AAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!

Total number of hat orders: 77

Total hats sold: 160

Favorite customer feedback response: Come on, buy a d*mn hat already.

Which order went furthest away: Austrailia, to Susanna Duffy, who also placed the first order. She also made a very cool hat lens that featured 500 Hats.

First 4 orders went to Susanna Duffy, ChefKeem, JaguarJulie and ChristopherScott. Thanks for believing in me and getting the ball rolling!

Love, Hugs and Thanks (in no particular order):

Extra special thanks to Janusz Biela for creating the 500 Hats logo. It’s perfect!

Loyalis and thefluffanutta for support,encouragement, and some really great Squidoo apps and tips.

Seth and Megan for creating the wonderful vehicle that became Squidoo.

Everyone who bought hats, blogged, bookmarked, posted links and Twittered about 500 Hats. Google shows over 40,000 returns for ’500 Hats On Squidoo’ You’ve been busy!

Lion Brand Yarn for a Facebook post that directed over 3000 hits to the 500 Hats lens.

Cheerleader GypsyOwl, who called 500 Hats going #1 on Squidoo the day before it happened! Capt Squid Chat pals CleanerLife, Noadi and TrekkieMelissa who tweet and retweet.

All the new friends I’ve made on Facebook and Twitter. You rock!

Hypnotherapist Wendi Friesen of Wendi.com, for picking up on the story, promoting it on her show and on Twitter, and for buying 10 hats herself! She was so impressed with 500 Hats, she even gave me a job.

Ener-G and LakeErieArtists for their large orders.

Everyone who wrote and shared their stories with me. Nice to know we’re not alone. I’m praying for all of our financial recoveries.

Designer/Photographer Veronica King for her support and encouragement in getting the word out.

Lots of people who offered up their prayers and posted the link in their prayer chains. One such post got me an interview with El Mundo.es in Spain. Thanks to Lisa Murillo, Gladys Diaz and especially Lissette Valdes-Valle for the interview.

I was told yesterday that 4 out of 6 Tweets mentioning Squidoo also mentioned 500 Hats!

Kimberly, Megan and everyone at Squidoo and Megan Morris and everyone at Triiibes. Bonnie, AJ2008, Clouda9, boshemia, GrowWear, RickyRobi and the other Rocket Moms for all their support. Everyone in the Squidoo Intern Project, especially Alex Beattie and Jed Cohen.

Everyone who donated a hat to Modesto Gospel Mission. You’re helping to keep a lot of people in need warm this winter. Bless you for your generousity!

Everyone who ordered hats for themselves or as gifts. I love to hear your responses and see your smiling faces.

For everyone who couldn’t buy a hat. Your posts, links and tweets helped more than you know. You did a wonderful, incredible thing!

Thanks to all of you for your kind support, encouragement and just downright sweetness. If I’ve left anyone out, it’s not that I’m ungrateful, just exhausted! Big hugs to everyone who helped in any way. YOU made 500 Hats a success!

What about our house?

Because of your support, we’ve managed to make another payment to keep our status at 30 days late, and keep the wolf at bay. Still no word if the bank is willing to work with us. Not holding my breath!

I’m extending sales for 500 Hats until October 1, 2009, so if you’d like to buy hats for gifts, or to donate, you still have time!

Words fail to express our gratitude for your kindness and action in the past month. I hope the video will convey it better. Love to all of you!

Buy A Hat, Save A House http://www.squidoo.com/500hats

I’m used to making things happen for others, but sometimes I need to ask for help.

Sometimes, it’s necessary to take great measures, add a little showmanship, and get a lot of generous people behind you in order to get things done. 500 Hats is a very personal project for me.

The response so far has been fantastic, but I still have a long way to go. Check out my story, and see what it’s all about.

Thanks!

I’ve started compiling research for a book about microbusiness in developing countires. If you’ve got experience in microfinance, mentoring, editing, publishing, own a microbusiness or you’d just like to give feedback on the book as it progresses, check out the link below. I’d love to hear your input.

Visit Business Sphere

2009 is shaping up pretty well so far. I’ve migrated all of my old, obsolete web sites in to new and sleeker versions that will hopefully generate more interest, traffic, and with any luck, my reader base! I’ve started planning my long awaited book (for me anyway) on Africa, and really come a long way in diversifying my income streams. But to top it all off, my back fence neighbors took out their 40 ft palm tree that made a mess all over my vegetable beds, and started numerous baby palm trees in my back lawn for the past 8 years.

So far, so good, and now I’ll take another step by wishing you the same happy thoughts, and fewer irritations in your life for 2009!

I was honored this weekend to have a post published on the new Tribes Blog . Check it out, and become a subscriber to get the latest views from members of Seth Godin’s Tribe.

Have a great week!

Everyone is part of a special group of people: a family, circle of friends, clubs, teams, and so on. Seth Godin calls these groups, and his new bestseller, Tribes.

Before he launched the book in October, he gathered together a tribe of his readers online and started the Triiibes Group. Members have now compiled some of their ideas and works together to publish the new Tribes Blog!  

Take a look and see what’s going on in our Tribe!

Here’s hoping that you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’m including some links to a couple of great sites I found, full of Thanksgiving quotes and prayers.

I am so grateful for all of you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I Took The Handmade Pledge! has a listing of handmade, artisan items, links and lenses on Squidoo!

Why not stop by and see what it’s all about?

Join Lanee Smith and PlatinumOne Cosmetics along with a host of celebrity friends for an evening on entertainment and fashion as they raise awareness for Breast Cancer. To buy tickets online go to http://www.platinumone.eventbrite.com/