The Day Ginger Snapped Part 3

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Here's this week's installment. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it

I stopped to take a look at myself in the mirrored wall of the Lobby and prayed that I would somehow see the young, hopeful fifteen-year-old that I had once been. Instead, all I saw was the over weight middle aged loser that I have become. So, instead of turning right and going into the restaurant I turned left and went into the bar. I found a seat at the bar, ordered a Margarita, drank it without even taking a breath and ordered a second one.

While I waited for the bartender to make my drink I looked around and saw that writer guy sitting at a table watching me.

"Are you following me?" I asked louder than I should have.

He smiled that beautiful smile of his and said, "No, are you following me?"

Honey, I would follow you anywhere!

"You wish! I'm staying at this hotel and I have a 7:30 dinner date in the restaurant."

"Well, I'm staying here too and it is 7:35."

There's that smile again!

"A girl needs to make an entrance." I said rather indignantly.

He laughed out loud, grabbed his glass and moved from his table to the seat next to mine as he said, "While you're killing time why don't you tell me about your date."

"His name is Ben and when I was fifteen he broke my heart."

"I see. And just what made this Ben guy so special?"

"He was the first guy to ever show any interest in me."

"So, you're saying that he was the first boy with good eyesight and half a brain that you ever met?"

I love this man!

"I knew you were a writer, but I didn't know you wrote science fiction."

There's that smile I like.

"Can I talk you into blowing off Super Ben and having dinner with me instead?"

Yes...yes...yesss!

"No"

What? Why did I just say no?

"Well, that was certainly a fast response. Do you mind if I ask why you would rather have dinner with this man who broke your heart years ago then with me?"

"I'm on a mission and I have to see it through." I explained to him.

Laughing he replied, "Oh yes, the loser or not a loser mission."

"Don't laugh! You can't possibly understand how important this is to me!"

Be quiet, now! You sound like a spoiled child!

He threw his hands up in a surrender motion. "I'm not laughing at you. I heard your story and I understand. You feel that you need to prove something. You don't have to prove anything to me though."

Oh my God! A man who is beautiful and understanding!

I didn't know what to say to that so I looked at the bar and saw my empty Margarita glass. I wondered why it is that Margaritas always seem to disappear around me. I think I'm being haunted by a ghost who drinks them before I get a chance.

I put some money on the bar and pushed myself up and off of the barstool, "I better go. I'm about to pass fashionably late and go straight to unbelievably rude."

I managed to take one step before I heard the ripping sound. It seems my dress was caught on something and I was now headed for a dinner date with a rip across my rear end.

Alden, looked at me with something that was a cross between pity and hysteria on his face. Then he said, "As long as you don't let him walk behind you, you'll be fine."

I fought back the tears, nodded and walked out with my head held high and my purse covering my butt.

Oh yeah, baby!

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I did it! I finished the required 50,000 word novel by November 30, got it uploaded to the NaNoWriMo site and counted! Please notice that I am now a "winner"!

I don't know what possessed me to do this, but it was fun and I am so glad that I did. I'm already looking forward to next year. Who knows, maybe I'll actually write something good next year. lol!

Cookies For Santa by FlowerScraps

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FlowerScraps is releasing an absolutely adorable kit today called Cookies For Santa. It's beautiful and you're going to love it!

Take a look at this preview...

Here's a layout I made using a picture of my friend Lisa and her daughter...

Make sure you check out FlowerScraps blog for more layout inspiration and for an add on freebie. Plus, this kit is going to be used in some really fun ways that involve other freebies and you'll even have a chance to win the whole kit!

What freaks you out?

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OK, so you already know that I'm a little claustrophobic, but did you know that gingerbread men freak me out too? I know, crazy huh? It's true though.

Around this time every year people pull out their gingerbread men ornaments for Christmas and I just can't stand it! There's always someone who thinks it will be cute to buy me one of those ornaments since my name is Ginger. It's not cute and you shouldn't do it!

I know everyone looks at all the little Gingerbread men ornaments and sees cuteness. I just see evil. I really think they come to life after one is asleep and go out to do bad things in the world. I bet someday we'll learn that gingerbread men are responsible for a large part of the world's unsolved crimes.

A few years back I worked with a girl who had her kitchen decorated with gingerbread men. Her kitchen was like this all year long, not just for Christmas! I visited her house one time and never went back.

Anyway, I'm bringing this up now because I had to explain my fear to someone today that laughed hysterically at me. I'm pretty sure he thought I was joking, but I wasn't. Those creatures really do freak me out!

So, what freaks you out? Don't be afraid to talk about it. We're all friends here.

PLEH!

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I should have saved yesterday's wordart for today, because today truly was a waste of make up and I wasn't really wearing much. Of course, I guess the "Bless this mess" works too because today was a messy waste of make up. lol!

I ran out to the store earlier today and made it home okay. There was some kind of hold up at the gate when I got home and I sat there waiting. I had my window down and I was thinking about what a great job I've been doing of not losing my resort pass for the past two weeks. The guys at the gate are still giving me a thumbs up and saying "Good for you" when they see I have it.

Anyway, I'm waiting for my turn to get into the gate, with the window down, holding my resort pass thinking about how these guys are probably going to plan a parade in my honor if I can go for just a little while longer without losing the stupid thing. That's when I did it---I dropped the pass. I dropped the pass and it fell down into the window part of the door. I was pretty amazed that it fell into the door like that. I mean I couldn't have gotten it in there if I had actually been trying to.

I pull up to the gate and tell the guy that the good news is that I do have my pass and the bad news is that it's inside the car door. He laughed at me. He asked if I would believe that it happens all the time and I said no. He said, "Good, because it doesn't." Then he laughed some more and opened the gate for me.

I take off in search of Orange Croc Guy to see if he can get the stupid pass out of my car door and he acted like I did it on purpose. I didn't do it on purpose. I couldn't do it on purpose. My aim isn't that good!

OCG had to take the inside panel off the door to get my pass and he complained the whole time. I asked him where all the anger was coming from and what he was really mad about. Wrong question!

OCG informed me that when I leave for school in the mornings he lays even odds on whether or not I'll be able to find my way back home. I informed him that I used to get lost, but some nice person painted lines in the middle of the road and now I just follow those lines and they always lead me straight home. He was not amused!

Later in the day I ran into someone that I had met years ago with Charlie. They went to school together or something. I didn't even remember him, but he remembered meeting me and asked about Charlie. That's how long ago it was that we met. He didn't know about Charlie passing away. I managed to choke back the tears and tell him, but it wasn't easy. Over four years later and I still cry. I'm such a baby!

I know that someday I'll be able to talk about Charlie dying without crying, but today was not that day. The only problem was that I was in a place where I really couldn't cry. I was around people who barely know me. People who never knew Charlie. People who have no idea that at one time in my life I was lucky enough to be loved by such a wonderful man.

I tried my best not to cry and to think about other things. I managed to hold the tears back for a few hours. But, in the end, I broke down and cried in front of about six people I don't know well enough to cry in front of.

It was the kind of crying where you're trying to stop but can't so you just cry more. They were trying to figure out why I was crying and I couldn't say the words again so that made me cry even more. Then they just kind of looked at me like I was a freak because I was crying and no one knew why which also made me cry more. It was awful!

On my way home, I threw my cell phone onto the seat beside me. Now, I have no idea where my cell phone is because I somehow managed to lose it in the car. How does that happen? I swear I spent five minutes looking for it when I got home before I just gave up and went to sit by the water.

I had been sitting outside for quite a while with my thoughts and memories when Orange Croc Guy joined me. He had been looking for me and was just starting to get worried when he looked outside and saw me. He could tell that I was not in the best of moods. He just sat there beside me for a few minutes before he started talking.

OCG: I've been trying to call you.

ME: I didn't hear the phone ring.

OCG: Where's your cell phone?

ME: I lost it.

OCG: Where did you lose your cell phone?

ME: In the car.

He waited a minute while he thought of the best reply, then told me to look on the bright side.

ME: What's the bright side?

OCG: You found your way home.

I think that was the only time I smiled all day.

HELP! I need HELP!

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Yesterday I finished my novel! It was such a great feeling I bragged about it to all my friends. Orange Croc Guy pretended to be unimpressed, but later told me how proud he was. (He hasn't read it yet. LOL!)

Today I uploaded it to the NaNoWriMo site for the official word count only to find that I was almost 5,000 words short. After freaking out I read lots of posts about how the word count can be off for different programs. Some add words and some take words away.

How can that happen? I mean a word is a word, right?

Anyway, the only word count that matters is the official one at NaNoWriMo and their's says that I need more words. Lots more!

I've been going back to add stuff, but I think I'm taking out just as much as I'm putting in. (That's why they tell you not to edit now!) I've decided that I need to just add another chapter. That means I need another loser boyfriend for Ginger to meet up with.

Now, I know you guys haven't read about any of the losers from her past yet, but there are some big ones. lol! I need help thinking of another one. I thought about writing a fajita delivery guy into the book, but I just can't make him a loser. My delivery guy is just way too hot for that!Plus, I plan on marrying him someday. He just doesn't know it yet. lol!

Want to help me out? Tell me some stories about the losers you've dated in the past. You know the ones you thought were "all that" at the time, but looking back you say, "What the heck was I thinking?" You can also share stories about the guys your friends or children have dated. Don't be shy! We've all dated "those" guys.

I'm hoping to get some ideas that I can combine together for the ultimate loser!

I've got until midnight on November 30th to finish up and get another word count. Please help!

Just think of all the laughs we can share while telling our stories!

11-27-10

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