Medicine (No 2) A Spoonful Of Sugar. . . .

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.
This is my 2nd entry which I don't usually do but when you have an idea, you just have to go with it. Hope you like this take on Medicine.

The bottle hadn’t been missed and Michael was surprised he had managed to get his little hands on it; buried deep in the carpet bag of mystery amongst items that wouldn’t fit through the door let alone in a carpet bag!

It wasn’t an ordinary medicine; his was red and tasted of strawberry, his sister’s came out green and tasted of lime cordial and the Nanny’s came out dark brown and tasted of rum and as she drank it she muttered something about being ‘Practically Perfect’  of which she was, there was no doubt.

 But she wasn’t so perfect as to give Michael the medicine when he actually needed it; a tickly throat from laughing too much whilst at the funniest tea party ever where he learnt about a wooden leg named Smith.

But now it was all his and he unscrewed the golden cap, his anticipation too much to bear at what flavour he was going to get from this most magnificent liquid; medicine had never tasted so good or had been so exhilarating!

It was white and he instantly thought of fluffy marshmallow as the spoon quickly disappeared into his eager mouth but he was sorely disappointed as it was as bitter as lemon and as sticky as glue; his lips sealed tight so he couldn’t spit it out as he was forced to swallow the all too familiar taste of bitter medicine. .  .

Medicine- A Wretched Existence

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

There were pills to get to sleep, pills to get up and go and pills to come down and so on in the vicious circle that could not be broken even if she wanted it to. There were so many bottles, it was alarming but they had all been prescribed so there was nothing to worry about; her manager had said as much as the Doctors knew what they were doing.

But this particular afternoon was hazy; cocktails started early as part of the working lunch but there was no food, or if there was, it went unnoticed as Ruby’s glass was never empty, her side never alone as she shone and worked her captivated audience.

Until she was in yet another hotel room that looked every inch like the rest, living out of a suitcase and unable to function without her meds; not wanting to function without them so were her insecurities, self loathing and desperation. 

Unable to remember what she had taken and when, Ruby gingerly fingered the small orange bottle that would send her off into a dreamless, empty sleep; not caring if she ever awoke because as long as her dreams were empty, she was at peace. . .

Yummy Mummy Meme

Yummy Mummy Meme

The closest to a Yummy Mummy I’ve got is

A: reading about them in Chick Lit; fictional characters with the perfect wardrobe, accessories and house in West London.

B: seeing them peruse the fashion floor in the Corner Shop, Knightsbridge, SW1.

But I’ve had a go in completing this meme and if nothing else, I’ve realised I need to update the old makeup bag and now want to get my nails done!

Anyway, back to business. . . .         

One of my gorgeous Twitter peeps and fab blogger  Karen from 365pearlsofwisdom has tagged me in this meme that was originally started by busybee As with all memes there are some rules which isn’t as bad as you may think!

1.     When answering the questions, give as much detail as possible. It’s all about the finer details people!

2.    Leave a comment here http://busybeemummybex.blogspot.co.uk/

3.    Tag three more peeps and link them to your blog.

4.    Tweet #yummymummy when sharing on twitter.

Deep breath. Here goes!

What is the first thing you do when you wake up?

Well this isn’t so bad. . . .
Usually feed the cat which is my alarm clock. I’ve never had such a vocal cat! If I’m too slow, he will proceed to nibble my fingers or toes which does the trick! I don’t mind at times when he meows for his breakfast as I do have to be up at 6 but when he does it earlier, he can jolly well jog on!

Do you Shower daily? Are you an Early Morning Shower type or Evening Bath type?

Yes and early morning shower type. Don’t do baths so much so that when new bathroom comes, bath is completely going to be replaced by gorgeous shower. Baths take up too much time and water.

Do you wear makeup daily?

Ha ha ha! Don’t make me laugh. Me? Makeup! I don’t even brush my hair on a daily basis! Of course I tend to become the glamour puss when on a night out but the day to day routine is face cream, moisturiser and body lotion. It all stems from those days of tipping out of bed at five in the morning for work in uniform where make up and jewellery were a big no no and who has time for that nonsense at that time of morning anyway?


What’s in your make up bag? 

Bad hair, makup and clotehs. 80s!

 No7 lip gloss, mascara, eye shadow and liquid eye liner. Also some rather cheap shocking pink nail varnish from an 80s weekend at Butlins!   

When you’re having a slummy mummy day, what do you normally wear?
I guess this is another way of saying looking like ‘Old Ned’ which I think I do on a daily basis! If I’m slobbing for the day then it’s generally joggers and a T with hoodie. Sounds chavy but it’s not (I can’t afford to be chavy); just Old Ned!

Nails- How often do you get them done?
I’ve never had my nails done professionally. Now pick yourselves up from the floor please.     

Your top tip for tired eyes.
Get more sleep! Do not rub them. I’m sure there are some lovely beautician things to buy and use but I don’t know what they are.

Are you a Starbucks or Costa Coffee kind of girl?
Neither. Do not drink coffee and never have; or tea for that matter. A Pepsi Max and I’m pukka.

How many children do you have and why?  
One son who is a teen now. Wanted more but never happened. But we’re happy as a three; son has friend for holiday and we all have our own space. He’s not an- only –child-spoilt-brat- but a well balanced popular, handsome young man who we are very proud. I would love to put a pic on but I don't think he'd appreciate it as it's uncool! . Xxx

Where is your favourite place to shop for baby/children clothes?
When son was a baby, I used to shop in Next but now I can’t afford to shop where teen likes to get his clothes from. He’s a Hollister, Superdry and Jack Wills fashionista and sorts himself out with pocket money and paper round. He’s very well dressed and a walking close horse!

Flats or heel for every day shoes



Flats, flats, flats!!! On feet all day! Walk to and from work. Has to be flats! And even then I sometimes ring up Hubby after a long day asking for a lift home! When I last wore heels to a wedding, I ended up changing into my trainers!   


From gorgeous heels. . . . .

 . . . . .To trainers!



  
Now it’s time to tag three lovely ladies who I hope are more girly than me and have time to be gorgeous because they are Yummy Mummy's).

http://40yearolddomesticgoddess.blogspot.co.uk/   Sam -Goddess -Thurley- it's in the name so I'm expecting great Yumminess! x

http://www.themummyblogger.co.uk/  The Lovely Charlotte, my Twitter Twin!

http://www.thefabulousmomsguide.com/  The gorgeosly crafty Zena-Marie

I look forward to your tales of trying to achieve Yummy Mummy status if you're not there already. xxxx 

The Return of The Magnificent Seven

You may remember that some time ago I blogged about the monthly quiz night and the battle for last place in the   Battle of the Pickled Onion Monster Munch . . . you get a prize for being last and without that, we’d never get a chance of a prize! And as important as ‘winning’ a prize is, we never ‘aim’ to lose! It just happens because. .  .well we’re crap and loud. Any answers we do know, we’re so eager to say and share and surprised that we do actually know that we shout it.

Well this blog is going to revisit the pub quiz as we went along last night. Since last time, our team has grown by one bringing our total to seven. However the maximum number of people on a team is six. But the quiz people let us have the extra one because that’s how dire we actually are. If we had a team of ten, we’d still lose such is our pub quiz skill at answering questions correctly.

                                                              

We called ourselves The Magnificent Seven because we have such high expectations of our success and going by the film that’s slim as only three survive their battle and still their chances were greater than ours! We now also bring our own nibbles to accompany the ones supplied. We feel this will aid to our success even though month after month, we are last. But we don’t mind as we do like our prize of Monster Munch. And it is all rather civilised. Although at times, the nibbles do occupy our conversation and minds when we should be concentrating on the questions!

It started off promisingly; a round on general knowledge, a round on Sherlock Holmes (the TV show helped here somewhat!), anagrams of TV shows and cryptic clues to find the band name. A round on famous ‘Smiths’ was ok and then a geography round on rivers which was dreadful! By this time we still had played our joker which doubles your score for that round. So we had either the last round which was general knowledge or the penultimate round called ‘Losers’. Well, seeing as we are always losers at the quiz, we decided we just had to play the joker here!  The last round is rubbish anyway with 1 point for a correct answer but minus 2 for a wrong or missed answer! Which would be disastrous!

All in all, the quiz rounds weren’t too bad but we always think we’re excellent and we always come last! Well, they began in reverse order, as usual. We waited for our last place and the Monster Munch only for our name not to be called. We were sad and made little comments about wanting our crisps! Then came the next team and we were ready. . . But it wasn’t us! Had they miscounted? This was unknown territory. Then the next team and it still wasn’t us! Out of seven teams, we started to get excited! Then she said ‘joint third’ which meant we were in the running for a prize! Well, we just could not believe it!  I was beside myself! The crisps are good! But a prize of cash is better! And she said our name! Yay! We won the grand sum of £3.00!! Double Yay! And because we’re awesome, we gave it all to the team member who is doing the Race for Life. So wins all round.

We just could not believe our success. Obviously nor did anyone else and when I told  Hubby the following morning (he was sleeping when I got home due to early start so I had to suppress my excitement which is extremely hard!) these are the texts I got back (as he was now at work when I got up). We are ships that pass in the night but that's another blog for another day . . . maybe. x

§  Did all the other teams give up and die?  (No they did not!) 

§  Did they take the teams back to their special hospital? (That's just mean. They were highly intelligent!)

§  I don’t believe it. I think all the other teams were shit faced. (well, it is a pub quiz so it is a possibility, but they weren't as they take these quizzes far too seriously!)

§  Maybe, as I can’t prove it, the other teams just did not turn up at all. (That is the meanest! 7 teams turned up and we had to share our winnings!) 

§  And if you were the only team, you’d still come second. (Ooh, OUCH! )

 Isn't it lovely to get such a warm response from your own Hubby? But my friends were the same as their Hubby's cast doubts to our success. 

Oh well . .  we know we were awesome and for one night only, we were genius at team work and answering the questions. Maybe it was the Birthday Cake? Or the Revels? Who knows! But next month, it's all to play for and maybe the Hubby's should get a team together and then I wouldn't mind losing the Monster Munch.

                                                           



If you enjoyed this, you may also like
  The Battle of the Pickled Onion Monster Munch

Love Lizzie Loodles xxx

5 Sentence Fiction Lost

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie will post a one word inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word. The word does not have to appear in your five sentences, just use it for direction.

This week: Lost

The fine, soft sand trickled through her brightly polished toes with every sweeping step towards nowhere but nowhere was better than going back.

For months Cindy had yearned for the freedom, the space and the time to just be.

Her dream was to become an actress and as she realised her dream, the paparazzi realised their money spinner as they waited with lenses poised like sinister probes waiting to prod and poke her inner desire- and the people behind them wishing they actually could.  

Scandalous lies followed Cindy everywhere and the art of acting was now lost amongst a turbulent sea of celebrity and gossip where she was slowly drowning amongst the suffocating sleaze.          

A light breeze blew and a newspaper fluttered by unnoticed, with a headline of ‘MISSING’ emblazoned across the top as a picture of Cindy in full celebrity mode of false smile, bleached teeth and cleavage filled the page; not seen for forty eight hours . .  .but they were the best forty eight hours of her life as she embraced the unknown with a real smile.     

I actually do like the world of celeb but I guess this is the other side we don't see until its too late. xxx

50th Birthday Party . . . Part 1.

It’s been hard work, these past two days. I was asked by my Mad American Friend to make her birthday cake. Now I’ve made birthday cakes before but this one was different.

1.     It’s for her 50^th birthday. (Just a bit spesh)

2.    It is going to be on show for all friends and family to see.

3.    The colour theme for party is pink and purple.

4.    She’s one of my bestest and closest friends who I laugh loads with and love lots so I did not want to let her down!

PRESSURE!!!!  

Not half! The baking of the chocolate cake was easy; a tried and tested recipe that everyone loves. Then came the design. Now I have spent many a night thinking about how to decorate it, then changing my mind, then deciding something and so on. Ideas seem much better in the peacefulness of the night where is in the cold light of day, they’re, well. Pants! I knew it was to be pink and purple so I bought up all the pink and purple icing in the little cake decorating shop (they only had one pack of purple) and purple wires. Awesome but still no design. I was momentarily sidetracked by making cupcakes for my sister’s birthday which was nice. But then I was back to the design. Of course, I have known about this party/event for months and have been thinking about it off and on for that time. However, between you and me, I did forget a few times and didn’t realise how close it was. And then with 2 bank holidays, I realised time was extremely short and nonexistent for ordering anything on line to wear or for any last minute cake bits.  And still no design.

Finally, after a few anxious moments, it came to me; so simple, so obvious! Stars and Stripes! Why didn’t I think if that before? Once the plan had formed in my mind I set to work, hoping I would have enough purple icing (and knowing deep down, I wouldn’t). The cake tasted gorgeous! I know this because on levelling the two pieces, I had to cut off the tops and of course it gave the opportunity to taste; moist and chocolaty.

It was taking shape nicely and then it happened. Not enough purple. A few frantic texts went flying to Hubby, Sis and friends to take me to cake shop to buy icing. Whilst I waited for someone to reply, I phoned said cake shop and they didn’t have any in!!! She must have heard my desperate (or pitiful) sigh as she then suggested colouring paste! Yay! Now for someone to text back. And they did. So off we went and I got my paste!

It worked! Cake decorating continued and at half nine that night, I finished! I was so relieved, yet quite pleased with the overall finish. Now would the Mad American like?

And you now understand why Hubby imploded

Work in progress; love the mess!

Hubby saw it and his first words were ‘It’s mad. Its’ bonkers. Like her. She’ll like it.’ His second, more frequent used words were ‘Now tidy up this kitchen!’ or words to that effect!  

Transporting the cake to the venue today was stressful. Hubby had to drive very slowly and carefully like we were part of a funeral procession, not preparing for a party. My nerves were taking over. I had butterflies. What if she didn’t like it?????

I needed have worried! She loved it and for once was lost for words! She wasn’t expecting it but loved what she saw! And after a few photos with cake, we set about decorating the hall ready for the party tonight.

She likes it!

If it was only that simple. An outfit for this shindig was tricky. The dress I ordered on line looked awful; showing every lump and bump and clung to me like a limpet on a rock in a storm. Not good. So sis and I were off to shop again (last week we found nothing. But the optimism we had for this week was strangely high).

However, Sis brought round some tops for me to try. There was one I really, really, really liked but it was a 14 and even after losing two stone, I wondered . . .  and it fit beautifully! Another Yay and then she gave me a pair of black jeans. Sorted! And at the shops, we found her an outfit too. So we are very excited about tonight now.

So as I sit with hair dye on, typing this up, I can finally relax; the Mad American loves her cake and we all have something pink and purple to wear. And if the hair dye goes wrong, I may have the added bonus of pink or purple hair too.

All that remains for part one of this blog is to wish my gorgeous, mad friend a very happy Birthday Party celebration with her friends and family surrounding her.

Here it is!

And you can eat as much yummy cake as you like. Xxx 

PS My Mad American friend is turning into the Queen! Her birthday celebration is tonight yet her birthday isn’t until the end of the month . . . still only getting one pressie Missy. Love you!!  xxxx

Happy not yet 50th Birthday!

Forbidden Love Blog Hop

Lillie McFerrin of Five Senetcne Ficiton has joined forces with Lady Bullish andJenelle to host a blog hop of Forbidden Love. Here's my effort that has left me rather heavy hearted . . . .

Don't Let the Morning Come

Looking up at the stars, we were for that moment the same as anyone else who dared to dream; wishing upon a star that those dreams would come true. Sam didn’t care as he breathed in the fresh, sweet smell of the night; the gentle lapping of the water’s edge a harmonious accompaniment to the beating of our hearts. I wished this night was everlasting. I wished the stars to stay forever and not let the sun come up with its bright optimism of a new and glorious summer’s day, for it would be forever winter in my heart.

“It will be ok.” Sam’s gentle voice of reassurance broke my melancholy as I looked into his beautiful blue eyes.  A single tear ran down his cheek as he heard the approach of his fate.

“They can’t do this!” I said in a strong but desperate voice.

“Yes they can.” I knew Sam spoke the truth. I could feel the splinters of ice encasing my heart as the first signs of dawn approached. This was it. This was the final time. I couldn’t breathe. I clung to Sam, hoping they had made a mistake. . . .

He was confused and dazed when I found him, wandering across a boggy field; blood caked to his skin and uniform. I had cleaned him up by the river and he remembered a life of no bullets, guns or bombs, but music, love and laughter. I gave him those memories but now that’s all I would have; one last kiss before the blindfold wrapped around his eyes. Meticulously, the rifles aimed. The first bell tolled at six on 17^th May 1914. The crackles of fire. The sun rose. Sam was gone; shot as a coward but a hero forever in my heart. . . .

300 words


Post Script
306 soldiers were executed for desertion and cowardice by their own side. Today those men would be treated for shell shock. They, and their families, have now been granted a posthumous pardon.

The Kreativ Blogger Award

I have just been tagged in the Kreativ Blogger Award by the wonderful Ruth Long Bullishink. Check out her writing blog which is thought provoking and fabulous!!! Anyway as with all tags, there are some rules which have to be followed as rules do. These ones are fairly straightforward to follow, just tricky to complete . . .

The Rules

1.     Thank and link back to the person who nominated you. (Easy peezy)

2.    Answer 10 questions. (Gulp)

3.    Share 10 random facts about yourself (Bigger gulp)

4.    Bestow the Kreativ Blogger award on 7 fab bloggers. (A gorgeous thing to do if they haven't already been awarded! But tricky in that there are loads more than 7 out there! please do not be offended if I have not chosen you.)

Questions

1.  What’s your favourite song?

·         Oh my gosh; see what I mean by ‘gulp’! How can you choose 1 song???? I shall try and narrow down a very long list of favourites into a top 5 in no particular order.

·         With or With You by U2

·         November Rain by Guns and Roses.

·         Don’t want to miss a Thing by Aerosmith (our wedding first dance song so it has to be in here somewhere).

·         Don’t Look back In Anger by Oasis

·         Train Spotting sound track - yes it’s an album, not a song but it is the best album and when I’m down, this never fails to cheer me up and I can’t select one.

1.  What’s your favourite dessert?

·         And again ‘oh my gosh!’ There are just sooooo many desserts out there. How is a girl to choose? So this dessert has to be special. It has to be orgasmic. It has to be creamy. It has to be sweet but not sickly sweet. And it has to be homemade . . . so I’m going for New York Cheesecake.  . . . I think!! And tomorrow, it’ll be something entirely different!  

2.  What ticks you off?

·         Being late! I hate being late anywhere and hate people being late. I get so agitated by it. I can’t help it. I get my knickers in a twist over it and wish I didn’t as at times there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. 

3.  What do you do when you’re upset?

·         Depending on who has upset me I either cry or sulk with the odd bit of door banging thrown in. A good walk along the beach or in the forest usually blows it all away. J 

4.  Which is your favourite pet?

·         I only have one so this question is easy. Yay!! It is my bonkers cat Indi! 

5.  What do you prefer: black or white?

·         Black. I don’t own much white and my Hubby’s work shirts are white and a pain in the backside to iron so definitely black just on that alone. 

6.  What is your biggest fear?

·         I do a have a phobia which I shall keep to myself thank you. Too scared to talk about it.  However, I would like my family to be safe when they're out and about. x  

7.  What is your attitude mostly?

·         Positive. Things happen (or don’t happen) for a reason so you have to pick yourself up and try again with an even bigger smile. Don’t get bogged down with ‘stuff’ as it will make you miserable and being miserable is well, miserable.

8.  What is perfection?

·         Me, ha ha ha. Seriously. . . . . It’s spending time with people that I love dearly which I do every single day, at work and at home. And I'd have to say, a cat's purr is purrfection too. XXX 

9.  What is your guilty pleasure?

·         Peanut butter and chocolate spread eaten together with a teaspoon (from my American friend’s daughter). Yummy!

  10 Random facts

1.     I absolutely hate the spine on books being creased. My friends hate borrowing books from me because of this.

2.    I never have and can’t see that I ever will drink tea or coffee . . . Yuk!

3.    I have moved house 14 times since childhood. 

4.     When looking at all the flowers outside Kensington Palace after Diana’s death, I was interviewed by Sky News. I still have the video tape.   

5.     I was a vegetarian for 5 years. Then when I left school and was out and about working and socialising, it went right out the window as the choice for a veggie was nonexistent.

6.    I decided not to waste a long weekend off from work and buggered off to Edinburgh on me Jack Jones. It was awesome! The B&B treated me like a long lost daughter feeding me up with an extra special brekkie. I met people on the Ghost Tour and shared a few beers with them and had my first Haggis! Yummy. Would love to go back with Hubby as it is the most beautiful place. 

7.    I ate six Creme Eggs one after the other. But I was pregnant and just couldn’t get enough chocolate. Needless to say, I didn’t eat Creme Eggs for a few years after.

8.    I am a Royalist.

9.    I love any excuse to wear head boppers.

10.  I only wear makeup when on a special night out. The rest of the time, it’s just me and that’s how I like it.

Now to nominate 7 special writers/bloggers and who may have already been nominated by a previous blogger/writer; I don’t know but can only apologise. But then again, why shouldn’t you have 2! And if you haven’t been nominated, it’s about time. xxxx

My Magnificent 7 are:

·         Donna at http://donnamcnicol.blogspot.co.uk

·         Stephanie at  http://steph221989.blogspot.co.uk/

·         Lisa at  http://thelastkrystallos.blogspot.co.uk/

·         Sandra at http://castelsarrasin.wordpress.com/

·         Melanie at   http://thelifeandtimesofawannabewriter.blogspot.

·         Jess Sturman at  http://jesssturman.wix.com/jess-sturman-coombs

·         Claire at http://2moms5kids1blog.blogspot.co.uk/

          

Thank you for the award Ruth Bullish. I shall try and live up to it by posting weekly on 5 Sentence Fiction http://lilliemcferrin.com and by getting back to blogging! xxx