Candy, Candy, Candy

Uck, I think I gained ten pounds this Christmas and it's mostly my own fault. I can feel my hips and bootie expanding just thinking about all the candy I made, and taste tested of course, the last two weeks.

My mom usually makes the christmas candy but after 35 years, she grew tired. I now know why of course. I made six batches of this candy for Christmas day, and office potlucks and to give as general gifts. Six batches is about 560 pieces of candy. Five hundred and sixty pieces that I dunked into melted chocolate chips, with a toothpick, one piece at a time!

I have no idea how she did this all those years with two kids but now I know why she looked so tired as she did it! It was fun, I enjoyed it and the best part is delivering it to a friend who enjoys eating the candy, but it was a lot of work. Of course, I'm already planning on making even more batches next year.

My love affair with the Outlander series

Rereading a favorite book is like visiting with an old friend. Which is why I've begun rereading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I read the first three books of the Outlander series in 1995 and loved them so much, I reread the three immediately upon completion. I was thrilled a few years later to stumble upon the fourth and fifth books in a bookstore. I'd no idea the books were a continuing series. Now that a seventh book is in the works, I thought now would be a good time to re familiarize myself with the story and characters I so love. With any luck, I will finish rereading the sixth just as the seventh is published and it will be one seamless story. Then I can cry when I finish it. I hope the seventh book will not end the Outlander series, but it will surely be the last book for awhile.

I am an Amtrak employee

I'm really not an Amtrak employee but I must look like one because every time I buy a ticket at their automated machine I get questions from strangers like how do I buy a ticket or how do I use this automatic ticket machine? But today I was asked the best question from a stranger I have ever heard: Which train do I get on to go to BWI?

Mind you, I am standing in line in the middle of the terminal with a purse, two duffel bags and wearing my winter coat, hat and scarf waiting to purchase a ticket. I am not wearing the little red vest the Amtrak employees wear nor am I standing by a sign that says Ask Me for Directions.

Okay. I do NOT work for Amtrak. This is what I do:

I make hats and I sell them on Etsy. I have no idea how to get to Baltimore Washington International Airport on an Amtrak train from Washington DC's Union Station. I am more than willing to show anyone that asks how to use the ticket machines to purchase a ticket regardless of the fact that the machine walks you right through the process, but I really can't help you if you can't even get it together enough to know which train line you need to board to get to the airport!

I mean really? You bought a plane ticket, left your house, got yourself to the train station and your next step is to ask a complete and total stranger, where to now?

Peace

I heard tonight the first Christmas song I've heard yet this season. Luckily, not being a big fan of Christmas music, it was my favorite, John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Happy Xmas (War is Over).

I remember the first time I heard this song. I was young and I had no real idea of who John Lennon was or even The Beatles really. My father was driving us home from the YMCA, just he and I and there was a sense of peace and calmness in the car.

As I listened to the refrain, the children singing war is over if you want it, I believed.

I believed the children and the man singing and I believed this man could end all wars if we all wanted it enough. I though peace could be as simple as that. I couldn't fathom then and I still forget now that there are people in this world who clamor for war.

Hair

I love my new haircut; some people do not. Like my parents. And my boyfriend.

I think it looks awesome though. I love it, love it, love it. This is one of those haircuts that gives you a new perspective on your day. Every morning seemed dull and slightly gray and definitely boring but now it's fresh and fun cause my hair is brand new.