Baking For Our Troops

Round 10!!!

2009-06-19T23:41:00.004-04:00

Round 10 is up and running!!

It is that time again! Time to bake for our ever so deserving military!!! For this round, I found him through his wife on twitter!! Below you will find a little bio about him from his wife! As always, if you have any problems or questions, please email me at baking4troops@gmail.com or leave a comment here with your contact information! Thank you so much!

SSG Nicholas Limerick is assigned to Bravo Company over in Afghanistan. He has been in the Army for 8 years and plans on becoming a Warrant Officer when he returns home in January 2010. He has a wonderful wife, Jennifer, and has been married for 7 years. He also has a daughter, Shannon, who is 5 months old. He deployed the day she turned a month old. He enjoys watching
the Baltimore Ravens, playing video games, hunting, fishing and camping. He was born and raised in Texas and plans to retire there one day.

Round 8 & 9!

2009-06-19T23:40:00.002-04:00

Okay well I am bad and left my laptop down with my husband and forget to bring it back with me... therefore I will not get to START posting about these rounds and our awesome(!!!) participants till the earliest of the end of the month!! I am so sorry for that! Please be patient!

Round 9!!

2009-05-27T00:13:00.003-04:00

It is time to start signing up for teams again!!!

Here is our person for this round~

This round we are baking for a fellow blogger! Her name is Sarah! She runs the blog: Sweets by Sarah

Here are 2 links on her blog that show all of the people she works with! I thought it was really cool and wanted to share it will all of you!
Day in the Life Part 1
Day in the Life Part 2

Here is a blurb from her email she sent to me:

I am currently in Iraq with Marine Aircraft Group 26. We are a
headquarters unit that supports anywhere from 10-12 squadrons. We are
an fun bunch of people and are making the most of the year that we are
deployed. We are originally stationed at Marine Corps Air Station, New
River in Jacksonville, NC.

As always, if you have any problems or questions, please email me at baking4troops@gmail.com or leave a comment here with a way to contact you!

Thanks again for all your hard work!!!

~Lyndsay (and her mom Pam)

Wraps up Round 7!

2009-05-15T00:20:00.004-04:00

This wraps up Round 7 for Richie! Thanks to all those who participated!!! And thank you to DeAnna, his wife, for being patient with me in getting these posted! I am normally not this late in getting them up!!!

Round 8 round up should start sometime next week... I need a lot of people to get back to me before I can start! :-) You know who you are :-)

And Round 9 sign ups start next Friday!!!

Thanks everyone for all that you do!! You are awesome!!!

Team Member - Carol

2009-05-15T00:18:00.002-04:00

Carol baked chocolate chip cookies for this round!

Thanks Carol for joining us this round!

Team Member - Joy

2009-05-14T23:47:00.003-04:00

Joy baked...
Hello Dolly Bars (7 layer bars)

M&M Cookies

Brown Butter Brown Sugar Shorties

Chocolate Caramel Matzoh Crunch

and here is a picture of her box all ready to go!!

I wanted to say a special thanks to Joy for all of her hard work and research she did to get our "special" bonus round kicked off for round 8!! Thanks Joy!!!

Team Member - Susan

2009-05-14T23:44:00.003-04:00

Susan did an awesome job just like every other round! She baked oatmeal raisin, and peanut butter milk chocolate chip. She also included some kettle corn AND of course a pound of coffee from her favorite Starbucks!

Susan also has a website, make sure to check it out! Thanks Susan!

Team Member - Patti

2009-05-14T23:41:00.004-04:00

Patti from New York baked this round...
White Chocolate Macadamia cookies and...

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies...

She also included some other store bought cookies and candy!

Thanks Patti for another great round!!

Team Member - Francine

2009-05-14T23:36:00.002-04:00

Francine baked Marble Pound Cake (pictured below)and oatmeal cookies....

as well as chocolate chip cookies (pictured below) and lemon sugar cookies!

Thanks Francine for another great round!!

Team Member - June & her son's cub scouts!

2009-05-14T23:30:00.002-04:00

Here is a picture of her son's cub scout group who baked this month for Richie! They are holding the card that they made for him!

Here are some of the cookies that they made for him... In their box there was: orange ginger cookies, Peanut Butter, Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip, Rice Crispies, Jelly Beans, and Popcorn!

Here is her son making the Rice Crispy treats!

Thank you all so much for participating!

Team Member - Aunt Barb

2009-05-14T23:18:00.003-04:00

My aunt baked this round:
Lemon lovers, brownie drops, short breads, and pumpkin raisin spice. She also included in her box: iced tea mixes and magazines!

Thanks Aunt Barb for another great round!

Team Members - Heather & Martha

2009-05-14T22:55:00.004-04:00

These 2 members made posts about their experiences on their blogs! Please make sure to check them out!

Heather-

Here is the link to her blog post.

Martha-
Here is the link to her blog post! Make sure to check it out!!

Thank you both so much for doing this!! You are awesome!

Team Members - Kim, Courtney, Chris, Elise, Suzanne, Tarisa, & Alicia

2009-05-14T22:40:00.002-04:00

These are team members who didn't send me any pics, but did let me know they shipped! Thanks for doing that! :-) Here is what they sent (if I know)...

Courtney-
She lives in Mass. and is a 2nd grade teacher and had her students make cards for Richie!! Isn't that so sweet?!? And then she baked Chocolate Chip and Cinnamon Sugar Cookies! Yum! I wish we had pics of the cards or of Richie's face reading them! :-) Thanks Courtney!

Chris-
She is from Willow Grove, PA. She baked Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies, Brownies, gum, fruit stickers (gummy candy), Peanut Butter Crackers... And she had her child's 1st grade class make cards as well!! How cool is that?!

Suzanne-
She baked Oatmeal cookies!!

Tarisa-
She baked Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip Cookies, M&M Cookies, and Sugar Cookies.

Alicia-
She baked Peanut M&M Cookies, Ginger Cookies, and then filled with other goodies. She had her family help and explained to her kids the importance of our military while they did it!

Thank you all so much for all your hardwork!!!

Round 7 Round Up! Finally! Mom & I!

2009-05-14T21:49:00.006-04:00

For this round my mom and I had a little help for our box in more ways than one (I'll explain as we go through these pics...) ...

These are the cut outs that we made:

This is my mom and her helper... She is my good friend's daughter whose dad is in the Navy and currently out to sea for 7 months. My mom and I decided hat we wanted to send a care package to him as well... So we asked my friend if her daughter wanted to help bake for her dad! And she did! And she was an EXCELLENT helper!! She helped us make the chocolate caramel surprise (the ones with the rolos inside)

Here is the candy that went inside of eggs for Easter...

Here are our boxes. 2 went to Richie and one went to my friend's husband. After our article in the paper we had 2 ladies volunteer to help. One lady donated homemade biscottis in 3 different flavors. Another lady baked cut outs as well and then bought sanck packs of peanuts and then gum!

I also contacted the Tabasco company and asked them to donate to our organization. And they did!!! They sent him a whole package of stuff! I am not sure of the details because I didn't hear the specifics, just know they did! Which I think is awesome!

Shame on me!

2009-05-09T23:57:00.002-04:00

I am sorry that I have yet to post Round 7! I promise I will work on it!! This week was much more busy then I expected!! :-) Sinuses were driving me crazy many days this week and I had to decorate a cake and cookies for a party!! I promise I will work on it!! ASAP!! Thank you for being patient! :-) And there is still time for Round 8 to sign up and ship!!

Round 7...

2009-04-29T20:27:00.001-04:00

I promise to have my Round 7 round up all posted by the weekend!!

So make sure you check back! And don't forget Round 8 is up and running!!

Our Round 8!....

2009-04-28T22:07:00.004-04:00

He is Eric Donahue, who grew up as an Army brat. He and his Dad, an Army Colonel, are stationed in different areas of Baghdad. Eric graduated from West Point in May '07. He then went through Officer Training, Infantry school, and Ranger school. He married Claudia Keen, another West Point grad who flies Blackhawk helicopters, on September 27, 2008 and left for Baghdad in December that year.

Not many people make the front page of the Wall Street Journal, but when Eric Donahue married Claudia Keen their picture was on the front page of the Dec 13-14 Journal in an article titled "Families at War". His dad is an Army colonel, stationed in Iraq, who attended the wedding on his R&R leave. His bride is a First Lieutenant flying Black hawk helicopters. His sister is now in an ROTC program in college to become an Army nurse. Eric grew up as an Army brat, living in various locations in the US and Korea. He says it made his family close. He chose West Point knowing the sacrifices of military life. His wedding on September 27, 2008, was soon followed by a December deployment to Iraq with the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg. His wife is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan in May. They hope to have two weeks together in April before she leaves, if he can get his R&R leave at that time. Both of their deployments are set as 12 months. I talked to Claudia last night and she said married life was great, but there was a little distance problem! She hears from Eric via phone and email at least once a week, unless he is on a special mission. Eric graduated from West Point in May 2007 and went through Officer School, Infantry School, and Ranger School. He now is 23 and has a platoon in southern Baghdad...and a wife in North Carolina. Ah, the sacrifices these soldiers make!

Eric has been in Iraq for several months on his first deployment, which is expected to last around a year. He's stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC and enjoys hanging out with his new wife, spending time with his family and friends, lifting weights, biking, watching Boston sports teams, and reading. He's looking forward to many things when he returns from this deployment: seeing his dad, who is also a deployed Soldier, playing with his puppy Fenway, eating his favorite foods, watching his favorite teams, and traveling a little bit.

If you are interested in baking for Eric, please sign up for our team! If you have any questions or problems, please contact me: bakingfortroops@gmail.com.

Round 8 Information!!!

2009-04-17T23:42:00.003-04:00

Here is a copy of the email that will be sent once the email issue is corrected. But I am trying to reach as many people as possible until then! I have posted this on the site and on the facebook page as well... SPREAD THE WORD!!! You all did AWESOME last round without having email to get us started! Let's see what we can do this time!!

Here it is...

Hello Fellow Bakers-

I hope everyone is ready for another round of baking for our deserving military!

Round 8 Information-
Leaders email me (bakinggalsinfo@gmail.com) no later than Sunday with your team name, and please have your articles and pictures uploaded by Wednesday.
I hope to have the teams open on Friday but no later than late Sunday.
We are also going to be doing something different this round. A fellow baker presented an idea and has done the necessary research to make it happen… SO this round, we will have a “BONUS” team which will be baking for wounded men and women. There will be some specific guidelines for this, especially shipping dates, so please make sure that you read before you agree and to check the site for more information on this.

Future Dates-
I have posted on the site the dates for the next 4 rounds after this current one. Please check it out so that you are aware of what is going on.

Other Tidbits of information-
* Don’t forget to join the facebook page!
* Also, don’t forget to check out our merchandise!
* And if you have purchased some, I would love some feedback and pictures.
* I would like pictures to use on the site: your packages ready to go, the baked goods, actually baking them, responses from who you sent to, etc. PLEASE make sure that you will not mind them being posted on the site AND that you, yourself have taken them.
* I also would like to start posting the responses we are receiving from those we are sending to… so if you have received some, please share them.
* I would like to get an idea of how many cookies we have shipped so far. I will be creating a place for you to share how many rounds you have participated in and how many cookies you have baked thus far. We can keep updating it continually.
* Finally, if you have any suggestions, ideas, problems, etc. please contact me. I love hearing everyone’s thoughts on this organization.

Thank you all for your hard work, and I can't wait to kick off this round! Make sure to SPREAD the WORD!!

Thanks,
Lyndsay

Round 7....

2009-04-16T14:30:00.001-04:00

Please make sure to check back in a week or so for our Round 7 round up!! I am still waiting on lots of pictures that have been promised by team members and there are some who I never heard from at all... So if either of that sounds like you... EMAIL ME!! :-)

Get ready for Round 8!

Thank You from Round 6

2009-04-06T23:23:00.002-04:00

Last week my mom and I received a thank you letter from our man from Round 6! Check it out! (Click on image to enlarge!)

Recipes!

2009-04-01T22:45:00.003-04:00

I need your help! We need more recipes for our cookbook! Please try and send me one, or two, or three, or more! If you could attach a picture with it that would be even better! Or a little story behind the cookie... Something that you heard back from the person you sent it to, etc.

Please try and make a point to do this! It is my next thing to check off the list and I cannot do it without all of your help!

Richie's Address Given!

2009-03-31T22:09:00.003-04:00

I sent out an email containing his information. If you did not receive one, please contact me... I tried to get back to everyone, but I may have overlooked someone... I am sure I did... I had LOTS of emails to sort through with being in charge of the whole thing now :-) So I am sorry if I missed you, but will get you the information as soon as I receive your email. baking4troops @ gmail.com

Thanks everyone!!

Oh and don't forget... email me when you ship and attach any pics you take of your package (or at least what you baked)! You know how I like to brag about you! :-)

Operation Baking GALS has merchandise!!

2009-03-25T21:52:00.001-04:00

I have been working hard on this... check it out! Please make sure that if you do purchase something that there is a * after our link... www.zazzle.com/bakinggals* so that we get more credit for your purchase. If you have any problems, please email me and I will fix it.

buy unique gifts at Zazzle

Questions, ask.

Thanks,
Lyndsay

Our Round 7!

2009-03-20T23:38:00.002-04:00

We found this guy from when my mom and I mailed our last rounds boxes! We ended up talking to his brother in line... and told him what we did... he mentioned his brother, we said to email us and we would love to send him stuff... by the time we got home he had talked to his sister-in-law and she had emailed me with information on her husband!!

So here is a bio about our man:

Richie is 25 years old. He joined the Army in March of 2003. He went to basic training at Ft. Jackson, SC and then on to Advanced Individual Training (ait) at Ft. Lee, VA. That is where he and his wife met (She was also in the army for 2 years). After graduating from AIT, he went to Airborne School in Ft. Benning, GA. From there he got stationed at Ft. Bragg where he has been ever since. He got deployed for the first time from November 2003 to April 2004. They got married May 9, 2004. Then they found out they were pregnant with their first child - son Colson - in April of 06. He got deployed for the 2nd time in August, came home for his 2 week R & R at the end of November to December 11. Colson was born Dec. 5. He then was gone until October 23 when he came home again. Now this third deployment (all to Iraq) he left on Dec 4 of 2008. He is a sergeant and has been for about a year now. His MOS (job) is a fuel supply specialist. He is great at his job and is very knowledgeable.

He love soccer!!!!!!!!!!! loves to play and loves to watch - especially the premier league in England. we got hooked when watching the world cup in 06. his favorite team is Manchester United. but he is one to watch all sports - from tennis, golf, to football, baseball, basketball - all of them.
He enjoys watching movies and video games.
He was born in New York, New York - moved to St. Petersburg, FL when he was 6 and would very much love to retire there.
He really enjoys working out - like serious muscle building and likes to read the muscle and mens health magazines....

Our only request that we have is that you try and send out later in the round versus right at the 1st because he is on mission working somewhere else but is supposed to be back by the end of March, but just in case... we want to ship a little later!

Thanks for looking and hope to have you baking,
Lyndsay

Any questions, please email me at Baking4Troops @ gmail.com

Facebook!

2009-03-18T18:59:00.001-04:00

I created a Facebook Group for our organization. Please join, post your thoughts, and pass the word to others!

Link to page here

Thanks,
~Lyndsay

I NEED YOUR HELP!

2009-03-17T00:40:00.002-04:00

Please pass the word along on the information for Round 7... since I cannot send out a mass email yet, it is making it difficult for me to get the word out on the details... SO PLEASE spread the word to visit the main site and sign up! (Click here to go to site)

Also, I created a facebook group... and invite you to join and spread the word about that as well! (Click here to visit)

Thank you all for doing what you do! You are all awesome and truly do have a special place in my heart!

~Lyndsay

BIG News!

2009-03-10T22:24:00.002-04:00

Susan (the creator of Operation Baking GALS) and I have been talking... and she does not have enough time to devote to the site anymore... and she asked me if I would be willing to take over the dirty work! So you are looking at the new admin of bakinggals.com!! I am really excited and I hope that we can keep it up and keep getting new people involved!! And of course that I do her proud! She is still going to be involved, just more in the background! Round 7 is coming very soon! The switch just happened yesterday... so I need a day or 2 to learn it all before I put it all out there!! Hope to have everyone back! And of course even more!!! Thanks everyone for your support!

~Lyndsay

2nd Article!

2009-03-10T16:05:00.004-04:00

This article was in our Community Newspaper... it is almost the same article as before, but he added updates of things that happened since the first article was printed. There is not a direct link to the paper yet, they haven't updated their site yet. When they do I will add it to this post!

Thanks for looking!
~Lyndsay

A "Thank You" from his mom.

2009-03-02T14:14:00.006-05:00

Below is copied from an email I received from Molly that Ben's mom wrote to her to pass along to all of you... (She wrote this after being forwarded the link to this blog to see what everyone had done for her son.) Please enjoy and know what you do for them REALLY does make a difference... not only to them, but their families!

"I am really overwhelmed! Really, I'm in tears! Looking at those pictures and thinking of all the time and effort put into sending boxes to a soldier(and many soldiers) these women don't even know is just amazing to me. I know that even if the recipients don't eat them they will be blessed beyond measure just to receive and be able to share...and know that someone cares that they are there.

These guys have to get discouraged a little...missing out on the fun and "freedom" of others their age. I know they often don't feel Americans are behind them in "the cause". They have no days off while there. They put relationships, marriage, and children on "hold", or struggle to keep their relationships intact. I have really been forced to see the military life so differently since Ben is in it and all the sacrifices made by the soldiers and their loved ones.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you...for thinking of him and baking for him and PRAYING for him. The boxes, which the ARMY would call "boodle", will be even more of a blessing to Ben and his troops since they got moved to the new post. It is much smaller and more remote and he says the food has not been very good. They just got a computer last week so they can email, though there is only one computer for 100 guys...and no phone yet. What a great time to get boodle....and such beautiful, delicious looking boodle! And so many boxes of boodle! Yes, I'm crying just thinking of it's arrival...day after day. Wow! Who could not feel blessed?! and remembered!

Please share this mom's gratitude with ALL involved! and ask them to keep praying for and blessing our troops!

Be blessed!
Denise"

Keep up the good work team :-) And thank you again!
~Lyndsay

Team Leaders - Mom & I

2009-02-28T20:53:00.005-05:00

We made this round...

Cut-out Hearts with Sanding Sugars:

Coffee & Cream:

Chocolate Chunk Cookies:

Our Boxes...

Cut-Outs wrapped and in the box:

the start of our second box with candy and granola:

Ben's "Birthday Present" - Chipotle Hot Sauce:

Magazines we included this round:

The second box filled to the max!

Thank you again to all those who participated!! If you sent something to Ben and I don't have you posted on here... please send me an email or leave a comment because this is all of the information that I have!

Looking forward to the next round!!

~Lyndsay

Team Member - Molly

2009-02-28T20:34:00.002-05:00

She baked...

some really cute sugar cookies:

And then included some white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies, macadamia nuts, and candy in her box.

I have to give a special thanks to Molly because without her we would not have been sending the cookies to Ben this month! She is the one who emailed me with information about him! PLUS... she lined up next months too when I found out that the person I had lined up needed to be pushed back!

Thank you Molly!!

Team Member - Aunt Barb

2009-02-28T20:30:00.002-05:00

She made this round...

Pumpkin Cookies (with raisins, nuts & maple frosting), Brownie Drop Cookies, & Elk Jerky:

Elk Jerky...

She also included a birthday card!

Thanks Aunt Barb for another great round!

Team Member - Erin

2009-02-28T20:26:00.003-05:00

This was her first round, she ran out of time to bake this month due her daughter having surgery. But still wanted to participate so she did the next best thing...
Asked her cousin, who recently served, what they would want and bought that stuff!

She filled a box full of:
Pringles, Popcorn, Crackers, Candy, Little Debbies, Sport Illustrated magazines, and deodorant.

She was also a recruit from the article in the paper! And someone I knew back in grade school!

Thanks Erin for participating!!

Team Member - Patti

2009-02-28T20:20:00.003-05:00

She baked for this round...

Chocolate Mint Andes Cookies:

Double Chocolate Coconut:

Potato Chip Cookies:

Cherry Biscotti:

Thank you Patti for another great round!!

Team Member - Mary

2009-02-28T20:16:00.002-05:00

Mary joined us after reading the article that was published about my mom and I! She was very eager to participate and managed to bake and ship in less than a week!!

She sent over...

Peanut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin
Some jerky, trail mix, popcorn, and drink packets!

Thanks Mary for joining us!! Glad to have you on our team!!

Team Member - Sandy

2009-02-28T20:07:00.002-05:00

She sent...

some Chocolate Chip Cookies:

And then filled her box with other goodies:

Thank you Sandy for joining us this round! Hope to have you again in the future!

Team Member - Rachel & her Sister

2009-02-28T20:05:00.002-05:00

They baked...
Cowboy cookies (oatmeal, coconut, and dried cherries)
Chocolate Chip
Sugar Cookies

Thank you Rachel & your sister for baking this round with us! Hope to have you back for the months to come!

Team Member - Stacey

2009-02-28T19:59:00.002-05:00

She baked this round...

Oatmeal Raisin

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

Rice Crispy Covered in Chocolate

(She will be sending me pictures soon and I will add them when I get them!)

Thanks Stacey for joining us this round! Hope to have you back!

Team Member - Susan

2009-02-28T19:51:00.003-05:00

She baked this round...

6.5 dozen chocolate and vanilla swirled pinwheel cookies

3 dozen almond biscottis::

Plus, she got her local Starbucks to donate a pound of coffee again!

Please make sure you check out her website.

Thank you Susan for yet another great round!!

Team Member - Paige

2009-02-28T18:42:00.003-05:00

She baked...

Valentine's Sugar Cookies:

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars:

Blondies:

Andes Cookies:

Plus you can check out more about her box on her blog

Thanks Paige for another great round!

Sorry for the delay...

2009-02-28T17:57:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to get the recaps of our team members... I tried the other day and kept getting errors... so here we go... LOTS of posts coming...

Thanks,
~Lyndsay

End of Round 6!

2009-02-23T16:40:00.002-05:00

Round 6 has come to an end! Make sure to check back later this week for the photos/recaps I have from some of our members!

If you baked this round and did not let me know you shipped or still have photos to send, please let me know soon!

As soon as I know the dates for Round 7 I will post them!

Thanks again to all of those who participated!!

Thanks,
Lyndsay

Article Is Up!

2009-02-12T00:29:00.004-05:00

The article is up!! (Here is a link to it!)

The reporter thought he was going to do 2 articles on us, so we will see if there is another article! I am so excited! Everything was just perfect today! When we went to ship our boxes we had to wait in line at the Post Office, we were talking to a gentleman whose brother is currently over in Iraq on his 3rd deployment! I gave him our email address and told him to contact us and give us more information on him and we would love to do his brother next month... Now we have told people this before and never heard anything back, but not this time! By the time we got back from the post office and another store, his sister-in-law had emailed us wanting to know more and what she needed to give us! How awesome is that!! Talk about the right place at the right time!! So please make sure that you check back in a few weeks to hear his story!

If this is your first time to the site, look around at all of our team members and their hard work! If you want to get involved contact me! (baking4troops @ gmail.com) If you would like more information or have a question, leave a comment or send me an email!

Thank you all again,
~Lyndsay

UPDATE: I scanned the actual article and uploaded to my facebook account. To view please click here.

Our Man From Round 3 Returned Home!

2009-02-10T13:12:00.002-05:00

Zachary Sain (link to information on him and his round) returned safely home last week!! He was in our local newspaper (link to article here)

And I guess he mentioned receiving 21 boxes from all of us to the person who wrote up the article ....

SO...

Tomorrow they are coming to my mom's house to interview us! Exciting right?! I will keep everyone posted on when it prints!

Thanks again for all of your hard work! You are the bestest!!!

Ben's Birthday...

2009-02-10T00:52:00.001-05:00

I also learned that Ben's birthday is in the beginning of March... Just thought that might be something those of us who have not shipped yet would like to know!!

Thank you all so much for doing this!! You are all awesome!
~Lyndsay

URGENT!!!

2009-02-09T20:23:00.002-05:00

Ben's address has JUST changed... if you did not receive a NEW address from me just now... please contact me for it!!

Thanks,
Lyndsay

Address Has Been Given!

2009-02-08T14:49:00.001-05:00

Ben's address has been emailed to all members (at least I hope I got everyone... If I missed your email that you sent me personally, sent me another one and I will forward it to you!) Thank you all again for your hard work!!! And don't forget to email me when you ship and to TAKE PICTURES!!

~Lyndsay

Meet Our Man, Ben!

2009-02-01T18:05:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures of Ben and some more information on him!

Lt. Ben is on his first deployment to Iraq. His brigade’s mission is guarding an oil refinery north of Baghdad. His platoon seems to be on call to fill various needs as they arise. After graduating from West Point in 2007 and a year of training – Officer Basic Training, Infantry School, Ranger School, Airborne School - he was briefly (2 months) stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii and enjoyed seeing the sights, swimming with sea turtles, and running around Diamond Head. He was deployed in October for a year. He loves working out, running, and reading when he is not on duty.

Please remember to sign up on the main site, click here to go directly to our page
But if you have any questions, please email me at elle1015 @gmail.com or leave a comment here and I will post a reply! And again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for volunteering to do this! You are the best!

Thanks,
Lyndsay

We Have Our Person!

2009-01-31T19:56:00.002-05:00

A very nice lady named Molly emailed me with a request for her pastor's son, Ben!
More information to come so please check back!!!

Don't forget to sign up!!!

ROUND 6!!!

2009-01-28T13:57:00.002-05:00

My mom and I are team leaders again this month... as of right this second I do not have someone to send to yet... but we are working on it... And when Susan (the starter of OBG)gets back from her trip, she should have someone for us... So please still sign up with us... whoever our person will be, you know is deserving!

Thanks,
Lyndsay

Address Has Been Given!

2008-12-11T15:41:00.000-05:00

To my team members for round 5... the address was given earlier this week... If you have since joined and/or do not have Guin's address... please send me an email so that I can get it to you!!!

Thanks again!

Lyndsay

There is still time!!!

2008-12-02T21:59:00.004-05:00

There is still time to sign up for Operation Baking GALS! And of course for my little side project as well! So don't be shy!! Show some love to these 2 deserving women!!

Click here to go directly to our page...

And if you would like to send Carrie some cookies please email me! elle1015 @gmail.com

UPDATE:
Thank you to those who said they would bake for my friend Carrie, however, she got sent home over this past weekend, so she is back in the states... Again thank you for volunteering to help me out!

A "Thank You" from Mason!!

2008-11-28T21:46:00.002-05:00

To all who were apart of the last round...

I received a message from Mason yesterday and wanted to share!!!

And thank you again from my mom and I!

ROUND 5!!!

2008-11-25T23:11:00.004-05:00

My mom and I are doing it again!! And just in time for Christmas!!! AND, it is for a woman!!!

Meet Guin!

And this is her "bio" in her own words....

"I'm a 25-year-old first lieutenant in the Marine Corps. My
MOS is communications. I'm married and I have two cats; in my free time,
I love running, playing soccer, writing poetry and fiction, and anything
outdoors-y or food related! I'm originally from Watertown, NY (very
country, lots of dairy cows). I went to college at Holy Cross where I
did Naval ROTC, and when I graduated in 2005 with my degree in History,
I took a commission in the Marine Corps. My husband and I met in college
and he moved with me to gorgeous Oceanside, California, since I was
stationed at Camp Pendleton. We were married in October, 2007, but I
deployed in January (we celebrated our one year anniversary over
webcam). I have four more months to go on my deployment, but the time
has been going surprisingly quickly - a positive attitude, a supportive
spouse at home, and being beyond busy definitely helps. Cookies would
help it go by even faster, especially ones involving chocolate. :) I
promise I will share with my friends and coworkers. :)

Thanks for everything!
Guin"

Now by now I think you know the drill... if not here it goes... either leave me a comment here with your information... or email me at elle1015@gmail.com and I will lead you to the link to join my group... OR go to bakinggals.com and sign up and then click on the right hand side "join a group" and find "Baking for our troops" and Join! If you have ANY questions or problems please contact me and I will help you out the best that I can!!

Also, remember that I am doing a bonus group for one of my dear friends and if you are interested in doing that please let me know... I will post some information and pictures of her soon.

Thanks,
Lyndsay!

End of Round 4...

2008-11-19T01:56:00.004-05:00

So 3 "Sue's" and 2 "Barb's" later... those are all of the pictures or report backs that I have for this round! I think everyone did a fabulous job!!! I thank you sooooo much for doing this and I am sure that Mason feels the same way!!!

Thank you, Aunt Barb!!
Thank you, Lillian!!
Thank you, Sue!!
Thank you, Patti!!
Thank you, Megan!!
Thank you, Kathryn!!
Thank you, Barbara!!
Thank you, Suzanne!!
Thank you, Sue!!

My mom and I will be hosts again for Round 5 if anyone is interested in being on our team again... And for a side project, I think I would like to send some cookies to one of my great friends who is over in West Africa with the Peace Corps... She made a point to tell me that they love cookies to :-) So if anyone would like to send her some love... I will pass along her address(Check back later for a little bio on her)... I plan on sending them out the same day I mail our boxes for Operation Baking GALS!

Again thank you soooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You all really have a special place in my heart for being as thoughtful as you are!
~Lyndsay

(P.S.~ If you sent me something about the box that you mailed or even photos and you don't see it here, please send me a quick email so I can add you and give you the praise you deserve!!

My Aunt Barb's Box

2008-11-19T01:52:00.003-05:00

She baked...
Brownie Bites

Snickerdoodles

Chocolate Chip with pecans

Then she included Elk jerky, pens and stationary, and a baggie full of shampoos, vitiman C, floss, drink mixes, etc.

Lillian's Box

2008-11-19T01:48:00.003-05:00

Lillian baked chocolate chip, hazelnut chocolate, white chocolate macadamia nut, and toffee chocolate cookies!

Sue's Box

2008-11-19T01:42:00.003-05:00

Sue works in a public library and sent along some books and DVDs!!

She baked...
Espresso Nutella Cookies, PB Oatmeal Cookies, Choc. Sugar Cookies
Did I mention she filled 3 boxes?!?!

Patti's Box

2008-11-19T01:34:00.003-05:00

Patti filled a box with...

Butterscotch Bars

Pistachio & Cranberry Biscottis

1,2,3,4 Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

And then Choc. Walnut Biscottis and some Halloween Candy!!

Megan's Box!

2008-11-18T00:08:00.001-05:00

Megan baked a variety of cookies... I believe I saw some coconut macaroons and really cute cut-outs! She also included a book! And she got her cute daughter to help her package up the box!

Kathryn's Box!

2008-11-18T00:03:00.002-05:00

Kathryn used some purchased snacks as filler, beef jerky, easy mac, etc. She also threw in some candy and magazines. And she baked Toll House cookie bars, Peanut Butter, and her most-requested recipe-Oatmeal, bittersweet chocolate, cranberry and oatmeal. And she got her 8 year old stepson to help her out on the bar cookies!

Barbara "the godmother"'s Box

2008-11-17T23:56:00.004-05:00

Barbara baked oatmeal, dried cherry, pecan, chocolate chips cookies! They look delicious!

Thank you Barb for signing Mason up for this and for getting me so much more information and pictures on him! I really appreciate it!

Suzanne's Box!

2008-11-17T23:48:00.003-05:00

Suzanne sent 2 1/2 dozen oatmeal cookies

And 15 Chunky Monkey Bars!

They look yummy!

Susan's Box...

2008-11-17T03:23:00.003-05:00

She baked 4 1/2 dozen peanut butter cookies, 4 dozen oatmeal raisin cookies and 2 1/2 dozen snickerdoodle cookies. AND she talked her local Starbucks into donating a pound of coffee for Mason!!! How cool is that?!

Here is the picture that she sent me!...

Our Box

2008-11-17T02:20:00.008-05:00

We sent Mason 2 boxes...

One completely full of Halloween candy....(Oh and my mom had to throw in a bottle of Chipotle Hot Sauce! Her favorite!)

And one full of yummy cookies!

We made 3 types of cookies this round,
Coffee and Cream

Chocolate Surprise (which has a rolo inside) and I am pretty sure this is now my mom's favorite cookie!

Then we decided to be festive and make fall leaf cut out cookies using colored dough and then putting a little bit of melted chocolate on top!

Our shipping this month was paid for by one of our church's circle groups! I thought it was so sweet of them! They also included a letter to him...

And we of course included a picture of her and I, of my dog, Bella, and then a card...

This week...

2008-11-16T22:27:00.004-05:00

I am going to try really really hard to post at least 2 a day of our team members hard work that they sent to me! So make sure that you check back often! Also, starting next week Round 5 will be kicking off! We will be team leaders again if you would like to be our team... Don't know who our person is yet though... so check back on that as well!!!

Thanks,
Lyndsay

Oh and last chance if you were on my team to send me pictures of your box!!!

Our Package is in the mail...

2008-11-02T21:27:00.002-05:00

Mom and I baked this weekend and just got done packaging it all up! It will be out early tomorrow morning...

For now, this is all you get to see in case Mason checks this page, I don't want him to see any of it :-)

So make sure you all check back towards the end of the week!!!

And my team members, don't forget to let me know when you mail yours out! And of course to take pictures of it... Did I mention taking pictures?!?! :-)

Thanks again to all,
~Lyndsay

His Address has been given...

2008-10-28T11:49:00.001-04:00

To everyone on our team! If you did NOT receive an email with his address in it, PLEASE send me an email (elle1015 @gmail.com) or leave a comment on here and I will get it to you!

Thanks,
Lyndsay

And a little more... :-)

2008-10-21T14:25:00.001-04:00

Mason was a Boy Scout growing up in DC. He even reached the highest honor of an Eagle Scout! And I know much hard work and dedication it takes to achieve this accomplishment because my brother is one!

Mason began his Naval Academy process in the 10th grade and never once gave up on his dreams! The year he was applying to the military academy, there were between 70-80 applicants with only 2 open slots!! And he received one of them!!

He is a really high energy, loyal, fun loving person. He enjoys “bouldering” (climbing around on boulders) with his buddies.

A little more information....

2008-10-19T16:25:00.002-04:00

I just received an email from his "godmother" again with some more information about him... here is what she sent...

"Lt. Mason Berry is stationed in Guam, but on a long mission in Kuwait. He has a dog named is Perdita who is waiting for him back in Guam with his roommates. Mason graduated from the Naval Academy in 2004 with a General Engineering degree. He is a very energetic person who loves doing anything outdoors, watching movies and listening to music. Mason was born in Colorado, but grew up mostly in the D.C. area. His parents and younger two sisters live along the east coast now. Mason's mom sent him cookies, but she's glad to have your help!!"

Thanks so much,
~Lyndsay

Photos of Mason!

2008-10-18T23:27:00.006-04:00

His "godmother" has been graciously sending me pictures of him!! Please check them out!

He is the one on the left.

I believe he is the one on the right.

All geared up and ready to go.

View from above.

Reservoir dogs.

Him doing his job.

Smoking some stogies...

Another stogie pic.

Mason in the driver seat.

Make sure to check back because his "godmother" is doing a write up for me to tell us more about our man Mason!!

ROUND 4!!!

2008-10-15T12:44:00.006-04:00

Round 4 is under way!!!

We are team leaders again! Yeah! Here is the information we have about our man this time around...

Lt. Mason Berry has a very important and dangerous job, which means he needs our support and baked goods to keep him fueled and safe. He is a helicopter pilot stationed in Kuwait that flies medical evacuation missions to rescue injured soldiers. He puts himself in harm's way to help and save lives, so we need to show our appreciation. On top of all that, he even recently called home and asked his mom for some homemade baked goods, so let's answer his request like he answers the call of duty for his fellow soldiers.

It is time to start signing up again!!! If you are interested in being on our team, either leave a comment here or send me an email saying "I WANT ON YOUR TEAM" to elle1015@gmail.com

Also, if you were not aware, there is a NEW site up as the main hub! Make sure that you sign up there as well!! www.bakinggals.com

Thanks,
~Lyndsay (and Pam)

UPDATE: His "godmother" contacted me and sent me a link where you can see Mason! Check it out here... (Link courtesy of dvids.com)

We Received Word From His Grandma!!

2008-10-10T00:14:00.004-04:00

I just received an email from his grandma... Check it out!!!

UPDATE...
My mom received an email from his Aunt... And taking words from that, as of yesterday he has received 17 boxes!! He said he never knew he had so many friends from his UNIT! And that everyone there knows his name now!

One last note... make sure you check back in a couple of days...

~Lyndsay

All of Our Yummy Baked Goods!!

2008-10-09T00:25:00.029-04:00

Round 3:

Here are what each of our awesome team members sent out to our deserving soldiers, especially Zachary!

Sharon from Southern CA
She baked Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. Then stuffed her box full of candy, sunflower seeds, tuna & crackers, fruit cocktails, and much more!!

Kristina from Portland, OR
Double Chocolate Brownies

Reese’s Pieces Brownies

Lemon Cookies

And a card that I absolutely LOVE the envelope for it!

Jeanne from Danville, IL
She baked Oatmeal Crispies, Chewy Butterscotch Brownies, Raisin-Nut Bars, and Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Joanne from New York, NY
Peanut Butter Cookies

Chocolate Walnut Cookies

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Joanne has posted a blog as well... make sure you check it out!

Suzanne from Goodyear, AZ
She baked Oatmeal Cookies with a card. And is ready to go again and has even found more people to participate!!!

Elise from Newington, CT
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookie with Reese Cups in the middle

Apple Spice Squares

Packaged Snacks

Elise and her box

Shanna from Chicago, IL
She baked Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies, New York Time Chocolate Chip Cookies, and an excellent little write about it all (including photos!) on her blog.

Brittney from Selinsgrove, PA
Peanut Brittle

Dark Chocolate Mexican Biscotti

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Chocolate Chip Blondies

Caramel Popcorn Balls

She also made Dark Chocolate Dream Cookies (dark chocolate cookies with semi sweet chips, white chips, & pecans) and orange tinted Sugar Cookies, but did not get a photo of them. Then to stuff her box she added: Candy Corn, Smarties, Gum, Cheesy Chex Mix, & a Card. She also has posted about all her baked goods on her blog . She has recipes posted as well!

Patti from Maspeth, Queens, NY
Candy Corn Cookies

Spice Cookies

Buttermilk Cookies with Smiley Faces!

Cookies all packaged up

Her Box

Sara from Los Angeles, CA
She baked Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies, Ingredibly Easy Peanut Butter Cookies, and Chocolate Whoppers. You can find the recipes for them and pictures of everything on her blog.

Francine from Harvey, IL
Cherry Coconut Bars

Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars

She also bake Lemon Crinkles but didn’t get a picture of them!

Lori B. from Connecticut
She baked Brownies, and Blondies, And then filled her box with granola bars, gum, small cereal boxes, and gatorade gels.

Paige from Rockhill, NY
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin-Chip Muffins

Halloween Candy and Puppy Chow (the good kind, not actual dog food! HeeHee!)

Rose from North Attleboro, MA
Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Gum, Candy, Deodorant, Lip Balm, Razor, Talc, etc.

Her Box

She also has a write up on her blog, so please check that out as well!

Lori and her daughter Haleena from Alabama
Chocolate Chunks

Peppermint Madness

Sugar Cookies baked by Heleena

Plus fruit gushers, peanuts, a magazine, and letter from her daughter

She also has written on blog about her experience and even a picture of her daughter who wrote that beautiful letter!! Check it out!

Kelly from Connecticut
She mailed Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies, Rice Crisipie Treats, Candy Corn, Gum, and these packets of dry Apple Cider that you just add water to. She also sent some photos of their travels across america and some photos of her husband and herself as well as their house.

Kara from Falls Church, VA
She baked two batches of her favorite cookie, Oatmeal Milk & White Chocolate Cranberry.

My Aunt Barb from Kremmling, CO
Peanut Butter Cookies

Oatmeal Raisin Butterscotch Chip Cookies

Elk Jerky

Note Cards, and Pens taped in the bottom of the box

Box all packed and ready to go.
Not pictured is Malted Milk Cookies that she also baked but didn’t take a picture of.

Our Box – Pam and Lyndsay from Youngstown/Warren, Ohio
How our cookies are wrapped

Mocha Crinkles

Cinnamon Rolls

Oatmeal Crispy Cookies

SpiceDoodles

Our Box full of CANDY ONLY

Our 2 Boxes are taped up and ready to go!!

There are a few members who haven’t mailed out their boxes yet, but still plan on it… They either had a family emergency or vacation during the week we were shipping. I am just glad they were still willing to participate! And as soon as I get word from them they mailed their boxes, I will update!!

~Lyndsay

End of Round 3!

2008-10-07T00:45:00.003-04:00

Today was the end of Round 3! And almost all of our boxes were mailed out! (Those who did not mail them informed me that they still plan on mailing them out. Life just happened is all.) Please make sure to check back here in the coming days for some great photos of everyone's hard work! And much more!!

~Lyndsay

I WANT YOU!!!

2008-09-17T20:12:00.005-04:00

We are still looking for people to be on our team (or someone else's - check them out here)

I know you may look below at the list of team members and be like oh there are too many I won't do it... AND you shouldn't do that!!! We still need more!! There is always room!! Even if our team gets full... For round two, they added 2 more teams at the last second because of how many bakers were still volunteering! So what I am saying is that, if you are thinking about it... DO IT!! It really makes you feel good doing something for someone else!!

Again, thanks for looking and to those who have said YES, THANK YOU!! YOU ARE AWESOME!

~Lyndsay

**please don't make fun of my picture... hee hee... I was trying to be creative (actually my husband said I should do that sometime, after seeing OBG's "logo"...)and not take a REAL long time to do it... so just laugh at it... don't critique it... **

To Our Team Members...

2008-09-15T20:31:00.003-04:00

I sent you an email... If you did not receive it please contact me!!

Thanks,
Lyndsay

Update: I added the blogs of those I have... If you don't see yours let me know...

Our Team Members...

2008-09-13T23:51:00.022-04:00

I will update this post as our team comes together...

So far here is our team....
My mom and I - Youngstown, OH
My Aunt Barb - Kremmling, CO
Marisa - Brooklyn, NY
Francine - Harvey, IL
Shanna - Chicago, IL
Patti - Maspeth, Queens, NY
Sara - Los Angeles, CA
Brittney - Selinsgrove, PA (or as she is referring to it as the middle of nowhere, literally) :-)
Kelly - CT
Kara - Falls Church, VA
Ashley - OK
Paige - Rock Hill, NY
Jeanne - Danville, IL
Elise - Newington, CT
Sharon - Southern CA
Suzanne - Goodyear, AZ
Lori - Alabama
Lori - Connecticut
Kristina - Portland, OR
Joanne - New York, NY
Rose - North Attleboro, MA

Thanks again to those who have joined our team!! I know Zach and the other troops will be so excited!

They have been posted!

2008-09-13T22:26:00.003-04:00

Our Soldier's name is Zachary Thomas Sain, and he is currently stationed in Iraq. He is the nephew of one of my mom's tennis friends. This round of home-baked goodies could not come at a better time for him because homesickness is getting pretty rough. It has been tough to hang on to a little piece of home, and his contact with loved ones last month cost him a 4-figure phone bill to prove it!!! Now, let me tell you a little bit about him.

He is 19 years old and graduated from high school in Champion, Ohio in 2006. He has three siblings back home (Amanda 17, Jeremy 14, and Bailey 12) and his mother, Jaquetta. He is an animal lover and has a golden retriever named Sampson. Zach loves listening to the "oldies" as well as new music. He is into cars and rebuilt a 1977 Jeep with his dad, Joe, before he passed away. Zach loves to go muddin' in his Jeep and also enjoys target shooting. He is even a member of the American Motorcycle Association. As for the future, he hopes to return home from service and continue serving his community as a police officer.

If you would like to join our team, please email me at eLLe1015@gmail.com , and I will give you his address!

Our Team for Round 3!!!

2008-09-13T17:32:00.000-04:00

Mom and I are a team leader for this round! I am going to hold off on posting our soldiers information until it is posted on the main site. BUT if you are interested in being on our team, please leave me a comment or send me an email: elle1015 at gmail dot com. Please put "I WANT ON YOUR TEAM" in the subject line and include your name and location!!

Thanks for looking!
~Lyndsay

Something to think about...

2008-09-13T17:17:00.000-04:00

Something to think about...
last month I ordered from USPS online site, the flat rate boxes for the military and the customs forms. I ordered them over 15 (working days) before we needed to send the cookies. On the site it says it takes 7-10 business days and I did not receive my order until the week after we sent out the cookies. So I had to go to the post office and pick up the boxes anyway, but at least I do have them for the coming rounds. Anyway, I just wanted to share that information.

A good thing to add about the post office...
is that the lady that was working the day I sent them was very nice and helpful because my mom put together a box of goodies for a man whose family belongs to our church that was getting ready to deploy. She put everything in a regular box and not a flat rate box and it would have cost me almost DOUBLE to mail it in the small box my mom packed then to put it in their small flat rate box. So keep that in mind that it is probably best to use their boxes since the goodies we are mailing are heavy!

One last idea...
I created a sticker from the picture that is on the Operation Baking Gals site... and put it on the outside of the box. I thought that was a good idea and something that I would pass long!

That's all for now.

Thanks for looking!

We received a "Thank You"

2008-09-13T17:06:00.000-04:00

Monday morning, I woke up to find an email from the soldier that we sent our cookies to! It definitely made my day and I know it made theirs!

**It of course did come looking like this, but I didn't want to just copy and paste text, so I made it look "pretty"**

On a sidenote- I mailed our package on Wednesday and he received it on Monday! So I thought that was really quick!

Our first round...

2008-09-13T13:37:00.001-04:00

Here is what my mom and I made for our first round of Operation Baking Gals!

Homemade Toffee with nuts! Yum!

I sealed it to make sure it stayed hard and fresh for our troops!

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies-

This was the first time my mom and I made this cookie... and let me tell you it was YUMMY! If we weren't careful I don't think we would have had enough to send to our troops! HAHA!

Here they are all wrapped up and labeled.

Peanut Butter Cookies-

Just your normal peanut butter cookies, nothing special, but still tasty!

Here they are wrapped up in saran wrap and labeled.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies-

These weren’t what we had planned… we were going to make PB Pudgies but for some reason the PB center did not want to come together after 2 tries so we came up with these to use up all the chocolate dough we had. We actually really liked them! Not too bad for a mistake!

Again, here they are wrapped and labeled.

M&M Cookies-

We made these instead of regular chocolate chip so that the chocolate would not melt everywhere when they shipped. They were YUM!

Wrapped, labeled, and ready to go!

Our Box-

Here is our box that we shipped. We included a picture of ourselves, some postcards of Mill Creek Park (which is near my house), a thank you note, and a picture of my dog, Bella (just because she makes me smile and I think she would make others smile as well).

My mom and I really enjoyed doing this. I really feel that it is such a small thing we can do for all that they are sacrificing for us! We hope to lead a team for the next couple of months!
Thanks for looking!!