Free-For-All-Friday

First things first... Jack's party was fun - though I will say the best laid plans can go awry.  If you think I can be over the top, you would have been pleasantly underwhelmed last night. Unexpected snow meant no party hats, one balloon, and store-bought cake.  Party goers did, however, make predictions.  The most worrisome... "Jack, you will make at least one trip to the emergency room."

As you may remember from last week, I am trying to dedicate Fridays to sharing - even showcasing - the group's collective creativity.  You pose a dilemma for which you are seeking a creative solution and our fellow blog readers get to weigh in with their suggestions.  I'll wait until the following Friday to share my thoughts.

Last week, Stacie posed the challenge to be addressed this week.  She said... "I need creative ideas for a grand opening campaign for my massage business (to start in June).  I can't spend a ton of money upfront to make this happen, but ideas for a small open house or coupons or package deals or whatever will help.  I'll be working from home to start so I can't exactly have a big-free-massage-for-the-public kind of event.  Can't wait to hear your thoughts (and others)!"

One anonymous and diligent reader posted last Friday, suggesting that Stacie consider purchasing gloves from the Target Dollar Bins and attaching promotional tags reading, "Can't wait to get my hands on you."  Her other suggestion was to do a spin on the Yellow Pages with a tag line saying something about, "Let your fingers do the walking."

Here's my crack at it... stream of consciousness...

• Mother's Day is in May, so you'll miss the boat on that, but maybe Father's Day.  Could this be a recommended Father's Day present that thoughtful wives could purchase for their husbands?
  
• My sister has a couple of Pilates studios and she uses the first day of each new year to promote her studio by selling Pilates sessions for $20.08, $20.09 next year, and $20.10 the year after... you get the idea.  If you don't like the idea of using the calendar year, maybe you could use the birth date of your new arrival (Stacy is expecting any day now). If the baby's birthday is today (3/7/08), for instance, maybe you could charge $37.08.  If nothing else it earns you an extra $17.00.  
• From my hand to yours... maybe you could coordinate with a local manicurist to offer a package deal - massage, plus manicure - for a reduced rate. 
  
• The woman in Louisville who cut my hair would give a free hair cut for each new client I sent her way.  I don't know if she considered it cost effective, but it was certainly an incentive for me (and it did land her at least four new clients in the four years she cut my hair).
• Compliments of my friend Quynh, who was riding in the car with me today when this topic came up.  How about a CD?  She suggested burning Cds of relaxing music and using the face of the CD to put your logo and contact information.  I love the idea, because a CD is functional and is something people will use repeatedly. 
• If you held an open house, maybe you could incorporate an adaptation to the tried and true Lollipop Pull.  Use hands instead of lollipops.  Each hand could reveal a different price point.  When I was a kid a local ice cream store used to do this with banana splits, except they used balloons.  Pop the balloon and inside was a strip of paper revealing the cost of your dessert.  I loved the anticipation of the unknown.  Come to think of it... maybe that's responsible for my ice cream obsession.
• Massages seem like either the antidote to stress or the ultimate indulgence.  So, a question you might ask is what do people stress about or when are they most likely to indulge... Stressors might include paying taxes (April 15 - too soon for your purposes); exams (do students have enough extra cash flow?); or children out of school for the summer (good timing for you).  Indulgences might happen in connection with weddings; work promotions (which might mean extra cash flow), or  a tax refunds! 

That's my crack at it.  Now, loyal readers, your turn.  What ideas might you have for helping Stacie promote her massage business?  Equally as important... who will pose the challenge/question for next week?

Next Year at This Time

Today is a special day. Today my youngest son turns one year old. Hard to know for whom it is the greatest celebration... Jack because he is turning one or me and dad for making it through his first year. We'll celebrate this evening with his cousins, aunt, uncle, grandma and grandpa. Of course we'll have the requisite balloons, cake, party hat, and a couple of presents for him to open, but the thing about which I am most excited is the activity I am going to try.

I was a history major in college, so I find I am constantly in search of ways to document the life of my children. What does that have to do Jack's birthday? Tonight I will snap a Polaroid picture of each party goer. On the back of each person's picture I will ask them to write a prediction about some aspect of Jack's life in the upcoming year (first word, height, date when bottle gets the boot, injury in 2008-2009... or not, favorite toy, etc...). After the cake and ice cream has been eaten, I will seal the pictures in an envelope - not to be opened until his second birthday. Next year at this time, we will sit around the table reminiscing about who was at the party and deciding how accurate each of the predictions was. Then, we'll do it again for the next year and on and on it can go until Polaroid film is either discontinued or Jack isn't home to celebrate.

Tomorrow I'll let you know how it went. Until then, I'm signing off. I have cupcakes to bake.

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...

Dear Mr. Postman: Deliver De Letter De Sooner De Better

When I was eleven years old I visited my friend's house one day after school. We were watching the Big Blue Marble when we got the bright idea to send our names into the show, hoping we would be matched up with the perfect pen pal. Months and months later - well after we'd forgotten about our submissions - Suzie and I each received a letter. Mission accomplished. Matches were made and we got our pen pals. Suzie's pen pal was Pat, a 10 year old boy from North Dakota (as it turns out, a little disappointing for an adolescent girl hoping for a new best friend). As for me... the Blue Marble gods were shining down on me. My pen pal was Karen from Hastings, New Zealand. That's right... half way across the world in what seemed like the most exotic place on earth. Therein began my obsession with pen paling.

Last summer, six months after the arrival of my third son - when it was blatantly clear there was no baby girl in my future - I set out in search of two unsuspecting girls, willing to entertain me and to be my venue for all the fun "girly" things (theme parties, crafts, sticker-swapping, secret codes, and friendship bracelets) that I would otherwise never get to do. My niece from New York city and close family friend from Watkinsville, Georgia seemed like the perfect two.

The Pen Pal Challenge started in late August. I matched up the two girls via mail and they've been letter writing ever since. I live vicariously through them, hearing about the exchange of postcards, pictures, stickers, puzzles, and letters to be decoded with special pens. I periodically send them a small package of pen pal paraphernalia to keep them motivated (but really so I have cause to buy all the fun stuff I'd otherwise couldn't justify). Of course I'm not totally selfless. I told them both if they exchanged 12 pieces of mail each over the course of the school year that I would host them for a girl's weekend in Dallas. Are you kidding? Two 10-11 year old girls for five days! I can't wait. The boys will be shipped off to grandmas, so we can do all things GIRL... stay up late, wearing fun pajamas, eating treats and talking about cool stuff; spreading out at the kitchen table with all kinds of crafts projects; and shopping at the local mall with stops along the way for lunch and manicures. Only four more months until the fun begins.

As for me and Karen, our friendship persists to this day. We don't write or talk nearly as frequently as we did when we were younger, but after two visits from Karen and lots of letters between the two of us, we stay in touch enough to know about big life changes in each others lives. I still haven't made it to Hastings, but visiting the apple orchard she grew up on remains on my Bucket List (if you haven't seen the movie, it's definitely worth seeing).

Letter writing is quickly becoming a lost art, so if I can do my small part to promote pen paling and maybe even develop a friendship along the way, then that is good enough for me. How about you? Do you know two young people you could match up as pen pals? Or, forget matching up two young people, grab a paper and pen and find a young person who could benefit from you reaching out. It will feel good to you and will most assuredly bring a smile to his or her face.

Signing off until tomorrow...

Maintenance Monday

I promise, we will not go through every day of every week using alliterations. It seemed appropriate today, because there are a handful of items on which I wanted to follow-up - maintenance-type issues.

March Centerpiece: It seems I was so busy sleeping-in and eating ice cream this weekend that I neglected to post pictures of my centerpiece, as promised in Fruit Stand Fun (2/19). I am no Martha Stewart, but the idea is to find a single focal point in your home and use it to add a touch of festivity surrounding an upcoming holiday. I use the fruit stand on our breakfast table and one of the kitchen windows. Fourteen more days until St. Patrick's Day! It's not too late.

44 Days, 112 people: To say I am no Martha Stewart is true, but to say I am no Albert Einstein is a gross understatement to anyone who knows how I feel about math. As my husband says about folding laundry, but is also true of my feelings towards math, ...I would rather poke my eyes out with a stick than work a mathematical equation. I say that to say, read this next paragraph not with a calculator in hand, but instead hoping to get the general sentiment. Two weeks ago I said I would explain the title on the day after my blog received 5,000 hits. The first guess was March 17. While I love the optimism, I don't think we'll make it. The next date offered up was April 16 - a day that is near and dear to me, because it is my son's birthday. I want to push for that date as our goal. Here's where the math comes in... At the rate we are going right now, it will take until approximately September 16 to hit 5,000 hits. That's eight months away and way too long. What I need is about 112 visitors each day, over the next 44 days. I'm guessing there are currently an average about 20 people visiting the site each day. This is where you come in. If each of you tells 5-6 more people about the blog and they also visit the site then we will be well on our way to 5000 people by April 16. Phew... that was a lot of math for Monday morning. Bottom line... Each of you helps me find 5 more loyal readers a day and we're on our way to meeting the April 16 goal. We can do it!

Helena, where are you? A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the Adventures of Flat Stanley and how much fun it could be to adapt for you and your family or you and your friends. Helena mentioned in the comments that she might like to host a Flat Stanley. That got me thinking... Couldn't we host our very own Flat Stanley - you know, roaming from reader to reader? So, Helena if you are out there and are really interested in hosting Flat Stanley say the word. I will get it going. And if anyone out there knows who Helena is... tell her I'm looking for her.

Finally... a creative maintenance tip: You'd be disappointed if there was no new idea in today's post, so in keeping with the theme I thought I would find something housekeeping related. I read this in a magazine a while ago and still think it is a great idea. If you're house is like mine, there is probably one place where things (mail, toys, homework, pens, keys, magazines) seem to accumulate. The author of the magazine article suggested on insisting the space is completely cleared each day by 5:00. That means everyone in the family tends to their portion of the clutter. If every day the space is cleared off completely then it will never get completely out of hand.

Signing off until tomorrow...

Ice cream Sundae!

If you know me at all, it will not surprise you to know that our week is topped off with an ice cream sundae. In fact, I do believe that my appointing a different activity to each day began with the need for some excuse to have ice cream at least once a week. I spent years working at Haagen Dazs as a teenager and in college and then more years, in the late 80's when frozen yogurt was hitting the scene, working at Yogurt Oasis - the favorite hangout for college students in Tempe, Arizona. Even when I was floating around the world on a ship for a semester, two shipmates and I spent hours daydreaming about finally being reunited with Ben and Jerry. I know ice cream!

So every Sunday night we break out all the works and create our sundaes. Ice cream, hot sauce, sprinkles, whip cream, and topped off with a cherry. Oooohhh, sometimes there are variations. If we bake brownies during the weekend, they become brownie sundaes; a delivery of Girl Scout Cookies means a special think mint cookie topping for the house; Christmas time 'tis the season for snowman sundaes; and when feeling like especially responsible parents we throw on some fruit such as strawberries or bannnas.

Ice Cream Sundae is made more special because of the bowls we use. Our close, close friends from Georgia know of our love for ice cream and six years ago presented us with personalized bowls for each family member. At that time it meant three bowls - one for me, one for Richard, and one for Ricky. Two years later a matching bowl showed up with Matthew's name on it, and this past Christmas a final bowl was added to the collection for Jack... and I do mean THE FINAL BOWL.

Tonight we have a visitor flying into town from Kentucky. Maybe we'll celebrate with Derby Pie Sundaes - pecans, carmel, chocolate, and... bourbon!

Sleep in Saturday

I would have written sooner, but I was busy actually busy engaging in Saturday's activity - Sleep in Saturday. I'm sure it's clear who was responsible for brainstorming this brilliant activity. While sleeping in rarely works with a four year old and a one year old (the fifteen year old has no problem playing along), we do use it as an opportunity to let the kids lounge around in their pj's longer than they do during the week.

Again, the reason this activity works is because it requires no preparation on my part. At the end of a long week the last thing we want to impose on ourselves is something else we need to coordinate. For the boys, just waking up at the same early hour and then stumbling downstairs to snuggle in our bed, filled with cozy pillows and blankets, is enough to make them feel like their Saturday is off to a special start. Every day doesn't have to be something big. I believe it is the consistency of small activities over time that creates a sense of occasion and family ritual.

Now for the adult version...

Scare You Saturday. I've often heard people say you can stay young and vibrant by doing some thing every day that scares you. I'm not sure about the everyday-thing, but I like the idea that once a week, we do something requiring us to get outside of our comfort zone - or maybe it's just something you've been avoiding. It could be returning a phone call from someone think is mad or disappointed; setting dreaded annual doctor's appointments; paying bills or setting a budget; finding a store you've wanted to visit, but haven't because you're directionally impaired and don't want to get lost (can you tell this one is personal to me?); taking a golf lesson for the first time; signing up for a club you've been interested in joining; volunteering for a cause you've been thinking about for quite some time. As for me.... my mother and sister in law have been trying to convince me to take an aerobic swim class. To me this is scary and something definitely outside my comfort zone. I don't understand any form of exercise that requires me to put a bathing suit on in order to exercise. In my world, you exercise so that you can put on a bathing suit. There's a class beginning in an hour. Maybe I'll go... or maybe I'll wait until next week.

Either way, I'll talk to you again tomorrow when we celebrate __________ Sunday.