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

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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.

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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

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Snapshot Prompt Regifted

Happy Holidays! We're all busy, and we're sure you are, too. So our small (very small, but potentially huge) gift to you is an extra week for our last post!

Brought to you by Leanne Sype:

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I don't know about you, but I am immersed in the hullabaloo of the holidays, which makes it hard to squeeze in the writing time! It looks like we could all use some extra time to get our submissions in, so we are extending last week's photo reveal a for another week. I've reposted the entry below and reopened the submission link. Have fun and Happy New Year!!

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Hello, friends! It's time for another dose of weekly inspiration with our Writer Wednesday Blog Hop photo reveal! My co-hostesses Nicole Pyles, Carrie Sorensen, and Tena Carr have done the most wonderful job in giving us some great prompts over the last several months! This week, they are handing me the reins for hosting! Thanks, ladies! Here are the creations from last week's prompt. Be sure to check them out and give some love to the authors through comments! The Photo Finals Project, by Scott Taylor I Have A Bad Feeling About This, by Nicole Pyles The Only Way Out, by Leanne Sype (hey, that's me!) Now, drumroll please: badabadabadabada.......... This week's photo

Mandatory words:

lobster

remote control

luggage

ears

exam

Here is how this all 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! 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. Have fun!! Oh and if you are loving the Writer Wednesday blog hop, display this button on your site:

Three Day Get Away

We are off this morning on a weekend adventure to Chicago. Despite having grown up only a few hours drive away, I've never been to the Windy City. I'm very excited and a little sad it's only for 3 days, but we have to be back in time for Santa.

With that in mind, I'm offering a warning that posts over the next few weeks may be sporadic. Part of the reason we're going to Chicago is to pick up my husband's parents who are staying with us over the holidays (yay!). That along with the laundry list of tests and doctor's visits may mean I won't have as much time for the blog. I know, I know, I've already gone sporadic, but hopefully these tests and doctor's visits will fix the root cause.

So, if I don't blog to you before then, have a lovely holiday season!

Dizzy Me: Dr. Appt. 2

Yesterday was my rescheduled appointment. It turns out the test was an EKG (electrocardiogram - testing heart rhythm rather than electric activity in the brain). The test was a lot shorter than 30 minutes, but I'm still glad I rescheduled so the boys weren't there. Could you imagine the jumps in heart beat every time they got into something?

I also had my face to face. On the downside, I'll be put through a lot of tests I've already had, other than the EKG. I'm scheduled for an ultrasound, an MRI, blood work, and a heart monitor you carry around for a bit. I'm also scheduled to see a Cardiologist and Neurologist. On the plus side, I love my Neurologist (she helped get rid of my migraines) so I have high hopes there. Also, I'm being sent to a Hemotologist (blood specialist), Optometrist and an EN&T, none of which are specialties I've been to before for this. And in all this confusion, we're also getting me in to see a surgeon for my gall bladder.

Oh, and most of this happens between December 27th and January 9th, with an outlying appointment later in January. Unfortunately, they just weren't able to schedule everything on the same day. :P

Thankfully, I'll have family visiting who can help with the boys and a husband who is off on holiday for much of it. Then an amazing day care provider and other family. This network of help is so different than my last run with all these specialists and tests. Before, I only had one person to help me, to drive me, and her family of 4 to support me. No one else believed. How the world has changed for me, and I hope that means something will truly come from this.

Also!! I ran in to my Grandma yesterday. Turns out she had an appointment on the same day. I let her know what I was in for and she huffed. She asked me if I had a particular disease, one she had just been treated for last August. I was kind of miffed, I can't lie. Why wouldn't she have said something then? But, better late than never. I just have to get through the busy tone on my doctor's phones and ask them to add it to my history and alter any of these tests to look for it, if they need to.

Wouldn't that just be amazing? Ah, the hope. It's nice, but it's also bad when things doing turn out. Still, this is a family member, so her suggestion is a lot stronger than others.

On a side note, apparently there may be a few other outlining things we find (which wouldn't surprise me, to be honest). Which is why I'm going to specialists I haven't seen before. Apparently blood tests I had during this last pregnancy have raised a bunch more questions.

Haha. After so long, I'll take anything.

So there's a quick-ish update for those of you following this series. Thank you for your care and concern. :) I'm kind of looking forward to this round of tests. Then again, it does always start out that way. :P

Snapshot Prompt

Leanne Sype has put together this week's Snapshot prompt. Come have a look.

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Hello, friends! It's time for another dose of weekly inspiration with our Writer Wednesday Blog Hop photo reveal! My co-hostesses Nicole Pyles, Carrie Sorensen, and Tena Carr have done the most wonderful job in giving us some great prompts over the last several months! This week, they are handing me the reins for hosting! Thanks, ladies!

Here are the creations from last week's prompt. Be sure to check them out and give some love to the authors through comments!
The Photo Finals Project, by Scott Taylor
I Have A Bad Feeling About This, by Nicole Pyles
The Only Way Out, by Leanne Sype (hey, that's me!)

Now, drumroll please: badabadabadabada.......... This week's photo

Mandatory words:

lobster

remote control

luggage

ears

exam

Here is how this all 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!
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. Have fun!!

Oh and if you are loving the Writer Wednesday blog hop, display this button on your site: