Challenges

I've had some major challenges during the past year. It's been difficult. I haven't kept up with the blog. I didn't even send out Christmas cards. I was off work for a while on a medical leave of absence. I have used a lot of energy worrying about my daughter, Amber. I have been doing my best to take care of myself. Because of that, I haven't done any planning on the Cousins Reunion. Maybe we who are local can get together this summer but for those of you who are traveling from out of the region, I'd like to put it off until 2009.

How does everyone feel about that? Your input is important and valuable so please send me a note or leave a comment.

Please share this info with your other family members.

Denise

How's everyone doing?

Do you use an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed reader? What is that? you ask? Well, it's an application that you can use to keep up to date with blogs that you like to read. I use Google Reader. It is really easy to set up. What you do is sign up using your Google account (you may have to set this up first if you don't already have one). You can subscribe to different blogs by clicking on a button (add subscription) and pasting the blog URL into a field that pops open. Then every time you go to Google Reader in your web browser, you will see any new posts that have been written since the last time you logged in. I know this may sound confusing but if you can navigate around eBay, you can set up your feed reader. There are other feed reader applications but I like Google Reader because it's so easy to use, you can view it from any computer, and there's no downloading. Check out some of my favorite websites and blogs on the right side quick links.

Next, I have created a group on facebook.com for all Goulet relatives. If you sign up, you can control who sees your profile. You can keep your personal information private; you can share as much or as little info as you feel comfortable with. There is a message board where anyone who's a member can post family news. It's a way to keep in touch and communicate with others. Please consider joining. I will be sending out an email invitation to those whose email addresses I have in my contact list. I have located some long lost family members and hope to reconnect with them.

I received my cookbook from Aunt Betty today. I was so excited to read the memories she included about food and family. I regret not having participated. Maybe we can do another sometime. I have a ton of recipes I got from my dad's side of the family including nut roll and kolache which are both special Czech pastries. I do appreciate all the contributors and the recipes they shared. Thanks, Aunt Betty, for coordinating this project... I know it was a lot of work.

The family reunion in 2008 is still a go. I haven't pinned down the date yet but will soon. Hope everyone is getting ready for the holidays. I am looking forward to the family time, traditions, friends, and the kids excitement and anticipation. Would love to hear about your family's traditions. Please feel free to leave a comment to share your favorite memories about Christmas.

Cookbook from Aunt Betty

I finally completed the cookbook project I started a couple of years ago. It is called Generational Cooking with a subtitle of Goulet Family Recipes with a dedication page dedicating the book to our mother. Not everyone chose to submit recipes, so only those who submitted recipes will have them published in the cookbook.

The price will be $15 for each cookbook.

The postage will be $2.00 for the first cookbook ordered and for each additional cookbook ordered the postage will be 50¢ each.

I will send them to you after I receive your check or money order to cover the cost of the cookbook(s) you have ordered plus the postage for the number of cookbooks ordered.

I hope you enjoy the cookbook. I really enjoyed putting it together.

Thank you for your cookbook order.

Note from Denise: if you don't have Aunt Betty's contact info, email me and I will forward the message to her so she can contact you.

Long Time - No Post

Wow, it has been a very long time since I posted anything here. I had trouble logging in for a while but somehow, this time it let me in.

Anyway, I have had quite a year. So much I need to work on and time seems to be ticking by.

I am on my sabbatical until the end of October. I have used up four of my eight weeks so far. I am really looking forward to some art classes I will be taking next week. I am also traveling to Las Vegas with Steve. We will be meeting Nikki and Jason and we are so looking forward to it!

Right now though, I am trying to recover from strep. This is my first time infected and cannot believe how it has zapped me.

Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone. Please keep in touch!

Happy Easter

Just a quick note to wish each of you and your families a happy Easter.

I would also like to give you an update on my family reunion planning. My motivation in coordinating this reunion is to get more cousins involved. It’s time for our parents to just show up and enjoy themselves.

Many people are interested in camping and are planning their 2008 summer vacation around the reunion.

I emailed many of you some of the results of the survey I have on the web. If you didn’t participate in the survey and would like to voice your opinion, please visit the survey to do so. Thanks to those who have participated in the survey so far. This information will help us make the next survey fun and rewarding for everyone.

My next steps are to check out some venues. I would also like to send out a newsletter to get excitement building for this event, so spread the word and please share my contact info so we can get connected.

Our family is unique. Let’s celebrate it!

GouletBuzz
Denise’s Photos
Goulet Reunion Survey
Goulet Family Yahoo Group