Big Bird Hopes You Have Big Plans: Great Pop'rs Giveaway, Rehearsal Dinner, Contact Oprah!

Faithful Readers: We're featuring another of Aunt Julie's (The Pop'r Queen) gorgeous creations this morning. Meet Big Bird, a daylily par excellence!

This particular species of Hemerocallis is a hybrid introduced to those of us with green thumbs, like Aunt Julie, in 1978. Big Bird, whose plants grow up to three feet tall and should be located in full sun or partial shade two to three feet apart because of his girth, is one of those hardy souls that's darned difficult to kill.

"Just plant it, water it, and pick the dead blooms off ever day," Aunt Julie advises. "Daylilys are the easiest to cultivate!" This particular bloom, Dear Readers, measures seven inches across! And, but of course, the shot above is yet another of Aunt Julie's artistic endeavors. Don't you agree?

Aunt Julie also wishes to remind you all how easy-peasey it is to enter our Great Pop'rs Giveaway, which ends today! We're gonna continue to ask you to Contact Oprah on behalf of Uncle Lynn and Pop'rs. And, remember--Aunt Julie's busy planning a Rehearsal Dinner, so please join in the fun! We'll announce the winner of our Giveaway right here in tomorrow's post, so stay tuned!

More recipes, gardening tips, and Pop'rs Fun coming soon! After all, it's summer, and what could be better than that?

Pop'rs Quiz: The Jonas Brothers, Oprah, The Great Pop'rs Giveaway, and More!

1. Who are Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas?

2. Why would Pop’rs Inventor Uncle Lynn make a Great Guest on Oprah?

3. How can you help Uncle Lynn score big points with Oprah?

4. How can you help Aunt Julie plan for an Extra Special Rehearsal Dinner for Big Bear and Little Red?

5. How can you become a Big Winner in the Great Pop’rs Giveaway?

Now, because Uncle Lynn, The Pop’r King, believes in keeping his readers informed, everyone gets an “A” on this Pop’rs Quiz. Here, Faithful Readers, are your answers:

1. The Jonas Brothers, who performed on Oprah Thursday, are The Talk Show Diva’s Most Requested Guests of the Year. The reason they hold such a high honor? Because their fans absolutely deluged Oprah with online requests!

2. Uncle Lynn’s Pop’rs are good for you, add fun to family meals, and encourage you to Eat Your Veggies! An Oprah show featuring Uncle Lynn, Pop'rs, and kids like yours sampling this surprising seasoning on different kinds of food would be a hoot! In his e-mail to Oprah yesterday, Uncle Lynn even suggested adding a discussion with Dr. Oz about healthy eating into the mix!

3. Please post a note to Oprah on her Web site, encouraging her to build a show around Pop’rs and their Fun and Family Factor! Tell her about your children's eating habits and your concerns that they eat more healthy foods. Heck, send her a photo of your little darlin's, so she can include them on a Pop'rs Show! Click here to find out how you can help, plus get Extra Entries in the Great Pop’rs Giveaway!

4. Aunt Julie, The Pop'r Queen, has just two months to get ready for a 60-person rehearsal dinner at her house. Click here to offer suggestions, and enter the Great Pop’rs Giveaway at the same time!

5. The Great Pop’rs Giveaway runs through Monday, July 28. Click here to find out more, and remember: If you don’t enter, you can’t win!

On the Red Carpet? Well, Not Yet, But...

So many of you have been Blogging Up a Storm about Pop'rs that I just wanted to post a Big Group Hug this morning--and send a hearty "Thanks, guys!"

The question remains, Dear Readers: How do we get the word out about Pop'rs? Those of you who are avid fans of Eat Your Veggies! already know that this delightful seasoning is so fun and so good for you that it should be in splashed across the covers of all the great foodie mags and covered by everyone from Paula to Giada on The Food Network. So, how do we get started?

Well, we had what advertisers call a "bump" in May, when Every Day with Rachael Ray gave us some pretty good pub. Rachael said Pop'rs "...add pop to anything! We like the cinnamon on buttered toast. FIZZ FACTOR: full fireworks ..."

But you know, Faithful Readers, we're a small, family-owned company. Teeny-tiny. One mention from Rachael is wonderful, but we've got to--how do you say it?--keep the Big Mo (as in momentum) going. And that's where you come in!

The Blogosphere is abuzz about Pop'rs, and Uncle Lynn, The Pop'r King, couldn't be more pleased! Just yesterday, we received the biggest blog boosts yet.

Scary Mommy wants to know why we're not on "Unwrapped," of Food Network fame. Aunt Julie, The Pop'r Queen, says we'd love to be showcased, except that our Pop'rs process is a secret, and we don't want it getting out. Yup, we make 'em, market 'em, the whole shebang! And we're the only company that does! Scary, please help us find another way to Share the Pop'rs!

Lula, over in Lulaville (natch!), says "Y'all totally need to be on Food Network. And I totally need to be ordering some Pop'rs." Thanks for the endorsement, Lula! The only way you can get your Pop'rs fix, BTW, is to order online. And as for The Food Network: Do you know how to get us there?

Adiel, who says It's Because I Think Too Much, has given quite a bit of thought recently to Sharing the Comment Love. Thanks, Adiel--hope you think on it some more and spread the word!

Lisa, our insomniac friend from CA (did you notice that she's often first on the SITS Roll Call?), is all about The Pop'rs Love. Please help us Blog About Pop'rs, Lisa--you'll be glad you did!

Greedy Grace, our Bloggy Buddy from Just Lisa, No Filler, has questions galore about Big Bear, The Pilot, and the process for making Pop'rs. Yes, it's a secret, patented by Uncle Lynn. We're the only folks in the country who make Pop'rs. And you know where you can get 'em--online, but of course. And now Uncle Lynn is offering Pop'rs at new, reduced, recession-proof prices--so check 'em out!

Brandy, who is Not Your Average Soccer Mom, just received a fresh batch o' Pop'rs and plans to post about their yummy-ness soon. Thanks so much for the support, Brandy!

So, I guess what I'm asking you to do, Dear Readers, is Spread. The. Word. Pretty Please? Write Rachael Ray! Call the Food Network! E-mail Emeril! But above all, please keep on blogging about our fanTAbulous product! And remember--Our Great Pop'rs Giveaway is now underway, and every time you comment, you receive another entry! Aunt Julie needs tons of help planning the rehearsal dinner for Big Bear and Little Red, so don't delay--enter today!

Big Bear's the Pop'rs Pilot in Charge!

Thanks so much to all of you who have commented so far with suggestions for Big Bear and Little Red's Rehearsal Dinner. Aunt Julie, The Pop'r Queen, really appreciates the help! Remember, every comment this week earns you one additional entry in the Great Pop'rs Giveaway--for info on the Giveaway and ways to earn extra entries, click here.

Which brings me to our little tidbit for today. All of you winners out there are probably wondering how we concoct the delightful, fun and nutritious seasonings known as Pop'rs. Well, I'm here to testify!

The photo above shows Big Bear (on the right) with Pop'rs Operations Guru Jim, manning a contraption known as The Pilot. Attractive hairnets, fellas! See the steam coming off The Pilot? That's part of how Pop'rs begin life up at Uncle Lynn's plant.

Aunt Julie explains how all this works: "The Pilot machine makes a seven- to ten-pound batch and is used for experimentation. The first time we made sugar-free popping candy, we did it on The Pilot. It is used when we don’t want to experiment on a big batch of 20 to 30 pounds, because of the cost of ingredients. All of our products are started on The Pilot."

Because of the experimental nature involved in using The Pilot, Julie says, "We made once made Jalapeño Pops, a candy with jalapeño flavor, instead of, say, cherry. Not good! We also tried and flopped with a bacon-flavored Pop'rs." You see, Faithful Readers, it's a good thing that The Pop'r Family experiments with The Pilot before the product reaches the customer!

"Another little aside in the process," Aunt Julie continues, "is that we fill tubes, they cool, and are 'dropped' into a barrel, under pressure. The Pop'rs break into bits ranging from dust to golf ball-sized pieces. The bigger ones are a hoot to eat. It took guts the first time we tried this procedure; it will almost lift you off the ground!"

Auntie J. explains that since they are carbonated crystals, Pop'rs are made under a lot of pressure, which is the fun part of using them to season your veggies. "But we can't sell the big rock pieces," Julie says, "because they are so sensitive to the touch. I had some packed in a plastic jar with a screw top, and it got bumped. It blew up the jar, but the top was still screwed on!" By the time the product reaches the customer, though, it's reduced to tiny little pieces, so no worries there!

BTW, the word about our fun little ol' product is spreading! Megan, over at Reed's Home for Our Savior, says she's an "official" Pop'rs user now. "We enjoyed listening to our chimichangas 'talk' as I sprinkled on the Pop'rs," Megan writes in a recent post. "Even my hubby, who generally has a distaste for kiddie stuff, asked for some on his." Thanks for the endorsement, Megan!

And Smoochiefrog, she of In the Mind of a Thirty Something Mom, is celebrating her First Blogaversary this week by giving away a complete set of Pop'rs--all eight flavors! Her family has been trying Pop'rs on foods as varied as veggies, yogurt, ice cream and cinnamon rolls. She says she's gonna sprinkle some Color Burst Pop'rs on watermelon soon. "They really are fun to eat, and they give those extra vitamins that you totally can't tell are there. Fun and good for ya! Who knew?" Thanks, Smooch, and enjoy the celebration!

You, too, Dear Readers, can get in on the action. Big Bear's manning the Pilot, and is ready to put your Pop'rs into production! Please enter our Great Pop'rs Giveaway and join the fun!

Help Julie Elizabeth Plan a Rehearsal Dinner-And Win Some Pop'rs in the Bargain!

Those of you who visited yesterday know that Aunt Julie, The Pop'r Queen, has Big Bear and Little Red's Rehearsal Dinner to plan! She wants you, Dear Readers, to be part of the fun, and will give away a Free Box of Pop'rs (all eight flavors!) for your trouble.

Here's the deal: Aunt Julie is desperate for ideas, and she knows you've got 'em! If you saw her comment yesterday, she's even considering putting Pop'rs in the chocolate fountain at the Rehearsal Dinner! So here's what you gotta do to win.

Please send Aunt Julie a Rehearsal Dinner Idea today; just leave it in the comment box of this post, and she'll give you two entry credits for your trouble! Then, every time you comment on a daily post the rest of this week (through Monday, July 28), Auntie J. will give you two more credits. That means, Faithful Readers, that you could rack up 14 Great Pop'rs Giveaway Credits just for offering your opinion!

And it gets even better, folks: Link to Eat Your Veggies! and our Great Pop'rs Giveaway in a post on your own personal blog, and Aunt Julie will give you five more (count 'em) giveaway credits. And one final incentive: If you post the photo of the cute little guy and his mom shaking Pop'rs on their broccoli--with a link to the contest, of course--the extremely generous Aunt J. will give you an additional six credits! Why six? Because that will give you a Grand Total of 25 Great Pop'rs Giveaway Credits, if you choose to play, all the way!

Those of you who are new to Eat Your Veggies! should know that Pop'rs, which are available in eight flavors--Cinnamon, Color Burst, Chocolate, Strawberry, Raspberry, Butter, Taco and Buffalo—come in handy-dandy shakers so you can sprinkle these tasty and nutritious seasonings on everything from applesauce to broccoli to green beans to yogurt. And remember--not only are Pop’rs fun to eat, but they enhance your taste sensation and are infused with healthy vitamins--a great way to get you and your family to Eat Your Veggies!

We’re picking one Grand Prize Winner by random drawing. The Great Pop’rs Giveaway is open to everyone. The contest runs from Tuesday, July 22 (that's today!), through Monday, July 28 at 8 p.m. EST. So, Dear Readers, don't delay--play today!

Get Ready for a Sweet Celebration!

For those of you wondering about the lovey-dovey ticker at the top of this page, exciting stuff happening in the Land of Pop’rs! Big Bear, Aunt Julie and Uncle Lynn’s Number One Son, is getting married in October! He and Little Red, his fiancé, are taking that stroll down the aisle October 11, in the first-ever Pop'rs Wedding!

Bear and Red met five years ago, when he was working for a dealership and sold her a new car (He is not exactly a fast mover—nor a smooth talker—like his Dad Lynn, The Pop'r King, who married Aunt Julie just five months and five days after meeting her on Valentine’s Day!). About 250 people are invited to Bear and Red’s wedding, with 50 to 60 invited over to The Pop’r Family’s house for the rehearsal dinner. What does Aunt Julie have to say about that? Only one word: “Yikes!” All three of Bear’s brothers will be in the wedding.

Fortunately, Aunt Julie, being The Pop'r Queen and all, sure does love to cook!…the dessert menu has been solid for months—homemade carrot cake cupcakes, cheesecake with strawberries that Julie Eliz picked in June, and a chocolate fountain! Dinner is still negotiable. “Sixty people is starting to sound like an awful lot,” Aunt Julie says. Let’s see: wedding party and out-of-town family and friends. Auntie J. is taking suggestions for the dinner!

The sweetest part of all is that Bear gave Red Grandma Vera’s engagement ring. “I thought they would just remove the diamond and put it in a new setting,” Aunt Julie explains, “but the bride loves it just like it is and prefers not to change a thing. So it has been separated (it was once welded to Grandma V.’s wedding band because of wear), gold added and a new head built, and cleaned—the goldsmith said it will look just like it did when Grandpa Ernie gave it to my Mom in 1947!”

Auntie J., naturally, is a sentimental gal. “When I returned from the jeweler’s, I cried. To think it had been in a drawer since Grandma Vera died. I’m thrilled that it has been taken out, restored and is once again on the finger of the girl who is about to become Vera's first grandson’s wife!”

Here’s where you come in, Faithful Readers! Watch this space tomorrow, when I’ll explain how you, too, can get involved and help The Pop’r Family prepare for The Big Day!