April 20th

Hi, it’s Christina –

I just wanted to take a few minutes, while I was having my first cup of coffee, to wish everyone (who celebrates) a Happy Easter! I’m up really early today, because I ran out of steam and didn’t get everything done. My hubby, bless his heart, colored eggs with Dani last night, cooked up the sausage for the sausage and peppers I need to bring to my aunts, and he straightened up the living room for me, and Dani baked the cupcakes. All I have left to do is clean up the kitchen and help T.E.B. with his morning task.

PJ and Alex will be here by eight, and I would really like to be out of the shower and dressed already by the time they get here. The Easter egg hunt, baskets, and breakfast should take us to nine, which leaves Dani and my husband forty-five minutes to shower and dress before we have to leave for church.

Easter morning is fun around here, and if you’ve read Corporate Blues, you already know my family’s tradition. It will be a little strange though, with PJ not waking up here and Lys away at college, but we are still determined to make it nice for Dani.

First we start with a letter from the Easter Bunny. Here’s a copy of the note the kids will be finding this morning:

A dozen eggs for each, you’ll have to find

I’ve done my best, so take your time

Search high and search low, and then you’ll see

Just how clever this old bunny can be

ORANGE and YELLOW will be Alex’s quest

Let’s see if she’ll be able to keep up with the rest

This year PURPLE and PINK eggs are for my Dani girl

Don’t leave any behind, give it a whirl

That leaves PJ, my only lad

BLUE and GREEN eggs this year, are yours to be had

Of course I did not forget sweet Lys,

Even though this Easter, she must miss

If you see eggs of the sparkly kind,

Those are for her, so leave them behind

That’s all for right now, and I must scurry

For as you know, this morn, I’m in a great hurry

Hope your day is warm and sunny

Love your friend,

The Easter Bunny

     

Then when the race to see who can find all their eggs first is over, they open their eggs, one at a time, alternating. Inside each egg is either money, or a slip of paper saying “Pick a Gift”. After all the eggs are opened, and all the gifts unwrapped, they open their Easter baskets and make a bee line for their Cadbury egg – our traditional “Easter Breakfast”, one which, every year, makes my husband wince and shake his head. Then we scatter and start rushing around, like a bunch of chickens with a fox in their hen house, to try to get to church on time.

Some years we’re more successful than others. This year we need to be on time, because with the way they redid the parking lot at church, there aren’t as many spaces as we used to have, so our minister asked, if possible, could we carpool. My mom will be pulling up at 9:45, so we had better be ready. The one thing she doesn’t know is, she’ll be the one driving, because I never got around to cleaning out our car yesterday. I’m safe though, she would never think to kill me on such a holy day.

Okay, I should skedaddle. I hope y’all have a blessed day, and happy writing!

August 19th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

It’s Monday, so back to the real world. Vacation is over and the “To Do” list is a bit overwhelming. I might actually make a physical “To Do” list so I can keep on track or I very well may lose my mind over the next five days.

 

Tuesday is supposed to be my critique group, but I’m not sure if I will be able to fit it in to the schedule. I’m going to try though, just for a sanity break if nothing else. The critique group is an eclectic bunch and I really enjoy their company as well as their comments. I have been spoon feeding them chapters of Simply by Chance every session and have actually been implementing their suggestions. It has been very beneficial and I hope the suggestions I am making on their respective works is helpful to them as well. I’m not sure if I will be able to continue with the group for much longer if I get a similar program running at my local library. Hopefully, if I can’t, I will figure out some way to keep in touch with the group, and maybe some of the folks who live close will come to my library’s writers’ workshop and critique group. I really need to sit down with the director and hammer out all the details or I will never get the project off the ground!

OK, you have had several days to come up with things to do while stuck in the house on a rainy day. Did you come up with something fun?

Hope you have a wonderful day and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

You’re stuck in the house on a rainy day.

 

I didn’t even have to open my eyes and look outside to know I wasn’t going anywhere today. The low rumble of thunder and the repetitive patter of rain hitting my window was what woke me. Perhaps I should just stay in bed and sleep away the day. No, that won’t do. The kids will be up and complaining they’re bored. What can we do to keep them entertained? If I let them, they’ll sit in front of the idiot box all day. It would make things easier on me, but that’s a cop-out. There’s cards, but that will last exactly one game, so forty-five minutes to an hour. Woohoo. They’re not ones for Yatzee or board games, so they’re out. Ooo, I know! A few months ago I bought dye and I have those t-shirts I still haven’t returned. We’ll tie-dye. It will probably make a holy mess, but who cares? It will keep us occupied for a few hours and the kids will have something to show for the day. Now I’m excited to get this rainy day started.

Your Next Challenge is:

 

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.