Psst...

Amoray

Like a big pizza pie.....that's amoray.  Love is in the air and yours truly is on cloud nine.  This cute little low wattage thing from the little Italian place around the corner has taken a shine to me.  I'd still be with her but once again Claudia has disappeared and left all the work to me.  What is it with her and holidays.  I've got a reputation to uphold.  If word gets out that I left her Marsala when she was just starting to get all hot and flicker, Ill be ruined.  What was I thinking.  Oh my god, I've got to go back!

Alright, let's make this quick people.  There's still a chance.  Here's the deal.  I'm supposed to make sure that you wrap up some unfinished business then I can go wrap up some of my own.

First:  Recipes for the cookbook.  Not just any recipe.  Not some random Wednesday night throw it one pot and be thankful there isn't a big mess to clean up recipe.  But something with spirit.  In fact the Spirit of 218.  What recipes have special meaning?  What's the story behind it and why is it worthy?  You know like Julie's Championchip bake off cake.  That cake would not have tasted nearly so good had it not been so carefully mixed, baked and decorated then placed in a box, tossed about like a frisbee, kicked by the mailman, sniffed by the dog, shaken by curious kids and then finally poured lovingly into a bowl and served.  Capture that in a recipe.

Last:  Tell us what your Valentines plans are.  I think you know where I'm headed.  What are you up to?

Amoray Out.

Free For All Friday: Question Mark Queue

It's been a long time since I've been so anxious for a week to end.  In part I'm excited to finish the business of Unfinished Business.  Of course ending this week also means the arrival of Valentine's Day, as well as next week's much anticipated Anniversary Week!

For all you newcomers, highlowaha is less than one week away from celebrating our One Year Anniversary.  It's going to be a week of excitement, reflection, celebration, and even a few surprises.  The festivities peak on Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. when we host highlowaha's first ever People's Choice Award Show.  It's a red carpet event, so dust off your cumber buns and boas and get ready for a night of recognition.  If you're a veteran, it will be a nice way to recap our year.  If your new to our site, it will be a great way to find out what you've been missing and to jump right in to the fun.

Tuesday, people.  Wednesday, service initiatives.  Yesterday, programs.  Today a few miscellaneous items and then space for you to Free For All.  It is a chance for you to go directly to the source and get answers to whatever question marks you have about projects undertaken or ideas shared over the course of this year.  Hopefully all the usual suspects will tune in today, so the maximum number of questions can be answered.

I have quite a few items to cover, so I'll keep my updates honest, but brief.

Flat Stanley:  Flat Stanley, an initiative started early on in Highlowaha's history, made it from Texas to Canada.  He got lost in the mail, so a clone was hatched and resent from Texas to Pennsylvania (by way of CSPgrad in Kentucky).  He got to Pennsylvania just in time for Tera and Treye's wedding.  That's the last Stanley was heard of.  Truth is, once Ray hit the scene we became way more enamored with him and I was a.o.k if his competition went MIA.

Sugar Ray:  Soon after Ray hit the scene, he became restless and decided he couldn't be content living a life in the boring Beeny house.  He wanted to spread his wings and travel the globe spreading our good word (in the form of light bulb cookies to be shared with people in our communities).  He did a stint at the Yochum house in Euless, Texas where he got the chance to talk about Highlowaha with women at Lifetime Fitness.  From there Sugar Ray went to Ohio where the Johnsons hosted him for a period of time and introduced him to Treye's co-workers.  From Ohio he went East, ending up at Maureen's Peres's house, where I think he was scheduled to meet up with a troop of Girl Scouts and their mothers.  In fact, I think that is still where Sugar Ray is hanging out.  I'm guessing he doesn't want to miss Krysten's Sweet 16 bash, coming up next Thursday night.  Can you blame him?  From there Sugar Ray is supposed to board a plane and head straight for Erie, Pennsylvania where he will be the house guest of loyal reader, Kristen. 

Craft Closet: Inquiry was made about my craft closet.  The funny thing is, I don't ever remember talking about my craft space - though I'll take any excuse to do so.  Instead, I think it was my friend Nicole who, was in the process of redoing a craft closet in her house, and who wanted to pick our brain for favorite nooks and crannies.  I emailed Nicole in an attempt to get an update, but she is weeks away from delivering her second child, so I suspect she is otherwise occupied.  Nicole... if for some reason you are out there, we love to hear what - if anything - you've done.

In the meantime, I don't mind sharing a picture of my craft space.  I like to call it, "My corner of the World."  It is literally a corner.  On the wall opposite these cabinets are the washer and dryer.  Walk through one door and you're in the kitchen area.  Walk through the other door and you're in the garage.  It's small.  It's not glamorous, but it's mine and I love it.  Incidentally, the space wasn't there when we moved in.  My wonderful husband had it built for me as an anniversary present!  One more thing.  Because it is my "corner of the world."  I am seeking an artist willing to come in and paint it (walls and cabinets) to look like a globe.  If you're out there and you're willing, you can stay with me free for however long it takes!

Enough from me, at least for now.  

How about I get us going with a question posed on Monday and then a few of my own.  Here we go...

Cristine Struble.  Monday a reader posed a question inquiring about what you ended up naming Matt's 40th birthday party.

Heather.  What did you pack as a gift for your mother, when you met up with her in Florida last week?

Lindsay Marie.  What, if anything, did you end up doing for your homesick friend who is studying abroad? 

Cassie P.  What did you end up doing for your mother's 40th birthday?

Your turn.  What question marks do you have about unfinished highlowaha business?

Signing off until tomorrow...

The Messy Truth

Upon reflection I've decided there is a reason Unfinished Business goes unfinished. Enthusiasm wanes, knowledge for getting from step A to step B lacks, resources (time of money) are low, or something else comparably exciting comes along and captures your attention. More on that in a minute.

In the event you are a newcomer dropping in for the first time today... welcome. Our blog community is in the process of ending a successful year of idea sharing and community building. We have committed this week to closing out Unfinished Business, so that come February 18 we can celebrate with a clear conscience. The celebration, by the way, is a Red Carpet affair beginning right here on Wednesday, February 18 at 8:00 p.m. CST. Membership not required to attend. The only thing we ask... dress in your nicest, glitziest duds.

I purchased a 11x17 hook rug in 2000, because I thought it would make nice holiday gift for a friend who collects them. I counted the total number of rows, divided them by the total number of days between when it was purchased and Christmas day and determined I needed to do 10 rows a night in order to get the hook rug done on time. It's the same approach I used to assure completion of the needle point replica of, the then, .32 cent heart stamp. I imagined the finished needlepoint project - turned pillow - as a thoughtful birthday present for my friend Dawn. She was 32 the year I had the idea. She's 45 now and I still have the project tucked away somewhere. I liked the idea of "hooking" the rug in the same way I liked the idea of needle pointing a pillow for my friend. Truth is, I am no more a hook-er (or hook rugger?) than I am a needle-pointer.

Today's unfinished business is, for some reason, harder to swallow, than the hook rug and needlepoint projects of 10 or 15 years ago. Maybe it's because, today's failures aren't just personal. They impact large numbers of people and basically represent my inability to responsibly capture the energy of all of you. No, today's report isn't pretty, but it's real and, on some level, represents the inevitable disappointments of working with someone whose eyes are way bigger than her stomach.

Reading Raynbow: Success turned flop. Julie and Melanie did a masterful job of coordinating our blog's first ever Book Club. They developed a logo, selected a book, and facilitated thoughtful discussion about Gary Paush's book, The Last Lecture. Along the way I made mental notes of suggestions I wanted to pass along to Julie and Melanie about how we might maintain, and even grow, the small following they so successfully created. Some were my suggestions and some were on behalf of Book Club participants. One day turned into two, two days turned into three, and three days turned into four. Then days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and my feedback never made it to the our dynamic duo. Somewhere in all of that, the Highlowaha Book Club died a long and slow death. Is that the last word on this venture? That, I don't know. But I do know it is where this chapter of Reading Raynbow ends for now.

Altoid Table: Bust, butt.... This one is perhaps the most painful, so I will be brief and hope I can make the recant of this as quick and painless (for me) as possible. We whack Altoid Containers on a typical Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday. Lots of great ideas are offered up. Artnme shares great idea and then Tera turns it into something award winning. The idea for an Altoid Trinket Table is born. Readers are excited and start sending me in droves of small items to fit in each of "Altoid treasure boxes." I secure two end tables to which the Altoid Treasure Boxes will be affixed. Tables get painted, Boxes filled with quotes and attached to the tables. Process doesn't work. Tins have to be chipped off the table and we start from scratch. Enthusiasm and patience is wearing thin. Gather 38 new tins and re-secure them to tables. Hopeful the new adhesive worked... until Jack "jacks" with the table and the tins pop right back off. Disgusted. Tables still sit in garage 90% done. Claudia in need of a serious kick in the... butt.

Julie in Surprise: Bust or Brilliant? Again, Claudia puts an idea out there and loyal readers respond. The idea... spread the spirit of #218 by surprising Surprise Arizona (Julie's residence until May) with some home grown Highlowaha "stunts." Sparks of energy and enthusiasm for the idea fly. Readers make suggestions about tying balloons to light posts, using side walk chalk to send fun messages, and sundry other ideas for providing the element of surprise. Make mental note to call Julie and make sure she's up for the idea. After two weeks realize mental notes don't work. Write it on a my to-do list, because in the interim I had an idea of a stunt our community could do for Valentine's day. Finally I make it enough of a priority to email...just as Julie is leaving town for the full week leading up to Valentine's Day. I snoozed. I "losed." February is gone. That leaves March, April, and May. So will this idea be a bust or will it be brilliant? Let's bring closure right now. If "bust," Julie's off the hook. If "brilliant," who, what, where, when, and how? You decide.

I could continue. Sewing with Kat, Shop HLA.... But, why? Maybe the whole "three strikes and your out" thing is actually an effort to keep people from humiliating themselves. Three strikes. I'm out...

P.S. Join me in the hot seat tomorrow when we, in true Free For All fashion, pose (and respond to) questions about other unfinished business ...

Clean Sweep

Today is Day 2 of Highlowaha's week of Unfinished Business. Our blog community is gearing up for the celebration of our one year anniversary, on Wednesday, February 18. But, before we can walk the red carpet at our much anticipated People's Choice Award Show (8:00 p.m. CST), we have some unfinished business to... well, to finish.

On Monday, readers generated a list of 16 topics for which some sort of closure was being sought. Unfinished business with people was the focus of yesterday's housekeeping. We followed up on letters written, outcomes of suggestions made by fellow readers, and the unresolved question... When is Ray's birthday? Before we switch gears and begin talking service projects, let tick another unresolved topic off my list...

After lots of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing Ray Wattson's birthday has been determined! 16+6x2.2+540/8.5-6x2+0+3x7.5 (average of 6 or 9 cookies) = 970.85. Drop the zero and the .85, leaving us with 97... September 7! A quick glance at Highlowaha's favorite reference book, Colorstrology, reveals the following about Ray...

First of all you will all be relieved to know his colorstrology color is Dahlia PURPLE - a shade of purple that looks amazingly close to Ray's purple boots! 

His profile reads..."Good-looking, Discriminating, Verbal. If you were born on this day you are smart and discriminating and tend to choose your words carefully. You have an understanding of true beauty and good health. Although you are outgoing and friendly, it is not always easy for people to get to know you on a deep level. You save the more intimate parts of yourself for a chosen few. Compatible birthdays: January 8, April 27, October 27.

Pretty good, huh?

Onto service projects. There were two projects for which readers wanted closure. First the Helping Hands Holiday Project and second, Project Paint the Town Red. All tolled, Highlowaha engaged in four service projects this year. I'm proud of our commitment to service, and already planned to make mention of during next Wednesday's award ceremony. In an effort not to be redundant, today I will share enough to make good on my promise, but not so much you have no reason to tune in next Wednesday night.

Helping Hands Holiday Project. Success. Highlowaha rose to the challenge and adopted a family for the 2008 holiday season. The family we helped was a single mother with five children, living in Pennsylvania. Two fundraisers yielding approximately $500.00, plus more than 100 donated items helped assure this family had a memorable Christmas. Items included everything from clothing, to book bags, legos, sleeping bags, craft items, bedding, books, games, and gift cards to purchase food. Special thanks to Sue Kolkmeier, who coordinated the project early on and who involved her co-workers in donating items. Additional thanks to Brian Root, and Maureen Peres for also coordinating the project early on and to Tera who allowed items to be shipped to her home and who took responsibility for delivering the items to our family. What a great team effort.

Project Paint the Town Red: Anticipated Success. I say anticipated success, because there are still four days to participate in this project (it ends on Valentine's Day). This project is compliments of Heather who told us about, Julie, her friend that is suffering from a terminal illness. Julie loves Coca-Cola, so building a service project around Coke seemed like a match made in heaven. For the past six months our blog community has been competing, by regions, to see who can collect the most Coke reward numbers. In the end the reward numbers will be donated to Julie, so that she may use the points to buy items she otherwise might never afford. Six of the eight regions have actively participated, racking up more than 5,000 points! Coke is red... Red is the color of Valentine's Day. Maybe - if we put our minds to it - we can reach 5,500 points by Saturday. Nothing says I love you like a Coke!

Two for two on the service projects.  I call that a, "clean sweep!"

One more quick note before the week gets away from us. I'd love to declare this week Amnesty Week. When I was in college the library and campus dining halls used to declare one day a semester Amnesty Day. What it meant was you could return all overdue books to the library and stolen utensils to the dining hall without being questioned or penalized. If you are anything like me, you might have an outstanding item or note that should already have made its way to a fellow Highlowaha reader, but hasn't. Join me in starting off our new year with all of last year's Highlowaha business resolved. Stick that package - no matter how long overdue - in the mail. You'll feel better and I'm sure you'll bring a smile to another reader's face.

Signing off until tomorrow when we bring you up to speed on Highlowaha Programs.

Census

Let's get down to business. In only 8 short days we will be walking the red carpet to our Virtually Groundbreaking People's Choice Awards, beginning at 8:00 CST. But before we can settle back into our seats and enjoy the show, we have to roll up our sleeves and get to work wrapping up left over details from our last year together.

I got a lot of great input yesterday about all the things for which you would like closure (16 things to be exact). I've tried dividing them into "buckets," so each day this week we could address a different theme. Here's how I'm thinking it will shake out. Tuesday, people; Wednesday, service initiatives; Thursday, programs; Friday, miscellaneous and a free for all of questions for one another; Saturday, post your recipes and find out more about the Highlowaha cookbook; and Sunday - yes, Sunday - we will post a few slide shows of pictures from the Olympics and Pen Pal Weekend.

Maria Shriver: Bust. Maria never took me up on my offer to eat lunch together... even though my letter arrived in a bright blue tube with metallic shred, stickers, and ribbon. I'm guessing there is no chance it will happen now - what with all California's furloughed employees and all. I'm guessing she's heavy in the middle of talking Arnold off the ledge. How about you? Did you ever make good on your goal to arrange a lunch with: (1) someone you know, (2) someone you would like to know, and (3) an aspiration person (which is what Maria was for me)?

Frito Lay: Bust. I posted the invitation to Frito Lay on my January 12, 2009 blog. I wrote the post because I was under the distinct impression they had software that searched the internet for any instance when their company name was mentioned. There's a technical term for what this software does, but right now it escapes me. At any rate, either they don't own the software that I thought they did or they are a combination of risk averse and conventional thinkers. National Potato Chip Day is March 14, so maybe we'll use it as an opportunity to approach Proctor and Gamble about giving Pringles the main stage. Frito-Lay, if you're out there, we wish you'd take us up on our January 12 offer (http://www.highlowaha.com/2009/01/frito-lay-chip-in.html).

Babies-R-Us: Pseudo Bust. A representative from Babies-R-Us actually called me after reading my account of the debacle-of-an-experience I had in a New York store on November 9, 2008. We played two full rounds of phone tag and, in the end, never spoke in person. I don't know that the effort was quite enough to get me back in one of their stores anytime soon, but it has made me less compelled to share my scissor saga.

Shannon and 100 day t-shirt: Success. On January 24 a new reader, Shannon, asked our group for input as to what she might use to make her son's 100 Days of School t-shirt. In true form our readers generated a long and healthy list of everything from fish, to buttons, to safety pins, life savers, and so much more. Shannon was nice enough to send me a photo of her final product. Take a look. Congratulations Peggy for offering up the winning idea!
Ray: Completed (or will be soon). In mid-January we had discussion about giving Ray a birthday. Ideas were shared about which day of the year we ought to assign as his official birthday. Is it the day he was named (National Tug-of-War Day), the day of his first appearance, or the 18 of a month, because of our affinity for the number eighteen? Today we shall decide. It is, after all, Unfinished Business Week. I've made an executive decision that the date should be nothing predictable. It should be 100% random, because that's when the real magic happens. So... I have in my head (and notebook) an equation (ie. # = # = # x # - # = #... you get the idea). In a Mad Libs kind of way, as suggested by someone weeks ago, I will use the numbers you generate to solve for Ray's Birthday. It'll be fun. First 10 answers get used. How about one answer per reader and let's agree to answer them in order.

• Your age when you got your driver's license
• Number of siblings you have
• The date of your favorite post in the past two weeks
• Your area code
• Length of time you've lived at your current residence
• Your favorite grade of school
  
• Number of times you check the blog on an average day
• Number of tickets you've received in the past year
• Number of Oreo cookies you typically eat in one sitting
• Number of planes you've been on in the past year.

Once completed, I will plug your numbers into my equation and calculate Ray's birthday. Check back tomorrow to find out the date.

Unless you have a question about people, on which you would like to follow up with another reader, we're done for today. Tomorrow we will tackle Service Projects.

Signing off until then...

The Mother of...

...all Maintenance Mondays!  That's what today is.  Actually, that's what this whole week is.  

If you are new to Highlowaha, don't go anywhere!  We are on the eve of something big and you won't want to miss out.  But all good things take time and our blog community is no exception.  Next week... Wednesday to be exact... we are celebrating our one-year anniversary.  The day will culminate with the Highlowaha People's Choice Award Show, at 8:00 p.m. (CST), right here on our blog.  Then, bright and early Thursday morning, Highlowaha followers (AND NEW COMMUNITY MEMBERS) are in for a treat.  There will be a big announcement, followed by... well... I can't tell you.  It would ruin the surprise.

Before we can get to any of the excitement I just described, we have some work to do.  This is our new year and, if it's ok with you, I'd like to get the new year underway by borrowing from the Chinese.  You might remember, a few weeks ago, my sharing that the Chinese welcome in the new year by cleaning their entire home, squaring away all debts, and resolving differences with family, friends, and business associates.  Hopefully there aren't too many differences to resolve, because I have plenty of "cleaning-up" to do and plenty of debts on which to make good before next Wednesday.

I'll need your help.

Many of you have been with me for 356 days - or 331 posts to be exact.  I don't take a single day of your participation lightly and I am grateful every day that you return for more.  Part of this community - our relationship - is believing that our time together will amount to something.  If I say I am going to do something, you want to know I did it.  If you make a suggestion in the comment section you want to know it didn't get ignored and that your ideas were at least taken into consideration.  If I successfully get you excited about an idea, and am lucky enough to harness your energy - then in all fairness you want to know the end result.

Here's the hard part.

I suck.  

I wake up early, but then I waste time reading or watching CNN.  I make lists, ticking off the things I like doing , but pushing the less fun ones to tomorrow.  I think big about a new idea, but get lost in small details.  I over estimate how much I can fit into a day and then underestimate how long something will take.  Go on, I could.  You get the picture.  I, like everyone else, am flawed.  

The good news is there should be no shortage of Maintenance Monday topics.  Today all of you (veterans, newbies, and lurkers alike) will help me generate a Mother list of Unfinished Highlowaha Business for which you would like closure, before this year ends next Wednesday.  Maybe you want to know the final outcome of our Helping Hands Christmas project, what Shannon ended up doing for Dalton's 100th day of school shirt, or the fate of the ever elusive Altoids Table.  You name it.  Together we will try to answer as many questions as possible and to make good on as many of our joint ventures as possible.

Deal?  

It'll feel good.. later.

Right now, I am scared out of my mind.  This week I'm vulnerable.  You get to call me on the carpet for every big and small thing I've ever mentioned and to hold me accountable for doing what I said I was going to do.  That's the price I pay.  You show up faithfully every day, reading whatever idea I put out there, telling your friends about our community, and supporting whatever the project is we are working on.  If it means I get to keep your company, I will willingly move through this week dotting "i"s and crossing "t"s.

Let me help tear off the band aid.  I have a short list to help get us going...

• Reading Raynbow
  
• My plea for a lunch date with Maria Shriver
  
• Finality on Ray Wattson's Birthday,
  
• Un-awarded Patchwork Patches
  
• and a few outstanding prizes that never made it in the mail (Brian and Lori).
  

Signing off until next Wednesday... just kidding.  I'll be back tomorrow...