Thank you everyone for joining and for your continued support of The CookMobile.

I have to say, I have many other reasons to pop a Champagne bottle and waltz with joy. In The CookMobile’s first months, I had 4 subscribers: myself, my bestgals, Hazel and Marian, and my sister-in-law, Gloria. I had 4 readers: myself, my bestgals, Hazel and Marian, and my sister-in-law, Gloria. I suppose, my mother would have read it too if only she knew how to turn on a computer. My daughter would have read it too if only she was not very much abashed to read all the things I wrote about her. My ex would have read it too if only he was interested. So, now, let me do my happy dance and tell you that the site has grown from 4 to 274 Feedburner and 145 Feedblitz subscribers. Thank you. Thank you. Also, according to Google Analytics, the site has climbed from a lonely 4 to an average of 800-1000 visitors a day. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, okay, the numbers are not that impressive but, hey! These stats are more than enough to stagger me with glee. What can I say? I am easy.

May I share with you what The CookMobile has meant to me over its life? When I started the site, I wanted it to be, not only a portal of knowledge learned and shared, but also a window to my world, an invitation to my dinner table. And over the past two years, it not only became a storehouse of my recipes and stories but also the keeper of my memories of family and friends. This site witnessed my joy with husband and child, and watched me crumble as one beloved abandoned. This site saw me change from one filled with dreams to a person hardened by reality. This site anchored me through tragedy and saved my sanity. This site allowed me to be heard and brought people who listened. And above all else, this site led me to one special kind of love.

Have I told you today how much I appreciate you? If I haven’t told you before or if I haven’t told you enough, let me say again, thank you, thank you, for welcoming me to your kitchen and making me a part of your everyday meals. And to show how really, truly, immensely grateful I am, we are having a contest!!! Woohoo!!!

You can do one of three things to enter:

At the end of October, check back here as we randomly pick and announce a winner. My apologies to myself, Hazel, Marian and Gloria. Self, family and friends are excluded from the contest. Yep, that’s how I reciprocate devotion.

What are we winning? A Chef’s Secret 10pc Surgical Stainless Steel 12-Element Cookware Set (Note: knife block, knives and metallic canisters on counter not included).

Here is a short description of the cookware from the manufacturer:
Whether you are a gourmet chef or busy person on-the-go who wants to prepare healthy meals, this cookware set offers everything needed for the well equipped kitchen. From the gleaming 12-element exteriors to the heavy-duty cast riveted handles with stay-cool silicon grip, you will find that this set of high quality cookware is as beautiful as it is functional. The uniquely designed steam control top knob offers the best in healthy “waterless” cooking. The extra heavy encapsulated bottom allows even heating so there are never any hot spots. Features forged stainless steel handles with soft grips. Set includes: 2qt Covered Saucepan, 4qt Covered Saucepot, 7-3/4″ Steamer, 8″ Open Fry Pan, 10-1/4″ Covered Fry Pan, 6qt Stockpot, and 10″ Dome Cover for 6qt Stockpot. Limited lifetime warranty.

MSRP: $1,595. He he he. Can’t afford that. Good thing Amazon.com sells this fantastic cookware set at an 86% discount.

Good luck everyone. Thank you for listening. I am glad you are still here.

Let me just tell you how amazed I am by the kindness and generosity everyone has extended. So uplifting to watch how the food blogging community has united together to fight the battle behind one of their own! Oh yes, the human race is not a lost cause! We still have it in us to protect and care for each other. I also would like to express my sincerest appreciation for the pious hearts and valiant efforts of the Jugalbandi team in pioneering this heartfelt event.

There are many ways you can show your support for Bri on her personal war. Please visit Jugalbandi for more details.
1) Bid on fantastic raffle prizes.
2) Make a donation.
3) Publicize the fundraising event.

I planned my first food blog event with the same gusto as when I attack a quart of Cold Stone Creamery’s Chocolate Devotion~either eat the whole tub or have none at all. I suppose you can call me an overly optimistic individual: always starry-eyed, always hoping for the best. After I submitted my event to Andrew of Spittoon Extra, I was checking my Yahoo mail daily~very excited, mostly hoping, half-expecting it to be overflowing. As the deadline neared, I continued convincing myself “Ok, they are probably like me, they’ll probably submit at 11:59 PM, one minute shy of cut-off. As the 25th loomed closer, that booming voice of confidence was slowly muting to a whisper. That same worry as The Mini Pie headquarters expressed, “You know how it is… what if we throw a party and nobody comes?” gnawed at me!. So, around the 20th, with an inbox still empty, I flopped down on my knees, grabbed Gay’s ankles and begged her to submit an entry! Thanks Gay! I, too, have been shortcutting my way around kare-kare and I’d love to learn how to prepare it from scratch. And yes! I did not party by myself afterall! Ann from Redacted Recipes came with her religieuses challenge and with her resolutions accomplished. Nice banner, Ann! And glad to make Jack’s acquaintance! Carrie from Carrie’s Cooking Adventures arrived with her smoking Mac-N-Gouda with Cauliflower.! How very right she is~food is not about impressing people, it’s about making them comfortable. That mac-n-cheese casserole sure is the perfect comfort food!

Every day, every post, every recipe, is a learning process. In life, when you hit a wall, you use the bricks to pave your road. I’ve been asking myself non-stop what I did wrong, how could I have done it better, why I didn’t I get my desired results and then I realized, I haven’t been following through with my own resolutions…I need to enjoy. Suddenly, this whole blog became about numbers when initially, I started it just because I love to cook, just because I love to share little snippets of my life. I think, losing what blogging meant to me in the first place WAS what I did wrong. I have no reason, no reason at all to be “crushed”, to be “sad”. I have received so many graces~I now have 12 feedburner subscribers. Woohoo! I now average 60-70 visits a day. Yeyyy! Two of my recipes were bookmarked. Wowowee! I finally got my very own DSLR camera. Thank you, husband of mine! And drawing from the wisdom of my 16-yr old daughter, “Ma, you can submit again, right?”. Yep! I can always try again.

Thanks Ann, Carrie and Gay! I will be sending each of you day planners. Please email me your addresses. Thank you to all who have walked and continue to walk beside me in this world wide web journey! To my friends, Hazel, Marian, Benny and Nona~thank you for being, or at least, for pretending to be, as excited as I am!

I want to be bathing suit ready in July. I want to add more pennies to my piggy bank. I want to have more alone times with hubby. I want to be my 16-year old daughter’s bestfriend. I want to learn beyond Mi nombre es Lalaine in Spanish. I want to waddle my tired housewife-slash-career-woman feet in the clear waters of Honolulu (by MYSELF, if I may). I want a DSLR camera which I didn’t get for Christmas because I have a husband who never listens! (got me a watch!) I want more than 30 unique hits on my blogsite a day.

Yes, more than 30 visitors. So, I sat down and wrote what will make me sufficiently happy. I sat down and wrote how I plan to accomplish that. This is what I came up with.

I NEED A PLAN
I have a little notebook. When I signed up for Stumbleupon, I wrote it down. When I discovered a helpful strategy, I wrote it down. Whenever I post a recipe on Blogher, I write it down. My daughter asked, “you have a notebook for blogging?” Yes, I do. Because if I was going to knit a sweater, I’ll need a pattern. If I was going to drive to a new location, I’ll need a map. If I was going to build a house, I’ll need a floor plan. If I was going to grocery shop, I’ll need a checklist. If I was going to cook, I’ll need a recipe. I need to write all the steps I will take~to make my goals seem more real, to make my goals seem more concrete.

I NEED TO LEARN
I don’t know HTML. I don’t understand CSS. I don’t even know where to find the head , much less the body. But I have embraced my ignorance. I have sought and will seek help. The web is so rich of people who are willing to teach people who are willing to learn. I will read 5 pages a day regarding SEO and tagging and linking. I will enroll in cake decorating classes. I will ask my friends, my mailman, my neighbors for recipes and cooking tips. I will ask questions. And most importantly, I will listen.

I NEED TO NETWORK
If one went to Career Builders or Monster, one of the things these job sites repeatedly advise is to build a social and professional network. Thus, I will build relationships in the blogging community. I will contribute in forums. I will participate in blogging events. I will join social bookmarking sites. I will work hard to earn link love.

I NEED TO ENJOY
I am in front of the computer 4 to 5 hours a day building my site as much as I can. I have scrapes and cuts in my hands from slicing all those carrots and washing all those pots. And after all that hard work, I check my Google analytics and adsense, and find 25 people only visited my site. I should be discouraged from blogging, I should lose my gusto for cooking, IF only I didn’t love doing the whole cooking and posting so much! Like everything else in life, blogging can be a tedious climb uphill. But I guess one can not enjoy the trek to the top if one doesn’t find pleasure in the beautiful flowers growing by the side of the rocky path.

I NEED TO DREAM
My husband has been questioning how smart my investment has been on having this website professionally set up and . It was not really an obscene amount. Brian Gardner’s generic template is reasonably priced. Josh Bowers, who modified the site, came too cheap for the quality of the assistance he provided. He probably thinks my money and time would have better spent if I bought a crate of mangoes and sold them with a dash of chili near 405 Freeway. The thing is, I am investing on a dream. I am investing on the possibilities. I am investing on what I believe can happen. And if it in the end everything crumbles, I guess it’s going to be 12 months of no new shoes and 10 years of my husband telling me “I TOLD YOU SO!” But still, I’ll be left with the sensations of my culinary journeys, with the memories of people who’ve shared my passion, with all the lessons I have openly embraced.

How about you? What is your 2008 “5 step Plan” for your food blog? Let’s all pull away from our daily blogging grind and evaluate our “recipe” for success! Please submit 4 “resolutions” you mean to implement to achieve your blog goals for this year and a recipe that you’ve always wanted to try (a recipe that you are not a master of, but a recipe that challenges you!). Please link back to me your “resolution” post by January 25, 2008. I’m hoping I can have the complete round-up by January 31, 2007. The best post will win a cool day planner/organizer! Please email me at thecookmobile AT yahoo DOT com with the following information: