The Day of the Do-Over

Happy Deja Vu post! Here's the link to the article I wrote waaaay back in April about inspiration and nachos. Enjoy!

Drip, Drip, Drop!

And while you're enjoying that blast from my blogging past, click on over to the Blogfest host and take a gander at the other bloggers participating! Or sign yourself up! Either would be great! 

Deja Vu and Things

Of all the things that may someday drive me truly crazy, my frequent moments of deja vu are at the very top of the list. I don't know, mostly because I'm afraid to look, if having deja vu every day is a bad thing, but the simple fact remains that I do.

Sometimes it's stronger than others. Usually it's just a slight inkling in the back of my mind that I've encountered a situation or conversation before, but when I ask someone if I have, I almost 90% of the time get negative answers. Either they don't have good memories or my family and friends are a bunch of liars.

I'm not quite sure which I would prefer. However, this little info on my inner workings has a purpose. There is a blog fest going on and it's called the Deja Vu Blogfest: The Day of the Do-over. Catchy right? Just click on the link to add your name and blog to the list.

So what's the deal with this blogtastic event? So glad I asked.

Bloggers from across the interwebs will be reposting a past post that may not have got many views, the authors felt particularly fond of, or was posted back when the blogger was a fresh face in the blogging world. Hence, deja vu.

Sounds fun, right? My sentiments exactly. So, if you have the time to spare to repost an old piece of your blogging past that could use some extra attention, go on over to DL Hammons blog (or any of the other three hosts: Creepy Query Girl, Lydia Kang, and Nicole Ducleroir) to participate. I'm also going to have the Blogfest button on my sidebar to facilitate any clicky-clickthrus.

My deja vu post will be coming soon, so keep an eye out for it. I'm not quite sure what it'll be yet, so if you get a weird feeling that you've read something before, don't worry; you are just as sane as I am. Also to come this week will be my review of The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, which I read as part of the November Book Club held at Words on Paper. I'm looking forward to that discussion on Monday!

I think that's all the news I have for this weekend, so I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is rested up for December. I know I'm not, although I did have a nice break. I didn't sleep or eat nearly as much as I would have liked, but I did manage to read two books and finish a portrait for Lindsay Cummings that I've been working on for months. I can't wait to seal it (once the wet weather goes away) and then send it to her!

Have a great week everyone! I'll see you again tomorrow!

Funny, You Say?

I know what you're thinking. This is the second blog hop I've done this week. Not what you were thinking? Oh well. I'm about to get to the funny stuff. Or so you hope.

So, Cassie Mae over at Reading, Writing, and Lovin' it! is hosting her first ever blog hop and it's pretty much as far up my alley as you can go. Not only does it have an embarrassed polar bear as the picture, but flushing is something I do quite well. Take that as you will.

Now, there is a prize involved for those who participate. A $10 Amazon gift card! (Go click over to her page to find out more about that!) You don't think I'd write embarrassing stories about myself just for the heck of it, do you? Oh, you do? Well, you may have something there.

Here's how it will go:

Write a short story about an embarrassing experience one of your characters went through, or if your characters are so perfect that they never do anything embarrassing (lucky them), tell us something from your own life that left you blushing like a little boy threatened with cooties on the playground. 

Now, I'm not in the habit of writing about my characters' misdeeds, so I think I may just regale you folks with a story from the vault of my childhood. Goodness knows I have plenty of embarrassing memories.

Let's go back in time...

"You can't have popcorn for lunch," she said firmly.  

"But--but--but I want popcorn! I don't want a hotdog!" the little girl cried and pressed herself further into the rocking Lazy-Boy. She thought that if she pressed hard enough, maybe the chair would swallow her up. That would teach her mother for not letting her eat popcorn for lunch.  

"Stop whining and come eat your lunch," her mom repeated. "Bailey, look at me. You can't just eat popcorn for lunch. I'm going to tell Dad when he gets home..." 

That announcement only made the blond girl even more upset. She knew her dad would spank her if she kept disobeying her mom. But she couldn't stop. Not now. Too much was at stake. She wanted that popcorn. 

"NOOOO!" Bailey shrieked. "Don't tell Daddy!"  

"Bailey...look at me," her mom said in reply.  

Bailey didn't look up, but continued to cry shakily into the Lazy-Boy's green exterior. It wasn't fair. It's not like she was asking to have candy for lunch.  

"Bailey...Bailey....look at the camera." 

Oh no. She wouldn't...and yet, Bailey looked up almost against her own will. Her mom was videoing her.  

"Moooooom! Don't video me!" Bailey started sobbing once more, and wished again that the chair would swallow her whole, like the whale did Jonah. "Mom...mom...it's not fair..." 

The scene fades into gray and white static and then switches to another home video, but someone hits pause. On the watching side of the television screen, people of all ages are laughing at my younger self. I'm one of them, but it still stings. My Dad is wiping tears of laughter from his face and my siblings are probably dying. I can't tell if their spasms and red faces are something I should be worried about or not. But hey, what's family for except to laugh at you and teach you to laugh at yourself? Even when you don't think it's that funny. 

Yes. That's an actual event. Every time I acted like a complete brat when I was growing up, my Mom and Dad would whip out this VHS and play it or threaten to play it. I'd stop doing whatever I was doing and change my tune. I'm embarrassed just thinking about how red my face was in that video. I had some major lungs on me too at age six.

Alrighty, that's enough me time. Now, let's get to hopping!