I’ve been busy lately, and can actually show what I’ve been up to!
First, I made Katie a Lovey from a thread pattern written by Cylinda Matthews of Crochet Memories. The pattern is called Pineapple Cascade Angel and is also going on top of our Christmas tree this year. I’ve also completed a blue/silver Lovey and am currently working on a burgundy/gold one. I’m making them for all five girls in our family this year (my two daughters and my three nieces).
Here’s 3 month-old Katie with her Lovey, made from vintage Red Heart Baby yarn in Bright Pink. 
And now for the lovelies. Because food is lovely and I want you to drool over these as much as my family did!
First, I made a fantastic dinner salad last night. I’ll even tell you how I did it.
I threw into a 6-quart bowl the following (all uncooked):
- baby spinach
- 1 pound green beans
- about 1/3 head red cabbage
- carrots
- shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses
- a small yellow onion
- a cucumber
- four small tomatoes
I served it with polska kielbasa cut into small bites, balsamic vinegar and basil dressing, and Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. We were all quite full after this delightful salad. We even had enough left over to serve with our homemade pizza tonight!
The salad, sans sausage (but full of color and flavor!): 
And last, but not least, dessert! After washing the pans from pizza, the kids and I had fun decorating cookie dough before baking. I started the dough for Chocolate Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies (say THAT three times fast!) last night when my hand mixer died. Just died on me. I called my MIL and asked if I could borrow hers so I could get these cookies done. By the time I drove the five miles to her house in icy, -2 weather and the five miles back home (van complaining the whole trip) it was too late to bake the cookies. Especially since I wanted the kids’ help. I finished mixing the dough and put it in the fridge over night. We set up three stations for decorating the cookies: chocolate chips, coconut, and crushed candy canes.
Once baked, I drizzled melted white chocolate over the cookies. The only thing we didn’t do was to add the chocolate chips to the dough. The kids had more fun placing them on top! 
And they taste absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe Krista!!
