November 19th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

Good morning!

I really need to stop reading Facebook first thing in the morning. More times than not, I stumble on a post which manages to aggravate me, and that is not the way I want to start my day.

Today I saw a post from a young person who I have known practically their entire life and I just wanted to reach through my computer screen and smack them and tell them to get their head out of their butt. (Yes, I know in proper English I should have used “he” or “she”, but I wanted the comment to remain as ambiguous as possible.) First off, what they did was so incredibly stupid and second, it was even more stupid to post about it. I just wanted to scream! Okay, I’m done ranting, even if I’m not done seething.

By this time on Friday, I will be on Route 87 a couple of hundred miles into New York State, on my way to pick up my daughter. Can you tell I’m getting excited already? She called yesterday, and she is equally as excited to come home as we are to have her home. She will be home for eight days, and almost every minute of the poor girl’s time will be accounted for; come Sunday the 1^st, she’ll be more than ready to return to school.

Since I caught up on NaNoWriMo a few days ago, I have managed to stay pretty much on track. Yesterday’s milestone was 30K and I only missed it by a few words. I think I can handle a few dozen extra words added to today’s writing. My main concern is the limited time I’ll have to write all weekend.

Friday I’ll be traveling, but I am bringing my computer with me this time so I can write while my daughter’s in class on Friday. Saturday morning we are leaving her school bright and early for our trip home, and then when we get home we are having dinner at Grandma’s. Sunday is church, and then after church we are going to my son’s house to watch the Cowboys vs. Giants game, so Sunday is completely shot. I am going to be hard pressed to even get my blog out on Saturday and Sunday, let alone spend any time on Faerie Tale Queen, and I seriously doubt I will have a blog post at all on Friday.

While I’m on the subject, there probably won’t be any writing challenges over the weekend either. I know they are only ten minutes long, but coming up with them takes considerably more time than I can afford those three days. This will be the first time since I started the blog where there may be three days without a challenge, but I am not going to feel guilty. If you look at other blogs where they do writing challenges, they usually only post one challenge a week. There are some that only post challenges once a month. You would have a hard time trying to find another blog that does almost daily challenges like mine does.

So, to my non-Facebook audience, did you see my last installment of Faerie Tale Queen yesterday? Since NaNoWriMo began, every even day, I have posted a chapter of Faerie Tale Queen. Yesterday’s post was supposed to be Chapter Eight, but when I posted chapter eight, I noticed it was one of the really short chapters, so as a bonus, I posted Chapter Nine as well.

I am still waiting for you to chime in with comments as to if you are enjoying the story, which errors you are finding, and most of all, if you think I should change the lead male character’s name. If I go on much longer, I am going to get attached to Caleb and then no other name will feel right, so time is running out. Speak now or forever hold you peace.

Just a reminder, there are only a few day’s left for you to enter Heidi Angell’s contest on my blog. Also, something I’m sure you don’t need to be reminded about, but I am going to anyway; the holidays are rapidly approaching. The first night of Chanukah is a week from tomorrow and Christmas is only 36 days away. As a suggestion, books make a wonderful gift for either holiday. They even make great Secret Santa gifts.

On my website under the “LINKS” tab, I have several direct links to some Indie books as well as to my own books. There are a few romance novels, some straight fiction, a horror novel and a couple of mysteries which might interest you or someone on your list.

Since time has been at a premium lately, I have not been able to spend any of it on my website, so I have not had the chance to add the following book. If you want a fun, silly, gift for someone, you may want to consider the newly released Tickle Me Funny by John Sweeney Jr. The book is so new, it won’t even be on Amazon.com for another few days, but you can get your copy now by clicking on the title if you’d like. You’ll laugh, you’ll groan, there are some spots where it is “udderly” ridiculous. If George Carlin was still alive, the book would make him chuckle. I’m thinking it may be a good stocking stuffers for my son and husband.

Off to Ireland… I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge:

 

You find yourself in a Groundhog Day loop…

 

(For those of you who might not know, Groundhog Day was a movie from 1993 Starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. In the movie, Murray plays Phil Connors, a weatherman – and a bit of a jerk – who is unhappy he has to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, and he gets sucked into a time loop. He has to keep repeating the day until he gets it right.)

 

One more tick mark on the calendar, one more entry in my journal. Today was the 353^rd April Fool’s Day in a row. Two more weeks and I will have been stuck in this loop for an entire year.

One way I could look at it is, technically, today is my 400^th birthday, because this is my 401^st April Fool’s Day, but even that thought isn’t cheering me up. Birthdays tend to become a little mundane after you’ve celebrated so many.

After the first two weeks in this loop, I became tired of celebrating my birthday every day and started to try and find my way out. I alternated as many things as I could think of, different cake, different gifts, not asking for gifts, different venue, refusing a party all together. Nothing worked. I’d go to bed at night and when I woke up the next morning, it was my birthday all over again.

Since I wasn’t having any luck breaking the cycle, I spent the next ten April Fool’s Days trying to figure out how I ended up in the loop in the first place. I retraced my steps, mimicked everything, down to the last minute detail, of the first April Fool’s Day, but to no avail. I had no clue how I ended up in this mess and no clue how to get out.

Remembering the old movie Groundhog Day, and being the eternal optimist that I am, I took a page out of Phil Connors’ book and decided to spend my time more productively, to better myself. Like Phil, I had always regretted not learning how to play the piano, so, I began lessons at a local shop. I’m no Chopin, but I can now play well enough where I’m happy with my abilities. I have taken the time to read books I had always intended on reading, but never had the time.

I can honestly say, I am a much more rounded person now than I was a year ago. Yet, unlike in the movie where at this point the loop is broken for Phil, I still remain, adding one more tick mark to the calendar, and one more entry in my journal.

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

What fictional character would you like to meet in real life and why?

 

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.

November 18th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

Good morning. A few orders of personal business first. One, since I was a bit on the foggy side yesterday when posting, I forgot to wish my old - meaning I’ve known her forever - friend Barb a happy birthday. (Barb is the friend whose brother had that horrible accident two weeks ago when the contents of a dump truck fell on him and I had asked you to pray for him.) So, Happy Birthday Barb, sorry it’s a day late. I love you and I can’t wait until I see you on Thanksgiving!

Next, another birthday acknowledgement. This time it literally goes out to my oldest – again meaning I’ve known her forever, not that she’s old, because she is seven months younger than me – friend Nadia. Nadia and I were literally thrown in the same playpen together, and we have been friends ever since. She was even the maid of honor at my wedding. Because of our crazy lives, we don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like, but when we do, we pick up right where we left of as if no time had passed. So, to Nadia, I wish you a very Happy Birthday. I love you and miss you and I can’t wait until the next time we can get together!

As I had predicted, I didn’t manage to make it through the church service yesterday. I was home and in bed by 10:30 and then I slept until 2:30. When did I get so old that one night out with friends leaves me wrecked for the next day? I wasn’t even drinking, so I really have no excuse. Oh well, who cares? I’ll live, and it was so worth it.

Remember I said we were going over to my sister-in-laws for 4:30 yesterday? Well, the reason I said that was because of a text I received from her. I had sent her a text asking what time we should be over and what she needed me to bring. In return, I get this strange disjointed text, saying dinner at 4:30, her son needed to be somewhere at 6, her husband was leaving on a business trip and still had a ton to do, and she had scouts. So, I translated into saying, we were eating early and would be done by 6, because they had things to do.

While we were driving home from church, I asked my daughter to read the text her aunt sent, because quite frankly I had read it three times and I still wasn’t sure if I was understanding it correctly. My daughter takes my phone and opens up the text and reads it out loud – Dinner’s at 6:30. We’re making homemade pizzas. Please bring salad. WHAT?? When we pull into our driveway, I take the phone from her and read the text myself. Sure enough, that’s what it says. I hunt through the text messages to try to find the one I read, several times, but I can’t find it, so at this point I think I’m losing my mind.

A few hours later, I get a hold of my sister-in-law and tell her what happened, and she starts laughing. She said that was the text she sent me when I was planning my mom’s birthday in June. Why the heck would a five month old text pop up on my phone?? I think the universe likes to play pranks on people from time to time, especially when they are sleep deprived.

Anyway, we had a lovely dinner. It’s always great when the family can get together. 98% of the time, we get along really well and enjoy each other’s company – no family is perfect, we have are spats from time to time, but they are extremely rare and we get over them quickly. We laugh and talk, and infallibly there is always one silly occurrence which has us all in stitches. Last night’s was the exaggeratedly horrible rendition of “Happy Birthday”, sung off key, ill timed, with a healthy dose of raspberries (the finger rapidly moving up and down over the lips kind) thrown in for good measure.

Okay, it is now almost eight, so I should get to the challenge and start making up for time lost yesterday on Faerie Tale Queen. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge:

There may not be an “I” in team, but there is certainly one in HISTORY. Take any historical event and recount it as if you were actually there.

 

It was a fine, crisp, sunny November day, and I will admit, even though I shouldn’t, I was very excited. Because of my husband John’s position, we were often entertaining dignitaries, but this time, for me, it was extra special.

Today I would spend the entire day with a woman I idolize, an incredibly intelligent woman, full of grace and beauty. I must tell you, I have been so nervous about meeting her, I must have tried on twenty outfits and ten hairstyles before I had just the right look. Oh, I know I could never be compared to her, but the least I could do is not be an embarrassment.

We arrived at the airstrip a few minutes before their plane arrived, and I practically had to restrain myself from jumping up and down like a little girl. John squeezed my hand and gave me a kiss on the cheek. He is such a dear, sweet man even though I have been driving him absolutely insane for the past few days.

Then there she was, stepping down from the plane in her beautiful pink suit with matching pillbox hat. I thought no, I could never look that good. I was frozen in place until my John, still holding my hand, gently tugged me forward to greet them.

First I was introduced to her husband, one of the most powerful men in the world. I smiled and politely shook his hand. Next, with a hand placed firmly in the small of my back, John propelled me to stand directly in front of my idol. Now, I have never been at a loss for words in my life, but in that moment, I couldn’t find a word to save my life.

Someone said we needed to get going and she said to me, not to worry, we would get to chat over lunch while the men were doing their thing. Chat. Oh be still my heart, my idol wanted to chat with me.

I was a little disappointed when we got into the car. I thought I would be sitting with her in the middle and John and her husband would be sitting in the back, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Slowly our cavalcade wound its way through my beloved streets. I smiled and waved at the crowds of people who lined the streets to watch us pass. I couldn’t wait for this part to be over. All the attention was something I would never get used to. I took a calming breath and reminded myself in fifteen minutes we would be sitting at our table, enjoying a lovely luncheon.

Suddenly our beautiful day went horribly, horribly wrong.

 

(I ran out of time, but what else is new.)

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

You find yourself in a Groundhog Day loop…

 

(For those of you who might not know, Groundhog Day was a movie from 1993 Starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. In the movie, Murray plays Phil Connors, a weatherman – and a bit of a jerk – who is unhappy he has to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, and he gets sucked into a time loop. He has to keep repeating the day until he gets it right.)

 

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.