February 18th

Hi, it’s Christina –

I was up before five this morning, and when I went outside with the dog, there was less than an inch of snow on the ground, but when I came back in, I checked the school’s website just in case. Sure enough, we had a two hour delay. Two hours later we had a little over two inches of snow. No big deal. I woke Dani up so she could get ready for school, and fifteen minutes later, we get a phone call saying school has been cancelled…again. Really? They couldn’t have called a few minutes earlier?

So, as of right now, the only day the kids have left of spring break is Good Friday. I feel bad for all the families who had vacations planned. I also worry that these families are still going ahead with their original plans, because I just heard yesterday that if the schools don’t have 80% attendance, the day doesn’t count. I have not verified this little tidbit of information, not exactly sure how I would go about doing it really, but if that is the case, I think we may run into a whole lot of problems.

This winter has been murder for schools throughout the state, and I truly feel the governor needs to step in at this point. Yes, the kids should be in school for 180 days. Yes, education is extremely important. However, when Mother Nature steps in and makes it virtually impossible, the kids shouldn’t be made to suffer. It’s not like anyone can control the weather.

UPDATES:

My “niece” is now home from the hospital and learning how to function without the use of one arm and one leg. The doctors told her eight weeks before she is allowed to put any pressure on her ankle, and with her hand being out of commission as well, she can’t use crutches. My girlfriend Sharon is going to have one stir crazy, cranky teenage on her hands in a very short amount of time. Perhaps you should add prayers for her sanity as well as for my niece’s recovery.

The driver from the other car, Jimmy, is still in ICU, on a vent, and in a drug induced coma, so he is still in desperate need of your prayers. I do not know the boy or his family, so it’s questionable if I will be able to get any more updates, but if I do, I will let you know.

To the best of my knowledge, there are still no leads in Billy’s, the young man who was found beaten to death Saturday morning, case. I find it hard to believe no one saw or heard anything. You can’t honestly tell me there’s no one on or around the Rutgers campus who’s either acting squirrely or has bruised knuckles or has simply been MIA since Saturday. Perhaps the police do have leads and they are just not making them public. In the meantime, yet another family in my town is making preparation to lay their child to rest and all the young folks are reeling. We have lost so many kids since the summer of 2008, it is positively heartbreaking.

Thanking you in advance for all your prayers! (For those of you who don’t believe or are non-religious, please just send out good thoughts into the universe.)

I did get some editing done yesterday, but zero writing done on my own projects. Instead of stressing myself out, I am going to put my own stuff on hold until I finish editing the book I’m working on. I had hoped to be finished with it by now, but it is REALLY long – over 600 pages at the moment – and life has been getting in the way of me being able to spend as much time on it as I’d like.

The one thing that is keeping me from pulling my hair out, it the story is quite good, and after the author does some rewrites, it’s going to be really good. The manuscript has some booboos, recurring booboos, but no major catastrophes, so he’ll be getting a whole lot less yellow highlights than some of my previous edits. The biggest challenge will be convincing him the story needs to be cut down to the 400 page range or it will be a tough sell. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. He’s smart and very talented, so I have every confidence he will be able to trim effectively.

Okay, enough chit-chat, I’ve got to get to work. (Since it is getting late, I’m going to save the challenge until tomorrow.) I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

February 5th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Well, my not so subtle suggestion to my relatives to show some of their legendary southern hospitality went unanswered, so I guess I’m stuck in NJ for the duration. We only got about two inches of snow this time, however it’s covered with another inch of ice and the sleet and freezing rain are still coming down. There are icicles hanging off of everything outside.

Because of the snow and subsequent school closing on Tuesday, our kids lost Presidents’ Day as a holiday, and now with school closed again today, they are losing the Monday before Easter. That leaves only 3 days left in the school calendar to play with (Tu – Th before Easter), and we are supposed to get a major storm this weekend – I’m talking 30” – 36”. If that happens, there is no way we would be able to get plowed out by Monday morning for school.

Project graduation is a big deal in our town. All the graduating seniors are bussed to Dave & Buster’s for an all-night party. This event is planned and paid for WAY in advance, so graduation date is set in stone. Since we only have three days left to play with, AND we are only in the beginning of February, AND this has been the worst winter in memory, we may very well be having school on Saturdays to make up for the missed time.

What a disaster! I know I said it before, and I promise to hop up on my soap box for only a moment, but what ding-dong approved only one snow day in the school calendar? Work in the customary three days, and if we don’t need them, give the kids a long Memorial Day weekend. Sorry, but doesn’t that seem infinitely more logical?

Not that we do this, but many families have vacation planned for spring break - plane tickets, hotel reservations, everything – and now all their plans are getting messed up. Yes, the school doesn’t want to pay the extra money to have Project Graduation moved, but I’m sure all these other families are not appreciating having to pay more or cancel their vacation plans – especially if they don’t have a graduating senior. Sorry, I forgot, common sense flies out the window when you enter any elected position. Okay, I’m done.

Even though I’m watching the snow plows get into accidents in our intersection, my husband’s boss sent him a text saying the roads were fine and he expects to see him by nine. (I won’t even go there, because it won’t be pretty if I do.) So, I need to scat so I can make him breakfast and lunch. If you’re in our area and you don’t need to go out today, don’t; but if you do, please be careful. I don’t care what my husband’s boss said, the roads are a mess and very dangerous. 

I know I’ve ended the blog several times with these exact same words, but with the weather we’ve been having, I feel they are the most appropriate. I hope you all have a warm and safe day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Write a story containing the following three elements: A cold night, a candle, tears

Cassie sat curled up in the window seat and stared out at the cold, dreary night. The only light in the room came from the fire she had built for warmth and the flicker of a single candle. The power had been out for several hours already, and if the storm raging outside was any indication, it would be several more before it is restored.

She glanced at her siblings on the make-shift beds she made for them in front of the fireplace. Luckily she had been able to finish dinner preparation before they had lost power, so they were fed, tired out from a rowdy game of SORRY, were warm, and now soundly asleep.

Her mother, an emergency room nurse, had warned Cassie that morning, with the impending storm, she would more than likely have to stay at the hospital overnight; but her father should make it home at a reasonable hour, so she should not worry. However, it was almost midnight, and there was still no sign of her father. The phone lines had gone down with the power, and cell service in her mountain home was spotty even on a good day; so she had had no contact with her father since late afternoon when he had called to tell her he was leaving work.

His commute from the city usually took him two hours, so Cassie had figured, even with the storm, he should have been home no later than seven. Seven, the same time the power had gone out. She had not let her younger siblings know how worried she was, but now, alone in the dark with nothing to distract her, crazy, horrible thoughts bombarded her mind. What if there was an accident? What if it was dad’s car that took down the pole and caused the power and phones to go out? Was he in the emergency room now with mom caring for him? Was he lying in the road dead or hurt, alone, scared?

She swiped at the tear that trickled down her cheek.

Ran out of time, but I was going to have Cassie’s dad come walking up the driveway. A truck had taken out the power lines and the road had been blocked, so he abandoned his car and walked the rest of the way home, through the snow, so he could be with his children.

Your Next Challenge is:

The eyes of the world are upon you…

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.

December 10th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina – 

The first snowflake hasn’t fallen yet, and probably won’t for another couple of hours, but our schools are already closed. Makes you wonder how many kids slept in inside-out backward pajamas last night. LOL. Is that just a New Jersey thing or do the rest of you have a clue what I’m talking about? We are firmly in the three to six inch range, so this may prove to be a very long day. I just pray we don’t lose power.

So, I’m here. I’m alive. I survived last night, but I did take a Benadryl when I got home. Oops, I just realized you don’t know what I’m talking about. I cut the blog part short yesterday because I went over-board on the writing challenge. Anyway, last night I went to a greens making event. My mother purchased a ticket to make a boxwood tree, but then had a scheduling conflict, so I went in her place.

I have no problem with boxwoods, but I have a HUGE problem with the evergreen wreaths and center pieces the other folks were making. After half an hour in the room, my voice started getting raspy, and after an hour, it was getting hard to breathe. I finished the project in an hour and fifteen minutes and got the heck out of there, came home, took a Benadryl and went to bed. Breathing ok this morning, so crisis averted. Thank God!

Being allergic to greens really stinks! It took a long time to figure out why I was always sick at Christmas. After two Januarys in a row where I ended up in the hospital with pneumonia, someone asked if I was allergic to Christmas trees? I had never even considered it. The following year, we put up and artificial tree, and I was fine the whole season. We haven’t had a real Christmas tree now for years. A couple of years ago, I made an Advent wreath and brought it home. Within two days I started to feel sick, so out went the wreath. There will never be live greens in my house again.

The allergy has gotten so bad, I have issues being in a room with evergreens for more than an hour. This was lots of fun trying to sing in the choir at church. This year, the church hung artificial greens, so no inhaler hit for me before singing anymore…YEAH!! Now if I can just survive my husband’s office Christmas party and wrapping presents at the Somerset County Home for Temporarily Displaced Children, I’ll be in the clear.

I am going to attempt to get some running around done before the snow starts. I’m not holding out great hopes of getting a lot accomplished, but I’m willing to give it the old college try.

Again, I hope you have a warm and safe day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

 

Pandemonium breaks out at the North Pole…

 

“What the hell is going on?” Santa bellowed.

Jingle, the head Christmas elf, skidded to a stop in front of Santa. “Everything is going haywire.”

“I can see that.” Santa barked. “What I want to know is why!”

Jingle wrung his hands, “I don’t know. It all started with the cocoa machine, and now nothing seems to be working right. The conveyor belt jammed and then started running backwards. The paint guns are all clogged and won’t spray.”

Dingle chimed in, “and the stuffer won’t stuff.”

“And the fluffer won’t fluff.” Wingle added.

Mrs. Claus held out a tray for Santa’s inspection, “And the oven is turning out charred messes.”

“This is the last thing we need two weeks before Christmas.” Santa stroked his beard and began to pace. When he had to duck out of the way of an out of control toy plane, he yelled, “Pull the plug! Shut everything off! NOW!”

The elves scrambled to do his bidding as he resumed his pacing. When, at last, all frenzied activity stopped, the elves gathered in front of Santa and waited for instructions.

Santa ceased his pacing and turned toward the group, “When did you first notice things going wrong?” Everyone began speaking at once. Santa raised his voice over the crowd, “One at a time! Jingle, you said it started with the cocoa machine, right?”

“Yes Santa.”

“Okay we’ll start there then. Tell me what happened.”

“It was almost three and time for our afternoon cocoa break. I was getting the cups ready for the crew and the machine started going berserk, cocoa spraying everywhere, marshmallows flying through the air. I couldn’t get it to stop.”

Santa scratched his chin, pondered a moment, then asked, “Did anything happen before the cocoa machine started acting up?”

Out of time.

HOLY COW! I just looked out the window, and where ten minutes ago there wasn’t even a flurry, now we are in near white-out conditions. So much for doing any running around before the snow starts. I make it a point NOT to go out in weather like this, unless there’s an emergency. Since there is no emergency, my running around can wait until tomorrow.

Your Next Challenge is:

Battling the storm with French toast…

 

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.