Children

Now What?: Write what comes next.

It's ten o'clock. Do you know where your children are?

We Have A Winner!!! 05/25/10

All of the eggs are just as I left them, unfertilized and unhatched.

Winner: Bethany (@Auburnrose)
Reason: Some great answers but this one made me choke on my water.

Mommy Dearest

Now What?: Write what comes next.

Your mother forgot your birthday.

Uh oh... Now what?

We Have A Winner!!! 05/07/10

I call her up immediately at 9:43AM (one minute after my birth time during which she normally phones me), pout a lot and make her feel guilty, then plop myself in her kitchen until she makes me spaghetti and meat sauce and garlic bread and carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Then give her a hug. :)

Winner: Sassy Britches
Reason: Full of win - and yum!

Umm, Thanks...

Now What?: Write what comes next.

It's your birthday. You've just opened a box containing the most bizarre gift you've ever received.

What is it? Who is it from? What do you say?

We Have A Winner!!! 05/07/10

My birthday had been largely perfect. No fuss, no muss. My husband and I sat huddled up on the couch after having put my son to bed, my swollen belly taking up the most space.

"Did you get everything you wanted for your birthday?" he asked.

"I think so," I responded feeling content and happy. Our hands were intertwined.

He reached to the side of the couch and pulled up a smallish box. "Do you think you can handle opening one more present?"

I was immediately curious as to what was in the transformed shoe box. It stood up on it's end. The lid had been fashioned to look like little doors, complete with two small knobs to pull them open. It was the only gift I had received with the exception of the birthday card my son had picked out.

I opened the doors slowly and peered inside. I felt kind of guilty, as if I was spying on someone's life. Inside was a little bar and from it hung green things. I pulled the door open wider and reached in, pulling out one of the green shapes. It was a $20 bill folded into an origami shirt. There were pants and dresses too.

"There is $250 for you to go buy a new wardrobe. I know it doesn't do you any good now, but I thought you would want new things after the baby was born."

I couldn't stop admiring the little wardrobe. I was so moved by the amount of time it must have taken to create. It was beautiful in artistry and rich in love. Sometimes, money can buy happiness.

Winner: Heather
Reason: Completely touching.

Free For All

Now What?: Write what comes next.

I didn't schedule a cue for today. That means you're sitting there, cue-less, and you can write about anything you want, completely unsupervised. Now what?

Two winners today - I'll give a Day 3 and a Wildcard. Because I'm generous to make up for my lack of planning.

We Have A Day Three Winner!!! 05/07/10

Oh my. No cue. Carte Blanche to write about anything. What an opportunity....

So....


Nice weather, isn't it?

......

Oh look. A squirrel.

.......

Uh.....

Can I have a cue, please.

Winner: davidseven
Reason: That's almost exactly the thought process I went through trying to think of a cue when I realized I hadn't posted one.

We Have A Wildcard Winner!!! 05/07/10

Haiku must follow
Five-Seven-Five syllables;
Should note season (Spring!)

Winner: Inspired Dreamer
Reason: She is nothing if not true to herself.

Pirates vs Ninjas

Now What?: Write what comes next.

It is inevitable that someday there will be a battle between pirates and ninjas.

Which group will claim victory and why?

We Have A Winner!!! 04/26/10

The Ninjas will certainly win. Their suberb, kickass ninja moves will dominate the handicapped pirated.

Handicapped pirates? Why, yes! Those damn pirates, as underhanded as they are, can only see out of ONE EYE!

Winner: Donnetta
Reason: Beyond the one eye, most pirates also have the peg leg. I say that puts them at a real disadvantage.

Overnight

Now What?: Write what comes next.

While doing some late night shopping at the local department store, you find yourself locked in. Unfortunately, you will not be able to leave the store now until morning.

Now what?

We Have A Winner!!! 04/22/10

I would change labels
On the thin chick clothes; they'd all
Think they'd gotten fat.

Winner: Inspired Dreamer
Reason: It's brilliance, in haiku format. Haha, thin chicks!

Poison Treats

Now What?: Write what comes next.

Your boss comes to your desk and offers you one of his wife's special homemade chocolate candies. You love peppermint patties so you toss an entire glob of chocolate in your mouth only to realize it's coconut and you're allergic to coconut. Your boss asks you what you think of his wife's awesome yummies.

What do you say/do?

This one happened to me. I swallowed the candy, told him it was delicious, and ended up going home early due to the allergic reaction.

We Have A Winner!!! 04/15/10

Spew it out forcefully into the trashcan and then, gasping, say, "Oh they are DEE-LISH-US - but I'm deathly allergic to coconut! So sorry!"
"But if she makes coconut-free peppermint patties, I'd LOVE to try THOSE! -
And don't worry, Boss, I have some Benadryl in my desk. I won't have to leave early, but I may be a little slow today." (Big apologetic grin)

Winner: China
Reason: The response manages to salvage both the working relationship AND the health of the coconut-intolerant employee. Nice work.

All Irish

Now What?: Write what comes next.

Today is St. Patrick's Day!

How do you celebrate, if you do? Or if you don't, how would you respond if someone tries to pinch you for not wearing green?

We Have A Winner!!! 03/24/10

I don't do much to celebrate St. Patrick's Day except I always wearing green!

It has become fairly acceptable in our society to pinch a person for an infraction as benign as not wearing green on March 17th. However, it is very much not acceptable to break those peoples pinching fingers for touching me and causing me pain.

So I wear green.

Happy Don't Pinch Me (or else) Day

Winner: Melinda (@mstacer)
Reason: "Don't Pinch Me (or else) Day"? I love it - it's exactly my kind of holiday!

Cats vs Dogs

Now What?: Write what comes next.

This Saturday, there will be an epic battle between cats and dogs.

Which group will claim victory and why?

Yes, this is a bit of a repeat but the responses were great. I'm seriously considering replacing a daily cue with some sort of debate question.

We Have A Winner!!! 03/18/10

Cats take the high ground. Dogs tire of barking and eventually break off to pee on trees and hump each other.

Cats cannot act as a cohesive unit and will never mount a coordinated attack.

Regardless, war ends when dinner is served.

Winner: TM (@trmink)
Reason: From my experience, this is all true. And probably why the debate continues - there's really never going to be a winner. It's not in their natures.

Genie in a Bottle

Now What?: Write what comes next.

You have rubbed the magic lamp and a genie promises you three wishes.

Now what?

We Have A Winner!!! 03/10/10

I wish for millions of dollars
And the little man smiles at me,
Snaps his greasy fingers,
And I'm buried in cash from Monopoly.

I wish to be able to fly
And the little bastard smirks;
With another snappity snap,
I receive two plane tickets to Newark.

I wish for immortality
And he snaps his fingers once more;
Now I'm up to my neck in formaldehyde,
And thinking I should be more careful what I wish for.

Winner: Marc
Reason: A rhyme with a lesson. Nice work!

Failing and Falling

Now What?: Write what comes next.

You have to give a very important presentation to the president of the company. As you walk to the podium, you trip and fall flat on your face.

What do you say or do?

I haven't done this but I've witnessed something very similar. Horrifying.

We Have A Winner!!! 03/03/10

"Don't worry, I prepared for the presentation, just not so much the walking bit."=

Winner: Lora
Reason: GREAT responses all around on this cue. I laughed a lot and have made some notes for the next time my two left feet claim victory.

Party Pooper

Now What?: Write what comes next.

It's usually a good sign you should leave a party when...

Finish!

We Have A Winner!!! 02/26/10

...you finally take a good look around, recognize no one and realize that Mike's birthday cake actually says Steve.

Winner: Seriously Why Can't I
Reason: Probably a very good time to let yourself out the side door and never look back.

Epic Battle

Now What?: Write what comes next.

This Saturday, there will be an epic battle between penguins and chickens.

Which group will claim victory and why?

We Have A Winner!!! 02/17/10

The penguins won, of course, because everyone know that knows that no amount of BBQ sauce can mask the fact that penguin tastes like charbroiled ass. The chickens, however, were quite lovely with a little K.C. Masterpiece or a touch of honey mustard dipping sauce and were quickly devoured by their black and whited foes.

Winner: Rabbit (@redheaddancing)
Reason: The clear winners of this post are the penguins. Not a single vote for chickens? But Rabbit wins because his post made me hungry. So many great responses to this one though - I really enjoyed reading them!

Trunk

Now What?: Write what comes next.

"I found this in the trunk of your car. How could you?"

What was in the trunk of your car that caused so much drama?

We Have A Winner!!! 02/03/10

Mom asked me holding up the bag of jeans I'd cut into all shapes and sizes. "I thought your scissors phase was done with your teen years!! These are good pants, Autumn! You can't afford to go around cutting up your jeans!" I tried not to smile because she was really working herself into a tizzy over nothing and didn't realize it.
"If they don't fit you, you could have giving them away. Or sold them at least!"

Finally I couldn't help it anymore and I burst out laughing. "Mom, mom, I love you, but you've got this wrong" I said trying to calm myself down enough to explain. "These are the jeans that no longer fit the kids or me and were way too worn out to give away. I'm using them for quilting and crafting and a few other things." I told her softening my smile a bit. "These aren't the jeans I was telling you about on the phone, these were basically trash to begin with."

I reached into the trunk and pulled out a second bag. "These are the jeans that are in good condition. I was wondering if you would want them."

Winner: Autumn (@autumn_in_jeans)
Reason: Nothing like a good scolding from mom - especially when you can tell her she's wrong!

Chicken

Now What?: Write what comes next.

The chicken crosses the road...

...you know what to do.

We Have A Winner Two Winners!!! 01/29/10

...early every morning, to visit the handsome duck on the other side. She prays that no one questions her motives.

Winner: Cindy (@GeminiWilder)
Reason: C'mon, that's pretty funny.

He looks at his wife
and says "I figured it out!
Just cross when it's GREEN."

Winner: Inspired Dreamer
Reason: Brilliance, in haiku form. And really, don't you think the chicken would figure it out eventually? Before long, they'll be on the endangered species list if they don't.

Smashing Wedding Cake

Now What?: Write what comes next.

A server trips and falls, smashing the wedding cake into the dance floor in front of the entire crowd.

What does the server do next?

We Have a Winner! 01/20/10

Think, think, think, he told himself. His noses filled with the fragrance of butter cream as he lay on the floor running ideas for damage control through his head.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. He could hear the bridal party's voices begin to rumble angrily. He struggled to right himself on the now cake-covered dance floor when he detected the scent of almonds and it hit him... allergy!

He threw himself back down in the sticky mess with determination and began clutching at his throat and kicking. "I'm allergic to nuts! I'm allergic to nuts!" The wedding guests started to form a circle around the flailing server when the bride's father pushed his way through the crowd and looked sternly at the purplish-blue boy on the ground...

"My daughter is allergic to nuts. There are NO nuts in the cake."

Busted.

Winner: TMC @ Return to Rural (@returntorural)
Reason: I found myself cheering for our conniving server but I always like a story where the bad guy is caught in the end.

Roses and Violets

Now What?: Write what comes next.

"Roses are red, Violets are blue"

Finish the lovely verse.

We Have A Winner!!! 01/13/10

Roses are roses, violets are not.

"Roses are red, violets are blue",
Overused twaddle and clearly untrue.
Some roses are white, others are pink,
In Texas they're yellow, the worlds biggest, I think.

Violets are odd, with their own special hue,
Violets are violet and definitely not blue.

That sugar is sweet, I have to agree,
But that's where it ends, it seems to me.
The thinking is flawed, the analogy faulty:
Sugar is sweet but you are quite salty.

Winner: J Cosmo Newbery
Reason: I had never thought about it to that degree before but totally correct. And nicely rhymed!

Bacon

Now What?: Write what comes next.

At the local grocer, you see an elderly woman shoplift bacon.

What do you do?

We Have A Winner!! 01/07/09

Hide, because goodness knows what she'll do with those Sausages. When you get old like that, you need all the thrills you can get.

Winner: WeeSally (@WeeSally)
Reason: Hide indeed. And who am I to deny an old woman some joy in her life?

MIL Gift

Now What?: Write what comes next.

I can't believe my mother-in-law gave me a...

What did your mother-in-law give you? (I'm thinking holiday gifty)

Winner Time! 12/31/09

I can't believe my MIL gave me....

$825.00!! Wow! Unfortunately, it was in the form of a check for $25.00 each Christmas for 33 YEARS! That's all, ever....just a check for $25.00 a year.

[sadly, this is a true story]

Winner: Mellodee
Reason: I can totally relate to this. My entire batch of in-laws abides by such token gifts. I even have a post in draft mode over at ShowMyFace about it.

I'm Proud

Now What?: Write what comes next.

Most people would be embarrassed but not me! I'm proud...

Finish the statement.

Time for a Winner (12/19/09)

I made a pan of brownies last night
And the minute I took the first bite
I said, "If I can,
I'll eat the WHOLE PAN."
I did it--'twas a wonderful sight!

Winner: C. Beth (@cbethblog)
Reason: That would be embarrassing. I loved Tom's response too but he should stand tall and proud for that one. No embarrassment required! Beth, on the other hand...