Half Time Fun: That's The Way The Cookie Fumbles

A great first day of competition!

Lauren got 17 fans to tune in yesterday on behalf of Holiday Armadillos, while Kate's Danko Defenders came close with 16 fans. Danko Defenders had the winning slogan, with five judges agreeing "Hail MaRay" was the most clever name (Anonymous, you've got to come forward and send your mailing address to info@highlowaha.com if you want your Starbucks gift card!). That means the score after one round is Holiday Armadillos 2 and Danko Defenders 1.

It's a new day.

Lest you think all we do at Highlowaha is gorge ourselves on Lauren and Kate's savory Super Bowl Snack recipes, let me assure you... there is more to us than that.

Once a month we get our fill of sweet treats by participating in our Fancy Flours Cookie Cutter Challenge. The Cookie Cutter Challenge hasn't been around as long as Ray Wattson, who you met yesterday, but this monthly activity is quickly becoming a Highlowaha favorite.

Holiday Armadillos and Danko Defenders, pay attention since this month you get to participate!

Rules of play are easy. I announce this month's occasion worth celebrating and you choose the cookie cutter you think is least related. Stump me. Select the cookie cutter you think I will have the most difficult time incorporating into my celebration. So far I have had to use a porcupine to celebrate Earth Day; a big mouth bass fish to celebrate National Backyard Games Day; a mermaid to celebrate my husband's birthday; a 3-D airplane to celebrate National Ice Cream Month; an ear of corn to celebrate Bucknell University's Freshmen Orientation; and an owl to celebrate Halloween.

My challenge is to find the connection between your winning cookie cutter and my holiday of choice. I will bake, decorate, and package the cookies accordingly.

This month's cause for celebration is personal to me... and to my good friend Susan. This month we will be celebrating the conclusion of National Novel Writing Month. Fifty thousand words written in 30 days - that's what Susan and I have committed to doing. Every day a minimum of 1,667 words. No breaks. No excuses.

I don't know about Susan, but I'm pretty sure I'll be ready for cookie by then.

So what'll it be? Click here and hit me with your best shot. Choose from the 600+ cookie cutters that Fancy Flours offers. Place your vote in the comment section. Once a cookie cutter has been nominated it cannot be nominated again (veteran readers: a change in rules for this one month). I will put all entries in a hat and randomly select one.

Holiday Armadillos and Danko Defenders, here's what's in it for you. Earn 2 points just by having more people vote than the other team. Earn 1 point if the winning cookie cutter was suggested by someone on your team.

As an added bonus... make Lauren or Kate's day. The team responsible for selecting the winning cookie cutter earns their captain the right to select the cookie cutter of her choice!

Signing off until tomorrow...

Ya Hoo!

Wise old readers know that today is the reveal for this month's, Fancy Flours Cookie Cutter Challenge. Newcomers, pay attention. This monthly ritual is a hoot!

Each month I announce the occasion for celebration and you, the readers, select the cookie cutter I must use. We've seen porcupines, fish, mermaids, ears of corn, guitars, and even a 3-D airplane. This month the holiday we are celebrating is Halloween and the winning cookie cutter was the wise old owl.

An owl on Halloween is no where near the stretch an airplane was for National Ice Cream Month or that a mermaid was for my husband's June birthday. Interestingly enough the natural link between Halloween and owls made this month's challenge... well, more of a challenge.

I initially visualized each owl dressed in a different Halloween costume. But, my resident artist is over worked and under paid, so I had to let that idea go. Instead I made ornaments I could hang on my Halloween tree. We will have a house full of kids on Saturday night and I have to believe they'll think cookies growing on trees is both a trick and a treat!

Concept, good. Execution, fair.

I thought I'd redeem myself by supplementing this month's primary idea with a fun suggestion for packaging the owls in small brown bags and presenting them to special people in your life.

Concept, good. Execution, fair.

In a last ditch effort, I decided to compensate for my luke warm performance by... baking more! These cookies are dedicated to Kat who won the ear of corn in August and suggested we resurrect the cookie cutter in October to make "Earie" Halloween Cookies. So, here you go, Kat...

I call this... "Eyes and Ears."

Concept, great. Execution, fair.

Now it's your turn. Visit the comment section and suggest another occasion for which we could use the owl cookie cutter, along with a winning slogan. The idea voted most creative by Katie, Cheryl, Heather, and I will receive his or her very own owl cookie cutter.

Tune in to Friday's video to find out HOO won!

Signing off until tomorrow...

Fancy Flours, Simple Pleasures

We've been together a long time and you are only now seeing the street where I live.

Embarrassing, really. Not so much my street, but the fact that, of the nine other families living on my Harvestwood Court, I only know the names of three other families. And one of the families is my in-laws who live across the street and up three houses (Picture "Everybody Loves Raymond" live and in color).

I grew up in Douglaston, New York - a neighborhood where everyone knew everyone else and, more importantly, people made time to involve themselves in the lives of one another. It was a neighborhood in the truest sense of the word and one of life's greatest simple pleasures.

Nine total families on my street and November marks two years since we moved in. Let's just say, I'm not shining in the Good Neighbor Department.

Yet.

September 28, 2009 marks National Good Neighbor Day and I am determined to use the holiday as an occasion to break the cycle - to stop the madness.

You see the writing on the wall, I hope.

Good.

Let's get straight to the business of the day. We have monthly activity going. I pick a holiday worth celebrating and you pick a cookie cutter that I must use to bake a treat worthy of celebration. Fancy Flours is the company of our choice because they have a CRAZY BIG selection of cookie cutters and their gift wrapping is fabulous!

The contest is made more fun if you pick a cookie cutter you think will be true challenge for me to build into the holiday theme. Kind of like Earth Day and porcupines, Bass Fish and Backyard Games Day; Mermaids and my husband's birthday; airplanes and National Ice Cream Month, and yes... an ear of corn and Freshmen Orientation. I'd say this group has the hang of it.

Consider yourself a novice? It's easy. Click here. Find the cookie cutter you consider least related to National Good Neighbor Day. Visit the comment section to cast your vote, then tune in on Friday to find out the winner. Check back on Monday, September 28 to see what creation we've come up with (and to take a crack at winning your very own)!

Done, done, and done.

Signing off until tomorrow...

Knee High by Fourth of July

We gave it the ol' college try!

Today we reveal our response to your Fancy Flour Challenge of the Month. The source of this month's celebration was college orientations around the country - with a special focus on Bucknell University. Bucknell has a long standing history of shining when it comes to orientation. They pull out the stops by creating publications, t-shirts, props, events, gifts, and giveaways - all revolving around their thoughtfully crafted annual theme.

This year's theme? O-Museum.

While Bucknell's orientation staff members were busy bringing their theme to life by building dinosaurs, airplanes, artifacts, and pieces of art, we - the Highlowaha staff - were busy building our own exhibit.

We title this exhibit, If These Walls Had Ears.

On the North Wall...

John Deere, "Corn" and Author Unknown, "Nude"

On the South Wall...

Corntisse, "Gold Fish," Corndrian, "Composition No. 18," and

Joan Corno, "L'oro Dell'azzurro"

East Wall...

Vincent Van Corn, "Self Portrait" Andy Cornhall "Pop Corn"

Corntisse, "Gold Fish (again)"

and West Wall..

Cornasso "Weeping Woman" Cornasso "Evening Flowers"

And if none of those suit your fancy, how about this still life?

Give us an "A" for effort or an "F" for being "corny," either way... your turn! Win your own Ear of Corn (just in the nick of time to be the hit of all your fall festivities). Tell us another occasion for which you could use the corn cookie cutter, accompanied by your best attempt at a slogan.

Go ahead, get to the head of the class.

Signing off until tomorrow...