Baking GALS Update for Trevor

I just wanted to post a quick update for those of you who are joining in on the "Operation Baking GALS" project for my brother, Trevor, who is currently serving our country in Afghanistan. (If you missed the first post explaining everything last week, check it out here.) 

The "Team Heather Drive" Baking GALS team is now full, but if you'd still like to participate, you have two choices: 1) You could still bake (and/or buy!) for Trevor, but you have to e-mail me directly for information instead of signing up through the official Baking GALS site, or 2) You can pick another team to bake for, as I'm sure you know that ALL of the deployed men and women are worth baking for.

Shipping started on Monday and goes through May 13. This is not a hard stop, of course, but if you can do what you can to get your packages in the mail by May 13, it would be much appreciated.

I got a message from Trevor yesterday that was really timely. I had e-mailed him asking if he had thought of/discovered anything else (besides M&Ms!) from home that he was missing because he couldn't get it over there. He said that he couldn't think of anything in particular, but suggested that I send cookies, because some of the other soldiers had received them and everyone shares them because eating the homemade goodies reminds them all of home. How cute is THAT? And, as I mentioned before, Trevor has no idea that I'm spearheading this Baking GALS thing for him, so all of your packages will be a total surprise to him. After his note, I cannot wait until he starts receiving stuff! 

Trev did mention that they don't have any chips over there--just crackers and Pringles. So if you need any "packing peanuts" to fill in gaps in your box, consider sticking a few of those $0.25 small chip bags in there instead!

Please remember to put a note in the box for Trevor, giving a brief explanation of who you are and tell him that I "sent" you to him! :) And, if you can, send me a quick e-mail after you mail your package so that I can keep loose tabs on what he's going to be receiving.

Again, please let me know if there are any questions. Start here, but if there is anything you can't find an answer to, I'd be happy to help. THANK YOU!

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Operation Baking GALS: For My Brother

Once upon a time, before I had my precious little Nora, I liked to bake. A LOT. Somehow, I got hooked up with this organization called Operation Baking GALS, who organize teams of people to send care packages--many with home-baked goodies!--to soldiers who are deployed overseas. If you've been around here for a while, you probably remember all of the posts that were dedicated to this cause.

Well, first I got pregnant and took a break from Operation Baking GALS due to lack of energy, and didn't manage to get back on the wagon before Nora was born. And once she was born, well... hell. I don't have much time to cook/bake anything anymore, unfortunately.

BUT my brother is officially in Afghanistan now, and instead of just baking and packing up a care package for him myself (which I WILL be doing, believe me), I figured I would go ahead and put together a Baking GALS team for him.

As you may know, Trevor was deployed with the Army Reserves at the end of January. He spent the first couple of months of his deployment within the U.S., undergoing more advanced training and preparation. Now, he has officially made his way over to Afghanistan, where he is currently adjusting to his new life.
At home, Trevor has a wife--Kara--whom he married just last May 21. They have a nearly three-year-old son, Hunter. Before his deployment, he was working at a local hospital in the emergency room as an ER technician, and going to school to finish his pre-requisites for a physician assistant program.

Trevor is a great brother, son, husband, and father. In addition to his wife and son, he has a twin (my other brother!) and parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, etc. who all miss him very much.
Although he doesn't know that I've formed a Baking GALS team in his honor, I did ask Trevor--via FaceTime, seriously in awe of today's technology--last week what he wanted/needed from home, and his only complaint (so far) was the lack of M&Ms. :) He said that the largest package he could get over there was really tiny, and that it cost $1.75. The guy loves his M&Ms (peanut, peanut butter, pretzel)--I'm convinced our family's taste for them is genetic--just like our love for chips and dip. With that said, I know that he would graciously accept and enjoy anything he receives, and share it with his friends. He actually has four roomies whom he shares his barracks with, so I'm sure it all wouldn't last long! :)

I've always appreciated when people sign up to be part of my Baking GALS teams, because every man and woman serving our country deserves to be surprised with packages from home--even those from strangers. But obviously, this particular recipient means a lot to me, so THANK YOU in advance for doing this for my brother. Please include a note or a postcard in your package to him--he would love to know a little bit about the people who are doing this for him.

If you don't bake, there are plenty of store-bought items (like M&Ms!) that you can send if you would still like to participate. For a list of suggestions, see these helpful tips, which also include tips on how to package your baked goods and properly fill out the customs form.

If you'd like to join us:
1) Go to http://www.bakinggals.com/ and Log In or Create a New Account
2) Go to Join a Round 41 Team
3) Join Team Heather Drive
4) Wait for an email with the shipping address (I will send it out on April 30)

Now, here's a catch: The Baking GALS website only allows 20 people per team. I don't know how many participants we'll get, but if the team does fill up and you still want to be a part of it--please e-mail me at heatherdriveblog@yahoo.com and we will figure something out! :)

If you have any questions, check out the Operation Baking GALS FAQ page.

Here's the thing: Shipping is freaking EXPENSIVE now. So to get the most bang for your buck, I always suggest opting for a special flat rate box from the post office. The boxes are FREE and you can ship the box with anything in it (as much as you can fit, no matter how heavy!) for a reduced flat rate of $13.45, which is $2 less than the typical fee. If you can't find the boxes designated for APO/FPO addresses (they say "America Supports You!" on them), you can use the regular large flat rate box. Either one works, just make sure those USPS thieves employees--I know it's not their fault!--give you the discounted APO/FPO rate.

Also, check out this Newbies How-To Guide for full instructions on everything.

I think that covers everything, but please e-mail me at heatherdriveblog@yahoo.com if you have any questions, or simply leave them in the comments of this post. Participating? Tell me! And THANK YOU!

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Ketchup Day

Can you believe that it has already been two and a half months since I last did (my first) Ketchup Day? If you ask me, we're long overdue.

New to Ketchup Day? It's basically just a collection of short thoughts to get me "caught up" on my blogging. Things I want to tell you, but don't really constitute their own blog posts.

Lots of random tidbits coming your way...
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We are Texas-bound this weekend! And of course, the temperatures there have decided to plummet just in time for our visit. LOVELY. And all I really wanted was some comfortable 60-degree days. *sigh* Oh well, we will pack accordingly and make the most of it.

We saw an episode of Man v. Food where Adam visited a place in San Antonio that makes 3.5 lb. cinnamon rolls. This I've gotta see.

Here's hoping we have drama-free travel! Keep your fingers crossed for us.

And if you have any last-minute San Antonio/Austin suggestions, certainly let me know!
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At home, we are all decked out the holidays. Following the tradition we set when we first moved into our place, we put up almost everything the day after Thanksgiving. We have a few little things to do, but we'll get that done sometime next week.

Our tree:

I was boycotting Christmas music and Christmas spirit before Thanksgiving (I kept telling Michael to "respect the turkey"), but now I'm letting it all in. The Christmas carols are blasting in the car on a daily basis. Holiday season is in full swing!
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There is still plenty of time to sign up for the holiday round of Operation Baking Gals, if you haven't already. There are several spots left on our team, and it would certainly be nice to be at capacity. Shipping dates are from now until December 16, so head on over to the Baking Gals website and register to bake for Team Heather Drive!

I posted the announcement for this round right before Thanksgiving, so I'm hoping that the slow registration is just because people forgot about it. Right? Riiightt? C'mon people... get into the holiday spirit and help a guy out. Brian needs cookies! :) And if you don't bake, there are plenty of store-bought items that would be much appreciated over there as well.

If you've never participated before, now is a good time to start! I signed up for my first Baking Gals round last December, and look where I'm at now. Ha!
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A few blog housekeeping items:

From now on, when you leave comments on my blog, you'll have to do a quick word verification before clicking submit. I'm sure you've seen this feature on other blogs before. I like to keep things easy for all of you commenters, so I avoided adding it for as long as I could, and spam comments were never really a problem. But for some reason, spam comment activity has really picked up here at Heather Drive, and it's getting ridiculous! So, to make it easier on me, and more pleasant for everybody reading/leaving comments, I have to ask you to complete that extra word verification step now. I hope you don't mind.

Secondly, I'm planning on doing another blog redesign soon, so that'll be fun. I don't know--I just feel like I have to change things up every six months or so. Stay tuned for that!
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This Tiger Woods stuff is insane. All because he crashed his car into a tree. Talk about one thing leading to another...
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We saw The Blind Side on Wednesday night. It was adorable. Sandra Bullock was awesome. It's a must-see. You don't have to be a fan of football; you just have to be a fan of humans. The generous and compassionate ones. And it's a true story, which makes it even better.

Aside from the film itself, it was one of the most miserable movie theater experiences I've ever had. We got there late and the theater was unexpectedly packed, so we were forced to sit in the third row. My neck and back were KILLING me. So if I can enjoy it despite those conditions, you have to know it's good, right?
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I did the most adorable Christmas photo shoot with my nephew, Hunter, last weekend. He's six months and is at a rather perfect age for the vision I had going. I want to share a photo or two from it, but the pics are being used for their Christmas cards, and I don't want to spoil the fun for those of you who read this blog and are going to be receiving one. :)

But... soon! All you need to know for now is that he is *so cute*!
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Alright, I think that's it. I feel like I'm forgetting something, but if I am, I'll just have to wait until the next Ketchup Day... or form deeper thoughts about the subject so that I can designate an entire blog post to it. ;)

Once again, I have grand plans to blog during our time in Texas, but that's dependent on 1) whether we have free WiFi at our hotel, and 2) my mood. Needless to say, it's not a definite. But I'll almost certainly be tweeting regularly, so you can keep up with me by checking out my Twitter feed over there ------>

I'll be back before you know it, y'all. :)

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Operation Baking Gals - Holiday Edition

We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of my participation with Operation Baking Gals!

Last Christmastime, I joined a Baking Gals team and sent a package to a soldier who was spending the holidays away from home. This season, I'll be hosting a team, as I have done numerous times throughout the past year.

For Round 15, Jen from Beantown Baker and I are teaming up to bake for a husband and wife pair who are deployed, but unfortunately not together! They are both in Iraq, but with different units. Team Beantown Baker will be baking for Rebecca, while Team Heather Drive will bake for Brian. The two were married last Valentine's Day. For more about them, please see the team pages on www.bakinggals.com.
Team registration is now open. Baking Gals has changed their system, so you'll have to re-register with the site, even if you've been registered in the past. Once you're signed up, you can go in and join a team to bake with. There are new rules--only 20 people per team, so it's possible Team Heather Drive will fill up pretty quickly. So don't procrastinate if you want to participate! If we do fill up, sign up for Team Beantown Baker instead. And if they fill up, please consider baking for any team--obviously all of these men and women are very deserving of your time.

Don't know what Operation Baking Gals is? Check out my past posts about the project. You can also find more information on the Baking Gals website.

The shipping dates for Round 15 are December 1-16, so the packages will arrive in time for the holidays.

So! Enough talk. If you'd like to join us:
1) Go to http://www.bakinggals.com/ and Log In or Create a New Account
2) Go to Join a Round 15 Team
3) Join Team Heather Drive (or Team Beantown Baker, or any other team!)
4) Wait for an email with the shipping address (I will send it out after Thanksgiving weekend)

If you have any questions, check out the Operation Baking Gals FAQ page.

For shipping, please note: You can get a special flat rate box from the post office. The boxes are FREE and you can ship the box with anything in it for a reduced flat rate of $11.95. If you can't find the ones designated for APO/FPO addresses (they say "America Supports You!" on them), you can use the regular large flat rate box. Either one works!

Questions? Feel free to leave them in the comments. Or you can e-mail me at roadtotheaisle@gmail.com. Participating? Tell us! And thank you!

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Calling All Baking Gals

Does everybody know what time it is?

Tool Time!

Once again, it's time for all of you enthusiastic bakers to whip up some treats in support of our troops overseas! It's Operation Baking Gals, Round 13!

I don't know about you, but I love to bake... and then quickly get the goodies out of the house. The results are always too good to keep around because I'd eat them all, and then my pants wouldn't fit. And that makes for an unhappy Heather.

So! Instead of pawning treats off on my family, friends, and coworkers, I'd always like to take the opportunity to do something a bit more meaningful. What better way to get rid of some delicious baked goods than to send them overseas to our most deserving soldiers? They're undoubtedly missing home, and we can send them little bits of home-baked goodness.

This round, I've teamed up with Jen from Beantown Baker. We're co-leading a team together, so we should hopefully have a record number of participants! It's made even more special by the fact that we are baking for one of Jen's friends from high school.

Our soldier's name is Jonathan, and judging from his list of favorite baked goods (which seems to include everything but the kitchen sink), he's my kind of guy. As a bonus, Jonathan has essentially challenged us to take the craziest recipes we've come across and send them. You see, he's a foodie and loves trying new things. So if you're feeling a little adventurous, this is the round for you!

Jonathan doesn't get to come home until July 2010, so I think he's going to appreciate the care packages. And his fellow soldiers will reap the benefits as well! Shipping dates for this round are October 1 through October 12. Hmmm... perhaps some autumnal or Halloween-themed treats are in order? ;)

So get on over to www.bakinggals.com and register to participate with Team Heather Drive/Beantown Baker!

If you don't bake, there are plenty of other store-bought items that you can send if you would still like to participate. Check out the Baking Gals website (FAQ section) for more details.

Questions? Feel free to leave them in the comments. Or you can e-mail me at roadtotheaisle@gmail.com. Participating? Tell us! And thank you!

If you have no idea what Operation Baking Gals is, and would like to find out, check out my Operation Baking Gals label to see past posts about this project. I hope you'll consider joining us!

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Operation Baking Gals, Round 11

OK, folks... sign-up for Round 11 of Operation Baking Gals has begun.

Once again, we are baking for a wonderful soldier who could use a little pick-me-up from home. To see his story and to sign up for Team Heather Drive, visit www.bakinggals.com. You have to register with the site (it's free, and there's no spam) in order to view the teams and sign up to bake.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Shipping starts next week, so please sign up and get baking as soon as possible!

Thanks for everything you do.

(Don't know what Baking Gals is? Read these posts.)

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Wanted: A Deployed Soldier

I've sat out the last few rounds of Operation Baking Gals, simply because I didn't have anybody to sponsor. For a while there, I had a list built up, but through subsequent rounds, we reached the end of it. And then I got busy, and I had to let it slide for a while.

However, Round 11 (which also happens to be the 1st anniversary round for Operation Baking Gals!) is upon us. Baking Gals organizer Lyndsay is trying to drum up participation in celebration of the anniversary, so I would like to help out. But I am in need of at least one soldier, and I hope you can help out.

Does anyone out there have anybody overseas right now that we could bake for?

If so, please e-mail me as soon as possible at roadtotheaisle@gmail.com. You must have (or be able to get quickly) a current military address for the soldier so that we can make sure the packages will get to him or her.

Also, if you are submitting someone, please provide a short bio about your soldier, including the following information:

• Name
• Military address
  
• Relationship to you
• Branch of the military
• Where is he/she deployed to?
  
• How long has he/she been deployed? When is he/she scheduled to come home?
  
• Family information (Married? Kids?)
• Hometown/state
• Favorite baked goods or store-bought items
  
• Really anything else that you feel like sharing about this person so that we can get to know him/her

Right now, I'm just trying to get this all set up. I will post sign up information as soon as I have it, and baking/shipping will happen at the beginning of August.

Stay tuned!

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Attention: Baking Gals

Round 8 is onnnn!

Your mission (please accept it!): Brighten the day of a soldier serving overseas. Our soldier for Round 8, Christian, is serving our country with the U.S. Army in Iraq. And you have the ability to bring Christian some "cheer," and to many of his fellow soldiers as well.

How? Well, it's simple. Packages from home. From YOU.

If you're a regular reader, you probably know all about this "Operation Baking Gals" business by now. So many of have participated so far, and I'm hoping you'll all be willing to do it again. And if you've never participated before, please consider joining us!

Christian is a dear friend of one of my faithful readers and fellow blogger, Amy. Once again, I hope you'll knock my socks off with your willingness to help our "Heather Drive" soldier.

All you have to do is go to http://www.bakinggals.com/, sign in (or create an account if you don't have one--so easy, it's free, and you won't get spammed by a ton of e-mails, either), and then register with Team Heather Drive - Castillo. You'll do this by clicking on "Join a Round 8 Team Here" (you must be signed in to do this). Also, please visit "Round Eight Info - Meet the Teams." There is an article in there for our team that contains details about our soldier and his story. This weekend, I'll send out an e-mail to all registered team members that includes Christian's shipping address.

DON'T BAKE? No TIME to bake? Well, that's NO EXCUSE. :) There are plenty of store-bought things that the soldiers can use and enjoy. Please visit the Baking Gals FAQ section for a list of acceptable items to send. I've been told that Christian especially likes Ramen Noodles, so you could most certainly send some of those, right? How cheap and easy could it possibly be??

Ship dates for Round 8 are May 4 through May 13, so you can basically bake (or buy!) and send starting this weekend. So preheat those ovens and start whipping together those baked goods!

Be sure to include a bit of "yourself" in your packages as well. Cards, letters, pictures... anything that will give Christian a little bit of an idea of who you are, and let him know how thankful you are for the sacrifice he is making for all of us. You may even want to include a link to your blog, or an e-mail address. It doesn't always happen, but sometimes, participants receive e-mails from the soldier they baked for!

If you are baking, there is important information for you in the FAQ section, too, including tips on how to ensure that your baked goods get there in good condition. Additional info about the organization and my experience with it so far can be found in my original post from December.

Remember, the best thing to use is a large Flat Rate box from USPS. You should be able to pick one up at your local post office (the box is free). Take it home, pack it full of as many goodies as possible, and then take it back to mail it. You'll get a discounted rate for sending it to an APO/FPO address. Unfortunately, the Flat Rate has gone up $1 (thanks a lot, USPS). Now, it normally costs $13.95 to send a large Flat Rate box, but it only costs $11.95 to send to soldiers (used to be $10.95).

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. E-mail me at roadtotheaisle@gmail.com, or leave a message in the comments. If you do that, though, just make sure to check back, because I will answer you in the comments as well.

As always, if you participate, feel free to tell me about it! If you have a blog, post about your experience--Pictures of your baking, you with your package, etc., maybe post the recipe for the goodies you made. Then send me a link to your Baking Gals blog post, or leave a link in my comments section.

That's all for now. Let's make this another successful round, shall we?

Edited to add: Last round, I know there were some problems with my e-mails (sent through the Baking Gals website) to team members getting caught in spam filters. Please be on the lookout for the e-mail with Christian's address (so check those filters!). If, for some reason, you still don't get it, please e-mail me and I'll make sure to get the address to you.

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Ready, Set... BAKE!

Once again, you have a mission (please accept it!): Brighten the day of a soldier serving overseas. Our soldier for Round 7, Jennifer, is on the other side of the world, and she's had some rough times lately. And you can help cheer her up.

How? Well, it's simple. Packages from home. From YOU.

If you're a regular reader, you probably remember my post about Operation Baking Gals in December. And then you probably remember the post about Round 6 in February. Well, now Round 7 is officially upon us, and we need to get started. So many of you participated last time, and I'm hoping you'll all be willing to do it again.

There is a new organizer over at www.bakinggals.com, and for some reason, she wouldn't let me have two teams this round. So I guess that means Jennifer will be receiving a LOT of packages, right? RIGHT?? :) Once again, I hope you'll knock my socks off with your willingness to help our "Heather Drive" soldier.

All you have to do is go to www.bakinggals.com, sign in (or create an account if you don't have one--so easy, it's free, and you won't get spammed by a ton of e-mails, either), and then register with Team Heather Drive - Rossin. You'll do this by clicking on "Join a Round 7 Team Here" (you must be signed in to do this).

You will find the shipping address information for our soldier under "Round Seven Info - Meet the Teams." There is an article in there for our team that contains details about our soldier, her story, and the address for where to ship your packages.

DON'T BAKE? No TIME to bake? Well, that's NO EXCUSE. :) There are plenty of store-bought things that the soldiers can use and enjoy. Please visit the Baking Gals FAQ section for a list of acceptable items to send.

Ship dates for Round 7 are April 1 through April 10, so you can basically bake and send starting this weekend. So preheat those ovens and start whipping together those baked goods!

Be sure to include a bit of "yourself" in your packages as well. Cards, letters, pictures... anything that will give Jennifer a little bit of an idea of who you are, and let her know how thankful you are for the sacrifice she is making for all of us. You may even want to include a link to your blog, or an e-mail address. Last round, I know some people received e-mails from the soldiers they baked for!

If you are baking, there is important information for you in the FAQ section, too, including tips on how to ensure that your baked goods get there in good condition. Additional info about the organization and my experience with it so far can be found in my original post from December.

Remember, the best thing to use is a large Flat Rate box from USPS. You should be able to pick one up at your local post office (the box is free). Take it home, pack it full of as many goodies as possible, and then take it back to mail it. You'll get a discounted rate for sending it to an APO/FPO address. Normally, it costs $12.95, and I think it's $10.95 to send to the soldiers.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. E-mail me at roadtotheaisle@gmail.com, or leave a message in the comments. If you do that, though, just make sure to check back, because I will answer you in the comments as well.

Also, if you participate, I want to hear about it! If you have a blog, post about your experience--Pictures of your baking, you with your package, etc., maybe post the recipe for the goodies you made. Then send me a link to your Baking Gals blog post, or leave a link in my comments section. Only one or two people did this for me last time, so it wasn't too much of a success, but if I get a big enough response, I'd like to compile everyone's pictures and stories and post about them later in April.

So come on, baking gals! Get baking! :) And thank you so much!

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Soldier(s) Needed

Round 7 of Operation Baking Gals will begin in just a little more than a week. I would be happy to lead a team again, but I am in need of at least one soldier!

Does anyone out there have anybody overseas right now that we could bake for?

If so, please e-mail me as soon as possible at roadtotheaisle@gmail.com. You must have (or be able to get quickly) a current military address for the soldier so that we can make sure the packages will get to him or her.

Also, if you are submitting someone, please provide a short bio about your soldier. Their name, relationship to you, what branch of the military, how long have they been over there, family information (Married? Kids?), etc. Really anything that you feel like sharing about this person so that we can get to know him/her. Oh! If they have a favorite type of baked good, let us know that, too, so we can ensure that they get at least SOME of that thing. :)

As for all of those who baked last time, thank you again, and I hope you'll consider joining Team Heather Drive for Round 7. I will post sign up information as soon as I have it.

Stay tuned!

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SSG Archer Says Thank You

For those of you on Team Archer (and even if you are on Team Fuller!) for this round of Operation Baking Gals, I wanted to share this e-mail with you.

Anna, the blog reader who nominated Ryan Archer to be one of our soldiers, forwarded me the following e-mail this afternoon:

Hi Anna,

I just wanted to let you know that I received three boxes in the mail today from the Operation Baking Gals team and me and some of the guys have already dipped into the cookies and they were great.

In response to the request for more information I am originally from Georgia but have lived in the Fayetteville/ Fort Bragg, North Carolina area for the past seven years. I am currently engaged and will be getting married soon after returning home in a few months.

My favorite type of dessert is most definitely brownies... got some today actually and they were awesome. I think that is about it.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of those who have or will be sending stuff to us here because we all like getting mail and sharing it among the guys here.

Thanks for your support
Ryan

I was so happy to hear from him in some way, as I never did hear from the soldier I baked for back in December. I know they're most certainly busy over there, but it's just nice to get some confirmation that the packages were received!

I still have to bake my goods and ship them out this weekend. I have been busy this time around and have been procrastinating. I guess I will be sending Ryan some brownies! :)

Anyway, I wanted to be sure to pass along the thanks so that you all know how much your work has been appreciated. I will pass on any other notes I happen to receive from either Ryan or our other soldier, Walter Fuller.

If you haven't gotten your baked goods out yet, there is still time! Even if you get it out a few days late (say, early next week even), I'm sure the guys over there won't be complaining.

Thanks again for your participation; I am so proud!

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Put on your aprons!

This is your mission, should you choose to accept it: Brighten the day of our soldiers who are serving in the Middle East.

How? Well, it's simple. Packages from home. From YOU.

Remember my post about Operation Baking Gals? Round 6 is officially upon us, and we need to get started. So many of you left comments and sent me e-mails about wanting to participate, and well, now I'm asking you to put your money where your mouth is.

I really, really want the participation to be great, so I'm hoping that most of you that said you were going to volunteer actually follow through.

We have two teams, baking for two deserving soldiers. All you have to do is go to http://www.bakinggals.com/, create an account (it's free, super simple, and you won't get spammed by a ton of e-mails), and then register with one of the Heather Drive teams. You'll do this by clicking on "Join a Round 6 Team Here." Please try to keep the numbers fairly even on each team. If there are more people registered for Team Heather Drive - Fuller, please register for Team Heather Drive - Archer instead.

You will find the shipping address information for each soldier under "Round Six Info - Meet the Teams." There is an article in there for each team with details about the soldier (if I received any), and the address for where to ship your packages.

DON'T BAKE? No TIME to bake? Well, that's NO EXCUSE. :) There are plenty of store-bought things that the soldiers can use and enjoy. Please visit the Baking Gals FAQ section for a list of acceptable items to send.

Ship dates for Round 6 are between February 7 and February 21, so you can basically bake and send at any time now. I think the sooner, the better because one of our soldiers is actually going to be coming home sometime in March... Also, don't you think it'd be great for our soldiers to start receiving packages around Valentine's Day? So preheat those ovens and start whipping together those baked goods!

Be sure to include a bit of "yourself" in your packages as well. Cards, letters, pictures... anything that will give the soldier a little bit of an idea of who you are, and let them know how thankful you are for the sacrifice they are making for all of us. You may even want to include a link to your blog, or an e-mail address. I've heard that some of the soldiers like to write you to thank you. I did not hear from my soldier in Round 5, but of course, I do not hold it against him. :)

If you are baking, there is important information for you in the FAQ section, too, including tips on how to ensure that your baked goods get there in good condition. Additional info about the organization and my experience with it so far can be found in my original post from December.

Remember, the best thing to use is a large Flat Rate box from USPS. You should be able to pick one up at your local post office (the box is free). Take it home, pack it full of as many goodies as possible, and then take it back to mail it. You'll get a discounted rate for sending it to an APO/FPO address. Normally, it costs $12.95, and I think it's $10.95 to send to the soldiers.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. E-mail me at roadtotheaisle@gmail.com, or leave a message in the comments. If you do that, though, just make sure to check back, because I will answer you in the comments as well.

Also, if you participate, I want to hear about it! If you have a blog, post about your experience--Pictures of your baking, you with your package, etc., maybe post the recipe for the goodies you made. Then send me a link to your Baking Gals blog post, or leave a link in my comments section. I am going to try to compile everyone's pictures and stories and post about them later this month.

So come on, baking gals! Get baking! :) And thank you so much!

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Baking Gals Update

Following up to my post back in December about Operation Baking Gals...

We will have two Heather Drive teams. Our soldiers have been selected, and I'm working on getting our teams set up within the system. I should be posting in the next couple of days with more information for you all to sign up. Shipping dates are going to be between February 7 and February 21, so get yourselves ready! :)

I will keep you guys updated and let you all know when and how to register. So stay tuned!

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Um, wow.

I am seriously impressed by all of the responses I've received about Operation Baking Gals. And I'm guessing (it's just a hunch!) that once sign-up information is up and actually available, I might get even more of you signed up to help. So, thank you.

Just as an FYI, I'm thinking that sign-up info is probably not going to be available until mid-January. They are planning to have a little bit more time between Rounds 5 & 6 than usual, just to give people a little break after the holidays.

It seems that when things get moving, they really move. Basically, you just sign up and then bake almost right away. But I promise I will post the sign-up info as soon as it is available, so as long as you keep coming back to visit, you'll know about it. I think I'm probably just going to call our team "Team Heather Drive" so when you go to the website, it's pretty obvious which team is ours.

Here's the thing. As of now, we have so many people committed that we can actually help two soldiers at a time. Baking Gals asks that there is a minimum of 10 people on each team. As of now, I think we have at least 25 people! So seriously, if you have soldiers you want to help, please e-mail me their info as soon as possible. I'll want to have our soldier(s) chosen before I begin the sign-up process. Then, once sign-up begins, I'll ask that you split yourselves pretty evenly among the two teams. We'll just have "Team Heather Drive - Soldier #1 Name" and "Team Heather Drive - Soldier #2 Name." :)

If you're interested, and haven't let me know yet, please go back to my original Baking Gals post and leave a comment. The more people I get committed to helping, the more soldiers we can help for each round. If we get up close to 40 people, I'll probably even split our team into three parts. THREE soldiers! Wouldn't that be amazing?

I figured there would be people who want to help, but I had no idea the response would be so good--especially within the first 24 hours! I'm so excited for Round 6! I'll make sure to keep you posted.

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Operation Baking Gals

That special project that I mentioned the gingerbread cookies were a part of? This is it.

Operation Baking Gals.

Later today, this package will be shipped out. Wayyyy out. All the way to Afghanistan. It will be delivered to a soldier who is unable to celebrate the holidays with his wife and baby boy this year. He has been serving our country overseas since June.

I became involved with this project through Melissa over at Hot Stuff in the Kitchen. Melissa was a fellow June 21 bride, so we've "known" each other for a while now. A few weeks ago, before Thanksgiving, she e-mailed me and asked if I would like to be a member of her Baking Gals team.

I immediately agreed. As you're all probably aware by now, I love to bake, and I can't think of a better cause to bake for. Our soldier, Brian (aka "Bubba") will receive at least 10 packages of goodies from our team. A little piece of home and the holidays that he will be able to share with his soldier buddies.

I took this on as another one of my "give back" activities. Whether or not you agree with the war, these guys are still over there for us while we get to stay here safely with our friends and family.

Brian will be receiving about a dozen pumpkin cookies, as well as more than a dozen gingerbread cookies. I also included baggies of animal crackers. I'm hoping everything makes it all the way to the Middle East in a state that is still edible. Here's hoping. I double wrapped everything, and also used a little trick from the Baking Gals website, including pieces of apple peel in the bags to keep stuff fresh. I'm crossing my fingers that it works.

We were encouraged to write letters about ourselves and include pictures, blog and e-mail addresses, etc. So I typed up a little page about myself and my family, including a few pictures. I also enclosed a handwritten holiday card, thanking Brian for the sacrifices he has made for all of us here at home.

We're also supposed to take pictures of ourselves with our boxes to share with the Baking Gals site. So that's what you see above.

Today, I will go to the post office and pay just $10.95 to send Brian his sweet treats. As it turns out, all you have to do to ship this stuff is go pick up a large, flat rate Priority Mail box from USPS. I got it at one of my local post offices. You can put as much crap as you can possibly fit in there, and it'll still only cost $10.95. It regularly costs $12.95, but they give a discount if you are sending it to an APO/FPO (military) address.

OK, so now onto the next thing. Guess what? Operation Baking Gals isn't just a holiday project. It runs all year round. So this is what I want to do: I want to start a team! It'll be my first time as a Team Leader/Host.

I've been told by Susan, the Operation Baking Gals founder/coordinator, that the next round of shipping will likely be between January 30 and February 9. You can send your package anytime during this time period. The goal is to have the soldiers receive their boxes in time for Valentine's Day.

You have to sign up for a team to participate in Operation Baking Gals, and I'd love for as many readers as possible to join me. The Round 6 (Valentine's Day) sign-up isn't available yet, and probably won't be for several more weeks. I'll be sure to post the information here once it is available so that anyone who is interested can sign up. In the meantime, if you are interested, can you please leave a comment so that I can get a feel for how many people I'm going to have?

Oh, and also--don't bake? Don't worry. You don't have to bake to participate. As you can imagine, there are a lot of things from home that the soldiers appreciate having. There is a long list of store-bought stuff that is appropriate for sending. If that's up your alley, you can sign up, too. You'll get all of the info about what types of things to send once we're prepping for the next round.

Lastly, and most importantly... I'm putting out a call for a soldier. I'm lucky to not have anyone I know and love deployed (at least not right now). As a result, I don't have an automatic choice for a soldier to send our baked goods to. But I know--from some of the blog comments I've received in the past--many of you do have loved ones over there. If you do, and you'd like me to consider him or her as our team's soldier, please leave a comment or e-mail me directly at roadtotheaisle@gmail.com. Tell me how you know them, how long they've been gone, and anything else that you think I'd like to know about this person.

If I receive more than one request, it's not a problem. I plan to continue participating as a Team Leader/Host in Operation Baking Gals for every round moving forward. So if we can't bake for your girl/guy this time, I'll be sure to try to get them in for a subsequent round. Sound good? Oh, but one important thing to note--you must have an APO/FPO address for this soldier. We need to be able to make sure our packages are going to arrive where intended!

So, please consider joining me. And again, if you do want to join me, please leave a comment that you're interested in Round 6.

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