100 Words: Karaoke

We didn't have iPods or smart phones while I was growing up.  It was all about the radio, or the record player, for my eight year old self.  One of those portable record players resided in my room, and a Donny Osmond record was all I needed.  

As the needle began the revolution through the grooves of the vinyl, I waited for the scratchy sound of the music to begin.  Then I would sing at the top of my lungs, all about "puppy love", until my mother would suddenly yell that she had a headache. 

I made my own karaoke.



Go visit Tara at Thin Spiral Notebook to see other 100 word entries--or try your own hand at it!

Fall 2014

The seasons around here don't really show off around here. There aren't any wild displays of color, no explosions of red and orange and gold. (I'm pretty sure that the tree in the  front is dead as a result of the drought.) 

The fall is usually noted here when the temperatures drop below 90 for multiple days.  It doesn't really feel like fall, however, until the first norther comes blowing through, sending everyone scrambling for sweaters and long sleeves. 

That could happen in November,  or June, since Texas is known for crazy and impetuous weather. When a norther sweeps into town in the fall, everyone rejoices.

Football weather.

We call it Frito pie weather, because that's what we eat when it is cold and chilly. Frito pie involves taking a snack size bag of Fritos, opening the top, and pouring chili into the bag. Add some cheese and onion, stick in a spoon, and you're set. Go to any high school football game, grab a Frito pie and the carbonated beverage of your choice, and you will be instantly included in the group. You'll be expected to participate in discussions regarding the merits of the forward pass, or whether a 3-4 defense is acceptable. Opinions will be strong, because we're Texans. Cold weather brings out our fighting side, but it is all in good fun when you're hopped up on Frito pie.

What is fall like in your part of the world?

Go check out other visions of the fall weather over at Mamakat's World Famous Writer's Workshop!

Being Just Me

optional prompt: being just me


I grew up being the kid who didn't really 'fit'.  Probably that came from moving all the time, as Army families tend to do, but maybe it was also just me being me.  I wasn't a typical girlie girl type.  I had Barbies, A Baby Alive doll, and a Mrs. Beasley doll at various times in my formative years, but these girlie things tended to meet with unfortunate events, such as the time I decided that Barbie's hair needed a good curl and took my curling iron to her.  

I liked playing with the boys.  I liked their language, their way of relating to the world.  Boys didn't spend a lot of time on introspection or their feelings.  Boys just were.  They tend to live in the now.  As an anxiety prone child, that was refreshing.  So boys and I built forts in the back and played Army and Tag, read comic books, and went exploring where we shouldn't have gone, and it was fun.

I hit the teenage years, and I was weird.  I didn't 'fit', and now that I had breasts, well, spending time with the boys didn't mean quite what it used to.  I tried to hang out with girls, but I was really no match for the gossiping or the 'mean girl' games.  I was too gullible, and I did not understand the concept of messing with people's heads just because you could.  In my mind, there had to be an end to justify the means.  Tearing the wings off of others was no fun, and I am not one to blindly follow a 'queen bee'.   

I still don't like the typical "girlie-girl" stuff.  I prefer my movies to have explosions and fighting scenes.  I love football, drinking beer, and I can burp with the best of them.  The difference between then and now is that I am okay with my idiosyncrasies.  I don't hide them any more, and if someone doesn't like that, that is okay, too.


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Things I've Never Done

It's MamaKat time! Today it's "list 22 things you’ve never done".


I am forty-six years old.

And I've never:

1. Walked in Tolkien's footsteps at Oxford.

2. Spent a weekend in a real castle.

3. Hunted ghosts in Europe,(where the history is).

4. Watched the sun rise from a beach on the Mediterranean with my feet buried in the sand.

5. Participated in a celebration of the Solstice at Stonehenge.

6. Been backstage at a Rolling Stones concert to see if they really plug in Keith Richards so he recharges.

7. Sat on the Throne of England and randomly send people to the Tower.

8. Run naked through the White House, chased by the Secret Service.

9. Punched a shark, even if it really deserved it.

10. Gone on a walkabout to find the best glass of beer on the planet.

11. Visited the Vatican Library just to touch all the books.

12. Bought a tattoo after a drunken binge with good tequila.

13. Founded a society for reformed cat ladies.

14. Brokered a peace treaty between two nations who weren't really fighting.

15. Lived out in the middle of nowhere.

16. Built my self-cleaning dream house.

17. Had liposuction/tummy tuck so I can pretend to be a cougar.

18. Went on a vision quest via peyote.

19. Visited Mount Rushmore and cleaned out the stuff that looks like nose candy from a distance.

20. Stood on the top of a Mayan pyramid just because women weren't allowed up there.

21. Won a cursing contest with an actual sailor.

22. Been a guest on The Daily Show.

The Secret to a Happy Marriage, Part 4347

MamaKat's Prompt: A list of ten things you should never ask your spouse.

At some point over the past two years, I stated that the key to a happy marriage is separate bathrooms. I am not going to go find that post, because I am feeling lazy. I still stand by that statement, since I remain happily married.

There are other secrets to a successful marriage. One of those secrets is that honesty does NOT mean that you tell your spouse everything. There are some pieces of personal information that should never be spoken aloud in the interest of marital harmony, and there are some questions that should never be asked.

10. Should I call a plumber/electrician/whatever to take care of this?
I know that my husband is not a fix-it sort of guy, but he still likes to pretend. If I just call someone else I know to come and fix whatever is broken, Larry gets his feelings hurt. Never, never, ever let your spouse know that you think that he can't handle something, even if he can't. Guys like to think that they get to rescue you every now and then, even if it's just a clogged drain.

9. Are you going to wear that?
Before we married, my husband's mother bought all of his clothes. It made her happy, and my husband took the path of least resistance. I have the fashion sense of an iguana, but I could not help commenting that Larry was dressed like his father. That did NOT go over well; my comments were taken as aspersions upon his mother.

8. Why can't you be like____?
I've never personally said this sentence except in my head, because this is an epic fight starter. Nobody likes to be compared to someone else! Would Victoria Beckham compare David Beckham to Ashton Kutcher? Would Brad Pitt compare Angelina Jolie to Jennifer Anniston? Well, no, because it's freakin' Angelina Jolie. She's some sort of goddess with bad tattoos. But I've made my point.

7. How much did you pay for that?
When a woman asks her spouse this question, what she really wants to know is what sort of dent this purchase has made in her shoe budget, or in my case, my book budget. My husband wants expensive gadgets like blu-ray players, and he gets defensive about it and picks at my book buying. In the interest of keeping the peace, I just don't say anything.

6. Seriously, are you going to wear that?
I don't think that my husband is color blind, but he never used to look at his clothes. He would walk out of the house in mismatched items and never even notice. I noticed, however, and probably every woman in the tri-county area noticed. But if I mentioned the fashion faux pas, feelings were hurt. If it's not a terribly egregious mismatch, I just keep my mouth shut.

5. Does this make me look fat?
My husband is fond of saying that one should never ask a question if you do not want the answer. This is a perfect example. In fact, if you have to ask this question, the answer is YES.

4. Do you really need all those Star Wars/Lord of the Rings action figures?
Yes. He really does. Just like I need all of my stuff. A man's home is his castle, but he usually doesn't mind a few pink throw pillows as long as he has his stuff.

3. Have you seen the credit card statement?
Mentioning the credit card statement is a surefire way to get my husband to want to LOOK at the credit card statement. Then we fight over who made the most frivolous purchases. Good times.

2. Can you hurry up?
Women have a TON of things to do. In addition to working all day, they come home, fix dinner, clean up the dishes, do laundry, get the coffee ready, gather up whatever is needed for the next day, etc. This does not make me personally inclined to feel amorous. But refrain from letting your spouse know that you are thinking about whether you remembered to put bleach in with the whites when you are supposed to be getting your frisky on with him.

1. We need to talk.
Let's face it, when a woman says that to a man, it is almost never good. That sentence sets an ominous mood, and is counter productive to good communication! No matter the import of the conversation, leave that sentence out.

Did I miss any?

Writing by Prompt

Writing prompts are sometimes used by writers when the well of ideas has run dry. There is nothing wrong with that. Even Stephen King has had days where he sat in front of his typewriter and stared blankly at the sheet of paper.

Writing prompts can be viewed as tiny seeds which contain the germ of an idea within them. From each seed, a different flower will grow. Beautiful.

Some of us also like to stretch ourselves a bit through writing. We want to be the tail on the kite, instead of the string. Writing prompts can help with this. New characters, settings, or even a different language--writers want to stretch our imaginations beyond our narrow view of life. Because that is where the meat of the world is. The big ideas.

I often find myself fiercely staring at a blank computer screen, hoping that my brain waves will generate some sort of miraculous blog post that will cure cancer and julienne potatoes and solve the national debt problem.

On these days, I can barely write my name, never mind a blog post.

The fire that was my imagination has gone out, leaving me in darkness.

On those dark days, writing prompts are a spark to light the fire of the imagination. The very light needed to germinate those seeds

So thank you to those people who provide some writing prompts for the rest of us. I appreciate you!

As soon as I figure out how to do it, I will be linking to those blog posts that I have which were generated by writing prompts, so everything will be in one area. Eventually. I am a slow learner, technology-wise.

Red Writing Hood: Flash Fiction: Harsh life

Note: This is my first attempt at Flash Fiction, which is, as I understand it, supposed to be 55 words or less. I didn't make it. I'm loquacious.

Life is shared laughter, as we return from a night out.
Nature calls.
The air is suddenly full of shrill screams.
Scorpion in the toilet!
My rescuer approaches...
He flushes the toilet, gives a condescending look.
"Don't look at me like that!" I defensively mutter.
I storm into the bedroom, again locking him out for the night.
The scorpion isn't the only thing that stings in this house.

We Want To Know Wednesday

{1} What is the best or worst pick up line you have ever been given?

I can't remember a single pickup line; it's been over ten years since anyone's tried to pick me up, and really, it would be a rare man indeed who could actually pick me up! I think that my husband got my attention by asking me about Star Trek.

{2} What is your most and least favorite day of the week?

My favorite day is Saturday, when it is my turn to sleep in. My least favorite day is Tuesday, because it is not Friday.

{3} How many hours of sleep do you require each night?

I must have at least 8 hours of sleep a night, but of course I don't get that. That is why, when I get a chance to sleep in, I almost always sleep until noon.

{4} Is there a song that takes you back in time? What song is it & what's the memory attached?

"Photograph" by Def Leppard takes me right to the summer of 1983 on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland with my bestow Michelle. It was my first trip away from home, without my parents. Let's just say that many oats of the wild variety were sown that week, I won't ever be running for public office, and leave it at that.

{5} What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

I have so many guilty pleasures, it is difficult to pick one. Pedicures. Cupcakes. Fudge. Soft serve ice cream from DQ. Great. Now I am hungry!