It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

Ate so far today:
Chorizo and Eggs (yes I really like Chorizo)
Protien coffee drink

Knitted so far:

I am pleased to announce that my two sock sets are finished. That means I am up to a total of four completed socks. Am I a sock knitting addict yet? I believe I am, Sir or Madam, I believe I am.

Mom's Peek A Boo socks. She asked me to make these for her so she can keep her feet warm while wearing flip flops. She gets cold easily. O.o

These are my witchy witchy Jaywalker Socks. As you can see on the left foot, I sorta ran out of the yarn from Knit Picks and had to purchase some Lorna's Laces to finish that one up. Luckily the Lorna's matched many of the colors so it didn't look TOO out of place. Right?

Clandestine. I showed you last time this sock in progress. I have to say this was the most challenging pattern I have ever encountered but I loved every second of it. It really tested my skills and taught me neat tricks and how to repair errors in knitting that I would have never had the balls to do before.

Everyone Outta the Pool! These are my first toe up socks. I have to say I didn't like toe up as much as I had hoped. Or at least I didn't like the short row heel. It left a hole at the gusset. It's probably not as big as I perceive it but it's big enough for me to notice...which is who is most important anyways.

This past week I have been reflecting on the importance of family. My family has been going through several growing pains and life changes these past months that have really impacted the dynamics of how we interact with each other and the love we share.
Growing up, my family was very close. I have a close bond with my brother and sister and we all have a deep relationship with our mother. Our dad (technically my step dad but he's really stepped up since my biological dad doesn't really seem to care) has always been sorta distant but each year I see him trying to get more involved with us. We would have celebrations where everyone would come in and join; bringing foods from our culture, musical instruments, and lots and lots of conversation. I joke with my mom that nobody knew I had such a bad hearing loss because our family was so damn loud that it didn't matter.

Fiesta de la Navidad. (Christmas party) That's my grandpa Angel and grandma Maria singing and playing music. We didn't need stinking iPod playlists.

Grandpa Angel and my little sister Millicent on her first communion.

Your very own Chubby Knitter with the maracas and my little sister Millicent with the Güiro.

My Tia Rosa (Green top) and my mom Mary (gold top) holding my little cousin David on his first Christmas. He was born just two weeks before this picture was taken.

Our grandpa Angel, Chubby knitter in the green dress, and little sister in the white.

Grandpa, Grandma, my cousin David (white shirt) and my little brother Dannie, aka The booger (green and blue shirt)

My cousins David and Maribel.

As a family we were poor, we didn't have much money or expensive trinkets or gadgets. We had hand-me-down clothes, Payless footwear, and K-mart. We didn't have TVs in every room, walk-mans (old version iPods LOL), or cell phones. These days were hard but they were good.
Lately, my family has been changing. No longer do we have the loud rambunctious parties where everyone comes together in song and in laughter. No longer do we come together and share. Our family has broken off into corners and only speak to each other in whispers. We pay more attention to our iPhones and Blackberries than we do to each other. This breaks my heart. I want my niece to grow up how I grew up. A struggle, yes, but there was a deep appreciation that we had for each other. We didn't talk through IMs or Facebook, we sat down and looked at each other face to face. We made efforts to make sure we spent time together. I miss these days. Now this is something I have to make sure is in Jazmin's life before it's wiped away from our family forever.

My nice Jazmin. The shorts behind her belong to my brother Dannie.

My preciosa (precious) brushing her teeth before going out with her Tio Dannie and Titi Meli

Here is Jazmin being nosy in grandpa and grandma's room.

My niece is the girl of 1000 faces.

Food court time with Jazmin and a free plug for Subway. Subway...Eat Fresh. Now where's my free subs?

I love it when Jazmin is here because it gives us a chance to bond with her and share with her just like we had when we were kids. It was a fun day had by all though we were fully exhausted by the time we returned home.

I know today's post was full of alot of pictures but I just felt the need to share how much I do love my family and hope that soon we can go back to how it was.