Black Friday

My best friend is a shopper.

I try not to hold it against her.

And as you can probably imagine, this is her favorite day of the year.

I’m pretty sure she’ll be nursing a bargain hunter hangover by noon.

You see, last night she and her sister did the usual – got all jacked up on coffee and carbs, then headed out about midnight to wheel the deals.

You could not get me to do this if you gave me a pony.

But hey, I actually love this day, too.

Because my friend and her sister are guaranteed to have some wild and crazy adventures that most likely involve –

parking lot derbies,

sprained ankles,

and one time… a chipped tooth.

I would not get between these women and a bargain.

They are the Hells Angels of haggle.

And I love the stories.

So, that’s the deal –

They get the deals…

I get the stories.

PROMPT: What’s your Black Friday story? Were you toughing it out last night for a flat screen? Did they give you a pony?

 

I am so thankful for…

Another day on this wild planetary ride

The platypus

Sun when I want it

Rain when I need it

Sleeves

Cat paws

Pentel EnerGel pens – purple ink

Mud pies

Happy people

Acorns with their teeny tiny hats

Old barns

Jars labeled “Guess how many jelly beans!”

Telescopes

Fudge

Smooth pebbles

Topiary

Orange, purple, and all their rhyming partners

Hedgehogs

Lunchboxes

Graph paper

Super balls

Dog noses

Brown eggs

Baby things

Sugar lumps

Days that end with “y”

And on…

And on…

 
And on…

Every little

Wonderful

Beautiful

Thing.

 

PROMPT: May your list be long and lovely. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Country Roads

Around this time every year I get an insatiable craving for…

Cranberries?

No.

Pumpkin pie?

No.

John Denver music?

Bingo.

I think it might be some kind of illness.

I’m Sorry.

If you don’t like it, Fly Away.

I Think I’d Rather be a Cowboy anyway.

Good grief…

There is no cure.

PROMPT: Are you Leavin’ on a Jet Plane, Waiting for a Train, or driving those Country Roads this Thanksgiving holiday? You know, I think it’s (Rocky Mountain) High time someone wrote a John Denver musical… Write on!

Sweet Memories

(CC) Larry D. Moore

As of this writing, it looks like there just might be hope in the land of Hostess.

Thank goodness!

Imagine – without Twinkies, Pringles “chips” will be our only post-apocalyptic food choice.

Anyway, I’m hoping that the Hostess brand survives. They’re more than just Twinkies you know…

They are Ding Dongs.

And my very first childhood memory happens to include a Ding Dong.

You see, when I was two years old, my mom spent an entire month in the hospital. And back then, visiting hours were not only super-strict, but if you were under the age of 12 you could not set foot within a country mile of a patient… Ah, the good “odd” days.

Anyway, my aunt could give a rat’s fanny about this “rule.” So, she told me that we were going to the hospital for a visit, and asked if there was anything I’d like to give my mom.

Duh.

A Ding Dong, of course!

At that age, I was absolutely certain that those edible hockey pucks could save the world. I mean, if Jesus was on God’s right hand, I had no doubt that a Ding Dong was in his left.

So it made complete and total sense to me that a Ding Dong could cure those nasty pregnancy complications.

And so there it is, my first memory as a person on this planet – grinning at a Ding Dong as the world flew by the passenger side.

It all gets a little dicey after that. Apparently, the plan was to shove me through the hospital window and into my mom’s room.

Yeah.

I come from a long line of rule breakers.

Well, I guess there’s one rule that we don’t break. And that one goes like this –

Everything’s better…

with Ding Dongs.
 

PROMPT: Ding Dongs, Sno Balls, Ho Hos, oh my! What’s your Hostess of the mostest memory? Don’t have one? Write an “Ode to a Twinkie” instead.

 

Small Change

Welcome to the YESvember goal backstretch!

Let me be the first to say that you are a ROCK STAR!

But right about now, some of you might be feeling a little less like the star part and a lot more like the rock.

If this is the case, you are probably mired in the muddy middle. Symptoms of this bothersome affliction can include wedged Wellies, sticky hands, insatiable carb cravings, and writing that smells like… wet dirt.

Did I mention those carb cravings?

Anyway, if you ever find yourself in such a state, try one of the following to help yourself unwedge –

Change your writing time. If you’ve been writing in the morning, try afternoon or evening… or midnight!

Change your writing stretch. Sometimes even a 15 minute approach can be too much, so try doing your daily words in 5 minute blasts.

Change your location. Try a coffee shop, a laundromat, the frozen food aisle, a treadmill, a tree house, a library, a zoo, a train, a mud puddle… et cetera, et cetera.

Change your writing posture. Lie down, stand on your head, yoga pose it, and so on and so forth.

Change your writing method. Try texting, longhand, shorthand, or “Look Mom! No hands!” (AKA voice recording)

Change your words. Do a Mark Twain and substitute “damn” for every “very” in your manuscript. Oh, what delicious fun that will be.
 

Now get out there and have a damn good day!

PROMPT: Even if your writing is still humming along, try one of today’s tips just to see what it does for you. Because sometimes small change = pennies from Heaven!