Sunburn

This weekend we're asking for exactly 33 words including an idiom somewhere within.  Examples of idioms include - add fuel to the fire or wear your heart on your sleeve.  You can find more examples and a definition of idiom here.  Good luck!

Check Trifecta out HERE.


Sunny day.
Beach chair.
Lazy hours dreaming of castles in the sand.
Later that night,
Slathered in aloe.
Regretful,
Painful,
Cherry red.
An ounce of prevention
Is worth a pound of cure.

Meet the Trifectan: Allow me to introduce myself...

1. What is your name (real or otherwise)?
   Government name:  Jennifer.  Preferred name:  Nenna, adopted in order to distinguish myself among the eleventy-million-and-six other Jennifers born in the '70s.  Thanks, Mom and Dad, for being completely unoriginal.
2. Describe your writing style in three words.
   Scatterbrained, snarky, sporadic.  
3. How long have you been writing online?
   4 years?  5?  Oh wait, it's actually almost 7.  I forgot about the Cafemom years.  And of course, the THREE neglected blogs I'm currently ignoring.
4. Which, if any, other writing challenges do you participate in?
   None.  I'm lazy and too scared to put myself out there.
5. Describe one way in which you could improve your writing.
   Only one way?  Probably to just be more dedicated.  I have a tendency to lose interest and motivation easily, and I know that good ideas are wasted (or forgotten) way too often.
6. What is the best writing advice you’ve ever been given?
   Shut up, stop whining, and just write.  Doesn't matter what the topic is, just write.  Then write some more.
7. Who is your favorite author?
   Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Jonathan Kellerman, Faye Kellerman, Maeve Binchy, Michael Crichton, Rosamund Pilcher, Barbara Delinsky, Beverly Lewis, to name but a few...  
8. How do you make time to write?
   I don't.  Which is why there isn't a whole lot for me to draw upon for Trifecta entries.
9. Give us one word we should consider using as a prompt. Remember--it must have a third definition.
   Live.
10. Direct us to one blog post of yours that we shouldn't miss reading.
    This one is silly, but it's definitely one of my favorites.  It also reminds me of my dad, who passed away almost 3 years ago.
    Ode to a Coffeemaker
    
    
    Thanks, Trifecta community, for having me!  I'm excited (and terrified) to be part of this writing adventure.  I'm hoping this will get me out of the writing slump I'm in and help me bring forth something fantastic.  Though at this point, I'd settle for something mediocre as long as it means I'm writing!

Winning at life

This is my first Trifecta entry.  Please, oh please, be kind and gentle.  I'm a fragile soul.  *wink*

LUCKY (adjective)

1: having good luck
2: happening by chance : fortuitous
3: producing or resulting in good by chance : favorable

333 words.  Exactly.  Booyah!





The lure of fast, easy money was too tempting.  Millions of dollars in my pocket, no effort required.  Ignoring the odds--170,000,000:1--I bought a ticket.  That ten dollar investment was going to bring me $350 million, I just knew it.  I went to bed that night dreaming of all the ways I’d spend my loot.  A huge house, fancy cars, European vacations, and a wardrobe to die for were just a few of the ways I was going to spoil myself.

The next morning, I eagerly turned on the news to see if I had won the jackpot.  Imagine my surprise when the announcer said the winning ticket had been sold in the exact store from which I’d bought my ticket!  I started to tingle in anticipation.  I sat down with my laptop, my hands shaking as I typed in the address of the lottery website.  “This is it!”, I thought excitedly.  “All of my dreams are coming true!”

I didn’t have one correct number.

Later that day, my phone rang.  It was my best friend, and she was shouting with glee.

“I won!  I won!  I had all the right numbers!”, she crowed.

Shocked, I stuttered, “I’m…s-s-so…h-h-happy…for you.”  I can’t even tell you how the rest of the conversation went; I had tuned out after her announcement and was wallowing in misery at the thought of someone else winning.

I wouldn’t be building a huge house.  I wouldn’t be buying fancy cars or taking incredible European vacations while wearing designer clothes.  She would.

She had stolen my dream.  That lucky bitch.

Three months later, I got a call from a mutual friend, who told me that our lottery-winning friend had been found, dead, in her penthouse.  Her new home, the one with amazing city views.  Brutally murdered, at the hands of her handsome new boyfriend, who ran off to Brazil with all of her money after convincing her to put everything in a joint account.

I guess I’m the lucky one after all.