It's HERE!!!! (AND it works!!!)

I have a confession to make.  I am a Cricut-a-holic.   Not only am I a Cricut-a-holic, but I recently fed my addiction through HSN (Home Shopping Network), in a MAJOR way.  Since word of the new Cricut Imagine hit the boards, blogs, Facebook, etc., a few months ago, I have been carefully tracking info on this new and "innovative" machine.  Did I NEED it?  No.  Did I WANT it?   HELL, YEAH!!!  Did I ever "imagine" (haha) that I'd buy one so soon??? Never!  BUT, I did!
The Imagine actually arrived on my doorstep on Thursday evening (one day earlier than tracking predicted), BUT I was hosting a Stampin' Up party that night AND had to finish correcting 200 math and reading assessments for the next day (remember, I'm a teacher).  So, the Imagine patiently sat in the box all night Thursday.  Friday night came, and we had company....so again, the Imagine sat patiently in its UPS box.  FINALLY, tonight I had time to crack that puppy open and put it to use! 
I eagerly unpacked the box and inspected every piece, making sure things were in tact (I had read too many horror stories this week about people's Imagine's arriving and cartridge boxes being smashed, machines scratched, etc., to feel at ease while opening each piece).  Luckily, all of the pieces were there, and everything seemed fine.  Onto the location of my new gem!  I had a wonderful spot all picked out and already cleared on a big shelf in my Craft Cave.  It proved, however, to be inadequate....the Imagine has quite a big rear, and needs AT LEAST a 12 inch clearance BEHIND it to work correctly!  My Expression worked well in that location, but the Imagine does NOT!  *Sigh!*  It is currently hogging scrap space on my desk....hmm...Anyways....

After running all of the updates, calibrating the printing and cut quality, etc., I was ready to tackle a few cuts!  I must say, that the first card pieces took me about 5 minutes (or less), to pick out, edit, and print & cut! 
While updating and calibration of the machine seemed to take FOREVER (about 45 min., because she froze during the printing calibration), I am VERY pleased with the quality and ease of the use of this machine so far, and look forward to bringing you many projects created with the new Imagine!  ~Hoppy Crafting!