Free For All Friday: A Final Tribute, and Father's Day Fun!

As promised... today we are going to hear from our male blog participants, as well as the men of our female blog participants. Women.... to motivate you to nag your husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, etc.... to get on and post, I'll sweeten the pot. Anyone who gets a man to post his ideal Father's Day gift idea on our blog today will be in a drawing to be... Blog Master For A Day!

What does that mean? You drive the content for Thursday, May 1. You can write the blog, have me write the blog about the topic of your choice; suggest a featured guest; promote a cause or product you love; post a challenge; .... YOU NAME IT! All you have to do is get at least one man to post his ideal Father's Day gift. Easy peasie.

But first we have announcements to make and women to honor....

• Remember, Saturday will be Whacky Wednesday, so tune in.


• For one day only, this Sunday (again, adding a seventh day to ASSURE we hit 5,000), I will re-extend my offer to post a Colorstrology Profile of your choice. So if you're new to the site, check out April 4 ("U" Are Unique) . It will explain further.


• Helena, if writing a paragraph telling of Flat Stanley's adventure is more work than you have time for, just post a short note in the announcements. Once you post, I will solicit a host for Stanley's next stop.
  
  

Now onto... Operation Mother's Day: Crazy Eight!

Back to Children's Courtyard for another deserving mother to be honored. Jennifer is the mother of soon-to-be SIX kids!!!!! I don't know about you, but from where I sit, I should be able to stop right here and it should be obvious why I selected her. Six kids!!! But there is more. I first met Jennifer when my sister in law and I, on a whim, stopped in the preschool to see what it was like. Jennifer made the time to talk to us and to give us a quick tour of the facility. More than a month later - with no follow-up on my part - I returned to the preschool. Jennifer remembered exactly who I was and what the boy's names were. I was impressed!

I remember seeing Jennifer walk through the hallways of the school with two of her daughters, so you can imagine how surprised I was to learn that she was not just the mother of two, but FIVE kids AND with another on the way! Jennifer is like a duck. She might be paddling furiously below water, but on the service she looks cool, calm, and collected. Nothing appears to rattle her. One might argue... Jennifer is my exact opposite.

I could spend hours talking to Jennifer about meal times in her house, laundry (and I think I've got problems!), transporting kids from one place to another, managing schedules, squeezing in time for herself... the whole gammit. It's obvious from the sparkle in her eye and the smile on her face that surrounding herself with kids (her own and ours) is her "blue flame." We'll talk more about "blue flame" in the future, but for now suffice it to say... blue flame is what ignites when passion and ability come together.

Jennifer - the selfless woman that she is - immediately recalled a gift that she presented to her mother years and years ago. It was a plate she made when she thinks she was eight years old. Featured on the plate was her family... she; her father; her brother; and then centered right smack in the middle of the plate, wearing a BRIGHT red dress and drawn twice as big as any other family member was her mother.

Jennifer's mother has since passed away, but not before she and her mom got a good laugh about the plate. Her mother, who had a very slight build, shared that she never fully knew why she was featured as being so much bigger and heavier than everyone else in the family. I'm no psychologist... but the little bit I've learned (second hand) would suggest that the size and scale of her mother was more a representation of the importance Jennifer placed on her mother than it was Jennifer's "image' of her mother's figure. Today the plate sits in a curio cabinet at Jennifer's house... high on a shelf and well out of reach of her six kids.

Finally... Free For All Friday...

It is now time for all men to come forward and tell us what they really think (not about the blog - unless it's nice), but about what makes for the IDEAL Father's Day gift. To get us started, I'll turn it over to Richard... my husband, who once again is wondering how the heck he got involved in one of my projects...

"I've been counseled to be 'reasonable.' This, for those who don't know me, will be a challenge. I'm first going to assume that the women on this blog already know what most men really want at this or any other holiday......otherwise there wouldn't be a Father's Day. First I should say, that I don't need ties or bad golf balls and gadgets for the grill that require batteries. I don't need complicated family outings with three kids in tow or a bunch of Hoopla. For me, Father's Day should be a day of rest. A day when I wake up to a breakfast that someone has made for me, a day without chores, a day of golf and grilling and beer. A day when I tell my father that I appreciate him and have my sons tell me the same. A day that ends with a back-rub and ..... this, I believe, is reasonable."

Who's next?

As for me... signing off until tomorrow and with 396 still to go...

Operation Mother's Day: Rocks, Paper, Scissors

Some background...

I love paper. All kinds of paper... construction paper, scrap booking paper, BROWN paper (as you already know), butcher block paper, wrapping paper, tissue paper, card board (hard paper), and poster board. Basically there is no form of paper I don't like (and probably collect). And by extension, I do have a healthy collection of scissors. As for rocks... I got nothin'. I just thought the title was catchy. Though... I suppose I can think of a type of rock I wouldn't mind collecting...

A couple of years ago, I was interviewing students for a leadership position and decided I had finally come up with the PERFECT interview question. Nothing cuts to the chase - giving you insight into a person's creativity and imagination (two qualities I actively seek) faster than his or her best story about paper. That's right. You can ask about strengths and weaknesses; things they are most proud of; things they are least proud of; leadership and organizational styles; and the list goes on. But, if you really want to understand someone, you must ask them to tell you their best and proudest moment with paper.

I could make my first round of cuts just by eliminating those people who had absolutely NO idea what I was talking about. If the idea of using paper to create something of meaning completely escaped them, then I knew they would not enjoy hanging out with me and I would have a world of work ahead of me trying to "get them up to speed." The next set of people weren't sure if they knew what I meant, but they gave it a good old college try. They shared stories about a scrap book they started, a present they wrapped, or a journal they cherished. Assuming this second set of students possessed enough of the other qualities we were seeking, I gladly took them on, knowing I would have fun opening them up to whole new world of possibilities.

The third set of people - a very small percentage I might add - immediately understood the question I was asking, and almost seemed annoyed that it took me so long to get there. They immediately became one with their story, telling of homecoming floats made from chicken wire, glue, and tissue paper; palm trees built as props from nothing more than newspaper, flour, water, and bright colored paints; awards ceremonies where the coveted gifts of the evening were handmade awards from the finest, high-quality, thick paper and vellum that you could get your hands on; and whole themes, beginning with a handcrafted invitation, promoted with a creative and complimentary poster or promotional piece, and topped off with a sentimental keepsake made from paper. The acceptance letter for these students was usually signed before they ever made it down my hallway. It was with these students I was most eager to work... knowing that some great new tip or technique would come my way by year's end.

So imagine my excitement - when canvassing my community for favorite Mother's Day gifts - to discover that two of the gifts could be made with paper! We KNOW there are many more than that, as some ideas have already been shared earlier this week (pictures, my Apple-of-my-eye quotes, photos, heart shaped card board boxes with strips of paper revealing mom's best qualities etc...). Today's ideas not only allow us to honor the power of paper, but also two very deserving moms.

First, Andrea. Andrea needs to be my new best friend. She is the high energy aerobic instructor who teaches an early morning class at the gym that I need to frequent more than I do, but that I attend enough to know she is excellent at what she does (a run on sentence, I know. Now you are experiencing the same out-of-breath-feeling that I experience anytime I step foot in her class). Andrea is a self proclaimed new mom, without too many Mother's Days under her belt. Nonetheless, she knew exactly what the best gift was that she had received to date. Her son's preschool teacher had each student answer a questionnaire about their mothers. The questionnaire might have contained questions such as: The thing I love most about my mother is...; My mother is beautiful because...; I love it when my mom...; The thing my mom is best at is...; and so on and so on and so on. Kids Say the Darndest Things is an entire t.v. show based on the premise that children's uncensored answers to our questions are funny, sweet, and honest. I love the idea of this... and then imagine it mounted on nice paper or even matted and framed. Richard, if you're out there and reading this... make note!

Nadya is the second mom we are honoring today. Why do I love Nadya? Because she is the woman with the patience of a saint who takes care of Matthew and 19 other kids from Monday through Friday. Many mornings she - or her bright and cheerful counterpart, Barbara - meet Matthew at the door to greet him. They always use his name when wishing him a good morning and for that two-minute exchange make him feel like the most important child in the building. She fills his days with laughter, play, exploration, and what feels like a genuine affection for him. That, for me, makes her priceless... the most important "other woman" in town. As for Nadya's perfect paper present... a coupon book, co-created by her daughters and chock full of practical and extravagant treats. She recalled some of the coupons for me promising things such as: a clean bedroom; washing dinner dishes; a massage; and painting toe nails. Another great and attainable idea for dads and boy... could I think of a few things for which I would like a coupon?

In fact, let's use that as our segue... Today, instead of channeling our energy around a different gift category, let's brainstorm other fun things for which we would like a coupon OR fun questions that could be posed on a questionnaire completed by our children. And, alright... if you really want to... you can brainstorm other perfect paper presents.

As for me... I'm signing off until tomorrow and with 515 to go...

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Operation Mother's Day: PRACTICAL Porter... Carol Porter that Is!

I love it when things converge making it clear that your intuition is leading you in the right direction. I have quite a collection of photos and gift ideas to choose from, making one of my biggest challenges of the week the order in which to feature these great women. According to my calendar, today is Administrative Professionals Day.

But first some quick announcements...

• Julie A. Cole... come out, come out, where ever you are? There are lots of readers waiting to meet you. Anon, if you're out there and ready to do your thing... feel free.


• Today is Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday, but in light of our Mother's Day Celebration we will move it to Saturday. Tune in. As there might very well be something in it for you.


• Are we having any husbands, uncles, brothers, or sons reading our block this week? Consider posting a comment, so we know you're out there.


• I am 642 short of my goal. Thanks for plugging away at this for me. 5,000 viewers by May 1 is my goal... for reasons with which you are all way too familiar.
  

Ok, back to Operation Mother's Day...

Carol Porter is a dear and valued friend of mine, who I met while working at Southern Methodist University. Carol was the administrative assistant in the office where I worked, which is to say... she ran everything and knew everything. I have a couple of favorite memories of Carol. One such memory was during my interview for the job. She asked how I felt about moving coolers (drink coolers, that is). Little did I know at the time, our office was a one-stop shop. As employees of New Student Programs we did it all... including things such as making coffee for parents, directing lunch traffic in 110 degree Dallas heat, and yes, hauling coolers filled with drinks across campus.

My second memory happened only weeks into my position. I was on my way to a meeting and right before I darted out the door, Carol - thank goodness for Carol - gently said, "Don't you want to put on some lip stick?" This is the same woman who earlier in the week gently suggested I needed to soften up the direct, "New Yorker" tone of a memo I had written, so as to be better received by the kinder, gentler Texans for whom it was being written. That was just the beginning of our perfect yin and yang relationship. Carol the epitome of grace, professionalism, and calmness... me... louder, less graceful, and more frazzled.

She is also practical. While I was dreaming big about how we could transform our orientation program by adding this program and taking on who knows what, Carol was the voice of reason. She has an eagle eye for detail, is the ultimate bookkeeper, and possesses a healthy amount of skepticism.

When asked about the best Mother's Day present either given or received, Carol answered without reservation. Her birthday is May 10, so it always fall on or around Mother's Day. For that reason, her two children always make an extra special effort to be home for the occasion(s). One year her son, who is an insurance adjuster, was unable to be at home because he was doing assessments on damage done by a hurricane. All State Insurance sent flowers to Carol apologizing for her son's absence! How about that?!

Are all you bosses making note? One of Carol's most memorable Mother's Day gifts was compliments of the company for which her son works! Now that's impressive. Flowers, I might add, are an extra special indulgence for Carol, because it is something she might never buy herself. So, in honor of Carol, today we will brainstorm the best of PRACTICAL gift giving.

Let me start by introducing another friend from SMU with whom I recently had lunch... Arlene Manthey... mother of two boys and perhaps THE most energetic person I have EVER met. She radiates energy and there is no way to be around her without having some of it rub off (perhaps the reason I am honoring more than one mother today). DARN... I took a picture of her yesterday at lunch and didn't realize until I got home that my memory card was not in my camera. You'll have to visualize a tall, attractive woman with a great smile.

Arlene also had little problem answering my prompt of the best present she'd ever either given or received. Her answer... Giorgio Perfume. She said she considered the gift somewhat practical, because it is something she would buy for herself once it ran out. Of course she then went into an animated discussion of how you can't buy this perfume in stores anymore because according to some nervy woman in a department store, Giorgio Perfume is considered "totally 80's and out of date." Her resourceful husband and kids have resorted to buying her perfume on Ebay. She also said - now that she was all worked up - that you also couldn't buy Juniper Breeze Body Wash at Bath and Body Works anymore. It's considered a "classic" and needs to be ordered on-line (can you tell we were commiserating about getting older?).

I got to thinking more about her perfume dilemma on my drive home. Perfume is something manufacturers have a moral obligation not to discontinue. The perfume a woman wears in many cases (Arlene's included) her trademark scent... THE scent by which her boys have come to recognize her over the past 21 years. I feel the same about my mother's perfume - . The scent of my of my mother's perfume brings me right back to my childhood in seconds flat. When company's discontinue a line, simply because it doesn't generate the requisite revenue, they do so at the expense of whole families having to mourn the loss of something that automatically conjures up fond memories of warmth and familiarity.

Oh, how I digress... Back to PRACTICAL gift giving. What are some of the best examples you have of practical Mother's Day gifts, either given or received? If, as an added bonus, you want to share some ideas about thanking an administrative assistant, feel free. Recognition of hard work is appropriate any time.

As for me... signing off until tomorrow and...

Honoring Who Else But... Mother Earth!

Happy Earth Day! Yes, while there are droves and droves of mother's I could be honoring this morning... there is no way around the deserved celebration of Mother Earth!

Recognizing that there are guests among us (hello husbands, fathers, step fathers, uncles, and sons), we will cut right to the chase with regard to today's gift theme. As promised... each day for the week we are going to celebrate a different mother and the best gift she remembered either giving OR receiving. Then, I throw out a prompt (yesterday... "extravagant") and the readers share their ideas around that theme. For you men out there... consider it a focus group of women sitting right there in your office and telling everything you need to know to be a hit on Sunday, May 11. Your award winning ideas will be listed under the comment section at the bottom of today's entry (just click on "comments"). Check back throughout the day... as people post a various times.

In honor of Mother Earth... today we will look at suggestions for HOMEMADE Mother's Day gifts.

Now for the rest of you readers not in a rush to move along... I thought we could spend a couple of minutes sharing a few ideas about celebrating Mother Earth's Mother's Day... Today... Earth Day. You might be worried I am going to spout off some elaborate ideas about cookies you can bake (though I did do that with Cassie and Jessica on Sunday. See fun pic), a party you can whip up before day's end, or some fun and creative prop you could build (or better yet... decoupage) in honor of Earth Day. No, if ever there was a woman who didn't require extravagance for Mother's Day,
it's Mother Earth. Au Contraire.


No. The schtick for today is SIMPLE things you can do with little to no preparation. The idea... capitalize on the things you are already doing or use small, five-minute pockets of time. I'll list a few and then maybe you'll add on... at the end of your recommendation for a Homemade Mother's Day gift (either given or received).

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator: Saving energy matters no matter how small the effort might seem.
• Catch the cold water that comes out of the spigot, while heating your kids (or you) bath water, in a bucket and then allow your kids to use it to water a plant or flower. Talk to them about the importance of conserving water.
  
• Going to the grocery store after work to pick up a few items for dinner? Say "no thank you" to a grocery bag. It is great role modeling.
  
• Show your kids the amount of junk mail you received today. Then talk to them about how much waste it translates into over time. Better yet, collect all your junk mail for the next two weeks and then have the conversation. You can top the whole experience off by canceling subscriptions by going to catalogchoice.org.
  
• Examine the boxes, containers, and cans you use while preparing dinner. Have a brainstorming session at dinner about how you could reuse the containers for something different (pen holder; cereal-sized boxes as magazine holders).
  
• Before or after dinner, walk your neighborhood with a BROWN BAG and host your own mini clean-up.
  
• Replace just one light bulb in your house with a LED bulb.
• At 7:00 p.m. do a quick inventory to see how many lights are on in your house. Do they need to be?
• Celebrate Mother Earth by each family member pointing out something beautiful ( a tree in your yard, ivy growing on the side of your house; a body of water; a bird nest in a nearby tree).
  
• Have a five minute dinner conversation about the words Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and brainstorm ways you might apply it to life in your household.
• Plant a flower.
  

Thanks for playing. Tune in tomorrow and as always - with only 91 visitors yesterday and 791 more hits to go...

Behind Every Successful Man is a... Mother!

Calling all men! Yes, while I anticipate our female readers will thoroughly enjoy this week's "theme," it is the men in our lives who can truly benefit from what's in store. So, if you are a married woman and your husband hasn't left for work yet... jot down the blog address (highlowaha.com) and send him off to work with it in hand. If he's already at work... click the envelope icon and pass it along. If you're not married, but have a father, step father, uncle, or brother... pass the address along to them. And, finally... if you are a man and you are reading this... get ready to start sharing.

This week we will prepare for Mother's Day by honoring mothers and hearing what they have to say about the favorite Mother's Day gift they've either given or received. Why will the men in our lives like this so much? Because this week's blog (and reader comments) should be chock full of great gift ideas. Now, to keep it interesting I will help pace us by providing a daily gift descriptor (i.e. luxurious, sentimental, funny, practical, etc...) So, if you the reader have a gift idea to share, try to hold it for the day that seems best suited.

And, if that isn't enough reason for the men in our lives to tune in then how about this?... On Friday... Free For All Friday.. we will actually look ahead to Father's Day. We will ask all the men in our lives to share with readers the gift they would most like to receive for Father's Day. This will be great incentive for women to tune in, as if you are anything like me... I am always in search of the next great gift idea.

Before we get completely underway, some Maintenance Monday Housekeeping...

• Today is the LAST day for us to make contact with Julie A. Cole before rendering our experiment a bust and having to take Anon up on her offer to make direct contact with Julie. So, let's see what our resourceful readers can do in the next 17 hours or so.
  
• Julie A. Cole, if you're out there and wondering why the heck your name is plastered all over this blog site, check out the archived blog labeled, On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! (4/7).
  
• We were so busy providing thoughtful suggestions to the author of last week's challenge, that nobody new came forward with a Free-For-All-Challenge for this week. So, if you're willing... share a dilemma and the this great readership will use their collective creativity to help generate ideas.

Thanks for all the kind words leading up to Matthew's birthday. We had a great day. The weather cooperated... presenting us with a perfectly sunny, 85 degree day. I've posted a couple of pictures, compliments of my neighbor who thankfully kidnapped my camera and took all the pictures I would have liked to have taken, but simply did not have the time.




Now onto Operation Mother's Day...

I will warm us up for the week by sharing the best gift I received and gave. First gave...

Years ago I went through a phase where I loved giving people containers filled with rolled up scrolls of either inspirational quotes, study tips (for students going off to grad school), etc..... In my mind, the ideas "fun-factor" increased exponentially when I found red, Lucite, apples. That way... I could package the apple with cellophane and ribbon with a note attached saying something such as... "One a day will keep the blues away."

A couple of years ago I filled one of the apples with 52 scrolls - each sharing a different thing about my mother that I loved, or for which I am thankful. A few examples were: "Providing a nightly sit-down family dinner."; "Teaching me to have a sense of occasion."; and "Role modeling what it means to be a good citizen by coordinating events for the Douglaston Manor Association all these years." I topped the package off with plenty of ribbon and shred and a note saying... "You are the apple of my eye." I know the gift means something to my mother, because frequently she will call after having opened one to say, "thank you." I should also say... the scrolls were meant to last 52 weeks, but my mom won't open one a week. She says she is trying to pace herself.

Now, for one of the best gifts I have received. Will I sound terrible if I do a complete departure from something sentimental and share something... extravagant? Two years ago, my husband and kids presented me with a beautiful and expensive Pentax Camera. I LOVE this gift, because it is something I use every week and most weeks multiple times! The history-major in me is fixated on documenting my children's lives through pictures... and other "archival" data. The camera has brought me great joy... and provided many a keepsake for friends, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and babysitters!

Ok, so the theme for the day will be EXTRAVAGANT gift ideas. Readers... let it rip.

Signing off until tomorrow and...