Well, it's official....

THAT...

my friends was the biggest amount of comments (247) I have ever recieved, and I don't necessarily know why...but THANK YOU! :o)

Thank you for your friendship and your visits. I appreciate them so much.

Now for a drumroll, please.....

my winner of the Three Crows Fob and Floss Tag Set is:

SIOBHAN!!!

YAY! Siobhan is the sweetie over at Notes From Blue Hen Hallow

Again....

I want to thank everyone for their friendship, visits and everything else that you bring here to my humble blog. I hope now that the giveaway is over, I'll still get some visits ;o)

Have a great week!

I wished I had a box,

the biggest I could find,

I'd fill it right up to the brim

with everything that's kind.

A box without a lock, of course,

and never any key;

for everything inside that box

would then be offered free.

Grateful words for joys received

I'd freely give away.

Oh, let us open wide a box of

praise for EVERY day!

~author unknown~

My Bloggerversary...

Hello Friends!
Guess what?! My Third Bloggerversary was last Friday, August 14. On that day in 2006, I made my first really poor post and became the original "The Twisted Stitcher". I chose that name because I'm a child of the 80's and I like to think myself a little "twisted" with a sense of humor. So my blog was born.....

In Celebration....
of the big anniversary I made these:

A Scissor's Fob ~ and A Floss Tag

when creating these I stitched

The Goode Huswife out of print design "Three Crows"

The Fob is filled with polly pellets for weight - just like I like 'em - so that they lay nicely on the arm of my chair ~ and contains a penny for good luck. While the Floss Tag is a matching complimentary stitcher's necessity.

To win....

these wee items made by own paws, the only thing necessary is to be a reader of my blog - you don't have to be a frequent commenter, you don't have to have ever commented at all, you don't have to post this on your blog....but I do hope that if you do leave your name that you at least read my blog from time to time and think of me as a friend. That's it! But please make sure that you leave a comment on THIS POST only and that your E-MAIL is with your comment so that I know how to get a hold of you in case you're the lucky winner. The winner will be announced next WEDNESDAY August 26, 2009.

I have been blessed....in so many ways by this blog.

You've shared my successes.....

You've cheered me on......

You've given me advice......

You've made me smile....*countless, countless times*

You've made me cry.....

You've shared my tears of loss and sorrow.....

You've given me hope....

You've eased my pains.....

You've shared my burdens.....

You've given me joy....

You've made me happy....

You've made me laugh out loud....

YOU have been my friends.....and confidants...

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I will never regret for a moment the joy this blog has brought to me. The friendships I have gained. I just hope in some small way, that my words have brought something valuable to you. I thank you for your visits, I thank you for friendship. YOU humble me.

May God Bless each and every one of you!

GOOD LUCK!

Soon there will be....

Frost on the pumpkins....

so isn't that handy that Diane Williams of Little House Needleworks is releasing this cutie?!

"Pumpkins 4-Sale"

Designed by: Diane Williams of Little House Needleworks

Finished by: The Twisted Stitcher's Finishing Service

***This Lovely pattern is coming SOON to a shop near you!***

Adorable isn't it?! It's on my list...definitely! I can see it now sitting on my mantle with maybe those little bales of straw and some white and orange pumpkins, maybe a crow perched on one....

Ready. Set. GO!

Hello my dear stitching buddies....
today marks the first day of the 2009-20010 school year! Fingers crossed we have a wonderful year, and I'll say a rosary every day for my children to be safe and to have success both academically and socially.

So to start everything off.....
on the right foot, I got my rear end out of bed (4:45 a.m.), kissed the hubby good-bye ~ told him to drive safe and rinse out his oatmeal bowl (he typically does NOT do this), then marched downstairs and hopped on the elliptical. After 15 minutes of hell, I mean fun! (not)....I ran back upstairs to shower, moisturize, deodorize, beautify (didn't help) and dress. Then I ran back downstairs and I made homemade Belgian waffles, scrambled eggs and sausage patties for the growing school children:

I awoke the children.....
and they dressed and came down to eat with gusto.

Then I packed a hearty meal.....

everyone got a PB & J (no nut allergy rules at our school yet), Cool Ranch Doritos, a cup of diced peaches, a cup of strawberry yogurt, a homemade brownie and a big squirt bottle of H20. They probably won't eat all of this but I pack heavy for a reason....what is left over, they eat for their after school snack (kill two birds with one stone and usually we are wild going to after school activities, and I don't have to worry about packing them a snack...they already have it with them).

**Here's a little tip for Mama's out there** if you pack school lunches and want something that is quick and easy...I make the "sweet treats" in advance. I bake once or twice per month...in a large, large quantity. Like yesterday I made 24 banana bread muffins, two batches of chocolate chip cookies and 4 (13 x 9 inch) pans of brownies. Once all were cooled I put them into sandwich baggies in individually sized portions. Each bag gets either: 1 muffin or 2 cookies or 1 large brownie. After all the treats were bagged, I put them into large Tupperware boxes sorted by type. I put a label on the outside that said, "Muffins", "Cookies" and "Brownies" and then placed these containers into the deep freeze. Everything was made by scratch and doesn't contain preservatives. Now I have a months (or sometimes more) worth of homemade "sweet treats" for my kids lunches. Every morning I pull the "treats of the day" and put them in their lunch boxes - it thaws by lunch time. A easy way to send a bit of love with your child to school....and it makes you look like you are a real Suzy Homemaker too ;)

Then it was.....

yelling....got your backpacks? What about the Kleenex, hand sanitizer bags? Lunch boxes? Wait! Wait! WAIT! We need our 1st day of school picture....WHEW! Then.....we walked to school. We always walk...Ellie always rides (I'm sure you noticed! LOL!) ;)

Now Ellie and I are back......

from our walk/ride to school and supper is slow cookin' away ~ looks like crap now...but tonight it will be the most luscious, rich Beef Stroganoff with the few simple additions and ladled over egg noodles. YUM-O!

Now....

if only I had something WONDERFUL waiting for me besides this:

Oh well....

what is a Suzy Homemaker to do?!

Until next time....

love and best wishes, as you count your blessings and your stitches, from our house to yours!

XXxxxx

"For I know the plans I have for you,"

declares the Lord, "plans to prosper

you and not to harm you, plans to

give you hope and a future."

~Jeremiah 29:11~

My Baby....

On Friday, August 5, 2005: Ellie Eileen was born into this world....

she's always been a ham for the camera....

she's always been the apple of her Daddy's eye.....

she's always had a sister AND a best friend....

she's always had two brothers to love and protect her....

she's always had a group of people who love and adore her (well maybe not Chatty).....

and she always had her biggest fan!

Happy 4th Birthday

sweet Ellie!

May your days be long and filled with nothing but sunshine, rainbows and God's gracious blessings!

We love you!

Monday Matters....

Hello Friends!
I hope this finds you all well....me? I'm doing ok, but I'm in a bit of a "funk". Seems this time of year always has me in this mood....a bit pensive, a bit of re-evaluation needed, a bit down....I don't know if it is seasonal...you know things are starting to go back a bit, tired of summer, tired of no routine schedule, disorder to order.....I don't know. But the last couple of days I've re-evaluated my life and I've come to some decisions.

Exercise....
This Sole E95 Elliptical will have some time in my life. I do it frequently, but not everyday like I had been doing. So bright and early this morning....I was down and getting chummy with it again. I will say (now this is my opinion only) but I believe that the elliptical gives me the best cardiovascular workout with the lowest impact on my knees. I have knee issues...and I think my knees actually feel better when I work out on this. Today....I did 10 mins. at 3.8 mph for 3/4 mile done. This evening....I'll do another 10 mins. and shoot for 3/4 of a mile again. Since I've not been faithful this summer, I cut my time back and will work up again. Last year when I started this...I could barely do 5 minutes without stopping just going a normal gait pattern...so progress, is progress. 30 minutes DAILY that is my goal.

Water....
we are made of it, and I need to drink more of it....8 glasses daily . I suck drinking water...oh, I drink a lot each day, but it is more of the tea/diet mountain dew variety, not plain water. So I will do this....come hell or high water....ha. ha. ha.

Praying....
Here's another thing, that I've been neglecting lately, my daily walk with God....and it shows too. Of course I think about God, try to live a Godly life, think of my neighbors, be the person I want and God wants me to be, but I've neglected one on one time with the Almighty and I'm not afraid to say it. I've been given so much, have been blessed so much and the few moments that I have where I could give back...I fail... so I will write it down, it will happen daily.

Dieting....
Now I'm a chubette of the first order. Always have been, and I always will be - but I can be and have been a socially acceptable chubbette. I constantly am thinking about what I am (or what I have not been) putting in my mouth. Remember this past spring....I lost 25 lbs. I've kept them off, but I need to lose more weight....so today...I grabbed my Special K protein bar for breakfast, my black coffee and boy (!) am I full (!) (not) LOL! But I'll write down my calories and I'll make it a habit. My goal is to stay at 1200 calories daily.

Now then....
I've stated it for the world to see and I feel better all ready! I'm human and I flounder, however I shall flounder less and reap more! And in Scarlett's famous words, "As God as my witness, I'll never be hungry again...." Well maybe that wasn't the quote I was going for, because probably my not wanting to experience hunger is what has gotten me here in the first place...... but my head hurts so I'll leave it at that.....

Stitching....
Let's just say I put the "Tea Party" away for a (long) while....I cried....that's enough...for a (long) while....and maybe my failure at that is what has me viewing myself as a total failure? I don't know...deep thoughts by Tim Handy...

Until Next time....
whenever that may be....Love and Best Wishes, as you count your blessings and your stitches, from our house to yours! XXxxxx