August 2nd Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –
 

Good morning. It is SO pretty out today, but isn’t that usually the case after a rainy day? Everything has been given a thorough cleaning … except the mud puddles that is. LOL.

Got the car registered and inspected yesterday. I was so excited when it passed inspection. Not that there was any reason for getting excited, the car is only five years old, of course it should pass inspection. I guess it’s a throwback reaction to all those years I was driving around in clunkers.

My first car was a ’73 Ford Gran Torino, light brown with a dark brown roof. If you’re not into cars, but know old TV shows, it was the car they drove in Starsky & Hutch. The car was a tank and I loved it! We declared it “totaled” at just short of 300K miles because it needed new tires which would cost $300 more than the car was worth. What was your first car?

 

 

 

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

Write a story containing the following three words: Kitten, Curtains, Cupcake

 

I had forgotten what life was like with a new kitten in the house. Last week I found a stray kitten in our yard; he was tiny, perhaps five or six weeks old, soaking wet, cold, and filthy. I brought him in, gave him a bath and fed him. After the ordeal, he promptly curled up on me and fell asleep. Much to my husband’s chagrin, I instantly fell in love and so did my kids.

He was precious, a long haired, buff colored confection and so sweet my daughter said we should name him Cupcake. Not exactly the name I’d give a male cat, but it did seem to fit.

The next day we brought him to the vet and he was given a clean bill of health. We were now the proud family of yet another animal. Cupcake has adjusted well. He plays with his “big brothers” and I even caught him sleeping on the dog. He’s so adorable when he’s asleep. However, when he’s not asleep, he is a constant ball of energy and he loves to climb. He climbs on the couch, the chairs, your leg, the screen door, and this morning I had to stop him from climbing the curtains! Yes, life with a new kitten is interesting.

 

Not a true story, however, we have taken in many strays in our time, and we have had a few kittens who have climbed the curtains and anything else they could get their little claws into.

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

I remember the first time I…

 

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.

August 1st Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good morning. Looks like we are in for a cool, rainy, dreary day today. It’s been a while since it was like that for the entire day. Perfect weather for me to buckle down and edit, which I guess is good, because I’m really not in the mood to write. Pushing to get finished by a deadline takes a lot out of you.

People just don’t get it. They think because I don’t have an office job, where I get a weekly paycheck, they think I don’t work. Writing a novel is a lot of work. At times, it’s exhausting work. You have the initial story with all the emotional ups and downs of the characters and plots, and whatever research the book requires; then you have editing, publishing, and finally marketing, which is a multi-faceted, never ending necessity. Plus, because I am home, I have to do all the other stuff to keep the house running with little help. Maybe if my books start selling a little better, everyone around me would realize I’m not home playing Candy Crush Saga all day long. It’s frustrating.

OK, I’m done complaining. I feel much better. Thank you for letting me get that out.  

Did you do yesterday’s challenge? What did you see? Was it comical? Unbelievable? Or was it simply amazing?

Whatever it was, even if you only think about your replies in your head and never get them down on paper, I hope you are having fun with these challenges. Tell you what, obviously you are still not comfortable posting your actual challenge answers, what if you just let me know if you like a particular challenge? Post a sentence or two telling me what the prompt made you think about or that you hated it or loved it because… This way at least, I’ll get a better feel of what you all like and I’ll try to give you more of those types of challenges.

  

Your Last Challenge was:

Did I really just see that?

You look. You blink. You frown and scratch your head. “Did I really just see that?” you think to yourself. The human brain is an amazing tool, however, is it really registering what your eyes are seeing, or is it only processing what it thinks it should be seeing? Magicians and Conmen have learned to exploit these eye-brain miscommunications for centuries. Do you really think that elephant just disappeared into thin air?

Your brain knows what the logical answer is and supplies it, even if it isn’t what you actually just think you saw. Don’t believe me? Read this sign out loud.

 

What did it say? Are you sure? Read it again. Are you 100% sure? Read each line separately and slowly out loud. Did you find what I’m talking about?

So the next time you see something unbelievable or amazing, ask yourself, Did I really just see that?

 

Sorry, really short, but the sign took a big chunk of my 10 minute window. Believe it or not, there was actually a show on TV last night about this very same subject (which is where I got the sign idea from). I really guess I was meant to give you this challenge yesterday.

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

Write a story containing the following three words: Kitten, Curtains, Cupcake

 

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.