May 28th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Yeah, I wish my butt looked like that

Good Morning! By the time I finished my blog yesterday, I was so tired, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I did not get much sleep the night before because I couldn’t get comfortable. Somehow I managed to pull a muscle in my butt. Go ahead, get all the chuckles out, I know it’s ridiculous, I’d laugh too if it didn’t hurt so much. I had an hour and a half cushion, so I took advantage and went back to bed.

I got to work with five minutes to spare. We got everything accomplished that RV needed, which is a good thing. It is tough on Tuesdays, because I have to rush out of there so I can get whatever I need done at my house done and then get to my writing group.

In all honesty, I was debating about forgoing last night’s writers’ group, but then a new member, Mary Ellen, texted me and asked if she could hitch a ride. I was still exhausted, and still debating whether I would go or not, when my phone rang. It was Keith, my friend who runs the writing group. He had a

minor emergency, and asked if I was going. I said, “I guess I am now.”

All I wanted to do was go home and take another nap, but now I had to not only wake up enough to drive to and from Princeton, I needed to come up with several writing prompts, find what I did with my sign in sheet, get everything printed out, and then be coherent enough to make half way descent responses to the prompts. I cannot complain though, because this is only the second time, in almost a year, Keith has asked me to fill in for him.

I’ll be honest, I cheated a little. I recycled some of my prompts, as well as a few of my responses, from last year’s blog. I figured the blog was in its infantile stage at that point, so no one in the group would have remembered them, and they didn’t. Thank GOD! The only one I was truly concerned about was Joanne, because she is one of my most faithful blog followers.

We had a pretty good turnout for last night’s group. There were ten of us total, including a brand new person, Lisa. I think Keith is going to be a little bummed he wasn’t there when he sees her name on the roster, because she was one of his former students. She’s a lovely and talented woman, and I hope she continues to come to the group.

I have an early work day today as well as tomorrow, and then right after work today, I absolutely have to go to the grocery store. There is nothing to eat in my house – yup, and adult is saying this not a teenager. I just went shopping, $200 worth of shopping, and still there is nothing to eat in the house. How does this happen? Yes, we have one more resident with Lys being home, but the child eats like a bird, so she can’t be the cause. I don’t get it.

Okay, I still want to straighten up the kitchen before I have to hop in the shower, so I need to get going. I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Reluctantly, you agree to a blind date. You meet the person at the restaurant. When you are seated, the waiter makes eye contact with you while he hands you the menu. Pasted inside your menu is a note…

SHOW NO REACTION TO THIS NOTE. Smile and appear to be perusing the menu. You do not know me and have no reason to trust me, but you seriously need to heed my advice. Do not give this man any personal information. Tell him as little about you as possible. Misleading yet believable information would be beneficial. Either make an excuse to end your dinner early, or just make sure he cannot contact you ever again. Do not let him handle anything you eat or drink. If you leave the table, do not eat or drink anything when you return. He is not who he appears to be, and he is extremely dangerous.

Charlene swallowed hard, then pasted a smile on her face and peaked over her menu, “It all looks so good. Can you recommend anything?”

“Both the steak and the seafood are exceptional, and their wine list is beyond reproach.  I am particularly fond of their Chianti.”

 

Charlene let out a nervous chuckle, “As long as you’re not paring it with fava beans, I guess I’m safe.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Your Next Challenge is (one from last night, but there was a choice of three different prompts, and I didn’t choose this one):

Friends teach you what you want to know. Enemies teach you what you need to know.

You have ten 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 26th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good morning! Sorry about not posting yesterday, I was pooped. It amazes me how much energy driving takes out of me. All told, I drove just short of nine-hundred miles between Thursday and Sunday.

All I managed to get accomplished yesterday was grocery shopping, granted one of the stops was for the grand opening of Weis’ Market, which was a zoo. Not that I had much time to look around because it was so crowded, but it looks like it is going to be a really nice store, and the people were really nice. It was funny seeing the corporate suits pitching in by stocking shelves and stuff.

I was quite proud of myself though, between Weis’ and ShopRite, I got over $250 worth of groceries for $135. With sales, coupons and my shopping cards, I was able to clean up!

I had to make another run to ShopRite this morning to get my daughter a few things. Believe it or not, even though her college’s food is rated top in the country, she is not finding a lot she will eat. She doesn’t like pasta and she doesn’t want to live on pizza and burgers because she considers them junk food. She just lost about 35lbs and doesn’t want to gain it back and I can’t say I blame her. So in addition to the book that B&N sent here instead of to her school and the calculator she forget, I shipped some tuna (with a can opener) and crackers, some Speghettios and some mac & cheese. Yeah, I know I just said she doesn’t do pasta, but those are the rare exceptions. Chances are she won’t even finish the four little packs I sent before the end of the semester, but she has them if she wants them.

My youngest daughter slept over a friend’s yesterday and she’s going to the beach today, so I have the whole house to myself, and it’s weird. It wasn’t often that no one was home. I have zero excuses about not getting something accomplished. So on that note, I have to get the final insurance paperwork for hurricane Irene compiled and sent off, I have laundry and dishes to do, and I have to complete Corporate Blues.

Oh, before I go, I wanted to share some news. I received a notification from twitter that I had a new follower. NBD, I get a few of those every day, but this one was from an author whose writing I really enjoy, Maggie Shayne. I was so excited! Now if I get one from Stephanie Laurens or Catherine Coulter or any other authors I love, you’ll really hear me squealing!!

Until tomorrow… have a great day and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

There’s a nip in the air…

 

For the first time in two months, there’s a nip in the air. No whirl of the air conditioner unit buzzing in the background. The windows are open and a cool breeze is gently fluttering the drapes. Tonight it is supposed to dip so low, we may need to toss an extra blanket on the bed, but at least we know we will be getting a sound sleep.

Sorry, I know that was short and lame. I guess I’m still recovering from the three days of sleep deprivation. Hopefully tomorrow’s will be better.

 

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.