The boat trip and pre-teen angst (and Succintly Yours!)



This is the boat my husband learned to sail

 Well, if you came by at the end of last week, you would know that my husband spent the weekend taking an introductory sailboating lesson, and his reaction to sailing for the first time? He loved it! I definitely have some misgivings-I mean, I wanted him to have fun, but now there is talk of a boat purchase in the near future (um, we are way past due on a house renovation so this "near future" needs to get in line), and the possibility that all of us will become sailors with him.

Hmm...I am not too crazy about boats. You know there's all that wind and water and rocking back and forth stuff that gets in the way of a really cool ride. We've been on boats before-motor boats, and we had fun, but a sailboat needs to be controlled, and even my husband said it's a ton of work. The kids are also iffy about the sailing talk, especially after they heard the word work, so I don't know if we land lubbers will ever take to the sea.

I do know one thing for sure-I told my husband that I need to stay in a hotel all alone next time. The rosy colored weekend that I pictured with my kids was not a happy one. I spent almost the entire time at odds with both my children. My daughter's pre-teen attitude and mouth were working over time so much that she was asked to leave the kitchen until my son and I were finished with our dinner. (I just wanted to eat in peace! She had been arguing with me all day about everything.) She got the last word though-she and I were to bunk together Saturday night because I can't sleep too well when my husband isn't there, but when she returned to the kitchen, she promptly told me that she would be sleeping in her room that night. I was cool and collected, telling her that was fine, and reminding her that you can never take back words and actions, but inside I was heartbroken. Where did my sweet little girl go?

And my son? He talked almost non-stop the entire weekend, more so since my daughter and I were not talking much after Saturday. I love him dearly, and I know that soon he won't want to talk to me, but I could honestly feel my brain stop functioning at one point, and semi-paralysis of the thought processes setting in... After that weekend and a very full day with my kids at school, I'm mentally exhausted.

So thankfully it's time for Succinctly Yours, another writing meme that piggy backs on the idea of Susan of the Stony River Blog.

Grandma Goulash posts a picture and you are to write a 140 character or word story about it. You can also use the word of the day in your post if you wish. This week's word is beneficial. Here this week's picture and my take this week:

"This shopping's wiped me out," thought Evan. "I need an excuse...I know, I'll tell her I have a headache. Works every time for her." (135 characters)

I hope you chuckled a bit at this-I am desperately in need of both chocolate and some humor therapy. I hope you all saw something amusing in today's picture too.

I also wanted to say that even though I have reduced my posting to only twice a week, I may be stepping away from my blog for a little while. I'm trying to finish a very lengthy project I started in April, and now that the summer is over and I'm back in the classroom, I don't have as much time in the evening for family, school work, blog, and my other writing. You know as well as I do, that posting and reading other posts takes time-lots of time, and I have been on my blog for over an hour tonight. Now I used the word may for a reason-I don't know if I can stay away, but I'm a natural born procrastinator, and this blog and the Internet are just too tempting. So, you will either see me or...

My husband's gift (and Book Blurb Friday)

As you know, my husband's birthday was last week, and the inevitable question was, "What do I get him?" He deperately needed a new cell phone, so when I found a free Droid Global with a package upgrade, I jumped. This was to be the perfect gift because I knew he had been looking at this phone, and I planned to unveil it on his birthday. There was just one problem-as soon as the phone arrived, he immediately lost service in his old phone. I mean he couldn't call out or receive calls, and although I hadn't activated his new cell phone yet, Verizon was acting as if I had.

So...my husband got his new phone three weeks before his birthday, and I had a new question, "Should I get him something else?" My husband hinted that since the phone was "free" I should get him another gift, and he knew just what I should get-a Wii fighter pilot game he had seen in Gamestop. Off I went to get this game, (although I told him he had his present already). So, my question was anwered, right? Wrong!

My new question went something like this, "What kind of surprise is a gift you are told to get, and one that really didn't cost much money?" I was stuck again-what could I get him? I can't remember when the idea popped into my head, but a few days later I was scouring the Internet and calling to set up his very special present-one I knew he would either love or hate...

See, my husband has always said that when we retire, he wants to sell our home (note: I never said I agreed with any of this), buy a Catamaran Sailboat, and we will sail the world. The thing is, he has never been on a sailboat, and doesn't know how to sail, so I thought I would get him started. This weekend he will be on the bay learning some of the basics-I enrolled him in an introductory sailing class, and after some initial hesitation, he is really starting to get excited. (He got his gloves to protect his hands from the ropes, and although he wanted a captain's hat, if all of us call him captain he said that would suffice...) I really hope he enjoys himself.

And now it's time for:

Book Blurb Friday! This is where Lisa Ricard Claro, from Writing in the Buff, posts a picture meant to serve as a fictional book cover. It's your job to write a blurb about the book in 150 words or less to entice a prospective reader. Are you up to the challenge? Here is this week's picture and my story:

Before It's Too Late

Dr. Elana Stark was a pioneer in her field, studying the effects of the environment on the body’s cells and primary organs. Her lab developed a drug to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, but any attempts at reversing the damage came up short, and investors want to pull the plug on this new project.

Just as things looked their worst, Elana receives a strange letter from a witch doctor in far off Tristan Da Cunha. He has the answers she is looking for, and he will share them….for a price. He claims that the leaves of a well-known plant, known to locales as the Chimgum, could turn back time, and he had data to prove it.

Intrigued despite some initial misgivings, Elana flies to the island to meet the man, and soon she will know if this is a fountain of youth, or a horror in disguise. (148 words)

Well, I'm surprised by what I came up with, and the hardest part was coming up with a title-nothing new for me... I can't wait to see what everyone else wrote!
*Note: By the way, the island I mentioned is a real place and is somewhere far off the African coast. I learned a little geography this evening :)

The cake revealed! (and Succinctly Yours)

First, thanks for all your kind comments concerning the flooding a few days ago.  I don't know how we did it (we often have Charlie Brown luck), but we didn't take in any water in our basement, had no damage to the house, and flood waters for the most part have receded. Unfortunately, many of our friends and neighbors do have water damage, and now they're on waiting lists for insurance claims...

In other news, my husband's birthday was this past Friday, and as he proclaimed to everyone at home (and I proclaimed to everyone within earshot online) he made his pudding cake. Here are some pictures of the results:

Now the cake didn't look all that attractive, but the taste wasn't half bad. It was very moist, and instead of icing, it had pudding on the top and in the middle. I wouldn't say it would be a favorite of mine-I personally think the sugary icing is the best thing about cake, but I would eat it again.

I told my kids on Friday that we all were going to have a piece of this cake regardless of what it looked or tasted like, and that we were to all say something positive even if we didn't like it. (I told them it would hurt Daddy's feelings otherwise...) And if it wasn't good, I told the kids to eat some and then say that they were pretty full from dinner-I had it all planned. But as my husband was cutting us each a piece, my son (I told you everything in his head comes right back out!) informed my husband how they were to tell him it was good even if it was bad! Thankfully my husband has a good sense of humor and we all laughed a lot over this.

Now time for Succinctly Yours, another writing meme that piggy backs on the idea of Susan of the Stony River Blog.

Grandma Goulash posts a picture and you are to write a 140 character or word story about it. You can also use the word of the day in your post if you wish. This week's word is methodical. Here this week's picture and my take this week:

The gnomes often took the kids trikes for a spin, making sure to leave them like they found them, but Barney left the tailgate down again! (138 characters)

I was going to do poetry, but I just didn't have it in me today. The subject matter of this week's picture is liable to inspire in so many different ways. See you soon!

More rain than the plain in Spain (and Book Blurb Friday!)

It's funny, but I really can't remember when it first started raining, but I can tell you that it's raining still, although not the buckets of water we were getting the last few days! Now it's more of a "too little to put an umbrella up but too much not to drag one along" kind of rain, but the damage around our community was almost unbelievable. Buses couldn't get through on certain roads because of the flooding, so the kids and I were sent home early from school Tuesday, and today most schools closed due to rising waters and lack of streets-yes, no streets! I have lived here for 20 years, and I can honestly say I never saw anything like it! Here are some images from one street over from us:

 

You know, you never question the power of nature after seeing scenes like this. Thankfully the weather forecast is isn't as bleak and rain isn't part of the picture! I'm so glad it's:

Book Blurb Friday! This is where Lisa Ricard Claro, from Writing in the Buff, posts a picture meant to serve as a fictional book cover. It's your job to write a blurb about the book in 150 words or less to entice a prospective reader. Are you up to the challenge? Here is this week's picture and my story:



An Angel Draws Near

Carlos was new to the neighborhood-he didn’t know the Young Lords’ turf covered the areas between La Masada and La Salle Streets. He didn’t know people in his neighborhood went out of their way to avoid these streets because entering this gang’s territory meant trouble. He didn’t know until he innocently crossed the street and came face to face with the gang’s leader, a day he will regret for the rest of his life.

Carlos doesn’t walk but runs in the streets of Miami now, always looking over his shoulder, always worried about another fight. The gang wants him to pay dearly for his carelessness, but there seems no end in sight. That is until a piece of angel graffiti starts showing up in the oddest places, always where Carlos chooses to hide from his attackers, and always offering advice. And when Carlos follows that advice, things begin to happen… (150 on the dot!)

Well, I hope you are all well (and dry!), and I can't wait to read your blurbs. (I had a hard time with mine at first.)

My birthday boys (and Succinctly Yours!)

This week we will celebrate not one, but two birthdays-those of my husband and son. We usually do just one cake since they're only two days apart (too much cake lying around is not a good thing), but my son wins out on the cake type because his day comes first. Now my husband has always been a good sport about the whole thing because he's not much of a cake eater anyway, but I have always felt a small stab of guilt. In year's past, I made his favorite pie, but this year he says he is making his own cake-a pudding cake?

Okay, first of all, my husband is not the cook or baker around here, it's me. I usually make my own cake because the cakes he has made in the past didn't quite turn out. (I do remember one cake who's top layer slid right off, but there were a few that turned out well-LOL!) And this pudding cake?  He tried to make it several years ago-the kids don't remember but I do-and no one would touch it...

My son keeps asking me if I am going to do his cake, and there is genuine fear in his eyes. So what do we do about dad? He has brought it up a couple times but I am taking a "wait and see" approach to it all, and if the man wants to make himself a pudding cake, then I'm going to step back and let him do it. (I'm just hoping it all turns out for the best...) Who is the designated baker in your families?

Now time for Succinctly Yours, another writing meme that piggy backs on the idea of Susan of the Stony River Blog.

Grandma Goulash posts a picture and you are to write a 140 character or word story about it. You can also use the word of the day in your post if you wish. This week's word is practice. Here this week's picture and my take this week:

It was more than a few decades before Emma could revisit places from her past, but like her old school, she had withstood the test of time.(138 characters)

It's getting late, so I will come by your blogs tomorrow!

A little bit of this and that (and Book Blurb Friday!)

My mind and life is so jumbled lately, but I thought I would reveal a couple highlights, and they revolve around my son.

• My son has developed a habit I am desperately hoping to break him of-everything that pops into his head comes out his mouth, and I mean everything! I admit that some of what he says is downright funny, and my husband and I have shared moments where we laughed like crazy at something he said (when he is not within earshot of course.) But no amount of, "Listen to what you say in your head before letting it come out your mouth," seems to be working. The other morning I did a quick blow dry prior to my usual straightening when my son walked into the bathroom. Our conversation is as follows:

My son: Woa, mom! What's with your hair?
Me: I haven't straightened it yet. He stood there very quietly for a couple minutes watching me brush my hair before I tackled the unruly mess with the straightener.
My son: You know something mom?
Me: No, what?
My son: If your nose was a little more pointy, and you were wearing a pointy black hat...
My son was comparing me to a witch for crying out loud! I wouldn't let him utter the rest and once again reminded him about thinking things through first. Now I admit, my hair was sort of witchy-looking, and it is kind of funny now, but he has said very blunt and hurtful things to his sister lately, so the sooner he gets a handle on this, the happier everyone will be.

• My son decided at the end of last Spring that he didn't like soccer much anymore and really who could blame him-all that endless running up and down the field in games where goals were made, but no one officially kept score. His latest passion? Baseball. Something clicked in the boy after my husband bought him his first aluminum bat, and now all he wants to do in the evenings is batting practice. The problem with this is that he wants the most non-athletic person in our family-yours truly-to pitch to him when his dad works late.
  
  Well, since hubby has been working a lot of evenings lately, little old me has been trying my best to pitch to my budding baseball star. We started using tennis balls for practice because I have lobbed the poor kid more times than I care to admit, and I've blamed it on everything from the sun's in my eyes to it's getting too dark to see, but the fact is, I don't know where the ball is going once it leaves my hand! You would think my son would wise up and just wait until daddy can practice with him, but he doesn't.
  
  Sometimes we're in stitches over one of my wild throws, but I do see some improvement to my form-he is hitting more and more of what I throw him. And even though I still have that moment of dread when he asks me to play, when I'm old and gray I know I will look back on this and smile-I'm hoping he does too...
  

I'm so glad it's time for:

Book Blurb Friday! This is where Lisa Ricard Claro, from Writing in the Buff, posts a picture meant to serve as a fictional book cover. It's your job to write a blurb about the book in 150 words or less to entice a prospective reader. Are you up to the challenge? Here is this week's picture and my story:


The Moment of Truth

Alana Anderson had always been ordinary. She came from a working class family in a poorer section of town, worked her way through school only to land a mediocre job in finance, but she was just hours from marrying His Royal Highness, the Prince of Dunbar.

Things started out simple enough-a case of mistaken identity brought Alana face to face with the Prince on a daily basis, but slowly things started spiraling out of control. As time went by, it became harder and harder for her to break free from what had once been an innocent charade, but she decided she didn’t want to live a lie anymore.

But someone else knew Alana’s secret, and he threatened that if she ever revealed her true identity, her prince would pay with his life. (132 words)

This is way under my usual word counts, but I'm out of practice-I really regret missing last Friday, but I was just so tired... Hope to stop by and read all of yours tomorrow!