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If you're curious about the random ramblings of a redheaded mom whose goal is to take over the world by producing a bunch of redheaded minions, then stop and by and take a read! Heck, if I actually get enough people reading and commenting here I might throw out some Merit Badges, Awardicons, or GPs. 
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I woke to a very pleasant surprise today: My briefcase had turned from black, to yellow! I honestly hadn't expected the Yellow-Case Honor and to be honest, I'm a little nervous at having the spotlight shined so brightly on me. I mean, there's a lot of pressure now to keep active and alert and amusing...what if I fail? Still, I am thrilled over my promotion. I'm looking forward to trying out the exclusive yellow-cased contests and throwing my newfound power around.  Seriously though, thank you WDC! |
 Yeah. I thought I could escape it but it found me. Thankfully, it's only attacked me and not the kids. Probably because we're fighting back as best we can with natural remedies. Vitamin C? Check! Elderberry? Check! Colloidal Silver? Check! Garlic Rub that the kids all scream about and try to run away from? Check! I must have a really poopy immune system since I'm the only one to be suffering. Not that I want anyone else to be hurting the way I am...though it would give some peace of mind that I'm actually sick and not suddenly plagued with IBS or something if someone else in the family was fighting me for the porcelain throne.  Fun Fact: I'm a bit of a hypochondriac.This may sound really evil, but I'm relieved (no pun intended) to know that another family in our fellowship--one we recently hung out with--is also sick. That means I'm not dying but truly just sick. Maybe. You see, this  is acting...weird. With my 20/20 hindsight, I now know it started on the 10th. Strangely enough, this was the day after I went to the doctor to get an x-ray. Why do I always get sick after going to see my doctor? I rarely ever have to go in and see her but it's inevitable: no matter how hard I try not to touch anything, breath on anyone, and scrub my hands; I get sick. I'm starting to wonder if the doctors do it on purpose. You know, to keep their clients coming in... Fun Fact: I'm also a bit of a conspiracy theorist.At any rate, I had some stomach cramps that came and went for about a week and then - BAM! - it hit me hard on the 15th, only to go away on the 16th, and then come back with a vengeance on the 17th. Today, I'm trying my darndest to eat "bland" foods, drink a lot of electrolytes (it's what  crave!), take probiotics, rest, and generally kick this thing in the butt.Revenge for, you know, this thing literally kicking my butt. I'm sorry, was that TMI? Well, we keep it real here at What's Genny For? You're going to hear all the nasty details of my bowels and what I had for lunch (applesauce with a side of probiotic), just like my Gramma used to do to me! Anyway, if you don't hear from me in a couple days remember, I'm as sick as a  .Or I might just be dead. However, the former is more likely. |
 WDC "Have you seen today's prompt?" Every morning my daughter and I go through the same routine. We start by asking the above question and then spend a good hour (usually more) haunting WDC. We read all the entries at the Writer's Cramp, come up with ideas for the new prompts Sophy   and her gang of word thugs throws at us, check in on all our favorite contests, and peek in on some of our favorite authors.We celebrate with each other when one of us receives a Merit Badge or Awardicon...though we're also racing to see who can get the most community recognitions. Since I joined WDC a year before she did, I'm currently in the lead. (Send me badges, y'all, lest she beat her poor 'ol ma!) This eldest redheaded minion daughter of mine had been eagerly waiting for a year to join WDC. As soon as she turned 13, she asked if she could create an account. Since then, we've both become addicted to this place. It's like our second home. Now my almost 9-year-old son is asking if he can join the WDC family. He LOVES to write stories. I told him he has to follow the rules and wait a few more years. My 6-year-old has even longer to wait. Though once Big Sis offered to post one of her stories here and since then, Dee wants to enter all. the. time. So far the only one that doesn't want to write is my 11-year-old dude, Bee. I don't know how my writing genes didn't get downloaded into his programming when he was being formed in the womb. How could I possibly have had a child who despises writing so? I blame his dad. His mathy genes were, apparently, stronger than my writing genes. At any rate, WDC can expect an influx of redheaded writers in the upcoming years. All except that oddball of ours, of course. So beware! Not only will we be taking over the world, we'll be taking over the web, as well! Mwahahahahaha! |
  Yeah, I bet you thought I was talking about something else, huh? They say third time's the charm. Hopefully "they" are correct. You see, this is our third attempt at backyard farming raising chickens for eggs. The first time (2013) I bought two cute little Buff Orpingtons. Their breed are known as the Gentle Giants in the chicken kingdom. They're also known for their love of hatching out eggs...which means they stop laying when they get broody. Great if you want a living incubator for your fertile eggs but not so great if you're wanting scrambled eggs for breakfast. Eventually the poop to egg ratio got to be too much, so I traded the chickens to a farming friend of mine for some grass-fed beef and raw milk. On our second attempt (Spring 2017) I bought six peepers. It didn't take long to discover that two of the promised pullets were, in fact, roosters. They were handsome fellas and fun to watch...until some mysterious creature killed them. The girls grew and we had just gotten our first few eggs when life threw us for a loop: my husband had to get a new job and we were moving. The chickens had to go. We found a buyer and spent the afternoon rounding up chickens. Boy, those ladies were fast! This weekend I bought ten chicks. (You may have noticed that the amount of chickens we purchase goes up with each attempt at ownership?) I wanted a Buff Orpington, just in case we ever needed a broody hen, but got confused at the feed store and forgot to add one to the mix. At any rate, I got a few Easter Eggers aka Ameraucana, which means we'll have some green eggs. I also got some chicks that are a cross between a Leghorn and a Rhode Island Red. Can't remember the name of'em (1000 GPs Animal Merit Badge will be awarded to the first person who can tell me what this mixed breed is called!! ). And a third kind--I think they're Wyandottes, but I'm not 100% sure I'm remembering right. So we'll have a mixture of brown and green eggses, precious! We were told that 90% of the chicks were female. The other 10% were sneaky males that snuck into the bins. Since we got 10 chicks, we assume one of them is a male. Hopefully that's the one that died last night.  Hey, we're not allowed to have roosters in town so it's either eat him or try to sell him to someone else who'd eat him. Either way, he ends up et. Now all we need to do is build a coop and we're good to go! |
Today Yesterday Dang it, WDC time, you've screwed me up! Okay, on the 8th--late at night--I entered a story at "Invalid Item"  Genre: Sci-fi And that's where things got a little...silly. You see, science fiction isn't really my forte. Besides a few terms from Star Trek, I'm pretty clueless about sciency things. So to make up for my lack of knowledge, I tend to get...goofy My space captains tend to want to lose their shirts, my evil scientists wear bathrobes and bunny slippers, and my alien abductees carry glitter and lick walls to determine what materials were used to make the ship. So if you want me to enter your sci-fi contest, beware! You'll probably be reading a silly, crazy, goofy story with a lot of wannabe science "stuff". Now it's time for me to sign off for the night. Beam me up, Scotty! |
 In our facilities you will find a number of new, innovative exercises that will tone, trim, and thin your body into a lean, mean, green, keen, dreamy machine! Our first exercise is the obstacle course. I know what you're thinking, "What's innovative about an obstacle course? That's SO last week." Ah, but here at Jiggle Gym nothing is as it seems. Look down the track, my friend. You will find that your path is sprinkled with LEGO's! Now, your mission is to dash down those twenty yards without stepping on a single LEGO to reach that toddler down yonder. He's a cute little scamp, don't you think? He's our climber. So, run on down there and catch him before he falls off that table... You look a little winded there. No, don't hand me back that precious bundle of joy just yet! We're not done here at the Jiggle Gym! Hold him tight. Now, see that door to the left of us? Well, our two-year-old is just the brightest thing at unlocking doors. Whoops! See her now? She's escaped the gym. Your goal is to catch her before she hits the main road. Nope, take the baby with you...he's your counter-weight. Aw, that's sweet. They're hanging onto your legs. Don't shake them off, they're introducing you to your next workout! Let them sit on your feet as you walk across the room and back. This'll make your legs good and strong. Hey, you made it back! Not many of our customers make it this far into the routine. Time to move on to the next stage of our workout. We call it The Vacuum. No, literally. You're going to vacuum. But you'll need a piece of equipment before you get started. Let me help you snap this baby carrier on your back...Okay, now let me load baby Johnny into it. Uh-huh. Got it. Now, there's the carpet...go vacuum. I'll be back in an hour to check on you. By then, Johnny's nap will be over and he'll be ready for your next... Oh? You're giving up? Well, we're open seven days a week. Twenty-four hours a day. Three-hundred and sixty-five days a year... |
There is a book that I have had the darndest time (excuse my potty mouth) trying to get my hands on. Not only have I wanted to read this particular book for my own interests, but it fits one of the requirements for the reading activity I signed up for at "52 in 52" .I sent my eldest child (the one who is also on WDC) to the library to check the book out for me, as I was busy with the little kids, but she came home empty handed. Apparently the book was checked out. I waited a week or so and hopped on over to the other library in town. The computer system promised the book was on the shelf. Lies! The computer lied to me, folks! Even the librarian wasn't successful in finding the book. She came back after a quick search shaking her head. It was either stolen or misfiled. sigh. I finally decided to put the book on hold. No more wild searching of the shelves for me! The book was successfully set aside and I was able to pick it up at my convenience. I settled in my comfy chair, pulled the book from my library bag, and groaned. It was written in Spanish. Fun fact: Besides being able to count to ten, I don't know a lick of Spanish.So, ironically, the novel is Fahrenheit 451. Seems the Powers that Be are trying to keep this book out of my grasp... |
 I hate spiders. Any normal person would agree that they're nasty, creepy little buggers. Sure, they serve a purpose and as long as they stay outside and mind their own business, I have no beef with them. But as soon as they sneak inside my house? They're signing their death warrant. We recently bought our first house. It has a basement that we dream of remodeling one day when we're ridiculously rich or, you know, save up the funds. In the basement there are... ...spiders. It really can't be helped. There are too many cracks and crevices from the outside leading in for them to not come in. Still, when they dare to enter my domain, they're squished.I honestly hadn't thought much about the spider presence in the basement, though my 8-year-old had complained plenty about them. He had warned me several times that the spiders were waiting to attack should he risk going down to use the second bathroom. But I didn't listen.I had the audacity to march downstairs and start a load of laundry. Completing my task, I came back upstairs, added some wood to the fireplace, smiled at the husband, and attempted to walk into the kitchen only to have said husband scream at me to, "Stop!" I thought I was about to walk into a spider. It was much worse...there was already a spider hitching a ride on my neck! My Knight in Shining Armor flung out a mighty hand and flung the foul beast from my neck, to the floor, where our children promptly started screaming hysterically before it was squashed to smithereens. I will never go down into that basement again! |
Yesterday my 2.5 year old son woke up, clutched his stomach, and told me his brain hurt. I tried not to laugh as I poured him a bowl of cereal and fixed his "brain". His was an easy fix. However, there are times when the stomach ache is more than hunger pains. When that happens, I turn to my trusty herbs, spices, tinctures, and essential oils.  I've found the natural medicines fascinating to research and usually they work better than the man made stuff. Tummy ache? Drink some peppermint tea. Headache? Soak your feet in a mixture of hot water and ground ginger for 30 minutes. Fighting an infection? Eat garlic and/or apply a garlic poultice (keeping in mind, of course, that garlic naturally thins the blood). Want to keep nasty germs at bay? Spray your hands with Thieves' Oil. Eye infection? Find a friend who will share breast milk...or dose yourself with chamomile tea. Cooled, of course. You don't want to scald your eyeballs! Want to heal a cut and keep it from infection? Slather it with honey. Ah, there are so many awesome remedies out there! Today I decided to use some of my herbal knowledge to write a story for the "Invalid Item" challenge. As I wrote I couldn't help but wonder if my fictional story might one day be reality. With super-bugs thwarting antibiotics and simple flus striking folks down in the prime of life, we might eventually need to go back to the more natural cures.A little bit of knowledge can go a long way in keeping one healthy. Give it a try...look up a natural cure for a simple ailment. You never know when a simple herb or spice might save your life! |
| I had a stork visit me last year. He brought me another beautiful, bouncing baby girl. Well, she wasn't quite bouncing at that time. She was actually floppy and unable to move on her own. But now that she's seven months old, she's definitely bouncing. At any rate, when Mr. Stork showed up I had an important message to pass along to him and his cohorts: PAY IT FORWARD! Sure, I always dreamed of having a van-load of kids and using them to take over the world. The fact that many of them are redheads is just frosting on the cake. But...I think our minion allotment has been fulfilled and it's time to send the stork on to some other well-deserving household. Wait. What did you say? Whadda'ya mean I can't do that? Isn't that the way babies are "born"? Nuts. I should've known something hinky was going on... Ah, seriously though. This is one topic in a list of things I'd like to talk to God about one day: fertility. You see, I met a woman yesterday who was gushing over our latest addition. In the course of our conversation she told me she was unable to have kids. So I had this awesome idea: what if I could pass my fertility to another woman? Just wrap it up like a  and hand it over. And when she's done using the fertility she could pass it along to the next interested woman.It'd be a win-win! Alas, I was not consulted when we were created. I suppose that's a good thing since I mess enough things up as it is. Can you imagine if I had any kind of control in the making of mankind? Every single one of y'all would be redheads! Welp, now that I've had a heart-to-heart with the stork it looks like it's time to have a chat with the birds and bees... |
Goals. I bet ya'll thought I was going to say 42, huh? Okay. I admit it...Douglas Adams had a better answer. Like everyone here at WDC, I have a goal. Actually, I have more than one but less than forty-two of'em. Now I'm sure y'all are wondering, what vile villainous act of villany has Genipher been plotting? Don't worry, besides my plan to take over the world with my enormous brood of redheaded children, my goals aren't too evil.  Let's talk about: February Here at WDC I've thrown myself into several challenges. Some I'm accountable for and others I'm not. This month I need to:  Write a story for the "Invalid Item" activity.  Write a script for "The Monthly Script Writing Contest" .  Read and report on at least 4 books for "52 in 52" Write a story for the "The Science Fiction Short Story Contest" Post a story and a review every week at "I Write in 2018" Add more stories to Thrice Prompted Earn another Merit Badge at "Merit Badge Projects" Canceled for Feb Shoot a story on over to "Invalid Item" Enter a story at "Hearts Afire. Closed until February 2025" Squeeze in a story before deadline at "Holiday Short Story Contest - closed" Win at least 5 times at "The Writer's Cramp" But that's not all, folks! This mom can do even MORE!!  There's daily homeschooling. Well, not on the weekends. I'm not that evil. Yet. There's weight to lose. Yup, having 7 kids will pack on the poundage, folks! There's a house to renovate. Not all at once, though. I don't have that much money. We need to redo the electric and put in some energy efficient windows this year. I know, I know. You caught me. That's not a monthly goal but one for the year. Let's just twist this into a monthly goal...save money! All right. Boring "Here are my goals" post is over and done. For this month, at least. I can't promise I won't write something similar for March! I will now leave you to your day of writing...after this attempt to bribe you to respond to my blog: In Douglas Adams' book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the "answer" was 42. What was "The Question"? 1,000 GPs to the FIRST PERSON who can tell me the answer. I mean, the question!! |
 Welp, I finally decided on a name for this here blog: What's Genny For? Named in honor of my favorite uncle, who used to tease me with that very question every time I saw him. I had debated about calling this thing Gabby Babylon after the reporter I wrote to life, but I figured that'd only make y'all think my name was Gabby. It's not. It's Genipher. Or, rather, Jennifer. But that's the boring way to spell it. Fun fact: The name Jennifer means "white wave" in the Celtic tongue. It comes from the name "Guinevere" who, as we all know, became famous due to her relationship with King Arthur.I am neither famous nor a wave. However, I do have Celtic blood running through my veins, so if y'all ever need a Gaelic infusion, let me know! I love names. That's why I gave one to each of my kids. They're not just any 'ol names, either. They're names with meaning. As opposed to all those other names that, you know, don't have meanings. Ahem. And it's not just my kids that I've bestowed meaningful names to. I do the same with my characters. If I don't have the right name for a character then no matter how hard I try to manipulate the story, it won't go anywhere. It just flat-out refuses. Pop in the perfect name, however, and that story will run off on its own two legs. If stories had legs, that is. There are some names that will stick out for all eternity. Romeo and Juliet? Everyone knows that cute couple. Or how about Adolf? Booooo! That name is ruined forever. As is Jezebel and Delilah. Perhaps one day Gabby Babylon will be as well known as Miss Marple, Odysseus, Nancy Drew, Anne Shirley, and Winnie the Pooh. Ah, one can dream! What's the best name you ever picked for a character in your story? |
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