April 28th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Happy Monday! First, I want to make a correction from yesterday’s blog. My husband was born at 8:11 am, not 8:12 am. My Mother in Law went and checked his baby book Saturday night, just to be sure.

To say my husband was surprised by his gift, would be a gross understatement. We didn’t plan it this way, but everyone brought him a small gift, so he wasn’t expecting anything big. Fran and Carl got him a big bag of gag gifts. The girls and I gave him a refill for his beer making kit. PJ and Alex got him as

a gag, treats for “his” new dog (he’s not thrilled with Riley joining our house), and some Gear Ties, which are basically giant reusable twist ties to hold things in place – the ladder to the roof of the car, your tool belt to a ladder, etc. My mother made him a lap quilt. His parents got him sneakers, and our nieces and nephew got him a mug and a shirt.

He thought he was done, and he was happy with his gifts, but then we handed him another box. This time, the card was signed by everyone. You should have seen the confused look on his face. He opens the box and pulls out a stack of papers.

The first one said “Pack your bags” – then all the banter went around the room about him getting kicked out of the house. The next page had a picture of an

airplane saying “The plane leaves early”. The next one was a picture of a yellow Hyundai saying “We’ll be driving this bad boy.” The fourth slide was a picture of the hotel we’ll be staying at, and the fifth slide said “Because you’re going to see you beloved Cowboys.” The final slide was the Ravens vs. Cowboys with our seat section and numbers, and the dates of our trip. He couldn’t even read the slide out loud. All he kept saying was, “Holy S*&T!” It was priceless.

Lys’ chocolate stout cake was a big hit. Everyone, except me, loved it. It was really moist, and really decadent, and it came out beautiful, but I just did not care for it. My husband however, who rarely eats sweets, finished every bite of his piece. We were all amazed. We had a couple of bottles of the chocolate stout beer left over, so my husband poured some in our cordial glasses so everyone could have a taste. It’s funny, I don’t think anyone liked the beer itself. I didn’t even take a sip. It smelled disgusting.

By the time everyone left, and I finished the last little bit of straightening up that needed to be done, unwound for a little, it was one in the morning before I fell asleep. I’m so glad I don’t have to work today. After I finish this blog, and get my hubby off to work, I’m going back to bed. I’m wiped! Then, when I get up, I can deal with the grocery store, and hopefully a little more writing.

Unless I get hit by a bus or my computer blows up, I can pretty much guarantee I will reach my Camp NaNo goal. I have 2,355 words to go, and three days to do it. Phew! Glad that’s just about over. The second I hit the 50K, I’m posting my final count, even if it isn’t the 30^th, just so I can be done with it. Then I’ll have May and June to finish Faerie Tale Queen, so it can be published before the next Camp NaNoWriMo starts. I hope I’ll be able to do it with working and Lys being home.

Okay, challenge time and then I have to make my hubby’s coffee. There will be a delay in this post though. I have to wait for Lys to wake up so she can send me the photos she took from yesterday’s party. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

You come home to find a “Dear John” letter … from your pet.

Dear Mom & Dad –

It is with a heavy heart I am writing you this letter. Even though I was very young when you rescued me and my “brother” from the pound, I remember it as if it were yesterday. I didn’t even mind you brought us into a house with a dog, because Mitzi was so sweet and she treated us like we were her own kids. I didn’t even mind when two years later, you brought Corona home. Yes, she was another dog, but she was smaller than us, so it didn’t matter too much.

I was really sad when Mitzi died, so I understood why you added S.P.I.K.E. to the family. He was so dopey, and honestly, I think he thought he was a cat, so he wasn’t an issue either. When S.P.I.K.E. died, and a few months later Corona died, I was sad, but I have to tell you, I was looking forward to it just being my brother and me.

Just as I had imagined, things were great. We had run of the house. We had all your attention, all your love. We were living high on the hog. Then last year, you brought that big hairy beast Colby home and things changed. He has been a nuisance. I realize he’s still young, and things have been getting better, but I’m getting entirely too old to be chased all the time. All that dog wants to do is play, and I just want to take a nap.

It has been tough, but I think I have been handling it very well, considering. But, now I hear you’re bringing another dog into the family. Why? Weren’t we enough for you? I’m sorry, but I do not have the patience or the energy to break in another dog. I just cannot handle it. So unfortunately, this is goodbye. I love you, and I’ll miss you.

Love,

Mikey

(The last couple of sentences and the closing took me twenty seconds past the time limit.)

Your Next Challenge is:

This is going to be a tough one, for ten minutes straight – WITHOUT STOPPING – do a stream of consciousness writing. If you get stuck and don’t know what to write, write “I don’t know what to write. I don’t know what to write…” The most important thing is you DO NOT stop writing until your timer goes off. Your subject is OUTDOORS.

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.