What I love! | Peaches Prattlings

{April 2, 2017} I’m saved! Vegan pizza!

I’m in Breckenridge and let’s just say, as hippy dippy as it is trendy and it’s Colorado, the vegan pickins are slim. To none…

I used my fabulous Happy Cow app and found Piante Pizzeria, the only vegan option in town. Plenty of veg – friendly, this was vegan! Off I went.

It’s got a nice atmosphere, cozy and intimate, there are only about six, maybe eight tables, and four spots at the bar, which is where I sat, facing the open brick oven.

I am always skeptical, even when it says vegan, so I always ask on the first few things, then I’m good. It didn’t even register that it was 100% vegan when I walked in and when I asked my favorite question “can you feed a vegan?” Enthusiastic yes was the response!

Now, I don’t know how many people in the place were actual vegans or with a vegan or just up for a new experience. Who cares! Everyone was enjoying themselves.

They had three appetizers, the rest of the menu was salad and pizza, I really liked that. They use cashew cheese and have daiya cheese for anyone with a cashew allergy, but we know how feel about daiya cheese. I was happy. They even have vegan New York cheesecake, but I was full!

I didn’t really read the entire menu, I found what I was looking for…a white pie! Really? Sold! It’s my favorite pizza and something I cannot get anymore. Sigh.

I looked at it, realized it had mushrooms and nixed those. What I didn’t realize until it was about to go into the oven…arugela.

What? A white pie us just that, white on white on white. Olive oil, garlic, ricotta cheese and mozzarella, that’s it. White.

I didn’t let them make me another, it would be fine. I could see spinach or basil, just not sure about the salad. I was ready for a new adventure.

It came out and did not disappoint. The cheese was creamy and melted, the garlic was tasty and the crust nice and crisp. Did I wait like I should have to not burn the roof of my mouth? Of course not! This is going to annoy me for days! Ouch!

I ate half and although I knew I could eat the rest, I decided to not pig out and took it with me. Any guesses what’s for lunch tomorrow?

I got to chat with the guy making the pizzas, said he’s only eaten these vegan pizzas and lost ten pounds? What? If that worked, I’d move in! He was fun to chat with, almost like not eating alone!

The wait staff is terrific and friendly and on the way out I had the opportunity to talk with the owner’s wife, a really lovely, genuine person.

I liked their version of repurposing items. The giant sauce cans were pizza stands and they have a small library, which they bring your check in to the table, very clever!

If you have the opportunity to be in Breckenridge and you’re looking for vegan, pizza or something different, check them out. They’ve been open since January 27th and I expect they’ll be doing some great things in the future! I look forward to my next trip to Breck!

https://piantepizzeria.com

{April 1, 2017} This is too cool!!

I la la la love Ms. Pacman!

No idea why Google Maps is doing this, but, it’s awesome!

I was on Facebook and someone posted “Go to Google maps!” I thought… why not! When I got there, Ms. Pacman was there waiting for me!

When I was a kid, I discovered Ms. Pacman and it’s been a wonderful relationship ever since! My dad, sister and I used to take half hour piano lessons at the JCC when we were kids. There was a stand-up Ms. Pacman machine there! I volunteered to drake the first lesson and here’s why… if I took the first lesson, I had an hour to play Ms. Pacman!

I have trouble walking by a Ms. Pacman machine without putting in a quarter to play! One day, I hope to have one of my own! Sigh…

Go, check out Google maps, have fun! Chomp, chimp, chomp!

{March 29, 2017} Did I just hear what I thought I did?

Ever been somewhere the walls are really thin?

One of my first apartments in Atlanta had walls so thin I could hear people next door playing the electric guitar without sound and brushing their teeth.

I may have mentioned that I pretty much live in hotels being on the road 100% for work. Well, some of those walls are, let’s say thin.

You hear a lot of things in hotels. Music, tv, people talking heatedly, having sex. To be fair, the sex one makes sense because people can get loud, it’s annoying when you’re trying to sleep, but there you go.

Well, I was walking by a room the other day and all I heard was someone farting! Not really what I ever expected to hear as i walked by! For some reason I found this quite humorous in an old, historic, fancy hotel, just seemed out of place.

I’m not disparaging the person for doing it, I was just surprised and it turned me into a little kid who found this incredibly funny!

I had been texing ST and he was quite punny about it, said it should definitely be a blog post. 50 Shades of Smell…The Bathroom Diaries. I said don’t stop, you’re on a roll [tp]. Yuck yuck yuck…[oh my, i just realized what I typed! I meant it as a laugh, not a reaction! Ha ha ha!]

{March 28, 2017} It’s never easy to say goodbye.

My very dear friends lost a furry treasured member of their family.

I say friends, they’re my family and my heart hurts for them tonight. Divit was a very sweet dog, he came to A&L K’s family eleven years ago. I still remember the day he came home, he was small and brown and scared. But curious, loving and wanting to fit in to his new family.

He was joining Jazz, his new older sister, a very sweet black lab and three two legged sisters who adored him immediately. This dog could jump! He used to drive the family crazy, jumping over the fence, the fence being over six feet high! Think this made his new prayers nuts!?

But he settled in quite well and loved his new family, including yours truly, Auntie J. He would greet me when I came to the house, didn’t bark, would snuggle and even say for me when I had to help remove a tick!

He was a great comfort to his family when Jazz passed and welcomed his new sisters, Twinkie and Yoohoo a few years later.

A while ago, the family received some sad news about Divit, he had a tumor. He was given a few months to live and the family made the most of that time. Trips to the beach in Florida, walks as long as he could take it, ice cream and all the love he could handle.

When I was down in GA the last time, we snuggled, hung out and had long talks and I told him that the family would be ok, they had his sisters and I would keep an eye on them for him. I had a feeling that would be the last time I saw him and it was.

The other ready, LK texted me to let me know, I had asked her to. It was going to be at 4pm yesterday that he would cross over the Rainbow Bridge and when I texted a little while before then, she told me his last meal was French fries and ice cream and I’ll bet he was happy. He looked it in the pictures she sent.

The vet gave each family member a Hershey kiss to say goodbye.

And then he was gone. I’m glad I had the chance to say goodbye and give him some auntie love.

Divit will be missed, remembered and loved. Right now, he’s probably chasing Jazz around. Hugs to my family.

{March 27, 2017} A great day…swish, swoosh, no ouch!

My second day on Park City, Utah was a success!

I got up liesurely, wrapped my ankle, nice and snug, got some breakfast, requested a late checkout and headed back to the slopes.

It was great! The sun was shining, the powder packed in some places and off I went swishing and swooshing. I listened to Five Guys Named Moe, didn’t quite cut it, so Nickelback to the rescue, I needed the kick.

I took my time in some places, speed in others and I probably got in about 6 runs. Then I looked at the time, knew I needed to leave about 12pm, head back to shower, pack and head out. There wasn’t a slope that went directly to the base, so I took the connector chair, fun!

The signs for the slopes said No Easy Way Down, ok, here goes nothing.

About that time, I hit some slushy stuff and did the snowplow most of the way down until I got to the bottom where the snow was packed.

Got in the bucket back down, noticing all the green, you fluid possibly play golf while others skied! Back to the hotel, shower, pack and headed to a ski store for a better ski bag, this one has wheels! Much easier for travel, now I feel like I’m for real!

Looking forward to the next trip, who knows when!

{March 26, 2017} Swish…woosh…then ouch

I decided to try a new place to ski, Park City, Utah, it a beautiful place.

I’m staying at a Hampton Inn about six miles from the lift, nice and convenient. I parked right in front of the bucket lift that takes you to the gondola that takes you to the other lifts. That just sounded silly. They have a gondola that you put your skis on the outside while you go up the mountain, it’s nice, along with the people to put on and take off the skis!

At the top, I skied to the first chair lift, skied down, took the next lift and it went on that way for a bit. I stuck to the blue square runs since I haven’t been here before.

I got to one spot and looked up a small slope, what? Then I saw the tow rope, whew! I was relieved, especially since I don’t have poles with me.

I was not far from the base, I found that out shortly, good thing, when I wiped out. It happens, I was upright one minute swishing and swooshing down the slope and next thing, I was on my back looking at the sky. Huh?

I shook my head, looked back and saw my one ski a little way up the hill. I stood up, realized one of if the things poles are really useful for… releasing your boots from your skis!

I got my other ski back, put them both on, which, as you might know, is not easy to do on a slope! As I stared to ski back down to the base, I realized my ankle was throbbing a bit. I thought it might be a good idea to have someone look at it.

I skied to the base, found out where the clinic was. I declined ski patrol coming to get me, it seemed silly. The doctor, nurse and about six ski patrol folks were sitting around, a little bored.

The doctor looked at my ankle and confirmed what I had been thinking. Elevate, ice, ibuprofen and I should be fine. One of the ski patrol drove me back to my car, I went to Wal-Mart to pick up an ace bandage and some zip-lock baggies to hold ice.

So, here I sit, in the living room of my hotel room, foot propped yup, watching a Law and Order: SVU marathon, doing something I never get to do, relax!

Tomorrow, fingers crossed, I am going yo hit the slopes again for a few hours before I fly back to Chicago.

{March 25, 2017} I can sleep anywhere, anytime… and he proved it!

I used to be like that…sigh, I miss those days.

Yesterday, I flew to Salt Lake City. I sat next to a nice guy heading home to Lake Tahoe. We talked tech, movies, skiing, travel, pets, smartphones. He asked why I didn’t have an iPhone, being such a techie. I love my answer!! “I’m allergic to apples!!!!” Muwahaha!

We also talked about sleeping and sleeping on flights. I mentioned that I don’t sleep much or on my flights and he said he could sleep anywhere and he did…

I asked him if he wanted to stop talking so he could get some sleep, he said no and about thirty minutes later I look over and he’s out…

He woke up when we landed and had a good laugh.

{March 23, 2017} Hello energy vampire… you win!

Oh my! Have you ever dealt with an energy vampire?

Do you even know what an energy vampire is? An energy vampire is someone who sucks the energy out of you or out of the room.

As a trainer, I deal with all sorts of people and attitudes all the time. I was on a project at a hospital once and a doctor, who was also the department head said “we’re all just overgrown teenagers, don’t let us get to you!” That actually helped with some groups.

I don’t stress out or get offended by what people say, in terms of the applications I am teaching, there are a lot of reasons they may be resistant. Some pout, some come kicking and screaming, some give you that look, you know, “ok show me something, prove yourself”, you know, teenagers! Now, other are polite and let me walk them through things and sometimes they learn a something, ya never know!

The thing you remember, it’s not me they’re directing this at, I’m just the wall they’re slinging at. They don’t know me personally, I’m the one they’re taking their feelings out on. None of it has stopped me or scared me off, I keep coming back.

Recently two people really tested me. They exhausted me, sucked my energy, scwooooop [sucking sound, ha ha].

One never stopped talking while I was trying to show them the system. This person kept clicking buttons on the screen, “I usually do this and this and that and this and that” it went on for a minute…even when people are experienced, sometimes I can tell them something they didn’t know or maybe give them a trick or two or a shortcut. This person had no time or interest, not even as a courtesy, so I stepped back and said, “you do what you normally do and I’ll watch, ask me questions if you have any”.

The other person was very self important and very knowledgeable in a lot of areas, but not 100% in one of the things I was showing them. Didn’t matter, they were going to tell me what they thought every step of the way and how they did this and that and this makes no sense and why do we do that, not efficient. They also seemed to hate their keyboard! Remember the older keyboards you had to mash the keys or someone who tries to kill the keys? This is not one of those keyboards, this is just that person! I couldn’t put my hands on the desk, it kept jumping!

I kept my cool with both, smiled and did what I could for them, stayed positive and encouraged where I could. I talked to their managers about how it went and since the managers know them, it wasn’t a complete surprise.

It happens, you can’t have total angels every time, right?! Tomorrow is a new day!

{March 22, 2017} Double digits?? A TEN year old?

March 21st is one of my most favorite days of the year. Wanna know why?

It’s EJS’ birthday! This year… she’s TEN!

What? Think I think it’s crazy? How do you think her parents feel!

I remember the day my sister told me she was pregnant, oh man! I remember asking if I could get the Halloween costume, “yup, because if you don’t, it might not happen!” And that is what started my quest of all the Halloween costumes, did I love that? You bet!

This weekend was EJS’ birthday party and it was ‘Cupcake Wars’. She doesn’t even like cupcakes, but loves baking and baking shows and watching baking competitions.

There were three teams set up with four girls on each team. MGS was on my team, EJS floated from team to team each round. The aunties, AS, BS and myself all had a team to work with. Dad, ACS and his brother, JS, were judges.

The cupcakes had been made prior to the party, there seemed to be about 100! There were vanilla, red velvet, chocolate and fun-fetti.

Each round had different themes. The first was to make frosting and the judges had to decide based on the icing and pairing with the cupcake.

The next round was Spring and the judging was presentation, pairing and taste. The final round was in honor of EJS and strictly based on presentation.

Each team won a round. Any guesses which my team designed for final presentation? I do live on an island…

I can’t wait to find out what next year’s theme will be!
The girls eventually left and four came back and we all went to see Beauty & The Beast, loved it!

When a preview for Despicable Me 3 came on, EJS turned around to look at me to promise we would go together, MGS said the same thing when we were leaving the theatre. How much do I love that! Back to the house for dinner, two girls left and two spent the night. I’d say that was an awesome birthday celebration!

I talked to EJS tonight and I asked her how it felt to be double digits. Her answer, “Fun”, what a great answer!

What an amazing person my niece is! She’s smart, funny, silly, witty, clever, independent, fierce, caring, oh, I could go on, but you might think I’m biased…

It’s been such a treat to watch her grow up into this fabulous human being. She’s a special daughter, great big sister, fun granddaughter, fantastic friend and of course, awesome niece. I love when I first see her after being gone, the look on her face and then the hug, love.

I made a promise to her when she was born, I would be there for her birthday or birthday party and it’s not one I plan to ever break. How could I?! This is such an amazing kid!

Happy happy birthday EJS! I love you!!!

{March 17, 2017} And then this happened…

Flattered and humbled.

I spent the week doing support at an office in Chicago. One of the things I did was teach multiple one and two hour sessions.

I spent a little extra time with a few of the people I was training, it was nice when some came back after training to get more help, I did what I could, even learned a few things myself.

Today, when I was leaving, I found this card on my bag. It was from the SDS, the trainer, that I had worked with for the week.

We hit it off immediately, both professionally and personally, it was great!

I’m always humbled and flattered when I’m given a compliment about the way I train. It helps me remember why I do what I do, this just made my day. Thank you!

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