's motd Sat Oct 25, 2008

[Guest guest]

WITH PEN IN HAND

Saturday, 25 October 2008

I love being left-handed. I was the only left-handed student in my classroom when I was in elementary school. And boy, did the Nuns really ever have it out for me! I used to spend about an hour-a-day practicing my writing. My penmanship was a little extravagant at such an early age but I thought it matched my personality.

Whenever a holiday rolled around, I'd rush to the stationary store on Canal Street and buy some new cards to send out or give to my friends. As I wrote notes on the cards, I used my best penmanship to write something nice. And on very special occasions, I'd even hand-make a card for my mother, father or brother, Lenny. Thank the Lord for giving the world construction paper!When I began my career, I took great pains to write as beautifully as I could on the photos of myself to give to the friends who'd come out to see me. And still today, I sign hundreds of autographs. When I do, I make sure that every "t" is crossed and every "i" is dotted.To this day, I still send out a lot of cards. When one of my friends at Slimmons has a birthday, I write a personal note to them in a card. (I prefer the cards with no message inside so I can write my own sentiments.)So how's your penmanship? Do you love to send cards to people as much as I do? I'm telling you, it's a great way to communicate. With all of the technology these days though, I've noticed that people like to send out a lot more E-mail greetings. I get lots of them. But for me, there's something especially warm and fuzzy about going to the mailbox and finding a thoughtful, handwritten letter there from someone you love.And you can't believe some of the cards people send me. Many of them are handmade, just like I used to do for my family members. In fact, there are stores now that carry lots of items to use for scrap booking or for making your own cards.

There's a very sweet lady that many of you know from my cruises named Mildred W. She's in her 80's, makes all of my cruises and I simply adore her! She's amazing! On every holiday, she makes and sends me the most unbelievable cards, better than anything you might find in a fancy card store. Today, I want you to think about a few special people in your life who could use a little cheering up by sending them a nice card. (And you don't make to make it yourself.) Just pick out a pretty, nice card, add a few words of your own and send it to that special someone in your life. You'll be amazed at how great you'll make your friend or family member feel by hearing from you.So practice your penmanship today and get writing!

P.S. Boo! Be sure to catch me on a's Party tonight on The Food Network. a Deen and I have one heckuva Halloween party surprise for you! You'd uh..."butter" watch!Love,