Hollywood Studios 2014

Catching up on sleep and exercise since I’ve been back from my vacation!

Last week I ran my longest yet – a total of 3 miles without stopping. Ever since our trip to Orlando to support my sister and her boyfriend’s half marathon, MG and I have been thinking about doing the Disneyland half this August. We’re starting to train now. Proud of running 3 miles since one month ago I couldn’t run a block. My goal is to run further at a steady pace. Since I’ve been running, I’m also in need of some good shoes. Any recommendations?

My adventures from Disney continue! Today it’s all about Hollywood Studios. Personally, this was my least favorite park. Not because it was a bad park, but the other ones outshine this one. This is more for shows and doesn’t really have too many rides. The top rides here were Tower of Terror, Rock’n Roller Coaster (Kay’s favorite ride), and Toy Story Mania!.

Tower of Terror
MG, whatcha lookin at?

Rock n Roller Coaster
Yay! Baldwin went on this ride – Monumental!

CandylandThe Toy Story line is so cute! Lots of childhood games all across the walls and floors.

Funny story – I took bread, peanut butter, and jam from our hotel breakfast so that we could save some money and eat sandwiches instead of theme park food. While we were in line for the Toy Story ride, I got really hungry at the beginning of the line and it was going to be a 60 minute wait… So I busted out with bread, a knife, and started to spread the PB&J. Genius right? Too bad I was totally roasted for this, by MG, Kay, and Balds. They were so embarrassed of me, but yet everyone ate a sandwich. HMPH. I think I actually saved y’all from starvation… Just sayin.

But around lunch time we ended up going to 50s Prime Time Cafe  and spent $120 on lunch! Everyone said I deprived them of real food so they overcompensated! Not my fault!

Though I have to admit, lunch was the best part about this park!!! It was all homestyle, comfort, diner food – PB&J shakes, fried chicken, meatloaf, pot roast, chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes. The waitress will tell you “Welcome home, set the table with silverware, and elbows off the table.” Food was SO good, Aunty M was a fantastic waitress, and the design of this restaurant is flippin’ amazing! Everything has a 50s feel. The waiting room is set like a living room with black and white TVs. Even the dessert menu can be seen through a View-Master toy!

50s Prime Time

50s Prime Time - Lams

Yes, food coma after. The boys didn’t want to share entrees. We ordered four dishes, 2 appetizers, and 3 drinks. Too full to move after… Thankfully while we ate such an extravagant meal indoors, we were able to get out of the rainstorm.

The highlight of Hollywood Studios – 50s Prime Time Cafe. Hands down! I think this is MG’s all time favorite restaurant! He loves this era and diner food.

Hollywood Studios Night

Have you been to this park? What’s you favorite ride here?

Love,
Jay

Epcot & Downtown Disney

Every day MG talks about going back to Disney! It truly is the happiest place on earth, unless you’re super hungry. There were definitely times we were frustrated and took our anger out on Katie. Why Katie? No idea, maybe cause she’s easiest to pick on!

The first Disney theme park we went to was Epcot. I always remembered this park as the “boring” one so didn’t have high expectations for it. BUT now that I’m older, this park is amazing! The techie stuff is much more interesting now since I can appreciate electronics. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to explore the Innoventions portions, but I’m sure it’s a great hands on experience.

Epcot - Daytime

One of my favorite rides at Epcot is Mission: Space. Basically it’s a shuttle stimulator that allows you to feel 0 gravity as if you were in space. In the past I could feel the ride spinning, so I knew how the ride worked. But I think they must have upgraded their rides this time around!

There are two levels of intensity. Baldwin and Kay rode the easy one. MG and I decided to go to the intense training because I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to anymore since we’re getting old! As you wait in line, speakers remind you that if you feel motion sickness, do not ride. This was repeated 10 times throughout our 15 minute wait. Kinda freaky already right? Then as we’re getting strapped into the tight compartment, there are throw up bags easily accessible. Nervous at this point… As the ride is about to launch, there is cold air blowing onto my forehead. MG said it’s a good thing because you want to feel fresh air if you get dizzy (in the end, I’m glad that was there!). When the shuttle landed on Mars, MG and I hoped that we wouldn’t have to go back to earth and that the ride was over (we said this out loud and two kids laughed at us). Thankfully the ride was over! Mission Space is so well done. Except after the ride, MG told me he almost blacked out. And I couldn’t stop burping cause I felt nauseous. That’s when you know you’re old! Fortunately, we kept our lunch in! Even though the after effects weren’t fun, I can’t stop thinking about how real this ride felt (or at least to how I would think being an astronaut felt like).

What makes this park even more awesome? Epcot is  a foodies dream come true! The second portion of Epcot tours countries of the world. To name a few, Mexico, India, China, Japan, Germany, Norway, Italy, France, and a few others. Most of these places showcase tourist attractions and more importantly, food! We were so food-happy that we barely took any pictures at this park.

In the past, it was about saving money at theme parks. Eat simple, grab a burger and fries, and then go to the next ride. But we have money from working now, so we splurged on all kinds of foods! First we grabbed egg rolls, baked pork buns, and a chicken curry pastry from China (don’t laugh, we missed Chinese food). You know it’s good Chinese food when you see four Asians on the bench eating at the Chinese food stand! Then we got Udon in Japan, lamb gyro from Morocco, French pastries and lobster bisque. Then we got Werther’s caramel popcorn and apple in Germany, and lastly, had fish and chips, lamb casserole, and corned beef in the UK. So many different foods in ONE place! Tell me that’s not your dream come true! I wanted to get the dry-aged bone-in rib eye too, but maybe that’s overboard… just maybe.

By the way, I have a pro-tip for you if you ever go to Epcot. The firework and laser show starts at 9pm. Instead of standing up during the whole show (remember, you’ve been walking all day already), go eat at Rose & Crown Pub in the UK. If you sit outdoors, you can enjoy dinner while watching the show. It’s one of the few restaurants next to the lake, and the waiters will roll up the vinyl curtains just for your viewing pleasure. Totally worth it!

Germany
Caramels in Germany ^^^

Epcot DinnerPRO-TIP:  Eating in the UK while watching the firework show. Looks like Katie’s head is on fire!

Epcot - Night
Night view of Epcot

Then we went to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom for the next two days. These will be featured in my next two posts.

On the last day, Kay and Baldwin ran the half marathon (posted here), and we took it easy that day by taking a nap and going to Downtown Disney.

Funny story is that we were in the massive Disney store, and MG decided he wanted a cookie. He picked up a Mikey cookie, and we went to go find Katie and Baldwin. 2 minutes later, I turn around and he’s gone missing. I eventually find him at the cookies again, and he’s looking for the heaviest/largest cookie he could find. He didn’t chose a cookie based on design, like a normal human being, he decided to look for the biggest cookie, like a true fatty. He ended up getting Ariel because her hair is big so there’s some extra cookie there!

Ariel cookie
My true fatty <3

The LEGO store is always a fun one to go to. Next time I’m in Orlando, I want to go to LEGOLAND.

Lego - Hulk

Lego - Toy Story
Baldwin’s favorite movie ^^^

Found these awesome treats, or should I say poisonous…

Poison Apples
So stinkin’ cute ^^^

It’s rare to eat well when at theme parks, but it’s very possible as you can tell from our trip to Epcot! Have you been to this theme park? What are your favorite things to do here? What country is your favorite to visit/eat?

I miss Disney,
Jay

Universal Studios 2014

Reminiscing about vacation… Having withdrawals…

I’ve been waking up at 6am every morning since we haven’t adapted from East Coast time. MG will make a joke and even say “it’s time for Disney!” Then we’ll both be sad.

I have a ridiculous amount of pictures, all from various iPhones. Nothing top notch, high quality since carrying a camera around a theme park is too much responsibility, not to mention dangerous to the camera. I’m going to break up the vacation into two parts – Universal Studios (short post) and Disney parks (photo dump!).

This post will be dedicated to Universal Studios, without The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was most epic (posted here). We spent the first two days of our vacation at Universal Studios. All four of us didn’t take many pictures cause we were so excited about the rides and shows. Typically people buy a one day pass to go to both Universal parks, but we took it slow and did one park a day. No regrets here! We were so tired by the first day, we ended up going to be at 9pm.

Universal Studios

First day we went to the main theme park. The new Minion ride and Transformers ride is AWESOME. I also really enjoyed the Rockit roller coaster, where you immediately start upwards at what feels like a 90 degree angle. Funny thing is one of our favorite part of the day was the Horror Makeup Show, a comedy where two women explain how scary movie make up is done, improv style. You’re old when you enjoy the show more than the rides! “One, Two, Three, QUESO!”

Kay-Jay MinionHis face ^^^

Minion MeMinion Jay

MG Donut
Lard Lad Donuts from Simpsons!!! We devoured it in about 10 minutes between four of us!

Universal - SF
Looks like we’re home, but it was just a set at the park

Optimus Prime
Just hanging out with Optimus ^^^

Day two we went to Islands of Adventures, but it was in the 30s. SO COLD. We bundled up and wore 3 jackets each! Glad we were prepared or the day would have been miserable. Again, the highlight of this park was Harry Potter World. We basically didn’t get pictures of anything else… Nothing could beat the fabulous HP World.

Bundled Up

In the morning, all the roller coasters were shut off since it was too cold. Employees said that they needed to test out the rides to ensure it was safe since metal can contract in cold weather. Thankfully the sun came out in the afternoon, and it hit 40’s so the roller coasters opened up. Hulk is one of my favorite rides, same for my sister. MG loves the 3D Spiderman ride here. Baldwin likes the Dr. Seuss rides (clearly he’s not much of a roller coaster person).

Have you been to Universal Studios in Orlando? What are some of your favorite rides?

All in great fun!
Jay

Walt Disney World Half Marathon

If you’ve been reading along, you know I’ve been in Orlando, Florida! This was a trip to celebrate my birthday and also to support my sister and her boyfriend in the Walt Disney World Half Marathon.

Gang

RunnersKay and Balds with their medals ^^^

I’m finally back in the Bay Area as of Sunday afternoon, and I can’t wait to crawl into my own bed and cuddle with my kitty. Vacation is always fun, but I will always choose my own pillow, bed, and comfort food, for me that’s Chinese food. MG and I are both happy to be back!

On Saturday, my sister, Kay, and her boyfriend, Baldwin, ran in the half marathon (that’s 13 miles!). I’m so proud of them for completing the run. After watching them, I’m actually intrigued and am thinking about training to run a half myself. I hate running, but after this experience, I could learn to love it.

I have to admit, it’s my first time being a spectator at one of these things. And wow, it’s an awesome experience! Everyone comes together to cheer for the participants. There’s so much encouragement and love from a group of random strangers. Specifically at the Disney marathon, at each mile marker, there are characters in costume cheering for you, choirs singing, and even DJs spinning. At the end of the race, Mickey, Minnie, and Donald Duck are waiting for you at the finish line.

BaldwinBaldwin running past the 12 mile marker

KatieKatie running past the 12 mile marker

Done
Passed the finish line!

With Pluto

Then we bumped into this guy – Ivan! He lives in the Bay Area too and we randomly bumped into him at the end of the race, so good to see him there.

Ivan

If you run this race, you’ll be spoiled for sure and won’t want to run another one. I didn’t know this race was so exciting; I’m contemplating on running the half in LA at Disneyland. Any one do this before?

Do you have a half or full marathon on your bucket list? Any tips on how to enjoy running?

What did you do this weekend?
Jay

26: Officially Late 20’s

Happy Birthday to me! Happy birthday to me!
Cheers to me with butter beer! Get that in my belly!

Butter beer
Double fisting a frozen and a cold butter beer ^^^

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for my birthday. Is there any better way to celebrate?!?

Hogwarts
^^^ Hogwarts with the gang ^^^

Hogwarts
MG, thank you for this epic birthday!

Dumbledore's Office
Visiting Dumbledore ^^^

Why are we in Orlando? My sister and her boyfriend, Baldwin, signed up for the Disney half marathon. So this year instead of going to Vegas during CES for my birthday, I’m going to Disney – total 180 right? MG and I decided to come support their marathon, and we made a birthday trip out of it.

First two days, we went to Universal Studios. The second day we went to Islands of Adventures, where Harry Potter World is located. By far the best theme park ride I’ve ever been on was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey  (the Hogwarts castle ride). I told myself I wouldn’t have high expectations of this park, but in my heart, I did. And this theme park met my expectations and beyond! Every detail is magnificent!

We walked down Hogsmead:

Hogsmead

Olivander’s Wand Shop is a must. I was totally confused why it was a 30 minute wait to get into the gift shop, but it’s not just a shop. There’s a show! This was the most epic part of the theme park because Olivander chose Katie and I to test out wands!!! As Olivander was talking to us and looking into our eyes, I really felt like a wizard. Best experience yet!

Olivander's

Olivander's
This image was taken in the dark so it’s blurry, but you can see me testing out a wand! “Wingardium Leviosa”

Wands
We didn’t chose the wands… the wands chose us!

Wands
Boxes and boxes of wands

The Monster Book of Monsters
The Monster Book of Monsters was also in the wand shop!

Next stop – Honeydukes for candy!

Honeydukes

Honeydukes
Got a sweet tooth?

Honeydukes
Chocolate frog, Fizzing Whizzbees (magic in my mouth), and Every Flavour Beans ^^^

And for my birthday dinner, we went to the Three Broomsticks!!!

Three Broomsticks

Dinner FeastAmazing theme park food, a serious feast!

Birthday Trifle
My birthday chocolate trifle – eating this at Hog’s Head

Are you jealous now? This truly was an epic birthday, even for a 26 year old. I’m officially in my late twenties – another year older and another year wiser.

Oh and if you’re wondering, “Why are you so bundled up in Florida?” It was 37° F, all day. I wore leggings under my jeans, my skiing baselayer, two jackets including an Omni-Heat jacket, hat, scarf, and gloves. Gloves was the best idea because as you’re gripping the roller coaster, your fingers are warm.

Buckbeak

Buckbeak says bye

HP love,
Jay

Weekend in Austin

Starting off the year right by hanging out in Austin for the weekend. That means LOTS of eating, naps, and margaritas! Fortunately my New Year’s Resolution wasn’t to be healthy or lose weight… Ha!

While driving to Austin, it’s blasphemy to not stop at Buc-ee’s for a restroom break, ICEE slushie, jerky, and Beaver Nuggets (word from the wise, eat this like cereal and you’ll have a fantastic start to the day). And it’s possible to spend $40 here…

Beaver Nuggets

It was hard to pick out the top restaurants to go to for our 2 day trip to Austin. It was time to prioritize – decisions, decisions.

We first went to Hopdoddy for burgers. Don’t let the line trick you, it’s worth the visit. Amazing burgers, sugar cane sodas, and Cervezaritas!

Hopdoddy
Fried egg in a burger is always a must!

ChristineAnd this sweet girl came out to play! Thanks for coming out Christine!

Then we hit up Dragon’s Lair to look at comics and board games. Everyone nerded out. MG walked in and his eyes bulged… the employee asked “Did he just geek out?” I can totally understand why people are obsessed with comics. Every book is drawn in such detail. In the back of the store, people have tables set up to play games, more specifically Magic. If you know what this is, then you’d enjoy this store!

Look at this cute little guy we found at the store – it’s the zombie from the well in Walking Dead!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwxAb4GpVQc

We planned on eating Whataburger, In-N-Out Burger, Golden Chick, and VIA 313 after dinner, but all those planned were disengaged after an epic food coma. So onto the next day!

Mandola’s is flipping amazing! I never heard about this place before, but it’s damn good Italian food. If you go, get the garlic fries, parma pizza, Fedelini Pachino with fresh mozzarella (this is my favorite pasta dish of all time), and load up on free bread! But do save room for dessert because the lemon cheesecake is melt in your mouth amazing, and the Italian cream cake is yummy in my mouth and tummy. I cannot rave about this restaurant enough. The ingredients are so fresh that it truly makes every dish amazing.

Mandola'sThe Aftermath

Obviously Tex-Mex is also a must in Austin. Chuy’s is my favorite, favorite, favorite for Tex-Mex. The Chuychanga is melty cheesy fried goodness (need I say more?) and the chicka chika boom boom sauce on the side is a total necessity. While waiting for your food, you can pass the time by playing games on sites such as judi dadu online.

Chuy'sFrozen sangria with a Chuychanga but be prepared to go into what we call “worm mode” (a boneless stance where all you want to do is nap).

And everyone knows that you have a second stomach for dessert. We hit up Gourdough’s for donuts afterwards. The Miss Shortcake donut has cream cheese icing and fresh strawberries, but we also got a side of ice cream.

Gourdough's

After all this, we needed to walk around. For $6 a person, we went to Peter Pan Putt Putt.

It was my first time playing mini golf using a gc2 launch monitor – highest score, me, but that means I lost. Boo… This place is BYOB so you get some interesting characters too. Good times!

I’m always joyful whenever I get immersed playing games on W88. It’s probably because their games are just enticing and a sheer lot of fun.

Get it

Peter Pan Putt Putt
Watching Katie trying to get on Peter Pan’s lap was a comedy!

Trex
Sister, sister ^^^

LamsLove <3 

Weird...
Hate </3

Putt PuttHow’s my stance?

GangThe gang ^^^

Now I’m at the airport and getting ready to go to Orlando, Florida! But can’t leave without my Salt Lick BBQ, so finger-licking while I’m typing this right now.

Salt Lick at the airport

The TSA guy who checked my ID, asked me what I was doing for my birthday. I said “Disney World! That’s okay for someone who’s turning 26 right?” He laughed, said yes, and wished me a Happy Birthday. Oh, that Southern Hospitality.

On my way to Disney & Universal Studios. More importantly, Harry Potter World and butter beer, here I come on my day of birth!

What did you do this weekend?
Jay

Year End 2013

Happy New Year!

Looking back at the past year, it’s been quite a ride. There have been some unfortunate events but also some proud accomplishments.

1. My grandpa passed away in February
This was a difficult start to the year. My grandpa passed away early February in Vancouver. He would have been so proud to see so many grandkids and family members gathered together to celebrate his life. I miss him dearly.

Boba
^^^ His first tapioca drink

Grandpa
^^^ At my tea ceremony on my wedding day

2. I quit my job in March
The view to work was amazing, the Ferry Building and then Fisherman’s Wharf. Jealous? I get it. But it was a 3 hour commute, roundtrip, for me to get to work. By the end of day, I was so tired I could barely eat dinner. Media will always be pulsing through my blood – I love the details, I love the calculations, I love the projects. It’s just time for me to take a break right now.

Commute

3. Built a house in Tijuana, Mexico!
I didn’t think much of going on missions trips, but an opportunity came up. MG and I decided to go to Mexico, kind of on a whim, and it’s been one of the best experiences of my life. I’ve come to realize that God has blessed me in more ways than I ever knew, and He’s taught me how important it is to live humbly and joyous.

Mexico
^^^ Drilling into the drywall

4. Conquered Norovirus… twice
All I got to say is, don’t get it. Diarrhea (lots of it), stomach cramps where you’re prescribed Vicodin, bottles of Pepto becomes your best friend, and fevers and shivers all night long. I had to get a Saline IV because I was dehydrated and my fever wasn’t coming down. Don’t get it. More importantly, don’t get it twice.

Norovirus

5. A homey abode
When I quite my job, I told myself I would not bum around all day. I embarked on a bunch of DIY home projects, and I’ve made the Lam home a place of comfort. I painted all our walls, revamped furniture pieces, framed up wedding pics, and even organized our garage this past year!

Painted

Stencil
^^^ Stenciled an entire wall

6. I adopted a Chubaloo!
Chubs has been one of my best decisions yet! Adopting this guy has brought so much happiness into my life. He cuddles. He fetches. He greets me at the door. I encourage you to adopt shelter animals. Getting Chubs has changed my views on adoption. If I could love an animal so much, how much more could I love a child. Perhaps I’ll have an opportunity to provide a loving home for an adopted child one day.

Chubs
^^^ My butterball turkey

7. One year of marriage
We celebrated our one year glamping (glamorous camping) in Santa Cruz. People say the first year is difficult, but we’ve had a great time. The best part is going to bed and having pillow talk and waking up to the person you love every day. The second best thing is not having to drive an hour to see each other every other day! There have been fights, like old habits that need to be kicked, or divvying chores, but that’s part of the package. I’m okay with that!

Glamping

8. Learning guitar
I finally asked a sweet friend to teach me how to play the guitar. Lydia comes over once a week to teach me a few chords. It’s helpful to have a routine and someone to teach you (I’m very much a visual learner). I can play things in the key of G now! I know 5 chords and can play a few songs. Not too shabby for someone who just learned in a span of 2 weeks! Maybe I’ll be the next Taylor Swift… right.

Guitar

9. Aperture & shutter speed
MG bought me the Sony NEX-5R, but I never got around to using it. I knew nothing about photography. Then I asked a friend to teach me a few tricks, and I learned about aperture and shutter speed. I’m still practicing how to take good shots, but at least I have some sort of foundation now.

Camera

10. This blog
And finally this blog launched, Jay’s Cup. It’s my little place to keep my memories, recipes, and projects. It’ll be a keepsake, and a place where I can come back read about past experiences. Thank you to all of you who have been reading along and being so supportive of this blog. Have a cup of tea with me, and continue to read on about happenings in the upcoming year.

Jay's Cup

I pray that blessings overflow in 2014 for you.

In His Love,
Jay

Family time

What are your plans for the holidays?

I flew back to Texas this past week to visit my family. I’ve been shopping all day with my mom and sister to finish Christmas shopping for our huge family (my mom and dad are both 1 out of 7 siblings, huge is an understatement). I’ve also embarked on a new DIY project. My parent’s current house is about 20 years old, with only one renovation about 15 years ago when the granite floors were installed. Nothing else has been done. While sitting on the toilet, I came up with the idea of painting the bathroom walls (never TMI on this blog) but you can visit the site from where I took this idea. The one obstacle, and this is a big one, all the bathrooms are wallpapered (talk about early 90s!). So I told my dad I was going to ripe out the wallpaper and paint the upstairs bathroom, and he replied with “yeah right… you’re on Christmas break.” Either he was being totally serious, or he knew the right button to hit so that I would complete the task. Probably the latter…

So challenge accepted.

I’ve worked on the upstairs bathroom (which is conjoined by two powder rooms) for the past four days, tearing off wallpaper. Except it wasn’t as easy as YouTube makes it look… The wallpaper is glued onto drywall, which is basically raw materials made of layers and layers of paper. Can’t really peel glued paper off paper, am I right? Damn, this became a WAY bigger project than I expected. So now the process is: peel wallpaper (careful not to damage the drywall too much), spackle, smooth out the plaster, wipe down the dust, texturize the walls, sand down the texture so it matches the walls at home, primer, then paint. What did I get myself and MG into? But it’s been a learning experience, and to me that’s always worth it. I’m hitting up Home Depot like it’s my local coffee shop, and hard at work everyday toiling away, which is better for my weight because the other situation is that I’d be snacking all day. I’m happy to say that today, all the wallpaper is off and we’ve spackled two rooms.  Pics to come soon! There is one pic of MG spackling at the bottom of the collage. This spackle goes on pink, but dries white so you see where you’ve plastered.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of my time in Texas right now, according to my iPhone.

I miss my little Chubalee, but thankfully he’s having a great time with his cat sitters (thanks Winnie)! I do have a fat fat here to keep me company though. Meet Tinker, my sister’s butterball 26lb kitty. He’s a cuddle muffin, and I must smother him every chance I get.

On our free time, obviously we’re eating! Whataburger at 1am is the Texan thing to do. Mmm… honey butter chicken biscuit. Also Sonic had half off milkshakes this past weekend – we had the ultimate shake, the vanilla mint holiday shake. Yum!

We also celebrated my mama’s birthday with a delicious Whole Foods cake. Happy Birthday mommy!

Texas

2 more days until Christmas day! What are you doing until then?

Peace & Love, Jay

The Best Christmas Yet!

MG and I are leaving for Texas this week! I can’t wait to visit my family and friends back home. I miss them dearly. I better get to doing laundry and packin!

Sadly, no super sadly, I’m not bringing my Chubaloo home with me. There’s too much traveling to bring him along. I’m torn… already. And I haven’t even left this guy yet.

On a happy note though, since we’re leaving so soon, we celebrated Christmas with friends early this year. Lots of dinner gatherings, drinks a-flowin, and gift unwrapping!

Get this – best present yet. Actually, I don’t know if anyone can top this.

KitchenAid

I finally got a KitchenAid mixer!!!!

I’ve been eyeing this for so long, but for some reason MG and I didn’t put it on our wedding registry, and we haven’t mustered up the courage to get one. I have no idea why… But finally! My sweetest of sweet and dearly beloved friends got this for me for Christmas.

This has got to be the nicest gift I’ve ever gotten from a friend. Thank you so much for an incredible gift. I wholeheartedly love it and cannot show you enough appreciation.

Now, friends, what should I make with this? Give me some ideas!

What did you do this weekend?
Jay