The Big Reveal

Good morning everyone.  Late, late, late today... I know.  My crazy Bunco friends and I met last night for our monthly game and I went to sleep later than normal.  Coupled with the fact that when I did finally get home, I had to stay up and re-live the Michael Phelps's winning moment.  Amazing!  A fun side note about Bunco... Heather joined the group last night for the first time since moving to Texas and... walked away with virtually all the winnings.  That's never been done before in our group.  So while Phelps was making his own Olympic history, Heather was busy making Bunco history. 

Today will be about four things:

• Revealing Peanut and the Shell
  
• Sharing Current Decathlon Standings and,
  
• Sharing today's creative idea
  
• Announcements
  

Let's get down to business, so we can make the most of our weekend.

Peanut and Shell:  For all 18 of you who have participated in what I would deem our first and very successful game of Peanut and the Shell, please post your best guess of which highlowaha reader has been sending you treats for the past four weeks.  I'll go first right here and right now, since I have a funny story to tell.  I guess Peggy is the creative person who has been sending me treats.  I feel certain I am correct, because Peggy accidentally revealed herself to me a couple of weeks ago.  She kept sending me treats in the mail (return address and all) and I finally contacted her to ask whether I should be giving them away on the blog.  Naturally, she was confused.  Truth of the matter... her cards are so beautiful and so distinctive, there would have been NO way I wouldn't have guessed anyway.  As for the rest of you... make your guesses.  Once a guess has been made, feel free to verify whether the Peanut or Shell is correct.  Have fun with this and maybe even get creative about how you "reveal."

Decathlon Standings:  Proof that you can move up from behind.  Congratulations, Peggy for winning the Feng Shui Challenge!  Your winning patch is the mail. As for all overall decathlon standings.  Here you go:

Cheryl: 17.1

Stacie: 17.8

Cassie: 18.6

Jayme: 20.8

Tera: 21.3

Julie: 23.5

Kat: 23.7

Peggy: 24.8

AZLori: 25.0

BKRoot: 26.4

Heather:29.5

Sharing Today's Creative Idea:  Creativity is everywhere.  One of the women playing Bunco last night had a coaster made to look like a flip flop.  Her wine glass was slipped in the flip flop, holding the glass in place.  The straps of her flip flop were covered in fun rhinestones, but she described others as having colorful flowers, etc....  Apparently the idea was born when a couple was on a beach vacation.  The couple's cocktail napkins kept flying away, until finally one of them took off her flip flop and slipped their glass inside!  A great idea is born!  You might even take a crack at making some of these, by buying regular flip flops and rounding the back to fit a glass.

Announcements:

• Welcome back Treye and Maureen.  What I love about his community is when someone leaves for a period of time, the rest of us notice.  Cassie P, ainiowa, Chaotic, and a whole slew of others have been dipping in and out over the past month.  Hopefully you're soaking up your last days of summer and not permanently gone from the highlowaha scene.
  
• Make Your Mark:  I think I am going to repost the brief directions for Make your Mark, making it extra easy for you to (1) find, and (2) print off for distribution to friends, family, etc....  As busy as we are, I know you don't want to miss this opportunity to thank an educator who made an impact on your life.  Be motivated by knowing how much you would love to receive one yourself.  I actually did receive one, apropos of this activity, and it felt GREAT.  We are doing a good thing here.
  

Decathlon Day #5: Boggles the Mind!

Decathlete standings under today's Announcements.

Another exciting night of Olympic fun.  Now down to the business of our own Olympics...

Highlowaha

D*E*C*A*T*H*L*O*N

Day #5

Boggles the Mind

While the English language is based on arranging 26 letters into words variations, the Chinese language is based on characters, each with its own distinctive set of strokes and meanings.  Did you know a well-educated Chinese person recognizes approximately 6,000-7,000 characters and, that to read a Mainland newspaper, you must recognize upwards of 3,000 characters?  A large unabridged dictionary in China contains over 40,000 characters.  These things I did not know.  But, through the power of the internet and Wikipedia... all things are possible.  

Apparently the word requiring the most strokes is "verbose" and is comprised of sixty-four strokes (there's something very appropriate about that).  The most complex word is "snuffle." Though "snuffle" doesn't require as many strokes (36), the strokes a repeated series as is the case with the word "verbose."  Other characters requiring a large number of strokes include words such as: "the appearance of a dragon in flight", 48 strokes (would love to see that used in a sentence); "to implore", 32 strokes; "depressed", 29 strokes; and "quarrel", 25 strokes.

As a matter of course, I was curious how we Americans stacked up and found myself searching the website, AskOxford.com.  When taking into account everything from: (1) words in current use, (2) 47,156 obsolete words, (3) 9,500 derivative words included as sub entries in the dictionary, it is determined that there can be more than a quarter of a million distinct English words.

More than 250,000 words!  If you are a junior in high school and studying for the SAT ... not so good (abash used to be the first word on the list of words to learn for the SAT).  But, on THIS day...on this particular day... access to more than 250,000 English words (granted some old and obsolete) is your dream come true.  Today we get creative with letters and the more words from which you have to chose, the better!  Read on...

Today we will play Boggle.  Below are a set of letters.  Your job is to search the letters for as many words as you can find.  The list of words from each decathlete will be compared to his/her competitors, crossing out all repeat words.  To score a word, you must be the only player who found it!  Below are very specific directions.

• No dictionaries allowed.
• We will be on an honor system, trusting that no one exceeds a 15 minute limit!
• Search the assortment for words of 4 or more letters.  Form words from letters that adjoin horizontally, vertically, and/or diagonally to the left, right or up and down.
  
• You may not use the same letter cube more than once within a single word.
  
• Any complete word (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc...), plural of, form of, or tense is acceptable as long as it could be found in a standard English dictionary and with the limitations described below.
  
• Proper nouns, abbreviations, contractions, hyphenated words and foreign words that are not found in an English dictionary are not acceptable.
  

Scoring:

Players score the words left on their list as follows:

4 letters = 1 point

5 letters = 2 points

6 letters = 3 points

7 letters = 5 points

8 or more = 11 points

Total points accumulated from Boggle will be added to your current decathlon score. 

The Unsportsmen-Like Trivia Question of the Day:

Today is which Olympic athletes birthday?  For extra difficulty, what is a nickname given this athlete by his/her partner?

Announcements:

My mailbox void of any Make Your Mark Mail vs. My aspiration mailbox

• Make Your Mark:  Have I mentioned I'm looking for 100 readers to submit 100 stories, so that we can inspire 100 unsuspecting teachers?  Write a short paragraph about the best teacher you've ever had.  Mail it to me at Claudia K. Beeny, 4012 Harvestwood Court, Grapevine, Texas 76051.  Fill by mailbox by August 22!
  
• Decathlete Standings:  Cheryl was the winner of Wednesday's Ying and Yang event! Congratulations, Cheryl.  The total list of scores is posted in the announcements.  As of 10:00 last night, we have 12 participants still competing for the prestigious title of Highlowaha Decathlon Champion!  Things are heating up!  Remember... though we are on Day #5 of our decathlon, to date only 2 of your 10 events have been scored.  ANYTHING is still possible!  Over all standings...

Stacie 12.8

Cheryl 13.1

Cassie 13.3

Jayme 13.8

Tera 15.0

Julie 15.8

AZLori 17.0

Kat  17.0

Ashley 18.7

B.Root 20.1

Heather 21.5

Peggy 23.1

• Place Your Helping Hand Vote:  Click on the words Helping Hand in the top right hand corner of my blog and tell us what you think about our Christmas project.
  
• Peanut and Shell:  Check in tomorrow and see behind the scenes of highlowaha's Peanut and Shell game
• Alden and Amy: Check out what our Olympic correspondents have to say about their Olympic experience in China.

Signing off until tomorrow...

Decathlon Day #4: Feng Shui This!

Highlowaha.com

D*E*C*A*T*H*L*O*N

Day #4

Feng Shui This!

Whereas yesterday we considered concepts of Yin and Yang, today we will work with Chinese principles of Feng Shui.

Based on a general overview from www.librarising.com: 

"The basic principle behind Feng Shui is to manipulate your physical environment in a way that maximizes the positive flow of the universal life force rather than the negative.  This is a done by understanding a few basic principles such as element, color, light, shape, weight, size, and direction.  Basically, light is better than dark, round is better than straight, large is better than small, and light is better than heavy."

So... today we work with the only round item I have in my home, I could assure that you would have in your home.  A toilet paper roll.

Today's decathlon event.  Use your toilet paper roll to create something functional that can be used in your home or office.  A photograph of your entry must be emailed to me (cbeeny@lslog.com) by tonight at 10:00 p.m. (CST).

The Un-sportsmen like Trivia Question of the Day:

What Asian delicacy did Mary Carrillo try to get Bob Costas to eat during last night's Olympic coverage?

Announcements:

Alden and Amy: Check out the latest post made by our very own Olympic correspondents.  Just click on the link, "Amy and Alden," in the top right hand corner of my blog.  Consider leaving a comment, so she knows we're checking in.

Decathlon Standings: Based on the number of entries yesterday, it seems as though we have thirteen decathletes competing, as of today.  Decathlete standings based on yesterday's Yin and Yang event will be posted on Friday morning.  Standings after today's event will be posted on Saturday morning.

Make Your Mark: Please remember to mail me your story of a favorite teacher, along with $5.00.  We are trying to reach 100 stories by August 22.  Stories, coupled with a box of markers will be mailed to randomly selected teachers around the country.

Taste of USA: Katie recruited yet another fun participate to join us in Philly.  Kristen, we are looking forward to meeting you!  Jayme, did we know you lived in the Pittsburgh area?  Does that mean we can expect to see you on Saturday, September 6?  Beekayroot... you too!

Signing off until tomorrow...

Decathlon Day #3: Lunch with Yin and Yang

Decathlete Standings listed below, under announcements.

Highlowaha

D*E*C*A*T*H*L*O*N

Day #3

Lunch with Yin and Yang

While we won't whack anything today, I think I've figured out a way we can invite von Oech to participate in our olympic fun.  But first... an overview.

Today's competition will loosely relate to the Chinese concept of yin and yang. Samantha Austin's book, China: Secret of the Dragon explains that while both yin and yang are opposites, they are energies that complement and rely upon each other, constantly in motion and flux.  Yin is associated with the night, darkness, the moon and women, whereas yang is associated with day, lightness, the sun and men.

Our friend von Oech discusses an idea loosely related to yin and yang.  He advocates for the idea of "cross-fertilization.  He suggests that some of the best ideas come from cutting across disciplinary boundaries and looking into other fields.  Author, von Oech challenges readers to consider what advances could be made if, for instance, a bull fighter and a gardener brainstormed over lunch.

I wonder the same thing.  What new innovation would await us if seemingly opposite people sat down to lunch and brainstormed?  Having said all of that, here is today's challenge....

In consultation with your lunch mates - Ying and Yang - innovate the next best craft supply to hit stores before Christmas.  Our judges will vote on which innovation they would most likely purchase.  Innovations must include a product name and description.

Today's Unsportsmen-like Trivia Question of the Day:

While winning his fourth gold medal of the 2008 Olympics, the commentator mentioned that Michael Phelp's mother did what as her job?

Announcements:

Make Your Mark:  Imagine my excitement when I arrived at my mailbox this afternoon and found an envelope filled with FOUR favorite teacher stories from Maureen.  Then Cheryl showed up at my doorstep with the fifth story of my day.  I think that gives us a total of 10 stories.  Only 90 more to go and ten days to go.  That means an average of nine a day.  Have you written your story yet?  See below.

Patchwork: Earn a Make Your Mark patch for your jeans by gathering five Make Your Mark stories from friends, colleagues, or neighbors and mail them to me (along with $5.00 per story, to cover makers, postage, and mailing envelope).  Mail stories to me at Claudia K. Beeny, 4012 Harvestwood Court, Grapevine, Texas, 76051.

Click on:  When logging on today you might have noticed the three new links on the top right hand side of our blog.  Hopefully the links will allow you to easily access information about our highlowaha book club (Reading Raynbows), our Christmas service project (Helping Hands), and our trip to Philly (Taste of USA). 

Decathlete Standings:  For the purposes of our decathlon, the LOWER the score the HIGHER your standings!  Names are listed in ascending order from first place to last.  Remember, this is the first of TEN events.  Anything is still possible.

Julie 6.0

Jamie 6.3

Stacie 7.0

AZLori 7.0

Kat 7.7

Tera 8.0

Cassie 8.0

Mike 9.3

Cheryl 11.3

Ashlee 11.7

EKnox 11.7

BKRoot 12.3

Creighton 12.3

Cristine 13.3

cspgrad 14.0

peggy 14.3

Cassie P.  14.3

Heather 14.7

Britcole 14.7

Melanie 14.7

Matt 15.3

As Prize #1, Julie wins the first of 10 Asian patches, meaning "prosperity," 

Signing off until tomorrow...

Decathlon Day #2: ChampionCHIP Bake-Off

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Today is the most elaborate of the ten events and your creation is NOT due today.  I am introducing it early in the competition to assure decathletes have plenty of time to participate. Read on!

Highlowaha 

CREATIVITY

D*E*C*A*T*H*L*O*N

Day #2

ChampionCHIP Bake-Off  

According to S. Austin, author of China: Secrets of the Dragon, 

"The kitchen in China is the center of the household: it is the space where the family gathers and where the most concern and energy is devoted to when building a home.  In traditional China, a household is defined through the stove and, thus, through the kitchen, food, and eating.  Those who share a stove are considered family and likewise, those who are considered  to be family are considered so precisely because they share the household stove.... Hence, food is the center of home life in China and is that which binds family members to each household."

So, today's challenge is a test of your creativity... in the kitchen.  We, after all, are like family.

For Highlowaha Decathlon Event #2, you must create a baked good.  Three stipulations.  

• First.  Your entry must include one secret ingredient: Nestle Toll house Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips.  
  
• Second.  Your item must be delivered (mailed or hand delivered) no later than noon on Thursday, August 21.  An extended panel of judges will convene at my home beginning at 7:00 p.m. to taste and evaluate your creations.  If you are mailing from out of town, a postmark of Monday, August 18 will have your package here on time
  
• Third.  Your "batch" should feed a minimum of eight judges (who might need a second taste to assure it's as yummy as they thought the first time!).  I am not a judge, so peanuts are welcome!
  

Important Reminder:  In order to compete as a decathlete you must have an entry in all ten events.  If you are short on time, stay in the game by submitting a batch of pre-made Nestle Toll house Cookies.   Remember, you do not have to place in the top of all ten events in order to win.  Similarly, if you want to bake your entry early and deliver it this week, I will freeze your entry and then pull it out of the freezer next Thursday. 

Let us know you're out there today, by telling us which camp you come from... crunchy chocolate chip cookies or soft.  Me?  Crunchy all the way.

The Un-sportsmen Like Trivia Question of the Day:

The sports caster of Women's Volleyball announced last night that Misty May did what four years ago after winning the gold medal?

Announcements:  

• Patchwork: Remember, you can earn a patch for you Patchwork jeans just by gathering five statements from friends, colleagues, or neighbors describing their favorite teacher.  Mail them to me in an envelope with $5.00 per letter (to cover cost of markers, mailing envelope, and postage) and I will mail you your patch.
  
• Taste of USA: Katie recruited a friend and prospective highlowaha reader to join us in Philly.  We are looking forward to meeting Nicole. 
  
• Correspondent Update: Alden and Amy made their first post.  Check it out... http://aainbeijing.blogspot.com/2008/08at-airport.html

Signing off until tomorrow...

Decathlon Day #1: Create-a-Caption

Highlowaha

CREATIVITY

D*E*C*A*T*H*L*O*N

Day #1

Create-a-Caption

Today marks the first day of our Highlowaha Decathlon.  The playing field is 100% level.  At this very moment in time, the gold can go to anyone - frequent flier or loyal lurker. Jump right in and let yourself compete.

While our Beijing counterparts prepare for the 100 Meter Dash - their first of ten events - you are preparing to make us laugh.  Below is an old cartoon from the New Yorker Magazine.  Provide three captions for the cartoon, asterisking the one you would like to submit for competition against your fellow Highlowaha teammates.   

Decathlon Rules of play:

• Submissions must be received no later than 10:00 p.m. CST.  The winners of today's event and decathlete standings will be posted late Tuesday evening and then again on Wednesday morning.
  
• To compete for title of Highlowaha Decathlon Champion, you must compete in all 10 events.
  
• The Highlowaha Decathlon Champion is based on an aggregate score.
  

The Un-Sportsman-Like Olympic Trivia Question of the Day:

What injury did President Bush have that was noticeable from the stands? 

Announcements...

• Creative Idea A Day: My blog is based on the promise of a creative idea a day.  I feel the need to at least address how our two week decathlon - though somewhat of a departure from our normal fare - still offers up some creative thought.  Consider using these events (or your own variations) to host your own olympics with family or friends.  Or, use the ideas independent of anything olympic related to challenge your own creativity.
• Taste of USA:  Our roster of participants is growing.  So far we have confirmation from Tera, Julie, Heidi, Amy, Claudia, Cheryl, and our latest addition... Katie (cspgrad).  Maureen is a maybe, but with a little bit of encouragement from us, I think we can convert her "maybe" to a "YES!".  Who will confirm next?  Come on... keep 'em rolling in.  Brian?  What about you?
  
• Make Your Mark Campaign:  Thank you Katie, D.C., Peggy, and Katie from Kentucky for being the FIRST FOUR to mail in your Make You Mark teacher stories.
  
• Patchwork: I have an idea.  I have, in my hot little hands, five Make Your Mark patches.  They will go to the first five people who can collect five teacher stories from friends, neighbors, or colleagues and mail them to me (along with the $5.00 to accompany each story).  My mailing address is 4012 Harvestwood Court, Grapevine, Texas 76051.
  

Signing off until tomorrow...

Decathlon Rules of Play

Cheryl, Drew, and J.B. at last night's HLA party

Remnants from Peggy's HLA Party

Good morning, everyone.  If you were an early bird, you noticed that I slept in this morning.  All our partying last night wore me out.  As it turns out, I couldn't turn off the olympics. I was afraid I would miss something.  I was glad I got to see China enter the stadium and yes, the lighting of the torch was really something.

Part of last night's fun was the announcement that beginning Monday, highlowaha readers will compete in our very own decathlon.  Today I thought I would talk a little more about the rules of play.

Announcements at the end...

Highlowaha Decathlon Overview

In the spirit of the true decathlon - an event combining ten track and field events - highlowaha readers will compete in ten events.  Unlike our decathlon teammates in China, we will not compete in our events over a two day period.  Instead, our ten events will be spread out over ten days, excluding Saturdays and Sundays.

While our Beijing counterparts are competing in a menu of events designed to test an individual's speed, strength, skill, endurance, and perserverance... our decathalon will test an individual's creativity in a variety of areas, including skills such as creative use of words, "craftiness," and problem solving.  

As is the case with decathletes, you do not have to be amazing in any event to be a champion of the 10 events.  Instead, you must range from adequate in your weak events to good or better in other skills.  It is in fact true, that because decathletes must do well reasonably well in all ten events, he/she has little opportunity to perfect any one event.  Such is the case with you.  The champion will have the highest AGGREGATE score.  You have probably surmised by this point that a decathlete must participate in all ten events.  If for some reason, time is limited on a particular day, it is still better to make a fast and feeble attempt, than to make no attempt at all.  You might not win that day's event, but you will be registered as competing and you can make up for it another day in another event.

Here's my pledge to you.  I know we are all busy, so I have tried to come up with a menu of events that range in difficulty and time required to complete.  Events range from 10 minutes to longer, depending upon how involved you chose to get.  Only one event will require a commitment of time on your part, but I will give you plenty of notice to complete the event should you be interested.  The events will, however, require some endurance and perseverance on your part.  The decathlon winner is traditionally given the title of "World's Best Athlete" and, we too, want the title, "Highlowaha Decathlon Champion" to really mean something.  

Besides, highlowaha decathletes will be competing for a GOLD medal package from me, complete with your very own, authentically purchased Olympic PATCH from China (thanks to Alden).  Actually our gold, silver, and bronze medalists will receive Olympic patches from China (for you patchwork jeans), but only for the gold medalist will it be accompanied by a package that is good as GOLD!  ...One other small departure from the Beijing Olympics, where medals are only given at the end of the ten events.  In our decathlon, a winner of each event will be named (and receive a prize), but still ONLY THE PERSON WITH THE GREATEST AGGREGATE SCORE WILL BE NAMED HIGHLOWAHA DECATHLON CHAMPION.  My point.  Jump in and participate!  

Entries for a particular day's event will have to be submitted no later than 10:00 p.m. (CST).  I have arranged for three Olympic judges to review daily entries, but because their schedules are also busy, winners will not be announced until the following evening (and then again the next morning).  For example... the winner from Monday's event will be announced Tuesday evening and then again on Wednesday morning. 

If you have questions, feel free to post them at any point this weekend.

Now Announcements:

• With 22 entries in last night's fortune cookie contest, we have our winner.  Congratulations Heather!  You are the lucky recipient of the P.F. Chang's $40.00 gift certificate and free appetizer.
  
• I have one more gift card for a free appetizer (lettuce wraps) at P.F. Chang's.  It will go to the first person who can recall the answer to this question, based on information provided during last night's coverage.  Because China does not have an alphabet, and the order of countries is usually determined by first letter in the alphabet, how did China determine the order in which countries would enter the stadium?
  
• Cheryl inquired as to how you might acquire the number patches for your jeans.  There is a Girl Scout Store not far from where I live, so I will purchase them on your behalf and then send them to you.  Make a post letting me know you want a set to give me some idea of the number I will need to order.
• Speaking of number patches... I happen to have an extra set in my hot little hands.  Lets award those to the first person who can tell me the designer responsible for the outfits worn by USA athletes.
• Ray's taunting me.  He tacked this to my door yesterday with a note that says something about having "Fun in the sun", and that he would be heading north for some cooler air.  Do any of you know anything about this?  Where in the world is Ray?

Get some rest and get those creative juices flowing.  I'll meet you back here on Monday and we'll let the games begin.