I survived the holidays

Have I really been gone that long???? First of all, I missed you all!! We had wonderful holidays, but I'm happy that everybody is back to work and school and we can get back to our routines. We spent the week before Christmas finishing up our shopping, attending Xmas band concerts, and attending my school basketball games to watch my daughter cheer. We all had the vacation the week after Xmas and was able to get everything cleaned up and put away till next year. Now, we are all suffering with colds. Right now I can barely speak!

I'm happy to report that I was able to finish all my Xmas gifts, and everyone seemed happy with them. I forgot to take pictures of "my so-called scarf" I made for my sister, and I still need to get a picture of the backpack I completed for my daughter. But here's some of the recipients and their gifts.

Here's a shot of my daughter and nephew working on their gingerbread Christmas tree. I think most of the candy ended up in his mouth!!










This last shot is Christmas morning before all the chaos got started. It amazes me still every year how much effort is put into buying gifts, wrapping and placing them under the tree, and in a mere 20 minutes, each and every present has been opened and the place resembles the aftermath of a tornado!!



















Well, after finishing up all my Christmas knitting, I didn't pick up a ball of yarn until just Tuesday. I finally started a pair of socks, and these are for myself. I've really been slacking with SAM2. So, since I've got a good stash of sock yarn right now, I'm going to work on just socks...I think. I'd also like to make myself a scarf, and my oldest daughter wants one of those skinny scarfs that are so in these days. My dad also mentioned that he was really hoping to get a pair of socks for Christmas. So, looks like I'll be making him a pair too!

I also just found out over the holidays that my cousin's daughter is expecting a baby this June. I just mentioned to my mom and sister a few weeks ago that I wish there were more babies in the family because since I've started knitting, I've been wanting to make some baby things. So now's my chance. I've been looking for a cute afghan to start and it would be nice to make a layette set too, but I'll have to see first how the afghan goes. Her mom had made me a beautiful handmade bunny quilt for my daughter when she was born, so I'd like to make something special for her.

Not knitting related, I got the most awesome Xmas present from my husband. If there are any scrapbookers out there, you'll probably appreciate this. He got me the new Cricut electronic cutter!!! What it is basically is a super duper die cut machine. Even though the machine was expensive and the cartridges are also expensive, I definitely think in the long run it will be worth it. With one cartridge, there are endless possibilities!! any size, any shape. I'm really looking forward to trying it out, but just have not had the time.