The Story

If you missed any of the first parts of this story or want to visit them again, you can find them
Here, here,  and here  aaaand here.

It took quite the urging, and pleading, and dares, then the gentleman asked like he wasn't a bit scared. Her father agreed, once they'd had a long talk.
The night he said yes, they nearly killed the girls' phone, talking all night, and making plans of their own. When that Saturday came and the prince did arrive, he dropped to low gear and cracked pipes on their drive. He shaved for their date, which made her feel great.
When they got into town they went o the western store, and looked at cowboy boots galore. Then off for Chinese food...he was in an eating mood. They talked about parents, and siblings, an kids. They talked about nightmares, and things that they did. When they came home he asked to come in, he stayed long until the new day about rolled in.
As soon as he'd leave he'd text her on his way home. She got in the habit of never leaving her phone. He would call after work, and right before bed. Pretty soon all his stories swirled 'round in her head. He asked her to his house- she went there a lot. They would ride in the tractor, feed cows, and just talk.
He gave her his ice cream, she bought him a pop. He told her often that he liked her a lot. They traded nicknames: Madeline, Jare, sweetie, and babe. Ideas grew inside her that made her heart crave. He had the same ideas, he'd mention sometimes, then they'd both giggle and push them aside.
He'd sit by her in church, and poke her and twitch. He'd giggle and kick her, singing the hymns out of pitch. He told her she's beautiful, and how she makes him laugh.
"The song 'love you like that' by Canaan Smith reminds me of you". She blushed when he said it. Wasn't quite sure what to do.
But that's quite enough, I've told you what's new. So I'll close the book on this tale for a few.

Memorial Day Tales

 

Hello all!

I thought today I would tell you about my escapades over Memorial Day weekend.

 

We started out on Friday with supper with relatives from my Mom's side, and visiting my grandpa's grave. Saturday was spent with my two aunts, a cousin, and my grandma on my dad's side all coming over. First off, we visited the cemetery a couple miles from my house where my aunt and great grandparents are buried. I never knew them. My aunt died when she was seventeen, and my great grandparents were gone before I was born.

After putting flowers out we went to the closed church that they used to attend and took our traditional family picture on the front step. We all packed up after that and went to my house for smoked pork and pie for dessert. Like all good Baptists, we can't get together without a meal. My aunt (who could shame Martha Stewart, I'm just saying) was awesome and brought rhubarb dessert, which is the sole reason I gained two pounds lately.

My parents  had spent the week searching out the names in our family tree, so after eating we set off to some of the neighboring towns and prowled around their cemeteries. We were able to find my relatives back to my great great grandpa on my dad's side (which would date back to the early 1800's). As it turns out, he was a Baptist preacher who fought in the Civil War and had fifteen kids. Apparently my people were also good friends with the Crockett's (one was actually buried right near to my grandpa) As in Davie Crockett. Davie Crockett married a cousin of mine. The Morrow's came from England (by way of Ireland) in the 1500's. The writer in me is just screaming at the working girl part of my to get some inspiration and write a story about these people. Was the Crockett buried there friends with my grandpa? Did they come to Nebraska together as daring young men ready to strike it big? Oh the possibilities! Honestly, a lot of the things in my family's history really remind me of Louis L'amour's Sackett family.

 

Anyway, back on track, we prowled around through old dirt roads and headstones for most of the day and then came home and ate even more till I just wanted to burst asunder, and then talked until bedtime.

 

Sunday we went to church of course and then I went and spent the afternoon with Jarod. A time which involved changing lots of tires, playing with the dog, wishing we were fishing, giggles and awkward silence, and stuffing ourselves with ice cream and banana shakes. I received two phone calls that evening reminding me not to be late for evening church, so me and Jare showed up fifteen minutes early, only to have my parents arrive just barely on time. The evening service had two baptisms- one of which was a little boy from my Sunday school class. It was very special and we had cookies and ice cream afterward (as if I needed any more food) and everyone got to visit.

 

Monday I had work off so we went to the museum and made our way through the live 1800's town they have there. If I ever leave my job at the eye doctor, I will most certainly take my career there. Who wouldn't want to get paid to dress up in old style clothes and pretend to be someone else for a living? It would be perfect!

When we got home we learned how to play horseshoes (they won some, I almost won others- seriously, it was a hard fought battle) and dad grilled us potatoes and burgers.

Our tradition is to watch  The Patriot (cause who doesn't love Mel Gibson?) every Memorial Day, so that is how we wrapped everything up.

 

It was very fun, and like my dad said, we get to do these fun things because of what soldiers have sacrificed since our nation started.

 

Throwback Thursday Grand Finale

Here it is!! The last set of snippets I have saved up before this year.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the ramblings of 2014.

Blaze:

Someday I'll tell my children about them. The men who gave of their lives to make it safe for them to grow and thrive. I'll tell them about the old man named Jamis, who took care of me so I could get their mother back and keep a promise to a smiling red haired boy named Quinn.

This story got quite a bit of attention on the blog. I like it quite a bit. It's not one of my all time favorites by any stretch, and my favorite characters seem to either die or are distant secondary characters, but I guess I can only blame myself for that. I think it will be pretty good when I go back and re-do it (I should say IF. I never seem to re-write anything). Right now I think this is about the most feelsy part in the whole story. But it has so much potential to crush hopes and dreams.  *diabolical laughter*

Alyx Bane: (The second version)

"Alyx, I'm Brad. Brad Marshall. I'm sorry, about all of this." He paused. "Why are you- Derik, why is she tied up?"

Derik shrugged innocently. "She wouldn't stop kicking. She kept saying I was kidnapping her."

This is the second version of this story I started. It made it just slightly farther than the first, but luckily it lost the Artemis Fowl feeling it had before. I'm just going to let you know that Derik is a heart throb.

Bill's Story:

It was absolutely quiet and he saw no movement at all. A chain with a manacle hung from the wall, the part that secured around a wrist broke in half. “Hello?” He said cautiously, not liking the odd feeling that surrounded him in the room. A slight sound drew his eyes and he saw surprised to see someone looking at him from under the bed on his right. The faint light reflected in the whites of its eyes and a figure slowly moved out. Bill froze and realized it was a little girl. She climbed out from under the bed, clutching a doll and smiled. “Hi there.”

First and only attempt at a horror story, but boy it freaked me out. I actually didn't write it down for a long time. I told it to Minion 2 one day when we were sitting out on the road waiting for mom and dad to get back. She loved it. Scared the snot out of her. Originally I was thinking the girl was a vampire, but then that all got changed around as it took me three days to tell the story and I kept changing where it was going.

Jake's Story:

"We both have problems." She shrugged. "But they're each a little different, and leave different sized holes in our souls. When we're together...It's like the pieces fit together and make us alright again."

This story really isn't even written. Like there are thousands upon thousands of words written for it, but just random snippets. They are all out of order, and I honestly don't even know how most of the story goes. I just had all these little pieces in mind for the three characters and they all kind of fit together, so I named them Jake's story. But now it's like I have a box of puzzle pieces that I have to try to fit together, because my snippets jump all over the board. When it is finished though, I will probably cry. It's going to be sad.

Fairy Tale Mashup:
"Tell us the story about the children who were to be eaten."
My four year old great grandson can barely keep his eyes open, let alone fully realize how gruesome his request sounds.

This one was fun. It needs to be finished. Minion 2 was really bothered that I wrote Belle from the Beauty and the Beast story as like an 86 year old grandmother. I thought it was rather funny.

Dystopia:
"Do you actually like her?" She moved up alongside him.
"And you're asking this because you're not jealous, right?"
"Right." She nodded.
He glanced at her sidelong then smiled and she wondered what he thought he saw. "She's fine. Kind of fun to have around. But she's a traveler. She always leaves within a few days and I forget about her." He rubbed his hands together. "Here's the games. Stay close. They'll rob you of things you didn't know you had."
Cassie frowned and moved a bit closer to him. "Then why do you play with them?"
"Because." He grinned, waving to a game leader who called for him to come join. "I can usually win off them."
"How can you win against people who cheat for a living?"
He smiled. "Maybe I do too."

This one needs an overhaul, cause it sounds too much like the Hunger Games in parts, but I absolutely love my travelers and my cocky boy who likes to annoy Cassie. (she will be getting a name change too, because they started as Cassie and Xavier. Then I discovered the Matched series and read about Cassie and Xander. I freaked. How could I have picked names that close without even knowing about that series??)


Thanks so much for all the comments you guys have given me with these Throwback posts. This probably wont be the last one ever, as I think my mom has a folder somewhere of some stories I wrote when I was freakishly little, but I'm not sure where it is, and it doesn't have the story I loved most in it anyway, so it might take awhile for those to come out of hiding.


The Next Chapter

If you missed any of the first parts of this story or want to visit them again, you can find them
Here, here,  and here.

Her world seemed to be spinning, with her inside, life had turned into a cruel terrifying ride.

So many questions, with no answers around. They kept piling up to torture and confound.

She called on her pastor, and some very close friends, she cried in her pillow "This can't be how it ends."

They all gave advice, but none of it matched, while in the back of her mind her own plan was hatched.

The gentleman had been talking to her every day, so she said meet me tomorrow and I will have my say.

They met up at the church when the got off of work.

"I'll give you a second chance to mend all this hurt."

They had many long talks, the princess and the young man. They discussed lots of things not many folks can.

Things started to feel better, her world became bright, even when she was tired from texting all night.

Honesty was the new normal, nothing was held back, and the princess decided they might be on the right track.

Then he got a job in her same town, and asked her at dinner if she wanted to hang around.

It started out simple. He asked if she wanted to each day.

Pretty soon the waitress knew exactly what they wanted and who would pay.

A table for two, buffets, a water and Sprite, since they didn't have Mountain Dew.

They giggled and laughed and found out all their secrets. But each one knew they could trust them to keep it.

They made secret jokes, and shared all their dreams.

It was funny how much they thought the same things.

The day she left town she warned him not to lose his heart while she was gone for three days.

"Don't worry," He said "It's yours anyways."

They talked on the phone, until he fell asleep, in the morning his texts were the first things to beep.

He called her his sweetheart. Said he wished that she was.

"You'll have to talk to my dad"

"I'm not afraid!"

But he was ;)

Tebow Time!

This post could also be titled Men Are Dorks, or I Was Recognized by A Lead Singer and I Kind of Feel Like a Big Deal.

 

Guys!!

Tim Tebow came to my state!

To a town that is a 45 minute drive away from my house!!

Needless to say I got tickets. Lots of them. Both of my aunts, and my grandma, and my entire family packed up and went.

VOTA opened with a concert, and then the Fellowship of Christian Athletes interviewed Tim. It was absolutely amazing. Obviously I'm not allowed to post what was said, but it was absolutely fabulous to hear Tim talk about his life and faith. So inspiring. He is such a kid! It was adorable seeing him get excited about things like t-ball and winning games. And I'm shocked and a little ashamed to admit that he knows more about Nebraska college football than I do. It was amazing. He was presented with a Husker #15 jersey. That was rocking.

My hopes and dreams were crushed when he had to catch a flight and didn't have time to sign autographs. All the time leading up to it Jarod had been telling me he was going to come along to keep an eye on me, and I'd been saying there was no need because I was going to meet Tim Tebow and marry him. And he just left. But oh well. I got pictures of him on stage.

A local youth speaker named Keith Becker gave the plan of salvation and then VOTA wrapped everything up.

The message was so powerful and the music was fantastic. After it was over we went to the merch table to get my dad and aunt a tshirt and Bryan (the lead singer) walked up to me and was like "Hey, how are you?"

HE RECOGNIZED ME.

FROM LAST YEAR WHEN I WENT TO HIS CONCERT.

It was amazing. My mom flipped out.

I texted Jarod afterward and told him I was married. To which he said "Ok" and proceeded to not speak to me the rest of the night.

The next day I told him I was divorced and that perked him up considerably. Especially when I told him that it wouldn't have worked between me and Tim because I liked some guy from Arizona.

Jarod informed me that he didn't think he could be with a divorced woman.

He always has to spoil my fun.

Men.

They drive a girl crazy.

Tim up and leaves to catch some flight. Was it really that important? His soul mate was there in the room with him and he decided to catch a flight.

Jarod wont let me be a complete goofball. He has to thwart my juvenile teasing.

The only one worth hanging around is Bryan. That guy knows what's up.

Taylor Swift Book Tag

I'm doing this tag and I'm not even sorry. I found it on Sarah's blog and I am absolutely crazy to get started on it. No shame.

1. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together- pick a book or series that you were pretty sure you were in love with, but then you wanted to break up.
Hmmm, that's a tough one. Usually if I'm ever in love with the series I am always in love with it. I thought I was going to be in love with The Maze Runner series, but then I wasn't. So I guess I'll use that. The friends talk to Minion 1, and Minion 1 talks to me about it, but...no. I just can't keep up with it.

2. Red. Pick a book with a red cover.

I will never not pick this book. It is the best ever. And red. Everything looks better in red. Love it to death. I'm never certain if I like this one or the final book in the series best...This one I think. And it does take me through all the stages. Losing Murtagh was blue. Missing him was dark gray. The whole shebang.

3. The Best Day. Pick a book that made you feel nostalgic.

Um....I don't feel nostalgic very often...Little Women. That's the closest I get to feeling nostalgic.

4. Love Story-Pick a Book with a Forbidden Love:

This one was my first thought. I love the whole romance between Considine the bank robber and...I think her name was Lennie. It was adorable, and so sweet and innocent.

5. I Knew You Were Trouble-Pick a book with a bad character you couldn't help but love.

 This describes almost every book I read though!!  The Infernal Devices, The Inheritance Cycle...But I think I'm going to go with Artemis Fowl. The kid is a boy criminal. And completely devious. And I love him. Never did have a fictional crush on him, but he was just fabulous to read about. Shame on me.

(In case you were wondering, the code on the front says "Carry me always. Carry me well. I am they teacher of herb and spell."...I spent hours of my life translating every last bit of the code in the books)

6. Innocent- Pick a book that someone ruined the ending for you.

Allegiant!!!!! I don't know who ruined it for me first, my doppleganger or Pinterest, but I was absolutely devastated. Thanks a lot Veronica Roth!!

7. Everything Has Changed- Pick a character from a book who goes through extensive character development .

Murtagh. It is so heart wrenching all the development he goes through. I wish I could make a character develop half that well. My life would be complete.

8. You Belong with Me- Pick your most anticpated book release.

Oh golly, I don't even know what is coming out lately. All my series' are finished...Oh! I've been hearing a lot about Book 5 of the Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini. I will be the first to buy it when it is finally published.

9. Forever and Always- Pick your favorite book couple.

Will Herondale and Tessa Gray I think. I loved so many fictional couples, but they never end up together, so it's hard for me to even list them with 'forever and always'. I've never shipped someone as hard as I shipped Will and Tessa though.

10. Come Back, Be Here- Pick a book that you would least like to lend out, because you would miss it  too much.

I have a really hard time lending out any of my books. Hope Rising is about the only book I'm comfortable with lending out, and I have two copies of it. And it still has my address wrote inside in permanent marker. I do not like giving out Divergent, Inheritance, or The Hunger Games. Period.