Monday, February 7, 2011

Share & Tell

I wrote this piece for a creative writing class.  I'm in love with it but definitely think some areas need improvement.  I had a really inspired beginning and ending but not so much in the middle.  Let me know what you think!  As a caution...there are adult themes and words so if you're sensitive to that stuff, please DO NOT READ!!



Indeed

She was a magician, making something unbelievable appear out of thin air.  He was the white bunny, ignorant, dutifully jumping upon request.  Every August, every December, every Thursday - pay day.  Sometimes only for an hour, sometimes for months.  They say children need routine.  I bet they didn’t mean it like this.  I could call it out as it went along.
It could start over money maybe even sex, or the lack thereof.  She’d sit and brew all day preparing for his arrival.  Finally, the familiar squeak of the door, keys jangling, seventeen steps to the kitchen where she always waited.  He’d set down his stuff on the counter and loosen up his tie as if consciously knowing what’s to come.  Harsh hushed tones.  I counted the time.  Twenty-eight Mississippi, twenty-nine Mississippi, thirty Mississippi.  Their voices no longer attempting to not be heard by our innocent ears, eight and two years old. 
My little brother was still new to all of this.  Shut inside my bedroom, he would whimper and cry.  I would become the magician’s assistant – entertaining and distracting the audience while the magician completed her trick.  We would read books, play games, sing songs.  Anything to drown out the noise and worries about how it was going to end this time.
While the endings were usually the same, I still carried the fear that maybe this time would be different.  Because sometimes, to spice it up I guess, they’d throw in a hole in the wall, an iron, somebody would leave, somebody would have a black eye.  You would think that the best of these possibilities would be somebody just leaving.  No harm, no foul.  But those were the worst.
            With one gone, usually dad, mom had no one on whom to release her frustrations.  Thankfully that meant she was going to lock herself in her bedroom for the rest of the night.  But it also meant that my brother and I were on our own for dinner, baths, and bedtime.  I think they would plan for these nights because the freezer was always packed with microwave dinners.  The morning after was always awkward.  I wanted to ask a million questions.  I wanted to ask why they always fought.  I wanted to ask why they left us on our own, why they thought I was responsible enough to care for myself and my brother, did they hate us, did they regret having us but mostly I wanted to ask when dad would be home.
            The last time he left he never came back.  He would pick us up every other weekend and we would spend two days in his dingy, humid apartment.  There was never anything in his fridge except beer.  Although there was a park about five blocks away.  I’m not sure if he ever noticed when we left.  I made sure to get us back before it got dark.  When it was time to drop us off at mom’s I always prayed that he wouldn’t come inside.  If he came in they would automatically fall right back into their roles of magician and bunny.  I became an expert at packing our stuff into one bag so that when dad would drop us off we could quickly jump out of the truck in hopes that he wouldn’t have a chance to walk us in.
            After about six months of being separated, mom introduced us to Larry.  I didn’t like Larry.  I knew he wasn’t a good person.  He always smelled like pee and he acted really funny.  When he was over, mom would make us go to bed extra early.  Sometimes, after I was sure he had left, I would get up to check on her.  She was usually asleep on the sofa in an uncomfortable looking position.  I would clean up the empty beer cans and pill bottles so that she wouldn’t be angry at the mess when she woke up.  A few times I found her with a rubber band tied around her arm.
            Dad didn’t know about Larry.  Mom never told us not to tell, I just knew better than to mention it.  Dad always grilled us about what mom was doing with herself now that they weren’t together.  My little brother never said a word.  I think he knew better too.  Not only would dad not like some other man being in mom’s life, he would want to know all the details – where they met, how often he was over, what they did together.  I just couldn’t bring myself to answer any of those questions out loud.
            As time went along, Larry came over more often and mom started sending us over to grandma’s house for the night.  I’m pretty sure grandma knew what was going on because I heard her give mom a few lectures about being a better parent to us.  Eventually she would leave us there for days.   And sometimes dad picked us up and dropped us off there instead of at home with mom. 
            Five years ago was the last time anyone would drop us off at grandma’s house only for the night.  When my brother and I woke up the next morning, what seemed like all of our relatives were gathered in grandma’s kitchen.  Everyone looked at us when we walked into the room but no one smiled or said a word.  Their expressions sucked the air from my lungs and made my heart beat louder.  As I stumbled my way to an empty chair, grandma shooed everyone out of the kitchen.  She sat down across from my brother and I and grabbed our hands.  I’m not sure of the exact words she said because my ears buzzed louder with each one.  But what I heard was this.
“The amazing magician gave her last performance.  She was entirely astounding and her final trick was astonishing!  Not only did she make the white bunny disappear, but she also made herself disappear as well!  Isn’t that just grand?”
And after a moment, it was indeed.  I looked over at my little brother.  He looked confused and pleadingly searched my eyes for some sort of explanation.  All I could do was simply smile happily and put my arm around him.  I was happy for him.  I was happy that he was so young.  He wouldn’t remember, he hadn’t suffered through their irresponsibility – in the loneliness of their actions, and he didn’t understand that everything had a finale.
No one ever talked about my parents and no one ever told me just how it all happened.  Instead, when I was 13, I overheard my uncle and his friends talking about it.  They were sitting out front on grandma’s porch drinking beer.  The front door was open and as I passed by, I heard my dad’s name.  I immediately froze in place.  I held my breath as I snuck closer to the door.
“William was a smart son of a bitch.  He just knew Stacy was fucking that guy.  He dropped them kids off at Stacy’s house and went in to use the toilet.  When he was in there he found some of that guy Larry’s stuff.  Well he went back to Stacy’s after she dropped the kids off here at ma’s cuz he knew Larry would be there.  And sure ‘nough.  That’s when he walked in, saw Stacy blowing Larry while dude was shooting up and William blew Larry’s brains out.”
“No way!”, his friend responded.  “Then what happened?”
“Then I guess Stacy had been shooting up too so she was just gone.  She got all freaked out and ran into the kitchen.  When William followed her she grabbed a knife and went psycho on his ass.  Cops said she stabbed him 14 times”, he said with amazement.  “Apparently she must have walked back into the living room and shot up a lot more because that’s where they found her, on the sofa dead from an overdose.”
“Dude, that’s pretty fucked up”, replied his friend.
I couldn’t feel my legs but I forced myself out on to the porch.  The boys stood up immediately in shock.  I glared at them.  I wanted to yell.  I wanted to say how unfair it was of my parents to be so selfish their entire lives.  How I was the only one who truly suffered throughout their binges and temper tantrums.  I was the one who had to play mommy to my brother, forced to mature way before my time.  And how could they just take the easy way out of all this mess?  Especially when they had made it themselves.  But I just stood there.  My body pulsed with anger so fiercely that I’m almost positive it squeezed out the only words I said.
“Pretty fucked up indeed.” 

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

e.l.f. Studio - All 3 Makeup Kits for $33!


I *really* like this deal!  Anyone who knows me knows that I am a makeup junkie!!  For TODAY ONLY, you can go on over to e.l.f. and buy all 3 of their makeup kits for only $33!!!  AND you get a 12-month subscription to Vogue for spending over $30!  Shipping is $6.95 making all of this less than $40!  Order yours now before supplies run out!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Picture People $18 for 6 Sheets


Get your coupon for Picture People's Big Bundle Package HERE!  $18 for 6 sheets of portraits of the same pose.  10x13 sheets and smaller.  Click the link and scroll to the bottom for details and restrictions.  Offer expires December 24th!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Review: Renpure Organics


My mom is a hair stylist so needless to say not only has my hair been dyed since I was in junior high but I'm also a bit of a hair care snob.  As of late I had been using Pravana shampoos but at salon cost I was still paying upwards of $15 a bottle.  That's a bit steep but I justified it because Pravana's products do not contain sulfates which make it safe for colored hair.

My kids and husband still use drugstore brands.  Our go to brand has been Herbal Essences so when CVS had it on sale for free during Black Friday, I ran over to grab a few bottles.  While I was in the shampoo isle, I noticed Renpure was also on sale for free with an additional taggie for a mail in rebate.  Sweet!  I grabbed a bottle of I Love My Hair! Body and Shine Shampoo and Conditioner without reading the packaging or giving it a second thought.

During my next shower I grabbed the bottles to try them out.  I absolutely LOVE the shampoo!  I have really thick, long hair so I usually use a TON of shampoo for one wash.  But Renpure's shampoo has a really thick consistency and lathers really well so I only had to use half of what I normally would.  Score!  After rinsing my hair it already felt smooth and soft.  I wasn't too fond of the conditioner as the consistency is a lot thinner than the shampoo so I had to use a whole lot more.  But when I finally read the bottle I was seriously impressed.  Renpure products are not only organic but they don't contain sulfates, parabens, dyes or colors!  Double score!  

Because I have so much hair, I normally don't blow dry it.  Since using Renpure, I've noticed that my hair dries a lot faster and it feels lighter.  I also don't wash my hair everyday or the texture gets crazy and dry.  By the second day my hair usually looks dirty and has a bit of an oily feel.  With Renpure my hair stayed gloriously soft, bouncy, and looking fresh.  My only gripe is the smell.  While it smells great, its a bit too clean for me.  I like to smell fruity.

So I think I found a new favorite!  And I don't even need to drag my mom along to the salon store!  Plus the price is only $6.99!!!  You cannot beat that!  If you didn't get a chance to pick this up during the Black Friday sale, no worries!  Look for "try this free" tags on Renpure products for a mail in rebate!  Renpure Organics is available at CVS and Walgreens.  Check them out on Facebook and Twitter or their website for some funny videos, the Renmond family story, and more!



Sunday, November 28, 2010

See YOU Shop!

I've been slacking on couponing.  I hit Walgreens and CVS for their Black Friday sales but never got around to shopping their regular sales for the week.  There were a few deals I wanted to grab too.  But alas, one cannot cash in on every deal.  

So, that brings me to you.

Yes, you!  I know you all have either grabbed some awesome deals already OR you're just dying for a reason to  get out there and give it a try!  Send me pictures and details of your deals and I will post them here to share with everyone!  Each month I will have a Coupon Queen who will be featured on my blog and will receive an envelope full of great coupons!

Submit your deals to mritzpark@yahoo.com with "Coupon Queen" in the subject!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Target Tip to Avoid BF Craziness!



Here's something interesting I found on Thrifty and Thriving's blog regarding Target's price adjustment policy.  This is totally worth considering if you want to avoid the craziness of Black Friday!!  Click the link above to see their matchups.

Target has a 14 day price adjustment policy, so if you see anything here that you are interested in, you can pick it up before Friday, and then go in for a price adjustment on Friday or Saturday.   Just take your receipt to the customer service counter (you don’t need to bring in the items you bought, just your receipt).   They will give you a refund for the difference in price.   I have done this for several years, and I have never had a problem.   You have to make sure you bring your receipt in when the sale prices are in effect, which will be Friday the 26th and Saturday the 27th.   The price adjustment policy will not apply to items that come with a FREE gift card.
Target Stores Price Adjustment Policy
• If Target advertises a lower price either the same week or the week following your purchase, bring in your original sales receipt to Guest Services for an adjustment.
• Exclusions:  Price adjustments are not made for clearance prices or Target.com prices.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Silk Soy Milk Coupons


Get .55 off of any Silk Soymilk seasonal quart HERE.  Then sign up for a Silk account and print a $1 off coupon on any Silk half-gallon.  Silk's holiday flavors include mint chocolate, nog, and pumpkin spice.  Yum!