A WINNER AND OTHER NEWS

I put all the names that actually entered on pieces of paper and put them in a bowl for Billy to pick one. Annie wanted tho help :) but I told her she couldn't eat paperSo Billy picked a name and...the winner is...drum roll
Karol..Congrats to Karol. I need you to email me your mailing info so you can receive your gift card in the mail and I hope you are able to make lots of goodies. I wish everyone that entered could have won but there could only be 1 winner. Let's all congratulate Karol..now read on for something I would like to share with all of you
I actually got goose bumps when I watched this..and this is why I do what I do to help save pets. A very heartwarming story
http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2012/01/handicapped-puppy-melts-hearts-on-today-show/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LifeWithDogs+%28Life+With+Dogs%29

71 SO FAR AND STILL WRITING LETTERS...&.THIS IS A .LONG POST :)

I now have 71 great recipes and am still writing letters. So far in order to get these recipes I had to write at least 160 letters this time and over 500 last time.

When I started the postage for a letter was 29 cents...big difference and I have learned a lot since the first edition I started with the help of my Daughter "Nellie" who just turned 12 at the time.

I wrote the first letter on my typewriter and just wrote Dear....on the top and then I would write the name in on copies I made (how tacky was that huh?)

Nellie and I would go to the school Billy worked at nights and they would let Nellie use one of the computers in the computer room and she did do some of the graphics for me. She was sooo proud to be able to know how to do something that I couldn't do. We did not have a computer at home and I didn't know how to use one anyhow.

I also had a friend and one of my sweet DIL help me design the cover and this is how they looked and still do. (I may change the color when these I have are gone)

This is how it looked on the inside and this is my copy and was thinking about writing "Second Edition" on the cover now
I can still remember my youngest son and Nellie licking all the stamps and also walking to the mail box in front of a grocery store to mail my many letters and how excited we would get when something came in the mail. This is the recipe we got from Nancy Regan" and Nellie was able to put a picture of the Monkey on it because the recipe is for Monkey Bread (and it reminded us of when Ronald Regan played in a movie with a Monkey) :)
Then we got a really nice one from Johnny Cash also and it was yummy and he even put a joke at the bottom. He said it was from his Mothers recipes and I guess that is why it tasted so good.
This picture is actually in the wrong place ..It is right inside the front cover and is the second page with information about the Author
I will never forget how excited we were when we got an envelope from London England from Benny Hill. He sent a post card inside an envelope that he autographed and hand wrote the recipe on the back. His handwriting was hard to read so we typed it so it could be read :)

Another one of my favorites was from Lady Bird Johnson and she hand wrote extra things to use to make her recipe at the bottom and then she signed it...I Love that one too
I wrote my cook book as a tribute to my Mother and Father and know they are looking down on me and I'm sure they are proud that I stuck it out and met my goal
These pages were written by a friend of mine who's Husband wrote poetry for funeral homes. He also wrote one for when your pet goes to the other side of the Rainbow and I have it in a frame with one of our special pets that is no longer with us
With all that being said I would like to say ...Am I worried about people making copies to give to a friend..Yep..I am sure that will happen just like when my 1 DIL took 2 of the recipes and entered them in a contest (without the Celebrities name of course) and did she win..YEP she won $25.00 for each of the 2 recipes and she is the one who told me what she did.

I also had 2 Libraries buy one from me and I will never do that again. Why would anyone buy one from me when they could check it out at the Library and make copies...my sales dropped to "0" which also meant I no longer could donate part of the proceeds to help pet shelters or anyone else.

I was able to help a little boy with CP get some special chairs because the Jaycees saw the article about me trying to help him in the newspaper and they donated the chairs. Another man drove to my House and wrote a ck for $300.00 for him and that meant I netted $1,200.00 for that young boy. I have seen him a few times since then and he is now old enough to take driving lessons to get a drivers licence.

I saw an article in the paper where a man lost his wife to Cancer and he had 3 teen age Children They were looking for donations through a bank. When I called the bank they said it was over..and it was just in the paper that day. So once again I raised some money through sales but didn't get much. I mailed it directly to him and apologized for the small amount and told him maybe he could just take his kids out to dinner. I got the nicest Thank You letter from him saying how it helped just knowing someone cared to try and help.

My biggest goal was when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and so many people lost their homes as well as their pets. I was glued to the T V every night watching Anderson Cooper and seeing the people crying for their pets and then seeing all the pets they were sending to a shelter in Miss made me try again. I went to the Library (still didn't have a computer) and got the address of that shelter. I wrote to the shelter and talked to them on the phone. They mailed me pictures and flyers and I went to every store I could find that would let me put a jar on the counter plus sold more cook books and just kept sending them money every time I had some. I also made as many pet beds as I could for a lot of the dogs and cats that were in cages and separated from their homes.

Overall I think I was able to make a difference in a few lives and my goal is to do it again and now I have the help of a computer but is still a lot of work. I no longer send the same letter to every celebrity and am making them a little more personal. over 90% of celebrities go through agents and I am learning which agents just toss my letters in the trash. It is one of the bigger agents so the letters are harder to get a reply from.

I have even had some agents write a refusal letter. Excuse me but for that same amount of postage they could have sent a recipe. I did just get a refusal letter from Martha Stewart and you would think she would jump at the chance to do something to help her ratings. Another one was Oprah and Calvin Cline...same type of letter.I am spending many hours now on the computer and trying to figure out who might actually reply with a recipe.

My goal now is to start taking orders on Feb 28th in honor of Nellie's 32 BD (wow 20 years)

so stay tuned and don't forget to enter my give away for the free grocery card. Just scroll down to the post about the giveaway to leave a comment

I AM HAVING A GIVE AWAY FOR FREE $25.00 GIFT CARD

I am having a give away until the 31st of January for a free gift card for Publix Grocery Store. Just leave me a comment on which of your family's favorite meals you most look forward to preparing at home with products purchased at "The Best Meals Happen at Home Publix Event.

This Publix Gift Card information and Giveaway have been provided by General Mills through

"My Blog Spark"

With the economy the way it is I am sure many of us could use an extra $25.00 for Groceries. I Love to make things up ahead of time and freeze the extra for another meal . I just found a wonderful recipe for using GM Cheerios to make Chicken Nuggets and can't wait to try them.

Please be sure and let me know of a way to email you if you don't have a blog so I can let you know if you are the winner.

I will put all the names in a bowl and have my Husband pick on on the 31st and will announce the winner on Feb first.

You must leave a comment in this post to be entered

Thank you to all of you that leave a comment and for visiting my blog.

Click on the link below to save on groceries with coupons
http://www.bestmealsathome.com/

SHE MADE IT AND I AM "PROUD"

The weather was really bad in Chicago on Thursday night and they were forecasting up to 8" of snow for Friday. My DD Nellie" was in a panic thinking her show that she worked so hard to produce would be cancelled. Well she had a Full House in spite of the nasty Chicago weather (70 tickets) Most all of the other shows in Chicago were cancelled as were the schools closed every where. I am very proud of my Daughter for reaching most of her dreams and goals.

There is no secret to success, just commitment and know-how. Success is based on hidden opportunities. Many of these opportunities lie right before our eyes and once we learn how to recognize them we can set our goals. The people who help you realize your dreams are one of life's most valuable assets

.Nellie was in the Drama club in High School and I remember baking the Brownies for them to sell during a play many times. Nellie never wanted to be an actress but enjoyed planning the set and helping with the lighting.

She also loved writing and wrote for the school newspaper and also wrote for the newspaper in College. She took every class she could including "Voice Over's" which is when you see a cartoon with a duck or something talking and it is someone doing voice overs. She did very well in that class and when the instructor called her with her grades he was in awe at how great she did. Then he asked her where she lived which of course was in the suburbs. He said "Nellie" ..You need to move to Chicago. At that time she was a Nanny which she really enjoyed also. Well with that being said she started planning to make the move to Chicago.

Once she moved to Chicago and still enjoyed being a Nanny she just started working towards her goals. She started out with small newspapers and even a few magazines and helped with comedy shows and also some shows that would help with pet shelters and whatever else came her way. She walked in marathons and did whatever it took.

Well...her persistence is paying off. She now produces her own shows and her production company name is " Youngest Child"...which fits her to a "T" being the only girl and youngest of 9.

The name for her shows is Atomic- Comics Masters of the Universe and they are held at Maynestage Theatre in Chicago

This is where her show was held on Friday night. Has the name of her show in LIGHTS :)

I guess there is something to be said for encouraging a child when they love to write little poems and give them to you so never ignore the things your child Loves to do.

I will be very happy if we are able to save up so we can move farther North and maybe even be able to go to some of Nellie's Shows

Nellie produces her own shows...helps with other shows..She is still a Nanny and enjoys that and she still does writing for a few papers.

Hopefully things will slow down a little bit for her soon and she can help me edit the book I am working on writing.

Nellie helped me reach my goal 20 years ago when she was just 12 years old with her help publishing the first edition of my cook book. My goal now is to be able to publish it again and add a second edition so I can once again help pet shelters and maybe have a small extra income too.

If you look on the right side bar you will see a picture of Nellie and you can click on it to check out her blog

Got em Done

These are most of the quilts I spent a lot of time on last year. It is really kind of funny because Billy did help me a lot with laying them out and he also clipped every one of the raggy ones. He thought this was an order I had for a friend for after Christmas and he laid out the design and even mentioned how he liked the way I put the back on. I did not have the heart to make him clip his own quilt and this one was traditional. I used a lot of Corduroy and some civil war prints. He was very surprised when he opened it on Christmas morning. Most of my pictures are not good at all. They were all taken with my cell phone and I did ask my kids to take a picture and email to me....well you know how that goes.
This is Billy's quilt laid out on full size bed in guest room before I wrapped it. I used a mattress pad inside this one in the middle. It is real long and he lets it hang down on the floor when he sits in recliner to watch T V and that is where 2 dogs are always laying.This is the quilt that I spent the most time on for my #1 son Dan. I just knew he would like the Cross with the hills and the sky
The blue fabric was clouds and the green was trees and the cross print fabric kind of looked like wood. I did stitch his name in the top right but it doesn't show in the pictures
I bought some fabric with cute Angel like print and each one had a Bible Verse. I appliqued 3 on the black boarder on each side
My friend Dani stitched the pieces of fabric that was for the boarder on the top and bottom. The top says "On A Hill Far Away" and on the bottom is stitched ...Stood an old rugged cross
He Loves his quilt and since he is kind of big I made it big enough for him to use in the sleeper in the semi that he drives over the road
This quilt is for Dan's wife Brenda and yes ..I know I made a mistake with 2 of the same print together OPPS
I did emb the name and from me on each quilt and Brenda's was a print that was like a Hawaiian trip and I made the same print for my GD that is their Oldest DD Amanda
This one is all purple prints and was for Jessica ..my son Dan's 16 yr old DD
She loves purple so she was very happy with her quilt
This picture does not show the print on this quilt that I made for my #3 son Jim..it has a nature outdoor print
He did send me a better picture and he does this every year. He texts me a picture of him with the gifts I sent to him to thank me :)
This quilt was for Jean...Jim's wife and you really can't tell that it has print that has really pretty birds mixed with solid dk blue squares
My GS tried to send me a better picture but it is kind of hard to see the print in his picture too
I forgot to take a picture of GS Nick's quilt so he took this one and sent it. His print has Trees and Black Bears. His was also traditional and not raggy
This is the quilt I made for #6 son Mark and has a lot of fishing and other nature print
Like I said..My cell phone just didn't get good pictures
This is a very similar print for Marks wife Kelly
This is a Dog prints quilt for Marks oldest Daughter Ashley
Ashley called me and was squealing to tell me how much she loved the quilt
My stitching is not very good but it is for sure they can all tell that I did it myself :)
This one is for GD Jennifer and has kitty print and some chenille and some corduroy squares and is extra warm since she gets cold so easy
This is the one I made that tore up my sewing machine because I used a nice warm blanket in the middle and it was too thick for my Viking machine..I did the rest of them with a different machine made by Singer and very durable..thank goodness
This one is mostly tans and brown and has some nature type prints and made for son #4 Troy
I made a real nice one for Troys oldest son and had some print with Dale Earnheart but couldn't find the picture I took and of course he never remembered to send me one
This one was for my youngest GS "Gavin" and he likes bright colors and fish. I did it a little different and made some of the blocks into a 9 patch which of course made it even more work
I think all the raggy quilts will last much longer than if I made them all traditional..I hope so because I do not plan on making them any again
This one was for #7 son "Lonnie" and he loves anything to do with John Deere. He always knows that he will be getting something from me that has to do with John Deer
I did have a square that a friend had emb a tractor on so that is the 1 I used to stitch his name on :)
Lonnie's wife "Angie" Loves anything that has to do with the Beach so of course all the prints in hers have a Beach theme
Just can't see how nice it really looks in this picture
This is another one that was a LOT of work because I got the bright idea to put a thermal blanket inside and even put pieces of batting in the middle. It is for my DD "Nellie" and it does get really cold in Chicago. She Loves colors and prints like this
This is one I made from Homespun and denim and even sewed denim pockets to hold whatever you needed while laying on the couch to watch T V. I sold this one to someone and they gave it to 11 yr old boy and he was very impressed with the pockets
This one has all the same print with Horses and is all flannel on the top. Another one that I sold to someone to give to a young girl that Loves Horses and has 1.
This one is mostly Americana prints with red and blue theme. I sold this one at the craft show I was in last November
This one has Owl prints and I gave it to a friend and told her that Owls are supposed to bring Good Luck. She loves to lay in front of the fireplace and cover up with it to watch T V
All of my quilts have flannel on the back or in the middle. They are light weight but cozy