YOB: A Short Break From Adventures

By Beth

I am taking a break this week from the usual telling about a recent Year of the Birthday adventure. I do hope you will forgive me. It's just...well...it's been one of those weeks here in good ol' PA. Work stuff, home stuff and my back hurts so much that I've already had to take a break from this entry. Plus, I just didn't feel the creativity flowing enough to write about a cave. I want to do the story justice and I feel I just can't this week. So, here is something I wrote last week which some of you may have seen on my Facebook page.

Lara called me Wednesday night after hitting a deer on her way home. We talked for a bit, she was concerned it wasn't dead. I hope I made her feel better amidst the police interruptions and confirming that the deer was actually dead. I was very glad to know that she was okay and that the Jeep was not terribly injured.

The thing about inspiration is that it comes on me at such odd times. The following day, Thursday, I found myself with about an hour to kill while sitting at my son's dress rehearsal for a show he's in this Friday. The first verse of a poem floated through my head and I ran with it.

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YOB: #27. Get A Massage

By Lara

I left my mother's house early last night in order to get home to write this article.  I collided with a deer about half a mile from her house. Apparently, I need to do a more thorough search of my co-workers cubicles in order to find the voodoo doll that I'm sure one of them is harboring in my image.

I'm physically fine. My jeep was drivable. I called the sheriff's office. They told me to go home. I did. They called me back regarding the license plate I had left in the road. Sigh. Now that I have filed a claim with my insurance, taken the jeep to the body shop, and gotten a rental car, I just have to work through my moderate animal-lover's guilt and rental car paranoia.

Now. Down to business. The next item on the Year of the Birthday list was "Get a Massage." I had a massage once before. My friend Jill had suggested that we do a spa day. She planned it. Included in the spa day package was: a massage, a facial, lunch, a manicure, a pedicure, and hair styling.

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YOB: #17. Try To Get Something Published: Why I Write

By Beth

I’ve been a “writer” most of my life. I’ve written short stories, poems, essays, research papers (but only for college) and have toyed with writing a full-length book for some time now. My earliest attempts at writing are all very similar. Girl is hurt/a servant/the outcast/the new girl; meets boy who is WAY out of her league (even though I didn’t know what “out of your league” meant back then); boy rescues girl and falls in love with girl; boy and girl live happily ever after. That was elementary school. In middle school I wrote mostly about boys I liked with the occasional poem thrown in. Interestingly enough, all the characters in my stories had names that started with the letter J. All of them, no exceptions. I don’t know why I did that, probably some deep psychological problem that will come out when I least expect it.

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YOB: #23. Have High Tea With Scones (Part 2)

By Lara

The original Year of the Birthday plan was to go to Hershey for the massage, caves, and hot air balloon ride. However, by August both Beth and I were high on friendship and low on cash. I proposed that we go to Lara's Bed and Breakfast instead of Hershey. We also decided to postpone the hot air balloon ride and substitute in a less expensive activity.

Since Beth was coming here, I thought that I would surprise her by making reservations for tea and scones at Tea By Two. I'm not usually into girl things, but my mother had taken me there for my birthday three years ago, and I fell in love with their food. Their scones are heavenly.

In spite of the fact that Beth is not fond of tea, I convinced her that she was going for the scones. She almost believed me. I think she continued to be skeptical until a steaming, lemon glazed morsel of heaven melted in her mouth. She also managed to find a tea that wasn't offensive to her sensitive palate.

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YOB: #23. Have High Tea With Scones

By Beth

I've never been a big fan of hot drinks. The only kinds I'll tolerate are hot cider (in the dead of winter) and hot chocolate (from December-February, unless an unseasonal bout of frigid weather hits us). Coffee is the most disgusting drink ever created and it should be outlawed. I blame my father for why I don't like coffee. When I was growing up, he would regularly have me make his coffee for him. He took it black. One afternoon, I was around the age of 12, I got the bright idea to taste a little of dad's coffee. I nearly threw up. Coffee with cream and sugar is gross; coffee taken black is like pureed orc hair with a touch of goblin blood. I haven't touched the stuff since.

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