August 21st Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good morning.

Yesterday was not a good day. I called up the school basically to see if we needed twin sized bedding or full sized bedding in the dorm, only to find out Lys didn’t even have a bed. We never received the email saying she needed to find alternate housing. So here it was, 48 hours before we were supposed to arrive on campus, and my daughter had nowhere to live.

After a bunch of tears, and a whole lot of scrambling, I was able to find her the last available apartment. The only problem was it is a handicap equipped apartment, and I feel bad taking it if someone else needs the handicap facilities.

The apartment is fully furnished, and all the utilities are paid by the university, which is good. However, it is a two bedroom unit which comes with a $853 a month price tag and a $10 a month renter’s insurance bill. According to the housing message board on the school’s website, there is no one still looking for a roommate, so that means the entire $863 a month bill is on us.

It also means, not only did Lys need new bedding, she needed kitchen supplies, bathroom supplies and cleaning supplies. One saving grace was my daughter does not have expensive tastes. The plates and glasses she wanted came to less than $1 apiece (less than $20 for everything), and her flatware was only $10. She got all her bathroom supplies for less than $50 (extra set of towels, a rug, a shower curtain, a wastebasket). We picked up a toaster and a coffee pot for $25. Since this is her own apartment, she also needed her own vacuum and cleaning supplies, so that was an extra $50. The kitchen needed stuff I didn’t have extras of at home, so that took up a big chunk of our budget. Thankfully I had extra pots and pans, and a blender to send with her, so there was no extra cost there. Even with frugal shopping, the bill was still $350.

If she had gotten into the dorm, the bill would have been $75 if she had a full bed and $0 if she had a twin. So basically, the money Lys will be getting from tips for being a camp counselor paid for the additional supplies she needed for school.

Now all we have to do is wait and see if she has been approved for the apartment. I have NO idea what we are going to do if she doesn’t get approved (not that I can fathom a reason why she wouldn’t be).

Luckily RV called yesterday and said I did not need to help her today because her husband was on vacation. I still have the car to clean out. I have to pack our own bags for the three day trip. I have to run to the doctors because Chaplain did not forward Lys’ immunization records. I have to run to the bank and pick up checks for Lys because now she needs to be writing rent checks every month from her account. I have to run back to BB&B to return the stuff we bought yesterday but then found cheaper at WallyWorld. I need to run to the library so I can fax all the notorized paperwork the need for the apartment. Then I need to rummage through the basement to see if there is anything else Lys might need now that she has her own apartment.

It is going to be a VERY long day. Oh, while I’m thinking about it, you may not be hearing from me for the next few days. The hotel choices in the area are sketchy at best, so I seriously doubt I will have an internet connection. Honestly, my main concern is not getting bedbugs or our car stolen while we’re there.

This is another reason for all the anxiety yesterday. I was okay with my daughter going to High Point University because the campus was so secure. You see, the area around the campus is not so great, a little scary even; and now Lys will be living off campus and relying on campus transportation to get to and from campus. The shuttle stops running at 6:45 pm – hmmm, I hope it’s not because they don’t want to be in the area after dark.

I really wished she would have just chosen Austen Peay, in Clarksville, TN, right from the get-go. Great campus, plenty of housing, excellent curriculum, and she could have gotten all four years for just slightly more than her one year at Champlain. Then we would not have to be dealing with all this drama.

Okay, I have TONS to do, none of which includes working on FTQ like I should be. I may or may not chat with you tomorrow. We’ll see. I hope you have a fantastic day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

How are we going to fit it all?

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.

June 29th

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Yesterday we were up early (summertime early, not real life early) and out of the house. Lys needed to be at work for nine, so Dani and I dropped her off and…ready for this?... headed to the mall. That’s right, I voluntarily went to the mall.

We got there around 9:20, which I thought was good, because I thought they opened at 9:30. I could swear, when I worked there, we opened at 9:30. I was wrong. They open at 10:00. Now I’m at a mall, with a fifteen year old who was woken up five hours early on a summer Saturday, and all the stores are still closed. Yikes!

I suggest we walk to the furthest store from where we are, to kill a little time. (My idea was to start at the furthest store and work our way back to where the car was parked.) Anyway, five minutes later, we get to the opposite end of the mall, and lo and behold, Vera Bradley’s door was open. They were having a huge sale, so I wanted to stop in and see if I could find anything.


As if I wouldn’t. I got their Grand Traveler, a huge weekender bag, which will be perfect for my trip to Dallas in August. It was available only in a few select colors, and in my opinion Venetian Paisley was the least annoying, but $120 bag for $60, I wasn’t going to be too picky. I also picked up two cosmetic bag trios – one to give as a gift, and a towel. The towel was free with a $100 purchase, so it and the other cosmetic bag trio, Dani is putting away to give to me for Christmas. Not bad, I get three Vera Bradly bags in my pattern (petal paisley) and a towel in my pattern, for $20. I think Dani will get the bargain of the season award this Christmas.


After we were done at Vera Bradley, we still had fifteen minutes left before all the other stores opened, so Dani ran our purchases back to the car so we didn’t have to carry them around the mall while we shopped. When she got back, we hit Bath and Bodyworks, swapped out a lotion Lys got as a gift for a scent she actually liked, and I picked up some stocking stuffers – they were having a buy three, get three free sale. Then we were finally able to get to the stores Dani wanted to go to. 

She did some damage in Forever 21 and Love Culture. Dani got some shorts, a bathing suit, some really cute tops, and a hat that says “Selfie” on it. She was a happy camper. We then bid ado to the mall, and made a quick stop at Barnes & Nobel to pick up her summer reading book. They had three of the books on the suggested list, and of those three, Dani chose The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, not because the story actually interested her, but because it was the shortest of the three books. 

The child absolutely hates to read, which I find sad. I’m hoping, like what happened to her sister, one day she’ll find a book which sparks her interest, and she will begin to see what she has been missing. I guess to each her own, but I couldn’t imagine not reading. 

Even though The Alchemist was not on my “must read” list, because it’s the one Dani chose, it is now. I have read every single book each of my children has had assigned to them for summer reading, so I really don’t have a choice. The story seems interesting, so hopefully it won’t be too painful. A few years back, Lys was assigned that “cups of tea” book, and I was pulling my hair out trying to get through it. I never could understand what all the hype was over that book.

On our way out the door, we spotted a sign for iced drinks, and I asked her if she wanted one. You know, a peace offering after making her pick a summer reading book. I went over to the café section of B&N and ordered us two Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccinoes. Oh my word! I am not a Starbuck’s fan. I think their coffee tastes burnt, but these were YUMMY! I’m sure they contain about a zillion calories, so I need to limit myself to one a month, and only during the hot months.

When we got back home, I wanted to take a nap because I knew we were going to have a late night, and I still wasn’t feeling 100%. Just as I dozed off, Dani knocks on my door and tells me Lys needs to be picked up from work. They weren’t supposed to be done until four. This is the second day this has happened to me.

On Friday, she was supposed to be there until nine. I wasn’t feeling well, so I went and laid down. I was probably asleep for no more than fifteen minutes when Dani woke me up and said I needed to pick up Lys. It was 4:15. Not only was I feeling crummy and was now foggy from an interrupted nap, I had to deal with Friday rush hour traffic. Let’s just say, I wasn’t good company on Friday evening.

So, I go and get Lys, and then when we get home, I try again to take a nap. It didn’t work. After lying there for twenty minutes, I gave up. There wasn’t enough time before we had to leave to finish making the jelly I started on Friday, so I just chilled for a little while in front of the idiot box.

Last night, we all went to the town’s fireworks display. I had planned on sharing some photos with you, but for some reason, my phone is refusing to send them to my email. The fireworks were great, they even had a few I had never seen before which was cool. I bumped into a few folks I haven’t had the chance to see in a while, so that was great as well.

All in all, it was a lovely evening, but when I got home, I realized I never made the bed after I had stripped it. So there I am, at ten thirty at night, wrestling with sheets and pillowcases. Thankfully, my hubby is the one who puts the sheets on the bed because, with my back, I can’t lift the mattress from the bed to get the sheets in place properly. (Our bed used to be a waterbed, but now we have a regular mattress, which sits in the old waterbed frame, and I can’t lift it out of the frame to tuck the sheet under the corners.)

We finally get the bed made. I fall in, get comfortable, then realize I forgot to do something. So I drag my butt back out of bed, finish what I needed to do – five minutes before the midnight deadline, and then crawl back into bed. I was completely exhausted, but wouldn’t you know it, I tossed and turned for at least an hour before I finally fell asleep. I really hate when that happens!

Okay, I have rambled on for long enough, so we will do the writing challenge tomorrow instead. I hope you have a super day, and happy writing!

April 14th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Happy Monday Morning! Even though it’s Monday, you can’t be too bummed when it’s such a glorious day. It’s over sixty degrees already, and the sun is shining. We are supposed to reach a high of seventy-seven today. {{{Clapping my hands.}}} *\0/* Doing a happy dance. *\0/*

It’s going to be tough to sit inside and writing all day, but I gotta do it. It was a busy weekend, and I didn’t get as much writing done as I should have. So today, I need to buckle down and crank out a few chapters. After I do, then I’ll take a little break and run to the grocery store – something else I never got to this weekend.

At least all I have to get is cold cuts, bread and milk. I don’t need to get any dinner items at all. Wanna know why? Because, somehow, at some point after I had gone downstairs to retrieve a Digorino’s pizza on Friday for dinner, the freezer door opened. I don’t know if I didn’t close it all the way, or if I had dislodged something, and after I closed the door, it hit it and opened the door. Several items thawed out completely, but were still cold, so I’m hoping they are still good. UGH! I hate when that happens!

I forgot to tell you yesterday about one other person I met at the Princeton Author’s Day. His name is Ravi, and he is a marketing guru. He has such fabulous ideas about how I should be marketing my books, and he is also looking to write his own book. He spent about twenty minutes chatting with Keith and me. This will be great, we can give Ravi tips and help with his writing, and he can give us tips and help us with our marketing. Man, I love networking and bartering.

After church yesterday, I went with Rebecca to the mall. Yeah, I know your saying, “Christina went to the mall?” because you all know how much I hate and try to avoid the mall at all costs. There’s a true glimpse into how much I love Bec, if I was willing to deal with a mall for her. Anyway, she is starting a new job, one which requires true business attire as opposed to business casual, so she needed to shop.

Since she hates the mall almost as much as I do, we decided to slay the beast together. Thanks to Macy’s, we had a productive day. We did find two tops in Lord & Taylor. Then we hit a couple of other stores with no success. We were about to give up, but I said, that since we were there, let’s just go to Macy’s. At that point we were both tired, and a little discouraged, but we trudged to the petite department.

After about five minutes of looking around, we gave up, partly because the foul odor in the department. I swear it smelled like someone had peed on the floor, it was disgusting. We were walking out, when something caught my eye. I pulled out a few tops, Bec tried them on, found one she liked and purchased it.

So now we were done, and headed home. We walked a little further, and something else caught my eye. I pulled down two more tops for Bec to try, and that’s when she remembered the brand name of some tops she liked. We asked the sales lady where those tops were located, and she sent us to another department. Pay dirt! Not only did Bec find several more tops she liked, I found a top for Easter, and for only $22. 

Oh, by the way, the one I got at Kohl’s did not look right, and it’s going back, so I ended up wearing an oldie but goodie to the PPL Author’s Day. (I still haven’t received any pictures from the day, as soon as someone sends some, I’ll post them for you to see.)

I also splurged a little. Vera Bradley sent me a 40% off coupon in the mail, for my birthday, and since my current pocketbook has seen better days, and I had some money from my mother in law for my birthday, so I indulged. I got the “Mandy” bag in “Petal Paisley” and a wallet to match, since my wallet’s pretty shot as well. It’s been a while since I have treated myself to something frivolous and pretty, so I’m a happy girl.

Okay, enough of my “warm-up”, time to do some “real” writing. I hope y’all have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

A reunion they’ll never forget…

‘Twenty-five years, where had the time gone?’ was a common phrase heard from the 1989 Culver High School graduates, as they reminisced with old friends, or gave fake smiles and platitudes to their old nemeses. The former “nerds” and “unpopulars” gloated and berated the former “jocks” and “populars”; the guys were all fat and bald, and the gals were funding either Miss Clarol, a plastic surgeon, or both, while they had all become one of the “pretty people” or incredibly wealthy.

As nostalgic music began to play, the dance floor filled, and only a few grimaced or commented on how terrible music from the eighties had been. The houselights dimmed, the mirrored ball began to rotate, laser lights began to bounce around the room, and the fog machine’s mist blanketed the dance floor. The conversation was loud, the music was louder. Then, above the cacophony, a scream silenced the room.

The crowd parted. Someone brought up the houselights. There, lying in the middle of the dance floor, blood trickling out of his nose, ears and mouth, was Jeff, the Raging Rooster’s star quarterback, the kid who had lead Culver High to back to back state championships in ’88 and ’89. He was motionless and most assuredly dead, but how? He was drinking, laughing and dancing just moments before.

Your Next Challenge is:

Does this taste funny to 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.

April 10th Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Wow, this week is flying by, isn’t it?

Thankfully, while running around with RV yesterday, I was able to get some things done, which I needed to do, so I don’t have to run around like a chicken with its head chopped off tomorrow. RV needed to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond, and Marshall’s to return some things; and while we were there, I was able to run into Costco to get the candy for Saturday. (I keep a candy dish on my book signing table.) She also needed to stop at Wal-Mart, so I was able to get some stuff for the kid’s Easter baskets.

Today we are going over to Kohl’s. She needs to pick up something for her son for his birthday, and while we’re there, she agreed to be my sounding board so I can get a top and pants double as my outfit for Saturday’s Authors Fair and for Easter. I wanted something light, bright, and springy, but I really have to watch my color selection or I’ll look ill. It’s weird. Take peach, which I love, for example. If there are too many pink undertones, I look like I’m blushing; but if there are too many yellow undertones, I look sallow. On rare occasions, I can find the ideal shade of peach that actually looks good on me.

I have much better luck with dark and cool colors, but they monopolize my wardrobe, and I wanted something different this time. I know if I went alone and tried to select something out of my comfort zone, I’d vacillate and end up purchasing more of what’s already in my closet. RV’s a bit of a fashionista, so if she says “yuck” or “looks good”, I’d go with her opinion.

The way we worked out our schedule today, we’ll have about an hour and a half at Kohl’s before she needs to get to PT. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that’s I’ll be able to find something so I don’t need to worry about it on Friday. Then, all I need to do tomorrow is a bank run to get change (I’m hoping to sell at least a few books on Saturday), get all my supplies packed up into my rolling suitcase, and then get my hair cut at 4:30. The outfit I get today may also determine if I need to purchase new shoes tomorrow as well, but I don’t want to think about that.

Okay, time to get lunches going, and then I have a little over an hour to work on FTQ. I hope y’all have a terrific day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

One red shoe…

There it was, just lying by the side of the road. I’m surprised I even noticed it. If it wasn’t for the traffic, I probably wouldn’t have, but my slow crawled approach had me staring at it for quite some time. From a distance, it was just a reflection on the shoulder which caught my eye. Originally I had thought it was the remains of a broken taillight, but as I drew closer, it began to take form. There, completely upright, perfectly lovely, looking like someone had just stepped out of it, was one ruby-red, high-heeled, slipper.

Since I had an inordinate amount of time to ponder while my car inched along, I began to wonder about that one red shoe. How did it get there? Where was its owner? Where had it been? Had the owner been abducted, and in her struggle, lost her shoe? Had she been hanging her feet out of the car window after a wild bachelorette party, and it had fallen off? Had her car broken down and she had to walk for help, then decided it was too hard to walk in heels? Oh, that wouldn’t work. She would have carried her shoes. But what if she couldn’t? What if her hands were full? If that were the case, she wouldn’t have just taken off one shoe, so where’s the other one?

Scenario after scenario played in my brain until, there it was, just lying by the side of the road, a wrapped box with a yellow ribbon. I wonder what could be inside?

Your Next Challenge is:

(S)He was just the gal/guy next door…

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.

March 25th

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good morning everyone. Yesterday was day two of not moving from my chair, and doing nothing but editing. I’m so close to being finished with the first one, but at 9:30 last night, I just couldn’t do any more. Other than bathroom breaks and food breaks, I worked for eleven hours straight.

Today, immediately after I finish this blog, I’m going to make Dani’s lunch, and then I’m going to start cleaning up the house. I only have until one, because I have to hop in the shower, and then clean up the bathroom afterwards. The folks doing the survey are supposed to be here from 2 – 3.

After that, I’m doing a run to the grocery store. Did you notice I only said Dani when I mentioned making lunches? The only reason she’s getting lunch is because a PB&J is a perfectly acceptable lunch for her. She even puts in special requests for it from time to time. Even though my hubby loves peanut butter, has a big spoonful nearly every night as his midnight snack, he wants a sandwich, with meat on it, for lunch. However, since I have not gone to the grocery store yet this week, there are no cold cuts in the house.

He’ll live. He’s a big boy. Heck, he’ll probably enjoy the prospect of a hot lunch as a change of pace, even though he is a bit out of practice. In an effort to save money, I’ve been packing his lunches for almost two years. On those weekdays when I wasn’t home, Dani would get up early and make him his lunch. I do have one concern; I hope his work schedule today puts him somewhere close to a food source.

If I have any energy left after the grocery store, I will finish up the edits, and get started on the next batch. Three more days of not moving from my chair, but I’m still hopeful I will complete at least two of the projects.

Oh, one last thing, don’t forget about the raffle on my blog. There are like ten prizes to give away, and only two entries so far, so your chances of winning are pretty dang good. As I said, lots to do today, so I should get going. I’ll have a new writing challenge for you tomorrow. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

February 4th

Hi, it’s Christina –

No time for a writing challenge today. It’s my baby girl’s 15^th birthday and I have a ton to do. Make a cake, get her presents, wrap – YUCK – her presents. Something I had hoped to do yesterday but the 9+ inches of snow put the kibosh on that idea and today’s delayed opening has put me two hours behind schedule as it is.

I did surprise Dani this morning with breakfast in bed. I made her chocolate chip pancakes. She was really surprised, especially since it is a well-known fact that I’m terrible at making breakfasts. I can make a chocolate soufflé stand six inches over the baking dish, but I can’t butter a piece of bread to save my life. It’s the simple things which seem to be beyond me.

I am REALLY not looking forward to more snow tonight and then more again on Sautrday. I hope Saturday’s snow holds off until considerably later in the evening because that is the day we are planning on having Dani’s Family birthday party. The last thing I want is having a houseful of friends and family taking their lives in their hands going home from a party at my house.

It happened once before, many, many years ago. My husband’s Godparents trekked down from North Jersey to attend Lys’ Baptism. They had gotten the date wrong, and had showed up a week early, so they turned around when they got to the hall and were told it was the following week. They didn’t tell us about their mistake, just headed back home. If we had known, we would have had them come over and visit since they were down here anyway, and would have told them not to worry about coming again the following week. The weather wasn’t the greatest that day, and on their way home, they were in a terrible car accident. They both survived, but the accident took its toll. They didn’t drive or leave the house much after that, and we never saw them again. Needless to say, this is not something I would ever care to repeat!!

Sorry to end on such a sad note, but I’ve really got to run. I hope you all have a glorious day & happy writing!

June 30th Writing Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

We had a fun time at our town’s fireworks last night. It is amazing to see how much the town has grown since I moved here thirty five years ago. There are SO many people now!

 

Got to sleep in a little today, which was nice. At 7:30 this morning I went to let the dog out and it was like walking into a bowl of hot soup. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t an air advisory today. YUCK! Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to hibernate in the air conditioning all day. We need to run to Kohl’s to take advantage of our 30% off coupon and get the sheets for vacation (of course we need sheets for the one size bed we do not own), then to WalMart for coffee, and finally to Costco to pick up the graduation thank you cards.

After all that, we will be spending the remainder of the day moving my daughter into my son’s old room, after it gets a thorough cleaning of course. Again YUCK!! There is even dust on the walls. This will be the first time since she was three that she had her own room. Although it will only be for a few weeks (she’s leaving for college), she’s still excited.

My neat and organized daughter has been sharing a room with her slob of a sister for the past fourteen years. Now, for the first time, they will each be able to have their own room. The youngest one says the room is always so messy because there was no room for everything with two of them in there. Let’s see if having the room to herself will have a positive effect. I’m not holding my breath. LOL. I wonder how, come end of August, my youngest one is going to react. For the first time in her life, she is going to be an only child.

Since this is the last day of June, that means camp NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow, so for the next 31 days, this blog is going to be short and sweet. PLEASE have pity on me during this next month and email me ideas for writing challenges so I don’t have to come up with them. christinapaulbooks@yahoo.com any and all suggestions are welcome and I am even temporarily lifting the “you need to post” requirement to have your challenge featured. PRETTY PLEASE…with sugar on top. J

 

Your last challenge was:

I’m going to miss…

 

Five days shy of my son’s twenty-third birthday he moved out. Not far, only a half hour away, but I’m going to miss his not living at home. We’re moving my middle daughter into his room, but in seven short weeks, she’ll be moving away to college, and I’m going to miss her too.

Every parent comes to this point in their life, and although we know it’s coming, the emotions still take us by surprise. As much as I complained about the noise and insanity that comes from having a house full of kids, mine and the inevitable add-ons of the “adopted” sons and daughters who come with them, I’m going to miss the constant stream of kids through the house. Luckily I have one more daughter still at home, along with her gaggle of friends, but what am I going to do in four years when she flies the nest as well?

 

You probably guessed that was coming, huh?

 

Your Next Challenge is (an oldie but goody):

 

If you can have lunch with anyone, living or dead, who would it be 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.