Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Short Story Shorter

I read a People Magazine article titled George W. Bush Sums Up Trump Inauguration in Five Words and Hordes Fall in Love with Him for It. It was making the rounds on FB and for good reason, it was hysterical. The five words? "That was some weird shit". You go, Georgie!

The People article reminded me of something I participated in when I first started blogging. I had a friend, Coach Daddy, who did (and still does) something similar as a challenge. He comes up with a prompt, sends it to a number of bloggers who then send him 6 word responses. He then writes a blog post with his prompt and all of the submissions he's collected. 

George nailed 5 words, Coach Daddy's using 6, so today my friend Erin of Searching for Sanity and I are doing our own spin, and we're going with 7 words. And not in 7 words or less . . . 7 words exactly. Instead of one prompt and answers from a number of people, we've put together 20 prompts and are both responding to all of them, me on my blog and Erin on hers.

You would think this wouldn't be all that difficult, and maybe it wouldn't be for you. Most people, especially because of texting, have learned to get ideas across with few words. But me? Let's just say I'm known for making a short story long. When my kids were in kindergarten their teacher asked all parents to tell them something about their kids. I sent in 3 pages. Typed. Single spaced. Yeah, I'm that Mom.



Making a short story shorter, twenty subjects, seven words | www.BakingInATornado.com | #laugh #humor #funny #challenge

So for me, and Erin as well, this really was a challenge. To be fair when it came to the topics, we each chose half of them. I chose just a few but asked friends and family for most of my half. Once I got the rest from Erin, I sat down with my list of 20 subjects and came up with these 7 word reactions:

1) April showers:
Building an ark is hard. Who knew?

2) Doing laundry:
I'll make millions developing cheap disposable clothes.

3) The joy of toddlers:
Had two at once, they broke me.

4) Your best parenting advice to new parents:
Teaching them how to speak will backfire.

5) What is the weirdest thing you have eaten?
Yelling at the kids, bug flew in.

6) Time travel:
Anywhere. Any time. Get me outa here!

7) What would your superpower be?
Singing so loud the kids run away.

8) Do you ever get enough sleep?
Toddlers then teens then stress, what's sleep?

9) Could you last a day without the internet?
Can it be on a deserted island?

10) Which is better, sweet or savory?
Both, Apple Crunch French Toast Sandwich, please.


Apple Crunch French Toast Sandwich, a crunchy crusted french toast and apple sandwich | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #brunch
Apple Crunch French Toast Sandwich
Apple Crunch French Toast Sandwich, a crunchy crusted french toast and apple sandwich | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #brunch


11) Weekends:
Too slow to arrive, gone too quickly.

12) What's your reaction when you see a spider in the house?
Burn the house down. Do it now!

13) How do you feel about getting older?
Age years daily. I blame the kids.

14) What is the best invention ever?
Earplugs. No, noise canceling headphones. Either one.

15)What is something you feel naked without?
Shorts and flip flops are my fashion statement.


16) What's your favorite form of exercise?
Surfing. The web. Is that seven words?

17) What makes a best friend?
A full bar and willing to share.
 
18) What's your least favorite chore? 
You're assuming there's any I actually like.

19) Apply a parenting skill to politics:
Why can't we all just get along?

20) Dieting:
A love/hate relationship of epic proportions.

Now go check out Erin's blog Searching for Sanity and see how she's responded to these same 20 prompts.



Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics






Apple Crunch French Toast Sandwich         
                                    ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Apple Jax cereal
2 eggs
4 TBSP milk
1 tsp cinnamon 
1 loaf Italian bread, unsliced
1 apple, I like to use Honey Crisp or Braeburn
4 - 5 TBSP butter
6 TBSP apple butter 

maple syrup for serving

Directions:
*Place the cereal into a food processor and crush into crumbs. Place on a dish and set aside.
*Whisk the eggs with the milk and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.
*Cut 6 slices of bread, on the bias, about 1/2 inch thick.
*Core and peel the apple. Cut in half, then slice into very thin slices.
*Dip one side of each slice of bread in the egg mixture.  

*Heat 1 TBSP butter on medium in a large saute pan until hot.
*Place 2 bread slices into the pan, egg side down, and cook until just barely browned. Remove from pan and spread 1 TBSP apple butter on the cooked side. Repeat with all the bread.
*Dip the uncooked side of the bread into the egg mixture, then coat generously with the crushed cereal. Melt another TBSP butter, place 2 slices of bread into the pan, cereal side down. Top each with apple slices, then another slice of bread, cereal side up, to form a sandwich.
*Reduce heat a little if necessary and cook until  brown, pressing gently with spatula. Flip over, press down again and cook until the other side is browned.
*Serve with the maple syrup.

17 comments:

  1. Snopes has the George Bush post as possibly unproven, but it's still...well, it isn't funny. Sadly. Lets cheer ourselves up now with some sugar. You are always so entertaining, lol. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Proven or unproven, true or false, that was one funny "quote".

      Delete
  2. Brilliant, Karen! I tried a couple myself. Yeah, there's a reason I'm not known as 'few words Tolley'!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So funny, using few words is a huge challenge for me, yet my youngest son is the opposite, most of his communications (to his mom anyway) are 3 words or less {{sigh}}.

      Delete
  3. Oh my stars! What a fun post to read. Can't wait to read Erin's!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes, Erin had some great responses. I smiled through her whole post.

      Delete
  4. That was awesome. Your responses had me in stitches. Although number 7, I already possess that superpower. Now where can I get my cape?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hell yeah just another bloody great post

    ReplyDelete
  6. Humorous responses with a crunchy sweet sandwich.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You're so brilliantly humorous Dear.
    Loved them all especially to mark a few of favorites: No. 4,5, & 7. Hahaha 😂 Still laughing
    Definitely going to bookmark this post and share with as many people as I can :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Adorable and funny! I am way too long winded and I write like I speak, not in the best order. One has to stay with me to get my point, or at least I have told a few thousand times! Of course pure maple syrup from a girl from MA!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, you and I write and speak alike. Makes getting your point across in 7 words a real challenge.

      Delete

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