Winning may not be everything, but it sure is sweet!

As I stumbled out of bed this morning I performed my daily ritual...which is to sit down and check e-mail before doing anything else. Before combing my hair (or in this case, wetting the whole thing down since it's sticking out in all directions), before ingesting caffeine (or mate, the traditional Argentine herb tea), and even before looking outside to see if the sun is shining.

[For those who are organized and do things in proper order, please don't judge me. I'm a midlife menopausal crazy woman living 6,000 miles from her entire family except husband (and currently daughter who is visiting) and that internet link to my dear ones is a life line of epic proportions.]

Anyhoo...because I now get blog comments delivered right to my e-mail, I was bemused, confused and amused to read Skoots congratulating me on winning. Winning what?! My tired, caffeine deprived brain was moving in especially slow motion this morning and it took a good 3-4 minutes of pondering before it finally dawned on me...

Sara's Project 365 drawing!

Could it be? Oh, could it be? I wondered??????

I clicked on keys and ended up...oops, no wait, I didn't want to go there. A few keys later and I'm finally at Sara's blog -- and sure enough, I've won the $20 gift certificate to Blurb!!! WOOT!

I AM SO EXCITED!

And so ready. You will not believe it...well, maybe you will since most visitors to my blog have realized I'm a little *ahem* anal at times... but I spent a couple hours last night transferring ALL my 365 posts from 2009 over to a new "home". I created a new blog specifically for Project 365 - The 2009 Edition. I even made a cute little button to put in my sidebar so it's just a click away.

How's that for organized? lol

I honestly wasn't expecting to win the drawing (have never been good at winning things) but I'd decided a while back to create that secondary blog so that I could have all those posts together. It certainly will make it easier to create the Blurb book!

The goodness doesn't end there.

Yesterday when Ivan got back from running errands he handed me a package. A package which I saw in a glance was from Dana! Dana from Bug's Eye View! Dana who was sending me pecans! I was worse than any kid at Christmas, ripping open that package in about three seconds :-) Inside were TWO bags of pecans, fresh from her daddy's trees. WOOT! Thanks so much Dana!

My SIL sent a bag with my daughter and now with these two bags, I am going to be in Pecan Pie Heaven! I don't know whether to start with a regular pecan pie or a chocolate pecan pie.  Hmmmm, such a problem to have :-)

Over the past week I've also been enjoying the goodies my sister sent with our daughter. She packed Christmas stockings full of fun things. The bath pillow is a favorite since taking bubble baths is my preferred way of relaxing (along with a good book and a chunk of chocolate). Of course I can't use it at home, having no bathtub, but I can use it (and did!) in Sta. Rosa. I'm also taking it anywhere else we might travel, with the optimistic hope that someone, somewhere might have a tub. IT COULD HAPPEN. I've poured over the quilt magazine more than once -- I think I'm on round three right now. Each time through I find something new. And the gel eye-mask is wonderful; I can pop it in the fridge for a bit and enjoy a cooling treatment, or soak in warm water and allow the heat to sooth tired eyes.

Plus my daughter is here. Don't need to say much about that, do I? :-)  Even when we're on our computers and not saying much, it's just so good to be in the same room!

As I sit here this morning, Christmas lights atwinkle, I'm so thankful for God's blessings. The blessing of family. The blessing of friends, both old and new. About my new friends -- whodathunk the internet would take us in this direction of community? It, too, has been a life line of epic proportions.