Cliché Incorporated

Written as a response to a prompt to be as cliche'd as possible.

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The ball was in her court and Brenda knew she could talk the talk and walk the walk because this time she had thought outside the box and was pushing the envelope and now she was on a stepping stone to broaden her horizons, yes, she now could see the big picture. At her interview she had gone the extra mile, hadn’t beat around the bush as she had cast her net while going forward with their dog and pony show. Now Brenda had a decisively categorical game plan and at the culmination of this new day her end goal was that they would know she had hit the ground running. This new job was a building block that would dovetail with her strategy to become a head honcho. Not like her preceding job where she had not covered all her bases and had left no fallback position when she had pushed a paradigm shift and in the end she had burned her bridge when she had not kept her boss in loop in what she had thought was a no brainer.

Brenda’s take no prisoners attitude had left a bad taste in their mouths and she had been unable to do damage control and now she knew she had been wrong to put all her eggs in one basket because she had had to pay the piper a pretty penny. But after that debacle she had put her ducks back in a row, moved her goal posts and now she was in the zone, she was moving forward. Her slate was clean and it was time to put her finger in the pie of productivity, work to the program even if that meant she would have to slave for Mr. Big 24/7. She would be proactive, performant and come out shooting with both barrels while she kept her eye on the prize. Brenda opened the door to her future and pressed the flesh at the meet and greet and as she and the current BMOC talked shop she knew she had squared the circle and everything was back on track.

Yes, Brenda knew she had finally and truly found her niche here at Cliché Incorporated.

Hollywood Tourist

I have lived in California since I was twelve. Funny I have never done the Hollywood touristy thing until this past weekend. We were with some friends who had a friend in from out of town and we all ended up going into LA and walking down Hollywood Blvd. Looked at the stars on the sidewalk. It was Saturday so they were setting up the red carpet for the Oscars. That was fun to see in person.

Stopped at the Chinese Theater and did the stand in the star's footprint thing. Look my feet are exactly the same size as a duck's. :) If you ever come to California let me know, we will do something touristy together.... or the ultimate Hollywood thing... We'll do lunch.

Valentine's Day Conversation

This was written from a writing challenge at group where the goal was to write with no he said/she said tags. It was a fun little piece to work out.

______________________________

“Nathan?”
“Yes, my darling Julia.”
“Do you know what day it is?”
“Oh, that’s always a dangerous question. I didn’t forget our anniversary did I?”
“No, that was two months ago.”
“Did I miss your birthday?”
“No, don’t you remember, you quoted me that wonderfully romantic poem you composed. Much better than any flowers or candy could ever be now.”
“Well, than I’m sorry my love, I do not know what day it is. What have I forgotten?”
“It’s Valentine’s Day, Nathan. Our first date all those many, many, many years ago.”
“Oh, Sweet Pea how could I have forgotten that?”
“Do you remember where we went Nathan?”
“Of course, I remember everything about that day. I took you to Seaside Park. You were the prettiest girl there.”
“Oh, you always say the nicest things.”
“Well, you were. You wore that white sundress and flowers in your hair. I was quite smitten you know?”
“Oh, and you … so very handsome. And so nervous. Well, I guess we both were nervous. Blind dates seldom work out quite as well as ours.”
“And you insisted we ride the coaster five times if I remember correctly.”
“No, I believe it was six.”
“You always did love a thrill my sweetness.”
“You’re the biggest thrill in my life Nathan.”
“What would I do without you?”
“Well, probably not much. These golden years are certainly not very exciting. But we do have each other.”
“Yes, and that is all I have needed these years. When you and I made the decision I thought perhaps that I might grow bored, but living without you was not, is not, ever an option. I have never been bored with you.”
“Oh Nathan, I love you. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Darling Julia, I love you more and more every moment we are together. Happy Valentine’s Day to you.”
“Nathan, do you remember the time we…..”

___________________

Forevercorp, Inc.
Med-Journal Entry #0088826 –
Date 2/14/2399 – Time 14:39
Adora Sung / Cerebral Mainline Technician
Both subjects na998/male and ju999/female are stable and functioning at peak levels. Routine fluid replacement on na998/male subject was performed at 08:30 with no noticeable adverse reaction from subject. Both subjects continue to interact at optimal levels. At 13:30 ju999/female had a brief displacement of electrical current that if allowed to continue could cause overloading in na998/male’s centerline. Recommend rewiring of ju999/female’s cerebral cortex main line within the next month. Both subjects will need to be rewired simultaneously to avoid any possible contamination with core cerebral circuits.

______________________

Adora Sung looked up to the shelf directly in front of her at the two brains floating in plexi-glass containers of fluorescent green hydro-liquid. The compuscreen to her left continued to reflect their loving conversation and Adora felt suddenly as if she was eavesdropping. Cataloging their forty-three years worth of printouts had been her first job at Forevercorp. She had grown to know all there was to know about Nathan and Julia’s love and yet the tenderness of it still touched her. Reaching up she flicked off the monitor as she pushed the button for the vidphone to call Jerome. She needed to tell him she loved him, after all it was Valentine’s Day.

Ahhhh... lovely vacation

Monday and Tuesday in the mountains in the snow.

Thursday and Friday on the ocean in the sun.

We had a lovely time.

Lazy days, eating too much, doing very little. A perfect four days.

Free... finally

And on Tuesday this is the beauty we woke up to.

And these icicles were amazing on the eve of the house.

But all this snow meant a lot of shoveling to get the cars out of the driveway...

... three hours later we were finally on the road... the treacherous road down the mountain.

And at last bare pavement. Yea... then back to work.... boo.

Now, we are off for a short cruise from San Diego to

Ensenada, Mexico for the Valentine's weekend. Talk about contrast. :)

And Still More Snow...

Had to call work and tell them that we are still on the mountain. The snow is predicted all day. Not quite sure when we will be able to drive down.

I really don't like mountain driving on the clear sunny days. This has me a bit anxious.

And Even More Snow

The snow keeps coming down and down and down. Hubby says we will be able to drive home, down off the mountain, this afternoon, but I am not so sure.

But I did take the opportunity to finish the little dragonfly paintings for my sister's newly remodeled bathroom.

A Beautiful Day in the Mountains

Up at my parent's in the mountains of Southern California. Love waking up to the snow. I know many of you are suffering though a long cold winter, but this is a treat for me.

Wow, what a morning...

This was my drive this morning. Forgive the blurry, but this was going 85 MPH down a California freeway. The sky was amazing. We had a rain last night and into this morning. Going down one freeway there was blue sky off to the left and dark clouds on the right, this is heading south.

Then I made the transition to the west bound freeway so the sun was rising behind me and I was driving towards the dark clouds. And this amazing double rainbow appeared. It was so beautiful. I hoped it would still be visible by the time I got to work just 4 1/2 minutes later so I could capture the whole thing in a series of pictures and stitch them together for you, but sadly the rain started to pour and the sky turned so dark. But for a brief moment this morning, there was magic.

Sweet Whispers on the Wind

Once upon a time there was a girl who thought she knew of kindness. She went merrily about her day, offering little hellos and how do you dos. She would trip lightly from one person to another sharing the bright parts of her day with those she met. She thought they cared for her, as she cared for them, but she didn't really see that all only thought of themselves and what they could take from her. They would only want bits and pieces of her, never really caring for what was true in her.

One day walking through a meadow she met the quiet man. He was dark and sad in a way she hadn't seen before. She thought here is a new friend, another to share bright parts of her, and the more she gave in the beginning, the farther he seemed to pull away from her. She didn't understand this. She gave and she gave but the quiet man stayed on the very edge of her happiness and didn't seem to want to take and take like the others. This confused her more and more.

Then one day quite by accident she discovered the magic of the quiet man. She sat in a meadow where she knew he would walk by, she was hoping to see him, to give him something bright and pretty, to entice him to take from her as that was all she knew. The sun was bright in the afternoon sky and she moved to the edge of the meadow and sat quietly waiting, her back against a tree enjoying it cooling shade, the sweet grass thick around her legs, the small sounds soothing to her. Soon she was asleep, and that was how the quiet man found her. And he looked down at her and felt all she wanted to give, but he knew a better way. And he sat and picked a single wee flower and waited for her to wake. When she did she smiled at him as he sat silently next to her, and he smiled back and blew the flower, the white fluff of a dandelion gently to her and as each floating seed caught the breeze and floated past her she heard his words of love and caring and hope and every secret he ever held tight to.

From that moment on she and the quiet man were together, they needed no words just sweet whispers on the wind. She didn't have to give pieces of herself for he held all of her heart with a single breath. He didn't need to be silent any longer for she heard everything he wanted to say.

And they lived happily ever after

Lovely

How lovely to recieve such a lovely award from Miss Pienovski. Thank you!

So to pass on the lovely love I offer this award to...

Simply Heather

~ Denise ~

cw2smom

Roger

Each one of these blogs I so love to visit and read. Thank you for all being so lovely creative and making my day better.

Sun Block

I rub the lotion
across his tiny shoulders
then down small soft limbs,
not missing an inch
of arms or legs.
The swell of belly,
pushed out
in that gentle way
of a toddler,
and the small bend
of his back,
all get a coat
of slippery white.
Around the sweet curves
of tiny ears
and plump little cheeks
then the tip
of his nose,
all are protected.
Fingers and toes
are the last
to be covered.
And then he knows
he can
slip from between
my hands
to run headlong
into the surf
laughing out loud
in the carefree
joyous way
of a child
who never doubts
that he is
protected
by love
and so
has no fear
of anything.

And I know
in that moment
I will never stop
worrying
about everything.

Offered for the Gold Puppy Blog Fourth Annual (Silent) Poetry Reading.

(Silent) Poetry Reading

At the Gold Puppy Blog the Fourth Annual!!

What?
A Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading

When?
Anytime February 2, 2009

Where?
Your blog

Why?
Some poetry is warming. It cracks the ice in the heart of the Earth to remind her that spring is just around the corner. Or ... if you live south of the equator, choose poetry to cool the heart of the Earth so as to remind her fall is coming.

How?
Select a poem you like - by a favorite poet or one of your own - to post February 2nd.

What else?
Feel free to pass this invitation on to any and all bloggers.

When will I post mine?
Oh, about 7 in the morning.

Happy Groundhog Day

According to an old English song:If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.

According to an old Scotch couplet:
If Candlemas Day is bright and clear,
There'll be twa (two) winters in the year.

Another variation of the Scottish rhyme:
If Candlemas day be dry and fair,
The half o' winter to come and mair,
If Candlemas day be wet and foul,
The half of winter's gone at Yule.

The Roman legions, during the conquest of the northern country, supposedly brought this tradition to the Teutons, or Germans, who picked it up and concluded that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas Day, an animal, the hedgehog, would cast a shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather, which they interpolated as the length of the "Second Winter."

Pennsylvania's earliest settlers were Germans and they found groundhogs to in profusion in many parts of the state. They determined that the groundhog, resembling the European hedgehog, was a most intelligent and sensible animal and therefore decided that if the sun did appear on February 2nd, so wise an animal as the groundhog would see its shadow and hurry back into its underground home for another six weeks of winter.

Information from the official Groundhog Day site - http://www.groundhog.org/

Super Super Bowl

Wow... what a fantastic game. Right down to the wire. The underdog made a great showing. The quarterbacks were fantastic. The score was close the whole game. In the end Big Ben's amazing pass to Holmes, who's catch was equally as amazing, made for a fantastic fourth quarter. Final score 27-23 Steelers.



The other big part of the game has become commercial watching. This was my favorite...