Are you up to another challenge ???

 

WE ARE !!!
Tee Hee Hee !!

 

Are you ready for the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge?
            I know that some of you are ready because you've told me.   Others of you may be thinking about it and I'm hoping that today's post will get you to thinking a bit harder about it.   And then some of you may be thinking, "What's a Blogging From A to Z Challenge anyway?"

             This challenge started last year to celebrate my reaching the 200 follower mark.  I had no idea that it would take off as well as it did in the short lead time I had in 2010.  Nearly 100 bloggers participated last year with many more keeping up with the progress.  In the end most of the participants were very satisfied with having been a part of the challenge.

How does the Challenge work?

             The premise of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is to post something on your blog every day in April except for Sundays.  In doing this you will have 26 blog posts--one for each letter of the alphabet.   Each day you will theme your post according to a letter of the alphabet.

              You will only be limited by your own imagination in this challenge.  There is an unlimited universe of possibilities.  You can post essays, short pieces of fiction, poetry, recipes, travel sketches, or anything else you would like to write about.  You don't have to be a writer to do this.  You can post photos, including samples of your own art or craftwork.    Everyone who blogs can post from A to Z.

 

Look for it here...

http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/p/sign-up-for-to-z-challenge.html

 

READY... SET.... GO !!!

ENJOY
JL&B

NaPoWriMo: 30 NEW Writing Prompts for National Poetry Month 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

NaPoWriMo: 30 NEW Writing Prompts for National Poetry Month 2011

Since many of you do a poem a day (See this website: NaPoWriMo) for National Poetry Month has got 30 NEW never-been-seen before poetry writing exercises for National Poetry Month.  One for each day... We will do these on this blog, we have never tried to do a NaPoWriMo before, so this should be interesting...

We hope to see you joining in too!

 

1. Grab the closest book. Go to page 29. Write down 10 words that catch your eye. Use 7 of words in a poem. For extra credit, have 4 of them appear at the end of a line.

 

2. Write about a poem about a superhero coming to your house and confronting you about something. Somewhere in the poem, you have to state what your superpower is.

 

3. Write a poem that is really a love letter to an old flame. To make sure it’s doesn’t slip into sappy make sure one or more of these words is in the poem: dung beetle, politician, nuclear, exoskeleton, oceanography, pompadour, toilet.

4. Make a list of seven words that have the same vowel sounds (like bee, treat, pepperoni, eagle) and use them in a repetitive way throughout a poem.

 

5. Write a poem about a weird fact or facts that you know.

 

6. Write a poem in two sections about two completely different things. Have the title link both items today in a surprising way.

7. Find a favorite recipe. Now write a poem inspired or in the style of that recipe about a family secret, yours or someone else’s.

 

8. Turn your paper so that it’s in the landscape position. Write a poem about God or the universe or the horizon of the ocean with longer lines and see what happens.

9. Write a poem to your favorite letter of the alphabet.

10. Write a poem about the one of all of the 7 sins that only contains seven words lines.

11. Write a poem that begins with the last thing you can remember someone saying to you today or yesterday. See if you can use that line two or three times.

 

12. Turn on the radio to any channel. Write a poem inspired by the first thing you hear (lyrics to a song, a commercial, etc.)

13. Run around your house and grab 5 items that all begin with the same letter. Write a poem as an ode to one of these items or that includes these items.

14. Think of the nicest thing someone ever said to you. Write a poem about a rainy day and something flooding. End the poem with the good thing someone said.

15. Write a poem that describes the wallpaper on your computer or the image on the last postcard you received.

16. Make a list of ten images of things you have seen in the last 24 hours. Use all of them in a poem.

17. Write a poem that includes these words: bamboozled, bloodlust, bibliography. Have the title include one of these words: contradiction, constellation, cranberry.

 

18. Write a poem about something small that is only 5 lines long.

19. Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. If the sounds are peaceful, write a poem with a violent word as the title. If the sounds are loud, write a poem with a kind word as the title.

20. Remove your shoes. Write a poem that celebrates your feet.

21. Write a poem with the opposite hand that you write with or if you type your poems on the computer, use only one hand to type.

22. Write a poem that only had five syllables in each line. Give the poem a long title.

23. Write a poem where the last word of the first line begins with the first letter of your name, and the last word of the second line begins with the second letter of your name until you have spelled out your first and/or your last name.

24. Write a poem that has the word “love” hidden in it somewhere. But you cannot use the word “love” by itself, it must be hidden (such as in the word “glove” or in two words like “halo venom”).

 

25. Write a poem where a literary figure shows up and tells you something and gives you something.

26. Write a poem to your future self, but do not say it is to your future self, address the poem to a president or rockstar.

27. Write a poem made of ten metaphors.

28. Make a list of your favorite words today. Write a poem that uses 90% of the words you wrote down.

29. Write a poem about a skyscraper. Now, rewrite the poem with the last line being your first.

30. Write a poem giving thanks to a poet or to writing a poem a day. Use a line from one of the poems you wrote this month to either begin or end it.

Enjoy and happy NaPoWriMo!
JL&B

30

Wordless Wednesday~ Bubble fun

After the rains

Posted for Wordless Wednesday...
http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/

How do you see it ???

Honestly, we rarely do these, but there are a few people we will at times do them with, and our friend April is one of them...
This one we thought of as a writing challenge, and what follows is what we started in a comment box and it took off from there...LOL...ENJOY !
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Okay ladies I thought this would be easier to pass along rather than sending it in message form. so follow along and lets see how big we can get this.... Invite all of your girlfriends and lets see how far we get this to go.............

We are playing a game. Someone proposed that we GIRLS do something special on Facebook to help with Breast Cancer Awareness. Its easy, and Id like you to join us to help it spread. Last year it was ......about writing the color of the bra that your were wearing in your Fb status and it left men wondering for days why the girls had random colors as their status. This year it has to do with your relationship status. You will where you are, by posting one of the codes below. Remember - don't reply to this message just type your 1 word response in your status box on your profile. Then cut and paste this whole message into a new message and send it along to your female friends....

Blueberry: I'm single

Pineapple: its complicated

Raspberry: I'm a touch and go woman

Apple: Engaged

Cherry: In a relationship

Banana: I'm married

Avocado: I'm the "other one"

Strawberry: Cant find the right one

Lemon: Wish I was single

Grape: wants to get married.

The bra game reached TV, lets get this one to do the same, and show everyone how powerful women are ..
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LOL so off we went into a prompt for ourself... the things that come to our head...
Knowing us as well as we do...tee hee hee

Can I be a cherry banana ?
Or do I then have to make it a cherry banana with a side of pineapple? LOL
In my world, every banana is a cherry and every cherry is pineapple !
Blueberries can be Raspberries that want to be cherries but actually are strawberries which makes it pineapple .
Then there are Avocados that are just as much Strawberry as Cherry so again ... Pineapple.
And isnt every Apple actually Grape?
Lets not forget the Bananas that are Lemon !

Have we twisted it enough or can you do a few, we thought it was fun !!
YOUR TURN
ENJOY
JL&B

Love Emails... check this one out !!

I've learnt that...

• you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
• no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.
• it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
• it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts.
• you can do something in an instant that will give you a heartache for life.
• no matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides.
• you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
• we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
• there are people who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it.
• true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
• just because someone doesnt love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
• maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
• no matter how good a friend someone is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
• no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
• just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other.And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
• we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
• you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
• there are many ways of falling and staying in love.
• no matter how many friends you have, if you are their pillar, you will feel lonely and lost at the times you need them most.
• the people you care most about in life are taken from you to soon.
• although the word "love" can have many different meanings, it loses value when overly used.
• love is not for me to keep, but to pass on to the next person I see.
• there are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it.
• even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
• every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch-holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
• I still have a lot to learn......

- Anonymous

ENJOY
JL&B

Today's Prompt is Monotetra

The monotetra contains four lines in monorhyme. Each line is in tetrameter (four metrical feet) for a total of eight syllables.The last line contains two metrical feet, repeated. It can have one stanza or many stanzas.
Poem format:

Line 1:	8 syllables
Line 2:	8 syllables
Line 3:	8 syllables
Line 4:	8 syllables with repetition

OURS IS ...


Tulips waving, Chica-dee's sing
weather warming, Robin takes wing
lazily swaying on our swing
first signs of Spring, first signs of Spring

Crocus open to catch the sun
Hummingbirds return has begun
Freesia scent is second to none
time for some fun, time for some fun

Children's laughter filling the air
gingerly playing without a care
squealing and screeching everywhere
we sit and stare, we sit and stare

Spring is here, we see it first hand
longing to feel our toes in sand
trips to the beach are in demand
life is so grand, life is so grand




YOUR TURN
ENJOY
JL&B

It's raining today !!

When I went to bed last night, the rain had just started, it sounds so loud at times on our trailers tin roof ! This morning it was down into the 30's and it started to hail, almost looked like snow and it lasted a long time on our truck ! So pretty and yet we are so glad that we are not six feet under it! California is a lovely place to live.

We spent a few more hours on the rock walls we are building, we have to take a week off, for the other yards we do need us too, but here are the latest pictures...

Add caption

ENJOY !!

JL&B 

Showing off Spring

The flowers in our garden are so pretty that the statues and such have a whole new look to them, so of course we have to take lots of pictures... they are my only children after all.

We have some picture perfect places in our yard, bias as we may be...LOL

Most of the things we have are from friends and family members, placed in gardens planted with them in mind.

There are some that we got at yard sales or from neighbors moving (and not wanting to have to pack them) No matter where they end up coming from they all have a place in our garden.

ENJOY
JL&B  

Playing with rocks....



Cutting the foundation



The easy part ...LOL



Sharon and Wayne  at the rock pile



Four hour foundation...





My rock pile



Day two, another four hours

Still a few feet to go

LOOKING GOOD !!

ENJOY
JL&B 

'LIFE' THOUGHTS BY 'DUCKY'

'LIFE'  THOUGHTS  BY  'DUCKY'
 
 

 


I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with 'Guess' on it. So I said 'Implants?' She hit me.

Marriage changes passion.
Suddenly you're in bed with a relative.  






How come we choose from just  two people to run for president and over fifty for Miss   America ?
Now that food has replaced sex in my life, I can't even get into my own pants.




I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!
When I was young we used to go 'skinny dipping,' now I just 'chunky dunk.'





Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.
Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and start all over? AMEN, AMEN !!








Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison?
A completely brilliant question!!!!!!!
Wouldn't you know it....
Brain cells come and brain cells go, but FAT cells live forever.




Why do I have to swear on the Bible in court when the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed outside?
Another completely brilliant question!!!!
Bumper sticker of the year:
'If you can read this, thank a teacher ?
and, since it's in English, thank a soldier'  







And remember:
Life is like a roll of toilet paper.
The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
Ya just might want to pass this along.......

More of our garden

ENJOY

JL&B