It would appear that I have not fallen off the face of the earth...

Although it seems that way. It's been forever since I've sat down to at the old blog or read any of my usual blogs and I'm ashamed at how behind I am at answering emails. Things have been NUTS between working late, Christmas programs at work, making gifts and having the plague. But things are calming down a bit now, so I hope to jump back into the bloggy swing of things.

I had a great Christmas this year. Spent it, as always, with Mark and my family. Jackie and Scott were there via Skype, so they got to sit on the gift unwrapping circle. It was almost as good as having them there! We laughed, we ate too much, we watched movies and just sat around together. It was good. Very very good. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. If I never got another gift, but could enjoy their company, that'd be OK. I remember after Bryan passed, I said to Mom and Shea that he had been a gift to us. And he was; in fact, he was a gift to every single person he ever met. But I believe that Mark, my parents, my brother Shea, my sister Jackie & her husband Scott are God's gifts to me as well. And not just at Christmas time. I don't know what I did to deserve such a wonderful family but I am thankful for every minute that I am fortunate enough to spend with them!

Speaking of Christmas, I DO have pictures of the handmade gifts that I made this year. Note to self: DON'T wait until Thanksgiving to start if you plan on making gifts next year! Here's a quick rundown of the half aprons I made for my girlfriends.

This first one was for my assistant and good friend Pam. She's would tell you she's afraid of color in her house and that everything is beige...so I went with this cute beige/brown combination of fabrics. She dug it.You've seen this one. It went to my dear friend Sheila. She's given me vintage fabrics and pillowcases to embroider and gave me lots of advice and help when first took up embroidery. Like me, she enjoys vintage things and antiques. I think this fabric, the embroidery and style(it's the only one with a gathered waist) made it just right for her. Trish got this next one. She and I are so much alike, it's scary. We also have very similar taste in home decor, so I thought this would be perfect for her. Of all these aprons, this is the one I'd pick if I could only choose one. But I wouldn't wear it with my snowman pj's, I promise! This one went to my friend Stacey. She has animal prints in her family room and dark red in her kitchen. And if you knew her, you'd know the animal print is "her". Very vivacious! She and Trish can make me laugh till I'm sick. No, I didn't put the initial on backwards...it's a mirror image(although I was pretty tired by this point so it could have happened!). Here's the pocket detail.Another one you've seen. The Santa apron ended up a gift for my principal, Cristy. When I gave her the gift bag she said, "I hope this is what everyone else is walking around here wearing!" She wore hers all day and managed make a Santa print apron look sophisticated.This apron was a gift for my friend Cara. Cara(originally from Mississippi) is what I imagine a Southern Belle to be. First off, she's gorgeous. I'm not kiddin'...knock-out gorgeous! And smart. And funny. She's another one that makes me laugh till it hurts. She's also very stylish in a classic way...never trendy, but always stylish. I wish I could be like that. I thought of her the minute I spotted this fabric. So there you have it. They loved them! Silly of me to worry that they wouldn't. Several of the gals put them on and wore them all day at work! So cute! I'm glad I did handmade! Here's a quick idea for wrapping ANY gift(not just Christmas). I literally finished the last one the night before I planned to give them. I didn't have enough gift boxes or any gift bags on hand. I'd been too busy being sick, working and making stuff to think about that. I did have some brown paper wrap that I use when I send boxes to Jackie. So I wrapped the un-boxed aprons in that and made bows from leftover fabric scraps from each apron. Turned out really cute and it looked deliberate rather than last-minute!

I also made two full aprons and a quilt as Christmas gifts. I'll show those off later.