What I love! | Peaches Prattlings

{June 18, 2017} Amsterdam…Day 2!

I know, creative titles here!

I slept in! Wow, first morning to sleep past 530/6am in three weeks! Wahoo! Go time difference!

Dad and LaLa arrived in Amsterdam and called me when they got to their hotel. I got up, showered, packed and headed out on the ferry to meet them. Their room wasant ready, the only drawback to arriving in a new destination early morning, the rooms aren’t always ready.

I met them for breakfast and a wall around, looking at the sites, bikes and boats. When the room was ready, they settled in for some rest and a shower.

During this time, GES, ACS, MGS and EJS had landed and were heading to the air bnb we were staying in for the week. I grabbed by bags and headed in that direction.

MGS was under the weather, so they took turns going out to explore and stretch their legs. Eventually dad and LaLa arrived, actually with GES and ACS, they had found each other wandering towards each other, go figure!

We decided to stay in for dinner, it was nice, ACS cooked and we ate. Good food, conversation and family. Doesn’t matter where you are, as long as you’re together. Nice spending Father’s Day together.

After dinner i walked dad ahe LaLa back to their hotel and wandered for a few hours taking in the sites, trying not to get high walking by every coffee shop in the city!

It really is a stunning city!

{June 17, 2017} Amsterdam!!! Day one!

If you didn’t already know, mostly because I didn’t tell you or give you clues, I’m in Amsterdam!

Land of water, windmills, wooden shoes and weed. Yup, weed, that’s what everyone mentions when I say I’m going, well, a lot of people!

Dad is turning 75 this summer and when we asked where he wanted to go, Amsterdam. He hasn’t been since the 70s, GES and ACS were here a few years ago for a weekend and the rest of us, LaLa, EJS, MGS and I haven’t been, it’s been on my list for a long tome.

Location…check, dates…check, passports… check! More like phew for me! But furst stamp…Amsterdam! Sounds good to me!

I landed about 9am, eventually got off the plane, got my bag, it was a long walk to carousel 18! Caught a train, then a ferry to my hotel. Getting aquainted like the locals already!

Dropped my bags and went exploring. Near the hotel was a street art exhibit, mostly graffiti and anyone who knows Mr knows how much I love it! Only good thing about PSM not being here at the moment, i don’t have to feel bad dragging him with me to find it!

There was another exhibit inside a factory which was fabulous as well.

After admiring the artwork and seeing some of the artists at work, back on the ferry into the heart of the city.

I walked around, now hungry and found Juice Brothers, they had acai bowls and vegan ice cream! Going back this week for sure!
I did exactly what i like to do when I first get to a new place, wander. And I did, eventually I found a park and just sat. I looked at the people, sat by the canal, saw the parties, picnics, sun bathers, read a little and did what half of the people were doing…zzzz then when it got too warm, found the shade of a tree and zzzz…

Got up again, walked some more, found a place for a cup of mint tea, just leaves in a glass, genius, one of my favorite ways for a cup of tea! They had a wc, best news!

Wander, wander, wander… looked for a place for dinner on my Happy Cow app and found a great, teeny place for dinner and made friends waiting, two guys from Australia we live and work together in London. Brody and Shane were lovely and invited me to join them, we talked work, travel, food. Fabulous!

Lastly, it was time to wander in the direction of the ferry, it was about 930pm by now and I wasn’t sure if i was tired or not, but my feet had other ideas!

So, in bed, looking at the water, thinking about tomorrow and considering if i start my post cards now or tomorrow!

Adventure awaits!

Goede nacht en aangename dromen!

{June 16, 2017} It’s travel time!!

It’s Friday, I didn’t go to the gym, but for some reason my body decided I should be up at 530am, seriously?

After waking up every few hours, I had enough and got out of bed. Pack, shower, get ready to go. I packed for this week on Wednesday, so I wouldn’t have to think about it this morning. I have to say, I’m oppressed by the way because ecause is my appointment appointment appointment appointment appointment appointment for a whole lot lot more than the epic and taped I don’t usually pack until the night before I leave! When I left home the last time, I packed for two and a half months, including two vacations!

Packed, drop off bags at the next hotel, off to the office, get the class ready for next week, with my co – trainers, wrap up some stuff in the office, lock up my laptop and head to the airport!

Remember my trip to NYC for my birth certificate? The expedited passport adventure? All in the same week? Well, all leading up to this moment!

Tomorrow, you’ll find out where I’m going! For now, wheels up! Bon Voyage!

Goede reis! Heb een geweldige nacht!

{June 15, 2017} A great work outing

Tonight, after work, I went out to meet coworkers and the client for a happy hour.

I don’t know why they call it a happy hour, it lasts a lot longer than that!

Had a really good day training, after a tough training session at the gym, good questions, responses, engagement by the participants. One of the students even and me to stay after class and help her, that felt great!

Then it was off to happy hour! I got there and on my way to say hello to DLP, I was stopped to chat, then I went to get some food, with the intention of going back to the drink I ordered, I started talking to someone wasn’t very familiar with, as I’m usually in the field and he’s in the office during the week.

We talked movies, kids, tv shows, movies, Star Wars and you know what that means to true fans…quotes, sounds, memories, laughter and much more! Really great to not talk about work with co – workers!

We were joined by MS, then AK and talked about movies, kids and business travel, that was a big topic of discussion! Get a bunch of road warriors and you can’t get away from it. It’s nice to have common stories and interests. And…SG is Lifetime Diamond with Hilton, wow! That means ten years of Diamond status…ah..a girl can dream!

Then it was off to the next happy hour, we were very happy! Stayed for a while then off to the hotel. I had to pack and get ready for tomorrow!

I can’t wait to tell you what I’m doing or better yet, where I’m going! Pictures, stories, fun to come!

This picture is my idea of a happy hour

{June 13, 2017} A vegan at a BBQ joint!

A new restaurant with DLP, Southern Cut Barbecue.

It just so happens the restaurant is in the hotel I’m staying in this week. We met after I went to the gym at our new favorite nail salon. Claws and paws done, time for food.

We headed to my hotel to drop my bag and decided to eat there. There wasn’t much for me, but I found a very yummy salad, kale and brussel sprouts with cranberries and sliced almonds. For the meat eaters, it did come with bacon.

We started with fabulous deviled eggs with asparagus and truffles, very tasty. DLP had brisket, said it was quite tasty. Round it out with a baked potato and sweet potato with candied walnuts.

A very nice meal at a nice place and the vegan was happy. Go figure…a happy vegan at a BBQ joint!

{June 9, 2017} Happy birthday GES

My baby sister… Well, she’ll always be my baby sister, no matter how old she gets.

And each year she gets older, I get to watch her grow even more fabulous, as a person, wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend.

She’s smart, funny, silly, goofy, stubborn, methodical, a planner, steadfast, loyal, a good listener, silly, fun to be around. I could go on but this part would be a mile long! She’s my sister, I’m biased of course!

June 9th is a great day in history, so many great people were born on June 9th, Donald Duck, Johnny Depp, Natalie Portman, Mike Ryba and Cole Porter, she’s in good company!

A few great things happened this date in history.

In 1948 – Foundation of the International Council on Archives under the auspices of the UNESCO. In 1973 – In horse racing, Secretariat wins the U.S. Triple Crown. And in 1934 – Donald Duck makes his debut in The Wise Little Hen. In 2017 – GES’ big sister, me, got to spend her birthday with her little sister.

And the most important date in history, June 9, 1975, I became what I was meant to be, a big sister, GES was born. I will never forget waiting for mommy to come home from the hospital, going to get her and holding my baby sister in the back seat of the VW Beetle Bug [and you thought my love of these cars started with mine!]. And it’s been an amazing ride ever since.

Happy birthday baby sister, I love you. I can’t wait to see what this next year holds!

{June 8, 2017} Bad form Delta

This hasn’t happened in a while, but it did and now I’m torqued.

Anyone who knows me, knows I’m loyal to Delta and this won’t stop me from flying with them and being loyal, just right now, grrr.

The first thing that happened is something was wrong with my boarding pass on the app, after standing in line, waited my turn, had to go back to print a ticket, ok, that worked.

First flight was fine. Arrive in Detroit, gate A4, next flight leaves in a little over an hour from gate A2, sweet! But wait…

Just after I use the facilities, I double check the board, flight is now leaving from A77, seriously? Ok, fine, I start walking. No time to stop to get food, the lines were ridiculous. So, no food.

I got to A77 and the gate board says Ft Lauderdale, what? I ask the gate agent. Sorry, that flight has been changed to A2. WHAT? When did that happen? 6 minutes ago. Seriously? The boards still say A77.

I take the train to A15, walk to A2, 5 minutes later I get notice from Delta. Seriously? [Bright side? Fitbit said I’m an overachiever!]

I made it, got on the plane, we left late, go figure…

All I have to say on this one… bad form Delta.

{June 8, 2017} It’s done! It’s official! I can leave the county!

Wahoo! Passport in hand, I can flee the country when I need to. Or just go on a trip.

I tell people, jokingly, that I keep my passport with me because you never know when you’re going to have to flee the country!

After everything I went through on Monday, I was prepared with my birth certificate, copies of my birth certificate, I’D, credit card and to the passport office I went.

Through security, remove jewelry, shoes, headphones, sunglasses, 9th floor, phone on silent, get in line. Greeted, get in another line, get a number, have a seat.

About thirty minutes later, number called, go to window, answer yes to a lot of questions, give credit card. Get receipt and special receipt to come back between 3-4pm to pick up the passport.

Back to work, three o’clock back to the passport office, get a new number, wait ten minutes and now…

I can leave the country! Look out world!

{June 7, 2017} I’m a wonder woman but…

Now I want to be Wonder Woman!

Tonight, DLP and I went to see the latest installment of super hero movies, on the DC side, Wonder Woman.

Wow.

Yup, that’s all I have to say, wow. It’s all about the backstory, how Diana became Wonder Woman, the island, hidden, the Amazons, the gods, the training, the Warriors, the secrets, lies, the thing that everyone in the audience and on the island knew but no one would tell Diana.
There’s that solitary, all women life on the island, interject a man, the great scene is when he gets out of the bath and she’s more interested in his watch then the naked parts. I love when there is a movie with beings from another world, and we, mere mortals, have to explain things…sometimes it’s a little uncomfortable.

There were a few times that it felt a little Captain America-ish, only because you had a hero or heroin, as it were, from another time or place, amongst the world of Modern Men, and she had a shield. Not hating on Wonder Woman by any means just a comparison.

The hard part, is here we are again, the war to end all wars, the big bad Germans and the ragtag bunch fighting them because they can save it all. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it and that was the era of those stories.

As for the ragtag bunch, a great combination, a drunk, sharpshooting Scotsman, a Master of Disguise, an Indian chief thief, pilot and an Amazon woman, what could go wrong?

Does Chris Pine ride a motorbike in all his movies?

The costumes were great, with all the hubbub about Wonder Woman’s outfit and speculation, it kicked arse! It was the Wonder Woman costume we know with a little metallic, Iron Man flare, material wise that’s it!

Compassion, strength, fortitude, honor, duty, responsibility, belief, love. Yeah, that about sums it up.

Two great quotes:

I can save today. You can save the world. That’s Steve Trevor to Diana.

It’s about what you believe. And I believe in love. Only love will truly save the world.

{June 4, 2017} A great weekend

Laid back, but full.

I got to dad’s Friday night, Saturday I got up and headed to Queens to see one of my oldest friends and her family.

Ok this term has come up a lot lately and what I find is, as we get older, saying “one of my oldest friends” starts to sound like my friends and I are old! Not so. These are friends we’ve known the longest! But that takes longer to say!

So, back to Saturday. I drove out to Queens to see CGS, we met at a local diner near her house. She was with her youngest, after we got a table, her husband Joined us, then two more kids, her oldest was still sleeping, as a teenager should be doing!

We realized we have known each other 32 years!!! What? We were just in high school, not possible! She was actually pregnant with her first at my wedding! He kept making his presence known! And the dress she wore… it’s how she told me a few years later she was pregnant again!

We had breakfast, talked for a while, then went back to their house, it’s a new place since I was last at their place. A great space, much better suited for them. We talked and laughed, eventually everyone but the youngest, CGS and I went to a baseball game. That left us to talk more, laugh more, go down memory lane a little.

Then the three of us went to the park, got some dinner, back to the park, back to the house and then we realized it was almost 10pm, time to go! Hugs, kisses, promises of visits and maybe a girls weekend…

What a fabulous time! Had it been a year since we’d seen each other? Didn’t feel like it!

Today, breakfast with dad ahe LaLa, they headed out to their fun afternoon and I went to a very good Sri Lankan restaurant to meet another “old friend”, WM, he even remembered exactly when we met! February 24, 1990, what a memory!

We have been friends who have been in and out of each other’s lives here and there but when we talk, no time had passed. I regret that I wasn’t able to get to his wedding. I promised to be at the renewal!

His wife, NSM, is smart, funny, attractive, caring, understanding and she loves nt friend, what more could I ask for? Their girls, H2, twins and eleven years old, what a pair! Outgoing, gregarious, smart, funny, clever, enthusiastic, loving life, wow!

When I met them for the first time, they both hugged me, I wasn’t expecting that, but welcomed it fully. They talked to me, told me jokes, about school, boys, they’re dumb, by the way…love it!

We talked, caught up, got to know each other, laughed, talked about the future, travel, I’m not sure we missed anything!

We talked about our families, his mom, who I loved. I used to call and visit her even when he wasn’t around, she was a very special person. The girls were one when she passed, but they love looking at her pictures and talking about her, they said she was sunshine and light. They told me a while later I was sunshine and light, I’m in good company.

I hated for our time to come to an end, but it did. Hugs, kisses and promises to keep in touch more and don’t let another 10 treats go by between visits. I for one would like to keep that promise!

Back home, dad and LaLa were hanging out, we had some dinner, yes, I was hungry again, we had eaten three hours earlier!

Then friends, H&L T, came over for a visit, so great to see them. My dad and HT taught together so many moons ago. Catch up on family, grandkids, travel, life.

Then it was time to put on jammies, pack, relax and get ready for tomorrow. Stuff to do and travel!

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