Growing Pains: Falling Asleep the Hard Way

Sebastian has a hard time going to bed, sometimes. One night was a marathon cry, but unknown to him, we've already practiced this game with his older brother. By the time he was quiet and we went in to check, this was what we found.

He had sat up crying for so ling that when he did fall asleep, he just fell forward. We unfolded the poor little guy and covered him up and could finally get our own rest.

Snapshot Prompt

Even though I put together last week's prompt, it proved difficult for me since the photo was of my son. We had been vacationing on Mackinac Island and .... I just couldn't do it. :-(

The stories everyone else put together ... Amazing. :) Check them out.

Dancing for Vincente by Randy Lindsay
It Had to Have Airplanes by Scott Taylor
Imaginary Adventures by Cindy
Behemogon's Door by Leanne Sype
Dancy Party by Marcy


This is the last week to get your entry in before the monthly ad contest winner is drawn. You have until 8 pm EST time next Tuesday to make sure you qualify.

The rules are:

1) Use the photo and the 5 words provided in your story.
2) Keep your word count 500 words or less.
3) You have until next Wednesday to link up your post.
4) Link up with your blog hostess when you're done via the inLinkz linky.
5) Have fun, don't stress, let those creative juices flow.

The photo:

The words:

bill - chisel - title - system - bicycle

Have fun! I can't wait to see all the stories. The linky will be at the end, but first ...

If you love our hop and want to share, please grab a button for your blog.

Click and copy this code

<p align="center"> <a <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">href</span>="http://<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">theworldofmyimagination</span>.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">blogspot</span>.com/search/label/Writers%20Wednesday%20Blog%20Hop" target="_blank"><<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">img</span> <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">src</span>="http://i1250.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">photobucket</span>.com/albums/hh540/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">sommerfugldesign</span>/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Worldofmyimagination</span>/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">wednesdayhopbutton</span>.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">jpg</span>" width="200" height="200" /></a>

Blogging A-Z Challenge 2013

I hinted at this last week, but here's the big reveal ....

This year I've decided to participate in the Blogging A-Z Challenge. I follow a few blogs that participated last year and am excited that I caught it this time around.

The idea behind the challenge is that you use the alphabet to blog Monday through Saturday throughout the month of April with Sundays off (except for the first one this year, since April 1st lands on a Sunday). You take a letter per day, find your inspiration, and go! You follow the leaders, then check out your fellow bloggers along the way. There are lots of new blogs to see and people to meet, a good recipe for a new adventure.

To be honest, I'm not sure how this will work with the Snapshot Prompts, but I hope to think of some creative way to work it in. The Toddler Tales and, perhaps, the Snapshot Reveals might be a bit easier.

So, do you want to join me? Sign up starts tomorrow. Hop on over there and check out what it's about.

Please Allow me to Re-introduce Myself

I don't really think I did this a first time, come to think about it. It's never too late, I suppose. :-) And all this is inspired by the Please Allow Me to Re-Introduce Myself Blogfest, so there will be more bloggers than just me to meet or learn something new about.

There are three major forces in my life. My family, my writing, and my dogs (though the dogs come in a somewhat distant third). I share my two sons with you through Toddler Tales and Growing Pains. I try to get my family in with Family Fun and Field Trips, but honestly, it usually just becomes about the boys. The dogs sometimes get in there, through photos or part of a story. When we breed this year, they may end up taking a much larger roll and even get their own series tags. :)

It's much easier for me to tell you about other people than myself, so those post series are relatively easy. It's the photos I try to get to go with them that are a pain. I usually end up trying to re-create the event and get a semi-decent photo, but sometimes I'm lucky enough to get the photo for inspiration first.

Telling about others is also why I like to write. And in fiction, I even get to slip in pieces of myself without shouting to the world, "Hey, here I am!" On the blog, my writing is generally brought forth either through the Collaboration Challenge that runs over a few weeks, or the Snapshot Prompt, which runs weekly.

See? I even managed to tell you about myself through things, rather than directly. But that's kind of what it's all about for me - the stories that are created even while they take you there.

Blogfest - Re-introduce Yourself

Heather at Reading, Writing and Everything in Between wrote a post that led me to Welcome To Author Stephen Trump's Website (which I also follow, but hadn't gotten to yet) to explain about a blogfest coming up on Monday, January 28th.

(Deep breath.)

Other than how I found out about it, the blogfest is pretty easy. Go over to Stephen Trump's Website and add your blog to the linky (he's hoping to get at least 100 - Chasing Revery signed in at 80). Then, on Monday, re-introduce yourself to the blogging world. Stephen has an example for you if you're looking for a bit of structure or inspiration.

Easy! And, it gives you a blog topic for next week. Check. ;-)

He also tells you about the A-Z Challenge on his blog, something I will be talking about next week, but only with a day to spare. So if you're looking for another blog hop that will last the whole month of April, be sure to check out that information, too.

Snapshot Prompt

I do not remember having this much trouble getting over the holidays before. Thankfully, I don't seem to be the only one. As we get our feet back under us, I hope you have time to check out the prompt and submit your own take on it.

Here are last week's stories for your enjoyment:

The Rocky Mountain Inn, Cardston, Alberta, Canada by Scott Taylor
The Courthouse by Cindy C
Time's Up by Carrie Sorensen

FYI: We have a monthly contest going for those who submit.

The rules, quickly, are:

1) Use the photo and the 5 words provided in your story.
2) Keep your word count 500 words or less.
3) You have until next Wednesday to link up your post.
4) Link up with your blog hostess when you're done via the inLinkz linky.
5) Have fun, don't stress, let those creative juices flow.

The photo:

The words:

flamenco, spotlight, mud, runway, tragedy

(Note, because I did it - the word is runway, not runaway.)

There you go. Write a story and link it up. Then grab a button to share the love.

Click and copy this code

<p align="center"> <a href="http://theworldofmyimagination.blogspot.com/search/label/Writers%20Wednesday%20Blog%20Hop" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1250.photobucket.com/albums/hh540/sommerfugldesign/Worldofmyimagination/wednesdayhopbutton.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a>

Snapshot Reveal: Time's Up

My take on last week's Snapshot Prompt is below. Check it out and link up your own interpretation with 500 words or less. The cut off for our Monthly Ad Contest is only a week away and includes last week's prompt contributions and tomorrow's. The prompt photo is below, along with the five mandatory words in bold. Word count, 174.

---------------------------------

Time's Up

The wind tangled Jera's hair while she looked up, up, up at the tall clock tower from the base of the red-bricked building. The rain had frozen past snow, falling in tiny little beads into her wide open eyes. She would not blink, her eyes glued to the smooth movement of the thin hand marking the seconds.

Icy droplets found their way to the thin skin of Jera's neck. She eased frozen fists from the pockets of her long, wool parka, wincing when each knuckle cracked with their unfurling but still refusing to take her eyes from the clock. She wanted to move quickly, but pain slowed her movements as she tightened her scarf. She puffed on her hands even knowing they wouldn't profit from her shallow breath, then tenderly returned them to their pockets.

There it was. The bells rung, filling the cobbled square with their deep, jolting song. The icy water at her feet began to rise and lift her with it, sending her up on a platform made of cold faith.

Collaboration Challenge 2013

It's going to start again! I'm looking for everyone interested in joining up with February's Collaboration Challenge. You can check out past stories on the Collaboration Challenge tab (or follow the link here).

I will begin a story and post it on February 4th. It will be the first time any of the other contributors see it. Writer #2 will then have until the following Monday to post their story. Writer #3 takes week three, and so on until the final writer ties it all together. It's a fun way to write together with other authors without it getting too serious. The challenge of writing enough to carry the story forward, yet try to manipulate the future writers to go with what you want is addicting. The actual plot and ending is always surprising. And though the story is written over several weeks, your commitment is just for one or two of them.

Anyone is welcome to join in, though I limit the contributors to six per story or they get too long. If 4 or fewer people are interested, there will be the opportunity to write twice. The schedule will be set up by February 3rd, so leave me a comment and let me know if you're interested in joining ASAP.

<a href="http://chasingrevery.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Chasing Revery" src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn7/sister_phoenix/collaborationchallengebutton-1.jpg"/></a>

Growing Pains: Stepping Up

My toddler is graduating to kid status, and my baby is just about to become a toddler. Still, it's amazing how they can still struggle with similar issues, like trying to reach a little farther, be a little bigger. I hope they can always see their similarities and help each other with them.

Snapshot Prompt

Leanne has chosen the photo and words for this week's blog hop. Be sure to check out the stories from last week, including mine (which I forgot to link up, but hey, it's been 6 weeks.) :P

----------------

Hi Friends! It's time for Writer Wednesday Blog Hop photo reveal! If you've been following the blog hop for a while, then I hope you've been having as much fun as I have reading through all the great stories that birth from these photos. In fact, here are the stories from last week's photograph:

1.	DreamLab Industries, by Scott Taylor	4.	Heated Memory by Leanne Sype
2.	Chris Shawbell	5.	First New Steps by Heather Musk
3.	L.T. Dalin

And mine: Paths Converge


If you are new to the blog hop challenge, here's how it works: 1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create. 2) There is also a 500 word maximum. 3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post. 4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (Or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so!--> This week's hostess is me! Add your link below, my friends 5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventilate/lose sleep/run in fear over it. 

Ready??? Here you go:

 

Mandatory words are:

scarf - bead - lift - neck - profit

Have fun!

Snapshot Reveal: Paths Converge

Haha, I'm going to do it. I'm going to submit a Snapshot (from this prompt). I don't even want to think of when the last time I did this was.

Ugh, I'm so out of practice. I'm sure I'm forgetting a million things, like links I usually post here, but I can't remember. Lol. Here goes nothing.

------------------------------------

Paths Converge

Leaves crunched under Lisa's boots, breaking into a million pieces of confetti. She paused a moment, turned to see the confetti left in her wake. Her eyes darted around, seeing no one else on this trail. She dug the toe of her boot into the leaves, kicking them up into dance in the air with the heady smell of earth.

Fragments of leaves stuck to her hair and backpack, Lisa faced South once again and continued along the trail until the crunch leaves grew damp from the wet ground beneath them as she drew closer to the narrow waterfall.

At the bank of the small pool, Lisa stopped and closed her eyes, taking in the scent of fresh air, feeling a gentle mist against her skin. Though the Autumn air was cool, her brisk walk had warmed her body enough the small bits of spray felt welcomed.

The sounds of a foot race broke through. The laughter that followed tugged at Lisa's heart and she turned to greet the two children throwing back leaves with their sneakered feet. The boy chased the girl, holding a stick like it was a machine gun. The girl, older, let him play as he wanted, heading directly to the water like Lisa had. Behind them jogged their father, the muscle of his left arm strained with the weight of the two packs he carried.

"Hi, Lisa," eight-year-old Isaac greeted her with a smile. "We saw a spider web wrapped between a branch and the path fence. The spider hid in a hole in the pipe and just waited for it's pray." Isaac's eyes gleamed and his voice lowered for suspense.

"What a clever engineer," she agreed, then Isaac was off to join Tara, his twelve-year-old sister at the water's edge. It always took the tween a few minutes to warm up to Lisa, a by-product of having her loyalties torn between her mom and her dad's new girlfriend.

"Hi," Mike greeted her quietly, pulling Lisa's attention away from the kids. "Fancy all of us deciding to hike at the same place." His green eyes sparkled with mischief and Lisa laughed, taking one of the backpacks from him without looking away.

He was amazing, full of laughter despite an awful divorce, full of a youth that matched her own, though he was older than her by 15 years. And his kids. His kids were so warm and loving, even Tara, once she got passed these awkward beginnings.

Lisa's heart filled. She had known these three for almost a year now. She wanted to know them for many, many years to come.

"But first, lunch." Lisa jumped at Tara's words. She turned to see the girl was addressing her brother, probably about some game she wanted to play. With a nervous laugh, Lisa nodded.

"Lunch sounds good," she agreed. "What did everyone bring?"

Yes. Lunch first on this beautiful, Fall day. Then, perhaps, the rest of their lives.

Dizzy Me: Last Week

Eventually I will get back to writing stories and telling you about my kiddos. For now, though, it really is all about the doctor appointments.

I had 7 appointments last week. 7.

Monday I saw the Cardiologist, though I had accidentally gone to the ENT first. Thankfully they were in the same building, so it was a matter of a short walk. He thinks I still have Neurocardiogenic Syncope (diagnosed when I was 16) and that all tests looking for something else were a massive waste of time. He also let me know nothing has changed in the last 14 years, so it's all about managing the symptoms with lifestyle and medication. We both agreed medication wasn't right for me (I have worse reactions to it than to me) and went our separate ways.

Tuesday brought the coolest test I have ever had. Seriously. I was in the Nuclear Medicine department. My tech was a Nuclear Mechanic. They injected me with radioactive material from a steel encased needle. Granted, after that I had to lie on my back while they snapped photos for 2 hours, but I did get to watch the glow fill my gall bladder, then watched after the second injection caused it to work, pushing all that glow through my stomach. It was so very, very interesting. With all my tests, I haven't been that excited about one since I was a teenager.

I think they have the results, but I took the day off Thursday, which is when they called, then I forgot on Friday. I'll get to them today and perhaps have something more for later - though this doesn't really have anything to do with being dizzy.

Tuesday was also the 2 appointments for my boys - Joshua's shots and Sebastian's check up.

Wednesday I had a hearing test I didn't know about until Monday through another doctor's office, then officially Tuesday when they called to confirm. My hearing in fine, but I guess they can perform tests that see if a tumor is present. I didn't know that, so it was pretty cool. I passed with flying colors. After the hearing test I went straight to the ENT. She had nothing for me, except to say she disagrees with the Cardiologist and every single doctor I've ever had. She believes I have dizziness brought on by migraines and has sent a note to the Neurologist, who I see toward the end of the month.

Ah, a diagnosis war. :-D I've been through those many times. These, though, at least won't war with each other. The Cardiologist isn't putting me on any medication, so I guess we'll see what the Neurologist things, particularly since she's treated me for migraines in the past.

The 7th appointment was the Endocrinologist on Friday because of my high thyroid count. I love watching doctors talk to me about why I might be there when they honestly see no reason for it. Gotta earn my co-pay, I guess.

I don't have another appointment until next week, then I have 2. I'm not sure when I'll see the gall bladder guy again - gosh, I don't like that. I can't think of what type of doctor he is. Anyone else know?

Anyway .... as long as I get enough rest and eat well, and keep low-level exercise going, I feel better dizzy wise. I'm remembering old coping tricks as I go and they're working pretty well so far. If it gets worse, I can always get pregnant again. One of my doctors did tease me about becoming the next Mrs. Duggar, actually. She was joking, though.

I think.

Snapshot Prompt

This is a little delayed, but we're back again for the weekly writing prompt! One of these days I will have stable internet access so I don't freak out so much. *sigh* Well, I can dream can't I?

Here are the wonderful entries from last week -

The Kindness of Youth by Heather Musk
Walking Home by Scott Taylor 
Rainy Day at the Donut Shop by Tena Carr

Aren't they amazing???

Okay, and here is a reminder of the rules:
1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create.
2) There is also a 500 word maximum.
3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post.
4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (Or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so!
5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventilate/lose sleep/run in fear over it.

And now here is the photo:

   

And the five words:

engineer

muscle

spider

race

machine

Oh, this will be good, I know it. Here's the link to submit your post when you're ready!

Dizzy Me: Almost There

Almost. I'm practically breathless here. It has been a crazy whirlwind couple of weeks, as I'm sure others have felt as well.

For me, other than the holidays and visiting family (who, sadly, went home on Friday), I've had a lot of tests done in the last week, a doctor's appointment with more to follow. This week is jam-packed with different doctors appointments and at least one more test and blood draw. After this week I only have two more scheduled appointments, but there are more to come because I have yet to schedule any follow up appointments with any doctor pending any tests that haven't yet been scheduled by the doctors I have yet to see.

So now you can understand why I'm breathless.

Oh, and I start watching my sister's kids again this week, since school is in full session for her whole family. Lots of joy figuring out scheduling there, though we're managing to hammer it out.

On the plus side - kind of - my thyroid came back overactive. I'm not exactly sure what that means yet, but will hopefully find out once I see the endocrinologist this week. I have a feeling it's only overactive because I had a cold at the time of the test, and apparently it produces more hormones in response to a virus. But as it is the only test that has come back abnormal (though it never has before, mind you), it's definitely something to check out.

The hematologist said everything is fine on his end, and the blood clotting proteins that are the bane of my existence when I'm pregnant mean next to nothing other than to make sure I move about, eat right and don't smoke. He said my OBGYN may not believe they're not a threat despite the evidence, however, so that's a bummer if I get pregnant again.

The - um - surgery consult for my gall bladder doctor says I probably have gall bladder disease, but the ultrasound I had wasn't helpful, so I have a different test to undergo this week. Hopefully it shows something, or I'm left with stomach pain, possibly more tests, or enough evidence to support the diagnosis of gall bladder disease that isn't strong enough yet for the insurance company to pay for the surgery.

Overall, this is more progress than I've seen in years, so it's actually kind of exciting.

I cannot wait until this is over. And they better figure something out this time because this is a lot of time and a lot of money (though, granted, I've said the same before). Thankfully, we have some pretty good insurance, but still. It needs to be done. I need to be done with this and on the way to healing so I can return to life as normal with the boys and my writing.

Snapshot Prompt - First of the Year!

This past month, we only had one story entry from a new visitor - Everyone else has won our ad prize already, or are ineligible due to blog host status. Those hosts would be me, Nicole Pyles, Tena Carr and Leanne Sype.

That's not going to keep us from choosing a winner, though, no way!

Scott Taylor, it's yours!

Congratulations, and thank you so much for your dedication to our writing prompts. We are grateful for you and everyone else who makes the time to not only check us out, but who participate and share your skills. (Gosh, I hope that grammar was right. Moving on ...)

So, unless otherwise asked, we will be posting up the same button from your previous win starting next week.

And yay for me, I just realized I get the first prompt of the New Year! Now, this is quite an honor. Let's see what my internet scrubbing can find.

Rules:

1) There will be one photo, and five words - both of those elements must be a feature in the brief story you create.
2) There is also a 500 word maximum.
3) You have until the next Wednesday to create your post.
4) When you have finished your post, come back here and link up below and let me (Or whoever your blog host is) know in the comments that you have done so!
5) We were going to tell you to not take this too seriously, but reconsidered it because we know full well that asking writers to write something means that they will take it seriously. So, take it seriously, but don't fret/panic/pass out/hyperventilate/lose sleep/run in fear over it.

The photo, to suit my mood:

The words:

aerial

fare

rain

sale

profit

Oh, that's almost too easy. I would chose different words, but rules are rules, I suppose, and I always try to stick with the first set. Still, nothing is as it seems with these prompts, so let us know what your twisted beautiful minds come up with by linking up below.

Oh - And make sure to grab a blog hop button if you're loving the prompts!

Click and copy this code

<p align="center"> <a <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">href</span>="http://<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">theworldofmyimagination</span>.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">blogspot</span>.com/search/label/Writers%20Wednesday%20Blog%20Hop" target="_blank"><<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">img</span> <span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">src</span>="http://i1250.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">photobucket</span>.com/albums/hh540/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">sommerfugldesign</span>/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Worldofmyimagination</span>/<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">wednesdayhopbutton</span>.<span class="goog-spellcheck-word" style="background-color: yellow; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">jpg</span>" width="200" height="200" /></a>