100th post giveaway!

First a little history. In September 2006 my husband had a routine procedure at a local hospital. The chances of problems occurring were 1 in 1,000. I guess his number was up because that routine procedure led to sickness through the fall and ended up with a trip to the ER two days before Christmas. Emergency surgey was required; he almost died while we were waiting for tests to confirm the problem. That surgery resulted in two follow-up surgeries in the spring plus one more unexpected surgery to fix the problem caused by Surgery #3. All of a sudden what was a pretty simple life became a nightmare of juggling job, trips to doctors and hospitals, learning to live on one paycheck instead of two, and a range of emotions I don't even want to think about.

Shortly after the first of the Year 2007, my dear friend/cousin Audrey fell at work and broke her foot. Now she was out of work for a while, too. She was required to elevate her foot for severals hours a day and was told "when you get tired of elevating your foot, elevate it some more." She eventually started to spend those hours at the computer and discovered the world of blogs.

I thought it was the dumbest thing I'd ever heard of. I mean, who would want to put their thoughts out there for just anyone to read! But then she sent me a list of her favorite blogs and told me I just had to look at these. The light came on! I could escape (temporarily) the nightmare Larry and I were living if only for an hour or so each day. I loved reading about sisters in Christ, quilters, cross stitchers, and loved looking at who was doing what with thrift store finds. Some blogs inspired me with Christian devotions, recipes, cleaning hints - well, you know what I mean.

I never thought I would get into this except that my daughters all started blogs, and it seemed like an easy way to keep in touch. We eventually signed up for high-speed internet (I think we were on the only ones on the planet with dial-up). One morning before I left for work, I fiddled around and figured out I could set up a blog. The rest is history.

Long story made short. I have had so much fun with this. I have met some wonderful people that I now call friends. I have been so inspired by some of the beautiful quilts and stitching I've seen. This has been more fun than I could have imagined!

So here is my humble gift as a ways of thanking you for reading all this stuff I write:

1. a BELIEVE block made by my daughter Mandy

2. a Scrabble tile necklace also made by Mandy


3. a packet of Dove Java Chip chocolate smoothie mix

4. a red/white tote bag that I made.


If you would like to win this, please leave a comment on this post. I will use random.org to chose the winner. If you post this giveaway on your blog, please let me know in your comment; and I will give you another chance to win. Our 32nd wedding anniversary is Friday, July 17; and I will choose the winner the morning of the 17th.

Audrey is back on two feet, and Larry is doing well. He still has one more surgery to go, but this time it will be an elective one. He is in no hurry to have it done. In the meantime, I continue to find more and more wonderful blogs; and I hope I am inspiring you as well. Thanks again.