Again, Some Thanks Are In Order

Wow. Where do I begin?
To all of those who were there yesterday, I don't think I need to tell you what a good time it was. For those who didn't make - so sorry.

Of all the many times I have heard the words "pampered chef", I have to tell you I didn't know what I was missing out on. They really do offer some nice, quality cooking appliances. I mean seriously, they have thought of everything. And we really did have a great time playin' around with them.

Thank you- to those who sent orders, came to the party, placed purchases to help get me on my way... to Miss Becky and Miss Yvonne for all they did to get this show on the road, and another special thanks to Mrs. Lillycrop for the lovely job she did-- THANK YOU!!!

Now, if you're reading this and kicking yourself for not have had a chance to participate in the Pampered Chef experiance- it is certainly not too late to place an order to benefit the fundraiser! I have some order forms that we will be accepting until December 12th. Twenty percent of all purchases will go towards my missions trip to Romania this summer!

As the Romanian would say, "Multsumesc!"

Pampered Chef Party

Discover the chef in you. Support Marilyn's trip to Romania. It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think?

We are approaching another chapter of fundraising on behlaf my missions trip to Oradea this summer. Ya know, they just keep getting more and more exravagant as they come. (Thank you Miss Becky! :)

Ok, so here's the deal:

On Monday, December 8th, we will be hosting a Pampered Chef Party in the Youth Barn at South Carroll Full Gospel Church. The time is 6:30 pm. It will feature a display of many of Pampered Chef's cookware items, as well as some appetizer samplings (Ooh la la, I know).

Alright, so you might be wondering, "how in the world is this a findraiser?" The answer is this- a percentage of all proceeds will go towards my trip to Romania. I will elaborte: if $599 or less is recieved, 10% will benefit my trip. From $599 to $1,000 I recieve 15%, and over $1000, 20%.

Everyone is welcome, so bring along a few friends! If you can't make it, but would still be interested, let me know. I have a few catalogs that do contain order forms. Orders made from the catalog will also count toward the fundraising.

So, if you're in the market for some new kitchen gadgets, from silverware, to knives, veggie pealers, serving dishes, and spices, come on by!

NEW Progresso Broth Recipe Basket GIVEAWAY!

Here it is! Romanian Escapade's first ever GIVEAWAY! And I rather like it.

Progresso has just come out with a new line of soup broths, that I actually had the privilege of reviewing.

Here is the low-down:

The broth comes in Chicken, Reduced Sodium Chicken, and Beef. They are 100% all natural, 99% fat-free, and contain no preservatives or artificial flavors. Now, if you're like me, I get pretty happy when I'm eating something whose ingredients I can read, pronounce, and understand. Progresso's broths certainly succeeded in this. Further, it comes in convenient, re-sealable 32 oz. containers. (If you're ever bored- the little snap lid is extremely entertaining. Sorry, just a side note).

My cousin and I made some potato-pea soup, just to try it out. (By the way when recipe nomenclature such as "potato-pea soup" is used, you know we need to hit the grocery store). It was de-lic-ious! I know, you're probably thinking "It's soup broth for crying out loud. What difference does it make?" Let me tell you- more than you might think. It was richer, and much more flavorful than the average powdered soup broth we normally use. It complimented the other ingredients quite nicely, if I might say so myself! My only compliant is that I do wish it came in vegetable.

I may not be a soup broth condesour, but I really do like this stuff! I love that you can add a little broth to practically any dish, just to give it a little extra "umph".

My overall rating? An "A"!

But don't worry my friends, it only gets better from here! You too can have the opportunity to try it out! Here is a disocunt coupon Progresso has provided for their new broth, valid through December 17th.

Now to the Giveaway! I am giving away 3 Progresso "Perfect Recipe" gift baskets- which includes a wicker basket filled with a recipe card holder (with dividers), a set of serving spoons, a spoon rest, and a coupon for a free 32 oz. container of Progresso Broth. If you are anything like me and love new cooking gadgets- this is the prize for you!

All you have to do is leave me a comment with your name, email address, and a brief description of your favorite holiday recipe! On Monday, December 8th I will use a random number generator to select 3 lucky winners! Have fun!

Bonus:

Progresso, in order to add a little extra fun would like to share with you one of their favorite holiday recipes. Here's the link for "Mashed Potato Gratin".

Enjoy!

Giveaways Coming To A Blog Near You! Perhaps Nearer than you thought...

And with the fun of blogging comes many perks... this being one of them.

So, here's a little bit of foreshadowing on what's to come:

I will be adding a fun new feature to this good ol' blog of mine. A way for me to say "thank you!" for supporting me in my efforts to head over to Romania this coming summer. Sporadically I will be testing out some new products, and if I happen to like them, giving a few of them away to you! So stay tuned... giveaway posts to come. This oughta be great.

Thank You!!

So, I believe some serious thanks are in order here. To everyone who helped with the bake sale- the donors of delicious treats, Curley for helping at Chick-fil-A, Chick-fil-A for being the only one who'd let me have a bake sale, and my Mother for helping with everything else - -THANK YOU!!!!

The bake sale was a huge success. Despite the chilly weather, plenty of generous people stopped by. The profit was enormous- almost $200 towards my trip! I definitely want to do this again... maybe this spring? Anyways, thank you, thank you, thank you to everybody. I couldn't have done it without you!

Chick-fil-A CALENDERS!

They're here... the one... the only....

...(drum role please)...

Chick-fil-A 2009 Calenders!

This year's theme is "The Bovines in Blue"

If you're at all familar with these calenders,

every edition features those cows up to something.

This year it's "protecting cows and serving chicken".

And it's pretty stinkin' hilarious.

If you can get past the slightly bizarre nature, they really are nice calenders. Each month features one great-deal of a coupon (and December's has two!) They cost $6.00 a piece- but seriously they pay you right back with free sandwhiches, salads, drinks, shakes, and more. A friend of mine just keeps her's in the trunk of her car so she'll have them while they're out and about. Handy, ain't it?

So, in conclusion, by purchasing a calender you are supporting me, in turn supporting Romanians, and blessing them, and feeding you. Not bad.

If you're interested please let me know! I will be selling these at the bake sale this Friday if you want to stop by, but I'll keep them with me so that's certainly not the only place you'll find them.

But do stop by the bake sale if ya can- it'll be fun!

Thank you all for your support in prayers for this adventure!

My hero, Chick-Fil-A

Horaay! Finally, the first fundraiser has come upon us! It's an exciting one too. And pretty yummy at that.

Friday, the fourteenth of November, I will be holding a bake sale at the Chick-Fil-A in Westminster. This is the one on Englar Road in the Food Lion shopping center with the Joann Fabrics, not the one in the mall. It's from about 2:30-5 pm, roughly.

Now, you may be wondering what kind of yummy deserts there might be at this bake sale, or even where they might be coming from. That's where this thing turns into one big group effort. I need you!

If you have a knack for baking, or don't and need some practice, this is certainly your lucky day! If you would like to donate any baked goodies (brownies, cookies, breads, muffins, cakes, candy, pastries, etc.) I will take them off your hands with overwhelming gratitude. You can just drop them off at the church (or my house- whichever is easier) sometime early Friday. We'll probably run by the church around 1 or 1:30 to pick stuff up. Unless of course it's something than can be frozen and thawed, in which case you can drop it off whenever it's convenient.

Next on my list...

I will also be selling Chick-Fil-A 's 2009 calenders to accompany this fundraising effort. They sell for $6.00 a piece. The nice part is each month features coupons so that, in turn, they end up paying for themselves after the first month. Pretty sweet, huh? They will be available at the bake sale and beyond. Pictures to come...

So, with that said, if you feel that you could donate any baked treats, whether they be healthy or not so healthy, please leave me a comment with your name, what you plan on cookin', and about how much you'd like to give. Or in case the calenders strike your fancy, just comment me and let me know.

Thanks so much you all- this should be pretty cool!

They call this stuff FUN-d-raising...interesting...

Well, I do have about eight months till I get going, but there is a lot to pack into eight months, or so it feels at least.

The trip cost (my room and board) is 1000 dollars, and then there's those good ol' airline tickets. (help, Randi!! I need you!) And I'm pretty sure that once you add all those digits together you get something that looks an awful lot like a telephone number.

So, let the fundraising begin! That's when I think to myself "wait, where do I begin again?"

Last time it was car wash/yard sale (didn't work out the best...) and then the spaghetti dinner, and then those friendly little letters. The spaghetti dinner was great (maybe this spring?) and you gotta love the letters. But I need something else!! And ideas?? I was thinkin' a bake sale might be fun...

If you might so happen to conjure up any please please please comment me with 'em. I was thinking I might ask ZiPani if I could set aside a couple hours one Sunday after church, throughout which I might get a small percentage of the bills of customers who mention me. I know, I know, a lot to ask. Pizza Hut does it. I'm a pretty faithful ZiPani customer so maybe they'll pity me :)

Ok, so now it's your turn- let the comments begin!

Some thoughts...

For a good portion of my life I've seen cousin after cousin embark on trips to places across the globe. And then I turned 13, and it hit me.

I too could pack up and try this "missions" thing out. So, I hit my knees, waiting for some sort of conformation from God that I ought to go. Once I made it that far, the question was where on earth, literally speaking, to go. Perhaps it was the pictures of deprived kids, the awful statistics, or the country's quaint European setting. Or maybe, just maybe, it was God that told me it was Romania.

Ok, never mind, I know it was. I had just turned 13, and had never been out of house by myself for more than 1 week prior to this, and I had absolutely no worries about it. That was proof enough.

So, when I got there, jet lag wasn't the only thing that hit me. Culture shock, boy is it a hard thing (and worse than loosing a couple hours of sleep I might add) From the paltry things like toilet paper that feels like recycled newspaper, and not being able to flush it, to the bigger, harder things. Hurting people. To those who witnessed the cruelty of communism, there seems to be no end to the nightmares. Kids are left to run around all day long. Parents sending out their little ones to follow big adults and beg for money. Kids left in hospitals with shattered windows with massive heaps of garbage just outside them. Or, the kids who were left by there parents and put into institutions where they are put into cages and strapped into beds. Part of me said, "Why, God, why? Innocent children- what did they do to deserve this? Don't you think you might ought to do something?" And another part said, "this is my mission field- how awe-inspiring is that?"

Last summer, I didn't make it out again, but this summer I feel like there's nothing stopping me if God says to go back.I think He has. And this time, I get to serve the ones I grieve for most- the little ones. Kids who God has rescued or is rescuing from darkness, and I actually get to help bring them into His marvelous light.

Lord willing, one day I will have the privilege of helping to rescue them.

Hello World!

I'm super excited about this blogging business! And, I'm super excited that with it, you can stay in touch with the happenings of this "Romanian Escapade" I've embarked on, and I can more easily stay in touch with you. So here I shall blog away, and I would encourage you to comment away!

Stay informed about my traveling plans...fundraisers...and, once I get there, my trip!

Thanks for hangin' out. And thanks for bearing with me as I try to figure out this whole blogging thing.