Presidents in drag 2......

I'm off to Poland tomorrow until late Friday so won't be posting until a week today probably, so I thought I'd leave you with some pin-ups! Sorry I've not been commenting on your blogs over the past couple of days but I've been really busy with organising the trip. However I will try to catch up today in my reading, so talk to you later guys.





Be good whilst I'm gone and I'll catch up with you all when I get back.

Jimmy Carter

George W Bush

Bill Clinton

George W Bush

Jimmy Carter

Bill Clinton

Oh No, 60!.....

No, not me, MWM is 60 today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE

You're just as gorgeous at 60

as you were at 15, when we met.

I LOVE YOU

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Saturday Wordzzle # 36

The idea is, every week Raven (View From Raven's Nest) gives you between 8 and 10 words/phrases and you have to create a small but coherent paragraph using every one of them and the same with the mini challenge. You can do either, both or a megawordzzle using all the words, or even all three, it's up to you, you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven. If you join in go to Raven's and put your name on the Mr. Linky so other participants can come visit you.



Here are my efforts - complete with my doodles



This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: build-a-bear workshop, man bites dog, opulent, disparaging, lipstick stain, preponderance, smoky quartz, clothes pin, meticulous, falling leaves

The preponderance of falling leaves indicated Autumn had arrived. Carla was taking the children to the build-a-bear workshop this afternoon then dropping them off at her mother’s house for the weekend. First she had to pack a few clothes for them, making sure she only chose the best and warmest from their wardrobe. Her mother was very meticulous, she didn't even hang clothes out on the line because she couldn't stand the mark the clothes pin left.

When she finished packing the small overnight case Carla smoothed her skirt, hoping her mother wouldn’t notice the slight lipstick stain as she pulled down her blouse to cover it, slipped on the opulent smoky quartz ring that had been a present from her husband and ushered the children into the car. The afternoon was a great success the children loved the workshop and were happy to be going to stay with their granny.

Carla had told her mother she was going on a hen weekend, she didn’t want her mother to know where she was really going. She could just imagine the disparaging remarks her mother would make if she knew Carla was appearing in an amateur dramatics production called ‘Man Bites Dog’.


Mini Challenge: moisturizing, pickles, seat belt, flip-flop, Chicago

Moira fastened her seat belt and set off for the beauty salon. She was wearing flip-flops because she intended having a pedicure and a deep moisturizing treatment in readiness for her theatre visit tonight to see the hit musical ‘Chicago’. Unfortunately she had eaten too many pickles last night and was feeling decidedly uncomfortable, she hoped the flatulence they had caused wouldn’t be an embarrassment.






Megawordzzle

Walking through the falling leaves Colin sat down on a park bench to read his newspaper, he was surprised to read the headline ‘Chicago Man Bites Dog’, however Colin was more interested in the Situations Vacant columns, he had lost his job and was desperate to find work. He had been working in a dry cleaners shop and had been sacked because a customer had complained that there was still a red lipstick stain on her smoky quartz coloured dress, despite meticulous cleaning. Unfortunately she had used a particularly moisturising lipstick containing a lot of oil, so it was difficult to remove. Now he was in a pickle, he was out of work and had no way of paying the due rent on his rather opulent apartment.

The customer had made a lot of disparaging remarks about his competency, even going as far as to suggest he’d make a bad job of working in a build-a-bear workshop! He’d apologised profusely and offered to clean the dress again but she was having none of it, the witch had insisted the manager fire him.

Colin took a break from scouring the ads and let his tired eyes scour the park instead. He was amazed at the preponderance of discarded items including a flip flop, a couple of clothes pins and even a car seat belt, this gave him an idea, he’d set up a house clearance business. Colin wasn’t one to hang about, he used his savings to buy a van, advertise his business and was delighted when the calls started coming in. Two years down the line his business was prospering.

Arriving at a house one morning, to give a price for some items for sale, he was surprised to come face-to-face with the witch who had got him sacked, of course she didn’t recognise him. She was happy with the price he gave her for the goods, but not half as happy as Colin, when one of the paintings he bought off her made £100,000 at auction!



I won't be doing a wordzzle next Saturday as I'll be on my way back from a break in Poland.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 49 Quick Draw......

Quick Draw

Carlos picked up his gun.

This time he was ready for Marco.

Marco had got the better of him to often.

They faced each other and drew their guns, seemingly at the same time.

Carlos's shot hit Marco clean between the eyes,

before Marco even had time to pull the trigger

of his water pistol.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

I won't be doing a 55 next week as I'll be in Poland on a mini break.

Love is ...........

Out of the mouth of babes - often so very true!   Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it.


It just puts a huge smile in your heart.

What does 'Love' mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does 'love' mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:



'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toe nails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'

Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'

Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'

Karl - age 5


'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'

Chrissie - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'

Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mummy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'

Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mummy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'

Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'

Bobby - age 7

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'

Nikka - age 6

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'

Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'

Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'

Cindy - age 8

'My mummy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'

Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mummy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'

Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mummy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'

Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day'

Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'

Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.'

Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mummy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'

Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'

Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said,

'Nothing, I just helped him cry'



When there is nothing left, that is when you find out that love is all you need.

Another Meme (aren't you bored yet?) about me .........

Daisy at Fresh As A Daisy did this meme recently and she left it open to whoever wanted to do it rather that tagging. I took on the challenge as I couldn't think of a damn thing to blog about!

Clothes shop: Kim Mendelson– a Canadian designer but available on QVC – fabulous, timeless clothes. TK Maxx – designer clothes and shoes (I love shoes) for a fraction of the retail price.

Furniture shop: A local furniture shop that imports from Italy

Sweet: I don’t eat much sweet stuff but on the rare occasion I feel the need I would plump for chocolate raisins.

City: I have to say London first (patriotic) but Sydney just blew my mind and Bangkok was just unbelievable.

Drink: A nice cup of tea during the day. If I’m out for the evening I like red wine or brandy and coke or a bloody Mary. If I’m in Greece or Turkey I’ll drink Ouzo or Raki. Basically I’m a lush!

Music: My taste in music is very eclectic. I love to dance, so anything with a dance beat will get me tapping my foot.

TV series: I’m really into Heroes – when I say into it, I thought I had it all figured out but the new series 3 has me stumped again!

Film: Shirley Valentine and The Green Mile – I could watch them both over and over and over again.

Workout: Pilates and occasionally, if I’m feeling energetic, my air stepper – though I don’t do nearly enough of either!

Pastries: I don’t really eat cakes much, preferring savoury, but if I had to choose it would be an Elephant’s Foot - huge Choux Pastry bun filled with fresh cream and coffee icing on the top.

Coffee: I prefer decaf Tea but will have Coffee if it's decaf  with lots of milk or cream and no sugar – I did the Atkins diet a good few years back and started drinking decaf tea and coffee – I had a headache for two weeks as I was detoxing from caffeine and vowed I would never go back to it.

If I keep doing these memes, soon you are going to know as much about me as I do! Once again I’m not tagging anyone but feel free to do it if you like and let me know so I can get to know you more too.

Saturday Wordzzle # 35

The idea is, every week Raven (View From A Raven's Nest) gives you between 8 and 10 words/phrases and you have to create a small but coherent paragraph using every one of them and the same with the mini challenge. You can do either, both or a megawordzzle using all the words, or even all three, it's up to you, you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven. If you join in go to Raven's and put your name on the Mr. Linky so other participants can come visit you.



Here are my efforts - complete with my doodles



This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: blinking, cellulite, crescent, ship-shape, homonym, suffering, packer, wind chime, scissors, necklace

Amanda stared at the blinking cursor on the screen then typed in the word stalk. The first few examples were appertaining to flowers and plants, not what she was looking for at all, but she supposed it was inevitable, stalk being a homonym. For a few days now she had noticed the stranger walking up and down Packer Crescent, where she lived, and was sure he was stalking her.

Only yesterday she had worked herself into a frenzy when she heard the wind chime outside the back door tinkling even though there was no breeze. She had been so convinced someone was trying to get in that she had armed herself with a pair of scissors from the drawer before investigating the noise.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Clutching the necklace around her throat she peered through the half closed blinds to see the stranger standing on her doorstep.

Slipping the chain on the door she opened it a fraction, asking

“What do you want?”

“Ah good-day, I wonder if you could spare me a few minutes? I’m the manager of the new gym round the corner and wondered if you’d be interested in a free trial membership, get yourself ship-shape?” he said.

“If I was as big as a battleship and was suffering from cellulite I might take you up on the offer” Amanda sneered, slamming the door on the startled man.





Mini Challenge: static, floppy hat, penguin, cinnamon, alphabetical

Removing the floppy hat Cindy was dismayed to find her hair stuck up on end because it was full of static. She ordered a cinnamon tea and a chocolate Penguin biscuit, then took a folder out of her handbag and began to read the alphabetical list of names she had received from the dating agency. Being a methodical sort she ticked off the ones she’d already dated, which brought her down to the T’s, then she dialled the next number.



Megawordzzle

Melanie had been a packer at the store “Ship-shape” for just a few months. It was a one of those stores that sold all manner of things such as wind chimes, necklaces, scissors, etc., and it was Melanie’s job to get the orders ready for delivery. She was desperate when she applied for the job, she had been out of work so long that she was suffering from cellulite on her rear end from sitting about so much. A job that entailed being on her feet most of the day was just what she needed, in fact, after her first day at the job, she commented to her friend that it was good not to be static for a change.

“You mean full of electricity?” enquired her friend.

“No, of course not, I mean not sitting still all day. You know static is a homonym don’t you?” she asked her friend.

“What’s one of those” enquired her friend.

“It’s a word that can mean two different things, like static can mean standing still or full of electricity.” explained Melanie.

Melanie enjoyed her job and she got on really well with the owner, Mr. Crescent, who reminded her of a penguin because he always wore a black tailed jacked and starched bibfronted shirt. Everything was going well until Mr. Crescent’s cat, Cinnamon, went missing. He was beside himself, blinking back the tears as he searched the shop for his beloved pet.

“She must have got into one of the boxes” he told Melanie “I want you to search them all alphabetically” he said.

“He means systematically” her co-worker explained “he get’s his words mixed up sometimes.

Melanie started the search, which took her the best part of day, finding the sleeping cat in the very last box she opened. Looking at the delivery note she realised it was she who had deliberately packed the cat in the box. The order said ‘Floppy Hat’, she had read it as ‘Floppy Cat’ and had plucked Cinnamon of the shelf where he was sleeping soundly and shoved him in the box!

Friday 55 Flash Fiction #48 No secrets

No Secrets

"Where did you end up last night?" she asked

"In the pub with the lads" he answered.

"Nowhere else?" she ventured.

"No."

"You know Mandy has a new job?" she said.

"Mmmmm, what's she doing?" he asked.

"She's scanning the CCTV cameras in town

and guess who she saw going into the Lap Dancing Club?"

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Mad, I’m bloody furious……

As you know my 37 year old son was a victim of knife crime in July this year, thankfully he got off lightly, I suppose, with a broken foot and an injured knee. However, it meant that he couldn't work for 10 weeks, was made redundant because he couldn't work and waited 10 weeks to be told he was not entitled to incapacity benefit because he was missing some contributions for the period 2005 - 2007. This would be when he was attempting to start his own business, working all the hours God sent, trying to make a better life for his family, he paid his taxes but unfortunately overlooked paying some of his National Insurance stamps. When my son asked "....if I had just arrived in the country would I be told I wasn't eligible for benefits because I hadn't paid anything in?" the person he was speaking to told him "I'm not having this conversation with you" and promptly hung up! He then received a Giro for £500 to cover the ten weeks he was unable to work - £50 a week to keep himself, his wife and three young children!

OK, you may be thinking well what’s wrong with that? I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it, last week it was all over the media that Toorpakai Saiedi, an immigrant woman, and her seven children, none of whom have ever worked a day in time they have spent in Britain, have been housed by the local council in a 7 bedroom mansion,  for which the council is paying £12,000 per month in rent.   They receive in total £167,000 per year in benefits, they have all modern conveniences, a huge plasma TV, sound system, X box and then complained that the house is costing too much to heat out of their benefits.

My son has worked for 20 years paying into the system and has never claimed anything back. The one time he needs help, through no fault of his own, this country has not only turned its back on him, it has added insult to injury! Thankfully he had the good sense to take out a mortgage protection policy, which has paid his mortgage for him, otherwise he might have lost his home. I suspect had this happened our local council would NOT have offered to put him in a mansion and paid the £12,000 a month rent like Ealing Council have done for the Saiedi family.

I have written to my MP and to James Purnell, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, regarding this matter and asked them to explain to my son why, after paying into the system for 20 years he received a pittance to keep his family, when an immigrant who has never paid in a penny is receiving £167,000 per year.

I’ll keep you posted but I do not hold out much hope for an acceptable explanation on the unfairness of our benefits system. It's no wonder the people of Britain want to put a stop to people entering this country and milking the system for all its worth!

Portrait Of Words #2

Jeff (A Word in Edgewise) has started up this monthly challenge, derived from a previous challenge from R.E.H.'s "Picture Fiction Challenge".

Each month Jeff gives FOUR pictures which represent THE CATEGORIES and THREE pictures which represent THE WILD CARDS.

The object is to:

Write a story of any length or style. Long or short, comedy or tragedy, fact or fiction, etc,etc... it's up to you.

Use each of the picture representations in your story. (one from the wild card options)


Here are the guidelines:

THE CATEGORIES:
Main Character(s): Your story can be told through or about this person(s), i.e. first or third person. Either way you go, their involvement in the story should be a focal point. Have as many or as few additional characters as you wish, but at least one of the ones pictured should be central to the overall story.

Backdrop: This will create the setting for your story. It can take place at the location depicted, be a destination to it, or be a journey from it.

Purpose: This is what drives or motivates the main character(s) to action. It can also be viewed as the objective of the story.

Item(s): The object(s) should have a significant value to the main character, backdrop or purpose of the story.

Wild Cards: Writers choice here. Choose one of the three options to use in your story anyway you see fit.
Here are the portraits for the basis of the story.

Here's my story.  In case you don't realise I used Wild Card 1.

Taking the key from her handbag, Marie placed it carefully in the locker at the airport, it would be safe there until they were able to return. Turning to look at Brian she nodded and they took hold of the handles on their suitcases and wheeled them towards the departure gate for the 3.30 flight to Spain.

This flight was the gateway to a new life. Sitting waiting for the gate to open Brian and Marie talked about what they’d do in Spain for the next four months. They’d hired a private villa in the mountains and a car so they could tour the area looking for a property to buy. They had decided that’s where they wanted to live permanently. Money wasn’t a problem they could afford to buy the best and live in luxury. They were so looking forward to the rest of their lives.

At first Marie had been shocked when she’d found out about Brian’s plan. She had always been a model citizen, working at the housing department of the local council since she’d left school. Brian had somehow got involved with a gang who were going to highjack a security van delivering gems to a jewellers. They’d be rich, Brian told her, they’d stash the gems in an unoccupied house that she could get the keys for, the police would never find it. She could fix it so that it looked as though the house was occupied on the system, pack her job in and they could spend a few months in Spain then, once the heat had died down, come back to retrieve the gems.

As they reached the aircraft they offered the stewardess their boarding passes. Suddenly they were surrounded by police and in a flurry of activity they were handcuffed and found themselves in separate interview rooms.

They were questioned for hours. Both refused to say anything but it seemed that the police knew everything there was to know. They had found the jewels in the house, but how?

One of Marie’s colleagues had done a bit of investigating when she thought Marie had been acting suspiciously. She realised that a key to an empty house was missing but couldn’t find out which house it belonged to because Marie had covered it up so well on the system. The woman thought Marie had fiddled the system to get a house for a friend, but became even more suspicious when Marie submitted her resignation.

Suddenly it hit Marie, she recognised the balding copper, he was her colleague’s husband and he’d been sitting reading a paper near the locker when she had deposited the key for the house.

He was off duty and giving a friend a lift to the airport when he spotted Marie and her husband, who he recognised as a face the police thought was connected to the security van highjack. He telephoned his boss with his suspicions and got permission to open the locker. Dopey Marie had left a tag attached to the key showing the address of the house!

Saturday Wordzzle # 34

The idea is, every week Raven (View From A Raven's Nest) gives you between 8 and 10 words/phrases and you have to create a small but coherent paragraph using every one of them and the same with the mini challenge. You can do either, both or a megawordzzle using all the words, or even all three, it's up to you, you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven. If you join in go to Raven's and put your name on the Mr. Linky so other participants can come visit you.



Here are my efforts - complete with my doodles.


This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: bluebottle, puppy love, livid, misanthrope, torrid, apathy, erudite, catalyst, hockey puck , parakeet

Flinging the hockey puck at the bluebottle, which was buzzing round the room, Steven cringed when it hit the parakeet in the corner, no wonder the bird was a misanthrope it wasn’t the first time it had suffered at the hands of a human. His mother would be livid if she found out he’d been skiving off work again, this could be the catalyst to her throwing him out. She thought more of the damn bird than she did of him, just because he wasn’t an erudite scholar she wasn’t interested in him at all. Their mother couldn’t understand how different they could be - Mark, his younger brother, smart, intelligent, Steven showing only apathy to everything. The only thing that Steven seemed interested in was his girlfriend, puppy love his mother called it. Jumping up he rushed over to the parakeet and smoothed it’s ruffled feathers, then he picked up the puck and put it in his sports bag before going into the kitchen to tidy up the mess he’d made before his mother got home. No sense in upsetting her, she had a torrid temper when roused.


And for the Mini Challenge: totalitarian, moronic, boondoggle, tycoon, insipid

Chef was keeping his eye on the new kitchen hand. He wasn’t a totalitarian type of person, he was reasonably easy going but he couldn’t abide the type of moronic people the job centre were sending him lately, people who didn’t really do anything constructive, who boondoggled their way through the day. The insipid youth had turned up late for work again claiming that the weather had been the cause “there’s a tycoon blowing out there!”

“I think you mean typhoon” said Chef shaking his head.



Megawordzzle

Mr. Maguire was a totalitarian teacher, not only that he was a misanthrope, so how he came to be a teacher Jack would never understand. Jack hated Maguire, he was sick of the constant jibes from Maguire about him not being erudite pupil and only interested in playing sport. In fact Maguire’s nickname for Jack was Hockey Puck, but then Jack’s nickname for Maguire was Bluebottle, because of his obviously dyed raven black hair. He often suggested that Jack was moronic and accused him of apathy and boondoggling during lessons. Jack was very happy when his school days came to an end and he could get on with the important task of making a name for himself.

Jack took a series of what would appear to others as mundane jobs when he left school, but the truth was Maguire’s constant put downs were the catalyst that made Jack want to better himself and if that meant mundane work to start with that’s what he would do. He worked hard and saved until he had enough capital to start his own business, and when he met Sandra he was doing well for himself as a property developer. He was blown away by Sandra’s energy and colourful personality, he called her his beautiful parakeet. Their relationship was torrid from the beginning, no puppy love start for them. It was only after Jack proposed to Sandra that he found out her father was a property tycoon who insisted that they joined forces and asked Jack to become a director in his company. The couple were head over heels in love and were totally ecstatic when their twins were born. Jack insisted the twins went to the best private school in the area and even agreed to be on the board of Governors. Life was good, Jack had fulfilled all his ambitions, except one.

At a School Governor’s meeting one afternoon Jack couldn’t believe his eyes when he turned round and found himself looking straight at Maguire. He’d recognised him straight away, though Jack was sure Maguire hadn’t recognised him. Maguire hadn’t changed much apart from looking rather insipid now his hair was grey. Jack’s hatred for Maguire returned with a vengeance but thankfully not outwardly evident. He would bide his time, Maguire was about to get his comeuppance.

Maguire was livid when he didn’t get the job of Headmaster. He couldn’t understand it, he thought the interview with the Governors had gone really well. Jack chalked up his last ambition.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction #47 Images

Images

"Annie loves blogging" her husband told his mate at the photography club.

She spends hours writing posts and searching for images on the internet.

Her latest piece was about donkey sanctuaries.

Whilst looking for pictures of donkeys, imagine her surprise when her photo popped up.......

showing her bare ass!

"She's still not speaking to me."

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Meme about me.....

Julia at A Piece of My Mind tagged me for the 40 things about me meme. As it involved just answering questions and not me having to think of 40 things about me that would actually interest anyone I’ve gone along with it.

1. Height? 5ft 5inches

2. Have you ever done heroin? Oh good God no, there’s no way I’d inject myself with anything!

3. Do you own a gun? Absolutely not, it’s illegal here anyway and even if it wasn't I wouldn't have one in the house!

4. (for some reason, there was no question 4 - so Julia added one of her own) Did you have a favorite babysitter as a child? Mum and Dad didn’t go out much as there was never any spare money, but I used to stay at my Grandma’s every weekend Friday to Sunday and my favourite Aunt lived there. I enjoyed that.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes, and I rehearse what I need to say because I don’t go until I have a list of complaints!

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I enjoy hotdogs occasionally. I love them on a bread finger with lots of fried onions and mustard, the hotter the better.

7. What's your favorite Christmas song? Definitely White Christmas by Bing Crosby.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I have a large cup of decaffeinated tea.

9. Is your bathroom clean? Yes, MWM does a great job on it while I’m at work!

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry?(or accessory) My wedding, engagement and eternity ring.

11. Do you like painkillers? I wish I didn’t have to take them but I do for all the aches and pains I have now I’m past 50.

12. Do you have A.D.D.? [Attention Deficit Disorder] I don’t ………. Err where was I?

13. What's your name? Akelamalu

14. Middle name? I don't have a middle name.

15. Favorite singer of all time? I don’t have a favourite singer of all time, and there are too many I like to start listing.

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink: Tea, coffee and water. OK, ok I drink beer, wine and brandy at weekends.

17. Current worry? A health check I have coming up.

18. Current hate? The British Government and Justice System.

19. Favorite place to be? Anywhere with MWM, preferably on holiday somewhere hot and sunny.

20. How did you bring in the New Year? We went to our local civic hall with some friends where we had a few drinks and plenty of dancing.

21. Where would you like to go? On holiday, I love travelling. In fact we have two trips planned – Poland in October and Spain in February.

22. Do you own slippers? Yes they’re fleece lined suede mules.

23. What shirt are you wearing? I’m not wearing a shirt.

24. Favorite color(s)? Oranges and Browns.

25. Would you be a pirate? No but I love to watch swashbuckling films.

26. What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever is stuck in my head. At the moment it’s ‘I kissed a girl’ by Kate Perry, it’s so catchy!


I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it


27. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? I used to have bad nightmares, I was afraid of the dark. I still don’t like it much now.

28. Best bed sheets as a child? Winceyette (soft cotton flannelette material with a raised brushed surface (a nap), on both sides.) So warm in winter – we didn’t have central heating so the bedrooms were icy cold in winter. Brrrrrrr.

29. Worst injury you've ever had? When I was 13 I was doing high jump at school and I landed awkwardly and ripped my cruciate ligaments. I was in agony with my knee and even when it healed it would still give way occasionally. It went steadily worse and I had to have the joint cleaned out when I was 39 then I had a total knee replacement in February 2007. It’s wonderful now.

30. How many TVs do you have in your house? Five – ridiculous isn’t it? We have one in every room except the bathroom!

31. Who is your loudest friend? My schoolfriend who happens to be MWM’s cousin. She finds it impossible to speak quietly.

32. Who is your most silent friend? I don’t think any of my friends are silent.

33. Does someone have a crush on you? MWM says he does.

34. Do you wish on shooting stars? Definitely, doesn’t everybody?

35. What is your favorite book? I have read so many books I’m not sure I could choose one as a favourite, some do stick in my mind though

Sara Dane by Catherine


The Thornbirds – Colleen McCulloch


Anything by Catherine Cookson, Nelson De Mille, Tess Gerritson, Martina Cole, Karin Slaughter, Patricia Cornwell – I could go on and on!

36. What is your favorite candy? I’m not a huge fan of candy I prefer a lump of cheese.

37. What song do/did you want played at your wedding? We married in a Registry Office and didn’t have any special music playing. We were ecstatically happy to be getting married so the music wasn’t an issue.

38. What song do you want played at your funeral? Something upbeat like Ricky Martin’s ‘She bangs’. No I’m joking but nothing dismal and serious.

39. What were you doing @ 12 AM last night? I was asleep.

40. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? What shall I wear for work.

I'm not tagging anyone but if you fancy doing it please go ahead and let me know so I can come and read your answers.

How a child can make you cry...

I have been singing a childhood song to Kai and Nate for a few weeks. It goes

Nobody loves me

Everybody hates me

Thinks I'll go and eat worms.

Long thin slimy ones

Big juice grimy ones

Thinks I'll go and eat worms.

Chop off their heads and slurp them up

Thinks I'll go and eat worms

Nobody loves me

Everybody hates me

Thinks I'll go and eat worms.

I know it's gross but it makes them laugh.

Kai seemed to be listening rather intently the last time I sang it at his request. When I finished he looked me in the eye and said

"I love you Nanna."

Oh God, pass me the tissues!

Saturday Wordzzle # 33

The idea is, every week Raven (View From A Raven's Nest) gives you between 8 and 10 words/phrases and you have to create a small but coherent paragraph using every one of them and the same with the mini challenge. You can do either, both or a megawordzzle using all the words, or even all three, it's up to you, you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven. If you join in go to Raven's and put your name on the Mr. Linky so other participants can come visit you.



Here are my efforts - complete with my doodles.



This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: tattletale, homogeneous, flighty, cornucopia, plethora, militant, lovelorn, myopic , digitalized, mute

A plethora of homogeneous, digitalized images appeared on the screen, as Janice searched the internet looking for a birthday present for her flighty, lovelorn friend. Adjusting the spectacles she wore because she was myopic, she clicked on an image and immediately wished she’d muted the speakers as a voice blared out announcing a new store called ‘Cornucopia’. Janice quickly turned off the speakers when she spotted the new tattletale junior skulking about, obviously just waiting for a chance to blab about something to the office manager. Well Janice didn’t care anymore, just let them say anything and she would show her militant side, she’d tell them where to stuff the job. She was in a very fortunate position, she hadn’t told them yet that she’d won the lottery.



And for the Mini Challenge: washing machine, cholesterol, blatantly, Birdman of Alcatraz, poltergeist

Eve settled down to watch ‘The Birdman of Alcatraz’ with a glass of wine and a bar of chocolate, which she knew wouldn’t do her cholesterol any good but she would live with the consequences, she was used to blatantly lying to her doctor about what she ate. Suddenly the lamp on the television table toppled to the floor, then a photograph of her dear departed mother fell off the wall.

“What’s going on?” she said aloud.

Next thing the vase of flowers on the sideboard wobbled precariously, something was seriously wrong. Poltergeist flashed across Eve’s mind but she dismissed it, there must be a logical explanation. Picking up a glass tumbler from the work surface in the kitchen she held it to the adjoining wall to her neighbour’s house and listened. That was it, her neighbour had got that damned vibrating washing machine on again, she really would have to have words with him.



Megawordzzle

A tattletale and myopic by nature, Penelope’s colleagues were sick of her blatantly spreading rumours.

They decided to set her up on a date with Walter, known as the Birdman of Alcatraz because he bred budgerigars, hoping love would blossom and give her something else to think about.

Walter and Penelope got on like a house on fire, much to everyone’s surprise. Homogeneous in their attitude to life, it wasn’t long before Penelope was offering to do Walter’s laundry in her washing machine and baking a plethora of fattening cakes for him, which he complained would send his cholesterol soaring.

Penelope couldn’t believe how happy she was, she felt her cornucopia was overflowing. People in the office were pleasantly surprised at how much Penelope had changed from the militant and flighty nuisance she had once been, it was amazing what love could do.

Then Chrissy the new Office Manager arrived. She swept into the office like a poltergeist, disturbing the calm, she digitalized all the records, made new rules, generally upsetting everyone, except Walter. Walter was enthralled with Chrissy, in his eyes she could do no wrong. It wasn’t long before Penelope was seeing less of Walter and it broke her heart.

Chrissy was dumbfounded when, at the end of her three month probation period, the powers that be said she wasn’t suitable and they would have to let her go. Poor lovelorn Penelope, her happiness in jeopardy, had no choice but to go back to her old ways, she’d been mute on the rumour front for too long.