Friday, December 28, 2018

JUMP - FF Dec 2018

The last Funny Friday post of 2018, hard to believe another year has come and gone but it's true. I hope you enjoy this post and will return each Friday for a new and exciting writing challenge.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Today’s post is this month’s Funny Friday, a regular feature published on the last Friday
of every month. Funny Friday is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants
submits a picture, then we all write 5 captions or thoughts inspired by that month’s picture.
Links to the other bloggers’ posts are below, click on them and see what they’ve come up
with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend.


Funny Friday  150 X 150.jpg


Here’s today’s picture. It was submitted by Jules of The Bergham Chronicles.
1. Oh Listen Whit! Mommy's favorite song "JUMP"


2. What mommy? Jump? Okay!


3. Did I jump high? 12 feet?


4. Watch me! I can see my butt when I jump!


5. Frog? Nope. Kangaroo? Nope. Hyper child? Nope. Just me having fun.


Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile:
The Bergham Chronicles                       http://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com/
Baking In A Tornado             https://www.BakingInATornado.com

Friday, December 14, 2018

Dollhouse Blueprints - UYW

Today’s post is a writing challenge. This is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them. 

Links to the other “Use Your Words” posts:
Baking In A Tornado                        https://www.bakinginatornado.com
On the Border                                 https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/ 
The Bergham Chronicles                   https://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com  
The Blogging 911                             https://theblogging911.com/blog    
Cognitive Script                                https://cognitivescript.blogspot.com/ 
Climaxed                                         https://climaxedtheblog.blogspot.com    
Part-Time Working Hockey Mom        https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.com/

Ted paced the floor, something was not right. Here it was the fifth and the box had not arrived. He knew that would give him enough time to get the assembly done on the dollhouse but now he was worried about time. Staring down at the blueprints, he wasn't feeling very confident. WHAT was he thinking?! He had never built anything before in his life.
Now his precious 4 year old was counting on Santa to bring her the long awaited Victorian doll house that ALL little girls and some women were dreaming of.

The tension was mounting, it was now the fourteenth! That gave him 10 days and with the pressures at work growing at an alarming rate he feared he'd let his little darling down.

Tucking in his little sweetie that night, he noticed on her nightstand a photo, it was the dollhouse. Oh sweet Lord he thought, how, just how can I let her down? Please, please let it arrive and please let it be simple to build.

The twenty-third arrived and still no dollhouse. He had looked around town and no one had any left. He was devastated, feeling pure sick to his stomach. He spent lunch every day that week calling around. Nothing. So when Ted arrived home from work that evening his wife's car was in the driveway. Why was it not in the garage?
Walking in the front door, wow this felt odd as he normally entered through the garage, his wife met him in the entry way. She had a comical look on her face. She said, "honey...step into the garage please" now he was puzzled and worried. Not that damn water heater again, the plumber said it was fixed. Oh crap, it could be the washer, it really had seen better days.
Walking into the garage he stopped. WHAT is this?! A HUGE box sat where his wife's car should be.
She said, "you tell me." and giggled.

What was so dang funny? he thought. He knew it couldn't be the dollhouse, the dimensions of the box were all wrong. IF this was it...or some variation, it would be an entire metropolitan city and not a Victorian dollhouse inside.


There was a letter attached. He opened it, read it, shook his head, reread it and looked at his wife. He walked over to the box and very gingerly cut the straps holding the top on, he peered inside. Stepping back, he looked at his wife, stammered and said... LOOK


She had read the note and like Ted reread it. What, how, who?


The note said,


Dear Ted,

I know you've been overwhelmed at work and very worried about the dollhouse, it's timely arrival and the assemble of said dollhouse. I wanted to give you something you asked for that would mean the most to you and would be remembered for a lifetime.
A beautiful Victorian dollhouse, completely assembled by my most trusted workers.
Believe in the miracles of Christmas.
Merry Christmas Ted and enjoy the moments
Santa

Your words are:
dimensions ~ assembly ~ mounting ~ variation ~ metropolitan ~ fifth
It was submitted by: https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/  

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Ccccold Days!! - Poetry

Welcome to the December issue of poetry...this month's theme is Cold Days. If you haven't stopped by before, each month several of my blogger friends get together, pick a theme, and write poetry, prose, haiku or free verse to said theme. I hope you'll stop by each one and see how each person interruperted the Cold Days theme.
Bundle up, stay warm and enjoy your day.


Ccccold Days!!
Cold days upon us
Snow falls gently all around
Frosty stands proudly

# 2
Snow drifts standing tall
Snowballs flying high and fast
target hit, man down


# 3
cold and dreary days
hot chocolate by the fire
cold nose and warm toes


https://www.bakinginatornado.com/2018/12/cold-days-saga-december-poetry.html
https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/2018/12/winter-depths.html
Lydia of Cluttered Genius

Friday, December 7, 2018

Kitty Purrs -SSS

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week 8 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. 

I'm sure the title has you curious...kitty purrs. Ah, kitty purrs. I love it when my big ol' love bug Beau crawls in my lap and his motor gets to running. I can feel bad, be sick as a dog, mad or just having a blah day but when he nudges me for petting and gets his purr box in gear I can't help but smile. Sometimes it has been through tears but smiling nonetheless. He can always make me feel better. Beau is my sunshine and has seen me through some dark days.
Oh don't get me wrong, there are other things that make me smile and brighten my day. My little grand daughter's laughter, the kitties chasing a fly, watching the hummingbirds at the feeder by my office window, a text from a friend. The list is long and I'm very grateful for each and every one.
There are days where I feel blue. Not always sure of the reason, but I can hop on YouTube and search for babies laughing, silly kitty or puppy videos, or scroll through the DAB group and see all the request for prayer and remember just how blessed I am. These things help the blues to leave or at least lessen.
Taking a walk outside in the sunshine, turning on some dance music and jumping around the living room. These things can chase away the blues and help brighten my day.
How about you? What brightens your day?

Here are a few things around my home that make me smile...besides my husband, son and kitties.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:
Baking In A Tornado                           https://www.BakingInATornado.com
The Lieber Family Blog                        https://thelieberfamily.com
The Bergham Chronicles                      https://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com  
The Blogging 911                            https://theblogging911.com/blog    
Cognitive Script                               https://cognitivescript.blogspot.com/
Never Ever Give Up Hope                 https://batteredhope.blogspot.com
Climaxed                                        https://climaxedtheblog.blogspot.com   
Part-Time Working Hockey Mom        https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.com/       

Your “Secret Subject” is:
What are some of the small things that can brighten up a day for you?
It was submitted by: https://Bakinginatornado.com      

Friday, November 30, 2018

X Marks The Spot - FF Nov




Today’s post is this month’s Funny Friday, a regular feature published on the last Friday
of every month. Funny Friday is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants
submits a picture, then we all write 5 captions or thoughts inspired by that month’s picture.
Links to the other bloggers’ posts are below, click on them and see what they’ve come up
with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend.


Funny Friday  150 X 150.jpg


Here’s today’s picture. It was submitted by Dawn of Cognitive Script. (Me)


1. Driving down the interstate I see an "X" in red. No signs, no explanation, just an X.


2. In town, I see them as well. Confused. I wonder...does X mark the spot?


3. Is this some new "do not enter" sign?


4. X marks the spot, for what? I know! A lane for NO TICKETS issued!


5. Lane closed, I hope, cause if it's "wrong way" we're all in trouble


Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile:
Baking In A Tornado             https://www.BakingInATornado.com


The Bergham Chronicles       http://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com/

Friday, November 16, 2018

Frozen Not The Kids Movie - UYW

Today’s post is a writing challenge. However, the topic is sensitive and may upset some. I apologize if I bring up old memories or trauma. This is no joke, abuse, domestic violence, and the me too movement. Unfortunately some have used the me too movement as their own personal platform and have abused it by making false accusations which only makes it worse for the real victims. Here I have written a story, that happens far too many times. PLEASE only report what is real and true. BUT if you have been a victim speak out. seek help and bring justice.
This is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them. 

Links to the other “Use Your Words” posts:

Baking In A Tornado                            https://www.bakinginatornado.com
On the Border                                     https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/ 
The Bergham Chronicles                       https://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com  
The Blogging 911                                 http://theblogging911.com/blog    
Cognitive Script                                    https://cognitivescript.blogspot.com/ 
Part Time Working Hockey Mom           https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/  
Sparkly Poetic Weirdo                         https://sparklyjenn.blogspot.com/
Climaxed                                         https://climaxedtheblog.blogspot.com

She was cold and it was well past her bedtime but she had enjoyed herself. Out with the gang. Reaching over for the radio knob and cranking up the volume to help keep her awake, she heard the news anchor say it was "colder than a witches titty", she laughed oh yeah it was well after midnight. No way he'd get away with saying that otherwise.
Brr, it seemed the farther she drove the colder it got. It had to be the coldest night of the year.
Wooooo and flashing, oh no. No NO No, it can't be. Yep, it was. Blue lights and a siren behind her. $h!t she was not having a good day and she knew she had been drinking too much to drive home. she slowed and pulled over to the shoulder of the road.
She saw him, a big burly looking cop, as he sauntered over to her car. Being new to town, she didn't know many, but everyone knew this guy. He was a real jerk. He wore his badge like a "get out of jail free card" and broke more laws than you could count.
Great. She took a deep breath and hoped for the best.
My gosh it's freezing out here she thought. She stood with her arms wrapped around herself as officer Pig and officer Nice Guy put her through a sobriety test.
This was so embarrassing. Her own fault. She could have accept the ride offered her by Joe but she was "fine" and it was only a few miles. She almost choked on the thought. So arrogant, well she was sobering up now in this freezing cold air and no way Officer Pig would allow her to grab the jacket out of the backseat. Nope, he had something to prove.
Now, standing with her face pressed against her car, arms behind her back, cold steel bracelets on her wrist and this PIG running his hands all over her body. She kept telling herself, let it go, it's your own fault, you asked for this, you should have gotten a ride. But all the should haves and could haves did not negate the fact that this PIG was violating her body, her rights. Oh how she wanted to fight, to scream, kick and punch the crap out of this guy. But she knew all to well it would make it worse. And Officer Nice Guy over there on the radio, turning a blind eye to what was happening. He was no better. She felt sick.
His hands running up and down her legs, she could feel his sweaty palms through her clothes, she shivered with disgusted. He laughed and in a breathy voice said "oh you like it don't you?" Her stomach was turning. He groped her breast, way more than he needed to. He ran his hands over her leggings and up her skirt. Shoving his hands in her groin and lingering too long.
The humiliation, the disgust, the anger, the outrage, she could hold it in no longer, something in her was about to crack.
He spun her around by roughly grabbing her wrist and when he did, she lost it. She lost everything she had in her, the Cap'n Crunch cereal from breakfast, the Chinese Moo Goo from lunch, the Captain Morgan and hot wings from the night. Oh yes, she lost it all. ALL of it and it went ALL over Officer Pig! She made sure to move her head around so that he was as covered as she could possibly get him. The sorry SOB he deserved this and more.
He let out several expletives and threw her to the ground, he was just about to kick her in the face when Officer Nice Guy must have realized and ran over "NO NO NO BOB don't!" grabbing his partner by the arm and jerking him away just in time. She felt the breeze of his boot as it passed her face. Whew that was too close but she lay on the ground with a smile of her face because no matter what, she had paid him back for herself and every other woman he had done this too. She has spewed vile on him like the vile he was heaping on her with this nasty groping hands.
Swaying and bouncing, blurry images, oh gosh dang it her head hurt. She was, wait, where was she? In the back of the police car, looking out the window she could see the lights in town as they pulled up to the station. Breathing a sigh of relief to be away from this PIG but also steadying herself for what was surely to be a long rough night.

Your words are: 
cold ~ colder ~ coldest ~ freezing ~ crack
It was submitted by: https://Bakinginatornado.com    

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Out With The Fuzzy - poetry challenge November 2018

Clean Out Your Fridge Day

Today we, a group of bloggers, are posting our prose on the theme "Clean Out Your Fridge Day" one of the many crazy holidays on the calendar.
Do you clean out your fridge often? I do. Every week before I go grocery shopping I rearrange things, toss out things and dig in the back to see what has been pushed aside and forgotten. But every so often, okay, more often than I  care to admit, the vegetable bin gets neglected and I find fuzzy stuff that I'm not quiet sure what is anymore. Oy! 
At the end of the post you'll find links to the others. ENJOY!

Out With The Fuzzy
A cold wet Wednesday
what do I do
I open up the fridge
and say how do you do

I find a green blob
kinda looks like jello
uh oh hello
it's a moldy jello

Another container
hidden behind the milk
it used to be mashed potatoes
or so I think

squishy cucumbers
all watery and gross
a block of cheese
that now looks like a nose

the power went off
for a few days
thank you hurricane Flo
you've been a real hag

fuzzy jello
green cheese
sour milk
and boy does it stink!

Dumping containers
full of this and that
tossing out food
that I wouldn't feed a bat

Wiping down shelves
wow how it all sparkles
now I'm done
until the next debacle

🍎🍐🍑🍓🍕


Karen from Baking In A Tornado
https://www.bakinginatornado.com/2018/11/clean-out-your-fridge-day-poetry.html
Lydia from Cluttered Genius
http://www.clutteredgenius.com/clean-that-fridge-a-poem
Diane of On the Boarder
https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/2018/11/clean.html

Friday, November 9, 2018

Holiday Traditions: Keep or Toss out: SSS

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week 9 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. 

Holiday Traditions...keep them or toss them? Well, I think that too many things from the past are being tossed and traditions is one of them. I grew up with traditions from my mom's family. Every Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas were the same every year, like clock work. My family was not spontaneous or adventurous maybe that's why I am.
Some things I continued with my kids. Like stockings at Christmas. My boys are grown with children of their own and each year at 31, 27 and 25 they will ask "you're doing stockings, right Mom?". Another tradition is putting up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We didn't go to "black Friday sales" because back then the stores were closed.
We have ham for Easter, turkey for Thanksgiving and both for Christmas. Why? Because that's how I grew up. I have done it differently but it felt weird.
We opened our Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve at my house and my stocking the next morning along with whatever Santa brought. I did not do Santa with my kids. We would then load up the car with food and gifts and head to my grandparents farm. Everyone would gather and we'd eat, have dessert, clean the kitchen, put away the food and THEN and only then would grandmama let us open presents. It was so hard waiting! AND we would each get a gift and one by one open them, hold them up and model them if it was clothes before we could move on. As a kid that was the worst. LOL
We went to church on Easter and hid eggs that afternoon. That never made sense to me, what did eggs have to do with a bunny and what did a bunny have to do with the resurrection of Christ.
So there are somethings I continued with my family and some I did not. I honestly think that traditions keep families close and if the tradition was started and the meaning passed on it provides a root/history of the family.
I hope my kids continue with some of the traditions we started for them. One I know they enjoyed was if a present came in the mail before your birthday or Christmas you could open it then and not wait. They always enjoyed that!
Another tradition we had was that on your birthday you got to pick the food for the day. Not just one meal, but the day. No matter what. We could eat your favorite foods all day and go out at night or I'd fix their requested meal along with dessert. Definitely a favorite tradition.
Each year the boys would get some clothes and a movie or CD for their birthday along with a requested item. Now that they are grown the request are for food or money. LOL boys, right?!
Most of our traditions center around Christmas and birthdays but growing up my mom tried to make each and every holiday special. She has always sent out cards and still does, for every holiday along with a cake and candy for the kids. She has also always decorated for every holiday. That was her tradition because my grandmother never did. I did the same when the kids were growing up and this year I feel the need to return to that tradition but I'm not sure why. Maybe nostalgia? 
Anyway, that's my take. I'll keep my traditions, create a few and maybe switch it up from time to to time but definitely keeping them.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

Baking In A Tornado                           https://www.BakingInATornado.com
The Lieber Family Blog                        http://thelieberfamily.com
The Bergham Chronicles                      https://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com  
The Blogging 911                             http://theblogging911.com/blog    
Never Ever Give Up Hope                  https://batteredhope.blogspot.com 
Part Time Working Hockey Mom         https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/
Sparkly Poetic Weirdo                       https://sparklyjenn.blogspot.com/
Climaxed                                         https://climaxedtheblog.blogspot.com

Your “Secret Subject” is: What holiday traditions do you maintain with your family that you had as a child?  What will you never, ever do now? 
It was submitted by: https://batteredhope.blogspot.com   

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

World Kindness and Elections

World Kindness Day and Election Day

Today I'm going to do something that I rarely do, discuss politics. The ONLY thing I will say is this, 
GO VOTE!!!
I so often hear people comment that "well I'm only one person" and that is true, but that one person becomes two and three and so on. We have the freedom to vote, don't waste it. Read about the candidates platforms. Not their past, not who they slept with or if they inhaled. I could give a crap less about that. I want to know what you plan to do to make this country better, to bring us back to our values, to strengthen our economy, to protect our children, educate our children in a safe environment and so on. Don't sling mud and tell me what the other person did twenty years ago, or even last week. I do care if it was illegal, it if caused harm to our county, state or country and if so I think they should stand trial just like I would have to. So please, exercise your freedom of speech and 
GO VOTE!

Now...part of what I stated has to do with what November 13th is in celebration of:  World Kindness Day. We could all use a little more kindness.
I saw this many years ago and printed it off. As a reminder to myself...
I'm not sure who started this, I have found it on several websites but the above JPEG is from Journey To Complete Wellness.com

I love this. It really made me stop and think. Sometimes we are quick to judge and that affects how we respond to someone, how we speak, and especially how we see them and not just physically. I had to ask myself these questions before I spoke, was it true? helpful? inspiring? necessary? or kind? And sadly often times I found it was not. So I decided to keep my mouth shut. Not an easy task.
Our world is filled with sadness right now, more so than ever. It could be because we can see it now. Oh we saw it before, but now we see it as it unfolds. Bullies picking on kids on the bus because someone is recording it and uploading to YouTube or Facebook.  People committing crimes and videoing the entire time like they are actors in a play. We are surround by social media and flooded with scenes from accidents within minutes of it happening sometimes before the next of kin has even been notified. Are these things kind? No. Are they necessary? No. Are they inspiring? Definitely not.True? Maybe but helpful? No.
What would happen if for just one day...ONE DAY, we all used the acronym above? Do you think it would make a difference? Would it change something inside of you? Me? The world?
It sure would be nice if we tried.

Just last week I found I had not been near my laptop all week. Why? Because I was avoiding it. The TV had been off and once in a while I'd scroll through FB on my phone. I was avoiding social media. Why you ask? Because I was sick of all the violence, all the mud slinging, all the name calling, all the well meaning folks throwing their opinions out for the world to see. I was just tired of it all.
So I made a decision. I would post the Amber Alerts because those are important and helpful. I would share about the weather, what I was doing and eating. I know y'all love those food photos! LOL but mostly I would be sharing inspiring, cute or funny videos only. Because I was just sick of all the junk floating around.
Remember when that is what Facebook was for? Remember all the cute baby videos, the cats, the AFHV post, the jokes, and the pokes. Just to say "HI" to a friend.
Where are those days? We say we use FB so we can keep up with friends and family far away. Do we really? Do we keep up with them? Talk to them? Message them? Or are we just trolling FB to see what the Jones are doing and then post our dinner/outing photos too?
There's nothing wrong with sharing your life, I do it. There's nothing wrong with the videos and "likes" on a post. But maybe, just maybe we could stop our busy lives just long enough to actually type out "hi, wondering how you are today" because it seriously could mean life or death to someone battling demons we are not aware of.
So today, not just on the 13th, how about everyday, we celebrate
World Kindness Day!!

Your smile could save a life. Your "hi, how are you?" could give hope to the hopeless. Your "hey cousin just wanted you to know I love you" could give love to someone feeling unloved.

Thanks for stopping by. This post is a group effort to spread kindness. If you would, stop by and say HI to the other participants listed below.
Have a Kind Day! 💕👍


https://www.bakinginatornado.com/2018/11/world-kindness-election-day.html
https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/2018/11/thats-how-you-were-designed.html
https://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com/2018/11/kindness-matters-worldkindnessday.html
https://sparklyjenn.blogspot.com