2018 Gingerbread House Throwdown!Easy Weight Loss

Well, I'm not going to sugarcoat this - we lost.  Team Awesome's house, awesome as it was, just could not hold a candle to Team Hug It Out, Bitch's creation.  We know when we're beat and we admitted it as soon as they revealed their structure.  Dang it.  We need to step up our game next year and look beyond the standard house shape.  Planning has already begun.  Well, if by planning you mean planning not to lose next year, then yes.  Beyond that?  Hey, we have some time to plot a comeback.

Oh, did you want to see pictures?  Sure thing.  Here's Team Awesome:

Allie and I, being AWESOME since 2009.

Here's Team Hug It Out, Bitch:

Jeff and Sam, being themselves since 2009.

Allie using a steady hand to outline the windows:

This is not my forte - luckily it is hers.

We were going for Santa's red coat with his black belt/gold buckle running across the middle.  The red licorice was really wavy which didn't help in creating a more solid cover, and we gave up our Hershey's chocolate bars to the other team, using baking chocolate chips instead.  It didn't quite come together like it did in my head.

 

Allie had a cute idea to fuse the licorice together (with fire, of course) to make concentric circles that would form a Santa hat to perch jauntily on the roof.  Apparently licorice will not melt with fire.  Now we know.

Also, I bought a box of Sour Patch Kids to use as elves, but they weren't as pictured on the box, so it was a less effective look.  P.S.  We put their heads in the windows to make them look like they were peeking out, but it turned out kinda creepy.  Headless elves?  Not so festive.

WHERE ARE THEIR ARMS?  WHERE ARE THEIR FACES?

Not to belabor a point, but come ON.  So we had blobs instead of elves.  I mean, we still would have lost, but our house could have looked cuter...

Still, we were proud of our house, as we are each year.  

OK, it's time to show you the winner.  As usual, destruction and construction was involved:

I promise, the box cutter was not as close to his face as it appears.  Half of the roof has been removed, with the other half coming next.

Messy!  But a flat top...what?  You can see the cardboard that they put up so we couldn't watch what they were doing.  Like we would copy them, sheesh!

Allie and I went first, showing our masterpiece, and then Jeff and Sam removed the cardboard to reveal a cell phone tower and shelter:

Dang it!  It's really good.

There's even a person walking up steps to go inside!

Complete with coax cable running up the tower, sigh.  And Site ID number, sigh.

They were really pleased with themselves.

 

Paco approved, and attempted to take a bite, but he was thwarted.

So there you go.  Dang it!!!  Next year.  But we had a lot of fun; we were crying with laughter, and my abs got a workout with all of that laughing.

Never have Sam take your picture - it will take forever, you will end up with 800 shots, and you'll have tears streaking your face from laughing so hard.  

Also, you will get this mixed in with your pictures:

from My Journey to Fit http://bit.ly/2SpUuH0
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