Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday: Bah Humbug!

Winners from yesterday listed at the bottom of today's post.

Maybe it's because it's hump day.  Maybe because Richard is out of town and I am left flying solo on dinner, baths, tantrums, getting the kids dressed, finding shoes... the whole nine yards.  Or, maybe it's because it is Christmas time and, as invigorating as the holidays can be, they always leave me a little tired.  Whatever the reason... I'm feeling sluggish today.

This should give you additional insight into my mood... 

The only thing I can think to Whack today are problems.  Christmas... the most commercialized, celebrated, ridden-with-possibility topic, and chock full of fun-whacking-potential (gift ideas, packaging, decorations for the home, or family traditions), and the only thing I can think to whack is the thing that makes me want to say "Bah Humbug."

So here it is... I have family Christmas shopping down to somewhat of a science.  Richard and I establish our budget, generate a list of all family and friends for whom we would like to purchase a gift and then divide the money out accordingly.  This is where the "J" (organized and a little fanatical) side of me comes out.  I establish an envelope for each person, containing the designated allotment of cash.  Cash from one person's envelope never mixes with cash from another person's envelope, including change!  We operate in cash only for holidays, so when the cash is gone it's time to stop Christmas shopping...

Or so it goes... theoretically.  I'll tell you what throws me off every year!  The important, but somewhat extraneous people who deserve a special something, but for whom I consistently either (a) do not plan ahead and/or (b) do not have a good gift idea.  Either way, it inevitably leads to my over spending.  I'm either purchasing the gift at the last minute (always costs more) or I'm overcompensating for my lack of gift-buying-ingenuity.

Who exactly am I talking about?... Teachers and the director(s) at the boys preschool; the mail delivery person; the men who pick up our garbage twice a week; my housekeeper; acquaintances who I see daily (Starbucks crew); and friendly neighbors.  These, to name a few.  I'm sure you have your own list brewing of people who fall in this category.  As noted earlier, to overlook anyone of these people would not be o.k.  They are members of my immediate community and I want to spread holiday cheer, letting them know they're appreciated.  The question is... what can I do that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, but is more thoughtful than a gift card?

Come on von Oech.  Don't fail me now.  Today, of all days I need a serious dose of whacking.  So, what does von Oech have to say?...

Get support.  One reason gypsies have a good healthy record is the role the family plays in establishing a positive health environment.  When a gypsy gets sick, it's common for six or eight others to accompany her to the doctor.  Such family participation provides not only a support system for the ill member, it also creates a high expectancy for getting well.  Similarly, it's easier to be creative if your environment both supports and expects new ideas.  What support systems can you create?

Wow, this feel fortuitous.  A day when I am clearly dragging and I get to ask what support systems I can create?  Serendipity or prophetic?  Hmmmm....

Anyway... back to the issue at hand.  Christmas treats for the important people who comprise your community that are neither bank-breaking or impersonal.

Well the first thing that comes to mind is all the talent right here on this blog.  We have Heidi the Beader; Wendy the Wine Glass Charm Maker; Beekayroot the Photographer; Peggy the card maker; cspgradstudent the Decoupager; Cassie the cookie baker; Cheryl the Genius Mosaic Artist; Stacie the bag maker; Kat who is clearly going to town whipping up all kinds of Christmas treats, based on her Monday comment; and who knows what I'm missing.

What's a co-op?  

Is that the kind of thing where we all come together, pitch in what we have, and everyone leaves with more than they came with?  Maybe that's my solution.  Put a lump sum of money in a caddy (contributed by anyone interested in participating).  Then, that money could fund projects by our community artists.  In the end, each participating person would contribute "x" amount, but walk away with "x" number of unique Christmas gifts.

I guess a natural question could be... "Claudia, why the community approach?  Why not just contact the artists and place your own orders... now, not on December 15?"  Truth, I'm not sure.  I guess I assume when an artist makes time to sit down and make something like beaded jewelry, cards, wine glass charms, etc... it's more efficient and therefore beneficial to make multiple items than it is to fill my lone order.  I think this is what the Industrial Revolution was based on.

So that's my crack at today's whack.  But...  Instead of having everyone whack my Christmas dilemma, how about each of us uses von Oech's principle to whack the thing most likely to make you say, "Bah Humbug".  This way, we get to learn more about each of your holiday experiences and, in the process, generate a variety of creative solutions. 

Announcement:

Coincidentally, just one day after celebrating an increase of 35%, over the projected 5,000 readers in 77 days, we had one of our slowest days ever... including weekends.  Maybe everyone was busy doing their Christmas shopping.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  

The good news is you would never know by looking at posts that yesterday was slow.  We had a record 87 posts - naturally the majority were loyal, high-achieving readers who - like I - couldn't bear the idea of not hitting the aspiration 77 posts.  Thanks, everyone for playing along yesterday.

Cassie and Lori R. were the winners of the Pickle in a Hay Stack contest, meaning they will each receive a Christmas present from me (in July).  Cassie found the original pickle, located on May 29 and Lori's pickle was posted on April 22.  

Now for the lucky winner of the chocolate chip cookies containing 1,765 mini chocolate chips.  I tried to switch things up a bit by NOT simply having you guess a number from 1-77.  Instead, the idea was, the person posting the comment corresponding to the number in my head, would be the winner.  Now for the number.  Was it... 22, my volleyball number as suggested by Maureen?  65 the year I was born? 3 the number of boys I have? 13 the date of my anniversary (November) and the residence hall floor on which I was an RA for a number of years?  Lucky 7, the date of my birthday?  Or maybe 42, my age? No, no, no, and no.  The number was 18, the date of my father's birthday (July), my mother's birthday (August), and highlowaha's inaugural post (February).  Congratulations...

STACIE!

Stacie was also our 100 Pounds of Popcorn Winner

Signing off until tomorrow... 

Pickle in a Hay Stack

Important announcement at the end.

While it's true, I covered myself from head to toe in 100 scarves and neckerchiefs (6/13), what I really collect is Christmas ornaments.  My collection of Christmas ornaments rivals Aunt Annie's Accessory collection (3/31)... hands down.

My ideal Christmas tree is... real, 10-12 ft. tall, covered from top to bottom, and all the way around with three or four ornaments per branch.  Add the 11-13 strands of lights and it's true... what I do to a Christmas tree could be considered abuse.  But I love it and I can't stop.  I grew up in a house where every year, the day after Christmas, my mother and her best friend would get up early and hit the department stores in search of the best sale ornaments.  Without fail my mother would return home with at least a few new ornaments... in sets of three.  I have two sisters, so whatever the ornaments of choice, they were purchased with the intent of someday being divided up... even steven.  

I am sure there's a whole segment of my readership shuddering at the very thought that I hang mismatched ornaments with no theme - either color or design - in every nook and cranny of my tree... giving no serious thought to placement.  Do you think it could be true that the Christmas-celebrating-population is cleanly divided into two segments... those who coordinate color and ornament theme and those who do not?  If it's true, I sit on the far end of chaos's continuum.  

So, yes... today's topic is ornaments.  I could go in a million directions with this... glass ornaments; my love of Chirstopher Ratko's; handmade; over-sized ornaments, like my huge snowflake or over sized glass Oreo; the pocket watch Santa accidentally dropped at our house one year, that's now Ricky's favorite ornament and will one day travel with him to his family's house; tacky ornaments like the music-playing Statue of Liberty or the Rockettes souvenir ornament we paid way too much money for on Ricky's first trip to New York; my annual trip to a Christmas store in Tallulah Falls (on the way from picking Ricky up from camp), so I can buy three new ornaments - knowing one day they'll be divided up... even steven. 

Much as I'd love to cover all this ground, we don't have from now until Christmas to talk ornaments.  So, instead I'll focus on one.  The Green Pickle Ornament.  The Green Pickle is an old German tradition.  The idea is, when decorating the Christmas tree to hide the pickle somewhere in the branches.  The first child on Christmas Day to find the Christmas pickle receives a special blessing for the year and an extra gift!  This little tradition has proven a lot of fun for me and my family.  In fact, not only do we do it with the kids, but whenever we have a 

dinner party or students over for a holiday celebration, we always hide the pickle and let our guests search.  Of course, in true form, we reward the winners with a holiday treat.  You might imagine that finding the Green Pickle in my inferno-lit, two-ton tree is a little like finding a needle in a haystack or... for me... finding a grocery item in the supermarket! 

Such fun is this family tradition, that I thought I would share it with you.  So today we are going to search old highlowaha posts for this Green Pickle Ornament.  

The first person to find it will receive a Christmas present (in July) from me.  A note... if you're thinking I hid it in an obvious place like the week we celebrated all things green or on the 25th of a month, then think again.  The date was determined by Matthew picking a number from 2-7 and Richard picking a number from 1 -31.  The combination of the two is where you will find the green pickle.

On your mark, get set go.  

Announcement:

It took us 77 days to acquire our first 5,000 views of highlowaha (the point at which I could finally reveal the origin of our blog's name).  Many thanks to all those who participated in the Reaching for 5,000 Campaign.  The next day, one of our readers noted, he hoped we hit the second 5,000 in fewer than 77 days.  Yesterday at midnight marked the end of the second 77 days.  So, the question... have we had 5,000 hits since May 1, 2008?  Yes, in fact... we've had 6,765 views in the past 77 days.  That is a surplus of 1,765 views!  A 35.3% increase over our last term.  Way to go, team!  If we were a corporation we would all be getting a big, juicy dividend check.  But, we're not.  We're whatever is lower than a non-profit.  So, while I can't monetarily pay you for your great work, I can pay you (at least one of you) in a far more fun currency... chips... no, not poker... CHOCOLATE chips.  Yep.  A batch of cookies containing EXACTLY 1,765 chips will be headed someone's way before the week is over.  Here's how to win....

I have a number between 1 and 77 in my head.  Be the lucky person whose post lands on THAT number and you win!  If not for me... or for you... take a chance and go for it for office mates or neighborhood kids.  They'll love you for it.

  

Signing off until tomorrow...

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Yes, you got it... this whole week we will be beating the heat by celebrating Christmas in July (which is not unimportant, since yesterday the thermostat hit 104 degrees in Dallas).  

If you don't normally celebrate Christmas, but instead observe Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, some other holiday... or simply abstain all together from the fuss and muss, then either use this week to give Christmas a trial run.... OR... jump in and share some of your holiday traditions!  It's sure to make the week even more lively.

Quick interruption...  Announcements at the end, including Peanut and Shell information,  and Taste of USA states.  Also, new readers...  Welcome to our fun, fun community.  We're glad you're joining us.  We are somewhat like your favorite soap opera - minus the drama.  Similar, in the sense you have to follow us for a week or two before fully feeling like you know what's going on.  We hope you're up for it and that you won't want to miss the excitement coming our way in August.

Back to Christmas in July.  So here is, in part, what I am visualizing for the week.  Treat me like your dress rehearsal.  You know, your test run.  Don't jump in implementing Christmas in July in your house this week.  It's too soon.  You need more planning time.  Heck, the idea popped in my head late last week (as I was sweating to death) and I all I can think about is how much fun this could really be with the right amount of time and preparation (I know, I know... who has that?!).  

So, this week... sit back and experience festivities on the blog.  Win prizes and see the possibilities.  Soak in all the brilliant ideas, certain to be shared by our readership and then... bada bing, bada boom...  next week... or the week after... do it up.  Break the monotony of your summer, either at work, at home, in your play group, or on your block.  Do some of what I share this week or none of it.  The point is, go for it and do something... even if your Christmas in July lasts just one day.  At the very least, you'll spread some good cheer and... if you're really compelling... you might convince the temperature to drop a few degrees.

So how did I start out my week?  Why... by decking the halls, of course!  Yesterday I dug through Christmas decorations for simple items I could pull out to make our home feel 

Christmas-sy, but without wreaking total havoc on my otherwise organized chaos.  Stockings are hung by the chimney with care; a small tree is in the boys play room; lights line the upstairs; a Christmas decoration hangs on the door; and an advent calendar is in the kitchen, helping count down the days until Saturday, July 19... why, Christmas day - of course! 

As for the picture... my neighbor stopped us on the way in from having it taken and asked if we were taking our Christmas Family photo.  "No," I promptly replied.  "In July?" (as if it was an absurd suggestion).  Then I began thinking about all the fun Christmas family photos I've received over the years... beaches, hiking in mountains, kayaking, the Grand Canyon, Blue Ridge mountains in the fall, on a roller coaster.  So, I started thinking... maybe a summer photo for a winter Christmas card is no more absurd then celebrating a winter holiday in the dead of summer.  

How about you?  What's the best family Christmas card you've ever taken or received?  Share now, while there's still plenty of time to plan.  

Announcements: 

• Peanut and the Shell:  If you signed up to play, the game is up and running.  You should receive a name in the mail later this week.  We will play until Saturday, August 16, when we reveal ourselves to our Peanut.  Matthew and Richard did all the pairing, so I have NO idea who has who.  Don't lose your information!  
  
• P.P.D.C.:  I received communication last week from our mystery reader that all 15 Starbucks cards are en route to their respective recipients.  If you are receiving one, so you can in turn conduct an act of kindness, then how about checking in and letting us know how it goes?  Inquiring minds want to know.
  
• Taste of USA: This week's states are... Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.  On deck... Georgia, Maryland, and New Jersey.  That's it! 
  
• The Isle of Target:  Yes, while I would love to visit the "isle" of Target, what I actually meant to type last week is the "aisle" of Target.  Thanks to my thoughtful and diligent friend and editor.  Yet another thing I love about this readership.  We're creative and heady.  No lying down on the job on this blog.  We'll leave that for other... less serious bloggers.
• Below is Matthew with his "posed" smile and paper bag kite!  We had fun making it.  
• 

Go Fly A Kite!

First an interesting observation... For the past two days we have had a marked increase in readers and they are coming from all over the country (and even world).  In fact, while we typically yield about 120-125 views each day, yesterday we had 203.  AND... the readers were from 11 countries and 27 states (as opposed to our typical 2 countries and 15 states).  I'm not sure what's happening, but I LOVE it.

Welcome all you new readers!  Visit us daily (except Sundays) for the next couple of weeks and you will see what all the fuss and fun is about!

Now an admission...

I hate supermarkets.  I do.  For one, they are always cold.  On the rare occasion I have to step inside one (I was lucky enough to marry a man who loves to cook and therefore picks out his own ingredients), I bee -line through the produce section and meet back up with the family in Baking Goods.  The other thing I hate... there appears to be very little order to the way a grocery store is stocked.  You could finally work your way through produce and all the way to dairy only to realize you forgot something at the deli counter.  It's ALL the way back to the other end of the store... and then back again for other sundry items that you've inevitably forgotten.  At least the library has the Dewey Decimal system.  Finding a title might seem like a needle in a hay stack, but actually follow the assigned letters and numbers and it's all very orderly.  Not so with supermarkets.

Enough ranting.  There is actually a reason I brought that up.  Yesterday the Central Market in Grapevine, Texas earned one gold star.  For all of my disdain, I thought it only fair to praise when praise is due.  We stopped last night to pick up a few items for a gathering of friends and family tonight.  Imagine my surprise when, at checkout, we were presented with brown bags (which you already know I LOVE) that said the following.... 

"I am a brown paper bag.  More than likely, I'll end up under your kitchen sink with a few favorite friends.  I might get cut up and wrapped around an old textbook, or just stuck under something messy.  It would be nice if someone made me into a kite.  I'd like to be a kite but whatever happens, I will never forget the day I carried groceries home from Central Market."

So, I have my marching orders...  Today the boys and I will liberate the brown bags.  Today they will fly free... high in the sky as proud and colorful kites.  Check back on Monday and see what we came up with.  As for me, I'm off to go fly a kite...

Signing off until tomorrow... 

Freebie Friday... or Should I Say, Free-bead Friday?!

T.G.I.F.  everyone!

Announcements and Instructions for winning today's giveaways are listed at the bottom.

No sense in prolonging it.  I just need to jump in with two feet.  Truth?  I face these Freebie Fridays with lots of excitement, but also some trepidation.  I feel an incredible amount of pressure to showcase our generous artists in a way that does them and their artistry justice.  The unfortunate truth is I'll come up short every time.  The real goal... miss the mark by as little as possible.

So, let's see how it goes with today's artist... Heidi Lynn Ferguson.  For two reasons, I knew I was going to love featuring Heidi from the get-go.  First, the beaded jewelry she sent me to give away on highlowaha is beautiful!  She even included special items just for me in the package and I have worn both the earrings and necklace repeatedly.  The second reason I knew I was going to love getting to know Heidi better is because of the quote imprinted on the back of her business card.  It says, " It is imperative to create that which you feel passionate about." Anybody who uses the word "imperative" and "passionate" in the same sentence is a.o.k. with me.  It tells me she is confidently moving towards her life's purpose knowing that, "When you want something all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it (my favorite quote).

Heidi, how did you start beading?

It started out as a hobby thirteen years ago.  I'm a visual person who likes doing work that is hands-on.  My B.S. is in Fashion Design, so beading was a nice compliment to what I was already doing.  Early on I took a basic finishing class and I've been beading ever since.

The world of beads seems a little overwhelming because there are so many kinds and so many colors.  Where do you get your ideas?  

I don't really know.  They just come through me.  sometimes I might have a general idea of something I want to do, but then it can change 180 degrees when I sit down to start making it the piece.  Tonight, for example, I got an idea from a scarf I saw around a woman's waist.  It was red with bright yellows, Kelly Green, and a Cobalt Blue.  I would never think to put those colors together, but I loved the way it looked so I'll try it.  Beaded jewelry is really a combination of color, dimension and texture.  All three things have to be considered.

Where do you get your beads?

All over.  Beads are my drug of choice, so I have quite a large collection.  My brother and sister in-law who have traveled abroad have brought them back for me.  Also, a wholesaler in the city (Philadelphia), on-line, thrift stores, and yard sales are examples of places I go.  One of my favorite things to do is find a piece at a thrift store or garage sale and then completely recycle the beads into new beaded jewelry.

The other thing I love doing, which has nothing to do with where I get my beads, is collaborate with a friend.

What do you mean?  Another artist?

Not necessarily.  Recently a friend of mine wanted something for his mother.  We worked together to custom design a piece for her.  He looked at my inventory and selected items he liked in her color palette.  I used his input to develop a really special piece she loved - down to a custom clasp.  That project was especially interesting for me, because initially there was something about it that just wasn't working.  I changed one bead color and it changed everything.  It's funny how something as simple as changing a color can make all the difference.  My jewelry is such a reflection of me, I just can't bring myself 

to sell something I don't personally like.

It's obvious you are really passionate about beading.  I know it's not your full time job, so when do you find the time?

First of all I think about it every day.  Sometimes the ideas come so fast, I can't keep up with them.  Something that makes it easy is that my beads are out and visible.  They're set up in clear containers in a section of my home.  That makes them easy to see and access.  Today is actually probably the first time in three months that I haven't worked on a beading project.  I find it to be a little therapeutic, so it doesn't feel at all like work.  The other issue I have is that I can't stop working for the night unless I feel like I'm stopping at a good place.  The other night I started something around 9:00 and I didn't like the way it was turning out, so stayed up until I got to a good stopping point. 

I also started a Beading Circle a while back and that group meets monthly on a Friday night.  People bring their inventory and occasionally we might trade or share beads.  Mostly it's just the camaraderie that makes it fun and a nice break. 

As someone whose been at this a long time, what advice might you have for other creative and entrepreneurial readers?

If a person feels passionately about something go into it with your full heart and full being... 100%.

With the holidays coming up, something beaded could make a great gift.  What would a reader need to know about prices and lead time if they wanted to order something?

In terms of lead time, yeah... I would like to know by September or October .  That's my busy season, so the more time I have the more likely I am to be able to get it done on time.  In terms of prices, items can range from $5.00 to $175.00.  It just depends on what we're making.

How could someone get hold of you, if he/she was interested?  

I can be reached through my email at hlynndesigns@yahoo.com.

For more about Heidi, check out: 

http://www.chestnuthilllocal.com/issues/2006/.09.21/locallife4html

Wanna win one of Heidi's beautiful necklaces?  

Here are the two ways...  Answer this question.  

What is Heidi's favorite color from the 120 Colors in a Crayola Crayon Box?  Visit this

 site to see the selection: (colourlovers.com/blog/2008/04/22/all-120-crayon-names-color-codes-and-fun-facts/).

The second lucky winner will be selected from our magical RAK box.  And the winner is...

DEBBIE CLIFFORD... again!  

Congratulations, Debbie who recently also won one of our $5.00 gift cards to Starbucks, compliments of P.P.D.C.

This should be great news for Debbie, but also for you!  Take comfort in knowing...in order to keep the integrity of the RAK box in tact, I will award the prize to whoever's card gets drawn.  Even if it means repeat winners.  Now you know the value of being in the game.  It's not to late.  Just mail your postcard to:

Claudia K. Beeny

4012 Harvestwood Court 

Grapevine, TX 76051

Announcements:

• Peanut and the Shell Participants:  (See Monday, July 7) for more information. Here is who I have signed up to participate.  If I missed your name or you still want in, just make a post today.  It's not too late. Participants: Julie, Jayme, Amy, Tera, Lori R., Stacie, Cheryl, Peggy, Katie, Kat, Chaotic, Maureen, Beekayroot, Sue, Heather, and Cassie (not P.).
  
• Altoid Table:  It is coming along nicely.  Hopefully by the end of this weekend the bulk of the hard stuff will be over.  A BIG thanks to Cheryl who has helped with the tiling and grouting.

Signing off until tomorrow...

I'm Going To The Chapel and...

Gonna get married!  Not me... but, instead... two of our favorite readers!

Today's blog is dedicated to all things wedding related!  It is in honor of Tera and Treye - two loyal readers who are getting hitched on Saturday.  I wish I could say they met through highlowaha.com and, after having a whirlwind romance, decided to tie the knot.  But, I can't.  This fated couple met well before my inaugural post last February.  

A little about them...

Tera is a go-getter and impressed me from the start.  She initiated a lunch meeting with me only days after our first introduction.  I think she thought she was going to "talk me into" letting her do an internship in my office.  Little did she know, I was in hot pursuit of her and that I wouldn't have let her slip away without first getting to work with her in some capacity.  Yet another example of what a skilled talent scout I am!  Treye was immediately elevated to "keeper" status when he showed up at my house in Louisville one day, ready to help Tera construct forty-one intricate centerpieces (they were boardwalks made out of Popsicle sticks and all kinds of other nautical looking materials).  The only other man I know willing to engage in such craziness is my husband who nine years earlier got suckered into making centerpieces for a regional conference I was co-chairing.  Call it the litmus test, but it hasn't failed me yet!

Now for today's topic...

The way I see it... we have all either poured over Martha Stewart Wedding magazines, attended a wedding, served as an attendant, or gotten married (for some, maybe even more than once). Our cumulative and mass exposure to weddings all over the country - from farm weddings to swank black tie affairs; from intimate gatherings of 15 to invitations lists topping 800; from simple five minute ceremonies to elaborate ceremonies of every cultural tradition - makes us as close to experts on the topic as anyone else.  

So today, we will feature the best of the best wedding stories.  I'm not talking about wedding bloopers or horror stories.  That is completely overdone and besides, we don't want to take a chance that residual bad karma will muck things up for Tera and Treye.

Instead, today we will feature creative and memorable moments from your wedding... or the wedding of someone you know.

I'll go first.  I was excited about two things I coordinated for my wedding.

Friendship Plates:  I had all my girlfriends fly in for my wedding a day early, so that I could host them for an afternoon of Paint Your Pottery.  Each friend painted me one dessert plate (are you surprised?).  The one criteria I gave them was that the plate should somehow represent an element of our friendship.  It could commemorate a specific event, something we had in common, or a friendship ritual we shared.  I spent the next year searching for individual dinner plates to match the work of each friend.  My ultimate dream... not yet realized... is to host an Annual Friendship Dinner, using all 13 settings, and honoring a different friend each year.  In the meantime, I use the them liberally and I love them.  There's never a time I use the plates that I don't get to talk about the people who made them.

Time Capsule:  We got married in November 1999, the year the world was freaking out about Y2K and whether or not planet earth would stop turning on it's axis at exactly 12:01 a.m.  I read newspaper headline after newspaper headline of grave predictions and I just couldn't help but think (remember, I was a history major and I love data) how much fun it would be to look at these things years from now.   

So, I decided to seal a time capsule at my wedding to be opened in 2024 (at our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary) .  Each table was host to a different topic (politics, fashion, popular culture, etc...) and each person at each table had their own Prediction Card.  On one side of the card, they were to answer a set of five questions (will a woman be president, cost of a loaf of bread, if currency would still be paper, and two more) and make their own prediction around the topic at their table.  On the other side of the card, guests were to write us a note to be read in twenty-five years.  We gathered everyone in the reception hall later in the night and formally sealed the capsule.  Now the capsule sits tightly sealed inside a chest in our living room.  Other fun things we put in the capsule... small photo albums with pictures representing our typical day, Polaroid pictures of all our guests, favorite items, letters to one another, my father's Father-of-the-Bride-Speech, and things I can't remember, but that I am sure I'll be ready to reconnect with in sixteen years!  

Now it's your turn.  What are some of the fun and creative ideas you've seen implemented at weddings?  I've been to some of your weddings and I know for a fact there are enough creative ideas to post from now until I return on Friday.  So don't be shy or modest.  Julie, I am also excited to hear the creative idea you recently saw that helped to inspire today's topic. 

Signing off until tomorrow... 

Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday: Neither Bigger Nor Better!

First a note:  

So wouldn't you know... last night my father called me to tell me I made an error in yesterday's blog.  Can you believe it?  Once more... the mistake was with regard to my use of the word "lay."  The word, "humiliating" comes to mind right now.  I've since gone back and changed it, BUT a lucky break for any of you readers who took me seriously and actually printed off yesterday's blog to share with family and friends.  Find the error and there could be something in it for you.

Now for today's whack...

It took Maureen, my good friend for over 30 years, to tell it to me like it is.  Bigger or Better is a flop.  Maybe the whole idea isn't a flop.  Clearly it isn't.  It worked for Kyle MacDonald who used one red paper clip and traded up for a house.  

It's me.  It's my poor execution of Bigger or Better that's doing us in.  We, after all, started with a sparkly fish pin... AND with perfect timing for the summer season.  Yes, Maureen had enough fashion sense to know she ought to get the pin while the getting was good.  She generously offered to trade up for a case of wine.  Heather knows a good thing when she sees one and immediately offered to trade the case of wine for her mother load of craft supplies!  The box contains an impressive collection of fun scissor shapes, hole punches, and more.  We had additional offers (Melanie with her guitar and Jenna with her NASCAR paraphernalia), but that's where we stalled out.

It's my fault.  I was desperate to hold out for the item most likely to bring me one step closer to Cheryl's plane ticket to Taste of USA's winning destination.  It's essential to me that she, the driving force and cruise director behind this whole operation, gets to participate in the winning weekend.  She deserves the trip ten times over, so failure of this stunt is just not an option.  In an effort to trade big, I have actually caused the demise (or at least downward spiral) of the project.  Oh, it's not just that...  I haven't devoted enough time and energy to the idea.  I bring it up every once in a while, but certainly not enough to get any real momentum going.  Also, I haven't clearly articulated logistics.  When and how do you make an offer to trade up?  How long before you know whether your item was selected?  Does the first person who calls dibs get the item on the trading block?  Ugh.  I was way too casual about something so important.

Sounds like the perfect job for Roger von Oech and his miracle Whack Pack!

It's true.  I'm somewhat throwing my hands up, trusting between a whack from Roger and creative input from all of you, that a new and improved strategy will emerge before day's end.  If ever you were inclined to challenge your creativity... or to make a post, please let today be the day.  A trip for a  deserving community member is at stake.

Now, onto today's whack...

Challenge the Rules.  According to ancient prophecy, whoever could untie the "Gordian Knot" was destined to become King of Asia.  All who tried failed to solve this complicated puzzle.  Then Alexander the Great had a turn.  After fruitless attempts to find a starting point he was stymied.  Finally, he said, "I'll just have to make up my own knot-untying rules."  He pulled out his sword and sliced the knot in half.  Asia was fated to him.  Most advances have occurred when someone challenged the rules and tried a different approach.  What rules can you challenge? 

The general rule with Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday's is that I introduce the randomly selected "whack" from von Oech's deck and then I take the first attempt at applying his principle to whatever it is we're talking about.  I find that when I take a first whack at it, I help grease the wheels.  Many community members are more inclined to weigh in if someone else has posted a suggestion to which they may reply.  Today, in the spirit of challenging rules, I will resist the urge to go first.  I really need a viable solution and I can't afford the slightest chance that my going first might somehow lead (or mislead, as the case may be) YOUR thinking.

I italicized and bolded YOUR to underscore that, yes... I am talking to YOU.  You, the loyal reader who checks in each day, but doesn't feel moved to post a comment.  I get that.  I'm a loyal Barnes and Noble Rewards Card holder, but don't ask me to join the on-line book club.  I'm a proud alumna of Arizona State and University of Georgia, but don't expect me to be at every home football game with my face painted and pompom in hand.  But, when they need me?  Sure, I'll send the periodic check to assure books are in the library and endowments are healthy.  So maybe today, this one day, you might get off the bench long enough to help me find a break-through solution.  We only have a month left and I need your help. 

As for me... I will be sitting on the side lines, anxiously awaiting each and every idea.

Signing off until tomorrow...