what?

I was on the phone with CKM and she couldn’t believe the no seat assignment either. I said I’ve flown on Delta enough to have privileges, I like those privileges, she called me spoiled, I said yes. And I’m I with that

So, the better experience, the flight was my delayed 10 minutes, so not bad. I sat in the middle set next to a woman who seemed to be working on a time sheet invoice most of the flight, we chatted for part of the flight, she had just moved to Atlanta and was still on the fence, she was going back home to Denver for a girls weekend. (Guess where I’m going?)

To my right was Jack, Jackson Lee, a very cute and friendly 10 month old who got a bit restless. He had the biggest blue green eyes and was a big flirt in his blue running pants and superman tshirt. After a white, I changed from the Transformers to Rio, a great cartoon about a bird named Blue, set in Rio, that worked. Then I found some Elmo, like I play with LB and that worked, he held my hand and had so much to say, just have no idea what that was!

When I put the iPad away, he actually reached for me and his mom said it was ok. He was sitting on my lap and we talked and laughed, I blew in his face, just like I do with Miss A and he giggled, what a great sound and his face scrunched up, so cute! Then all of a sudden I was removing his hand, that happened a few times, remember I said he was a flirt!

Then the best thing happened, he reached his little arms around my neck and kissed my cheek and gave me the best hug, that felt so good. Is there a better feeling?

All in all a better flight than the last one, this little guy was a treat, no Preston get off the floor, no Preston stand up, Preston…Preston…Preston.

The BEST part…DCM was there at the airport to pick me up, it’s been 2 weeks since we’ve seen each other and that first hug was heaven. We’ve got a lot to do while I’m here, I’ll keep you posted as we move along.

{April 10, 2013} Siblings Day

Did you know that today is National Siblings Day?

I didn’t until I saw a post on Facebook a few hours ago. Well, that solved the “what am I going to blog about today question?” And just for the record, I don’t have to blog towards midnight, it just seems to work out that way, I think about things during the day, then something comes up and I’m off doing something else and then it’s about 10 and I remember, it’s time to blog.

Back to siblings. Siblings are great, some are born together, some are from the same parents, some are from different parents, some aren’t even from the same parents at all, then there’s brother from another mother, ha ha.

I know there are people out there who don’t have siblings and can’t imagine life with one, take away from their time, their relationship with their parents and then there are some who have multiple siblings and wish they were only children! Even kids like myself, with one sibling, at one time or another wished they were only children!

When you’re kids, it’s a hard lesson when you find out, your younger sibling isn’t going anywhere, they at there for the long haul, you can’t give them away, hide them or sell them, oh well. I myself, found out at one point that I despised my sister, I was getting headaches, the rocks were clanging in my head, couldn’t see the blackboard, all at the same time, I needed glasses and she was there to stay, so deal with it!

On the other hand, I remember when my mom was pregnant with my sister, GES, everyone asked what I wanted, a sister I said proudly! Then I used to tell her she should be lucky, I could have asked for a brother! I remember the ride home from the hospital, I say in the back seat of the green beetle bug (see, beetle love started very early for me!) with my mom, holding my new baby sister in my lap all the way home! There is a great picture of me getting to hold her on my parents bed, I look at it now and it’s like it was yesterday. (ok, GES, I am tearing up as we speak, man, we have turned into mommy!)

I was a few months shy of being four years old when she was born and I knew I was in for a treat, my best friend for life. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all perfect, there were times I tried to leave her behind when friends would come to play, but there were never two more steadfast friends, confidants and conspirators than us. During the summer, there weren’t other kids to play with, so it was us, we shared a room at the summer house and it was great. We’d bike to the library, when we were old enough to go alone, we’d bike to the beach, I still remember holding on to the bike while roller blading, that didn’t end well!

We fought like cats and dogs and we could say horrible things to each other, but no one better say anything against my sister, you have me to deal with. And that’s the way it should be!

My favorite things she would yell at me when she was little…”D, you’re getting on my nervous!”

One of the great things about having a sibling that I wish everyone could experience and realize is that you now have a best friend for life, never take that for granted. I don’t know what my life wold have been like as an only child, glad I never had to find out!

As we got older, I remember my clothes going missing, someone going through my things, borrowing without asking, seeming like she got everything (we all have a flair for the dramatic at that age!)and being annoyed, but inside, so flattered! I left my army jacket when I went to college, I wonder what happened to it! I was at my sister’s house a few weeks ago, the sheets for the bed I was using? My first set of sheets from my college dorm room. I used to type her papers when she was in high school and wrap all the presents. I’m sure she could have done all that, and if she just did it because she wanted her big sister to help, I never complained.

I remember giving her my drivers license when I moved to GA, a friend of hers ended up using it, looked more like me than she did! But people were always telling us we looked alike, our mom had trouble telling our baby photos apart!

I remember little siblings weekend, when she came to stay with me my freshman year, getting to show her off, introduce her to everyone and then visiting her when she was in college, so proud hearing from people how great she was, some things never change!

As we’ve gotten older and grown apart logistically, we still remain steadfast friends and companions and conspirators. We realized we’re maturing, well, sometimes, when we can go more than 4 days without having a fight when we’re together, oh, it used to be 1day, maybe 2 if we were lucky!

We cook together, what feast we put on for Passover! (Shhh…don’t tell the vegans and vegetarians that I will taste most of what we cook, just a taste, I still remember what’s grandma and mommy’s chicken soup tasted like!). We work so well together and then when it’s all said and done, we sit down across from each other, prop our feet in each others laps and rub rub rub!

We laugh together, we cry together, we watch really bad TV together. What more could you want? One of the best things, I am getting to watch my sister become a wife and a mother and we far as mothers go, what a great one! I’m at every birthday, help plan and set them up, when I can, sometimes even channeling her when talking to her kids. I get to read night night books, stifle laughs when there is a tantrum (the kids, not her!) and get to marvel at what a fantastic job she has done with her kids, someone everyone could look up to. And I love those times when she lets go, doesn’t take herself too seriously and laughs at herself, well, I can’t laugh at her alone!

We may not see each other or talk on the phone other very often, but the time we do get is special and I value and treasure it. I know a lot of time when she texts “FaceTime?” It’s because of my nieces, but I still get to see my sister and I love that. She has been there for me through some tough times and I appreciate her so much for that and even better when she gets riled up on my behalf!

So, as it is National Siblings Day, I would like to give a big hello, a giant hug, huge smile and a whole lotta love to my baby sister, GES. I love you.

{April 4, 2013} The Place Beyond The Pines

Or as I like to call it…two hours and fifteen minutes of my life I’m not getting back.

It wasn’t that bad, but the best part of the movie was the cookie CKM got me and it was ok. It was vegan (just a coincidence, but not as good as the gluten free lemon bars she made!) well, actually, the best part about the movie, it was free! Thanks CKM!

The movie is billed with Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Ray Liotta and Eva Mendes in the top billing. I thought because of the movie posters and trailers that Ryan Gosling was going to be in it a lot longer. I have to say, they did a great job making Bradley Cooper look 29 in the beginning of the movie. Ryan Gosling is a traveling carnival motorcycle wonder, he finds out that a waitress he was with a year ago had a baby (not a spoiler alert) and he wants to stick round and do right by him.

Bradley Cooper is a rookie cop with bigger ideas for his future, Ray Liotta is the seasoned cop and Eva Mendes is the waitress and the makeup on her was great, she looked like crud! (Besides Corina Corina, has Ray Liotta played a good guy? Someone we could root for?)

Each main character, Gosling and Bradley has a one year old son, how they feel about them, towards them, take care of them and deal with an incident. About 2/3 of the way through the movie, we jump 15 years and here, so a to not have a spoiler alert…guess who ends up meeting.

All in all, it seemed to take a long time to get somewhere, it wasn’t for me, but it was still fun for a night out.

One of the best lines…there is a boy who was raised by his stepfather and when he asks about his “real dad” the dad says (in his best Darth Vader..I am your father… And I know every single one of you said it in your heads or out loud with that voice!)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1817273/?ref_=sr_1

Since this was a movie review, I would like to say a fond farewell to Roger Ebert who passed away today. There was a great picture in Facebook…a sunset with two silhouettes, Roger Ebert says, “Hey Gene, brought popcorn” Gene Siskel says “Roger, I’ve been saving you a seat”. Two thumbs up I say.

{March 31, 2013} Castle

As I have probably mentioned, I don’t have cable and if I haven’t, pull your chin back up, not everyone has TV! I say that I don’t have cable because when I say I don’t have TV, most people think I mean I don’t have a TV, just means I don’t have cable.

Now don’t cry for me Argentina, ha ha. I have a TV and I have a DVD carousel that holds up to 400 DVDs and CDs, there are about 350 movies in it and more on the outside (if I put each series in, there would be no room left!), then there are the movies on my two portable hard drives. See…I’m doing just fine, movie wise!

I also have Netflix and Hulu, lucky me! I watch movies on both or I find a TV show that I like and watch the entire series.

I have watched Castle in the past a few times, but I don’t think it was one of the ones I DVR’d when I had cable (possibly, but I don’t remember) and I watch it when I visit my sister, she DVR’s and we watch together.

I found it on Hulu (grrr commercials) and watched this season, now I want more and it only has season 5, bummer. Netflix doesn’t have it, where to look.

Castle is about Richard Castle, an award winning crime novelist who consults with the NYPD, much to their chagrin in the beginning, but as time and cases go on, he becomes a valuable asset to the department and the team he works with. They become more than partners, they become a family.

There are three other main characters in the department, Beckett, the future love interest (spoiler alert?), Esposito and Ryan. There are others that stay for a season, but these three are the team. At home is Castles’s daughter Alexis and his mother, Martha, an actress.

The crimes are inventive, sometimes inspiration for his books, possibly even from his books, the one liners are cheesy as all get out, you might cringe, but you still laugh. (You might have already thought it, you just weren’t going to say it out loud!) Castle will give a new insight or perspective of the crime that might be slightly unconventional, helps add something to the case.

Sometimes there may be a cliff hanger, but in the end, everything works out, it’s a one out drama, dramedy? after all. I recommend it, at least you can find season 5 on Hulu.

{March 28, 2013} Passover Recipes…As promised!

The food from the Passover Sedar is so wonderful. I wanted to share the recipes with you.

Please let me know if you have questions and enjoy!!!

[I have to find the recipe for chicken soup, I do know it has raw chicken, lots of water, parsley, salt, carrots, celery, parsnips, turnips, sometimes consume and bouillon. We have tried to make matza balls from scratch, we were not successful, so we made them from a box and we are ok with that!]

Beef brisket [5 people – 4pounds]
Season the day before
Cover brisket with granulated garlic and ketchup
chop an onion and add to pan filled with 1/2 inch of water
bake at 325 for 3 hours.

Turkey
1 onion
Orange Juice
granulated garlic
Take inards from both ends. Cut onion in 1/2, place inside cavity.
Pour orange juice all over the bird and in cavity, leave 1/2 inch in
bottom of pan.
Sprinkle garlic all over and inside. Cover with aluminum foil tent.
After 2 hours, baste every 1/2 hour [1 lb per person; 20 min/lb]
last 1/2 brown by removing aluminum

Champagne Turkey
1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and
giblets removed
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 apples, cored and halved
1 tablespoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 (750 milliliter) bottle champagne
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Rinse turkey, and pat dry. Gently loosen turkey breast skin, and insert pieces of butter between the skin and breast. Place apples inside the turkey’s cavity. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Place turkey in a roasting bag, and pour champagne over the inside and outside of the bird. Close bag, and place turkey in a roasting pan.
3. Bake turkey 3 to 3 1/2 hours in the preheated oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees F (85 degrees C) when measured in the meatiest part of the thigh. Remove turkey from bag, and let stand for at least 20 minutes before carving.

Veggie Patties
These were a big hit! We got them from a kids Passover recipe list!

2 cups zucchini, broccoli and/or cauliflower [we didn’t use cauliflower]
1/2 cup matzo meal
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
canola or vegetable oil
Accompaniments: Marinara sauce, ketchup or mustard [we thought duck sauce would work well too]

Place the veggies in a food processor, pulse to chop fine. Add the chopped veggies to a bowl with flour, salt, egg, basil and garlic powder. Mix to combine. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, place 1 tablespoon of batter into the pan for each pancake.
Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side.

We tripled the recipe for 30 patties.

Crispy Potato and Leek Roast
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
4 shallots, thickly sliced, lengthwise
4 medium leeks, sliced thin and rinsed well
Coarse salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes [optional – we didnt use them]
8 sprigs thyme

Preheat oven to 375. Brush bottom of a round 9-inch baking dish with olive oil. With a sharp knife or mandolin, slice potatoes very thinly crosswise. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish. Wedge shallots throughout [it would have been better if we’d place the shallots between more slices of potato] Sprinkle with salt and pepper flakes [if using] brush with remaining olive oil. Bake 1 1/4 hours, add thyme and leeks and bake until potatoes are cooked through with a crisp top, about 35 minutes more.
Matza Apple Kugel
6 matzas
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons margarine, softened
1 cup soaked raisins
1/2 chopped peacans [optional – I never add nuts]
2 granny smith apples, grated

Preheat oven to 400. break matza into small pieces, place in a medium sized bowl and cover
with hot water, wait one minute and drain.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, add sugar, vanilla, raisins, [peacans] and apples. Mix with the matza. Pour into greased 3-qt cassarole. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, dot with margarine.
Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, lower to 300 and bake for another 20 minutes. Great warm or cold
[This is my FAVORITE dish for passover!]

Macaroons
1-1/3 cups Bakers Angel Flake Coconut
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp matzo meal
1/8 tsp salt
2 egg whites [I made a batch with 2 eggs and the only difference is they came out a little cakier]
1/2 cup almond extract [I use vanilla extract since GES is SERIOUSLY ALLERGIC to almonds]
18 Planters almonds [again, I don’t add almonds, just as good]

Preheat oven to 325. Mix coconut, sugar, matzo meal and salt in a large bowl. Stir in egg whites and almond/vanilla extract until well blended.
DROP teasponfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto lightly greased baking sheets. Press almonds
into center of each cookie.
Bake 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.Immediately remove from baking sheets. Cool on wire racks

Matza Brittle
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup chopped nuts [optional – and i never add nuts]

Line a jelly roll pan with tin foil [I cover the sides of the pan, this helps with clean up big time!]
Place a layer of matza in the pan.
In a saucepan, combine butter and sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes. Pour over crackers, bake at 350 for 5 minutes or until crackers float. Remove from oven . When cools, break into pieces.

There are almost never any leftovers!

[for those who keep kosher for Passover more strictly, I have never used margarine, sorry]
This recipe was originally made with saltines, you can also add chocolate chips when it comes out of the oven]
[sprinkle chocolate chips when the pan comes out of the oven, when melted, sprinkle nuts on top, cut into bars]

{March 27, 2013} Bittersweet

Today I came home.

The day started very early, well, not very early if you have an almost 3 and a 6 year old. Get dressed, kids in the car, drop mommy off at the choo choo, come back for auntie J, go to school, drop off lunch in the kindergarten room, drop off MG in the toddler room, hugs and kisses, because I didn’t think I would see them again that day. “Poppa, could you pick us up right after lunch? People do that, it would, be good.”

On the way back to the house, stopped at Zaftig’s, a great restaurant, for breakfast. They have some great shirts, “Happy Challadays”, “Does this bagel make my butt look big?”. Zaftig is a nice/tender way of saying fat. I had a Wisconsin apple, Vermont cheddar cheese omelet, wow! Sounded suspect, but tasted delicious!

Back at the house, conference calls, issue tracking, work work work. Pack my bag, I left a bunch of gifts, only brought back a new jacket and monopoly that GES gave me, the bag was 2 pounds lighter than when I left, what?

Off to get the girls! “You didn’t pick us up after lunch” “Well, it was after lunch, just not right after lunch”. I want a snack, I don’t want that snack, well, that’s what there is and you can get something else when you get home.

We’re going to the airport? Yeah! MG “I want to go to the airport with you”, then, “I want to go on the airplane with you, I want to go with you”. “One day you will come with me, we’ll have a great time”.

We got to the airport and she really wanted to go with me. The tears started, oh how hard to leave! Kisses and run away! Poppa was smart, he brought two iPads to keep them occupied on the way home. When I talked to him later, he said the girls missed me, but luckily, I’ll see them again soon, via FaceTime and then for MG’s birthday.

It was bittersweet…hard to watch the tears, but it made me feel so good. I do love those girls!

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