October 10th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

First, I want to wish my Godfather a very happy birthday!

Burrrrr! It is down-right chilly this morning! Since it started to rain, I waited outside for the bus with my daughter, holding an umbrella for her so she wouldn’t get wet. By the time I came in, my teeth were chattering. She was so funny. She didn’t want me to walk to the end of the driveway. I guess a cream colored robe with blue roses isn’t the height of fashion. LOL.

It’s not like the kids on the bus would really be able to see what I was wearing because it was still dark at 6:45. I’m not liking this; still dark at seven in the morning and dark again by seven at night, and it’s only going to get progressively worse for the next seventy-three days. I need to move closer to the equator so I’m not in the dark so much!

Perhaps I was a bear in a previous life because all I want to do in the colder months is sleep. I feel so unproductive. It takes forever to get things accomplished. That and the fact I chub up a bit when it’s cold, and my teeth and claws show if my children are threatened. It’s a plausible theory, no? J

Oh my goodness, on a totally different and random topic, I just watched a clip for the Nissan Pivo and I think it is the coolest thing EVER! I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t want to be in one with a semi driving by though, and I can’t imagine it has a good crash test rating. The computer is adorable. Check out the video on YouTube.

 

Yesterday I got tied up with another writing project as well as some other things, so I ran out of steam before I could do the blog. I have got to make sure the blog is the very first thing I do in the morning, otherwise “stuff” gets in the way and I rarely manage to get back to it. I will endeavor not to be distracted in the future.

I hope you have a great day and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

Use the following three words in a story: Movie, Bicycle, Newspaper

 

It was hard to believe our little non-descript town would be chosen as the back-drop for a movie, but for three weeks last summer, that is exactly what happened. The neat thing was, they used all the town folk as the extras. Residents, not actors, were the people in the coffee shoppe, the grocery store, walking their dogs, playing soccer. Every day to day normal activity was portrayed by a local. I guess it was a way for the production company to stem the complaints from the disruption they were causing. Citizens won’t complain if they were involved in the project, even if the chances were good that their screen time would probably end up on the cutting room floor.

Last night, almost a year after the “wrap”, the production company hosted a screening of the movie in our high school auditorium. We were all anxious to see the finished product, so anticipation was high as the lights went low. I was completely shocked when the movie opened up with my daughter riding her bicycle down the road flinging newspapers on to our neighbors’ driveways.

 

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.

October 8th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 
 

Yesterday I was dealing with some drama a friend was going through. She told me I should write a book about her life, and I told her even though I only write fiction, her story was so bizarre, it wouldn’t even be a believable fiction piece! After she left, I had such a headache, I couldn’t think even about looking at my computer screen.

 

No, I am not blaming her for the headache. LOL. I am blaming it on my annoying allergies which are making sleep difficult and causing eye crossing sinus pain. Yesterday’s rain tamped down a lot of the pollen, so I’m doing pretty well today.

 

Now that it’s October, the NaNoWriMo email notices have started to come in, and I signed up again to participate. I have from November 1^st to November 28^th (I don’t know why it is not going until the end of the month) to get 50K words down.

 

I am going back and forth over what story I would like to write next. There has been this Irish fairy tale type one that has been rattling around in my brain for quite some time, but there is also another one which started as a writing homework from my Tuesday writing group, then expanded upon in this blog. Two little girls were hidden by their mother in a pile of laundry moments before the assailants broke the door in and gunned her down. Why were the parents murdered? Were the perpetrators ever captured? What happened to the girls? This one just won’t let me go, but I may hold off until the April out of respect for Queen Bevin who has been waiting patiently for years to have her tale told.

 

Yeah, my brain can be a strange place at times, but the folks there accept or at least tolerate me. J  

 

I hope you have a wonderful day and happy writing!

  

Your Last Challenge was:

You and your sibling(s) are out raking leaves…

 

“Sometimes I really hate this time of year!” I grumbled to my little brother Tommy. He hated it when I called him Tommy and when I referred to him as my “little” brother. We are only a year apart and he started to tower over me by the time he was fourteen.

“Are you kidding? I love this! Bright sunshine, crisp air.”

His cheerfulness annoyed me even more. “And a bazillion flippin’ leaves!”

“Hey, I’ll take raking leaves to shoveling snow any day.”

I had to concede his point, light dry fluffy leaves were a heck of a lot easier than wet heavy snow. “Don’t even go there. Memories of last winter still make me shiver.”

As the two of us raked the week’s pile to the curb for the town to pick up, I paused and looked at the neighbor’s house across the street. “I don’t get it.”

Tommy stopped what he was doing and looked up, “Get what?”

“The Johnston’s. They have all those trees, but not a single leaf is on their lawn.”

 

“So? They do a better job than we do.” Tommy said with a shrug and went back to shoving his pile to the curb.

 

“That’s just it. I don’t recall seeing the Johnstons doing any yard work, ever. Have you?”

Tommy leaned on his rake and furrowed his brow as he stared across the street. “A lawn service?” He offered.

 

“Ever see a truck? A mower? A snow plow for that matter now that I think about it? Their house is always picture perfect. How?”

“They’ve been living there for three years and you just noticed this now?”

 

“You didn’t notice at all!”

 

Just then, Mr. Johnston stepped out onto his porch to get the paper. Tommy and I smiled and waved.

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

Use the following three words in a story: Movie, Bicycle, Newspaper

 

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 9th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

 

It’s Monday, September 9, 2013 and it is the first day of high school for my youngest daughter. It’s is 6 a.m. I have been up for an hour. She’s been up for half an hour, has already showered and is getting dressed. Next will come hair and make-up, and hopefully breakfast. Lunch has been made and packed. With the exception of pictures being taken today, this will be our schedule every weekday for the next 10 months. Ugh!

She is still very nervous about finding her way around the huge school. We highlighted a map yesterday and went over it, plus she typed into her phone a turn by turn guide to help get her through. My only worry is that when the school is packed with kids, everything is going to look completely different to her and she’ll be overwhelmed again. She’s a smart kid, she’ll figure it out if she just stops, takes a breath and doesn’t panic.

I will be leaving today at 10:30 to drive to Philly airport to pick up my son and his girlfriend. It’s going to be a LONG ride home with him razzing me about how his team beat my team last night 36 – 31. I’ll just have to remind him we are still 4 – 1 at his new overpriced ostentatious stadium.

 

Oh well, I need to go get dressed. We wouldn’t want to be seen in a fuzzy robe and slippers when the bus gets here at 6:45.

 

I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

 

 

I couldn’t quite get done with the blog before the bus came, so we have photos to post already. My baby on her first day of high school… where did the time go?

 

 

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

Describe the very first time you saw a movie on the big screen.

 

I remember my first trip to the movies vividly. It was a Saturday night in early October. I was five and a half. The movie was starting really late, like seven-thirty, so my mom made me put on my pajamas. They were pink and blue with little ruffles at the wrists and ankles. I also had on my blue fuzzy slippers with the butterflies on them. It was chilly, so my mom made me get my blanket and pillow too.

 

I was so excited, even then, I knew this was a rare treat because there was really no extra money for an extravagance like a movie. We drove the few blocks to the theatre and parked our car. Then my mom had me roll down my window a little and she got out of the car. The next thing I knew she was on my side balancing a little box on my window and telling me to roll the window up until she said stop. I wasn’t sure what it was all about, but I did what she said. She then got back in the car and did the same thing on her side. That’s when she told me they were the speakers so we could hear the movie.

 

Next she told me to stand up, then she put the pillow on the seat and had me sit on it. Now I could see clearly over the dashboard. Then she snuggled my blanket around me. She leaned into the back seat and pulled out some popcorn and drinks she had brought from home.

 

I took a bit of my first handful of popcorn as the movie began. The speakers popped and crackled. My mom did something and the car was filled with a cheery tune as I watched dancing soda cups and popcorn containers flit across the screen. I was thrilled, cartoons twice in one day. Then everything went black. Trumpets sounded. Lights flashed across the screen, then letters and the roar of a lion. My eyes were wide, my heart racing. I could barely stay seated on my pillow.

 

The first movie I ever saw was Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I don’t think I blinked the entire movie…well maybe at the end with the witch. That was really scary. Afterwards I remember trying to get birds to land on my finger and chipmunks to eat out of my hand, and I know I went around for weeks singing “Hi Ho” which I’m sure drove my mom batty. To this day, Snow White is still one of my favorites.

 

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

The first day of school…

 

 

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 8th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

 

It is another glorious day in Central New Jersey. Although I do not like the cold weather and the changing weather does send my back into spasms, I do love crisp nights and warm sunny days. Usually it means you’ve tired yourself out all day because you can get work done outside because there is no oppressive heat and then you sleep like a rock burrowed under the covers.

 

Unfortunately last night I wasn’t so lucky. This being only the second full day of this type of weather, my back was so cramped up, every time I went to move it was a breath stealing endeavor. I didn’t get a heck of a lot of sleep last night. Hopefully I will have better luck tonight.

 

Today is the first day of Sunday school at our church, and much to my daughter’s chagrin, she needs to get her butt out of bed to be there. She will be part of the Confirmation class and one of its requirements is Sunday school attendance. She grumbles and complains, but after she gets there and gets involved with the kids, she’s fine. I just wish we didn’t have to go through the song and dance beforehand.

 

When we get home from church, I am going to thaw out something to have for a good old fashioned Sunday dinner. I am going to straighten the house and make sure everything is finished before 7:30 so we can watch the Giants v. Cowboys game uninterrupted. What do you think the chances are of spotting my son at the game? LOL, yeah, I know, almost less than zero. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to try…

 

I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

 

 

Your Last Challenge was:

 

Go ahead, close your eyes, make a wish and blow. I know you want to. I promise not to tell anyone.

 

Blowing dandelion wishes or popping the heads off when they are still yellow, holding buttercups up under your chin to see if they reflect alerting everyone you like butter, catching fireflies and keeping them in a mason jar; all precious moments from our childhood. Memories of a much simpler time; a time when our biggest worry was if we’d be allowed to stay up an extra half hour or if our grandmother would like the necklace we made her out of dandelion stems. A time we would all love to revisit.

 

But who says we can’t? What is stopping you from taking a moment to catch a firefly and let him go? From reaching down, grabbing a fat, yellow dandelion and thumb-popping the head to see how far it will fly? So next time you see a dandelion ball, pick it, bring it up to your mouth, close your eyes, make a wish and blow…

 

Your Next Challenge is:

 

Describe the very first time you saw a movie on the big screen.

 

  

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.