Monday, September 27, 2010

Fairy tale ending at GHS homecoming | KXAN.com


Once in a while, no matter how dark things seem, something happens to renew your hope and your faith in humanity. I hope everyone takes the time to read the link below. And think hard before condemning "today's kids". This is why I love our town. Enjoy this and make sure you have a box of kleenex handy!



Fairy tale ending at GHS homecoming | KXAN.com



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Saturday, September 25, 2010

Saturday Centus - Be Careful What You Wish For

Thank goodness it's Saturday. I get to play with my favorite event of the week, Saturday Centus. If you still don't know what Saturday Centus is, you must be living under a rock! Hosted by our lovely leader, Jenny Matlock at Off On My Tangent, Saturday Centus is a weekly event that allows us to hone our writing skills by learning to edit. Jenny provides us with a prompt, and we write a story of 100 words or less exclusive of the prompt. The only rules are no pictures, no profanity and the prompt must be used exactly as written. You can chop the heck out of your story, but that prompt is sacrosanct!

This week's prompt is in honor our Tom's birthday

He never dreamed when he blew out the candles on his cake...

My take on the prompt. This is especially for you Tom :)


Tom walked under the canopy of oaks, cursing and swatting at the clouds of gnats that circled his head. Moving through air that felt like syrup, avoiding clouds of grasshoppers that jumped in his wake, he shook his head in disbelief. How had he ended up in this backwater town?

Had it really been just 2 short weeks since his birthday party back in L.A.? Natasha, leaning close as she brought out the cake. "Don't forget to make a wish..."

He never dreamed when he blew out the candles on his cake that his wish for a writing job would land him in Mississippi. Be careful what you wish for, indeed!




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Saturday, September 18, 2010

Saturday Centus - Aftermath

Time once again to join Jenny Matlock - Off On My Tangent for Saturday Centus. By now, you probably know the drill. Jenny provides us with a writing prompt, and we run with it. Actually we sprint with it, as we can only write a 100 word story (exclusive of the prompt) Jenny, knowing that some of us tend toward - ahem - tardiness, is kind enough to keep the link live all week. So join us! I promise you won't have to wear a tin foil hat to be a Centusian. Although that might be fun. And everyone is welcome, even people from California. I just found out that they actually read things other than People Magazine, Surfer Dude and World Tanning Weekly. (Seriously, I love people from California. One of my dearest friends in the world is California born and raised. That was just my little dig at Tom, who tends to poke fun at all things Southern)

Make sure to read all the great stories this week. There are some amazing writers out there!

This weeks prompt is something everyone can relate to. It should be interesting to see what our little band of Centusians does with it!

"This is never going to come out," she thought as she scrubbed at the spot on the worn carpet.

Here's my take on it. Hope you enjoy!


Dust motes performed their intricate ballet in the sun streaming through the old lead glass window. Charlee carefully set the pail of foamy water in the hall.
"This is never going to come out," she thought as she scrubbed at the spot on the worn carpet.
Mama's best oriental rug, ruined.
What had they tracked in last night? It was Roy's turn to host his men's club and the meeting had run late. She guessed some of the boys may have sampled the fruit of the corn a bit too freely. Tempers were running hot after hearing little Frank's story about Jr. She hoped they had put the fear of God into that good for nothing waste of flesh.

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

A Funny for Wednesday

Photo courtesy of Flickr - reidmix photo stream


Saw this ad on Craigslist, and thought it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen.
Don't own a vacuum cleaner? Really? I want to live in her world. Or maybe not....

Free Lusy Blom Ikea Rug

Date: 2010-09
-14, 7:54PM

This rug is white with brightly colored flowers. It's in good shape, but needs vacuuming, and we don't have a vacuum. The rug is outside by the curb if you want it. Bye Bye Rug! Enjoy your new home.

  • Location:
  • it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Original URL: http://austin.craigslist.org/zip/1954461815.html


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Saturday, September 11, 2010

Remembrance

After reading Pat's moving 9/11 tribute (read it here), I felt compelled to repost my 9-11 remembrance from last year. Please, everyone take a moment today to remember all those who lost their lives on that terrible day, and keep their families in your prayers. And please, try and remember the foundation of tolerance and respect that our country was built upon.


Photo courtesy of Google Images

On waking this morning, I prepared myself for the onslaught of memorials, pictures and reflections on 9-11. I remember exactly where I was (at work) when the attacks occurred. DH called me at work and told me that a plane had just flown into the World Trade Center. Thinking that it was small private plane, he quickly informed me as to what was really happening. We do not have a television or radio at our clinic, and at the time we did not have internet access. So the entire day was spent grilling clients who came in.
What I remember most clearly from the days, weeks and months that followed this horrific attack is the sense of pride and unity. No one was going to bring this country to it's knees. The sense of thankfulness for our firefighters and police officers who willingly went into the inferno to save lives and bring some semblance of order to chaos. The picture that I remember most clearly from this frantic time was of the thousands of people streaming across the bridge leaving Manhattan, with firefighters and police officers going into the city.
As I sit here with my morning coffee, I wonder what we have really learned from this. What happened to our sense of pride and unity? The constant bickering over every little thing, the two political parties acting like a bunch of spoiled schoolchildren. Name calling, mud slinging and ugly, hateful rhetoric spewing from every talk radio station. People, if we cannot pull ourselves together and learn to tolerate each other's differences and opinions, we are letting the terrorists win. Our biggest strength lies in our ability to discuss, work together and learn from each other. Our greatest ally is ourselves! We the People! Not you the democrats and you the republicans and you the "whatever". Our country was formed in response to intolerance and injustice. A place where everyone has the right to change government, just by pulling a little lever. Let's not let our differences tear us apart. Rather, try to remember that it is people from all walks of life, all religious beliefs, all political leanings and all backgrounds that give this country it's strength. It saddens me to think that the only time we can come together as a people and unite in a common cause is when we are under attack.
It is important that we never forget what happened on this fateful day. But it's also important to remember what happened in this great country of ours over 200 years ago. The greatest country on earth, with the greatest system of government on earth, was formed. So while it is important that we fly our flags and wear our lapel pins today, I think it is more important that we keep the flag in our hearts and minds everyday. Make our forefathers proud of what we have become and what we can accomplish. Do not let the terrorists win.
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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Saturday Centus - Justifiable Homicide

Late again. I know Saturday Centus' link stays live all week, but I feel like I'm late if I don't post by Sunday! Another weekend helping Cait get settled into her new apartment in Dallas, this time we had internet, but NO TIME! Not sure what a "Saturday Centus" is? Stop by Jenny Matlock - Off On My Tangent to find out. Our ever gracious hostess Jenny provides us with a prompt, and we then write a story of no more than 100 words (exclusive of the prompt). It's not as easy as it sounds, believe me. Especially when you tend to be "high verbal" like me. (That was a neat little phrase I picked up from Cait's Kindergarten teacher. Sounds so much nicer than "she talks too much" doesn't it?)


This weeks prompt is a classic. When I opened the post and read it, I laughed out loud. Like a loon. Ask DH or Cait - they thought I'd finally lost it.

It was a dark and stormy night

Here's my take on this week's prompt. This one is especially for you, Jenny. Enjoy!



It was a dark and stormy night. And I was awake for every crash of thunder and flash of lightening. Tossing and turning like the wind chimes outside my window.

I should have known the minute I set foot in that oh so bohemian coffee shop. Definitely a square peg in a round hole. The snarky little barista, sporting more ink than the Sunday New York Times, looked with utter disdain down her prominently pierced nose as I ordered.

"Vente Vanilla Latte, decaf please". The reason behind her specious smile as she handed me my drink was all too apparent now.

Oh, she would pay for this...

Alphabe Thursday Summer School - Violet


Late for class again, but better late than never. It's our last Rainbow Summer School session and Mrs. Matlock has assigned the color violet. Stop by class and read everyone's essays. Hopefully they will be ALOT better than mine. Without further ado, my post for violet.



This is a violin .......



Therefore, this must be a violet...



Get it? Violet? Sorry folks. I'm sleep deprived, overworked and stressed to the max this week. I've got bupkiss! Stop by Jenny's and see some much more creative work!

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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Alphabe Thursday - Rainbow Session - Indigo Blue


Time for Rainbow Summer School again. Mrs. Matlock will be proud - I was on time this week! It's not too late to register for class. Come visit everyone at Jenny Matlock - Off On My Tangent. This is a really fun group!

This week our color is Indigo Blue. Last week I shared pictures of our beautiful blue skies here in Texas. This week I'll prove that our Indigo evening skies are just as wondrous. So join me on a little tour of a typical Texas weekend in the fall.

Start the weekend off right with a small town high school football game. And in Texas, the half time show and the band are almost as important as the game! This was actually taken at a Marching competition. At a real game, there would not be an empty seat in the stadium. We used to joke that if you wanted to get away with something, best do it on Friday night. Because EVERYONE is at the game! And I know that the sky is not yet Indigo in this shot. But the drum major's uniform is! (Yes, that's our Cait)


If you're lucky enough to have connections (like a former player on the 69 National Champion Longhorns), you might score tickets to a Longhorn game for your Saturday entertainment.

If football's not your thing (I don't think you should admit that if you live in Texas), you could make a night visit to the State Capitol.


Just a note. If you lay on the floor to get a really neat shot of the inside of the dome, the DPS officers guarding the Capitol are likely to smile, shake their head, and walk the other way. I guess they figured we were a bit nuts, but basically harmless!


On your way home, stop and take a spooky shot of Grace Heritage Church - just off the square here in Georgetown. PJ, this shot is just for you!


Hope you enjoyed your tour of a Texas fall weekend.


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