Challenges

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #5:

Challenge

I’m down to the end of the September Writing Challenge which means that I’m down to the final prompts and have no idea what to do with a lot of them. Today I’m tackling “challenge,” and I have a few different challenges to talk about. 

Challenge #1: 

Yesterday we went to the mountains for the day. My mom bought herself a motor home for Christmas last year, so she’s been out enjoying nature all summer. She invited us to come spend the day at her campsite, so we took her up on the offer.

We went fishing, laid around in hammocks, played games, and sheltered from the rain. 

We were supposed to be by a lake, but when we arrived, to our dismay, the lake had been significantly drained. Since most of the lakebed had been exposed (and we were trying to keep Zoe and Eva busy and focused on something other than the lack of internet), I told them to try and find the most interesting item to bring back while they were walking through the lake with Scotty. 

Zoe ended up bringing back a pair of men’s underwear which she carried around on a broken boat paddle:

Eva dragged back most of a tree:

She tried to bring it home, but darn it! It wouldn’t fit in the motor home.

And Scotty found some sunglasses and fishing lures:

The glasses looked like they’ve had lake stuff growing on them for many years. 

Daisy found a fishing pole (also covered in “lake stuff”), but we didn’t get a picture.

Nicky didn’t come with us, but if he had, I guarantee he would have rocked this challenge. Nicky is our “finder.” Nicky was at a homecoming dance at another school, which leads to…

Challenge #2:

Nicky was not very prepared for this dance. He knew he was going for about two months, but he didn’t ask the girl until the Wednesday before. On Friday, I asked, “Should you be getting a corsage for this dance?” and in true teenage boy fashion, he replied, “Um… I don’t know.” 

I knew he would need a corsage, so I got to work trying to put something together. I’ve always wanted to learn to make them, so I figured this was my chance. I bought some supplies on Friday night. Around 10:00 pm, Nicky texted me that his date’s dress was pink. I didn’t even attempt to clarify what shade of pink… because it took eight hours just to get “pink” out of him.  

I had some white roses from a centerpiece from a conference Scotty went to for work, and on Saturday morning I went to the grocery store and bought a mostly dead, discounted bouquet of flowers just so I could use some of the “fillers” from it. 

Confession, I’ve always thought corsages would be pretty easy to make, and I always thought I’d just be a natural at it. It just seems like something I should be able to do. But I learned many years ago that I do not have a knack for floral design. This knowledge did not deter me from thinking I could whip up a corsage like it was nothing. 

I started putting it together, and it would look really good, but then something would slip out of place. I couldn’t get anything to stay where I put it. I was using floral tape and some wire. I’d watched tutorials. It all seemed to simple! But I couldn’t get the stupid thing to stay together or to stay on the wristlet. Finally I got out a glue gun and just glued the crap out of it. 

In the end, it looked amazing as long as you only looked at it from the top. Many secrets could be revealed from other angles. It held up long enough for photos, and I guess that’s all it was really needed for. 

Part of me thinks I should never attempt it again, but the other part of me wants to conquer this skill. 

Bless my friend who made me feel better by sending me this photo of her daughter’s corsage from a few years ago:

Challenge #3:

My third challenge is something I just need to be held accountable for. I have been indulging greatly in soda and fast food lately, so I would like to activate a personal challenge to go the next two weeks without soda or eating out (exceptions would be eating out for a purpose, like if I get invited for a girls night out or something, and if that happens, I would like to avoid anything deep fried). 

So there you have it. Three challenges of varying degrees, and my commitment to not drink soda or eat out. Send me good vibes because I’m deeply addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper and cold subs right now, and I’m pretty sure the people at three different McDonald’s locations know my voice.