Calm Before the Storm

Yes, this is it.  Today marks the beginning of Pen Pal Weekend!  I have been anticipating this day for almost a year.  It was last June when I connected up two very special girls as pen pals (see March 4, Dear Mr. Postman...).  I did so with this caveat...  Exchange 12 pieces of snail mail each and earn a weekend in Dallas.  Twenty-four pieces of mail later, here we are on the eve of the big weekend.  CSPgrad.student and I have been cruising the town pulling together all the final details (Tera, it feels a little like coordinating a wedding).  I fully expect to do a full recap of the weekend on Tuesday (June 24), the day after everyone shoves out of town.

Until then... suffice it to say, there hasn't been a whole lot of time to lie on the grass, staring up at clouds.  However, due to a VERY unfortunate set of circumstances - on which I will someday report - I did have the opportunity to pause and take this picture.  I'll tease you by revealing that the picture was taken last week (Friday the 13th, to be exact) at an RV lot on the side of the road, about 17 miles outside of Austin. 

Knowing that the next few days will be very hectic, let's pay heed to Cheryl... "Deep breaths, happy thoughts."  Take a moment to relax, stare up into this cloud and tell me... what do you see?

Signing off until tomorrow when we will be tie-dying, painting pots, visiting Fort Worth, enjoying a late night swim, eating smores, and maybe - just maybe - hittin' the hay around... midnight.

Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday: School's Out!

New Readers... today is Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday.  It is the day we draw a card from Roger von Oegh's magical deck of cards and use the concept described to jar our own creativity.  We do this with a particular highlowaha.com predicament in mind and then, of course, I also challenge you to apply the concept to something in your own world.

Today's predicament is compliments of my trusty and creative neighbor.  She called me last night suggesting that highlowaha.com spend some air time generating creative gift ideas for teachers.  It is, after all, the end of the school year and many of us will be looking for ways to show our appreciation.  This might even apply to day care providers... or heck... even your favorite college professors or administrators.  

To the untrained eye, this might sound more like an idea for Free For All Friday.  Friday's, after all, are reserved for generating creative solutions to problems just like these.  But, I got to thinking... Much like we did with Mother's Day (and to a lesser degree Father's Day), it might be nice to hear from actual teachers when generating gift ideas.  What are some of the favorite things/gestures teachers have received?  

How will we muster up enough teachers to make this segment truly useful?  That's where Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday comes in....

So, today's predicament... How will I assure a significant increase in readership among educators for THIS FRIDAY (5/16).  My goal... have 100 teachers post the favorite treat/gesture they have received... or wish they would have received!  Now to the Whack Pack for my creative solution.

Make a Metaphor.  Philospher Ortega y Gassett:  "The metaphor is probably the most fertile power possessed by man."  The key to metaphorical thinking is comparing unrelated concepts and finding similarities between them.  Example: what do a cat and a refrigerator have in common?  They both have a place to put fish; they both have tails; they purr; they come in a variety of colors; and they both have a lifetime of about fifteen years.  What similarities does your idea have with cooking a meal?  Conducting an orchestra?  Building a house?  Raising a child?  Waging war?  How can these help you understand your idea in a new way?  What can you compare your idea to?

Hmmm... I'll start with the first one and see where that takes me.  What similarities does my idea, of recruiting 100 teachers who are willing to post their ideal gift on this Friday's blog, have with cooking a meal?

• There's more than one way to cook an egg, just like there's more than one way to recruit teachers: Scrambled, poached, sunny-side up, fried, hard boiled, soft boiled... these are all the ways you can prepare and egg.  Call, email, write a note, personal invitation, list serve, word of mouth, students, contact professional teacher associations, notify the PTA, advertise... these are all ways to recruit teachers for Friday's blog. 
  
• Both require turning up the heat:  Barbecue is low and slow.  Grilling is hot and fast.  For the purposes of this week's exercise, we will be GRILLING.  Today is Wednesday.  We have until mid-night on Friday to solicit input from 100 teachers!
  
• Chefs and recruiters follow recipes: A recipe when talking about cooking a meal is fairly obvious, but what about a recipe for recruiting?...  For the purposes of this activity, we'll view recruiting as a form of marketing (marketing the idea of posting to teachers far and wide).  The four "P's" of marketing include : Product (getting teachers to post); Price (free); Promotion (Any teacher who makes a post on Friday will be entered in a drawing to receive school supplies for his/her classroom next year); Place (teacher lounges, highlowaha and other relevant blog sites, pick up and drop off lines outside of school, etc...)
  
• Both are better when they include dessert: Preferably CHOCOLATE.  So, have I got a treat for you!  Refer the greatest number of teachers (which we'll know if they mention your name in the post) and YOU too will earn a treat...compliments of Sous-Chef Claudia.
  

Now your turn.  What ideas can you cook up, using the analogy above?  Or, test out one of the other metaphors...recruiting teachers and... raising a child, conducting an orchestra, building a house, or waging war.  

Either way, we want everyone to pitch in.  Contact every teacher you know and have them tell their friends.  There's no time to waste.  ... Dig in!

Signing off until tomorrow...

Whack on the Side of the Head Saturday!

Good morning everyone. Wednesday is usually reserved for whacking you on the side of the head, but because last Wednesday we were busy honoring mothers, I made an executive decision to rearrange things a bit. Somewhere in the notion of creativity must be embedded the need for flexibility.

First things first... The winner of Blog Master for a Day.... As much as I hate saying this... Actually, as much as I FEAR saying this... I must turn Blog Master over to Cristine Struble, who in turn informed me that she would turn it over to her husband, Matt. Lest you think I am being rude by saying such a thing, let me explain.

Matt Struble is my husbands best friend. They met in graduate school while waiting in line for their turn to let loose on the poor, unsuspecting women working in Financial Aid. They became fast buddies, bonded by their irreverence, sarcasm, and a belief that their best work could be done over a beer... let me rephrase that... done over BEERS at the Black Forest Bakery. The first real amount of time I got to spend with Matt was when he and Richard ambushed my apartment (conveniently located close to SMU's campus), so that they could make HUNDREDS of jello shots to be served on at a Business School golf tournament the next day. My father in-law refers to Matt Struble as The Loudest Man on Earth and while he may or may not actually be the loudest man on earth, you certainly know when he is around.

So, my fear is grounded in the fact that Matt knows primarily one mode - that of unplugged. Whatever he has in store for us on Thursday, it is sure to be... different... than that to which you have grown accustomed. On a separate, positive note... Matt is actually very creative and a skilled community builder.

Now onto today's Whack...

I actually lost the card, somewhere along the line, so I am sitting here with the book in front of me, trying desperately to recap it to the best of my ability. Not a stellar night in the Beeny household...

Think Like a Kid: When I was a sophomore in high school my English teacher put a small chalk dot on the blackboard. She asked the class what it was. A few seconds passed and then someone said, "A chalk dot on the blackboard." The rest of the class seemed relieved that the obvious had been stated, and no one else had anything more to say. "I'm surprised at you," the teacher told the class. "I did the same exercise yesterday with a group of kindergartners and they thought of fifty different things it could be: an owl's eye, a cigar butt, the top of a telephone pole, a star, a pebble, a squashed bug, a rotten egg, and so on. They had their imaginations in high gear." Think like a kid and imagine the possibilities.

Dilemma: The item below was used to package a cup cake tower mailed to me by my mother. I can't bring myself to throw it away, because I know it can be used to make SOMETHING. It's an 11" x 11" cardboard square with a circle 7 and 1/4" in diameter. It is sturdy and still pristine. What can it be? Help me generate ideas about what I might make with it or how I might use it.

That's it. Signing off until tomorrow when I make a guest appearance and provide a encore of "U are Unique." If you haven't already, send me your birthday and I will post your Colorstrology Profile. Fun, fun, fun. And with 279 viewers still to go...

Free-for-all-Friday, Show Me the Money, and So Much More

Day number five of all things GREEN. Today's topic... the ultimate form of green... MONEY!


Before we delve into the topic of money, we must acknowledge that today is Free For all Friday - the day when our loyal and creative readers share our collective creativity. Last week's dilemma was centered around Easter egg hunts. First, what new and different things can we try putting in eggs? Second how, when hosting an hunt, can we assure some as semblance of equity in the number of eggs each child receives. As always, I will post some of my thoughts - stream of consciousness - but for other creative ideas check out reader comments from last week (3/14) or check out what our readers post this week.


A crack of the egg could reveal...

• Munchkins donuts (a favorite among my boys)
• marbles
• sea shells
• stickers
• eraser heads
• tattoos
• nuts
• yogurt covered raisins
• trial-sized makeup for teen aged girls
• hair accessories
• jokes... knock, knock...
• puzzle pieces, that when found and assembled - can lead to a treasure (this can be created on poster board)
• Coupons for things such as 1 free kiss; 1 movie of your choice; 1 I-don't-have-to-clean-my-room-pass; or a 10 minute back rub.
• Fortunes such as: Good news will come your way; a new bath toy is in your future; you will have cinnamon toast at breakfast tomorrow; or you will discover a special Easter egg in mommy's bathrobe pocket
• Other suggestions or additional recommendations for coupons and fortunes?... Post them in the comments section.

Leveling the Easter Egg Playing Field...

Last night I was shopping for a bucket my son could use during his Easter egg hunt at school today. (why plan ahead?) A woman, for reasons that only divine intervention could explain, began talking to me about how when her college-aged son was a young boy, she was very involved in his school events. Unsolicited she explained in detail this method for assuring each child received a similar number of eggs (as well as similar contents).

Each child was given an empty egg carton. Together they used paint or makers to color the inside of each hole an appointed color (pink, purple, yellow, green, blue, etc...). Then when the Easter egg hunt began, children knew to fill their cartons with eggs corresponding to the colors of their holes. To be extra diligent, the teachers filled all pink eggs with one thing, blue with another, green with something different, and on, and on, and on.

Now for today's green topic...

For this topic I immediately thought to contact my friend, Dawn - the ultimate money manager. Maybe a little background story about Dawn will help you appreciate why I called her to write today's entry. Dawn worked at Arizona State University while I was a student. We quickly became great pals. Me drawn to her great attitude - exemplified by her life motto, "Bloom where you are planted" and her drawn to... not quite sure, but she keeps me hanging around so I know there's something. Dawn generously opened her home up to me one summer when I needed to stay in Tempe to take a class in historical research.

Arizona is hot. Arizona in the summer time is Hot, with a capital "H." Dawn was the master at coordinating fun weekend activities that kept us out of the blazing sun, but that cost virtually nothing. First of all, Dawn never misses an opportunity. If given the opportunity to get something free by answering a 10 minute survey... Dawn is all over it. If earning a rebate could be done by simply mailing back a box top... Dawn's all over it. If Dawn purchased something and days later it went on sale... Dawn's bringing it back for the new and reduced price. She is a master at hunting down good deals and actually following through on those cost cutting tips that leave many of us feeling guilty.

Back to the summer of '89 (scary for many of you, I know). Dawn's dentist used to give her free movie theater coupons in appreciation for her referring clients his way. Do you find that as funny as I do? How many people do you think Dawn had to refer (and who really actively refers people to their dentist anyway?) in order to be awarded free movie tickets. Second, one of her relatives owned/managed/worked at a Dairy Queen. That summer Dairy Queen offered a promotion on the back of a cereal box. Bring in the coupon and get a FREE small Blizzard. She would get periodic deliveries of these coupons in the mail. So for that summer, we enjoyed first run movies and free Blizzards. Life was good.

Managing and saving money is so second nature to Dawn that I had to coach her what meant by "simple tips." For to her, these practices are so obvious they are not worth mentioning. Here they go...

Use your online banking bill pay: It is free, it saves you time, money (stamps & checks) and an be used to pay people, businesses, mortgages, credit cards, utilities, insurance, etc. I have not bought new checks in over 5 years as I rarely ever have to use checks anymore. It also gives you total control over your bill paying whether you are at home or on the road. No more worry about having the correct stamps (which are going up to .42 cents on 5/14/08).

Netflix.com: We as a family have a hard time paying $30.00 for 4 of us to go see a movie in a theatre. That is $30.00 just to see a movie, no popcorn, drinks, candy or anything. Thirty dollars gets us 6 months of netflix.com (2 movies a month is the level we choose). So what we do is if our children see a movie that is coming out that they like, we put in on our queue and so when it is released we are one of the first to get it.

Magazine swap with friends: I subscribe to "O" Magazine and Real Simple. My friend subscribes to More and InStyle. After we read our magazines we give it to each other. We both have the luxury of four magazine subscriptions for the price of two. Speaking of magazines, have I got a deal for you? Go to www.magselection.com. They have over 50 magazine subscriptions for $5/year and they have over 200 magazine subscriptions for $5/year and the gift lasts 12 months.

Enjoy the money tips by Dawn. Now, participate in Free For all Friday, by sharing your favorite money saving tips. I know some of the readers of this blog and you are WELL qualified to weigh in.

Signing off until tomorrow....

A Whack on the Side of the Head

I promised no alliterations, but I am not ready to abandon Wacky Wednesday completely. When I was typing last week's entry, I was reminded of a deck of cards I own (Creative Whack Pack, by Rogervon Oech - sold at any book store) that I use when conducting training on topics related to creativity. Each card tells a short story and then leaves you with a mental challenge - mental gymnastics of sorts. I thought this could be an interesting activity for us to engage in together. After all, if this blog is to be about creativity then a nice byproduct of checking in with me each day is that it will get your own creative juices flowing and find yourself applying some of what you read to your own world.

Think of this as improv. Each Wednesday I will share with you the contents of one card, coupled with a problem I am facing. We will put the two thoughts together and see if we can't come up - in real time - with a creative solution. Then, using the same creative principle and your own problem, you'll try!

Here we go...

Dig Deeper: Emile' Chartier: "Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it's the only one you have." Don't stop with the first right answer you find. Dig deeper and look for others. how do you keep a fish from smelling? Cook it as soon as you catch it. Keep a cat around. Burn incense. Cut its nose off. Remember: the best way to get a good idea is to get lots of ideas. What good ideas are below the surface? What's the second right answer?

Now my problem. My 3 year old son is easily distracted at dinner, making eating his meal a long and frustrating process - especially for me and his dad. Up to this point, the solution has been to continue reminding him that he is supposed to be eating and that he should stay on task. Instead of asking how you keep a fish from smelling, let me ask.. How do you keep a three-year old from getting distracted during dinner?

• Remove all distractions such as siblings, parents, centerpieces, etc...
  
• Allocate a designated amount of time for eating his meal before it is removed from the table.


• Let his 15 year old brother eat whatever is left after a designated amount of time.


• Serve everyone, except him, a meal until he asks for it.


• Come to the table as a family 10 minutes before the meal is served, so that stories can be shared before the food arrives (ooohhh, I like that one).


• Fill his plate with a bite or two, instead of everything upfront. By reversing the expectation from finish what's on your plate to asking for additional bites, he might become more interested (scarcity mentality).


• Each portion of his dinner could earn him part of his evening routine (dinner = dessert; milk = book; salad = Mango Key bedtime story).

You get the idea. Now your turn. For which of your problems are you seeking a solution? What good ideas are below the surface? What's the second right answer? Don't skim over this... really take a second and try or -a second right answer - try on your commute home tonight.

Signing off until tomorrow...