100th Post Celebration and Giveaway, Yippee!

It's taken me over a year to do it, but I finally am at my 100th post! Woo hoo! Whew who?

So, with that in mind, I've decided to have a giveaway to you! Here's a hint of what you can receive in the photo below. But, mind you, you are getting not one, not two, but three fabulously, indescribable gifts!

Here's JK and GR with me, intently reading The China Study. I now see with the poor lighting, what I would like as a brunette. G wanted me to drape my Raiders cozy over my lap, but Costco cut off the bottom of the picture. And, ignore the price tag, people - it's a gift to you, you know! Before you can see your total giveaway package, though, you have to endure a certain amount of nostalgia from me. You didn't think this was going to come without strings attached, did you?

I accidentally discovered food blogs in the Summer of 2009 when I was doing an online search for vegan pepperoni, since I couldn't find my brand in the store anymore. I was brought to a site that listed an amazing recipe. A recipe to actually make vegan pepperoni? I didn't know anyone could do that. Well, I thought I had found a unique website; I still didn't know that this was a "blog" or that others existed. When I started nosing around the site, I found links and comments, and I was just blown away. I realized if I wanted to leave a comment and not be anonymous, I had to have an account. That's why my profile says August, but I actually didn't start my own blog until October.

I originally started my blog for my children. I had been creating a cookbook on Microsoft Word for about ten years, and I thought a blog would provide a more professional look and a way for me to add photos for each dish. I still keep my children in mind, and I hope that they will appreciate Mom's recipes one day, and that maybe some of the better ones will be passed along to grandchildren and on.

I've realized that blogging takes up more time than I anticipated. When JK comes to me with a book, or when someone needs help with a math problem, or when my hand is being tugged to go outside and play, blogging has to take the back seat. As you know, posting is time consuming, but commenting is also time consuming. Sometimes, I just quickly look at what other people have posted without commenting because of the time issue. And, even that can become addictive. So, I beg forgiveness if you don't see my comments as much as I would like to leave them. I've probably just got done peeking at your site.

I'm announcing a NEW FEATURE! Introducing The Blessings Question of the Day. My children ask the darnedest things, and I thought I should let you in on the fun. So, with each new post, I'll pose one of their questions, and if you want, you can answer that in the comments section as well. Shall we start with this one from GR? Sure! Okay...Which would you choose to have angrily chase you in the wild: an elephant, a rhinoceros, or a hippopotamus? We'll revisit this at Post 200 to see if we will continue this. :-)

For the next 100 posts, I hope my recipes and my photography get better and better. We had already cut out msg and corn syrup, and last Fall we also eliminated artificial colors, artificial flavors, and petroleum-based preservatives. My first real challenge will be GR's birthday cake in less than two weeks because it will have a pink hue. I'm looking forward to the challenge and still being able to give my children fun food.

In the meantime, I'm showing a small sample of what I've made in my first 100 posts below. If you want to go directly to the recipe of any photo, just click on the picture caption. Meet me at the bottom for rules and what exactly I'm giving away!

Breakfasts:

Breakfast Burrito

The Breakfast Stack

Soups:

Chunky Miso Soup

Seitan Noodle Soup

Salads:

Macaroni Salad

Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad

Breads:

Candy Cane Coffee Cakes


Basic White Bread

Entrees:

Sourdough Soy Pizza



Chili Cheese Nachos

Broiled Avocado Cheese Sandwich

Pumpkin and Kale Quesadillas

Desserts:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll

Thank you for humoring me with that. I hope that wasn't too many pictures. So, what do you get in this giveaway? Have I built it up enough? I think not! It's just too spectacular.

You will be receiving a copy of The China Study by the father and son Campbells. It's riveting reading as you can see in my photo, especially with JK's tongue hanging out. It actually was a ground-breaking book when it came out, outlining how China's diets and ours are so different and the cause and effect between food and health. You will also be getting a small snack bag of Somersaults to enjoy while you turn the pages. And, finally, you will be getting the very photo of JK, GR, and me in it...autographed!! And, as my dear husband, G, pointed out, it's suitable for framing. So, you can place us on your nearest flat surface where you will be reading, and we'll all enjoy the snacks and book together.

Rules? Very simple:

This is open to:

1. Domestic

2. International

3. Followers...

4. ...Or Not

5. Lurkers, come on, introduce yourself already!

6. First-time Peekers, don't be shy.

I think that's everyone. All you have to do to enter is make a comment...that's it. I have two requests: Make only ONE comment. If you have a question for me, e-mail me at blessedmama@pacbell.net, as I will not be making any responses in the comment section. Rest assured, though, I'll be happily reading your comments. Also, when you comment, please number your comment, as I do not know how to have numbers inserted in. And, if the person above you forgot to number theirs, then please put the correct number down on your comment. For instance, Rose forgets to point out that she's number five. Shenandoah comes along, notices that, and after tsk-tsking, she correctly numbers her own comment as number six. See? That way, when I go to random.org, I don't have to count everyone. New edit: Sometimes two people may type comments at the same time and enter in the same number. If that happens to you, don't worry about it. Hopefully, the next person in line will enter the correct number for themself. You may notice that my comment section says at the top how many comments are currently listed, without individually numbering them, so just add yourself as the next number regardless if someone else is slightly off.

I'm going to keep this open through this Saturday, the 5th and will announce the winner on Sunday, the 6th. No pushing or shoving, there's plenty of room here! Make sure there is a way I can contact you, if you're the winner - either in your profile or in your comment, unless you know that I already have your e-mail address. Good luck everyone, and thanks for coming by. I've already begun to meet some pretty wonderful people in the blogosphere, and I'm looking forward to being around a lot longer and meeting many more. :-)