Tag Archives: writing prompt

2014 – Best Pictures & Posts (According to Me)


January

I revealed 5 of my favorite things. Spoiler: Only one of them was cheese.

February

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/27f/26072968/files/2015/01/img_9030.jpg

I sent a friendly warning to Josh Hutcherson, or JHutch as cool people like me call him.

March

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/27f/26072968/files/2015/01/img_9040.jpg

Fresh back from a trip to Disney World, I compared and contrasted my crew of four with the infamous Griswold family.

April

I pontificated on the evils of a 24/7 cupcake dispenser then secretly prayed one would open soon in New Orleans.

May

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/27f/26072968/files/2015/01/img_9035.jpg

I recounted an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction story from my youth and probably offended PETA a little in the process. (But it was an accident!)

June

Channeling my inner Dana Carvey, I identified the five things you need to be a church lady.

July

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/27f/26072968/files/2015/01/img_9041.jpg

I shared pictures of my trip to Memphis with my mom and daughter. (Which probably explains why I am suddenly craving a fried banana and peanut butter sandwich.)

August

I lamented the loss of one of Hollywood’s biggest talents.  This post was one of my most shared of all time.

September

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/27f/26072968/files/2015/01/img_9036.jpg

I contacted the Hot Pocket Corporation to get answers to some hard-hitting questions. It’s about time, isn’t it?

October

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/27f/26072968/files/2015/01/img_9037.jpg

I confessed to what is easily one of my biggest failures as a parent.

November

I faced one of my biggest fears head on and lived to tell about it.

December

/home/wpcom/public_html/wp-content/blogs.dir/27f/26072968/files/2015/01/img_9038.jpg

In celebration of my 20th anniversary, I reminisced about my wedding day.

* * * * * * * * * *

Written in response to MamaKat’s writing prompt asking for “A year in review! Compile a years worth of your best blog posts and pictures.” 

Happy 2015, everyone!

Vote for me @ Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#KetchupWithUs 50 – The Last Link-up. For Now.


Alas, my friends, it’s time for Mel and me to put the cap on the old ketchup bottle. Oft called the little writing prompt that could, Ketchup With Us was born over drinks (and I’m pretty sure some fancy cheese and olives) in New York City back in 2012. It began as a quirky idea that challenged two friends to don a ketchup costume in as many crazy and inappropriate situations and places as could be imagined. We definitely tested the limits our own creativity, courage and dignity along the way. Because Ketchup is and has always been about thinking outside the box bottle … and not taking yourself too seriously, something I suspect we’re all guilty of from time to time.

Over the last two years as human ketchup bottles,

We’ve visited historical places …

IMG_7948.JPG

… and followed in some pretty famous footsteps.

We’ve been introduced to a slew of amazing celebrities …

IMG_7947.JPG

… and some pretty great locals, too.

We’ve learned how to kick ass and take names …

IMG_7934.JPG

…. how to serve our fellow man

IMG_7942.JPG

… and how to cause and feel pain.

IMG_7939.JPG

We’ve gotten into trouble here and there …

IMG_7931.JPG

… where things got a little hairy

IMG_7940.JPG

But they always settled down again. Because KetchupWithUs has never been about stress.

IMG_7945.JPG

But it’s always been about two fools in ketchup costumes coming up with new ways to write and have fun doing it.

IMG_7949.JPG

Period.

IMG_7932.JPG

Thanks for riding shotgun, Mel.

IMG_7937.JPG

Just remember, today is not goodbye. After all, Mel and I still each own a (smelly) ketchup costume and you just never know where those things might resurface. But, for now, we’re taking a little break and hoping that everyone will stay in touch. We’ve had the honor of meeting some very talented people over the course of our two-year journey and we don’t plan to let go of you without a fight. Or at least a little light begging.

In the words of my ridiculously-supportive friend, Mel … “Keep writing. Keep creating. Keep laughing.”

Love, Mel and Michele


Our esteemed Ketchup With Us Featured Writer from last time is …

Elleroy was here


BEHIND THE KETCHUP

Click here to read how this foolishness all began.

KEEP TRACK OF OUR STUPIDITY

SPREAD THE WORD & POST OUR BUTTON … please!

olddognewtits.com

<img src=”https://olddognewtits.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/ketchuplabel125copy2.jpg” alt=”olddognewtits.com” width=”125″ height=”125″ />

FINALLY … THE LINK-UP!

Share your favorite or most popular post of your entire writing career.  Or, as always, whatever you want.

IMG_7950.JPG

Thanks for spreading the love with our little venture.

Vote for me @ Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Open Letter to My Friend, Mel (plus a #Linky)


It’s time for THE SECOND TO LAST KETCHUP WITH US, hosted by Mel and me. The final KWU will run on September 15. Maybe it’ll come back again. But, for now, we just need a breather. Plus that ketchup costume is starting to smell.


Dear Mel, 

What can I say? Well, I guess since it’s September 1st, I’ll start with HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you’re having a wonderful birthday/Labor Day combo platter with the family. (I wonder … does it suck to have your birthday on Labor Day? I mean … what if you want to go to the post office? Or visit your local bank branch? Ooh, or have your garbage collected? You’re screwed! Well, here’s hoping none of these activities was on your birthday wish list.)

Anyway, I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how great it’s been doing KetchupWithUs, our very unconventional writing prompt, with you for two years now. (Yes, that’s right, America. KetchupWithUs is also celebrating a birthday today.) There is nobody else in the world with whom I’d rather ambush the Fifth Avenue Prada store, heckle Pat Sajak over drinks or cause confusion at the site of the Liberty Bell  … dressed as a giant ketchup bottle … than you. Your creativity,  your spunk and your sheer willingness to do just about anything (and look like a complete ass doing it) with me is mind-blowing. And I just wanted you to know how amazing and integral you are to me every single day.

Here’s to the next big adventure. I LOVE YOU, MEL BUGAJ!!! (Great, now everyone thinks I’m gay. … Not that there’s anything wrong with that!)

Your partner in dumbassery,

Michele

IMG_6397.JPG

I really missed our annual trip this year. So start saving your pennies. Because next year … it’s so on! 🙂


Our esteemed Ketchup With Us Featured Writer from last time is …

MamaTo5Blessings


BEHIND THE KETCHUP

Click here to read how this foolishness all began.

KEEP TRACK OF OUR STUPIDITY

SPREAD THE WORD & POST OUR BUTTON … please!

olddognewtits.com

<img src=”https://olddognewtits.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/ketchuplabel125copy2.jpg” alt=”olddognewtits.com” width=”125″ height=”125″ />

FINALLY … THE LINK-UP!

WE give you a video to inspire you to KetchupWithUs.

YOU link up something Fabulous!

And, for the love of the genius who decided to make the first Monday in September a national holiday, TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

NOTE: Mel’s KWU post is coming soon. She’s currently on the road and thus unable to type. Two hands on the wheel, Mel!

Vote for me @ Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

 

Dear Thing Living Under My House


Dear Thing Living Under My House,

I know you’re there. I hear you outside of my house. At all hours of the day. And night. I work from home. And sometimes, when I’m alone and it’s very quiet, I can hear you. Scratching … clawing … dragging against the flimsy, manmade, laughable barrier between us. It is most unnerving. I don’t even know what you are.

Or who you are.

I know you’ve figured out that I am aware of your presence. Because you seem to vanish into thin air when I summon the courage to rush outside to catch a glimpse of you. But you’re very fast. And eerily stealthy. And I know that you’re watching me.

I know that every time I cower on my hands and knees, desperately clutching a flashlight and searching for answers, that you are staring directly into my eyes. Into my very soul. And there, cloaked in the shadows not moving or even breathing, you remain hidden just waiting for me to surrender and retreat into the house so that you may continue with your diabolical plan to drive me to madness.

For the record, I am not the only one who knows you’re here. It’s painfully obvious that the cat has known about you for weeks. Stupidly, I dismissed him and assumed we were dealing with the usual benign suspects. He tried to caution me time and again, stopping to howl at the window, at the exterior wall or (because my home is raised three feet off the ground for your convenience) at various points in the floor. He hears you.

But your main concern should not be my sharp-toothed, albeit somewhat sluggish, fifty-percent-declawed feline warrior. Rather it should be my husband. He doesn’t tire easily. And your mind games only awaken the inner obsession and insatiable thirst for justice that make up the very fiber of his identity. He will stop at nothing until he’s taken you. Dead or alive. It matters not.

See you in Hell,

The woman who lives above your lair


Written in response to MamaKat’s writing prompt asking about something that spooked me.

Vote for me @ Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

Today, We’re Talking About Firsts (Plus a #Linky)


It’s time for Ketchup With Us, hosted by Mel and me on the 1st & 15th each month. Today, we’re talking about firsts. ANY firsts. Tell us about one in your life. Or just link up an old post. You decide.

* * * * * * * * * *

Tomorrow is my son’s first day of school. He’s going to be a freshman in high school. Don’t even get me started on that one. I’ve already cried twice today and it had absolutely nothing to do with that. For the most part anyway.

With Vivien already entrenched in her school, I wanted to do something special with Dean today on his last day of summer. Something besides just prepping all of his clothes and supplies. And last night,  I finally decided what that something special would be. It’s a timely choice for his age as well as for this week. Plus it gives me the opportunity to share something with him from my youth.

IMG_7588.PNG

I’m not sure I’ve seen this movie since it first played in theaters. Back in the year Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Nine. (Doesn’t it feel like that should be written on parchment paper? Preceded by “in the year of our Lord.”) I can’t believe this movie is now twenty-five years old. I could tell Dean wasn’t completely sold on my selection.

“But, Mom … it’s soooo old.”

“And it looks boring.”

“Wait. It’s about school? And boys reading poetry to each other? Wow. I can’t wait.”

Okay, so he didn’t actually say any of those things. But I could read them all over his face. After all, this movie offered no planet-altering explosions. No spectacular special effects. And nobody like Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg or whoever else plays the smartass/hero in teen movies these days. It couldn’t possibly be any good.

What do I know? I’m just a mom.

But I didn’t care. I sat him down, found it on Amazon and clicked “purchase.” He’s a smart kid. I knew he’d like it if he gave it a chance. Plus, from the very beginning, there were kids smoking and cursing enough to distract him from the fact that this was an “intellectual” film. (I have absolutely no idea why I used quotes there.)

Fortunately, my gamble paid off. He had a few questions during the movie. We paused it once or twice so I could (over-) explain a thing or two. And, by the time we got to the pivotal scenes, he was fully invested. So I could cry quietly without fear of eye rolling and snickering. I assume 99% of you have seen the movie in which case you already know what I’m talking about. To the 1% who haven’t, I have no intention of spoiling it for you. Do take the time to see the movie in its entirety. Soon. And don’t watch the following clip. It made me cry today. For an entirely different reason than why it made me cry back in 1989.

Dead Poets Society. It’s a great movie to revisit. Compelling, stimulating. I’m glad I was with Dean when he saw it for the first time. He’s already asked when we can watch it again. Because he wants his sister to see it. And he wants to be there when she sees it for the first time.

Because it’s that kind of movie. I get it, Dean.

* * * * * * * * * *

Our esteemed Ketchup With Us Featured Writer from last time is …

bethere2day

* * * * * * * * * *

BEHIND THE KETCHUP

Click here to read how this foolishness all began.

KEEP TRACK OF OUR STUPIDITY

SPREAD THE WORD & POST OUR BUTTON … please!

olddognewtits.com

<img src=”https://olddognewtits.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/ketchuplabel125copy2.jpg” alt=”olddognewtits.com” width=”125″ height=”125″ />

FINALLY … THE LINK-UP!

IMG_7590.PNG

WE give you a picture* to inspire you to KetchupWithUs.

YOU link up something Fabulous!

And, for the love of the Annual Lay’s #DoUsAFlavor Contest, TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

* In honor of firsts, we’re reposting the first picture prompt we ever used for KetchupWithUs … back in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Twelve. 🙂

Vote for me @ Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

Six Things I’m Really Gonna Miss About Summer


1. Sleeping late.

And by late, I just mean like 7. I don’t like getting up before the sun does. There’s a reason humans can’t see in the dark.

2. Summer drinks.

Especially when they have cucumber in them. I like to pretend I’m being healthy.

3. Movies.

From Blended and The Nut Job to National Treasure and Walter MittyI honestly think I set a personal best for numbers of movies seen inside of ten weeks this year. (That’s a whole lot of sedentary.  I’m going to make a kick-ass old lady.)

4. Summer feet.

Who knows? Maybe one day I can pursue my dream of being a professional foot model?!!? 

5. All Shook Up

Elvis music set against a Shakespearian plot line housed in a Methodist church. It’s a wild formula that made for a great couple of months with my girl.

IMG_7564.JPG

6. Family vacations.

Sure, there are always a few moments when we want to kill each other. But the memories we make and the food we eat always outweigh the death threats.

IMG_7306.JPG

Created in response to MamaKat’s weekly writing prompt.

Vote for me @ Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

Eat like a King! A FAT King, but still …


All this talk of Elvis and the recent pilgrimage to Graceland got me to thinking, I’ve never had a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. You know what I mean, right? The sandwich Elvis was supposedly eating when he died whilst sitting on his (ahem) throne. Some storytellers even go as far as to throw bacon on that infamous sandwich.

Of course, by now we all know it’s just an urban legend. Because not only did Elvis NOT die eating on the toilet, I’m still not even sure he’s actually dead. And, for that reason, I decided to try my hand at a little Hunk-Hunka Heart Disease Special … just in case he ever swings by for a meal.

What? It could happen. Anyway, here we go …

Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwiches

  • 2 large bananas
  • 6 slices white bread
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup butter)
  • 1 cup peanut butter

Peel and mash bananas. Mix peanut butter with bananas thoroughly. Toast bread lightly and spread mix on bread. Melt butter in skillet and brown sandwiches on each side slowly until golden brown.

Viv and I made these together the night we came home from Memphis. We couldn’t wait. I should point out that this recipe yields only three sandwiches. Yet it calls for ONE ENTIRE STICK of butter. I should also point out that I chickened out and used only a pat for each sandwich. I’ve become accustomed to my veins running loose and free and I like them that way. And the sandwich (cooked in a pan a la grilled cheese) was still plenty indulgent.

Check it out. (Caution: I am not a food photographer.)

20140802-200403-72243580.jpg

The post was written in response to MamaKat’s writing prompt asking for a recipe I love. This one was pretty dang easy. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Vote for me @ Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

The Latest, Greatest Social Media Trend (Plus a Link-up)


It’s time for Ketchup With Us. Hosted by Mel and me on the 1st & 15th each month, this one is SOOOO easy!

* * * * * * * * * *

Selfies. We’ve all taken one. Or hundreds. They can showcase your whereabouts, your accomplishments or sometimes just your new haircut. Showcase being the key word. Because they’re often regarded as vane and not very community-minded, maybe it’s time for a new trend.

Enter the USIE (sometimes spelled ussie, always pronounced fussy). And we want to see yours. Need some examples?

Most famously, taken by Bradley Cooper at the 2014 Academy Awards.

 

Less famously, by my friend Mel with one of our favorite fellow writers (Linda at ElleroyWasHere.com) at last year’s BlogHer conference in Chicago.

20140731-110404-39844531.jpg Or even just last weekend in Memphis with my mom and Viv. (Sure, it was a photobombed selfie … but that still counts!) 20140731-110403-39843091.jpg


Our esteemed Ketchup With Us Featured Writer from last time is …

Feed Me Dearly


BEHIND THE KETCHUP

Click here to read how this foolishness all began.

KEEP TRACK OF OUR STUPIDITY

SPREAD THE WORD & POST OUR BUTTON … please!

olddognewtits.com

<img src=”https://olddognewtits.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/ketchuplabel125copy2.jpg” alt=”olddognewtits.com” width=”125″ height=”125″ />

FINALLY … THE LINK-UP!

20140731-110458-39898137.jpg

We give you an USIE to inspire you to KetchupWithUs.

All you need to do is LINK UP YOUR OWN USIE!

And, for the love of the flapping motion needed to develop a Polaroid picture, TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

Vote for me @ Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

9 Things I’d Rather Be Doing Right Now


1. Sleeping. Yep. That probably makes me pretty dull. But I love it. And I very seldom get enough of it. Especially when I’m actually lying down in bed in the middle of the night with pajamas on.

2. Getting a massage. I so love being on a massage table. And yet, right now, I’m the jackass at the keyboard writing about getting massaged.

3. Eating cheese. You guys had to see this one coming, right?

4. Watching a movie. I love movies. I could watch them all day. And yet, compared to the average person, I’ve seen so very few. How is that fair? P.S. If anyone reading at this moment wants to see a movie, text me. Now. (Bet you think I’m kidding.)

5. Singing on Broadway. What? The prompt asks for Nine Things I’d RATHER Be Doing. Right now, I’m wearing an old Johnny Depp T-shirt sitting on my bed typing a goofy blog post with  Disney’s Jesse on in the background. You know what I’d rather be doing? I’d rather be singing on Broadway. With the right song, I’ll bet I could … oh, never mind.

6. Being the one holding the pen at a book signing. Well, as long as I’m singing on freakin’ Broadway …

7. Traveling internationally with my family. With your family, Michele? I know. That’s what *I* thought as soon as I typed it. But yes. I want to see as much of the world as I can. And I want them with me when I see it. Honestly, sometimes I wish I was more of a gypsy.

8. Time traveling. Well, crap. Since my suitcases are packed, right? Let’s see. I think my first points of interest would be … my children’s babyhoods (I’m bringing a better camera this time), my teen years (for a little damage control … and some classic MTV) and maybe the 1960s. I want to be on Ed Sullivan. (What? Did you expect 1776? It’s like you guys don’t even know me.)

20140722-202340-73420529.jpg

9. Hugging my kids. This is the one thing on my list that I could actually go do right now. Come to think of it, if I chew while hugging with a DVD on in the background, I could probably knock out THREE simultaneously.


This post was written in response to MamaKat’s writing prompt asking for Nine Things I’d Rather Be Doing Right Now.

Vote for me @ Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory

Oh, yeah. I have a BLOG! … (Plus a Link-up)


Added 1/15/15 for Mamakat’s Writing Prompt: “Find a photo of yourself taken 10 years ago and display it on your blog along with a current photo. How have you changed since the day that photo was taken?”

See the matching pictures below? The top one was taken in 2014 and the bottom in 2004. Sure, they look a lot alike. But the first girl … well, she’s a little older and a little wiser. She’s gotten a lot more red and a lot more said. Because she’s WRITING again.

And she’s so glad to have rekindled that part of her. She likes to think it keeps her young. And talk colorfully of herself in the third person.


Original Post Starts Here:


It’s time for Ketchup With Us. Hosted by Mel and me on the 1st & 15th each month, our link-up gives you TWO ways to play: (A) Write about anything for 10 minutes OR (B) Link up an old post. Or both!


Eight days?!!? Gosh, has it really been eight days since I last wrote something for the blog? Shame on me. Well, except I can’t take all the blame. Because I was, as they say, at sea for an extended period of time. Overeating, overdrinking (but only one day), oversunning and overworrying about my kids who ran amuck on that ship like they were a couple of college kids.

We had a great time. All eleven of us. (We like to travel in throngs.) And I’m just now starting to catch up on my sleep. So I wanted to take a minute (ten to be exact) to share a few points of interest from my most recent cruising experience.

(1) If you’re going to sing a song karaoke-style, take some time to choose your selection wisely. And think about the original person who performed it. If you can’t hit every note in the shower, then you sure as hell can’t hit it in front of a room full of people. I’m still shaking my head at my own stupidity. Sheena Easton. What was I thinking?!!?

(2) The Mayan Ruins in July? If I wouldn’t take on an activity during the summer months in my home city of New Orleans, then I certainly shouldn’t be trying to do it in Mexico. It’s 651 miles CLOSER TO THE EQUATOR.

(3) Just because the catamaran crew says I can drink as much as I want doesn’t mean I should drink as much as I want. You’d think I would have learned that back in college. Or in my 20s. Or in my 30s.

(4) Dave and I need to create trivia contests on the boat. Or at least the 80s music trivia contest. (pause for questions) Why yes, I’m glad you asked. As a matter of fact, we DID come home with a 1st place trophy.

(5) Four is apparently the maximum number of appetizers I should order in one sitting to create a meal of “small plates.” Not surprisingly, cream of mushroom soup, a crab cake, a (distinctively small) sushi sampler and a cheese plate can be quite filling when combined to create one overindulgent feast the likes of which we haven’t seen since ‘Gluttony’ was depicted in Brad Pitt’s Seven.

I could go on. And maybe I will in another post. But, for today, I just wanted you guys to know I was back on the grid. And that I didn’t forget about you. And that I so appreciate my friend, Mel, stopping by to say hi while I was away.

Did we take pictures? Well, sure. We took plenty. But for now, I’ll just leave you with one, taken of Dave and me at dinner the last night. For the record, the picture beneath it was taken at dinner on a cruise just like this one exactly ten years earlier.

Please be kind when you compare them.

20140714-170722-61642664.jpg


Our esteemed Ketchup With Us Featured Writer from last time is …

Adventures in Weseland


BEHIND THE KETCHUP

Click here to read how this foolishness all began.

KEEP TRACK OF OUR STUPIDITY

SPREAD THE WORD & POST OUR BUTTON … please!

olddognewtits.com

<img src=”https://olddognewtits.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/ketchuplabel125copy2.jpg” alt=”olddognewtits.com” width=”125″ height=”125″ />

FINALLY … THE LINK-UP!

20140714-172815-62895347.jpg

WE give you a (completely random) picture to inspire you to KetchupWithUs.

All YOU need to do is link something up.

And, for the love of Heinz-Ketchup-FINALLY-Available-in-Dip-n-Squeeze-Tubs, TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

Vote for me @ Top Mommy Blogs - Mom Blog Directory