It's a Wrap!

Bunny, bunny!

I thought I would spend today wrapping up the month of October, so we can move on in good conscience to the month of November.

First thank you to Cassie Y, Cheryl, Julie, and Kristen all who submitted carved pumpkins to our First Annual Pumpkin Patch competition.  Their entries, coupled with my feeble attempt, made for a spirited competition.  Cheryl's spooky entry #4 won the contest.  She wins a fun Halloween Wilton Cookie mold.  The molds, once decorated, will be nothing short of GREAT Halloween presents for teachers, co-workers, and family members.  Pumpkin Patches are also awarded to Cheryl and all our other participants.

Next.  We only had one person visit our site, after being Boo'd by a Highlowaha member.  Her name is Kuj.  She will receive a post-Halloween treat in the mail from yours truly.  And, who knows... maybe she'll come back to visit again.

Next.  The beginning of Thursday revealed very few Candy Corn lovers, but the latter part of the day....  The latter part of the day produced several people worthy of receiving all our extra candy corn.  Candy Corn Fans are: Mandy, Jane, Casey, BKRoot, Cristine, and Lori.  And the winner of all the candy corn we are willing to ship off is... Christine.  Cristine from Illinois spells her name without an "h," so this is a different Christine.  CHRISTINE if you are out there, send me an email with your shipping address.  That way I can share it with any readers who have candy corn they want to send!  If you are new to us, you don't yet know how much fun mail from our readers can be!

Also, if any of us is connected to Christine, please let her know she is the winner!

Finally,  I realized part way through the month I was TERRIBLE at posting our daily Halloween activity, as promised.  It's a little late now, except that - if interested - you can tuck it away until next year.  And, though my ideas might not be the best, they might spark you to think of new and improved ideas.  I'll list them below.  Remember, the point of these ideas was to have a small daily activity I could do with the boys to build their excitement for Halloween.

1: Today we will BOO a neighbor.

2: Today we will warp the witch (this was a website.  See post from 10/3 ).

3: Today we will create a Halloween story during dinner time.

4: Today we will go on a Hayride

5: Today we will make a Halloween craft.

6: Today we will eat a candy apple.

7:  Today we will wrap ourselves like mummies.

8: Today we will play a round of "killer" at the dinner table.

9: Today we will wrap ourselves like mummies in toilet paper.

10: Today we will line our walkway with luminaries

11. Today we will drink a witches brew with dinner.

12: Today we will get our picture taken at a pumpkin patch.

13. Today we will buy a Halloween pumpkin.

14: Today we will decorate the front door.

15: Today we will wear black and orange

16: Today we will send a Halloween card to an old friend.

17: Today we will tell funny Halloween jokes.

18: Today we will play Pin the Stem on the Pumpkin

19: Today we will bob for apples.

20: Today we will bake a Halloween treat.

21: Today we will write a funny epitaph and then play musical tombstones.

22: Today we will send a scary note to someone

23: Today we will do the Monster Mash

24: Today we will read a Halloween book to our class.

25: Today we will eat pumpkin shaped pancakes

26: Today we will watch the Peanut Gang Halloween special

27: Today we will pick out our Halloween candy

28: Today we will count Jack-o-Lanterns between our house and school

29: Today we will carve our Halloween pumpkin

30: Today we will deliver Halloween treats to our classmates

31: Today we will Trick of Treat.

 

Having said all that, ... Welcome to November.  We have lots in store for the month.  For that we can be... thankful.

Signing off until tomorrow...

Psst... It's Me...

Count Raycula

Blah, blah, blah... I've come to see your blahg.

Before I forget, I'm supposed to tell everyone (as if you didn't know) that it's Free-for-all Friday.  What a "pain in the neck!"  All this finding the hidden HLAs in my picture, and talking about random stuff.  It's driving me batty.  Is it too early for a Bloody Mary? 

I kill me.

But seriously, Halloween......how cool is that?  This is the day that millions of people start out giving each child that comes to their door a couple of pieces of candy from their 20 pound stash and by the end of the evening are doling it out by the double handful to every kid parent and dog that walks by.  There are of course a few thrifty souls who secretly fear having to lock the doors, turn off the lights and hide in the closet till the last roving band of barely costumed, bowl dumping, pumpkin smashing, hormonal teens flee the scene of the crime.  Which are you?

Being a vampire, I only get to see the after dark activities.  I've heard rumors that these "helicopter parents" - (look it up) are out their with the kiddies way before the sun goes down.  Frightening.  Do me a favor and let me know when you get your first little goblin at the door.  If they look tasty enough I may have to buy some good sunscreen.  While you're at it, make a post later tonight letting me know how many kids showed up and how much candy you have left over.

Make a post with all that info and anything else that comes to mind.  I'm sure they're dying to know.  Uh oh, sun's coming up and I can hear Claudia trying to decide which Halloween scarf to wear.  Got to go.  See you tonight.

Happy Halloween

So many scarves, so little time

Sorry I'm running late, I was trying to choose which of the 12 Halloween scarves I should sport today. ...Or, maybe I should change my scarf/neckerchief on the hour.

Truth of the matter... there's no sense in trying to post a blog about creativity on a day like today. Today personifies creativity. Today, everywhere you turn creativity will be rearing its head. Creative costumes, creative decorations, creative baked treats, creative Halloween festival games, creative Jack-o-Lanterns, creative, creative, creative. I can't compete.

Instead, I'll move over and, in the spirit of Free For All Friday, let you report on the creativity you're encountering.

Thanks to Cristine, I have the first example of the day. Check out her the costume of her son's preschool teacher. She's a Hoover vacuum! Best of all... she achieved it with nothing more than a HOT GLUE GUN. There's hope for me yet!

One more thing... Get out and Vote! Check out the slide show below and vote for your favorite carved pumpkin. The winner receives a fun Halloween accessory, sure to make your next Halloween sweet!

Signing off until tomorrow...

Happy National...

Candy Corn Day!

October 30, 2008

I'll celebrate National Candy Corn Day, because this 100+ year old candy deserves a little respect.  It has, after all, been around since the 1880's and remained unchanged since its inception.  I'm no candy expert, but that seems worthy of boasting.  I must also admit, there are few other candies so recognizable and so closely associated with the Halloween holiday.  One search through Google's revealed close to 450,000 candy corn images.  Look at all the ways candy corn has been adapted and celebrated as an iconic symbol of fall and of Halloween.

There was more.  Tutu's earrings, witch hats, candles, napkin rings, baby rattles, t-shirts, belts, t-shirts, tote bags, necklaces, sculptures, and on it went for 450,000 images!

But, the truth is I'm not totally feeling the Candy Corn celebration.  I'm not feeling it, because to me candy corn tastes a little like wax.  Visually, I give the candy a 10.  It's perfect in size, color, and shape.  But taste matters when you're coughing up calories for candy.  It'd be a hard sell to get me to give up my Whoppers or Special Dark Hershey bars for a serving of candy corn (even if candy corn is only 3.57 calories per kernel). 

When I was a kid and we returned home after trick or treating, we would spread all our candy out on the living room floor and start sorting through it.  Gum in one pile, lollipops in another, chocolate in a third, tootsie rolls and other chewy candy in yet another, and then there was the "...and that" pile.  That was all the candy we we were willing to trade or, better yet... give away!  Candy corn was in my "And That" pile.

How about you?

Are you in or not when it comes to candy corn?

I had a thought...  What if all the Highlowaha readers who feel like I do about Candy Corn agreed to award one lucky Highlowaha Candy Corn Lover with all the candy corn acquired on Halloween night?  Wouldn't that be fun?  Let's do it.

Tell us, thumbs up or thumbs down on candy corn and give a signal as to whether or not you would be willing to send yours or to be the recipient.

One more thing.  I don't want to be a kill joy just because I don't love candy corn, so... if you have a favorite candy corn story, recipe, craft, or other adaptation, let us know.  I'm willing to go along for the ride.

Signing off until tomorrow...

I'm Watching You!

You know what else is fun about Halloween?

It's filled with mystery.  At Halloween you can leave anonymous notes and treats for people and it somehow fits into the spirit of the holiday.  Here's an admission.  When I was in my late 20's and early 30s I would use Halloweens to send an a cryptic message to someone I was admiring from afar.  Sometimes it would be letters cut from a magazine, sometimes a note written in code or written mirror backwards.  Each year one recipient and always employing a different tactic.  It was fun.  I never revealed myself, because that wasn't the point.  Instead, I took simple pleasure in believing I was making someone feel important.  I've gotten a secret admirer note or two in my life time and it feels good to know someone recognizes your for something they see as unique.

This year I made cookies.  I plan on packaging them in small boxes and leaving the small bundles around town.  One will go to the cafeteria worker who makes my boys lunches every day with a note that says, "I'm watching you and you make a difference."   Another will read, "Eye spy someone hardworking

," and will go to the dedicated swim coach who spends every afternoon with my oldest son.  A third box might be left in particular chair at "my" Starbucks, where the same woman shows up every morning, 15 minutes after me, to enjoy a Venti coffee, a cup of ice water, and a snack.  I'm not sure what her note will say yet, but I've still got a few days to think about it.  Who knows... f you live in town, one might just show up on your door step!

By the way... I got the idea for these cookies from ping pong balls painted to look like blood shot eye balls.  I loved them when I saw them.  In fact, I bought two bags of the eyeballs, so I could fill a vase with them and use it as a centerpiece.  What could be simpler?  Round cookies, white icing, and then decorated with black, blue, and red.

Do you have a trick or treat up your sleeve that you will use to recognize someone deserving in your community?  Tell us about it.

Announcements:

• Pumpkin Patch: Remember to submit a picture of your Jack-o-Lantern to Katie at kkolkmeier@gmail.  The deadline is today at 5:00 - though I bet if you asked nicely she'd give you an extension.
  
• Blog-a-thon: We only had one new taker yesterday.  Thank you, Heather.  Tera, I got your request and I will work up a short blurb before day's end.  Thank you for being diligent in trying to recruit other writers.
  

Signing off until tomorrow...

One Thing Leads to Another

Announcements at the end.

Today's post represents a little bit of what this blog is supposed to be about at its very core  -simple, but creative, ideas that can be used to celebrate (or build) community.  But what makes today's idea especially fun for me is that it wasn't planned.  One thing led to another and here we are.  I like it because I think that's how creativity works.  One idea sparks another, which in turn sparks something else and before you know it, an idea is born.

Don't get too excited.  It's not that what I've created is all that grand.  In fact, you might take one look at it and think, "Big Whoop, I could do that with my eyes closed."  What makes my creation fun is the process by which it happened.  Here's a recap.

Saturday night.  Host Random Acts of Kindness party.  Inform guests that I would love if they could clear my table of all the treats and chatchka.  Because I host the party every year, there are inevitably trinkets left from one year to the next.  Host the party 18 times and you can imagine how many trinkets I have acquired over time.  This is year I wanted them all gone, so I could start anew in 2009.

Guests do a great job of using most everything, but still (when consolidated) there is a large Halloween bowl of trinkets left.  The majority of the trinkets are kid-related items, which makes sense since the bulk of our packages probably went to adults.  Desperate to rid myself of clutter, I move toward the garbage can with trinkets in hand.  

Feeling guilty, I reconsider.  Maybe I could give them to the kids in Matthew's class.  Problem...while I have a few of a variety of items,  I don't have 24 of any single item.

Then I think... Grab Bags!  With grab bags you can do hodge podge.  Yes, I will clear out my clutter while doing something nice for Matthew's classmates.  

Together Matthew and I decorated white lunch bags with markers and festive Halloween stickers.  All the while I was having flash backs to Christmas time in elementary school.  The day before Christmas vacation we would often times have a class grab bag.  They felt magical to me.  There was nothing but hope and possibility with a grab bag.  Grab bags are both luck and skill.  With a grab bag you get to reach your hand in, feel around and make some kind of decision on which of all the items you would most want to settle (books of Lifesavers were always a hit).

But packaging is everything (!), so in what will I put the grab bags?  I don't have a big, black, ominous looking bag.  I could - quick - try to make one (there is no length to which we won't go for great looking packaging).  But I don't really know how to sew and while there is no length to which I won't go, I can't really assume there is no length to which a good friend or neighbor won't go.

Then I remember the box in my garage.  The box immediately reminded me of Halloweens from when I was a kid.  Remember sticking your hand in a box and feeling eye balls (peeled grapes), intestines (cooked spaghetti), a heart (peeled tomatoes), and blood (tomato juice)?  

My idea is developing.

I still have some black spray paint left over from last week's mailing-tubes-turned-magician-wands (see post from 10/21).  I'll spray the box black and cut holes in it.  Matthew and his classmates can try their luck.  Reach your hand in and find eyeballs and guts.  Walk around to the other side of the box and claim your grab bag.

That's it.

The idea isn't going to win an award, but from my perspective it works for a couple of reasons.  First, I can use up all the Halloween trinkets that have been accumulating (and taking up storage space) for the past few years.  Second, I can do something nice for Matthew and his classmates.  Third, it allows me to exercise my creativity and to turn the value of any single item (nickel trinkets, half can of black paint, and cardboard box) into something that feels far more valuable.

Leftover trinkets.  Toss or keep?

Keep.

Pack away until later or use?

Use.

Find a group totaling number of trinkets available or improvise?

Improvise.

Present each kid with different items or disguise items?

Disguise.

Distribute to kids or let them pick?

Pick (automatically makes their bag feel cooler)

Grab bag or Grab box?

Grab Box.

Keep it simple or add holes?

Add holes.  Make it gross.

Gross is cool when you're four years old and it's Halloween.

That's it.  That's the evolution of this idea.  

How about you?  Is anybody doing anything fun this Halloween season?  Do share.  There's still time for us to copy.

Announcements:

• Blog-a-thon:  We've had 10 people sign up already.  If you didn't tune in yesterday... we are "doing over" the Highlowaha Blog-a-thon.  It s scheduled for Wednesday, November 5, between 10:00 a.m. CST and 10:00 p.m.  CST.  We are asking that each participant register for a 15- minute period of time.  During his/her designated period of time, participants will commit to spending a portion of their time co-authoring a scary story.  Simply read what the person before you wrote and add on.  To sign up for a time, simply make a post in today's comment section.  Click on "Blog-a-thon," listed in the top right hand section of my blog, labeled, "Troop 218's Hot Spots." 
  
• Pumpkin Patch: Remember to submit a picture of your carved pumpkin to be entered in Friday's Pumpkin Carving Contest.
  

Signing off until tomorrow...

Batman Strikes Again...

When I was a kid the neighbors on Hollywood Avenue would sit outside and wait to see what remarkable Halloween costumes the three Kamhi girls were wearing.  They were always special, always ingenious, and always homemade.  Some of the costumes I remember were characters such Pinocchio (with a long paper mache nose), Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel (with a handmade wig that reached the floor), a chef, a cook, an artist; and a scarecrow to name a few.

The older I got the more proud I became of our costumes and of the spectacle they became to the neighbors who waited in anticipation.

If I being really truthful, it made me more than proud.  It made me a Halloween costume snob. I would excitedly hunker down in my apartment on Halloween night, in my 20s and early 30s, waiting for trick or treaters to knock on my door.  Of course anyone who rang the door bell got candy, but the kids with great (code for homemade costumes) got an extra candy bar or the really good stuff (Milk Ways or Snickers) instead of the second rate treats like candy corn.  I was indignant, knowing that one day I would have my own kids and they, for sure, would be sporting homemade costumes and scoring all kinds of Milky Way and Snickers bars.

Then I met Richard and Ricky and all of a sudden I was going to get to put my money where my mouth was.  The first time I participated in one of Ricky's Halloweens, Richard and I weren't married yet and  I had no say in the store bought Harry Potter costume he pranced around the living room showing off.  I have NO idea how to sew, so the next year I supplied my mom with all the supplies and she made Ricky an unbelievably detailed Indian costume.  The whole costume was topped off with a pair of moccasins  and a bow and arrow.  I did it!  My first Halloween with a child and Ricky had a costume worth remarking on.  The next three years I hired a local woman to make Ricky his costumes - Dracula, a pirate, and the Grim Reaper.

Fast forward five years.  On Wednesday, October 22, Matthew's polyester Batman costume arrived in the mail.  He's been wearing it ever since, flying from room to room saving family members from scary bad guys.  I never learned how to work a sewing machine and though I've mastered the hot glue gun, I haven't yet employed it to create the boys a Halloween costume.  

Here's my "aha."  Halloween is not about me.  It's about my boys.  It's my pride, my ego, and my desire to have my kids "ooohd and aaahd" over that makes a homemade costume feel important.  It has nothing to do with them.  Matthew thinks being Batman for Halloween - polyester cape, mask, and all - is the coolest, greatest, most awesome thing EVER. He changes in and out of that costume 4 or 5 times a day, showing it to everyone and practicing his Batman moves.  He thinks his room is Gotham City, Jack is Robin, dad is The Joker, Ricky the Riddler, and I'm Cat Woman (remember this is his imagination at work).  

Here's the point.  There is absolutely no costume that I could work and toil over that would excite Matthew as much as the Batman costume he will be wearing this year.  Imposing my need for a homemade costume on a young child who doesn't value it, just so some third party adults will think I am super mom is... well... selfish.   It says more about my need for affirmation than it does about anything else.

No.  I am not super mom and my children will be wearing store bought Halloween costumes when they go trick or treating this year.  No one will be "ooohing" and "aaahing" over the craftsmanship of their costumes and admiring the devoted woman behind their outfits.  To the rest of the world my boys will look ordinary and their trick or treat buckets will probably be filled with far more Candy Corn than Snickers.  But, Matthew feels as big as Batman... super powers and all.  That's gotta be worth the $28.99 his costume cost.

So today my high, my low, and my aha are intertwined.  My high is watching Matthew fly around the house - cape floating - imagining he is Batman.  My low is letting go of a lifelong belief that homemade costumes are better than store bought costumes.  And, my "aha" is that the selflessness involved in allowing Matthew to have a costume that excites HIM is actually way harder to come by than the selfishness of imposing a costume on Matthew that might make me look good. 

Signing off until tomorrow.  The Bat Mobile just pulled into my kitchen.

P.S.  Peanuts won - 8 votes to 4 votes.  Good luck Melanie and Treye.

Free For All Friday: Trick and Treats

It's official

H*A*P*P*Y  B*I*R*T*H*D*A*Y

AZLori

Let's see if it works again today...

1+0+1+0+0+8 = 10!

or 10+10+8 = 28

One year short of Lori's age... 29, of course!

Lori, hopefully your birthday will be as nice as your Birthday Eve.  It did occur to me yesterday that I never followed through on your great suggestion to share one experience I would love for us to share in the upcoming year.  I'll think big.  Before year's end, I would love us to revisit the 13th floor of Manzanita Hall - together!.  

Having wished Lori a happy birthday eve and a happy birthday, we are going to depart from birthdays for the rest of today, so that we may turn briefly toward Halloween, football, and whatever you might have up your sleeve. 

Hopefully many of you have kept your eyes open over the past week, in search of your favorite Halloween trick, treat, novelty item, baking item, decoration, or whatever else you might have run across.  Provided you did, we can have a fun day sharing our Highlowaha Halloween Favorites.  I for one am excited to see what you've discovered.

Here's my item to get us going...

I found this at Michael's Crafts.  I couldn't get the image any bigger, so if  you are having a hard time discerning what is pictured, they are Halloween party favors.  Though Martha Stewart sells all the supplies necessary in a "kit," there is no kit necessary.  The party favors are simply balls made out of paper mache and filled with small Halloween treats.  Cute, homemade, and inexpensive.  What else could you ask for?

Let me back up.  Using water balloon-sized balloons, fill with air and tie not.  Paper mache the balloons using orange tissue paper and a paper mache' solution.  Paper mache' solution is simply flour and water... don't let anyone try to tell you there's some super secret expensive ingredient.  Note: Be sure to leave a small  hole where treats will be inserted.  Once dry, pop the inner balloon and remove. Fill with fun treats (i.e. bugs, gummy worms, eye ball chocolates, or spider rings).  Cover hole with remaining orange tissue paper and solution.  Using black tissue paper, cut out bats, cats, or Jack-o-Lanterns faces.  Apply using the same paper mache' solution.

Matthew, Jack (that'll be messy)  and I will make these for their classmates and teachers.  If we weren't making them for our preschool friends, I would most certainly make them for friends, colleagues at work, for neighbors, or  for other swim moms who keep me company at the pool.  They're easy, cheap, and notable.  I'm practical, so I also like the fact that you throw the paper mache' ball away when you're done and there's no chatchka to clutter your home.

Now to something for which we actually need a secret ingredient.  Super Bowl Throw Down.  Competing next are Maureen and Katie.  The ingredients we are choosing between this week are...

Nutmeg or Candy Corn      

Place your vote.

Now it's your turn.  Tell me about the best Halloween item you've seen this Halloween season and why it caught your eye.  If you know the price, even better.  The Martha Stewart kit, by the way, is $12.99 -(less 40% if you have your weekly Michael's coupon).  Take the time to share and have your name entered in a drawing to receive a Halloween treat in the mail.

Signing off until tomorrow...