the day after

This birthday just got better and better! First there was a lovely dinner and movie with my husband, the kids spending the night with a friend (and Stella made it all night for the second time! No 1 am trip to go retrieve her! Woohoo!), and a lovely morning at home with just Lyle, cleaning up and doing laundry in peace- a real treat!

And THEN-

::the homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting::







Can you tell I am proud of my cake? I love making carrot cake, and I love eating carrot cake. And yes, I did eat that entire piece in the picture. It is against the rules to cut those pretty carrots in half when slicing the cake, you know. Recipe is here.

::the presents::





Jason surprised me a whole bunch with the DVD set of the series, Firefly, which I adore so much. He also had called up my local yarn shop and asked the owner how much she sells swifts for, and bought a gift certificate to cover one! Which is just perfect because my mom and dad sent me a ball winder just last week, and the two go hand in hand. One might think that these people were planning this, but I am assured that it is a coincidence. I am also the lucky owner of a new knitting book and several sizes of bias tape makers (Thanks, Mom & Dad!), in addition to the promise of a new pair of Lantern Moons (Advance thanks, Tammy!) for an upcoming special project- more details to come when the specially ordered, custom dyed, cashmere yarn arrives. ::fans self::