Use Your Words: April 2014

Hello, friends!

Today’s post is a writing challenge created by Karen @ Baking in A Tornado. This is how it works: 12 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, but there's a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who received 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 featured in this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they were given and how they used them. 

My words/ phrases are: 

bunny ~ jelly bean ~ farm ~ eggs ~ farmer's wife ~ attacked

They were submitted by: the fantastic blogger, Robin @ Someone Else's Genius

Since Robin kept the words in common, I decided on a flyer. 

Each year, we get invited to Easter Egg Hunts going on throughout the city (which is wonderful.) This is what MY invite might look like, had I the patience of Job (which I do not.)

Short and Sweet. You're welcome!
Thanks for the words, Robin!

Check out the other participants in today's Use Your Words Challenge!

Baking in a Tornado                      

Follow Me Home              

Stacy Sews and Schools       

Outmanned              

Someone Else's Genius                

Confessions of a part-time Working Mom               

The Momisodes                   

Impoverished Vegan               

Spatulas on Parade              

Battered Hope                     

Evil Joy Speaks            

Juicebox Confession                      

Have a fun and blessed Easter, my friends.
-Michele

Secret Subject Swap: 4/14 The Caffeine Story.

Happy April, friends!

If you're a regular reader, you know that the Secret Subject Swap is a collaboration between various bloggers. We receive secret topics from a blogger in a secret e-mail and put our own spin on the subjects. The 14 blogs participating this time are listed at the end of this post. Go have a look and leave a comment. It will make my our day! :)

My “Secret Subject” is:

You are Alice in "through the looking glass" (more commonly known as Alice in Wonderland) what type of land would you find? And how would you get out?

It was submitted by: the beautiful Dawn @ Spatulas on Parade 

My looking glass was in the dairy section of a grocery store. I was in a hurry to find my favorite coffee creamer. I searched among the shelves of milk, cottage cheese and sour cream.

I finally spotted the sweet treat. It was of course, the last one of its kind and was waaayyyyy back on a high shelf. I reached into the blowing air as far as I could when suddenly, I started to smell the delicious scent of coffee. I reached further and further in the refrigerator section until I found myself on the other side of the glass. 

I looked behind me wondering if I had broken the shelves. How else would I be on the other side? Was the Walmart manager going to scream at me? When I was able to focus, I noticed that I was NOT in the back storage area of a grocery. Instead, I was at an outdoor coffee party. What in the world??? What a beautiful sight. There was a soft breeze blowing along the yard. This must have been the place where the smell of coffee was coming from. I didn't remember getting invited to any party, but sure enough, there was a place setting for me. How curious!

The table was set for many more people than were seated. I could tell by the brown rings in some of the china cups, that many a creature had come before me to this same coffee gathering. As I sat down, I was handed samples of every kind of coffee imaginable. First, espresso. Then cappuccino. A latte followed a mocha; it went on for hours. Each smell, each taste, was pure heaven. Instead of feeling the familiar wakefulness, I started to feel sleepy. 

I thought I was imagining a ghost in the trees when a large dog came into sight. He had a clear smirk on his face. I wondered what he was up to. I watched as he jumped from the tree and landed softly on the grass. He was mumbling something I couldn't hear. 

When the dog came toward me from under the table, I swear I heard him say, "I've got you!" Had I lost my mind? He said it quietly at first. As he walked away from me, I could hear his voice become louder and louder. "I've got you! I've got you!"

I decided to stand my now-full body up and follow the dog. He looked back every-so-often, wearing that same silly smirk. I followed him for what seemed to be forever. When he finally stopped, I looked around at what was clearly a "wonderland." At least, MY kind of wonderland. Spinning around, I no longer could see the smirking canine. I could however, hear that loud voice..."I've got you!"

The voice eventually began to fade. I noticed a soft rain starting to fall. I'm not pulling your leg. It was raining...coffee! There was a babbling brook made of creamer and the tall trees were made of whipped cream. I didn't know where I was and I didn't care. Everything was marvelous. Had I died? Was this heaven? 

I took it all in, people. As much as I could. The aroma, the majestic view, and of course, the taste. I walked in a daze, drinking as much as possible. I stopped only when I saw the familiar dog appear in front of me. He was wearing that smirk and shaking his belly. I believed he was laughing at me. The voice began to emanate from the animal. "I've got you!" I heard.
"I've got you!"

"What in the world have you 'got'?" I asked.
The dog came closer. "You!, I've got you!" he laughed.
"I don't understand!" I yelled, feeling frustrated.
"Ha ha ha!" he continued, "This coffee. The party. This...place."
"What about it?" I asked
The dog looked into my eyes and spoke the most evil words ever. The words I would never have equated with this "wonderland."
His words rang into my ears until I couldn't hear anything else.

"This place. It's...DECAFFEINATED!"
"Nooooooooooooooo!" I screamed and fell to the floor. The room began to spin and I couldn't see anything. I closed my eyes wishing for everything to stop. At last, it did.

I opened my eyes to the sight of feet and wheels. Customer's feet and shopping carts. I must have passed out.

"I've got you." said a store worker as he stretched out his hand. I looked all around. I was terribly embarrassed, but then I began to focus past the customers and carts. About two aisles down, I saw it. There was a taste-test lady who was trying to sell hot coffee. There was a large sign warning children not to touch it. It was hot and full of caffeine. 

"Yeah, baby!" I shouted as I pulled myself up, grabbed that last bottle of creamer, and headed toward the angel selling hot, styrofoam cups of Joe. Heaven.

 Thanks, Dawn for the "wonderful" topic!

Baking in a Tornado                          

The Momisodes                                       

Stacy Sews and Schools              

Follow Me Home                       

Someone Else's Genius                        

Confessions of a part-time Working Mom                            

Dribbles and Grits                                

Impoverished Vegan                        

Spatulas on Parade                      

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy                                   

More that Cheese and Beer               

Evil Joy Speaks                    

Juicebox Confession                          
Climaxed                        

Enjoy the world through your looking glass, friends.
-Michele

Images property of shellybean and created by CJM                          

Fly On The Wall- March 2014

Hey there!  Welcome to the March Fly on the Wall Group Challenge. This month, 13 awesome bloggers and I are describing what it would be like if you were to take a peek inside our homes....

Have a "look" around mine, and then go visit the other blogger's pages. There's always something fun, sentimental, or better yet, embarrassing going on. It's like your house, only we're admitting to the craziness. You have our permission. Buzz on over!

Cast:
The man
A., the eldest (daughter, 20)
C., The middle (son, 15)
J., The youngest (son, 9)

Henry and Lila- The dogs

Food:

Me to the Man: "Didn't you just go to the grocery store?"
The Man: "Yes. Why?"
Me: "I don't see anything from the list."
The Man: "What list?"
Me: "The one on the chalkboard?"
The Man: "The chalkboard? I thought that was just for looks."
Me: "You thought 'granola bars and toilet bowl cleaner' was for looks?"

***

A.: "Mom. If the cereal Gods were reading my mind, they would have invented 'THIS' cereal."
C.: "Who wouldn't want that cereal? It's crunch berries AND marshmallows. It's like Kindergarten crack."

***

The man: "My childhood memories are shattered. Individually boxed Trix and Lucky Charms now come in little bags. There were times you could cut along the mini boxes and pour milk into them."
Me: "Yeah?" (I totally remembered that.)
The Man: "Yeah. You didn't even need a bowl."
C.: "Times are hard, Dad. I'll never experience eating cold cereal from a box..."
The Man: "Yeah. But you WILL experience being grounded."

Sleeping:

J.: "I don't know why I have to wear pajamas. If I go to sleep in my jeans and wake up tomorrow, I'm already halfway to being dressed..."

***

Me to the man: "I still can't sleep. Do you want to talk or something?"
The Man: "Can you talk to Lila or Henry? I'm really tired."
Me: "You want me to talk to the dogs?"
The Man: "Yes. I have to go in early tomorrow." He looks at me. "What? Talking to the dogs isn't weird or anything."
Me: (pulling the blankets over to my side while rolling over)"I know that! I talk to them all day long!"

***

J. has a friend over. He goes upstairs to get a LEGO figurine. His friend starts to follow him.
A few steps up, J. turns around to look at his friend.
J: "Oh, wait. You can't come upstairs."
The friend: "Why not?"
J: "Because it's a rule. That's where we sleep."
The friend: "Your whole family sleeps right there; at the top of the stairs?"


Revolving door:

C. had friends over last Friday night. We always order pizzas on Fridays because there's bound to be someone stopping by. Personally, I like to know where the kids are and what they're doing on the weekends, so it's not a problem. During the coming and going of teens, a new friend came over.

The new boy: "Thanks for the pizza, ma'am."
Me: Oh. I know you said 'mom'.  Ma'am is my mother-in-law."
The Man: "You asked him to call you 'mom'. Are you trying to be the cool-mom?"
Me: "No. I just don't want to be called ma'am. Plus, if you call me 'mom', I can give you chores. You'll be having at least three of those kids washing your car this weekend."
C.: (patting the new kid's shoulder). "Nothing's free at our house, man."

***

We have 106 places to sit in the house. I have one cream colored couch. Guess where the sweaty teenage friend with the bag of Cheetos sits?"
Me to C. (with that 'mom glare'): "Are you feeling lucky today?"
C. : (understanding the code) "Um, let's go downstairs..."

***

A.: "About the rule of staying off the couch..."
Me.: "Did someone spill something? Are there Cheetos fingerprints? I haven't had that thing scotch-guarded yet..."
A.: " Henry just jumped up there and I yelled for him to get down."
Me: "Well, did he?"
A.: "Yep. After he peed."

***

Things that make you say, "Hmm":

*After learning that I needed to stay away from sweets, 8 out of 10 people comfort THE MAN.

*I bought a 1000 piece puzzle. It's almost put together. I am waiting for Henry to poop out the corner piece.

*Now that we have teenage drivers with teenage driving friends, our driveway is an ongoing game of Tetris.

*I'm in the shower and ignoring J., who is knocking on the door. I can tell by the knock that it's not an "Our house is on fire!"knock, but more of a "Can I have a snack?" knock. After a minute, the knocking stops. I'm rinsing my hair when the laundry chute door flies open. J. has crawled through his bathroom and into mine via the chute.
"Mom? Is anyone going to drink that last gatorade?" he asks.
"You can have it" I answer.
What? Anyone willing to go to those lengths deserves a drink.

*Last puzzle piece. Any hour now...

Thanks once again for stopping by, and to the Fly's AMAZING creator, Karen @ Baking In a Tornado, aka "The Blogging Original", for hosting this challenge! Would you like to join in the next FLY challenge? Click on the FLY button on my side bar. Karen will more than take care of you.

Take a look at what the other bloggers have going on inside their homes. Go on! Leave them a comment. You know you want to...

Baking in a Tornado                          

The Rowdy Baker                                  

Just a Little Nutty                                

The Momisodes                                          

Spatulas on Parade                          

The Sadder But Wiser Girl                                   

Follow Me Home                          

Stacy Sews and Schools                

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy                                      

Someone Else's Genius                          

Menopausal Mother                               

Pink Heart String                                     

Spinster Snacks                                              

Juicebox Confession                                 

Happy Friday, my friends :)

-Michele