Red Carpet Week

Congratulations AZLori

Winner of the First Annual Super Bowl 

Snack Throw Down 2009

After a hard fought battle, Lori's salsa reigned supreme over the east coast's onion dip.  Maybe it counters the fact that the East Coast beat the west coast in the actual Super Bowl.  One win for each coast.  I like it.  Also, a big thanks to Maureen too for being such a formidable competitor.  Nice job, women!   

  

Announcements at the end...

This is going to be a fun week.  We are dedicating the next six days to all things RED, in honor of Valentines Day (February 14) and Highlowaha People's Choice Award (February 18 at 8:00 p.m.).  So each day we will address two things: ideas for making your valentine(s) feel special and ideas for celebrating our one-year anniversary in style.

For those relatively new to the highlowaha game... a little bit of background about the People's Choice Awards (Valentine's Day, I assume, you already get).  The People's Choice Awards is an award show to be viewed on our blog site on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at 8:00 p.m.   The show will commemorate one year of blog fun, as well as recognize many of the people responsible for making this special community what it is.  Readers nominated one another in the following nine award categories: Sliced Bread Award, Raising the Bar Award, Good Neighbor Award, Energizer Bunny Award, Spirit of #218 Award, Homerun Award, Newbie Award, Veteran Award, and the Oz Award.  For detailed descriptions of each, check out announcements from the post labeled, 1/24.

Virtually Groundbreaking Countdown: 

We've already established, in previous posts, that we hope you will dress up for February 18th's affair.  Dust off your fanciest dress, most glitzy jewelry, and most impratical pumps (you will be in the comfort of your own home, after all).  Men, make sure your tux still fits.  Sure, we could do this Virtually Groundbreaking event in sweatshirts and jeans, but it wouldn't be as fun, nor would the casual dress be in keeping with the kind of formal recognition we hope to deliver that evening.  So, as silly as it seems, allow yourself to live the Spirit of 218 and join us, decked out for an evening of fun.

Invitations.  That's today's topic.  One thing is for sure.  You will feel far less silly dressed up in your fanciest duds, if you are actually hosting an event.  Consider a pre-party party.  For instance, I am fully intending to make fancy invitations, inviting my husband and each of my sons to join me for a night of celebration.  But, in addition to family why not invite some friends and neighbors?  They might not care much about the 8:00 People's Choice Award, but certainly we can come up with something worth celebrating (stay tuned).  Invitations can be as informal as an e-vite or as formal as a scroll of parchment paper tied with a red ribbon.  

Valentine's Idea:

In keeping with the invitations outlined in today's Virtually Groundbreaking Countdown, I thought today we would talk about Valentine's Mail Bags (no surprise when you know how much I love mail!).  Thanks to the thoughtful and organized reader, Maureen, my family and I received our first Valentine's of the season on Saturday.  A few years ago I purchased three

of these mail bags to attach to the back of my boys' chairs at the kitchen table.  They are a simple way to help decorate for the holiday.  The bags are also functional, in that they will hold any and all valentines received between now and February 14.  Last year, I even let Matthew use his mail bag to deliver Valentine's to his classmates.

Don't have one?  Maybe you can make one out of felt, red yarn, and a big needle?  Sewing not your thing?  How about using red or white poster board and red yarn or ribbon?

Announcements:

• Speaking of Invitations:  Highlowaha is seeking the names and addresses of 50 people to receive a personal invitation to join the Highlowha community, beginning Thursday, February 19, 2009.  These are people in your neighborhood, your work place, or your children's school or play group.  It might even be the friend of a friend of a friend who you think might particularly enjoy our community.  Please tell us their name and contact information, so printed invitations can be mailed soon. 
  
• Winner of Belly Cast:  Fellow reader, Stacie, donated a Belly Cast during last week's Virtual Baby Shower.  Four people took guesses at Stacie's son's name (beginning with "L" and ending in "N."  We had a Landon, a Larson, and a few people who admitted an unfair advantage, because they know Stacie and therefore know her son's name.  Since my original plan failed, I did a drawing using the names of all the pregnant woman who posted that day.  They were: Kelly, Erica, Michelle, and Melanie.  And the winner is...  Michelle!  Michelle, I will pass your name and address along to Stacie who will send you the Belly Cast.  What a fun way to remember your pregnancy with twins. 
• Winner of Photo Shoot:  Much of Louisville was without power last week (and in some cases is still out of power).  Consequently, I decided to do a drawing of all the readers I know we have in the Louisville area to see who would win the photo shoot (Stacie, Melanie, Jess, Robin, Nicole) are some of the ones I know about) with photographer and fellow reader, Laura Kline.  Robin, you are the lucky winner!  Congratulations.  I will communicate with you via email to assure you and Laura get connected.
  
• Host the Next Virtual Party:  Thanks again to Kristen for hosting last week's baby shower.  I had fun and hope everybody got (or gave) at least one new idea.  We are looking for the next social butterfly to gather 5 or 6 of his/her friends and to decide the topic you would most like covered.  This party will happen in April, as February and March are booked solid with all sorts of fun.

Thanks Cheryl

for hand painting the

HLA Super Bowl!

Signing off until tomorrow...