Eat 2 Gather

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GIVEAWAY WINNER and a look back on my first year…..

giveaway

In honor of my 1 year Bloggiversary I am announcing YVONNE, come on down………you are the lucky winner of Jaden Hairs Steamy Kitchen Cookbook and a Redletterwords 12×12 cafe mount print!!!


Yvonne, you can find my email in my profile over yonder….send me an email with your full name and mailing address and Dee at Redletterwords and Me/Myself/&I will send you your print and cookbook.



Every time I do a giveaway, I hate picking a winner. I procrastinate, a little bit, take lots of deep breaths. Go to the bathroom 5 times. Get a snack. Why? I think it’s because I hate to pick just one winner. I want you all to win. I always hated being the team captain in gym class too, so much pressure!
I absolutely loved hearing what each of you enjoy serving your guests. I wish that I could come sit down with each of you and eat every single one of the meals you described.
It’s been an amazing year. I will never regret listening to my heart and my friends and starting Strawberry CAKE. Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to start writing. I love cooking, and it turns out I don’t mind writing either….so in that another blog was born.
I will never forget how I actually felt just before I clicked on the “publish post” button for the first time. I thought I was going to puke. I was so worried that if someone would happen to read my blog, they would scrunch up their face and shake there head and never return.
I just revisited my first month of blogging. Jeez-Louise….I didn’t even post a picture, well because we still had dial up! And my camera stunk! Way back then (1 year ago) if I were to post a picture it took about the time it takes me to make beds, fold a load of laundry, and unload the dishwasher to post one stinkin’ picture! Kenny gave me a new camera for Christmas and shortly after that I started using an air card to get a faster connection…kinda…if the wind wasn’t blowing and the sky was clear, I could upload a picture or two. I live in Michigan, remember, the land of wind and clouds. It took a trip to the Ranch for me to figure out the joys of satellite internet. The day I returned, I was on the horn with a satellite service , and they were here the next day planting a giant dish outside in my shrubs….hey! a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.
A bowl of barfy looking pumpkin seeds was my first post that included a picture. You would think I would have gone for something a bit more appetizing….like perhaps a picture of Strawberry Cake…..nah…let’s take half a day to post a picture of slimy seeds. I told you I’m a numb skull.

It’s interesting to see what posts received the most reaction from readers. Of course all of the Sheila & Ree posts were very popular. My highest traffic was on this post, because Ree gave me a shout-out on her Facebook page….and my blog went BEZERKO. We were on a road trip out East at the time, my phone started ringing off the hook. I was ignoring it….I was on vacation. Finally I answered to a freaked out Big D, gasping for air and trying to tell me Ree had given me a shout out on Facebook. Hokey Pete!
This post also got a bit of a reaction.
Some of my recipes that people seem to feel strongly about are:
What really matters, is not the volume of comments or visitors to my site, but when someone, says, “thanks, you made me smile today”. I gotta tell ya those comments get me right in the tear ducts. I really, really feel blessed to have you all in my life. Thanks for reading. Here’s to another year!
Cheers!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heather Nesbit says

    Congrats to Yvonne!!!! I know how you feel about picking just one winner….I hated it…that's why I made John do my dirty work and pick one for me;) Congrats again on your one year Anniversary, I have really enjoyed following your blog and hearing you talk about the place I call home:)

  3. Yvonne says

    Thank you. I love Jaden and follow her at Tasty Kitchen! I'm so excited to be receiving her cookbook.

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