Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases

OPERATION BAKING GALS LAST CALL ~ 3 Spots Still Open!

                                                 

There's Still Three Spots Open ~ Enlist Now!
Believe it or not, I still have room for three more bakers! Last month I was full. This month, my daughter Erika, from Stampin' Mama Designs has her own team which split the goup in half. This is actually a good thing, because another soldier and their troops will have a whole new batch of bakers baking cookies for them! So, if you were holding out till the end, this is the time to step up to the plate and enlist in Operation Baking Gals! Email me ASAP at cruisingkitty at hotmail dot com and I'll get you on the team!

                                                     

Team Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases
This is the week we send out all our packages to Brandon, our soldier in Iraq. To those of you who are already on my Team Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases, you should be baking up a storm, snapping photographs of your cookies, brownies and other goodies, and packaging them for shipment. Shipping dates are from 10/30-11/10. Email me with your finished care packages and I'll do a round-up like I did the last time. I need your name, state and the url from your blog post. If you don't have a blog, take a picture anyway and send it. I still want to know what you made so I can post it along with the bloggers.

                                                                   

Happy Baking!

OPERATION BAKING GALS ~ Team Spatulas & Corkscrews #4 Update

                                              

Team Spatulas & Corkscrews Has a New Soldier!
That's right! We have a new soldier! And, he's a friend of one of our very own bakers - Kathy! Isn't that exciting? It makes it so much more personal, don't you think? Kathy says, "Brandon is the soldier I was telling you about.  He is a family friend. I was wondering if it would be possible for him to be assigned to the Spatulas & Corkscrews team that I have signed up on.  My daughter wants to help me bake for him."  Well, heck yeah! We'll bake for him and his buddies, won't we?!

Kathy also sent me some pictures of Brandon. I can't help but think he looks so young to go into battle. He could be my own son for goodness sake! That must be scary for any Mom, Grandma, sister or girlfriend. I know I would be a basket case if he were related to me.

The holidays are fast approaching and it's gotta be very lonely for these troops to be so far removed from family and friends. Let's show him some support and make his troop happy, feel appreciated and loved.

                                                                           

Some Info About Brandon
Because Kathy knows Brandon, she has a little more info on him than we did for our last soldier Chaplain Jones - which by the way was VERY happy and appreciative with all the goodies we sent them last month. See our round up of all the bakers packages here!

"Brandon is a 19 year old navy soldier from O'Fallon, IL. He is currently deployed in Iraq, and will be there for four to six months. He's a vegetarian. He enjoys snowboarding, rollerblading, music, photography, mountain biking, and writing (poetry)."

Obviously, we won't be sending snowboarding and rollerblading equipment to him. And the vegetarian thing won't be a problem either, since we won't be sending meat products. Remember, NO pork products! Better yet, even though he'll be sharing all these goodies with his buddies, don't send meat anything!

Have your kids help out with hand drawn pictures from home. Postcards of your city or state would help them feel connected back home. Some bakers are sending blank cards so the troops have something to send back to their loved ones. That's a real good idea! Candy (no chocolate or gummies, they melt), granola, trail mix, crackers, gum, mints and chips are good bets. Some are sending those Sudoku books you've been seeing all over the place. Maybe a book or comic books. You know how big boys can be!

Make sure to take pictures of your goodies and boxes. If you have a blog, then blog about it, and talk it up! Send me the URL to your post and your photos and I'll do a round up like I did the last time. 

                                                                          

So, Here's the Details:
We would like all the goodies and care packages to be sent out between October 30th and continue through November 10th. That gives everyone plenty of time to bake, package and ship!

For those that have already gone through the registration process and signed up on Operation Baking Gals with my team, Spatulas & Corkscrews, all you have to do is email me for Brandon's address. You've already been to the site and hopefully read EVERYTHING, all the directions, like what to send, how to pack the goodies, how to send it and finally, how to fill out the paperwork. It's all there in FAQ's. Email me at cruisingkitty@hotmail.com and I'll send you his address. I'll also be updating the Operation Baking Gals site too. If I don't hear from you, you'll hear from me in a bulk email. I'm anal like that!

For those of you who haven't registered, but think you've already told me, you still NEED to sign up with Operation Baking Gals before I can send you his address. Plus, we want to have an accurate count of all the bakers on every team. Looks good in the newspapers! Last month it got a little crazy, and we're trying to streamline the process now to make it easier for everybody.

                                                                    

It's Not To Late To Enlist!
Lastly, most of our teams still have room for more bakers. Again, go to Operation Baking Gals, register, then look for "Join a round 4 team here" in the right sidebar. Click on the link and scroll down to Team Spatulas & Corkscrews and hit "Join this group". That's all you have to do. I'll be alerted that you've joined, then email me for Brandon's address as I've said above.                                                                          

Thanks to all of you for making these soldiers proud to be Americans!

OPERATION BAKING GALS ~ ROUND 4 ~ NEW TEAM !

                                              

Are You Ready For OBG Round 4?
Round 3 of Operation Baking Gals was such a HUGE success, that I'm leading another team this month. So, if you'd like to bake along with us this, Round 4 is filling up fast, and you better get your name in ASAP!

New Operation Baking Gals Website!
We also have a new and improved system to speed things up and keep everyone organized. Clicking here will bring you to Operation Baking Gals new website. Read the directions first. You will have to register whether or not you're a team leader or a baker. I promise, it's quick and painless and you won't have to sell your first-born child to do it!

              

Pick Me! Pick Me!
If you want to stick with me, click on "Join a Round 4 Team Here!" and find Team Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases and add your name to my team. Then email me at cruisingkitty@hotmail.com and let me know. If you want to join another team, that's cool too. I'd really love to have you, but in the end, it doesn't matter as long as the troops get their goodies!

Team Spatulas & Corkscrews
Check out my Round-up that I did for last month! As for Team Spatulas & Corkscrews, we don't have a soldier yet, but Susan is diligently working on it. I'll let you all know as soon as possible. But until then, the next round of cookies isn't due until the week of October 30th and continue through November 10. That gives everyone plenty of time to bake, package and ship!

We still need bakers and soldiers, so if you know of a soldier or troops that need some lovin', get in touch with Susan at bakinggals@gmail.com and let her know who your soldier is. She'll fix you right up and get a team going for you!

                                                                

Stampin' Mama Designs "Team Cards & Cookies"
For those of you that know my daughter Erika of Stampin' Mama Designs, she's heading up a team of her own this month! Because she's the world's best stamper and queen of paper crafters, she's running her team with a twist. Erika says, "I knew I wanted to host a round for Operation Baking Gals but after I sent mine off with both cards AND cookies, I thought it would be fun to put together a group of bakers that were also papercrafters that would send both cards and cookies. How about it? Are you up for joining "Team Cards & Cookies?" Round 4 is starting up and I'm looking for 25 bakers/papercrafters that would be willing to put together a package of homemade cookies and 10 handmade holiday cards to send to a troop between the weeks of October 30th and November 10th."

Erika made Peanut Butter Cookies. Don't they look yummy?

                                                                       

AND, here's a shameless plug for my Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook Giveaway! Don't miss it. It's an awesome book to add to your cookbook collection!

Now, go and spread some love and cookies!

OPERATION BAKING GALS ROUND-UP 3

                                                

Round 3 Operation Baking Gals
I want to thank all of you that participated in Round 3 of Team Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases. I can't begin to tell you how excited the troops were when their boxes of cookies and goodies started to arrive! I had approximately 32 bakers on my team which was more than I should have had, but I just couldn't say no! I finally had to email Susan, founder and ultimate royal baking queen of Operation Baking Gals, and tell her I was getting swamped with requests to bake. She quickly formed some new teams and the baking continued.

Chaplain Michael Jones
Sooooo.....Here's an up-to-date round-up #3 of care packages sent to Chaplain Michael Jones in Iraq along with some very exciting pictures and news from one of our bakers. If I've missed anyone, PLEASE  let me know, and I'll add you to this list. Likewise, you'll no doubt notice there aren't 32 bakers in this list.  PLEASE, email me at cruisingkitty@hotmail.com if you've sent your cookies or not. I'd love to post your photos here along with your fellow bakers.
 
Tracy from Stampingly Creative Art got 4 emails and pictures from Chaplain Michael Jones last week letting her know that boxes were arriving and how much the troops were enjoying all the homemade goodies.

                                                          

I'll let her tell you what she said, "I'm so excited!!  I checked my emails this morning and I received 4 from Anna-Marie Greenfield the Assistant Chaplain to Michael Jones Chaplain for the 10th Mountain Division whom I sent our box of goodies to.  She included pictures and a thank you saying the soldiiers were enjoying the goodies and using up the items fast and that the postcards were pretty (I sent some of NH with little notes on the back from us). What a nice feeling it gives me to know that they got the box, are enjoying the items and got it relatively quickly, I mailed it Oct 2nd."

Isn't that awesome? I'm so glad to hear they got their packages OK. I think it's a good thing that team leaders let their bakers know all their hard work and hugs got to the troops in good time and all in one piece. Here's some photos of the guys and gals putting their lives on the line, protecting our home front every day.

                                                                            

Anna-Marie and soldiers

   

Anna-Marie Greenfield, Chaplain Assistant

  

Chapel Albertson

Chappy and Anna-Marie

     

************************************************************************

Donna (ME!) from Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases

                                            


Erika from Stampin' Mama

                                                          


Susanna from Card of the Week

                                                       


Sheri from Cookingmom

                                                                  

Kim from 3rd Generation Cake Lady

                                                       

Christi from Blessings On Paper

                                             


Kathy from Remembering The Moments

        



Tracey from Trouble with Trixie

   



Teresa from Diddle Daddle Designs

                 

Christine from Blenders Galore

                              

                  

Ellen from Sweet Dumpling

         

 

Gabi from The Feast Within

                                                                 

These folks don't have blogs so there are no links to click on. But, they baked their hearts out and shipped their goodies out just like us. KUDOS to you all!

                                                    

• Virginia from IL sent Gooey butter cookies---Oreo cookies, some trail mix, drink mixes for water bottles and a tablet of paper bookmarks that some kids in neighborhood made.
• Penny from OR sent several dozen Reverse Chocolate Chip cookies (chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips)
• Gale from VA sent oatmeal/raisin, preacher cookies and cheese wafers.
• Debbie from NC made chocolate chip cookies, gingersnaps & cranberry white chocolate biscotti.
• Karyl from TX says, "Some friends and I had a cookie baking party this morning and were able to send several boxes to Team Doughmesstic's last minute addition and two other boxes of oatmeal cookies and snickerdoodles along with a few crazy drawings from preschoolers.
• Martha sent double fudge brownies, hazelnut chocolate chip cookies and some great peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
• Tammy from MD
• Kat from IN sent Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats, Double Chocolate Brownies, SMore Cookies, and Chocolate Chip cookies.  And some hygiene stuff, Notre Dame paraphernalia, and postcards!

 
                                

                                    Honor Chapel Office Team

OPERATION BAKING GALS - Team Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases

                                                

Give A Little Support...Bake!
Being a team leader for Round 3 of Operation Baking Gals has been a lot of fun and a lot of work! This month I was one of the hosts of more than 25 bakers and bloggers. I was supposed to stop at 25, but so many wonderful and caring people came out of the woodwork to help, that I had trouble cutting it off and saying no.

                                                     

Team Spatulas & Corkscrews Round-up is on Its Way!
I'll be doing a Round-up as soon as I get a bunch of OK's from our team. Then I'll take a picture from each blog, or in the event they don't have a blog, I'll write up a quick blurb telling everyone who they are, where they're from and what they made. So, my tired and chocolate splattered bakers, send me your entries and I'll get going on this right away.

                                                                   

This is what I need from you:

• Your name and state
• Your blog url directing me to your post
• If you don't have a blog, send me something about it
• A brief description of what you made and/or sent

                                                                               

700 Strong and Growing!
A few days ago, Susan was telling us there were over 700 bakers shipping out packages this time around. We suspect there's way more than that too. There's been whole groups of bakers getting together in church kitchens, scores of parents & kids baking together and more groups of friends getting together to have some fun while supporting our troops. Some of these huge mega cookie bake-offs have only listed one person as the baker. So, you can see how this Operation Baking Gals might be closer to 1000 than we're being led to believe!

                                                                 

 

Anyway...Here's My Cookie Care Package!
I decided to kill two birds with one stone this month! I was behind on my cookies for Tuesdays With Dorie, so I figured I'd combine the two. I made Dorie's Chocolate Chunkers Cookies and lots of them! Man, were they good and chocolaty! John and Brad only got one each, because after all, they're for the soldiers! I filled in the gaps with Oatmeal Raisin & White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies. I went to Sam's and got a big box of individually wrapped peanuts and cashews, 2 big boxes of green tea single serving packets and a big box of 18 packs of bubble gum. I got a couple of Rhode Island postcards and put them on top. I had too much for one box, so I filled two and split everything up evenly. I also wrote a quick note inside the box with my email address in it asking Chaplain Michael Jones to let me know how many packages he got and what was the condition of everything.

                                                    


So, Would You Like To Be a Team Leader?
There will be another wild and crazy bake-fest again every month. So, if you're interested in leading a team of your own, email me at cruisingkitty@hotmail.com, and I'll hook you up! If you have a soldier in mind, maybe someone near and dear to you, let me know that too. It's a great motivator when you personally know the soldier you're sending cookies to.

                                                                           

Thanks again! Send your results to me and be looking for my update.
Oh! One more thing! I forgot to say, I'm leaving for Florida in a few hours for 11 days. But, I will have my laptop with me and be able to receive all your cookie news!

                                                                        

                                                                          

Operation Baking Gals Update ~ Team Spatulas & Corkscrews

Update on Team Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases
Just wanted to give you an updated report on our team progress. I have been awestruck at the number of bakers that have come forward to send Chaplain Michael care packages. We are almost at our limit for our team. BUT, don't despair. There are other teams ready and waiting to take you in. Continue to send in your names and I'll forward them to Susan - the mastermind behind Operation Baking Gals. She'll hook you up with another team and you'll be on your way to sending out this months cookie package!

Operation Baking Gals started with just a few bakers and after only 2 months, has grown to way over 500! Who knows, we may even make 1000 in this, our 3rd month! The troops are thrilled and can't believe their eyes when the packages come. You are doing are great and mighty thing for these soldiers. Some of them have no family and get no packages on a regular basis. Your love and support mean the world to them. You have no idea how this encourages them in their daily and sometimes thankless jobs.

For instance, here's an email I received just the other day:

"I am a 1st Lt with Marine Air Control Squadron 1 we are deployed to Al Asad Airbase Iraq.  I was wondering how to I sign my guys up for your motivational cookies that I have been hearing so much about?"  1st Lt, Jarrod XXX

Isn't that awesome? He's already heard about OBG and is emailing us to get care packages sent to his troop! so, Keep on keeping on! And spread the word. There's more than enough soldiers like Jarrod and Chaplain Michael to go around.

I still don't have his address, but don't worry, Susan is on top of it. She had to wait for clearance. We'll all send out our cookies anytime during the week of September 27th - October 6th, so we still have plenty of time.

Team Spatulas & Corkscrews is shaping up!
Here's the list so far. If I've forgotten you or missed your state or blog address, please email me at cruisingkitty@hotmail.com and I'll fill it in. If you have any other questions, please refer to the original post, or email me directly.

•  Donna (ME!) @ spatulas & corkscrews
•  Erika @ stampin' mama
•  MacDuff @ jon and macduff
•  Molly
•  Lianne from Lombard, IL
•  Tara @ smells like home
•  Torrey
•  Lisa from VA
  
•  Christine @ blenders galore
•  Debbie from High Point, NC
  
•  Susanna @ card of the week
•  Sheri @ cooking mom
•  Tracy from NH @ stampingly creative art
•  Martha
•  Lisa from White Plains, NY
•  Virginia from Red Bud, IL
  
•  Christi @ blessings on paper
•  Penny from Tualatin, OR
  
•  Gale from VA
  
•  Sandy @ eat real
•  Suzanne from Manhattan, NY
  
•  Gabi from Utah @ the feast within
•  Katie from CA
•  Karyl from TX
  
•  Kim @ 3rd generation cake lady
•  Tammy from Maryland
  
•  Teresa @ diddle daddle designs
•  Ellen @ sweet dumpling
•  Tracey @ trouble with trixie
•  Kathy from O'Fallon, IL @ remembering the moments
•  Janell @ Mortensen Family Memoirs
•  Kat from IN
  

Operation Baking Gals Round 3 ~ Team Spatulas & Corkscrews

                                                 

Operation Baking Gals
Some of you might remember hearing me talk about Operation Baking Gals last month. Susan of OBG and She's Becoming Doughmesstic sent me an email a while back asking for help. She was overwhelmed and overworked and wanted to send her cousin in the the service a care package. Could I help her out and send some cookies too? I felt terrible because I was out straight the first month and my oven wasn't working, so I had to bow out.

By the time the second month came around I was ready to bake! By that time, there were 7 teams all across the country, each with about 25 bakers, all sending cookies to the same soldier the same week! I was part of one of those teams of bakers that sent off cookies to a soldier in Iraq. Can you imagine what it must be like to get 25 care packages all at the same time? I heard later that Capt. Ballard (a Round One soldier) told Susan in an email that "I just hope these ladies know that they are doing a good thing. Even if it is 'just' baking cookies...". These soldiers were so thankful to know they're appreciated and prayed for.

                                                 

Team Spatulas & Corkscrews!
Now, it's my turn to get excited excited because I'm hosting a team of my own -Team Spatulas & Corkscrews! Since I don't have a soldier, Susan found one for me! I don't know too much about my soldier, but what I do know is that he needs our support and gratitude for serving his country. His name is Michael Jones and he's a Chaplain with the 10th Mountain Division (they are famous!) stationed out of Fort Drum, New York.  He is now in Iraq, stationed at Camp Victory, and obviously, as a chaplain will have access to MANY soldiers to share all these care packages with.

So, now I'm asking for help! As the host for Team Spatulas & Corkscrews, I'm sending out the call...would you be willing to send a package of cookies, brownies, candy, etc to Chaplain Michael Jones? I need 25 bakers to fill out my team. That shouldn't be too hard to do right?

                                                          

500 Bakers???
Believe it or not, Operation Baking Gals has grown to over 500 bakers in just 3 short months! Won't you be one of them? For more info on Operation Baking Gals, read the article I wrote for Suite101.

We will send all our boxes at the same time, so Chaplain Michael gets them all together! Won't he be surprised? They should be shipped out during the week of September 27th - October 6th.  When I did this this last month, I was shocked that the price of a HUGE box of goodies only cost me $8.00! That's all the way to Iraq! You can even ask for a free Military Flat Rate box from the PO to keep the cost down.
 

So, whadaya think? Can you see it in your heart to send a box of love and cookies to a bunch of homesick soldiers? If so, just send me an email at cruisingkitty@hotmail.com and I'll add you to the team! When I receive your email, I'll get back to you with all the info you need to send Chaplain Michael 25 boxes of goodies the week of September 27th - October 6th.

In the meantime, Cat, from The Cat's Pajamas will fill you all in on what baked goods ship the best, what not to send, how to get the package ready and how to fill out the paperwork. I printed this off and took it to the PO with me, and boy, was I ever glad I did!

Email Me (cruisingkitty@hotmail.com), We'll do Cookies! And thank you for supporting our troops! 

OPERATION BAKING GALS ~ Cookies For The Troops

 

The Troops Need Cookies!
I received an urgent email from a fellow blogger back in July sometime. It was Susan from She's Becoming DoughMESStic. She starts her email, "I have a cousin (though more like a brother since we grew up together) in the Army JAG Corp."  She's says in her first email, She goes on with her appeal, "So, I am looking for some volunteers. Could you maybe bake one thing, seal it up and ship it to him? If we all do this on the same day, maybe he’ll get them all about the same time. Imagine how happy all those homesick troops will be to have homemade goodies!!....."I think I will call it Operation Baking GALS (Give A Little Support)" ....SO, from now on, Operation Baking GALS will be supporting our troops every month, once a month, and instead of our soldiers getting deodorant and soap, they'll be getting the one thing they can't get from the canteen - Homemade goodies made with LOVE."

                                                                   

Well, the first month came and went. I felt bad for not signing up, after all, I was one of the first 20 she emailed. I didn't have a working oven at the time and no oven means no cookies! I don't think Susan had any idea what was to become of her efforts. OBG has gone far and wide and now has over 250 bloggers and bakers on 8 or 9 teams sending goodies to troops from Iraq to Afghanistan to the USS Abraham Lincoln Newspaper press releases, radio spots and bloggers have helped to spread the word. Susan is now waiting for Oprah to call! OPRAH, Where are you?

                                                                        

 
So, what's in my package?

• 6 huge Ooey, Gooey Chewy Chocolate Walnut Brownies.
• 18 Soft & Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• 1# bag of Skittles
• 2 boxes of single serving ice tea mixes
• And a post card from Newport. It's important that the troops feel connected to home and I think it's cool for them to know where the love is coming from!

                                        

Here's a few recipes to share:

• GOURMET CHOCOLATE FUDGE BROWNIES
• REESE'S CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUP BROWNIES
• CHEWY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES

My package is going to out Jayne's nephew Joe, who is stationed in Afghanistan with the Air Guard. You can find out more about Joe from Jayne's blog, The Barefoot Kitchen Witch. Jayne is a fellow blogger also living in RI, just a few miles from me, so I thought I should support local troops???

                                                                   

I packaged them just the way Cat from The Cat's Pajamas explained. Use those nice disposable Ziploc Snap and Seal containers, line the cookies between sheets of paper towels and stick a piece of apple peel in the folds. Apparently, this keeps the cookies moist where bread would mold. She assured us that the guys would eat what's under the mold anyway!
                                                                            

If anyone is interested in sending a box of goodies to the troops, or if you know of someone in the armed forces that would be excited to get 20 or more boxes of goodies a month, get in touch with Susan from Operation Baking Gals and she'll hook you up with one of the team leaders.

Until next month, OBG unite!