Snapshot Reveal - And 5K Views!

OMG, I just hit 5K views on my blog!!! :D Thank you, everyone - I appreciate the love.


I have a Snapshot Reveal for you today. The prompt post went up yesterday, so check it out and don't forget to link up your story over there. Do it by 8pm next Tuesday to be entered into our Monthly Ad Contest.

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Eyes of the Beholder

Nan decorated the hovel with years worth of needlepoint designs. The floors were wood so worn there were holes in some places. The kitchen held only a sink and a fridge, a wobbly table was both prep space and eating space that looked over a grass field. Nan had one bed against the wall, as close to the wood burning stove as I could put it safely. I slept on the floor, as close to that same stove as I could get, looking out the one window in the kitchen every night, staring at the moonrise.

The stitched fabric of her art helped insulate the thin walls of the small home and added comfort and warmth. She said stitching helped the autonomic dysfunction of her digestive system. I just nodded, sitting on the threadbare rug at the foot of her rocking chair, tending to the stove.

I wasn't sure Nan was all there. Though her eyes were sharp, they were always focused on her needle and thread, the only brightness in a body gone lax and gray. But she was all I had, and I was all she had.

Every day I had to leave her, I hated it. I had tried to skip school, but the state caught up with me quickly. It was go to school, or Nan went to jail. Nan told me I had to go anyway, that I had to learn to get a good job. She scoffed every time I brought home a lottery ticket, telling me that jackpot was out of reach, but I could work my way up in the world if I tried hard enough.

I thought it was stupid. School was stupid. The cops were stupid. But I did what I had to to keep her safe. And one day, one day I would win the lottery - or she would, since I wasn't 18 yet - and we would get a real house, and I could pay someone to watch her whenever I had to leave, and we would be happy.

"I am happy," she said, her bright eyes sparkling from her pale face. "I've got my home, my thread, and a grandson who loves me too much."

"Never too much, Nan." Her smile would get bigger and she would nod.

"See, child? We are already rich." I smiled back, lottery ticket crinkling in my pocket.

Snapshot Prompt

Happy Halloween!

Tena's got the reins today. And though she  doesn't celebrate Halloween, she still gave us a prompt to be inspired by it. Or not. :) Let's see what all you lovely writers can make with it.

Don't forget - this is the last week you can enter a story for the Monthly Ad Contest. Get your posts in by Thursday night at 8pm to make sure you're eligible. If the linky ever doesn't work, make sure to comment and let me know and I can get it fixed. :)

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YEAHH!!!! It's my turn to host:

 First take a look at last weeks stories:

Story Time by Carrie Sorenson

The Neighbor and Secret Lives by Scotty Watty Doodle All the Day

Letting Go by LeAnn Sype

Next Time Let's Go to an Island by Nicole Pyles

Live My Dream by Tena Carr

Before we go any further, lets set some ground rules (for those of you new to the Blog Hop)...

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 Tuesday to create your post. (Actually, I extended the deadline to be Wednesday morning, but if you want to be eligible for the Monthly "Wednesday Writer Blog Hop Winner" drawing you'll need to submit your story by 8pm on Tuesday.)

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.

Ok so now that we got that out of the way...... Here is the photo you have to work with

 

And the Five Words are:

Hovel

Jackpot

School

Autonomic

Needlepoint

Be sure and link your stories by clicking on the inlinky below:

 

Toddler Tales: Tummy Ache

A head cold is going through our family. Joshua got it first. Now Sebastian and Kris have it. Joshua is feeling better, but isn't 100% yet. He climbed up on my lap tonight, curling into a ball.

"Mommy, my tummy hurts."

"It does? Why?"

"Because I'm sick."

My poor, big baby.

I Was Expecting You - Part 4 of the Collaboration Challenge

Just the kind of news you want at 17!

The old woman appeared in the doorway again. "Yes, yes. You know. Destiny, fate, you two belonging together, ruling the magical Black Hollow forest together." She went back into the cabin. "Come in! I have scones!"


Ooh, scones. :) Find out more over at Nicole's blog for Part 4 of the Collaboration Challenge.

I Was Expecting You

by Nicole Pyles at The World of My Imagination

Family Field Trips: Trick or Treat at the Zoo

I love this time of year. Instead of searching for anything to do, it becomes a choice of which thing to do. The zoo is a great choice for us. We have a membership and they have lots of activities going to get people to visit during their off-season.

I went with one of my girlfriends to their trick or treat event. We didn't have much time, unfortunately, but the kids loved it. Joshua got to be a dragon and my friend's daughter was a mouse. There were candy stations, a magician, and Fisher Price had come in with a ton of toys for the kiddos to play with (and beg parents for later).








It was a blast, and even though it was much more busy than I expected on a Thursday, as long as we're in the area it will be something I try to do each year. I didn't get many photos, but the ones I got were cute, particularly the one of Joshua in an animal cage (yes, that's what those bars are).

;)

  

Snapshot Reveal: Story Time

This story is inspired by yesterday's Snapshot Prompt written by Nicole Pyles and my own little boy. If you would like to try writing a bit of prompted flash, you can link your story up to the prompt post.

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Story Time

It was a warm September day, the sun shining down through blue clouds and heating the air solidly into the 80's. Shelly knew the cold weather would be coming soon and she wanted to enjoy every last minute of the Summer sun before it drifted into in a Winter sky.

"It's nap time," she whispered in her son's ear. They sat out on the curved balcony over looking the apartment complex's courtyard. It was quiet this time of day with most of the residence in work or at school. She was lucky enough to be able to stay home with her three year old son, Kyle. She was just as aware of his growing up as the oncoming Winter and she wanted to enjoy every moment she could.

"No," he whined, snuggling deeper into her lap. "Let's play."

"We can play after nap. Why don't you go inside and pick out a story?"

"Huh-uh." His arms stiffened around her neck, his version of squeezing tighter. Shelly allowed herself a quick smile before putting on her stern face.

"No. Story time, then a nap." Kyle hid his face in her shirt, clearly letting her know how he felt about her suggestion.

"What about the story where the daddy and boy play pretend? They row the boat to that island-"

"Not that one."

"Okay. The mouse book?" He shook his head. Shelly thought through all Kyle's favorite stories. "Oh, there's the story with the bullfight."

Kyle started crying, the warm breeze turning cool on the teardrops against her skin. Shelly rocked her son and whispered soothingly. She began singing a song about their Savior, starting with Kyle's favorite verse. He calmed down to listen, calming Shelly's own heart. She kept singing, listening to his breathing grow deeper, feeling his weight sink against her body.

Shelly closed her eyes, feeling the peace of her world, soaking in the sun above her and the son against her, enjoying her moment before the world moved on.

Snapshot Prompt

Okay, we are back, and I get to host the prompt this week! Yay! I'm so excited!

We had some awesome stories last week, and I'm so sorry I haven't been able to get to everyone's stories. Next week I will get better, I promise. And I know for sure once my birthday roles around and I get that laptop I've been hoping for, I will be especially better at reading and checking out everyone's blogs.

Anyways...back to business...check out these amazing stories -

Saskatchwean Flats by Scott Taylor
Big Bird Blues, Saskatchwean Flats Part 2 by Scott Taylor
Traveling Man by Carrie Sorensen
A Gift by Tena Carr
And our late entry (but worth the wait - trust me)
Homecoming by Anne


For everyone able to write, we are happy to enter you into our monthly ad contest. You can read about the rules on this page. If you're into creating visual art, you can click over there as well to see what we have going for you. You can help spread the love of our blog hop by grabbing the button below.

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> </p>

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.

Here is the photo:

And here are the five words:

Bullfight

Island

Mouse

Verse

Saviour

Yay!! I'm so excited. So, use the link below to post your story when it's ready!

Toddler Tales: Eat or Nap?

"Joshua, it's nap time."

"No. I eat!"

It had been an odd day, and he could have been hungry. I was a good Mommy and gave him the food I was making for myself. He sat at the coffee table and stared at it.

"Joshua, you need to eat or it's nap time."

"Eat."

I left to change Sebastian's diaper. By the time I got back, this was Joshua.

 

What Just Happened - Part 3 of the Collaboration Challenge

Did you get a chance to stop by Tena's blog for the 3rd part of the Collaboration Challenge? There's a crazy twist going on with this story.

First, catch up with Part One: Shedding Light and Part Two: Black Hollow.

And now:

What Just Happened?

by Tena Carr at Jottings and Writings

Only 2 more weeks left in this Challenge. I wonder how it's going to turn out.



Don't forget, you can grab a Collaboration Challenge button to help support these serial stories and the writers who take part.

<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>

Family Field Trips: Joshua's Day

Kris and I decided to take Joshua out by himself this past weekend. He hasn't had a day by himself with Mommy and Daddy for a while.

First, we had lunch together at a place the tablecloths are butcher paper so he can actually draw on the table. He loves it there (and on the plus side, kids ate free that day).

Next, we got him and Daddy side-by-side hair cuts. Joshua loves getting his hair cut. He will tell me when he thinks it's time to go..

Before we went home, we stopped at the local farm where they were having free pony rides. We were lucky enough to get there at a time no one else was in line so they let him ride both ponies around the barn. He also got to play in the seed corn box (kind of like a sandbox), see the cows and the goats and the ducklings and run through the hay bale maze. It is our favorite place to go, particularly since all of that cost $0.

He fell asleep on the way home. When we got to Mimi's house (my mom), he woke up, though, and jumped out to show everyone his haircut and tell them about his day.