pawtuckaway

friday after work and school we loaded our camping stuff in the car to journey to new hampshire to commune with nature (pawtuckaway state park to be exact, about 1.5 hours away).  we arrived after the sun had set, so we put our tent up in the dark and worked on cooking our dinner over the fire.  our friends got there before us, so they already had the fire going strong.  we roasted hot dogs and s'mores and also enjoyed dutch oven brownies and popcorn cooked over the fire.  after our bellies were full, we chatted around the fire (and tried to scare the resident raccoon away) until the embers went out.

the next morning we woke up to this:

we were camping right on the lake!  what a gorgeous view to wake up to.

 we started a morning fire (okay... eric started it) and broke out the camping stoves to prepare our feast of a breakfast.  camping with friends is the best, especially when you share meals.  we had an abundance of pancakes, eggs, hash-browns, sausage, and hot chocolate to enjoy for our morning meal. yum!

do you like our "good morning" faces?

 

after we were stuffed, we tore down our camp to take off and play for the day. our first stop was the beach area.

 

then we rented some canoes to paddle around the lake.  we explored little islands and coves, chased the loons around, and enjoyed the leaves which were beginning to change colors.  and the weather was perfect!  i love these fall days.  fall just may be my favorite season. 

after we got our canoeing fill in, we turned in our boats and ate our left over food on the beach for a most nutritious lunch - consisting of chips and chocolate. our planning ahead skills can only be so good.  we chatted beach-side for a good while and then headed home.  as we were driving out i said to jeremy, "i love everything about this place."  it really was quite delightful and refreshing to get away from the city and camp beneath the brilliant stars.

I am

I am wild at heart.
I wonder what my next adventure will be.
I hear endless laughter.
I see a million shooting stars.
I want to explore the whole world.
I am wild at heart.

I pretend to be a kid.
I feel like I will always be young.
I touch and reach for my dreams.
I worry for those I love.
I cry for those that suffer.
I am wild at heart.

I understand I can't fix the world.
I say why not try anyway.
I dream I make a difference.
I try to be my best self.
I hope for peace, I pray for peace.
I am wild at heart.

(this poem is from a group i ran at work where i had the patients write an "i am poem" and then share and discuss them.  they wanted me to do it, too.  it would be cool to write this poem periodically to see what changes over time.)

and my birthday continues

saturday morning jeremy whipped out a pinata and a ton of balloons! it was awesome and he is the BEST. he saved some presents because, naturally, we never want my birthday to end. so today after church i busted it open to see what kind of candy was inside.

here's the video:

 this pinata was much tougher than the last one.  but i got through most of it with my trusty putter before it fell off. it was filled with jelly beans, reese's, cookies and cream chocolate, and milk chocolate.  yum!

birthday's are the best.  especially when you get a whole pinata to yourself. :)

Iron Town Diner

our quest for the best: BREAKFAST PLACE

round 4

Iron Town Diner

325 Main St, Saugus, MA 01906

the deets:

the food: i got corned beef hash, eggs, and home fries (with chocolate milk - because it was my birthday!), and jeremy got the french toast with bananas and nutella.  the portions were perfect.  i don't like it when i eat everything and i am left wanting more. we cleaned our plates and were FULL.

prices: they were in the higher range as far as breakfast goes.  my plate was 8.49 (the chocolate milk was 2.79) and jeremy's was 7.79, we ordered fancier than normal though. 

service: the service was great.  it was busier than i thought it would be for just opening and our food was done pretty fast.  they opened less than two weeks ago, so they were very attentive.  we had three different people come to see how our food was.  if they weren't so friendly and nice, i might have been bothered. 

the verdict:

we will definitely go back.  it's close, delicious, and the atmosphere is lovely. it's brand new and seems to be a family thing, which we love to support.  they have lots of menu options and it's right by breakheart.  maybe next time we will try out their lunch menu.

work party

last night we went to my work party at a country club.
we arrived late, so we missed most of the speeches.  it worked out great.  there was an open bar (hooray for free shirley temples!), dancing, and a photo booth.  also lots of desserts!

as you can see, my co-workers rock! (even when they're not buzzed.)  i love that jeremy got to meet the fun ladies i hang out with everyday.  they are hilarious and we had a blast dancing the night away and playing in the photo booth.  it was a perfect party in my book.

one thing to note, i need a better go-to dress for events like this. i ended up going in some black dress i've had since high school.  i jazzed it up with a red belt and wedge heels, but still.  since i'm kind of an adult these days, i should clean house.

quarter century

my birthday is my very favorite. it's the best day of the year.

here is what i did yesterday, the day i turned 25!

{self portrait at 25}

last year's here

jeremy took the morning off to hang out with me on my special day. we slept in and went out to breakfast. (breakfast round up to come.)  

 then we wandered breakheart and found a new lake to visit.

 

 then i had to get ready for work.  i figured if i had to work on my birthday, i was going to bring treats and make it a party. so i stopped by kane's to get some famous donuts for my co-workers.

they were amazing! - as usual.  the flavors i got were: apple crunch, reese's peanut butter cup, cookies and cream, red velvet, boston cream, turtle, honey dipped, chocolate honey dipped, maine blueberry, chocolate marshmallow, jelly, and creme brulee.  my new favorite is maine blueberry. it tastes like a blueberry muffin doused in frosting.

work wasn't all that bad.  ha, i love my job.  my friends brought more treats to share, made a gorgeous card, and brought me flowers.  they are awesome.

after i worked for a while, jeremy and i headed to the cheesecake factory.  we both got chinese dishes, because i always get chinese food on my birthday.  yum!  jeremy let our server know it was the best day of they year, so they sang and gave me a free dessert. 

 then we made our way home for more dessert with some friends: wafer cake and ice cream.

 25 candles! (first year having to use more than one box.)

then i opened my presents!  i love presents.

  some of the highlights were a long boarding helmet to protect my brain, ankle boots from jeremy, and a gold elephant head from sam (I LOVE IT!!).  i also got some gift cards, an art class, and a 3 month subscription to whimseybox.  best birthday ever!

 to end the day, we made our way to the top of the parking garage to launch a floating lantern.  we lit it up, i made a wish, and then i let it fly into the heavens. 

 we watched it drift up and away and i thought it was awesome.   jeremy not so much, especially when we lost sight of "the fireball" -as jeremy dubbed it.  he wanted to be sure we didn't start any fires, so he drove around to check for any smoke or sirens.  turns out we were all clear.  (i have 19 left that i may or may not be sending off with jeremy around.  girl party?)

well, 24 was an AWESOME year! i graduated grad school, got a real job, and went on all sorts of adventures.  i'm sure 25 will be great, too.  life just gets better and better.  am i right, or am i right?