when i was a wee 12 year old...

my dad slipped this note into my scriptures.

 

and i'm so glad he did.  i'm keeping it forever.  

KP2

it all started friday afternoon when i was having a quick conversation with jeremy in between writing progress notes for my patients.  i mentioned that maybe we should have fondue this weekend (because why not?!) and cassandra looks right over at me.  her face told me that she wanted in and that the fondue was definitely going to happen.  earlier we had been talking about the need for another knitting party to practice our knitting skills so KP2 with fondue was born and planned for the next night.  good thing i share an office with such a cool girl that loves chocolate and crafting as much as i do.

milk chocolate fondue

bag of milk chocolate chips

3/4 cup of heavy cream

fondue is so easy it's almost criminal.  (try dipping potato chips for a fun twist.)  i can't believe i survived as long as i did without my own fondue pot.  that thing is amazing and my life is now complete!  hooray for perfect christmas presents.  thanks mom and dad. 

 after we were sugared out, we got to our knitting.
and chatting and netflix-watching.

cassandra mastered purling in the course of the night while i worked up the courage to start a bunny. it was a great time.  something about good conversation and creating things with my hands... it soothes my soul and makes me feel alive.

Tumble Inn Diner

our quest for the best: BREAKFAST PLACE

round 7

Tumble Inn Diner
488 Lincoln Ave, Saugus, MA 01906

the deets:

the food: the food is delicious!  we love these homefries.  i get the same thing every time and had a breakfast sandwich - egg, cheese, and sausage on a toasted english muffin, with a side of homefries.  jeremy had eggs, homefries, and toast with a side of fruit.

prices: this place is cheap!  we got meals, both got sides, and i got hot chocolate all for $13 something.  also, they only take cash... which can sometimes deter us if we don't have cash on hand.

service: this place is a local favorite and has a lovely small town feel.  they typically have only a server or two for the whole place, so sometimes it has been slower when we have gone before, but we didn't have trouble with the service this time.

the verdict:
this place was our original go to place before we started this quest for the best breakfast place.  we love this place.  i think our two favorites are tumble inn diner and iron town diner.  they are both close and delicious.  the hot chocolate is more chocolate-y (with free refills!) and they have  fancier dishes at iron town. tumble inn is CHEAP (but they only take cash) and they have all the basics, tastier homefries, and have such a fun local feel.  when we go out to breakfast i think we will consider the two and pick depending on what we want that day: fancy options with all you can drink hot chocolate, or cheap basics and a server that recognizes us.  one thing is certain, we love our breakfast dates.

only love

"Darkness cannot 
drive out darkness; 
only light 
can do that. 
Hate cannot 
drive out hate; 
only love 
can do that."

Marin Luther King, Jr

hand-sewn

this week's create project:

hand-sewn valentines for my co-workers!

so maybe you aren't thinking about v-day yet, or maybe you are and you don't plan on passing valentines out. sometimes i pretend i'm five and i couldn't help myself when i saw these cute things on pinterest.  i just want to help spread the love (and candy) this valentine's day.  i also thought it would take me longer to make 14 of them, which is why i started in the middle of january.  but alas, give me some felt, embroidery floss, candy... and BAM! valentines for my friends at work.  now i have to wait a whole month to pass them out. life is so hard.  i just hope i don't eat all of the candy in the meantime.

sidenote: it was less than $5 for the whole project, including the bag of starbursts, and it provided awesome crafting entertainment.  also, i printed the template at 150% so i could fit more candy into the felt hearts.

 

V8

we started a competition with my family for the new year.  one of the things we earn points for is eating a fruit and vegetable every day.

jeremy wanted to get some V8 so he could easily get his veggie in (i went the route of spinach smoothies and lots of green beans).  i told him it was gross - i haven't tried it, but veggie juice... it just has to be gross.  jeremy insisted that it wouldn't be that bad and if it was, he would choke it down.  i didn't believe him and we bought it anyway.

the next day, he went for it. there was gagging, coughing, and "that's terrible!" from the kitchen as he tried to get a whole glass down.  he had to chase it with milk.  lots of milk.

he has been slowly chugging away at our hefty 46 oz jug of V8 (go big or go home!).  he says it is getting a little easier - he has a gulping technique to minimize the contact between the juice and his taste buds.  i have been pretty impressed.  i couldn't do that.

(i had to have some one night to earn my point and it was awful stuff, like tears coming out of my eyes awful.  not doing that again.)

gooooals!

create
with my hands. every week. either in my sketch book, with my knitting needles, with my calligraphy nibs, or any other creative outlet i end up exploring - because i'm sure i will dabble in new things.  i am a hobby collector after all.

move
daily. to appreciate my body.  i don't want the focus of my workouts to be on changing my body. my body isn't perfect and that's ok.  it rocks regardless.  it helps me do a whole lot of things.  i want to enjoy the body i have and appreciate it by keeping it healthy. 

read
(the word of God daily) and for fun, too.  i need to find a balance when reading novels. i go through phases of reading like it's my job and then phases of not reading at all because i want my life back.  i want to enjoy a book and be able to put it down to enjoy more important things.

serve
i want to serve someone each week.  i want to take time to notice what others need and then do what i can to help.  maybe it's a plate of cookies, a thoughtful conversation, free babysitting, a lunch date, an anonymous note, a meaningful hug.  something to show love for someone else.

back to the grind

thursday we slept in, packed our gear, called delta about 10 times to find out that our flight was indeed schedule to fly to boston, went out to lunch, played games, called delta some more, and begrudgingly headed to the airport.

much to our surprise our flight did actually take off as scheduled despite reports that the boston airport was closing three hours before our arrival.  turns out that media lies, sort of.  it wasn't closed, because we landed, and at the same time it was closed, because nobody else did.  there were hundreds of flights cancelled going into boston and ours wasn't.  still not sure that was the smartest decision.

 as we were taking off the pilots were telling us all about their flying experience - 28 years flying planes, both flew for the air force, and have flown together a lot.  they were confident they could get us to boston safely.  yada yada yada.  after a few bouts of turbulence, some crying from the row behind us, and a second go around for the landing, we safely touched land.  everyone was so pleased to be alive that applause erupted when we realized we were indeed safely on the ground.

it was the scariest flight i have ever been on, and since i haven't been on many scary flights, that's not really saying much.  but there was a moment when i considered that we might not make it (when it was pure white out the windows, the landing gear was getting ready, and the turbulence was at its high point).  here's our plane after we landed:

and now i am back at work with my co-workers asking me how on earth i made it back to boston in the middle of a blizzard!  yeah, i'm not really sure.  i really wanted to stay and play a couple more days.  all i know is that my blessed vacation is over.  boo.  time to start planning the next one.

the new year

new years eve

my mom and i got pedicures with my aunt and cousins, we did some shopping, had some lunch at an old fashioned soda fountain, did more shopping, met richie and nicole for hot chocolate, had pizza for dinner, and watched a movie to ring in the new year.

on new years

we slept in, did some major crafting - we made thousands of gift tags for every occasion (maybe hundreds but it felt like thousands), had popcorn and milk duds for lunch while watching frozen on the big screen, had cheese and chocolate fondue for dinner, and played games.

now that's a party!