100 ways to say you care...

or...hey, I've done this blogging thing 100 times now. No. NOW. As in this very post. Can you feel the excitement?? ...ok, maybe that's just the second cup of coffee going down too fast.

Alright ladies and gents, its 8:40am in the grand ole land of Lincoln. I've got a 4 year old's birthday party at 4:00, 2 toilets to clean, 2 cakes to frost (don't ask, I'll explain below), 2 beds to make, and 2 people to get cleaned up and make presentable. (Eddie's on his own.) Plus all that last minute cleaning you do when people are coming over, that in the end is never noticed. ...like I spent 15 minutes on Thursday scrubbing the textured areas of the fridge & dishwasher?

Because that desperately needed to be done? I guess. But hey, its done and it looks good. No one will notice but me, but man am I impressed!

*side note: if you haven't yet purchased your own set of microfiber cleaning cloths, minimize this window and go grab a pack. Its cool, I'll wait. They're awesome, I cleaned my house with one Thursday. Use 'em dry for dusting, use it DAMP for glass/sinks/stove/everything else that can't run away.

So before I start the flurry of neurotic cleaning and errand running, let's do a quick catch up on the blog, shall we? There's a lot to pack in to #100.

First, part of my absence has been due to opening a new esty shop: http://www.helenasophia.etsy.com/

I've been wanting to 're-vamp' my store and my...efforts, in a sense. I finally got some new inspiration for new things, ideas for new 'old' things, and a new shop name! Helena & Sophia are both family names (my great-grandmothers? i think...) I heard them on our trip out East, and they stuck with me until I decided they were the new shop name.

The newest addition to the shop are cosmetic bags and flannel wipers. With more to come in the next couple of weeks! I've already got 2 custom orders in the works, with pictures to follow soon.

Also, way back when I was 25, Marianna tagged me for a brillante award:

Sorry Marianna! I didn't mean to take so long to get to this, but THANK YOU! Part of the delay is picking my 7 to tag. But here goes!

Crazy Mom Quilts - that she does! She's got some great tutorials for your Christmas gift giving, as well as some awesome quilts, so grab a pile of fabric and get going!

Its a Colourful World - Sandy's blog. For one, her cards are amazing. More importantly, she's a major part of Cardsforheroes.org. They send blank greeting cards to soldiers overseas (because, to the best of my knowledge, there is no hallmark store in Iraq...) as well as letters and cards to the soldiers themselves. If you'd like to donate cards, mail to a soldier, or sponsor a shipment, you can find all the information in that link. And check out Sandy's blog for ideas.

Crafty Daisies - lots and lots and lots of great ideas. As an added bonus, they're doing a 'book club' where a group reviews a crafting book, each choosing a different project out of said book. So you get the opinions of a group, and see the finished projects, which I always enjoy because sometimes people go in a direction I wouldn't have thought of on my own.

Sweet Jessie - Because of her I've got a date with a few blank tshirts later this week. A project I've been putting off for over a year for fear I'll ruin it. We'll see.

Feeling Stitchy - I just spend way too much time browsing. Great time sucker, but well worth it.

Primrose Design - Once you spend an afternoon at feeling stitchy, and decide you're going to make something *now* ...pull this one up. She's got a great set of 'stitch school' posts that go over a myriad of stitches with great instructions and pictures. Way better than those black and white diagrams that do nothing but confuse you.

This Vintage Chica - I just love her blog, and I can't quite articulate why. Its a mix of everything, and it all just seems very natural.

So...what else? Oh RIGHT. The blog give-away. (you knew it was coming...)

Here's the tricky part...my camera batteries are dead. (yes, batteries, plural. I let two batteries totally drain. Yes, the idea of having TWO is so you always have a charged reserve, I'm aware.) So you'll have to take my word on this. ;) There will be a drawing for TWO winners. Why two? Because its my blog and I said so. ...I really have no reason, just decided on two.

Leave a comment here. Making sure of course that you leave me SOME sort of contact info. I can't send imaginary packages to imaginary people :) I'll draw names on Sunday, October 26th.

So what's the prize? ...I'm not tellin! I will be posting some photographic hints in the coming days though, so stay tuned!

Oh, and the two cakes? Because at 8:30 last night, as I was mixing cake batter, and went to reach for my 9x13 pans - planning to make two cakes, a half sheet when paired together....I was suddenly aware of the fact that my husband - the ever generous soul - has given away all of my 9x13 pans. ah. right. forgot. (ya know, friend has a baby, you send over a lasagna....only when I do it, I send it in foil. They don't have to do dishes and we don't have to track pyrex?) Bless his soul, he loaned them out. ...a long time ago.

But...I do have ONE left. The same one that was soaking a batch of roving to be dyed for an order. huh. So I made them both in 8" round pans, and now I have two double layer cakes to frost. The best part? I work in a bakery. With cake. That I could have just brought home and been done with it. ...lesson learned.