Thank you, thank you, it's working!

Huzzah! Someone is out there listening/reading/voting. I logged on to the Hallmark contest website today and, lo' and behold, my percentage of votes has increased from 2.3% to 2.6%! Seeing as how I've been stuck at 2.3% for quite some time now, it's a vast improvement. So a great big THANK YOU to all the voters out there! And for those of you spreading the word as well, Muchas Gracias big time!

If any of you have been watching the stats, you may notice that some of them have changed. Still, that darned (but cute) baby is still in the lead. I'm not one to pull the bottle from a baby's mouth, but I'd like to catch up to that little rubber baby buggy bumper. So, keep voting, Please.

I've decided to try a new tactic to get more votes. I came up with the idea of making sugar cookies in the shape of a squirrel, and including with them a note on the contest along with the website address. But first I had to find a squirrel cookie cutter. Not an easy task. Wasn't exactly the hardest task either. I found one at Joann Fabrics & Crafts. However, it was one of a set of 50 animal cookie cutters. But, 50 cookie cutters for $9.99 - not such a bad deal, right? Besides, I'm sure I can make use of some of the other critters at some point.

I did a little shopping, and took my cookie cutter kit and got in line at the check out. The woman behind me in line joked that she was curious what I needed 50 cookie cutters for. I told her that, actually, I only needed the squirrel, which she thought was very funny. Then I asked if she would like to know why. She was a little reluctant, but said "sure". So, I explained about the Hallmark contest and how this was my new marketing/bribery plan to get more votes. By the time we both had checked out and left the store, I had given her a card with all the voting information on it and asked for her vote. And, she had shared with me a story about a crow that visits her backyard on a regular basis. He picks up stale bread at the Uno restaurant near her neighborhood, then brings it to her yard where he dips it in the birdbath to soften it, and then feasts away. I told her that warranted video, not just a photo!

I received an email from my cousin, Deb, who was in a Hallmark store recently and found my card. Out shopping on her own, she wanted to show the card to someone, and struck up a conversation with one of the other shoppers in the store and told her that the card was by her cousin. So, now, members of my extended family are getting in on the act of approaching total strangers. No word, though, on whether she convinced this stranger to get online and vote.

Well, that's the latest news regarding Mr. Squirrel. Keep voting America. If anyone needs any animal shaped cookie cutters, just let me know!

Kimberly