What I love! | Peaches Prattlings

{December 14, 2016} Holiday dinner…fun!

We had our team holiday dinner last night and it was great fun!

We went to The Publican,”a homage to oysters, pork and beer”, just what a vegan ordered!

It was great, aside from the pork rinds, ha ha, I’m glad they told me what was in the paper cone! The menu was meat focused, but when I said I was vegan, they accommodated me quite nicely, don’t you think?

It was a lot of fun to be together because I don’t see most of them very often some I’m in the field almost every week.

We talked, drank, laughed, shared, ate, told stories, had a great time. At the end of dinner we had a ‘white elephant’ gift exchange.

A white elephant is where you purchase or bring a gift you have in the house, that cost, for us, $10 or less. Everyone draws numbers and then the first person pics a gift. The next person pics a gift then decides if they want to keep it or swap with someone else. Spot #2 apparently is the worst because you can only swap with #1, #1 gets to choose after everyone else goes. So stressful!

I brought a Shaper Image bank that counts your money and a Santa hat that says Naughty on one side and Nice on the other, #2 kept it and protected it! I swapped after I opened mine for a portable speaker!

A lot of good times and laughs. I’m glad I fought the traffic and went, I had a really good time and…everyone enjoyed the bags of chocolate coal I gave them.

How was your holiday party?

{December 12, 2016} Made it without a hitch…

Eventually!

I believe I mentioned the other day that my flights were rescheduled due to the 1500 flights being canceled into and out of Chicago.

I got up about 530 this morning, the newscasters said the traffic would be horrible so leave in plenty of time. I got up, several inches of snow covered the car and guess what the car didn’t have…and ice scraper. Who rents a car in Boston in winter with no ice scraper! Luckily, no ice, just snow and I have sleeves!

I got on the road, the highway was clear and I made it in about 45 minutes, a few minutes more than no snow days. Turned in the car and was at the gate with lots of time to spare.

I went from a non-stop Boston to Chicago to Boston to Washington, DC, DC to Chicago. Originally getting in at 938am to leaving at 930am and arriving 130pm, getting to the office about 3pm. A slight change in plans.

The important thing is…I made it to the office, worked a few hours, then drove to the hotel where I’m staying this week.

This place is ready for Christmas, I’ll post pics tomorrow. I am in my hotel, had food delivered, in my jammies, snuggled under the covers, it’s cold out there! watching movies, I’m set!

Have a great night!

{December 11, 2016} Another crazy, fabulous weekend with my family

Actually it was pretty low key…nice.

I got to my sister’s somewhere between 130 and 2am on Friday. GES was the only one home when I woke up. We spent some quality time together.

Eventually, everyone was home and we took the girls with us to get some holiday shopping done. Then it was auntie-niece time while mom and dad went out. We had dinner, talked, watched movies and then night-night, no fighting, just brushing teeth, potty, lights out.
Today was more of the same, well, GES and I got to go run errands and shop for a few hours, just the sisters getting to catch up without interruption, we had a great time.

Dinner with the family, wrap gifts, pack my bags, way too many to take with me, but I have lots of presents to deliver in Atlanta!

Now, the big question…will I get out of Boston tomorrow? It’s snowing in Chicago, 1500 flights have been canceled so far. My flights have been rescheduled by United. It started snowing here about two hours ago. If I wasn’t teaching on Tuesday, I wouldn’t be as concerned about getting to Chicago.

Send good vibes please.

{December 5, 2016} I’m done traveling…

For a few days!

With all the delays and layovers, I was on the road/in the air, so to speak for about 26 hours. I left my house in Hawaii at 2pm and I checked into my hotel about 430pm.

I’d say that is enough for one day!

I’m staying at the Hilton St Louis Downtown at the Arch, it looks like the lobby is a converted bank and my room is very nice with a cool sitting area.

I’m checked in, got a some work done, prepped for tomorrow, got some decent food across the street from the hotel, I’m in my jammies and hoping to see the backs of my eyelids by 10pm.

Tomorrow is a new day and I only have to travel 8 minutes to my training site, I’m good with that!

Happy Monday!

{December 4, 2016} The joys of winter travel for work

Left Hawaii…no problem. Arrive LAX… problem.

I liked Hawaiian Airlines, it was decent, food was ok, no free entertainment, oh well, but uneventful.

I land at LAX, looking for flight information, looking for flight information, looking for flight information. Finally…United updates, flight from LAX to Chicago cancelled. Weather…snow in Illinois.

They did rebook me LAX to Houston, Houston to Chicago, ok. Only problem is that I get in to Chicago at 1130am, my next flight to St Louis leaves at 930am, um…

I called United, waited 30 minutes on hold, talked to a very snippy woman, oh goody. I need to rebook my flight to St Louis. Ok, there is a flight that leaves at 1215pm. Well, I don’t think it will give me enough time to get my bag from baggage claim and check it in. Well didn’t you tell the agent when you checked in for the first flight about your final flight? No, actually, I didn’t and I didn’t know you could do that. Yes you can, well that would be a good thing to know…

Ok, I’m booked, now I just have to get to the other terminal, is easy, just a straight shot across the parking deck. Um, not really. Through the parking deck, left, right at the stop sign, cross the road, go left, back through security, sorry, TSA pre-check is closed for the night, take everything out, but leave your shoes on.

So…here I am at LAX about to board a flight to Houston, then 2 hours later to Chicago. Get to Chicago, leave the terminal, go to baggage claim, get my bag and check it through to St Louis. If it wasn’t a 5 hour drive to St Louis, I might have done it.

Fingers crossed I make it all the way through… as long as I get there and I can teach on Tuesday, I’m golden.

Bonus…this gets me more United segments…I promoted to Premium Silver on United, gotta catch up to my beau…he just made Gold with United! He’s starting to get spoiled…go PSM!

{December 4, 2016} Our first party!

We hosted our first official party! As a couple and it was awesome!

I’ve met some of PSM’s coworkers at work functions or just when I’d visited, but it was brief or a long time ago. Now, when i was home last month one of his coworkers had us over for dinner and I met two families, which helped because they were beginning to think I was a figment of his imagination!

I thought it was time to meet more people and christen the house, so I reached out to the two people I’m friends with on Facebook and I got a list of emails and invite I did.

So…PSM just got a taste of a JJ weekend! We happened to get up early, par for the course here, went to breakfast at one of our favorite places, then it was back to the house, clean, two appointments, run to the grocery store, back to the house with literally 20 minutes to spare. That meant set up for the cookout and a very quick shower.

The first family arrived with their kids and I was informed that they have a brand new puppy. Where is the puppy? We were going to bring her, we weren’t sure…we insisted and away went dad to get the puppy! Oh my but she is precious! Am 8 week old Australian Shepherd, is she not the cutest thing! She was such a huge hit at the party! We wondered if they would actually get to take her home, we were all in love or, with everyone holding her, she’d ever learn to walk!

People kept coming and it was fabulous, kids upstairs playing, running up and down, people inside and out enjoying good food, drink, friends, conversation, just having a really good time.

At one point we went upstairs and it looked like it has snowed in the loft! I made popcorn for the kids to watch movies and…the adults felt bad, I didn’t care, it was funny. The best was they were cleaning up, “put it under the sofa, they won’t see it!”

At one point I looked down and realized, I’m really in Hawaii hosting a party! I say that because everyone was barefoot! In Hawaii, it’s customary to take your shoes or slippers [pronounced slippahs] off when you walk into someone’s house. There is always a pile of shoes outside the front door!

A few hours later, people started to say their goodbyes. There were promises of a next time, getting together for new years eve, other gatherings.

Good friends, food, conversation, it felt like we were home.

{December 3, 2016} A dinner/movie date…Moana in Hawaii!!

This is my post that didn’t want to post on Friday…

First of all…I’m home! for the weekend! I do love getting to go home!
I got in Thursday night, nothing exciting there, except for Mollie and PSM picking me from the airport, sigh.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, I woke up about 4am, that’s normal for PSM, not so much for me, I’ve usually just fallen asleep by then! We got up, he had a call at 6am and I started working, which was about 8am central time, so a little before normal working hours on this project, which means I am done about 130, not bad, huh?

About 230, I met PSM at an appointment in Honolulu, after we went to an outdoor mall, a really nice and huge one, apparently it had been built in ten stages, looks like it! There are actually maps to take with you, that’s how big! I had an exchange to make and it’s nice to walk around and get a drink, the traffic to get home would be ridiculous, we were planning on hanging out.

After a drink and some live music, we went to one of my favorite vegan restaurants I used to go in Atlanta, The Loving Hut, it’s actually an international chain, so excited to find it here! [TS and SF and I used to go together all the time!] He really is a good sport for going with me.

Then we headed back towards home and went to see Moana, a new Disney animated movie. It’s about an ancient Polynesian tribe, the demi-god Maui and Moana, the chieftain’s headstrong daughter. In true Disney fashion, there is a strong, young female lead, different, her parents are both still alive and stay that way through the entire movie!

She has a mind of her own, frustrates her father, wants to do what’s right, but also wants to follow her heart. She sets off, against her father’s wishes, to bring back the heart to her people and the land.

Along the way she meets Maui, finds out who she is and what she’s made of and what’s truly in her heart.

It was a great movie, so much fun to see it in Hawaii and the kids in the crowd added to the experience. Two thumbs up!

{December 1, 2016} Fall in love in a few days?

Every Hallmark Christmas movie, really?

Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t experienced it, but I’m a believer in love at first site, I’m a hopeless romantic. But every Hallmark Christmas movie seems to take place just a few days before Christmas and the main characters who don’t know each other, don’t like each other, don’t remember each other fall in love after meeting, well at least three days later.

And please, don’t misunderstand, I love these movies, bad acting and all, I just want to know who thinks this is possible and happens all the time! We’re watching the movies to escape and I guess we are escaping, just curious about this phenomenon.

And…some of the commercials on the Hallmark Channel are really getting to me! I need a box of kleenex!

{November 27, 2016} Two different families, two different traditions

Aren’t traditions grand?

My family has a tradition that started when GES and I were children. Our parents started taking us to see The Nutcracker ballet at the City Company in NYC every Christmas Eve. This was the Balanchine performance, so of course what we know and love. I’ve seen the Nutcracker in different cities by different choreographers, but you know my favorite by now.

A few years ago GES thought it was time her girls experienced a treasured memory and started taking them as a family. I’ve gone with them a few times, I haven’t always been able to. Different family members have also joined them and now it seems, Thanksgiving is the holiday or time of year they go. I hope I get to join them for years to come. They love it and a new family holiday tradition was born.

The other family tradition is with PSM’s family. The women in the family started the tradition a few years ago when his niece MM was a teenager. All the women in town for Thanksgiving go to dinner and a movie together. I was invited last year but couldn’t go, but this year…we went out to dinner and then Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, good thing I really liked it!

It was fun to just be with “the girls” away from the entire family, kids, spouses, hanging out, talking about everything and nothing. I appreciate being included.

So, two family traditions, a really nice day.

{November 26, 2016} A party, a party, a movie

What was your Saturday like?

We started with PSM’s family Chanukah party. It’s always the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It started years ago when his generation started spending Thanksgiving with their respective spouse’s families and Chanukah, as you may know, is never the same date each year. They decided that on Saturday they would all be together for the Chanukah party. PSM’s uncle informed me, with a wink, at our first Chanukah party together, that he would be at the Chanukah party each year, yes sir!

PSM has been hosting the Chanukah party at his house for years and this year, since he moved it was hosted by one cousin at another cousin’s house. It was great, as always. About 35 people, lots of kids, now including my nieces and PSM’s best friend, K&D N’s kids. They played, laughed, ran around, there is a play about the story of Chanukah that the kids put on and singing, then presents for the kids and the adults donate to a charity.

We ate, got to catch up, talk, laugh, get to know each other, watch the kids open and enjoy their gifts and enjoy the time we get to spend together.

After the Chanukah party, back to the house, PSM went to hit golf balls with his brother and the rest of us for ready for our next party. This party would be a surprise party for SHK, he’s a few months older than EJS and she wanted to throw him a surprise party.

And throw him a surprise party we did! We had steamers, a hand made happy birthday sign, cupcakes, pie and eventually ordered Italian for dinner. We hid when they arrived and yelled surprised and sang happy birthday! It was perfect, he was very surprised.

The kids played, ran around, built a Chanukah house, put on a talent show for the rest of us, sold us tickets, scanned our phones “through security”, even gave us paper so we could get autographs! What a show!

After the show, GES, LaLa and I went to the movies to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I’ll give you a review another day, but all I can say is…go see it!

Back home to try to get a few hours of sleep because I’m taking PSM to the airport at 3am, what?!

So…what was your Saturday like!? Mine was awesome!

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