1 | Cathy C. Hall Writes

So I opened up this box that arrived at the Cathy C. Hall house and wheeee! It was Chicken Soup for the Soul Boost Your Brain Power!

And yes, I am rather fond of exclamation points, but that exclamation point in the title was put there by the Chicken Soup people, not yours truly. Though I am all for boosting brain power and honestly, I would’ve probably added an exclamation point had there not been one.

Anyway, perusing this book (not just my own story with my personal method for boosting brain power) made me feel lots smarter than I did when I woke up this morning. So wheeeee again! But I would caution you against feeling too smart. Because that is just when you get your comeuppance.

For me, it came up with a map. Specifically, I realized (this afternoon) that I would need a map of the town that’s protrayed in the novel I’m working on. Which shouldn’t be that difficult. But anyone who has ever driven in a car with me–or walked in a neighborhood–or heck, been in a really big building–knows that I have this “issue” with maps. I can’t follow ’em.

That might make drawing a map a bit of a problem. But I’m going to double check in my Boost Your Brain Power! book, see if anyone wrote a story about that. Because there are some seriously smart people in Boost Your Brain Power!

(I’m not sure how I got in there. But I think that calls for an exclamation point or two, don’t you?!!)

As I was saying, I spent a day, going through pics (like this one) and racking my brain, trying to come up with ideas for the Hallmark Card Competition. The theme, I should mention, was teens and birthdays and teens and Valentine’s Day. Piece ‘o cake, right?

Um…birthdays, fine. Valentine’s Day, not so much. Because eventually, I realized that it was supposed to be cards from adults to teens, not teens to teens. All I’m saying is that if you start thinking about Valentine’s cards from an adult to a teen, your brain strays into a very weird, pretty awkward place. Or maybe that’s just me.

The point is, all that awkwardness reminded me of Awkward Family Photos. Which has very little, if anything, to do with writing–or even a card competition (because you can’t use other people’s photos without permission). But it has a lot to do with awkward hilarity. And made me feel a whole lot better about the hours I spent, trying to write a funny Valentine’s card from an adult to a teen.

(And made me wonder about this: if you know enough to send your pic into Awkward Family Photos, why would you have that pic in the first place? Or is that just me?)