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.)

July 22nd Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! No birthday shout outs today. The beach was nice yesterday, and since I spent most of my time under an umbrella writing, I’m not a crispy critter, which is good.

I did get in the water, but it was still cold and a bit rough for my taste. Normally, I’m usually one to be in there, jumping the waves with the kids, but with my back being sore and the chance the cold water would make it cramp more, the rough surf and a pretty strong under tow, I was apprehensive. I would have been content to stay on the edge of the breakers, but the rocks and broken shells were murder on my feet, so I ventured in. As you can tell, because you are reading this now, I survived.

Writing on the beach went much better this time, but it was not an easy chore. The glare, even with the umbrella, was a challenge. I could see the words on the screen fairly well, but finding my mouse proved frustrating. I was fine as long as I was just typing, but if I had to go back and fix something or add something, it was a chore. That, paired with the distractions on the beach, had me quitting after I finished chapter 42.

It was nice having a change of venue, and I absolutely love being by the ocean, but there is one definite draw back to me being at the beach. I think it has something to do with the salty air. When I’m at the beach, I can literally eat all day. I finished an entire sub, a bag of chips, a bunch of cherries, a pack of cookies, and then on the way home, we stopped for ice cream. Even though I would love to go to the beach every day, if I did, I’d run the risk of getting harpooned, because I would look like a beached whale. I’m sure I burn off a lot of the calories trudging through the sand and playing in the surf, but…

The first few hours of today, I spent chatting on line with author and radio personality Ron Shaw. I’m really enjoying getting to know him, he’s a neat guy. This whole being an author thing has opened the doors to so many wonderful new experiences and amazing people, experiences I would never have had if I hadn’t got up the nerve to submit my first book. I doubt I will ever become wealthy from my writing, but I can definitely say I have become richer for it.

Since my conversation this morning doesn’t count toward my word count goal (too bad because it would have probably boosted me another 1K words), I should boogie if I want to get anything done before I have to get ready for work. I hope you have a terrific day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Use the following: Sitting on the floor, A Knife, Newspaper

Wrapping, not a fan. But here I am, just like every week before Christmas, sitting on the floor, wrapping paper and presents spread all around, tape stuck on my arm, and my sharpest knife in hand. I don’t use scissors, I can’t get a straight line with them if I tried.

I’m trying to stay in the holiday spirit, really I am, but I keep finding myself grumbling. The deal was, if I shopped – which my husband hated, he would wrap – which I hate; but somehow that promise has fallen by the wayside. Now I do all the shopping AND all the wrapping, while he sits on the couch and watches the idiot box.

I’ve tackled all the standard box sized items, and all that’s left are the unusual shaped gifts. The small ones are not an issue, but I keep eyeing the giant stop sign we got our son as a decoration for his man cave. It would take an entire roll of wrapping paper just to cover it, and, being the scrooge I am, I don’t want to waste an entire roll on one gift. Newspaper it is. I’ll just decorate it with some of the more colorful Christmas ads.

Your Next Challenge is:

Since I haven’t done one in quite a while, today’s challenge is a photo challenge.

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.

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 12th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Happy Monday! We got a really late start yesterday, but we had several hours at the beach anyway. Yesterday was the lowest percentage of rain forecasted for this whole week, so we thought we should take advantage. Granted, the storms around here usually happen at night, but we didn’t want to take any chances. Sure enough, the storms did roll in, and they were wicked. Here’s a photo my youngest daughter took with her cell phone:

 

 

 

Surprisingly, I slept in late today. I was shocked to see it was after eight when I got up, but then again, I didn’t get to sleep until two this morning. I guess my sleep cycle is still a little messed up from Saturday.

 

Anyway, I’m sure most of my gang will be up shortly, and I really have to get more done on that editing project, so let’s get right to the challenges.

 

Have a wonderful day and happy writing!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

So breathtakingly beautiful, so picturesque, I cannot believe this is the view I get to wake up to in the morning. I have always dreamed of coming here, even made it a goal as a twenty-fifth anniversary trip, but in the back of my mind, I didn’t really think I’d ever be able to afford it. Yet, here I am. Three glorious weeks lie ahead of me so I can take in the sites, frolic in the ocean and laze on the beach. Yes, there will be several days I need to work, but I don’t care, this is worth it.

I toss open the louver doors to the balcony off my bedroom and take my morning coffee with me so I can sit and just enjoy. There is an old man leading a laden burro up the path beneath where I sit. He waves to me and I wave back. In the courtyard of the house across the street, two women are chatting and laughing as they hang their clothes on the line. I wish I could understand what they were saying. Perhaps by the end of my trip I will be able to catch some of it.

 

I still hold out hope that someday I will be able to say this is a true story.

Your Next Challenge is:

 

Write a story using the following three words: Lobster, Plastic, Noise

 

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.

July 30th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

The sun’s not even up yet, but I am. I guess knowing my NaNoWriMo deadline is fast approaching and I still have almost 3,700 words to go was playing through my brain. Whatever, I had almost five hours of sleep. If I get tired later (ie: when the girls wake up and I can’t write any more), I’ll take a nap.

Remember I told you writing on the beach was almost impossible because of the glare? Well, this time I did a little redneck engineering and I was able to get 900 words done yesterday. I didn’t exactly hit my goal, but it was literally ten times better than my last beach writing attempt.

 

I could not locate our beach umbrella, so I had to figure out how to jerry rig a regular rain umbrella to my chair. No, I did not use duct tape, although it was tempting. I used a bungee cord. Between that and a conveniently located sign on the beach, I was able to create enough shade so I could see the screen.

Now if I could have figured out a way to muzzle the two old sisters who were seated near me, I would have been in business. I am a visual writer, I write what I see. Basically, I stare ahead and “watch” a scene unfold before my eyes. I tip my head to better “hear” what the people are saying. I may frown when I don’t like what they are doing, or smile when they are. There have been many a time where I either laughed or cried with my characters as well. The sisters were right in my line of vision, and their Ralph and Alice routine was quite a distraction. Also, probably because I was staring ahead, they thought I should be involved in their conversation. So between them and the ninety year old men parading around in speedos turning my stomach, I didn’t get a whole lot done. So today, it’s nose to the grindstone!

Sorry, I got all flustered yesterday when I realized how late I was running and I forgot to tell you one thing that happened at the balloon festival. Right in front of where I had parked, there were two tent set up. These two open sided tents housed a bride, a groom, their wedding party and guests. Apparently, they were supposed to be having the ceremony up in one of the balloons. I guess Mother Nature took offense at not being on their guest list, so she crashed the wedding. I felt SO bad for the couple.

Rain on your wedding is supposed to be good luck. The tears from the sky that day, will be that many less tears you will cry during your lives together. From the amount of rain we got Sunday, several generations of this couple’s lineage will never shed a tear!

 

Your Last Challenge was:

Write a story containing these three words (blame my daughter): Taco, Cactus, Goldfish

 

Our van was packed to the gills, and we were ready to leave. The last two things my daughter brought to the car were the cactus, which she named Paco, she got from her nutty friend as a graduation present and her new goldfish, Taco; both of which she was planning holding for the entire six hour drive.

The first round of tears already happened when she needed to say goodbye to her cat. After we promised her that if she ever moved from the dorm and into a campus apartment, we would bring Mikey to stay with her, the tears stemmed a little, but then she said goodbye to her sister’s cat. By the time she got to our dog, Colby, she was a blubbering mess again. I was surprised, because she had held it together fairly well the previous evening when we had her going away dinner. There were only a few tears while saying goodbye to her human contacts. I guess my daughter is a much better actress than I ever gave her credit for.

 

Yeah, I know. I’m practically jinxing myself, but this is probably how the scene will play out in three weeks. On the bright side, we’ll only be transporting the cactus up to college, and he’ll fit nicely into a cup holder for the trip. We convinced my daughter there actually were pet stores in Vermont and she did not need to transport a fish the entire way, so we will be getting her a goldfish when we arrive on Thursday.

OK, I’m off to camp. Please say a little prayer that I have a productive day. This is crazy, I was so far ahead of schedule, but unforeseen thing popped up, and now I’m scrambling to make deadline. UGH! Really glad I didn’t put my goal as 85K!

 

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.

July 24th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

I had a nice surprise last night. My son popped by. He didn’t stay long, but it was nice to see him. I’m not really caring for this not seeing him every day thing. I know it happened to all parents, and I knew it was time for him to move out, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I miss him, his sisters miss him, and although he doesn’t say it, I know his father misses him too. AND in less than a month, my daughter’s leaving as well. Just shoot me now.

They need to spread their wings, to grow, to become their own people, find their own way. I get that. I encourage it and I am very proud of them for doing it. I just can’t seem to get the Carrie Underwood lyrics out of my head, “Don’t forget to remember me.” I can’t even imagine what a mess I’m going to be four years from now when my youngest one is gone too.

Ugh, enough of that. I can’t get all bummed out and still be able to write. I think I will be giving you folks another photo challenge today though. I have a bunch of good ones saved, and no new challenge is calling to me at the moment. Hope you all have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

 

Write a story containing the following three items: Beach Ball, Ice Cream, Lifeguard

 

It was a glorious beach day. It was hot, but not oppressive. The sky was crystal blue with wispy white clouds, the water was refreshingly cool, and a gentle breeze blew from the ocean to the sand keeping the bugs at bay. Perfect. You couldn’t ask for a better day.

The teenagers I brought with me were frolicking in the waves and I was stretched out in my chair engrossed in a juicy book when a shadow fell across me. I shielded my eyes and looked up. There, standing before me, was an extremely fit, handsome man, holding a beach ball.

He smiled. “I believe this is yours,” he said as he held out the beach ball.

I glanced around our encampment to see if our ball was missing. When I didn’t see it, I stood and scanned the water to locate the kids to see if they had taken it with them. It took a moment to find them, but no, they didn’t have a ball with them.

I sighed, “It appears to be. Thank you.”

 “I watched it roll from your blanket.” He pointed to the lifeguard stand. “When it rolled under my stand, I jumped down and got it for you.”

 “Thank you.” I said as I reached for the ball. “Sorry to have troubled you.”

 “It was no trouble. My shift is over and I was looking for an excuse to come over and introduce myself anyway.” He admitted and handed me the ball. “The Fates must have wanted us to meet as well.”

Oh my God! It was like every teenage fantasy I had ever had. A day at the beach, I catch the eye of some hunky lifeguard, we end the day sitting on my blanket, watching the sun set, eating an ice cream cone. But I was hardly a teenager any more, yet here was this hunky lifeguard, who was around my age, and for some reason he had singled me out.

 

Hmm, this one may just end up being a real story…

 

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.