making a list and checking it twice

Making a list and checking it twice,
Gonna find out who's naughty or nice...

This regularly scheduled post has been pre-empted. What's that, you say? Well, I had planned to unveil the blocked and finished Lelah tonight, but certain sorta-knitting and non-knitting events have taken greater precedence. Not to worry, Lelah, she is certainly finished and is sure to return in the next post. But for tonight, in the spirit of the season, I wanted to share some recent events that have touched my heart.

Yesterday, after a stressful afternoon at the Honolulu Academy of Arts with Bossy and Stinky (note to self: do not attempt to imbue culture or art appreciation in barbaric toddlers in quiet, genteel museum with breakable 4000 year old ceramics within arm's reach), I came home to find a mysterious box from kpixie in my mailbox. It wasn't from Hairy Legs, and a couple of quick calls to the family confirmed that it wasn't from them, either. Curiosity killed the cat and got the better of me, so I ripped open that box to find the most beautiful hank of yarn so beautifully and artfully packaged. This is, without doubt, the most gorgeous yarn I have ever laid eyes on! It's Claudia's Handpainted Yarns Large Loop Boucle in Cherry Chocolate. This is the softest, most heavenly stuff I have ever felt- it is amazing!! I quickly rifled through the box to find out who had gifted me with this luscious and decadent yarn, but there was no note, no tag, no invoice, no nothing!! Was it possible that I had been RAK'ed?? I'd never signed up on those RAK boards, so how was this possible?? I hemmed and hawed, and finally the lightbulb went off in my head. Keohinani graciously replied to my quite possibly psychotic email and confirmed that the wonderful, mysterious package was indeed from her. She had no intention of me finding out it was from her, except for the fact that I pummeled it out of her, being the pushy, blog stalking psycho that I am. It just blows my mind to think that someone would be so generous and so unbelievably kind, to randomly and anonymously send such an incredibly generous gift, just because. And to me, of all people. Jill, from the bottom of my heart, truly, thank you SO, SO, SO much! I can't thank you enough or tell you how grateful I am for your kindness and generosity. Your wonderful package and even more wonderful sentiment made my day and touched my heart. I'll never forget that you were the very first blog land "stranger" to leave a comment on my sad blog and become a blog land (and later, real-life SnB) friend, so it means even more to me, coming from you. Knit blog pals are the best!!!

Look what else arrived in the mail yesterday from Sandee!! I almost passed out with happiness!! Keohinani recently held a "You know you knit too much when..." contest with some fabulous prizes. Sandee was so incredibly generous to donate AWESOME prizes, including the above beautiful Regia sock yarn and Crystal Palace flowers. And this was just for honorable mention!! Sandee, I am SO, SO grateful for this wonderful prize! I can't tell you how touched I am that you would send such a generous and amazing package of yarn and even refuse to let me pay for shipping! I'll say it again....knit bloggers are the best!!!

And Santa, in addition to Jill and Sandee, I have one more person for you to add to your "nice" list...Hairy Legs, who hereafter shall be referred to as Mr. Wonderful. (Thanks for the moniker, Agnes!) Today, while backing our relatively new van out of the *%&$#@% gymnastics parking lot, I failed to see a telephone wire and scraped the passenger door pretty bad. Imagine 7 parallel lines about a foot long running across a previously pristine and unmarred door. We've always made jokes about my driving ability, which (CLEARLY!) is not the best. Which is why I didn't get my license till a year and a half ago, never imagining I was capable of doing something so stupid. The van is barely a year old and was an investment we could barely afford with only one income, but we went ahead with it for the sake of the kids. Needless to say, Mr. Wonderful has been OCD about keeping it clean, waxed, vacuumed and pristine. I almost threw up thinking about how I was going to tell him what I'd done. I considered lying or feigning shock about someone "vandalizing" the car, but in the end, I knew I couldn't pull it off. With my pulse beating wildly and my stomach a mess, I called Mr. Wonderful and told him the truth. And do you know what that wonderful, amazing man said? He said that he was just grateful and relieved that we were safe and unharmed. No anger, no yelling...not even a raised voice. He even told me not to be sorry after I apologized, and that accidents happen. And that he loved me. I got off the phone and cried. Even just writing this, I'm tearing up. I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful husband and father. Thank you for all that you are....I love you with all my heart, J!

There's a line in one of my favorite Christmas songs that goes And saying I love you is always better; Seasons, reasons- they don't matter, So don't hold back. And while I always say that my family and friends mean more to me than anything, I am often guilty of taking them for granted. And never moreso than this past month, with school and holiday preparations often taking greater precedence. These recent incidents have touched me deeply and have made me take a big step back in reflection. I'm reminded of a list that Bossy wrote at Thanksgiving. I wrote "I am thankful" at the top of the page and gave him a pen and free reign to write whatever struck his fancy. I came back a few minutes later to find a list that made me cry. The kind of list that makes you believe that maybe you're actually doing a decent job raising a good kid. Of course, I'd hope that by next year we'd make the cut above turkey and pumpkin pie, but hey, I'll take what I can I get. It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle that we sometimes forget to thank those we love the most. Today, I am reminded again of all that I have been blessed with...how much my family means to me, how much I love them and how very thankful I am to have them in my life. And how very thankful I am for all of the wonderful friends I've made blogging!! For all that you share and all that you do, you girls truly are the best!!

Whew! Thanks for letting me go waaaaay off the knitting tangent there...I promise, definite knitting and crafty content next time! Up next, Lelah's debut and the premiere of my girl, Olga's, super fun list and incredible button that's up for grabs....have you noticed anything new in the sidebar?? Hmmm....Stay tuned!