Official thank you from the food bank

Today I am very pleased to share with the world a formal thank you to my kids from the food bank. I hope that we will be able to top this number next year. We still have a few months to add to the total for this year. I will keep you posted on that effort. For now here is the nice letter that was sent to my kids.

April 8, 2009 Pravan and Priyasha Landry xxxx Willow Ranch Trail Reno, NV 89523 Dear Pravan and Priyasha, On behalf of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, thank you for organizing and coordinating the food drive during the Easter Egg Hunt at Summit Ridge Park. The food drive generated 339 pounds of food valued at $1.49 per pound for a total value of $505.11 With the help of your generous contribution, we have been able to feed over 65,000 people in Northern Nevada – almost 1 out of 10 people in the area. We primarily feed seniors on fixed incomes and families with children. These groups make up 87% of the people we are able to supply with food. I also want to take this time to thank you for your effort in 2008 when your Easter Egg Food Drive collected 246 pounds of food for the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. In addition to the over 100 partner agencies, we also provide food through several outreach programs. These programs include but are not limited to the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and Kids Cafe. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program staff and volunteers deliver boxes as far away as Eureka, Battle Mountain, Gerlach and Hawthorne. These boxes are for income eligible seniors. Approximately 30 boxes are also delivered each month to home bound seniors here in the Truckee Meadows. One gentleman in poor health eagerly awaits his box as this food is not just a supplement for him; it is the food he will live on for the next month as his meager veteran’s pension covers little more than his rent. The Kids Cafe programs serve an evening meal to children between 12 months and 18 years of age during the school year and a lunch meal during the summer. This summer at a food site, a record number of 182 children lined up in the extreme heat to receive a meal. Thank you again for your support and we look forward to our partnership in the future. Sincerely, Bill Kolton Bill Kolton Volunteer and Events Coordinator

Thank you for stopping by and sharing in the pride and joy Todd and I have for our kids.

Free Spirit !!!!

Updates, real numbers and still very busy !!!!!

Okay I heard back from the food bank and we are very pleased with the results. Here is the e-mail I got from them : Dear Easperee, Thank you for your efforts on behalf of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada. We weighed the food and a total of 339 pounds was collected. Using Feeding America's guidelines if $1.49 per pound for donated food, the total value of your donation is $505.11. Thank you again, Bill KoltonVolunteer and Events Coordinator I have finally taken some time to care for myself. I went to the dentist yesterday and got my teeth cleaned and then had a nice lunch date with hubby. Today I went to the doctor and I have a double sinus infection, double ear infections and an enlarged thyroid gland. I have blood work scheduled and an ultrasound of the thyroid gland scheduled this week. This is not going to be a mellow week for me. I am just glad that I will have some meds and can feel better soon. I am off to the channel 4 news room this afternoon to get a tour with the cub scout group and we get to watch the 5 o' clock news live. That will be so exciting. I am also baby sitting a little girl this afternoon so I will have one more kid for the night. Oh I also got good news that I am an aunt once again. Hubby's sister had a little baby girl named Westerly. She is a healthy little girl and all is well. Hope you are all doing great and I will fill you in on my week soon. Thanks for stopping by. Free Spirit !!!!

Easter Egg Hunt

Hop one ! Hop all. Hop on over to
Pravan's sixth and Priyasha's third annual Easter egg hunt.
Sunday April 5, 2009 3pm-5pm
Meet at Summit Ridge Playground Close to K-mart and Home Depot
Bring your favorite basket, A dish to share
Pass the news to all moms you know.
Just one rule, no candy in the eggs please.
Entry fee is 3 cans of food for the food bank or more. This is Pravan and Priyasha’s second year helping the food bank. Please join the kids on their mission to feed the hungry.Please forward this to everyone you know as it is an open invitation. I would like to fill more than one barrel of food for the food bank.
See you there for an eggciting time!
Easperee, Pravan and Priyasha
830-6377 http://www.twoworldsunite.blogspot.com/

This was the info that was floating around on the e-mails and via word of mouth. This was the sixth year that I hosted it and it was Priyasha's third year as she is only three. Collecting food for the food bank started out as a threat at the dinner table with the kids. I told them that lots kids were starving and go to bed with no food.Next thing I know the harshness of the truth right around us and far away was too much for either one of my kids as they were both in tears. They wanted to share their dinner with the hungry kids and so the food bank collection for my kids and I was born. This year is year two we are supporting the food bank.
It was a bigger success than last year and we are so happy that we can help. The food bank is 35 % up in their demand for food yet with the down economy they need your help more then ever. Todd and I are very proud of the kids and I will do all I can to help support their dreams. The little people are making a difference with our help and I hope you will take the time to donate some food to the food bank in your area or do something similar and bless someone in need.
The big day has finally arrived. We have been promoting this while over a month now. I had passed out 250 fliers in my son's school amongst the first graders and kindergartners. There also was a large group of my friends that helped me pass out the invite. I really was expecting a large group of people today. I was actually nervous about it. It was extremely successful. Lots of people close to 100 showed up. We filled up a huge barrel of food. Each barrel can hold up to 250 pounds. The guy who picked it up estimated that we had 362 pounds of food. I will get the exact figure in the morning and update you.

As you many of you know the kids and I have a goal to get 10 barrels of food by the end of the school year. We have one down and nine more to go. After spring break we will have the schools on the area involved and a few local business's that will help out as well. I am now drained and really sick. I hope to have a some what quiet week and rest up. I have scheduled rest in this week and a doctor's appointment and a dentist appointment.It is about time this body got a tune up. I sure do like being in 10Th gear but the wheels need some grease and I earned my rest. Thank you for helping me help my kids help all the other kids that need some food. Here is a poster and the invite so you can see what we have been up to.

A big thank you to David Spillers from Digi Print Reno for sponsoring the posters. http://www.digiprintcorporation.com/ David was very generous to sponsor some fantastic posters that will be used in the schools to promote this mission. Thank you to Kirk Bailey who helped make today's event a success and help me get the posters sponsored.

Part two

I want to say a big thank to all the people that have assisted me in making today a huge success. We could not have done it without you. Thank you for reading the great achievements of my kids. I will keep you updated on how we are doing with our goal of 10 barrels. Thanks for stopping by and reading our story.
Free Spirit !!!

What a blast or a blur !!!!!!!

The turn out last night was fantastic. It was incredible to see how many woman came to celebrate with me. I had a wonderful time. If I really drank all the drinks that were offered to me I would have had alcohol poisoning. Every time I turned around someone offered to buy me wine.

I am a martini gal and stuck to my martini's. It was a great night. Thank you to all the ladies that came out and celebrated with me. I appreciated the gal's night out. It was so awesome to have such a diverse group of woman be my friends. This really was the first birthday celebration I ever had and it was a blast. My very good friend Brandy baked me the cake and everybody sang to me. First they sang in English, then in French, then in Russian and also Spanish. By the end of the night we had about 22 woman that drank with me and had a great time. Still I had several regrets from lots more woman that could not make it for various reasons. My Filipino,Korean or Vietnamese friends were not there. I wish I had recorded them singing. It was great. So since I am from South Africa I am going to find out how to sing it in Afrikaans and also in an Indian language. I should know how but sadly I don't. We were all in the wine shop a mile away from home. Some people got food from the Bistro where I work on the weekends and ate it at the wine shop. It seemed like through out the night we arranged the entire wine store. We kept adding tables and we made a train of tables and it was great. When they sang to me we took over the over place. It really felt like it was just us but it was busy last night. The bar usually close at 9pm but stayed open for us until 10pm. Then we got kicked out. My friend Suzanne smuggled champagne in but we had to get some to go cups and took the champagne and another bottle of wine and took the party outside. We sat on the chairs next to the fire place. The group trickled down to a few of us but we had a blast until we all needed to pee. I had a ride home with Jennifer, a friend and neighbor. Instead of going home she and I decided to go to another bar and get food. before we sat down we found the bathroom. I was in a desperate rush to pee. I ran into the ladies room and pushed the first door and next thing I know there was a loud scream. I slammed the door into another woman that was peeing. The power of a lock is priceless in the public restroom. I ran to the next stall and then later found out it was the woman in the wine place that I had take our group picture. It was so funny and we had a good laugh. We ordered food and drinks but never finished it. We headed home about 1:30 am and that last part feels like a blur. Today I am drained and exhausted. No hang over though which is a good thing. I am very happy that I had my first party after planning all those wonderful parties for my kids. It was a blast and feels good to be loved. Thanks for reading. I will post pics soon from Priyasha's birthday party.

Free Spirit !!!!

April Fools Day !!!!!!

Happy Birthday to me. These are the cards I received in the mail so far from family. Hubby surprised me with this lovely bouquet of flowers. They were delivered to the house and it was not what I was expecting at all. Today I plan on getting my hair cut and styled and to wax my eye brows and lips. It should be a good day as I plan on pampering myself. I am very excited and looking forward to ladies night out. I planned on meeting over 20 woman tonight at the wine shop about a mile away from my house. I just read a few e-mails asking if it was an April fools joke. No it is not. I am really born on April 1. I hope the joke is not on me and people do show up. It is going to be a blast. I hope you all pull put a fabulous trick to play on your loved ones. Last year I melted marshmallow in a pan and dropped them by the spoonful around a dried apricot. It looked like a sunny side up egg. I took it to Pravan's class and played a trick on all his classmates. I also made a cake out of ground beef and used cocoa in the meat so it looked like chocolate. For the frosting I used mashed potatoes and colored it red with beet juice. Yeah it sounds nasty and I did not dare try it. I gave it to a friend as a joke and never heard about it. Must have been awful. Oh those were a few things I did last year. Today I am going to cut out all the extras and have this day be for me. Wish me a happy happy birthday. This will be the first real semi- sort of party for me. I have never had a party before so I am thrilled that so many woman I know will share this day with me. Hope nobody made you too much of a fool. Free Spirit !!!!