August 31st

Hi it’s Christina –

Good morning! First I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my Godmother. I love you Aunt Mary, and I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

I am currently sitting on the balcony of our motel, watching the sunrise over the ocean. Not too shabby! It’s breezy, pretty cloudy, and a little chilly, and I’m thinking I should have grabbed a sweatshirt before coming out here, but I am SO not complaining. Okay, I will make a slight grumble over the lack of coffee, but other than that, I’m a happy camper.

We got here by ten yesterday morning, and that’s with leaving half an hour late and making two stops. One stop was at the midway point for a bathroom break, and the second one was when I pulled into Wawa when I noticed we were turning onto a friend’s street, so I gave her a call to ask if I should turn left toward the beach or right toward her house.

I didn’t realize I would be right there because I usually hop on the Parkway in Avalon, and this time I decided to take Route 9 all the way to Rio Grande. I did this for two reasons. One was because I caught a glimpse of the Parkway and said “Uh uh, Not sitting in traffic!”, and the other was because I’m cheap. There’s a toll to get off at Rio Grande from the Parkway, and I didn’t want to pay it.

Bernadette didn’t answer, so we went straight to the hotel. I pulled in and went to the lobby. I told the owner I knew I couldn’t check in yet, but I was hoping he would let us park there so we could go to the beach. Surprise, surprise, our room was ready – five hours before check in time – and he handed me the keys. I was shocked.

The room is tiny, just your basic seaside motel, but it was cute, and more importantly CLEAN. I lucked out. You never know when you’re picking blind and settling for the only available room on the whole island. The owners of the Mark I on E. Atlanta Ave in Wildwood Crest, Chris & Kathy, are really sweet. The pool is great, and we are one small hotel away from being right on the beach. When I come back to Wildwood, I’ll be coming back here.

So we unload our junk, and head for the beach even though the clouds had rolled in. After what happened the other day in Sandy Hook, our usual beach, I wanted to be close to the lifeguards. We find a little patch of sand, set up our area, and go stick our toes in the water. It was a bit chilly, but not terrible. That hurricane reeked all sorts of havoc even though it was over a hundred miles off shore.

I’m out in the water about thigh deep and I hear Dani screech. I turn around and my daughter monkey jumped into the arms of another woman – I was far enough away I couldn’t make out who it was. As I neared, I hear, “Hey Mama!” It was Lisa, one of my son’s friends, and as I got closer, I see she’s with Pam, one of my former cheerleaders, and Maggie, another friend of my son’s.

After a flurry of hugs and kisses, we start chatting. Their hotel is right across the street from ours, and their blanket is right in front of ours on the beach. When we dropped our stuff, we just noticed a bunch of bathing beauties in front of us, but not who they were. (It’s not like I was actively looking for them.)

It turns out, a whole bunch of my son’s other friends were coming down later, and we did get to see them before they went out clubbing. It was so nice to see them all, even for a brief time. The pack of them were always at my house, and since PJ’s moved out, I never get to see them anymore, and I miss them. When he moved out, it was like I lost a dozen of my kids all in one swoop.

My battery’s about to die, and there are no hook-ups out here, so I have to wrap up quickly. We found a bunch of hermit crabs while walking the beach, but the guy at the store told us they were the wrong type of crabs so they wouldn't survive in the cages he sold. We had dinner on the boardwalk. I grabbed a sausage sandwich from Hot Spot, Paulie and the kids grabbed pizza, and then we got a bucket of fries and orange and lemon drinks from Curley’s. After dinner, since the rides held no appeal to either kids, we played some Fascination, and then we dropped Dani and Adam off to meet up with some of their other friends for an hour. Everyone was home and in bed by 11:30.

Since I’m on vacation, there will be no writing challenge today or tomorrow. I hope you have a fantastic day, and happy writing!

(Sorry, no real pictures today. The camera is somewhere in the room, and I don't want to wake everyone trying to hunt for it. I'll post pictures tomorrow.)

March 30th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Guess what I did last night? I went out with a group of friends for dinner, and to listen to some guys from my high school’s band play. Me, the perpetual homebody, the veritable hermit, went out and partied. I haven’t done that in forever. We had a blast, but today I have such a rip roaring headache.

It’s just not fair. For the most part, I don’t drink. If we’re home and having a picnic, I may take a cooler, but then my girlfriends laugh at me because they know they’ll be getting half to three quarters of it, because I won’t finish it. At Christmastime, I make homemade Irish Cream, and I will have a little bit of that – usually in my coffee or hot cocoa. If we’re out somewhere, I may try a taste of something someone else is having if it sounds interesting. Like last night, they had this raspberry beer on tap, and my husband got one of those little sample glasses to try it. He took a sip, made a face, and put the glass down on the table. So, with that reaction, I had to taste it. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I can’t stand beer. I think it tastes disgusting, and I can’t see how anyone could possibly like drinking skunk urine (that’s what it smells like to me). Anyway, the raspberry beer wasn’t half bad. I’d still never drink a glass, but a sip was tolerable.

One of my girlfriends had a Cosmo, and it smelled good, so I took a sip of that as well. I was surprised, it tasted almost as good as it smelled, but again, I wasn’t ordering a whole one. Plus I was driving, so there was no way in hell I was going to have any alcohol in my system. So, as you can see, I’m a real lightweight when it comes to drinking, yet after a night out, I wake up the next morning with a hangover. Again I say, it’s just not fair.

The “morning after” aside, I had a great time last night. At one point, I looked around the table and realized half of my closest friends were there to celebrate my birthday with me. Bec (and Lenny), Fran (and Carl), Sharon, and Dina all were able to come. Now if Barb, Barb (and John), Karolyn, Kelly (and Wyatt), and Nadia had showed up, I would have been over the moon. (I love the significant others dearly as well.) I can’t remember a time when all of my friends were together, in the same room, at the same time.

So, the band did really well last night. I did bust their hump a little. Once when Craig went to take a break, and I told him he must be getting old, because back in their high school days, they could play for hours without stopping; and then once when my friend Gary was singing and I made him spit out his gum. He has a great voice, and it gets muffled when he has gum in his mouth. I vaguely remember yelling at him for the same thing when we were younger. Craig’s daughter was also singing, and let me tell you, she had an incredible voice. Her tone was so pure, it was amazing. So, if you ever have the opportunity to hear “The Craig Leach Band”, and you like 60s, 70s & 80s rock, go see them. I think you’ll enjoy them.

Now, I did have one big surprise last night, Gary, who I have known forever, and always refer to as “my friend from high school”, was never actually in the high school at the same time I was. He graduated before I even got to the high school. However, because the few friends he had who were younger than him were the same few friends I had who were older than me; we ended up knowing each other. All these years, I thought Gary was a grade or two ahead of me, not five! It’s a little strange believing something for a long time, only to find out that’s not the case. Oh well, I guess I’ll have to say, “Gary is a friend I met when I was in high school” now. LOL

I should get going, because I still want to give you a new writing challenge, and I’d like to get more done on my editing project. I’m getting closer, but I’m still not done. ARGH!! I hope y’all have a Super Sunday, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Write a story containing the following three: Quest, Midnight, Promise

Because of a promise he had made to a dying friend, James was now on the quest of a lifetime. Around midnight, two weeks ago, James and Tom were at a bar, having a drink after they went off duty, when Tom told James he had just learned he may have a son. The news had floored James. He and Tom had become fast friends when they met at the Academy, nearly twenty years ago. They were stationed together, and together they climbed the ranks within the department. Ten years ago, when they both made detective, the best friends became partners.

In all that time, Tom had never told James about Becky, his first love, the girl he had wanted to marry, but her father had forbidden it. The man was so against a union between Tom and his daughter, he literally packed up his family and moved them away.

Trying to be creative with a mondo headache, is not working to well for me today. Sorry.

Your Next Challenge is:

Help, I’m shrinking…

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.

September 4th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

 

It’s still dark outside. I set my alarm an hour earlier than I needed to be up so I could do my blog before we left for the beach. There will be six of us going today, my daughter, three of her friend, one little brother, and me. One friend was supposed to be watching her brother today and would not have been able to come to the beach, so I said we would take him too. It’s one of the girl’s birthdays today and I didn’t want the one friend to miss out spending the day with her because she had to babysit.

 

It has been a very long time since I’ve had a ten year old boy at the beach. If I remember correctly, at that age my son would spend the entire day either in the water or digging a hole to China in the sand. Hopefully this little boy will be the same. If not, I haven’t a clue as to how to entertain him.

 

As of today, my daughter’s tight circle of friends are all fourteen years old. It is a very small window of time when this happens because in a few weeks, the first, and quite ironically the tiniest, of the group turns fifteen. The other group members were at Sunday’s picnic, so they celebrated then, but my daughter wanted her friend’s actual birthday to be a little special…so I’m loading up my car with food, beach paraphernalia and kids, and we are going to have a great day. The last hoorah before they have to go back to school.

 

OK, I have to go make sandwiches and get the cooler packed up, so I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

The day for one of my favorite fall activities is finally here and I think I’m more excited than the kids. I could not have produced a more perfect day than if I had conjured it myself. The air is crisp and the sky a cloudless blue; and although we need sweatshirts right now, before we are finished they will be tied around our waists or more than likely be handed off to Mom, their pack mule in residence.

We pile out of the car, bags in hand, and are immediately assailed with a cacophony of aromas; the hearty earth after a night of rain, the pungent rotting fruit, and, since the orchard is part of a working farm, the barnyard stench also vied for supremacy. The children wrinkled their noses, but I just smiled. As we walked closer to the entrance, another scent gently wafted through the air. Now the kids begin to show signs of interest. Without asking permission or whining and begging as they would have done when they were young, they detour directly to the barn/store, knowing I would not object in the least. I too smelled the newest batch of apple cider donuts emerging from the oven and my mouth was already watering.

 

Dang it, I never even made it into the orchard, never described the sweet taste of the pilfered apples or the joy in watching my adult children start acting like kids again. Oh well, rules are rules. Sad part is, with my daughter away at college, our only hope at a family apple picking is if we go up by her one weekend and my son agrees to come with us. The chances are not likely. I’ll just have to wait and start all over again when I have grandchildren and they are old enough to go (10 years at least from now).

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

The Magical Realm is in an uproar…

 

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 24th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Well I survived…barely. Yesterday was difficult to say the least. It took us about three hours from unloading the car to having her whole room organized, so I guess it wasn’t too bad. Then we had lunch, listened to the welcome speech from the college president, said goodbye to my daughter, then listened to a few more speeches, and it was all over.

I will be breaking the rules this morning. I am going to see my daughter one last time to pick up some of the empty bins she has so they are not taking up space, but it is only going to be a five minute visit. (I couldn’t take the bins yesterday because after we unloaded, our car had to go to off-site parking, and I wasn’t about to carry bins on the shuttle bus back to the car.) The ride back to the hotel afterwards may just be harder for me than yesterday was.

The three musketeers were reunited again, and they all seemed happy, so that does give me some comfort, but not much. It is going to be so weird leaving for home without my daughter with us.

 

 

 

We won’t be going straight home today. We will be taking a detour to Lanconia, New Hampshire to see friends of ours. Years ago we used to go to Wildwood for vacation and we stayed at the same hotel every year. Because of that we became friends with the owners, Anthony & Tillie, as well as some of the guests, Red & Rose; so much so, we started coordinating our vacations so we would all be at the hotel at the same time. Well, the Marianne Motel closed down a few years ago, so none of us have seen each other in a while.

When my daughter and I made our first trip to VT, we met Red and Rose for lunch on our way home, but it has been years since my husband and youngest daughter have seen them. With them only being two hours away from the college, how could we not swing by for a visit? At least I have something to look forward to today or I may have been a total wreck driving home.

I guess I should be going. I need to leave in a few minutes to meet my daughter. So, until tomorrow… hope you have a wonderful day and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

Write a story containing: Hot Fudge, Mustard and a Bottle of Wine.

 

“These two, three and four week business trips are going to be the death of me”, Carrie grumbled as she dropped her luggage in the front hall of her apartment and tossed her keys and her mail on the table. She shimmied out of her coat and hung it on the hook, “Food, shower, then bed, in that order.” She eyed her discarded bags and the stack of mail. “Ugh. Alright, put the luggage in the room, go through the mail for anything important, food, shower then bed. I’ll unpack tomorrow.”

Carrie hauled her bags into her bedroom and deposited them in the corner, retrieved her mail, then sorted it over the kitchen garbage decreasing the pile by eighty percent. Satisfied with the more manageable stack sitting on the counter, she turned to the refrigerator to tackle the third thing on her “To Do” list, food. She opened the door to find nothing more than a container of hot fudge, a jar of mustard and a bottle of wine. “Well what did you expect stupid, you’ve been gone for three weeks?” Deciding eating was overrated, she headed for the shower.

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

There’s a nip in the air…

 

 

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 5th Challenge - My 100th Blog Entry!

Hi, it’s Christina –

Happy Monday Morning! As you may have guessed from my friend Karolyn’s response to the challenge question (on FB – I still need to copy it to the blog), we are headed to the beach today. Which means, in order to get this blog done, make lunches and get our stuff together, I’m up before dawn again. Not that I mind. Everyone’s life is so crazy and fast paced, that it is hard to find time to get together with friends. So when the opportunity arises, I try to snatch it with both hands.

Over time through this blog, I’m sure you will hear me mention some of my friends. I have been pretty blessed in the friends department, as a number of my friends I have had for over twenty, thirty and even forty years. Karolyn is one of them, so I am excited to get to spend some time with her today. Our daughters are all old enough they can entertain themselves, so we will have six hours to chat. I can’t wait!

So now I have one last load of towels to throw in the dryer so they can be packed, watermelon to cut, chicken and tuna salads to make, cooler to pack, car to pack, and somewhere during that COFFEEEEEEE. See, I put you guys even above my need for caffeine this morning, and that need is becoming strong, so let’s get to it. Have a great day y’all and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

Write a story containing these three words: Light, Cave & Shell.

For years I have been coming to this tiny strip of beach just north of Bar Harbor, Maine. I stay in an itty-bitty cabin; a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a porch, that’s it, but it is right on the water and I love it. I started coming here as a kid, and now as an adult, it is my escape cottage.

If asked, I would say I knew every inch of this beach like the back of my hand, so I was quite surprised when I stumbled upon a cave I had never seen. I decided to take a walk after dinner. I do this often. One more dose of crisp salty air would relax me so I could sleep soundly. I would walk for an hour or so, gathering shells or skipping rocks into the ocean if the water was calm.

I had bent down to pick up a shell and a flicker of light caught my eye. I turned to where I thought the light was coming from and scanned the rocky cliff for the source. At first I saw nothing, but then it happened again, a burst of light reflected off the rock. As I approached, it became more apparent the light was coming from inside a cave. But what could be causing it?

 

Dang it, ran out of time. L I am SO not a short story person. OK, off to get ready. Hope you find tomorrow’s challenge fun. Again, have a great day!

 

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.