Easter 2019

21 Apr 2019 6 Comments

by beyondcinderella in Family and Friends, Food, General Updates, Holiday's

Today we took our daughter, Shantel, out to Easter lunch, and had to say good-bye to Shantel until we return from our summer hosting positions in South Dakota. She looked so pretty in her new spring Easter dress.

We took Shantel to her favorite place for Easter lunch, Joe’s Crab Shack, in Tempe, Az.

Even though she almost always orders king crab legs, she still wants me to read the full menu to her, just in case they changed, or added, anything.

When the server brings her the bib, she knows some good food is about to come her way.

We started out with her favorite appetizer, great balls of fire, made with crab, seafood, cream cheese, jalapeños, and served with fries and ranch dipping sauce,

and of course, you can’t have seafood, without hushpuppies, which is another of her favorites…

But she got really excited, when the server placed that big bucket of king crab legs in front of her. Served with boiled potatoes and corn on the cob.

I had fish and chips, served with coleslaw. It was more than I could eat, but not to worry, Shantel said she would be happy to take home any leftovers for her dinner.

Bill/Papa had a shrimp sampler platter, and of course, Shantel asked if she could try one, or perhaps two, of his bacon wrapped shrimp.

When we were all served, Shantel wasted no time getting down to the business of cracking open her king crab legs. And she devoured every morsel.

When it was all said and done…, we asked for a take out box. Shantel ended up with one piece of my fish and most of my fries, two of Papa’s bacon wrapped shrimp, and four hushpuppies to take home for her dinner.

As we were leaving, Shantel asked if we would take her to the grocery store to get some things she was not able to purchase yesterday, because she would not have been able to carry all the bags home by herself. We were more than happy to do that. Then, we delivered our baby girl home, with a full tummy, and a full heart, because she knows how very much we love her.

Happy Easter Shantel, we love you, we are so proud of you, and we are always only a phone call away! See you in October.

Stay tuned as we begin our summer travels, I will post along our way.

Love,

Mom and Papa

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Looking For Customer Service

14 Feb 2019 2 Comments

by beyondcinderella in Customer Service, Family and Friends, Food, General Updates

What ever happened to the days when people went to work, and did the job they were paid to do regardless if it is your dream job, or a job you are doing until you find your dream job? What happened to showing up to work everyday and providing the best customer service you can provide, because you signed on to give your best when you took the job you have now?

If you follow my blog, you know my husband, Bill, and I, have a daughter, Shantel, that is totally blind, but she has never let that get in the way of her living her life to the best of her ability each and everyday. She has a job in a call center, that just so happens to be in the customer service field, and she shows up everyday anxious to do her best to provide the best service she can for each and every call she takes.

The past two weeks Shantel has been working a lot of overtime, because the main call center for the company she works for is located back east, and they have been hit with extreme cold weather, that caused a lot of folks to not be able to make it into their jobs. So, all the east coast calls were rerouted to the Phoenix based call center where Shantel works. This caused Shantel to have to work ten-hour days, then deal with the two-hour Dial-a-Ride ride service two and from work. Dial-a-Ride is another whole nightmare story, in regards to customer service, but that will have to wait for another blog posting.

When I talked to Shantel today, she told me that last night she decided to treat herself when she finally got home from work, and use Uber Eats, to order her food and have it delivered to her.  I Googled Uber Eats and found the following information. “Uber Eats is a food delivery platform that makes getting great food from your favorite local restaurants as easy as requesting a ride. Uber Eats is the easy way to get the food you love delivered” Shantel has used Uber Eats several times in the past with no problems. So, because she was tired, and just wanted to order her food, eat, take a shower, and go to bed so she could get up and do her job well again the next day, she called Uber Eats and placed her order. She told me she always tells them she is visually impaired, and needs to have her order delivered to her door. In the past, this has never been a problem. However, last night, the driver called her when she was in the parking lot of Shantel’s apartment complex, and told her she didn’t want to walk to Shantel’s door with the food because it was too dark… She told Shantel she would leave her food order in the parking lot and left!! There is no way Shantel could have ever found her food order in the parking lot, and there is no way she should ever have to do that. Shantel called and made a complaint to the Uber Eats customer service line but they just told her “they will look into it”. I am beyond appalled at the lack of not only customer service by Uber Eats, but also the lack of common decency, for our fellow human beings ,by the Uber Eats delivery driver that told Shantel she would leave her food order in the parking lot and left, even though she knew Shantel is blind. If that woman was afraid to deliver the food order to Shantel’s door in the dark, perhaps she shouldn’t be working for a delivery service at night!

Shantel has also used Grubhub, which is another food deliver service, and found them to have excellent door delivery service. However, Grubhub doesn’t deliver from some of Shantel’s favorite restaurants.

Of course as her mother, I’m always upset when I hear about some of the obstacles Shantel has to deal with in her daily life. I know we all face obstacles in our lives, but sometimes I just think Shantel gets her share, and then some… However, being the beautiful, old soul ,that she is, Shantel never lets any of it get her down. She just keeps on going ,and makes the very best of what she has to work with… I asked her what she did for dinner last night since it was late, and her food order (that was already paid for) was left somewhere in the parking lot, and it was too late to start cooking dinner…? She laughed, and said “lucky for me, I found a can of soup in the cupboard”.

That’s our girl! We love you Shantel.

Stay Tuned!

 

 

Colors Of Fall

19 Sep 2018 4 Comments

by beyondcinderella in Family and Friends, Food, General Updates, Travel

This week our son Pat, and daughter-in-law Celina, took us on a spectacular drive to see the fall colors on our way to visit Crested Butte, Colorado. About an hour into our drive, we started seeing the beginning of the leaves changing colors.

For our daughter Shantel, remember when you were a little girl, and you asked me what its like to see color? And I started teaching you what colors might feel like if you could feel color? I told you colors like red, orange, and yellow might feel warm to the touch, while green and blue might feel cool to the touch. Well, the leaves on many of the trees along our drive were changing from green,

to yellow,

and in some areas, we even saw hints of red.

Before we made our way into Crested Butte, we stopped at a beautiful lake named Lost Lake. Oh, Shantel, all the beautiful colors of the changing leaves were also being reflected off the still water of the lake. So as we were looking at the leaves on the trees around the lake, we were also seeing their image reflected on the water. Even the clouds in the sky were reflecting on the water. All of these images created a peaceful, calming, feeling.

We took a short hike around part of the lake,

and around every curve of the trail was a scene more beautiful than the last. In the next picture, we were looking across the lake at trees displaying every shade of color.

And in this next picture the clouds were moving across the lake creating shadows that reflected off the water.

We left the lake and made our way into Crested Butte. What an adorable, colorful, little town. Every building in the town is painted a different color. Orange, red, blue, and green, just like the colorful leaves on the trees.

And they have the most beautiful flowers planted in big flower beds and hanging pots all along the street and sidewalks.

Aside from the magnificent colors we saw in the fall colors of the trees, the highlight of the trip for me, was when we visited a little mini donut shop where they make mini donuts fresh right in front of you, and they come with hot toppings of your choice. Papa and Pat bought six of the donuts with a variety of toppings, like hot caramel/bacon to name just one. Then, they sat outside the donut shop on a bench and ate all the donuts. But the look on their faces as they enjoyed their sweet treats just made my day. As you know I don’t eat sweets, and Celina didn’t have any either, but she stood close by and kept handing Papa and Pat napkins to wipe their hands and face after they finished each of the six donuts. I got so tickled watching them, I could hardly hold the camera straight to take some pictures.

Just before we arrived in Crested Butte, we passed a grave site and stopped to make a visit. The headstone said the person died in 1881. But there was a message engraved into the bottom of the headstone that read,

“My good people as you pass by, as you are now so once was I. As I am now you soon must be, prepare yourselves to follow me.” I thought that was a profound message on a gravesite headstone, so I included a picture of it here on my blog as a reminder to enjoy every minute of your life, and especially enjoy the donuts!

Big thanks to Pat and Celina for taking us on such a beautiful drive and spending their day showing us around Crested Butte, Colorado.

Stay Tuned!

A Day of Hope

08 Sep 2018 8 Comments

by beyondcinderella in Family and Friends, Food, General Updates, Health and Exercise, Humor, Travel

On Friday’s our ten-year old granddaughter, Hope, doesn’t have school. So yesterday morning, we picked her up around seven(ish), took her out to breakfast, then brought her back to our RV Park so she and I could take a nice long morning walk while we waited for the pool to open so she could go swimming.

 

After a nice long time in the pool showing us her gymnastic skills, and having us judge her efforts, she was ready to move on to the little playground behind the pool area.

 

This little play area really only had two swings and a small slide.

But while we were there, we got to see this beautiful butterfly that came to visit the area.

Then Hope told us about a much bigger park that was not too far away from where we are staying.  So off we went to get ready to go visit that park. Hope was really excited, and ran ahead of us with her butterfly pretend “super hero” cape flying in the breeze.

The John Leane Canyon View Park Playground was really everything Hope said it would be.

The playground has everything you can imagine to swing on.

It even has a little zipline for the kids to enjoy.

And Hope really seemed to love this little seat that spins around and makes you dizzy… She was really tickled that grandpa was so happy to push it for her to make it spin faster.

Then, after she played on everything that moves, and that she could climb on,

it was time to leave this nice park and take her to lunch. She wanted to go to McDonald’s, so McDonald’s it was!

After lunch, we came home and played dominoes, and several rounds of crazy eights. Hope got so tickled when she beat her grandpa. She laughed so hard, she had grandpa and I laughing to the point of tears.

And when it was time to take her home, I would say it’s clear to see, this little girl had a full day,

and we had a delightful, fun-filled day of Hope!

Stay Tuned!

Breckenridge, Colorado

13 Aug 2018 2 Comments

by beyondcinderella in Food, General Updates, Travel

Yesterday we took a scenic drive from Kremmling, Colorado through Silverthorne, Keystone, and finally ended our trip in Breckenridge, Colorado upon the great advice of some friends. Along the way we saw hay fields with beautiful mountain ranges in the background.

Note to our daughter Shantel: The hay fields had already been harvested, and big round bales of hay still laid in the fields waiting for the farmers to pick them up and stack them in their barn for the winter. In the background, above the hay fields, were mountain ranges of multi-layers of light and dark colors, sprinkled with green trees.

Then we passed a lake surrounded by trees and mountains.

And as we climbed higher up the mountain road, we continued to see the lake, trees, and lake-side homes.

When we reached Breckenridge, we were in for a wonderful, unique, experience/adventure.

This little ski resort town has it all, from a building that looks like it is decorated for Halloween at first glance,

to benches that are made from all sorts of snowboards/ski’s..

There are so many places to eat, and adorable, unique little shops,

like this one named Marigolds farmhouse funk & junk. Just my kind of place.

If you are into old, antiques, and/or farmhouse decor (all the things I know you, Shantel, are NOT into), then this is the place for you. They have everything from old typewriters and phones,

to guitars made out of old license plates and barbedwire,

to pigs, cows, and any other kind of farmhouse decor you could want…

And right in the middle of this ski resort town,

is a waterfront, where people can enjoy stand-up paddle boarding, and some kind of water sport where you get inside of what looks like GIANT beach balls,

and roll and tumble your way around the lake. All of this part of our trip to Breckenridge was the unique part of our trip, and we had so much fun exploring this area. Big thanks to our friends, Mary, and Megs, for recommending we visit Breckenridge. We had so much fun and appreciate the tip.

However, the last part of our trip was all on us, and why I’m calling it our “adventure” because that is what Bill/Papa calls anything that goes wrong…” As I mentioned, there are lots and lots of places to eat in Breckenridge, and we even stopped in at the Visitor Center to ask for advice on where to eat. Of course they said “what kind of food do you want” so I said any kind of burger or sandwich type of place. They recommended Flip Side burgers, and said it was just one block up the road. We thanked them and went on our way. However, along the way, I mentioned to Bill/Papa that we’ve had burgers the last three times we ate out, and asked if he would like to try something else, like the Mexican restaurant we were passing, Fiesta Jalisco.

The saddles caught my eye, and I was thinking “this has to be some great southwestern mexican food…”

Well, I could NOT have been more wrong. I mean this place was beyond bad. I ordered just two shredded beef tacos, no sides just the tacos. Bill/Papa ordered a pork burrito. My tacos came, and I know they were store-bought taco shells with just a thin line of what tasted like canned, unseasoned beef, and a small amount of lettuce and cheese sprinkled on the side of the tacos because they were laying on their side, because they were to thin, and frail, to open them up and put the lettuce inside the taco. Bill/Papa was just as disappointed with his burrito, saying it lacked any spice/mexican taste…

I don’t know how, but we managed to find probably the only really bad place to eat in the whole town of Breckenridge. But, hey, we never let one bad experience ruin our day… No, we just start looking forward to, and planning our next really great experience…

Stay Tuned!

 

 

 

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

04 Aug 2018 4 Comments

by beyondcinderella in Food, General Updates, Health and Exercise, Travel

Today Bill and I took a day trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. We are on what we are calling our summer celebration tour this summer, because we are celebrating my 66th birthday that was in April, our 30th wedding anniversary coming up next month, and Bill will turn 70 this December. We decided we would splurge on three different things to celebrate each of these important events in our lives… We took a six-hour scenic train ride in Antonito, Colorado, and today we decided we would try the gondola ride to the top of Mt.. Werner, where we took a hike and enjoyed a delicious lunch with spectacular views.

This is a picture of the enclosed gondola we rode in.

Once you’re in, and seated, the door closes and your off…

I happened to notice this warning on the wall of the gondola we were riding in and both Bill and I laughed and said “we won’t approach any of these animals, but we would at least like to see one, especially a MOOSE”! I have a stiff neck from straining to try and see a moose in the bushes. 🙂

This is the view from the back window of our ride as we made our way up the mountain.

As you climb higher, and higher, up the mountain, the views only get better and better.

Then, when you make your landing at the top of the mountain, and step outside, you are greeted with all this beauty.

Which of course beckons for a photo opportunity. Bill needed to take one of me,

and of course, I needed to take one of him…

Everywhere you look is something beautiful to see.

Next, we were off to take a little hike to see what other beautiful things we could find, like these pretty trees.

And there is no shortage of mountain bike trails. People put their mountain bikes right on the gondola rides to get them up the mountain so they can ride them back down.

I was surprised to find there were still lots of pretty wild flowers in full bloom. I don’t know what these pretty purple flowers are (my friend Patricia would know), but I love seeing them and they were everywhere.

I also love seeing the mixture of purple, yellow, and white wildflowers growing among the wild grasses.

Along our hike we came across these open-seat ski lift chairs that take folks from one ski trail to another.

And, we got to see this helicopter with a Bambi bucket attached flying to and from the water source on its way to fight wildfires. We saw a lot of this type of activity when we were hosting in Cody Wyoming a few years ago.

After we finished our hike, we made our way to the outside dining area of the Oasis Sundeck for lunch. Who could ask for a more beautiful view while enjoying a delicious lunch?

Bill and I both had the Bison burger with cheese and bacon, but I had kale and quinoa salad, while Bill had the waffle potato fries. YUM!!

Then it was time to head back down the mountain and go visit the downtown area of Steamboat. On our way back to the parking garage, we passed this adorable stagecoach jumping/bouncing house free for the kids.

The downtown area of Steamboat proved to be VERY busy, so much so, that we were not able to find a parking space anywhere, so we decided to call it a day and head back home.

We have only been in Kremmling, Colorado for five days, and we have already seen so many beautiful places and are having so much fun. I can’t wait to see what all we will see and do between now and the end of the month.

Stay Tuned!

Always Have A Plan B

29 May 2018 4 Comments

by beyondcinderella in Food, General Updates, Travel

Over the Memorial Day weekend the whole Taos, and Questa, New Mexico area was overrun with motorcycle riders to the tune of 20,000 bikers descending upon this area. Good for the economy, but that did add to the already busy holiday weekend traffic for the area. So of course, the last thing we wanted to do was get out and add to the traffic congestion. We decided to stay put, and just hang out at the RV Park. But, whatever was I going to do to keep myself busy and entertained? Well, I did what I love to do best… I cooked.

On Friday I made a batch of paleo friendly sweet potato salad,

and a batch of sautéed cabbage and beet greens (a new favorite of ours),

and fried up a batch of crisp bacon to sprinkle on top of those dishes just before serving.

On Saturday evening Bill/papa grilled pork chops, and I served them with mashed cauliflower, with homemade mushroom gravy, and the sautéed cabbage and beet greens. YUM!

On Sunday, we tried to make paleo catfish nuggets, and served them on paleo tortilla’s with carrot slaw. I had to make carrot slaw because I used all the cabbage in the cabbage and beet greens dish.  Carrot slaw was my plan (B) that would have saved the day,

except that paleo catfish was the nastiest thing we ever made, and I could not even begin to gag it down. Bill, on the other hand, didn’t like it either, but managed to eat most of his. That boy has to have a stomach that will tolerate anything, even if he doesn’t like it.

Not me, I not only dumped the catfish out of my tortilla, and replaced it with some bacon I already had fried up, I dumped the rest of the package of frozen catfish as I wasn’t about to try making anything “paleo friendly” with it again anytime soon. Again, it’s good to have a plan (B).

As much as I LOVE to cook, I’m really not a big fan of cooking to this paleo food plan. I find it very difficult to make things taste good when you can’t use the “normal ingredients” that make things stick together…

On Monday, Bill/papa grilled brats, and I served it with grilled onions and red peppers, and the sweet potato salad I already had made. Winner, winner, fabulous dinner.

In the end, over the weekend we made three meals. Two of those meals were delicious, and one that I considered a complete disaster. Some might say two good out of three is not bad.  I say one bad out of three, is still BAD!

Tomorrow we will go grocery shopping in Taos. Thursday we will spend the day packing up, and Friday we will move on down the road to Antonito, Colorado.

Stay tuned!

 

Previous Older Entries

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On the Road Since 2010, Traveling Across USA & Europe With 12 Paws

The Brantley Blog

In the eyes of the law, we reach adulthood the day we turn 18 years old. God help anyone who actually believes that.

the next few years

family life..with a unique perspective of motherhood

Gotham Girl Chronicles

a mixture of random musings...life in NYC...travel...photography...cycling

Blooming Burgh Boomer

Living An Active Full Life

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