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 |   My thoughts/experiences/feelings/beliefs, depending on my mood. Blah, blah, blog. |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **  Winner of "Best Blog of 2011" for "The Quills"  . Previous winner of "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Round 1. A big, heartfelt thank-you to all of my fans and supporters!  Welcome to the randomness, silliness, craziness, and all-around tomfoolery – what a great word that isn't used nearly enough – that is my blog. Don't get me wrong, it isn't always silly and crazy. Sometimes it's serious or sad but, more often than not, it's comical. Nonetheless, it is always entertaining. I try to see the fun in life. I'll add to it as much as I can so make sure you check back often.  Feel free to leave a comment or review to let me know you stopped by.  DISCLAIMER: If you are someone who gets offended easily, then you shouldn't go any further. I'm up-front, to-the-point, sarcastic and honest (sometimes brutally so). I tell it like it is, or the way I think it is. If you don't get offended very easily, then you've come to the right blog. All are welcome. The fun is free! My life is an open book blog. Hilarity and chaos ensue... ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Day 6 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Funny Friday!The "How To" article is a staple of popular magazines. We don't always need informative-yet-boring "How To" articles...what we sometimes need is "How NOT To" advice. Try to make us laugh and tell us a good way of not doing something. This is an easy one. My "How NOT to" advice has to do with marriage. If you don't want to marry an asshole, then don't marry my ex-husband. That is all. You're welcome!  |
Day 5 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Again...from the War Chest...Do you believe in miracles? Why, or why not? I’m probably going to go to Hell for saying this, but at this point, it’s really go big or go home. Being the HUGE sports fan that I am, whenever I think of miracles – or just hear the word ‘miracle’ – I automatically think of this. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] For those of you that don’t know, that’s from the 1980 U.S. Men’s Olympic hockey team. That epic win in Lake Placid was one of the greatest moments in sports. I may have only been 3 years old at the time, but I can remember my dad and my brothers being ridiculously excited. Since I idolized them, I was excited, too, even though I had no idea what was actually going on, or how historic that moment truly was. However, I don’t think that’s what Fivesixer  was referring to with this prompt. I am a spiritual person. I’m also a religious person. I don’t go to church all that much, but I have a relationship with God that suits me just fine. In my opinion, you don’t have to sit in church every week in order to be a good Christian. I’m not knocking those who do – not at all – that’s simply my belief.I think my biggest issue with organized religion is that I’m very analytical and extremely scientific-minded. That being said, I have questions. A lot of them. If what the bible tells us is true then evolution is not. Evolution has been proven by science. The bible? Well…have you seen or read The Da Vinci Code? I know it’s fiction, but there are some valid points. I’d always thought that, which is why I probably loved the book so much when it came out. Some religious diehards probably view this as sacrilegious. I’m OK with that. We’re all entitled to our own beliefs and opinions. I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and I believe he was a divine man, but still just a man. I believe he was able to perform miracles, but that some of the stories in the bible are just that, stories. Miracles happen each and every day. Whether it’s a child’s laughter, a newborn’s first cry, a loving couple saying “I do”, flowers in bloom, a bright, sunny day, the sound of waves crashing to the shore, love, laughter, sloppy, wet dog kisses, an amazing sunset, a beautiful rainbow, a starry sky. I could keep going…and going…and going. Miracles happen all around us if only we take the time to see and appreciate them. If you couldn't surmise by all the things I've written above, my answer is yes. I do believe in miracles.   In Other News  There was a police officer shot and killed in Philadelphia today. As you know, Chris is a detective with the Philadelphia police. I’ve dated cops before, but this hits home. Rest in peace, Officer Robert Wilson III. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. Please take a moment to say a prayer in his name. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Police-Officer-Shot-in-North-Philly-29...  Music, Music, Music  Could someone do me a solid and take this guy to church already? Please. And thank you. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 4 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : From the War Chest...Name a time when you broke a rule or law. Did you get caught, or did you get away with it? I am about to disappoint all of you. No, not because I’ve done something terrible, but because I am an incredibly boring person. No, seriously. I have ALWAYS been labeled “the good girl”. When I filled out the paperwork for the apartment I’m in, Jen went with me since I had already asked her if she wanted to move in with me. Even though she doesn’t pay to live here, she still had to complete a background check too because she’d be living here. Both of our background checks came back within 5 minutes. They said they’d never seen that happen before. I told them that we were really boring people. Now, back to our prompt. The only thing I can think of happened back when I was in 6th grade. I was at a sleepover at a friend’s house. There were 5 or 6 of us. When the adults were asleep, one of the girls – not me – had the brilliant idea that we should sneak out. I think she wanted to meet up with her boyfriend or something. I was dead set against it. We all sat there arguing for a long time. Finally, I agreed to go with them because if I hadn’t, I probably would have been ridiculed in school. You know how important fitting in is during our formative years. We snuck out and went all the way over to the other side of town. We got caught by the cops. They drove us back to the house where we were staying. We all got into A LOT of trouble from our parents and were grounded for what seemed like an eternity at the time. And so ends the story of my life of crime. I told you I was boring!  This prompt made me think of something I wrote as part of an activity for WDC’s birthday back in 2011. At the time, I was one of the group leaders of the Talent Pond. The Talent Pond’s activity for WDC’s birthday that year was the Great Writing.Com Birthday Caper. Linked below is my police statement for the theft that occurred. I implicated quite a few people, too, and linked to items in their ports as part of my statement. Some of them are no longer valid items, but you can still get the idea. It was a lot of fun! I had a blast writing it.
Dateline  I met Chris one month ago tonight.  Music, Music, Music I obviously had to go with this song tonight. Enjoy and good night!! [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 3 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Seeing as how it's only the 3rd, I don't think it's fair to do an actual "Two-Fer Tuesday" prompt. Instead, pump your own tires...share with us an item of yours that you're especially proud of. Bonus points for today if you choose to review one of your fellow challengers' items (and you submit the review using the tag in your entry). It's like a "community spirit" thing!Welcome to this edition of Tuesdays with Morrie…I mean…Julie! I hate talking about myself, tooting my own horn, or pumping my own tires as Norb put it, but that’s our prompt for today. It’s hard for me to pick one piece that I’m proud of. That’s not bragging, either. I find it tough to choose because, quite frankly, I think my writing stinks. While perusing through my portfolio, I came across a piece that I wrote as part of a prompt for the very first round of the 30DBC. I decided that poem would be a fitting item to share with you all.
Here is the entry (with the prompt), if you’d like to read that as well, "Invalid Entry" . I guess the poem isn’t all that bad. It did win Honorable Mention in "Invalid Item" and was also later published in a magazine.I know this is a super short entry tonight, but I just got home from my nephew’s confirmation. By nephew, I mean Jen’s son, Dylan. It’s been a long day. I promise I’ll write more tomorrow, but I’m spent right now. I'll try to get to the review part of this prompt tomorrow. In Other News Fivesixer ’s e-mail with the prompt also said, “20 Challengers this month! I've got my work cut out for me!”You’ve got it allllllll wrong, Norb. We’ve got our work cut out for us. There are some seriously heavy hitters participating in the challenge this month. Looks like I’m going to have to put my game face on and get serious.  In other words, quit your whining!  Haha, just kidding! You know I love ya, twinner! Dateline Tomorrow it will be one month ago since Chris and I met. Awwwwww..... Music, Music, Music When I read the part in the prompt that said it’s a community spirit thing, for some reason, my brain immediately thought of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. I can’t explain it either, but there you have it. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 2 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : WILDCARD MONDAY!! March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb (or vice/versa). What are you most looking forward to this spring?Have you ever wondered where idioms like this come from? Maybe I’m the only nerd that does. Some believe that it is due to the positions of the constellations at the beginning and the end of March. Leo, the Lion, and Aries, The Ram (or Lamb) and their prominence in the night sky during the month of March.I honestly couldn’t care where the expression came from. What I am looking forward to the most is the lamb kicking the lion’s ass right on out of here. Figuratively speaking, of course. I’m pretty sure the lion snacks on lambs in the real world. I hate Winter and everything about it. I don’t like cold temperatures. I hate SNOW, wind, ice, sleet, freezing rain, shorter days, and anything else that I deem to be unpleasant about the most dreadful season of the year. I am a Summer baby at heart. Always have been, always will be. I do enjoy Spring, but my allergies don’t. With everything in bloom, I typically end up being a sneezing, sniffling, puffy-eyed, itchy mess. Sounds attractive, doesn’t it? Allergy medication, eye drops, tissues, and nose spray are my springtime staples.  I know you guys are jealous.Basically, anything we can do to fast forward through Winter and get to temperatures well above 75 degrees Fahrenheit (I felt the need to clarify for my non-U.S. readers like Brother Nature  ), I’m all for it. Bring on longer days, sunny skies, green grass, suntan lotion, BBQs, swimming, going to the beach, walking the boardwalk, and driving with the windows down, sunroof open, & music blasting.  Those are just a few of my favorite things about Spring and Summer. Dateline My good friend, Andy (aka Jakrebs  ), called me out for failing to provide a Dateline update lately. Sorry guys! Things have just been crazy, so here’s an update for you.Not this past Saturday, but the Saturday before (February 21st), he got snowed in here. He had his kids for the entire week before so we hadn’t seen each other at all that week & we missed each other. I had plans that Saturday night. My roommate and I were having our friends, Misty and Angie, over for a Girl’s Night In. Chris came here since I had stuff to do to get ready for my Girl’s night.The plan was that we were going to hang out, grab lunch, and maybe catch a movie or something. We knew that there were snow showers coming, but the news said it would only be a dusting and nothing more. Like I said, I was supposed to have a Girl’s Night In at my place that night. Chris also had plans with his buddies that night. The girls were supposed to be here at 6:30. Chris was going to leave here at 4:00. I’m sure you guys see where this is going. Around 4:00, I took Bailey for a walk. It was like a blizzard outside. We had already far exceeded the "dusting" that the local meteorologists were calling for. (Note to self: In my next life, I want to be a meteorologist. It's the only occupation I know of where you can be wrong 90% of the time and still get paid a crapload of money.) I told Chris and he went out on my balcony to see how bad it was. We turned on the news to see what they were saying. Of course, they were saying it was going to be stopping within the hour. He said he was going to wait another half hour and then leave. A half hour later, it’s still like a blizzard out there. So he was going to give it another half hour. During that time, Jen sends a text saying she’s being sent home from work because they’re closing due to weather. At the same time, Misty and Angie are texting to say how bad the roads are. I’m relaying all of this to Chris. I told him that he could stay if he wanted, but if he was going to leave, he should probably do so sooner rather than later. We went through several more iterations of Chris saying he was going to give it another half hour. Jen (my roommate) literally works around the corner and it took her almost an hour to get home. She was telling us how bad it was out there. Chris said he was going to try to leave, despite both Jen and I telling him that he should just stay. He said he didn’t want to interfere with our Girl’s Night. We BOTH told him he was being ridiculous. But, he’s a man, so he’s stubborn. I’m a worrier, so I was ridiculously worried about him driving home. He lives about 30 minutes from here and that’s with no traffic and no weather-related issues. He kissed me goodbye, promised he’d be careful, and told me he’d let me know when he got home.About 20 minutes after he left, Misty, Angie, Jen, and I all decided that it was too risky to have the girls come here. We rescheduled for the next day. So, our Girl’s Night In became Sunday Funday Girl’s Day In. About 45 minutes after Chris left, he texted me saying that he was going to be knocking on my door momentarily. I thought he was busting my balls and that he was actually home. Lo and behold, as I was replying to his text, there was a knock at my door. He said it took him about 15 minutes just to clean off his truck. When he got on the road, traffic was bumper-to-bumper. I am right near the highway. Seriously, it’s about 3 minutes from my house. He couldn’t even GET to the highway. Between the icy roads and traffic in general, he couldn’t even get there. It took him more than a half hour to try to get to the highway entrance, turn around, and come back to my place. I was SOOOO glad he didn’t get on the highway. There were so many accidents. Chris, Jen, and I (and Bailey, too, of course) just hung out here. We had dinner, and we drank…and drank…and then we drank some more. Beer, wine, moonshine, and even some shots. We got HAMMERED. Jen, in an effort to embarrass me in front of Chris, decided to pull out our old yearbooks and some old photo albums. For being my best friend for over 24 years, she doesn’t know me very well. I don’t embarrass easily. We went through the yearbooks and photo albums, told stories from our childhoods, and laughed for HOURS. Seriously, I don’t think I have ever laughed that hard in my entire life. Chris and Jen both said the same thing.The next morning, I made breakfast for the 3 of us and Chris went home after that. Bailey has become very attached to Chris already. When he left, she watched from my front window. She usually only does that when I leave. Last week was kind of a blur with my aunt’s passing and everything I found out about my brother. My aunt’s funeral was on Thursday. When that was done, I went to Chris’s. We went out for a nice, quiet, relaxing, candlelight dinner. Then we went back to his place and watched the Flyers lose.  Aside from the fact that the Flyers suck, it was the perfect ending to an absolutely terrible day. It was just what the doctor ordered.Chris and I did not see each other this weekend. I had plans on Friday night and he had plans on Saturday night. That’s one of the reasons we decided to do something on Thursday night. I’m not sure when I’ll get to see him again. This week is pretty busy for both of us. I’m guessing that we won’t see each other until the weekend.  Music, Music, Music I’m going to leave you with a little Spring Love Stevie B. style. Enjoy and think warm thoughts!! This Winter has been too long and far too cold! [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] And here’s an additional song, just because it’s a good song and it has Monday in the title.  That thumbs up is for the song, not the fact that it's Monday. I hate Mondays about as much as I hate Winter. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 1 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : The Sunday News: Pick a random article from the headlines and talk about it. Share your opinions and feelings about it. Encourage a conversation.Well, it’s March. You know what that means, right? It means that we’re now back to an official round of the 30DBC. I signed up, even though I already know I won’t be able to blog every day. I’ll be away for a week for work, so it’ll be difficult to blog during that week, but I’ll try my best. Today’s prompt is perfect, in my opinion. March also happens to be Endometriosis Awareness Month. This is something that is very near and dear to my heart. Here is a headline I found: http://www.philly.com/philly/health/womenshealth/20150301_Endometriosis__fertili... It took almost 8 years for me to get a diagnosis. Eight long years of suffering with pain that was excruciating and unimaginable. There were numerous visits to doctors & specialists, medications, and being in-and-out of the hospital. Finally, a laparoscopy confirmed the diagnosis. I was thrilled to finally know what plagued me, but my happiness was very short-lived because moments after being told what it was, I was also told there is no cure. My doctor went on to say that it was one of the leading causes of infertility and, with a case as severe as mine, I may never have kids. I was 19 at the time, so I wasn’t ready for marriage and children yet, but it was something I had always dreamed of having…someday. I went through many more years of enduring pain that was so bad that there were days that I couldn’t even get out of bed. When I tried, I collapsed. I had 4 laparoscopies, but they only provided temporary relief. I was Stage 4. My doctor said he’d never seen anything like it before in his life. He told me it was everywhere. He was a specialist at a teaching hospital. With my permission, he used my case as a reference when he taught. I was “Patient X” to his students. He told them about all of my treatments, the medications (including the experimental ones we tried), all of the surgeries, my numerous hospital stays, and he showed them the images taken curing each of my laparoscopies. I kept hoping that, one day, one of those students would eventually find a cure & that, in some small way, I had helped. I still hold out hope for that. On January 14, 2011, Endometriosis almost killed me. I had to have a hysterectomy to save my life. My body was so weak that the surgery itself almost killed me too. My doctor told me that I was a miracle & the only thing that saved me was my strength & my will to fight. I told him that I wasn’t done here. Endometriosis took my chance to ever have a child. It took my marriage. Endo almost took my life, too. I took it back. We need a better way to diagnose and treat this awful disease, and we deserve a cure. That’s a status that I posted on Facebook on December 2, 2014 for Giving Tuesday. It was liked and shared by the Endometriosis Foundation of America. The post on their page received almost 500 more likes, 80 shares, and numerous comments. I felt the need to re-share it here, as part of today’s entry. It’s definitely fitting. Endometriosis is a robbing disease. My question is, for those of you that have heard of it, how many of you thought it was just bad cramps? You can be honest. It’s OK, because it’ll prove my point about needing to raise awareness. Part of today’s prompt is to encourage a conversation about it, so that’s what I’m doing. Converse, people, converse! Music, Music, Music I couldn’t really find any songs about headlines or news, but I think this one comes pretty close. It certainly mentions many things that have made the news over the years. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 24 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Open mic night prompt. Write about whatever you want. All I ask is that you have fun with it. Enjoy!Sorry I’ve been MIA for a few days, folks. Some of you know that my aunt passed away. For those that have sent me their condolences, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. It really does mean a lot.  Also, while Brother Nature was away, I was sending out the daily prompts for him. I know I was eliminated from the challenge so it doesn’t really count, but I didn’t feel right writing about the prompts that I sent out. I felt like I had an unfair advantage or something. I know I’m being ridiculous, but there you have it. Now on to the open prompt. I sent this one out, too, and I know I’m late on writing about since it’s 12:01AM now. It’s already too late for day 24, but it’s been a rough couple of days. Brace yourselves, boys and girls, because I’m about to go on a rant. Most of you know that I have an older brother. He lives in Germany. He’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever known. Despite the distance, we are still very close. We talk just about every day, either via e-mail or Facebook messenger, and then we Skype on weekends whenever possible. I was in Germany for Christmas. It was so good to spend the holidays with my family, it’s always so hard to leave, though, especially my nieces. God, I love them all so much. I also have another brother, Chuck. He’s the oldest. No one knows where he is. He decided years ago that he wanted nothing to do with our family and cut everyone off. That’s a shame because he’s missing out on a lot. He’s never met his 3 nieces. He has no idea that I’m divorced. He never even showed up to our grandmother’s funeral several years ago. He knew she died. I made sure he knew because I didn’t want that on my conscience. Just a little bit of backstory, he and his witch – I mean, wife (Freudian slip) – stole from my grandparents. Fast forward to current day. With the passing of my aunt, I, once again, find myself in a position where I feel the need to track him down to tell him. I simply don’t want it on my conscience that he doesn’t know about her passing. It was a bit easier when our grandmother passed away years ago because he still had the same cell phone # that he has always had. That’s no longer the case. He’s also no longer living at the last known address I have for him. I made the decision to pay to track him down. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE from my roommate to my “good” brother to Chris to any other friends I’ve told have tried talking me out of it. I just…couldn’t. I don’t know if it’s guilt or some sense of feeling that I need to try to bring the family back together, or maybe it’s that I don’t want to disappoint my parents (God rest their souls). I don’t know. I can’t quite explain it. Suffice it to say, I felt compelled to make an attempt to track him down. I found him, sort of. I got an address and a phone number. Unfortunately, the phone number was no longer his, either. I don’t know if the address is accurate. I can only assume it is. It’s pretty far, though, so it’s not like I can just drive over there and knock on the door or something. In addition to finding his address and phone, the place also found some additional information on him. They found 10+ criminal records. There were a bunch of traffic violations, which I could care less about. My problem has to do with the arrest records. Those records I couldn’t access unless I shelled out more money. I spent enough trying to track him down. I didn’t want to spend any more money, especially considering what it was that I’d be buying. Let’s face it, it’s not like I’d be buying peace of mind. If I had paid the extra money to see what he’s been arrested for over the years, I’d never be able to unsee that. Does that make any sense? Am I surprised that he’s been arrested several times? Yes and no. No, because if he could steal from our own grandparents (who did NOT press charges or report him to the authorities), that sadly speaks to the type of person he turned out to be. Yes, because that’s not the brother I grew up with. That’s not the brother I looked up to. That’s not the brother that I idolized and followed around like a puppy dog. We were raised so much better than that. I’ve been through a lot of shit in my life. I have made my fair share of mistakes. Everyone does. But I can honestly say that I have never been more disappointed in anyone in my life as I am with my brother. You have no idea how much it hurts me to say that. I am absolutely heartbroken. All I keep thinking is how my poor parents must be rolling over in their graves. I just noticed that I mentioned earlier that I started writing this entry at 12:01AM and it’s now 1:23AM. I’m having a hard time writing this. I keep deleting what I’ve typed. I’m also having this internal struggle as to whether or not I should write this at all, but I needed to vent or I’d explode. I’m beside myself. I really am. Music, Music, Music I’m done my rant for today. Sorry about that. I’ll leave you with this song. It’s dedicated to my oldest brother, who was once my hero. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] And here’s another one for him. We share a mother and a father, but we couldn’t possibly be more different, obviously. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 18 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Don't write! Read! Go back and look over all the prompts, all the instructions, the objectives, and the requests I have made of the players. Read the comments I have made on your blog entries and the comments I have made on the blog entries you haven't read.Joel’s e-mail went on to say, “Maybe I'm easily discouraged, or overly sensitive to negativity, but I've decided to hold off on the next stage of the game so people can reflect on the whole concept of what this month's challenge is all about, and what objectives I have set out for you all from the very beginning. When I was a young man I asked a friend of mine, who was a career journalist and a freelance writer: "What do I have to do to become a writer?" He told me, "You have to read."” He also sent a follow-up to clarify exactly what he was looking for with this prompt: “There's a MB available to anyone who can pull off a blog entry for today based on my rant of a prompt sent out yesterday. There will be NO elimination today.” I had to do a bit of research to make sure I had all of the prompts correct. Here they are again, paraphrased a bit. Day 1: Enthusiasm for participating & recruiting others Day 2: Groundhogs Day Day 3: Muse Day 4: Scientists discover a new material and/or whatever floats your boat. Day 5: Deep thoughts and fun facts Day 6: Solicit a prompt from a friend Day 7: Ever get drunk and do something stupid? Day 8: Blog about nothing Day 9: Games – video games, board games, etc. Day 10: Being driven around by the worst driver ever Day 11: Different types of prompts (favorite & least favorite) Day 12: White drowf Day 13: Funny Friday nursery rhymes Day 14: Young love Day 15: Why I should stay in this competition Day 16: Visiting a witch shop / ideas for a trendy or unique shop Day 17: I was born to ________ If I am understanding this prompt correctly, we need to find the correlation between these prompts and write about it. Here goes nothing. I am enthusiastically recruiting the help of, and consulting, my muse, thinking deep thoughts over some new material that scientists discovered, called a white drowf, while simultaneously soliciting friends for ideas to play games, blog about nothing, and recall whether or not I have ever gotten drunk and done something stupid. In addition, I’m contemplating the existence of young love and casting a spell on the judges of this competition in order to stay in it. Coincidentally, I am wondering what I was born to do. Oh, and I get to do it all over again, day after day, until I finally get it right. If Bill Murray and/or a groundhog makes an appearance, I may begin to question my own sanity. Does that about cover it, Brother Nature ? In Other News Once again, I’d like to thank everyone for their support. Not just during the challenge, but also with my elimination. Some people were up in arms, and I truly appreciate it, but I really am OK with it. This round is different. It’s a fundraising elimination round. I got eliminated. End of story. And, hey, look at that, I’m still blogging. So, really, thank you for all the kind, encouraging words. We’re all good. Joel is doing a great job running the show.  Sporting News   Baseball is BACK!!! The Phillies pitchers and catchers have their first work-out tomorrow. Position players report on Monday. WOOHOO!!!! Music, Music, Music I’m slowing it down for you today. I love this song. It’s absolutely beautiful and it holds a lot of meaning for me. Good night, all! [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 17 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : I was born to _________...(You can't say, 'write' or refer to any genre or literary discipline, or describe any form of writing.) We may be losing a talented blogger from the challenge, but we may be gaining a much better prompt writer. February 17th blogs will be judged by myself. There will be one MB awarded and one challenger eliminated, based on the blog entries submitted. Blog on, Survivors. Joel I kinda like Joel’s caveat that we’re not able to mention writing. If he hadn’t done that, I have a feeling everyone would have written that, which would make for some really boring reading of today’s entries for everyone participating in the 30DBC. So, what was I born to do? I suppose the obvious answer is that I was born to be awesome. You guys already knew that which means I need to pick something else. Was I was born to be stylin’ and profilin’? While I am quite fancy and fashion forward, I don’t think this defines me either. It’s too shallow and I am anything but shallow. Perhaps, I’m Bruce Springsteen’s illegitimate love child and I was born to run? [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] No? The answer to this question is actually quite easy. I was simply born to be me. While that may not sound like much, you guys all seem to find me entertaining enough. I’d like to think I’m a half-decent person, despite the multitude of rumors that my ex-husband is spreading about me. The joy of life is living. We learn something every day. Sometimes we don’t even realize it. We all serve a purpose in this crazy effed up world. I know I’ve mentioned numerous times before that when I woke up in the hospital after I almost died and my doctor said it was a miracle that I survived, I simply said, “I’m not done here.” I truly believe that. While I may not accomplish great things in my lifetime – let’s face it, I’m not winning any Nobel Prizes anytime soon – I do still think I am here to serve a higher purpose. I’m meant to do good things. Maybe it’s taking in my roommate and her kids. Maybe it’s rescuing my beautiful dog. I haven’t mentioned this before, but the night that I rescued Bailey, she was on her way to a kill shelter. She had been abandoned, starved and severely beaten. This poor little angel has had a very difficult life. I am so glad that I was in the right place at the right time and able to take her in and give her the life that she so deserves. I completely went off on a tangent there. Sorry. Anyway, maybe I’m here to help Jen and the kids. Maybe I’m here to help Bailey. Maybe I’m simply meant to be a contributing member of society. Who knows? Whatever it is that I was born to do, I just hope that I make a difference. We’re all here together on this spinning circular sphere. Let’s make the ride worthwhile. It’s been a very long time since we’ve played a little game in my blog. I think today is the perfect day to have a little fun. What do you guys think I was born to do? To make things interesting, there’s a merit badge (or the equivalent in gift points, I’ll let you choose) for the most creative answer. Have at it…and play nice, damn it! In Other News Well, folks, this is it for me. The end of the road. When Brother Nature sent out the prompt last night, he also told us who was eliminated today. Per Joel’s e-mail:“And the bad news is: Ms. Julie D - PUBLISHED!  you have been eliminated. Say goodbye to your friends, teammates, and competitors and leave this competition.”It’s been a lot of fun while it lasted. The good news is that I will still receive the e-mails for the daily prompts. I can still write entries, but I am no longer officially participating in this unofficial round of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" .Cue the exit speech... **tap** **tap** **tap** Is this thing on?  I would be remiss if I did not give a HUGE shout out, thank you, and lots of love to my friend/brother from another mother/twin, Norb (aka Fivesixer ). He’s the reason I came back after taking a leave of absence from blogging for almost 3 years. It seems like just the other day that we were saying goodbye to Lyn's a sly fox  . Oh wait, that was just yesterday.  Unfortunately, with this elimination round, we’ll say goodbye to someone every day. Today, that someone is me.  I remember thinking that it would be hard to say goodbye…and I was right – it is hard!As I say goodbye, I remind myself that farewells are not forever, nor are they the end. They are simply words to say to convey our feelings of those that are leaving, or in my case, the one being booted out. I don't think I'm the weakest link. Quite the contrary, actually. I think I was voted off the island because I've got skills. I really can’t tell you how difficult it is to describe how sad I am to be leaving. For people who haven’t been around here long, or who are unfamiliar with this site, they can’t possibly imagine how connected you can get to such a warm community of people. Many times I have been humbled by the kindness of your hearts, which will not be forgotten anytime soon. Tomorrow, I will wake up and not have to blog (though I will anyway), full of yet-to-be-realized opportunities, a competitor without a team or competition . It will be a strange limbo. I feel as if being with you all each day has made me a more complete and well-rounded person.To quote Shakespeare, who is not only one of my idols, but was a far better writer than I could ever hope or pretend to be: "And whether we shall meet again I know not. Therefore our everlasting farewell take: Forever, and forever, farewell, friends! If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; If not, why, then this parting was well made." Even though this isn’t really goodbye, I still felt the need to say goodbye. But fear not, I’ll still be writing every day. Well, maybe not every day, but as often as possible anyway. The bottom line is that, now that I’ve got the writing bug again (thanks again, Norb), I’ll keep writing. If you guys are going to keep reading, I’ll keep writing. You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Joel! Plugs, Props & Other Things Worth Mentioning Don’t forget about the game, boys and girls. As a reminder, so you don’t have to go through and re-read the whole entry, what do you think I was born to do? The most creative answer will win a prize.   Music, Music, Music With my elimination today, I felt that this song was appropriate to end my entry. As I’ve said my final goodbye, I will now take a bow…and try not to fall off the stage. Have I mentioned how graceful I am? “Make them laugh, it comes so easy When you get to the part Where you're breaking my heart Hide behind your smile, all the world loves a clown Wish you well, I cannot stay You deserve an award for the role that you played” AND… “You took my love for granted, why oh why The show is over, say goodbye Say goodbye, say goodbye Say goodbye” [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 16 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : I saw a local newspaper ad today for a shop named: The Broom Closet, it's described as a witchcraft supply store. I've never heard of such a shop before, and I'm intrigued.Would you go visit such a shop? Why or why not. Bonus Question: Do you know of, or have an idea for a unique, or trendy shop? I consider myself a rather open-minded individual. I have quite a diverse group of friends, too, but I don’t know any witches. Or do I?  I find other religions, beliefs, interests, and what-have-you, to be fascinating. While it may not be something that I fancy, I do like to learn new things and find out why others participate, practice, or whatever it is you want to call it. When Brother Nature first sent out this prompt, I wasn’t sure what to think of it. I honestly never thought about a shop like this. Why would I? After mulling it over a bit, I’d have to say that it makes sense. Right? We have all kinds of specialty shops. There’s Italian markets, Irish shops, gift shops, sex shops, candy shops, game shops, hobby shops, etc. I could keep going, but I think you get my point. In the grand scheme of things, I think you could say that just about any shop is unique based on any given subject’s point-of-view. We are but the sum of many different parts, each one makes us different and uniquely rare. For example, while some may enjoy shopping for clothes, others may not, so therefore, they might view a clothing store as unique or trendy. See what I did there? Back to the prompt at hand. I have no idea what being a witch entails, but I would imagine that there are things required in order to, say, cast a spell.  A specialty store like this is just what a witch would need for the following:1. Transportation – a witch needs her broom to fly from place-to-place. 2. Clothing – where else would you go to buy a witch hat and those shawl cape-type things a la Stevie Nicks? And red and white striped socks are necessary to complete an outfit. 3. Kitchen supplies – when cooking up a spell, a witch surely needs a cauldron large enough to fit her needs. 4. Beauty supplies – I can only imagine that the straggly, white-ish gray coif donned by witches requires specialty haircare products to maintain. Oh, and warts happen, or so I’ve been told. I’m sure the list of items carried in such a store, and those witches use regularly, is far more extensive than what my overactive imagination can conjure up. I suspect my list consists of the “big ticket” items. I think we need to send our friendly Canadian on a fact-finding mission. In other words, Joel, get your ass over to this store PRONTO and report back to all of us on what you find. For the bonus question, I don’t have any ideas for a unique or trendy shop, but I do work in one, occasionally. A friend of mine owns a specialty wine boutique over in Philly. I mostly work events and private parties, but sometimes I work an occasional shift. The shop sells everything from local wines to any kind of drinking accessory you might need. We also have classes regularly, and as I mentioned, events and private parties. It’s a very popular spot for Bachelorette parties. And this concludes today’s episode of As the Prompt Ends… In Other News I have a squeaky mouse. No, not the furry kind of mouse. If I had one of those in my house, we’d have a real problem over here. It's my wireless mouse for my laptop. The little roller ball thingy squeaks whenever I use it. It’s getting on my nerves. And I just had a “mouse in the house” flashback. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] Our high temperature today was 9 degrees. You read that right. I am not even remotely amused by this. My friend/twin, Norb (aka Fivesixer , had a great image in his entry, "This one's about groundhogs and the 3rd planet." . “The air hurts my face. Why am I living where the air hurts my face?” Why indeed?! I have asthma and, when I go outside to walk Bailey, my lungs hurt in a way that I can’t even explain. I definitely live in the wrong part of the country. I need to move South to a place where I no longer have to deal with cold weather, or winter, or snow, or any sub-zero shenanigans. This is dumb!How do you know it’s cold? When there’s a fire and the fire department has to call their Canadian counterparts to find out what they do when fighting fires and the water they’re using to put out the fire INSTANTLY FREEZES. What the what??!!! Get a load of this nonsense: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video/#!/news/local/Burning-Building-Ices-Over/292067951. Joel, I don’t know how you crazy Canadians handle the cold. I give you a boatload of credit because I couldn’t do it. On a sad note, we had to say goodbye to Lyn's a sly fox . She has been eliminated from "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" . That just makes this a little more real. This month is different from other months because this is an elimination round. We should all be proud of ourselves for making it this far in the challenge. Lyn was a fierce competitor in the challenge and she will be missed. She's also a Jersey girl and Flyers fan like me, so this one really hurts. It sucks knowing there's a number on your head. It makes me wonder how long I have before I get eliminated.  Music, Music, Music I could have gone the easy way and posted Witchy Woman by the Eagles, but I dare to be different (as usual). My dad loved Fleetwood Mac. We went to many Fleetwood Mac concerts while he was alive. I’m going with a Fleetwood Mac song to end this entry. It’s none other than Rhiannon, sung by the amazing witch herself, Stevie Nicks. "She is like a cat in the dark and then she is the darkness." [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 15 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Tell me why you should stay in this competition.“You can’t look at the competition and say you’re going to do it better. You have to look at the competition and say you’re going to do it differently.” ~ Steve Jobs I picked that quote because it’s perfect for me. I’m quite different in every aspect of my life. It’s something I pride myself in. In my opinion, normal = BORING!!! Who wants to live their life as a snoozefest? Not me! My life has always been an open book. For those of you that have been around a while, you already know this. I almost died. I’ll spare you the details because most of you already know. For those that don’t, you can read about it because I have several pieces in my portfolio that explain it. I don’t mean to slight anyone by what I’m about to say, but I don’t think you can truly live until you’ve come to the brink of death and fought your way back to the living. I was never truly alive until after. When I woke up in the hospital and found out what happened, the doctor told me it was a miracle that I survived. I told him that I wasn’t done here. To this day, I still believe that to be true. As such, I’m someone that likes to live life out loud. What does that mean? Well, for starters, I don’t do anything half-assed. I smile A LOT. I laugh A LOT. I love A LOT. I find fun in everything, or at least, try to. I give the best of me to everyone and everything because I am a firm believer in reaping what you sew. I think that what you put out to the world, comes back to you tenfold. Maybe it’s luck. Maybe it’s karma. Maybe it’s destiny. Maybe it’s none of those things…or all of those things. I don’t know. I just know that, at the end of the day, I can look in the mirror and say that I gave it my best shot and tomorrow is another day. It’s not to say that I don’t have my flaws and that I don’t have “off” days. I absolutely do. I just don’t let it get the best of me. I’m perfectly imperfect and I have a good heart. For those that can’t see that, I will gladly show them to the door.My writing definitely takes on that aspect of my personality as well. I write what I want, when I want, and how I want. I write for me and no one else. Although, I do have quite a following and that makes me very, very happy. And rather proud, too. My writing is different. It takes on a personality all its own. It’s very much like my personality because, most of the time, I simply write what I feel. That’s a bit of a double-edged sword sometimes. Usually, I can write about almost anything, but if I’m not feeling it, forget it.I know I’m rambling, but I do actually have a point to all of this. My writing is like life. I live it. I breathe it. I put everything I am in to any piece I write. Writers give it their all, but for me, it’s more than that. I think we’re all familiar with the show-don’t-tell writing philosophy. I believe that I show my readers exactly what I’m feeling in a way that you feel it too. That’s why I should stay in this competition. I'm different and so is my writing. For the second day in a row, I've written a poem. This one is pretty short. I'm not even sure if I like it, but I thought I'd post it anyway. It has double meaning. Let's see if you all pick up on that. Stay with me on this eternal quest of rediscovery and rebirth to bring out my best. Don’t leave the greatest times are ahead I always make things interesting that’s what you get with a redhead. I have this pillow on my bed. I love it because it defines me in a way that nothing else does. I know it’s hard to read it all from the photo at the bottom of this entry, but the pillow says, “Writer. Word-lover. Artist. Healer. Researcher. Creator of worlds. Editor. Deep thinker. Grammarian. Explorer. Daydreamer. Helping hand. Wordsmith. Scatterbrain. Logophile. Inventor. Genius. Observer. Visionary. Romantic. Bibliophile. Author of grand tales. CONQUEROR OF WORLDS.” It’s what we all are, don’t ya think? In Other News It dawned on me that you guys might want to see some pictures, so they're posted below. One is the pillow I mentioned in my entry above. There's also a pic of my little princess, Bailey. Isn’t she a cutie?  Last, but not least, there's a pic of me and my roommate/BFF, Jen. I’m the one on the left. Jen and I have been best friends for 24 years. Crazy huh? Dateline Nothing really to say here. I won’t see Chris until next weekend since he’s got his kids for the week. We talk several times a day, though. I have a “girl date” tonight with some friends. Jen’s son’s school is having a spaghetti dinner fundraiser. I’m going and so is my friend, Nancy. Jen’s mom, who is like a second mom to me, is going as well. That’ll be nice. I mean, hey, who doesn’t like spaghetti? Music, Music, Music I’m taking you guys back a little today with my song. Stay with me, folks, and I’ll keep writing. Hopefully, Brother Nature decides to keep me around in this competition. Maybe I’ll be the last one standing. One can only hope. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 14 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Young love.Our fearless leader (aka Joel) didn’t define what he meant by “young love”. Since there are two definitions, I might as well write about both. “Young love is a flame; very pretty, often very hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. The love of the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deep-burning, unquenchable.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher Young love, as in teenage love or puppy love, is quite different from the love we experience as adults. I’m not saying that teenagers are incapable of love. Quite the contrary, actually. I just don’t think they are mature enough to understand or fully appreciate all that comes along with loving someone so completely and so unconditionally. I believe that childhood sweethearts blossom and grow together so that their young love turns into an old, everlasting love. “The heart that loves is always young.” ~ Unknown Young love has a second meaning, at least it does to me anyway. Young love can be a love that is new and just developing. For me, this is what I can relate to even more. I wasn’t really one for teenage/puppy love. For starters, it was during my “sick years”. I was often too sick to even think about it. I was also very focused on my studies and other activities that I had while I was in school. I had boyfriends, but no one that I loved, if that makes sense. Now that I’m an adult, I’ve definitely experienced young love as something shiny, brand-new, exciting, and fresh. Young love is when two strangers’ eyes meet from across a crowded room. It’s when one of those strangers works up the courage to strike up a conversation with the other. It is rounds and rounds of endless questions during the whole getting-to-know-each-other phase. It’s romance, candlelight dinners, movies, dancing, meeting their parents, siblings, friends, family. It’s the start of something beautiful. It’s what dreams are made of and what we all hope to find. That’s what young love means to me. What does it mean to you? In Other News Brother Nature has a Valentine’s Day party going on over in the "Invalid Item" . ElaineElaine  challenged everyone participating in "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" to say something nice about someone on the other team in her post, "Invalid Post" by A Guest Visitor. All of the challengers of the 30DBC this month have been split into 2 teams. I am on the Blogging Bunch team. The other team is named Birds on a Wire. I was feeling a bit creative, so I wrote a poem in tribute to everyone participating. I thought I’d re-post it here for everyone to see as well. This is dedicated to all my peeps participating in the 30DBC:Brother Nature , Elle - on hiatus  , Lyn's a sly fox , ANN Counselor, Lesbian & Happy , Kate - Writing & Reading  , MissTique , Taz_Koby , ~ Aqua ~ , S Ferguson~ Prepping for Prep , ROSΣANNΣ|NaPoWriMo|WGT|JDI , 💙 Carly  , PandaPaws Licensed VetTech , skeason , Prosperous Snow celebrating  , Charlie ~ , Fivesixer , groovygirl, Cubby~Cheering House Florent!  , Ronis brain tumor is gone! , Dragon is hiding  , Cheri Annemos , Alexi  Birds of a feather flock together like our friends on a wire who blog and inspire. Challenging fun the competition’s not done. There’s 14 more days to get through this maze. Our fearless leader, Joel, is a jolly good soul, who likes to monkey around until a winner is crowned. So for the next 2 weeks, our blogs are what speaks for the talented few of the Blogging Bunch crew! Hey Joel, are you going to tell us who won those 2 merit badges yesterday?!! Dateline Chris has his kids so I will not be spending Valentine’s Day with him. It’s WAYYYYYYYY too soon for me to meet his kids. I’m spending Valentine’s Day with my other Valentine, my cutie, Bailey.  She has given her Mommy extra kisses today. I got her a few doggie Valentine cookies and a Valentine squeak toy. She’s loving it! My roommate/BFF is working until 6:30, but she’ll be here tonight too. She’s not dating anyone so she was just texting me on her break. We’re figuring out what we’re going to do for dinner. We’ll probably rent a movie or something. Yep, tonight will be a very special meeting of the Lonely Hearts Club. I can’t wait to see Chris again! I miss him. Plugs, Props & Other Things Worth Mentioning Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I figured I’d post a Valentine’s Day poem that I wrote a few years ago. Enjoy! Candy hearts are one of my favorite things ever, so I wrote a poem using them as a reference. The very top of the poem is some of the sayings you'll find on candy hearts and they're in the shape of a heart. I'm creative like that.
Music, Music, Music Happy Valentine’s Day, or as I often refer to it, Single Person’s Awareness Day! I hope you all enjoy your day today and spend it with those you love. In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m going to leave you with one of my favorite slow songs of all-time. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] Anyone else having flashbacks to this? It just so happens to be one of the greatest movie scenes ever. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 12 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : "I wonder where I could get a white drowf?"Back up prompt for February 12, 2015. What do I do when the proomtz are florked? ((***scratches head***)) Say whaaaaaattttttttt?! What the crap? I think Brother Nature is speaking Canadien-ese again. Joel, what’s a drowf? Is this a typo?  Or is it something like a dwarf? And, what exactly are florked proomtz? OH. MY. GOD! Did SHE WHO WILL NOT BE MENTIONED BY NAME hijack your account and send out those prompts? Moving on… Snow White had seven dwarfs: Doc, Dopey, Bashful, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, and Whitey…errrr, Happy. OK, so that’s not what Joel is talking about. Hmmmmmmm… A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a stellar remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. They are very dense; a white dwarf’s mass is comparable to that of the Sun, and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth. Its faint luminosity comes from the emission of stored thermal energy. Maybe Joel is talking about a star? Or, perhaps, he’s combined the two?? Mirror, mirror, on the wall Who’s the fairest of them all? It’s Joel and his crazy ass prompts!! Joel, I love ya, buddy. You know it’s all in good fun. Day 13 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : For those of you who are new, the 'Official' rounds of the 30DBC call every Friday, 'Funny Friday' Today we're going to do the same. Yes folks it's time once again to hardy har har and tee hee hee hee, tickle your ribs and make us laugh til we pee, blow milk out your nose, and okay you get my point...It's Funny Friday! FRIDAY THE 13TH (IN 3D) 2015... Write about your job, or your hobby, or another favorite pastime, BUT make up new words to describe what it is you're doing. Challenge your readers to guess what you're talking about in your comments section. If you'd rather - try this little exercise which is sure to be funny. Re-write this well-known verse using nonsensical words. The more outrageous the funnier. (Mary had a Little Lamb) Blank had a blank blank it's blank was blank as blank and everywhere that blank went the blank was blank blank blank fill in the blanks You're welcome to try these both or try any other verse you would like. Have fun with it and make us laugh. There will be two merit badges awarded today - 1 comedy and 1 creativity -winners will be chosen by one of my many secret advisers. Julie had a super date with a guy as cute as a button  and everywhere that Julie went  the guy was sure to follow…  You all just sang along, didn’t you? I know I changed a few of the non “blank” words, too. I’m chalking it up to poetic license. Hopefully Joel won’t mind. My little nursery rhyme about Chris makes him sound a bit like a stalker. He’s not. I swear. The only one that stalks me is my ex-husband.  **REVISION**  Since some of you have your panties in a bunch over the fact that I didn't rhyme the lines above, I've copy/pasted the rhyming version that I posted in my comments below. Julie had a super date with a guy that's truly amazing and every time that Julie spoke the guy was sure to be praising... Happy now? Sheesh, some people have zero tolerance for poetic license. Dateline As you’ve probably guessed, date #3 with Chris last night went PHENOMENALLY well! Have I mentioned how much I like him? And how much we just click? It’s amazing. Anyway, I went to his place. He made us a great dinner. He got some major points for that. It’s the first time a guy has ever cooked for me. He made NY strip steak, baked potatoes, salad and bread. Oh, and we had wine, too, of course. He wouldn’t let me help with anything, not even the clean-up. He said the date was all about me and that he just wanted me to relax. After dinner, we watched a movie and a half (I fell asleep LOL). It was just…perfect. I’m gushing, aren’t I? Sorry, it’s pretty obnoxious. I’m getting on my own nerves. Music, Music, Music I’ll leave you with a little song about the best day of the week. Happy Friday! Have a super fabulous day & a great weekend, boys and girls!  [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
Day 11 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Talk about the different types of prompts. Tell us how the prompt helps or hinders your blog entry writing. Which types of prompts are your favorite or least favorite to write on? Blog group leaders can write on this from the 'prompt writer's point of view on prompts.Try not to kill each other. Joel As writers, we all have our comfort zones. Maybe it’s a specific genre that we stick too. Maybe it’s the way we write on any given subject. After all, there are so many different things to write (novels, poetry, blogs, essays, articles, etc.). I’m a poet at heart, even though my muse has been on hiatus for quite some time now. But I’ve also taken a shine to blogging. Some might say I'm not too bad at it. The two aren’t very different from each other. At least, not from my perspective. For me, I enjoy writing about everyday life and I, typically, do that with my poetry and with my blogging. That’s the similarity that I see between the two. While poetry often has structure, blogging does not. Pretty much anything goes. If you’ve been around my blog long enough, you know that. I guess what it all boils down to is that I write what I feel. I’m a passionate person. Passionate in my beliefs, ideas, goals, hopes, and dreams. I’m also a hopeless romantic. Add to that that I’m a Gemini, too, and what you get is someone who can write about almost anything as long as she’s feeling it. The problem is that I don’t always have the urge. If I’m writing from a prompt and I’m not that crazy about it, you can totally tell. On the other hand, if it’s something I love or something I feel very strongly about, I can go on…and on…and on. Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, know this firsthand, since I have the occasional rant. Typically it’s about things in the news, but I’m not gonna lie, throughout my divorce process, there were rants about the douchebag. I’m not proud of it, but it happens.You can definitely tell that a good prompt helps my entries. If you take a stroll down memory lane and go through past entries, especially from Round 1 of this here challenge, you’ll see that there were a number of very helpful prompts where I was able to output some decent entries. However, there are other prompts, especially those from SHE WHO WILL NOT BE MENTIONED BY NAME, that left me absolutely speechless. Here are just a few of those: "Invalid Entry" "Invalid Entry" And, who can forget this one? "Invalid Entry" While this one was not a prompt from SHE WHO WILL NOT BE MENTIONED BY NAME, it still wasn't the greatest prompt in the history of prompts. I turned a bad prompt into something hilarious, but the best part of the whole thing is the party that took place in the comments section. If you need a good laugh, read the entry AND the comments!So, yeah, writing is very much like life itself. We all excel at what we do when it’s something we like doing. It’s the same rule for writing. In Other News There is all kinds of chaos, debauchery, tomfoolery (I love that word), pandemonium, lawlessness, and even a little anarchy, going on in the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" page. Wow. Brother Nature is running it this month and it’s an “off” month since there aren’t actually 30 days. Since this is not an official month, it’s being used as a fundraising month. Joel, had the brilliant idea of having people put bounties on each other’s heads. As such, all Hell has broken loose.  Whoever doesn’t pay up, ends up being eliminated from the challenge. Kate - Writing & Reading put a bounty on my head yesterday so I had to pay up. Shit got real when someone else put a bounty on Joel’s head. It’s pretty ugly over there. If you’re looking for a laugh, swing by the page and check out the horseplay.  I don’t think Joel realized the can of worms he was opening up with this one. Speaking of the 30DBC, as I mentioned above, anyone that can’t pay their bounty gets eliminated. This is going to be pretty cut-throat. From now until the end of the month, one person will be eliminated every day until there is only one blogger left standing. BOOM goes the dynamite.  Dateline I get to see Chris tomorrow night! YAYNESS!!!! It is ridiculous how much we just…click. I’m speechless because it's never been like this for me before. Yes, I'm well aware that that speaks VOLUMES about my marriage. Hey, we all make mistakes. Thank GOD for divorces! I do, however, have a girl date tonight with my friend, Andrea. We’re going to one of the best places on Earth. It’s called Zinburger. It’s a wine and burger bar. Yum! Wednesday’s are half off bottles of wine. WOOHOO!!!   Music, Music, Music I really had to dig deep for today’s prompt. I think this song is quite fitting. I also happen to love the song. Happy Hump Day, peeps! [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
| Day 10 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : You are being driven around by the worst driver ever. Ugh! I’m fairly certain we all have a horror story about bad drivers. My story took place a very long time ago. My friend, Stacie, had picked me up at my parent’s house. She’d been driving for a year and had had several accidents that we all loved to tease her about. Anyway, I still got into her car. I was a fearless teenager, so why not? I don’t even know where we were going. Probably the mall. That’s what teenagers do. It was pouring rain. Stacie didn’t come to a complete stop at a stop sign and a car came and slammed into us. On my side of the car. It blew out my right shoulder. Cracked my head on the windshield. I almost went through the windshield, actually. I ended up having my shoulder reconstructed and my friend turned in her driver’s license. Literally. The very next day, she went to the DMV and handed her driver’s license in. She told them that, “she almost killed her best friend, so she had no right driving.” She got it back a year later and was a much better driver after that. I guess she just needed that year to grow up a little more. Since those days, NJ has actually made it harder to get your license and you can’t get it until you’re 18 now. If those had been the rules back then, maybe the accident wouldn’t have happened. Then again, who knows? Life is a crapshoot. You get what you get. You guys can probably tell that I’m just not feeling it today. Sorry. I had the flu a few weeks ago. I think I mentioned that. The doctor said the cough would linger for several weeks before it finally went away. The problem is that it’s getting worse. I’m coughing so much that I’ve lost my voice and I have a horrible headache. I apologize for the short, lackluster entry. I know I’ve got to get back to some comments and read other blogs too. I’ll do it tomorrow. For now, I’m off to bed. Dateline The one great thing is that I’m going to see Chris again on Thursday night. I can’t wait to see him again! Music, Music, Music Here’s a little video to end this entry. Good night, all.  [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
| Day 8 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : This is what I would blog about if there was nothing to blog about. [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] I completely failed at life yesterday and was not a contributing member to society or to the blogging world. I barely even moved off my couch. Fortunately, Brother Nature gave us the day off from blogging, so we didn’t have to write anything. However, if we were so inclined, he provided the prompt above. Here is my blog about nothing.Jakrebs asked me to include a section on my dating stories within my blog. After much debate, I decided to use Dateline as my headline. I know it’s already taken by NBC, but I’ll be putting a rather different twist on my Dateline. Dateline I went out with Chris again on Saturday night. He brought me flowers for the second night in a row! It has been YEARS – probably more than a decade – since a man has brought me flowers. Suffice it to say that this is the first time a man has done it TWICE. We had a great time on Saturday. He met some of my friends. They loved him, so he earned points for that, too. Seriously, I am stupid happy. I can’t seem to stop smiling. I have the same effect on him, too. One of the texts he sent me yesterday said the following:“Riddle me this, Red. We met on Wednesday, had a wonderful dinner on Friday, and I survived the inquisition on Saturday. I’m going through some Julie withdrawal today bad. What did you put in my drink?” Can I get a collective awwwwwwwwwww…??  Did I mention how protective my friends are of me? Yeah, they grilled him on Saturday night and he took it like a champ! They all loved him! And he told me he really likes them, too. Some of you may be thinking that it's too early for him to be meeting my friends, but (1) did I mention how protective they are of me? I couldn't go out with him again until they met him, and (2) after everything I went through with my ex-husband, I need to be sure that whoever I end up with takes an interest in me and the people in my life. That's very important.Day 9 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : GAMES - Video Games, Board Games, Parlour Games, What's your pleasure?Can I just say that game night is pretty much the most fun ever? I love rounding up family & friends and inviting them over for game night. It’s always a blast! My current game of choice is Cards Against Humanity. Hopefully you guys have heard of it. The tag line is that it’s “the party game for horrible people”. The instructions start out as follows: “To start the game, each player draws ten White Cards. The person who most recently pooped begins as the Card Czar and plays a Black Card…” How do you not love a game with those instructions? For real. I have the game and the first 3 expansion sets. I highly recommend it. Even if you don’t purchase it, you can download a free version from their website: http://cardsagainsthumanity.com/. I can’t stress it enough. You need to play this game at your next game night. We end up laughing so hard that we cry. Music, Music, Music Here's a little song for you that fits the prompt about "nothing". Happy Monday, all! [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
| Day 7 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Did you ever get really drunk and do something stupid? Tell the truth…or lie. Oh dear. Which way do I go with this one? Do I own up to the numerous stories, mainly from my early 20’s, of drunken shenanigans or do I make something up? This is quite a conundrum. I’ll go with the truth, for what it’s worth. While I may have been the “good girl” when I was growing, I definitely let loose when I turned 21. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a good girl, despite the rumors my ex-husband is spreading about me. I never drank until I turned 21. No lie. That surprises people when I tell them that. I definitely made up for it when I turned 21, though. My girlfriends and I were out every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and sometimes Sunday nights. Much of my early 20’s are a blur of hilariously strewn together memories of intoxicating nights spent with some of the greatest people I’ve ever known. We had the time of our lives. We partied like rock stars. We were always on VIP lists anywhere we went. We felt like celebrities and we certainly acted like we were. I don’t have any one story that stands out in my mind. Honestly, there’s not really anything stupid, either. I don’t do one night stands. Never have, never will. I’m just not that girl. We all act stupid when we’re drunk. Everyone has always told me that I’m a fun drunk. I think that’s good. I guess? I can think of a million and one times where I drank too much, laughed a ton, talked too much (& too loud) and puked my brains out. Bleh! There was one time, my girlfriends and I were at a club. I don’t even remember what club it was, but it was over in Philly. I think I may have mentioned before that I’m not exactly the most graceful person in the world. So, this one night, I’d had a few too many drinks. The club we were at had several different levels. We were walking down the stairs to a lower level. Anyone want to guess where this is going? I fell all the way down the damn stairs! I sliced up my knee pretty bad. I still have a scar to this day. It bled for days. I put butterfly bandages on it, but it probably needed actual stitches. As bad as that was, my pride was wounded more than anything that night. The place was PACKED and everyone saw my less-than-graceful entrance. I did the only thing you can do in that situation. I got up and took a bow. In Other News I had a pretty big day yesterday. I got a new car. I was at the end of my lease. I could have either extended the lease on the car I had, paying what I was paying or get a brand new car paying less money. Ummmm, that was a no brainer! I also had an AMAZING date last night! I met him the other night after the event that I worked. No, he was not there for the Match.com event. After we closed up the shop, we went out for a few drinks at a bar nearby and that’s where I met him. His name is Chris. He’s smart, has a wonderful sense of humor, and he’s super sweet. We have a lot in common. We talked for hours and just had the best time last night. He brought me flowers, too. Awwwwwww!! It has been YEARS since a man brought me flowers…at least a decade or more! I’ve been smiling non-stop all day today. Technically, I always smile, but I really can’t stop smiling today. I’m kinda getting on my own nerves. Sporting News There’s really nothing interesting going on in the world of sports these days. Football is over. The Flyers suck. I’m just really looking forward to Spring Training and the start of baseball, even though the Phillies will also suck this year. Music, Music, Music Since today’s blog prompt is about drunken stupors, I had to pick an appropriate song, didn’t I? How could I go wrong with a song that has these lyrics? “But I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight” AND… “1, 2, 3…1, 2, 3 drink 1, 2, 3…1, 2, 3 drink 1, 2, 3…1, 2, 3 drink” [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
| Day 6 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Copy and paste the following letter in an email, then send it to a Writing.com acquaintance, who is NOT in this competition. Wait for a reply to your email, then share your reply and your blog entry with us. Hello Friend I'm participating in a unique blogging contest in the 30 Day Blogging Challenge Group on Writing.com. It's an elimination style, fundraising blog competition, and I need your help. During the competition we are provided with daily prompts which we then write our blog entries in response to. Today we are required to solicit a writing prompt from one our acquaintances, who is not a part of this competition, and I selected you. Would you be so kind as to provide me with today's writing prompt? It can be anything you would like to write; a question; a challenge; you can ask me to write a poem or a short story; whatever you want, as long as it is family friendly. If you can do this as soon as possible it would be appreciated. I have to submit my blog entry on February 6, 2015, but before February 7, 2015. The sooner I get your reply, the more time I'll have to write my blog entry. It would be great if you can visit my blog and read my response to your prompt. I may even get extra credit if you leave a comment on my blog entry. Thank you very much. I'm excitedly awaiting your reply Well, well, well, that’s quite a little prompt Joel tossed us today. I dig it. I, of course, reached out to none other than my friend, Andy (aka Jakrebs . Below is his response.“Thanks for thinking of me first. Naturally I will get your reply back "promptly" because I'm sooo excited to have you back, and I'm keeping tabs on your blog like I'm doing a stakeout But hmmm, I hope I don't disappoint you with lame suggestions. The first thing that comes to mind would be for you to maybe talk about the social aspects of WDC. This is a BIG topic for you because I know you're friendly with lots of people here, so that blog entry could be a book. Go with any angle you want to keep it manageable, whether it be outside the writing world friendships you've made from being here, supporting other people in their writing, other people supporting your writing...anything really, but I think it should somehow address the supportive element of WDC. And it should not cover me. I don't want to read about me. I want to read about your relationships with other members. If this doesn't move you, how about some sports stuff? Have any thoughts on the Superbowl? Anything sports related. I always love your sports blog entries. Or you could write about you writing poetry. Julie D poetry. What gets you in the mood, what kills the mood? How are you inspired? Write about your muse, if you have one. Anything about your poetry you want to share. There, there's three things off the cuff. Pick one, pick none. Just get to blogging. I will be reading.” First, I’d like to thank you for supplying today’s prompt and for being one of my biggest supporters/fans/friends. You ROCK, my friend! OK Andy, here goes nothing…or something…errrrr…you get the idea. 1. Social Aspects of WDC Honestly, I just came back this week after being on hiatus for a few years. I’m sure the social aspects around here are still the same as they were before. They mimic those of everyday life. More often than not, you’ll run into some truly wonderful, amazing people. People who are not only friends on here, but are your actual real-life friends as well. I am fortunate enough to have a number of those. Unfortunately, this, like every other place on the planet, can have more drama than a high school dance. There are some cliques, bullies, brown-nosers and people who are just downright mean. There’s one person in particular that comes to me. We simply refer to her as SHE THAT WE DO NOT SPEAK OF BY NAME. The mean girls (and guys) are absolutely the exception and not the rule around here. Like I said, I’ve had so many wonderful people come into my life because of WDC, and for that, I’m very thankful. You guys are my biggest fans, my best & most insightful critics, and truly genuine friends. Thank you. 2. Sports The Super Bowl was horrible. I had zero interest in the game. The Eagles weren’t in it. I’m beginning to think I’ll never see them win a Super Bowl in my lifetime. The Patriots are cheaters. The Seahawks completely blew the game with the biggest bonehead play call I’ve ever seen in all of sports. All I can really say about the Super Bowl is thank GOD the Cowboys or the Giants weren’t in it. Oh, and Katy Perry killed the halftime show. I loved Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot, too. Seriously, halftime was the best part of the Super Bowl. True story.In other sporting news, pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training next week. Let’s go Phillies! By the way, guess who is officially a Phillies season ticket holder? You guessed it. I got a 6-game plan. That’s all I could justify for two reasons. One, the expense and, two, the Phillies suck right now, but I will always be Phillies Phaithful. 3. My poetry, muse, and what gets me writing I covered my muse with this entry the other day, "Invalid Entry" . Feel free to check it out if you haven’t already. As far as my poetry goes, or really any of my writing, I simply write what I feel. Sometimes it’s just something I feel passionately about, but other times, I’ll have an idea pop into my head and I have to write it to get it out of my head. You guys are all writers, so I’m sure you know what I mean when I say that.This concludes the prompt segment of today’s entry. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope I covered everything you wanted, Andy. In other news, I have a new favorite show. It’s called Hindsight and it’s on VH1. My friend, Nancy, was telling us about it the other day when she was over here for our Super Bowl Party (yes, I hosted a party even though I had no interest in the game ). Anyway, my roommate and I just binge watched the first 4 episodes. It’s AMAZING!!!! We have 1 more episode from this past Wednesday and then we’ll be all caught up. If you guys miss the 90’s and love 90’s music, you need to check this show out. You can catch up OnDemand (it’s free).Here’s a promo for the show: [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] In honor of my new favorite show, and all the awesome 90’s music played during each episode, I thought I’d leave you with a little Spacehog. Enjoy and have a great weekend, everyone! [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
| Day 5 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Knowing what you now know about 'Deep Thoughts' and 'Fun Facts' Write a few of your own. Write as many as you want, but try to write at least two of each. I'm looking forward to seeing what you all come up with, but no pressure. Deep Thoughts By Jules Deep Thought #1: It’s Thursday…or as I like to call it, Day 4 of the hostage situation. Deep Thought #2: We find so much time looking for beauty that we forget there is beauty all around us. We all want a beautiful home, a nice car, a good looking spouse/significant other, adorable children. Why don’t we simply appreciate what we do have instead of trying to show them off to everyone else as if to prove their worth? Everything you have and everyone you have in your life, you have earned. Just like everyone else. Deep Thought #3: Normal = boring! We’re all weird in our own way. That’s what makes each of us uniquely different. Imagine how boring the world would be if we were all the same. We should celebrate each other’s differences, unless those differences make you an asshole. Deep Thought #4: Why do we drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? Deep Thought #5: Why is there an expiration date on SOUR cream? Deep Thought #6: How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] For the record, it takes wayyyy more than 3! So, I know those last 3 “deep thoughts” are things you have most likely heard before, but I threw them in there for shits and giggles. I wanted to make sure you’re all paying attention. Moving on…Fun Facts by Jules “I like big butts and I cannot lie…” Hahahaha, just kidding! I couldn’t resist. 1. I am the least graceful person in the history of…well…ever. No, seriously, saying I’m a klutz is an understatement. In fact, one of my best friends nicknamed me Grace (or Gracie) in high school, and it stuck. To this day, he still calls me that sometimes.2. I am a feisty, fiery redhead, and I’m damn proud of it, too. You should be jealous.3. Just like my blog says, "Invalid Item" . 4. I have two tattoos. No, I do not have a tramp stamp. My tattoos are quite tasteful and they are hidden so that no one will see them unless I want them to. 5. I know quite a bit about wine.  In fact, a friend of mine owns a specialty wine boutique and I help him out in the shop sometimes. He usually has me work events and private parties, but every so often, I work an occasional shift. Last night, I worked a Match.com Stir event at the shop. Those things are ALWAYS entertaining, but that’s a story for another day! 6. I really need a 5-second delay like they have on live TV because I have absolutely no filter and, sometimes, my mouth gets me in a lot of trouble. 7. There seems to be a lot of chatter about my return. I think my twin, Norb, has mentioned me in every one of his blog entries this week. Make sure you pay him a visit. His blog, "Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am" . Fivesixer  has a lot of great stuff going on. I’ve also been mentioned by Charlie ~ in "Invalid Entry" and by Lyn's a sly fox in "Moon, Eyes, Grief, Scientist" . My teammates are happy about my return. My opponents on the other team, however, seem to be fearful of the unknown.  That’s all, folks! Since I made a joke about this song earlier in this entry, how could I not post it? [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
| Day 4 Prompt for the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" : Scientists discover a new material that can ... If this prompt doesn't float your boat, write about - What does. OR... spend your time smack talking your opposing team. OR... All of the above. It looks like our buddy, Joel (aka Brother Nature , threw us a freebie today. Any guesses on which one I’ll choose? For those of you that have been around here for a while, you already know. I’ll go with with what’s behind Door #4, please. You guessed it. I’m going with all of the above. BOOM!   Is there really no bomb emoticon? But I digress...let’s break down today’s prompt into 4 parts, shall we? 1. Scientists discover a new material that can ... This just in…scientists discover a new material that can be used to make… [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] FLYING CARS!! Finally! After all, it’s 2015, and we all thought we’d be driving around in Jetsons’ mobiles by now. This discovery is groundbreaking. Chrysler, Ford, and GM are all anxiously awaiting the appropriate government approval in order to begin manufacturing these cars. Sources say that the pods to send family members to school and the shopping mall, as well as the feature to fold the car up into a briefcase, will be optional. Stay tuned for more information on this breakthrough discovery! I know that my twin, Norb (aka Fivesixer , is with me on this one! 2. If this prompt doesn't float your boat, write about - What does. What floats my boat? Life. Love. Laughter. Friends. Family. Living each day to the fullest. Striving to become a better version of me. Constantly evolving. Trying to be a good person. Reading. Writing. Always learning. Paying it forward. Hoping I’m the kind of person my dog thinks I am. Smiling. Putting my best foot forward. Living in the present moment; it is peace personified. Realizing that difficult times are inevitable, but drama is a conscious choice. Never forgetting who I am or where I came from. Being there for those I love. Standing my ground. Defending myself & those I care about. I think I can sum up what floats my boat in one simple word: passion. I’m passionate about life and all it has to offer. 3. OR... spend your time smack talking your opposing team. Joel has the participants of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" split into 2 teams. I am on Team #2. Our team name is to be determined. More on this to come. While I’m all about trash talking, I think I’m just going to let my blog speak for itself and do the trash talking for me. Do you see all those shiny awards that adorn this blog? There’s a reason for them. Who won the Quill Award for Best Blog on this here site in 2011? Yours truly. And, last, but certainly not least, who came in first place of the very first round of "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" ?  Me again. If you think I’m being cocky by saying all that, you couldn’t be more wrong. I’m simply stating facts, and those facts happen to speak for themselves.4. OR... All of the above. This concludes today’s episode of "Invalid Item" and look at that, I got it done and posted before midnight! You guys got a bonus today – 2 blog entries since I didn’t post yesterday’s entry until after 1:00 this morning. Happy reading!  Today’s song is taking it back…wayyyyy back to cheesy television at its finest. I tried finding a song that fit today’s prompt and this was the best I could do. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard to the Love Boat.   [Embed For Use By Upgraded+] |
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