Plot Monkeys

Today I’m giving away a $25.00 gift card to Borders/Waldenbooks, along with the winner’s choice of an autographed book from my backlist.

All you have to do to enter today’s contest is post a comment below, then check back on Sunday to see if you’re this week’s winner!

And just for fun . . . what books are on your “to be bought” list?

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A NOTE FROM CARLY
And a shameless plea from Bailey and Buddy:

Wheatens on Parade is an event that shows off wheatens and earns money for Wheaten Rescue. I entered Bailey and Buddy. If you would like to vote, EVERYONE/ANYONE gets one free vote. After that, if you want to donate money to Wheaten Rescue, you can buy votes. Info below.

In the meantime, here is Wheatens on Parade!

If you click on each picture, they come up larger.
Where to find BUDDY - 5th row down from top far right
5th row up from bottom far right and middle

Where to find BAILEY - 6th row down from top far left
4th row up from bottom far left
Its fun just to go through, but I’m asking you to vote Everyone has a FREE vote.

HOW TO VOTE:
Email: wheaten68-parade@yahoo.com
and in the subject - vote
and in the email - just write - One free vote for Buddy D or Bailey D (pick one)
******
IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT WHEATEN RESCUE (I DID):
Additional votes: $5 each
Voting address: wheaten68-parade@yahoo.com
Paying address: wheatenshop-win@yahoo.com
(contact me if Paypal is not an option for you!)

Thanks!
*****

As I was walking through Target this past week, I strolled down the aisle with all the Easter candy and was amazed by just how much of a variety there was of chocolate, jelly beans, and other Spring candies. A lot of the candy was seasonal and just for the upcoming Easter holiday, which means it’s only made once a year. And some of those candies are my absolute favorites, and knowing that I can only get it once a year makes it very difficult to pass up! I’m not talking about the normal Nestle and Hershey candies all dressed up in Spring/Easter packaging that you can get any other time of the year. No, I’m talking about Cadbury Creme Eggs, Marshmallow Peeps that are shaped like cute little bunnies or chicks, Russell Stover Raspberry Cream eggs that are to die for (there are also coconut cream, maple cream, and vanilla cream), Speckled Robins Eggs, and many others. Of course, knowing that in less than a week all these seasonal items will be forever gone, a few did go into my basket – not for my girls, but for ME.

I’m not a big jelly bean fan, but I was amazed by just how many varieties of jelly beans there were on the shelves. Traditional jelly beans, Starburst jelly beans, Hot Tamale spice flavored jelly beans, Lifesavor jelly beans, Mike ‘n Ike jelly beans, and Hawaiian Punch jelly bean. It was truly unbelievable! Then again, I came across an article recently that stated that Americans consume 16 BILLION jelly beans at Easter, and if they were lined end to end, they would circle the globe nearly three times! That’s a whole lot of jelly beans!

Marshmallow Peeps really aren’t my thing, either, but they sure are cute. And, they’re a popular item with other kids (big and small!) out there. Last Easter, more than 700 million Marshmallow Peeps were consumed worldwide! And surprisingly, they’ve been around since 1953!

Then there’s the ever popular Cadbury Creme Eggs, which I find very hard to resist. This little egg has a thick milk chocolate shell with a white and yellow fondant filling designed to resemble the yolk and albumen of an egg. What a great gimmick – and it tastes good, too! Over the years Cadbury has come out with other creme eggs – such as caramel eggs, chocolate creme eggs, little bite-sized creme eggs that come in a cute dozen, and the delicious orange creme egg that tastes like the best of orange and chocolate together. Oh, YUM!

Now let’s talk about my personal favorite Easter candy: Russell Stover Raspberry Cream eggs. Every year I wait impatiently for these delicious cream eggs to hit the store shelves around Easter time. I absolutely love them. Other than orange and chocolate, I have to say that raspberry and chocolate is my second favorite candy combination. The raspberry cream inside of this chocolate egg is whipped into a light, soft “fluff” of cream that almost melts on your tongue. ::sigh::

I think I’ll go raid my secret stash for one of those Raspberry Cream eggs right now.

So, do you have any favorite Spring/Easter candies that you look forward to every year? If so, what are they?

How many of you have watched the fairly new evening game show, The Moment of Truth? I hate to admit it, but I have. And if you haven’t, let me give you a description of the game show so you’ll be able to understand, and follow, today’s blog.

This game show is unlike any I’ve ever watched, in as that people actually WANT to air the sordid details of their lives on national TV. No one is forcing them to do this, and it’s clear that they have a fairly good idea what is going to transpire while they’re sitting in “the hot seat”, because the questions they are asked (and are expected to answer honestly) ON AIR, are the same questions that they’ve been asked before the show even starts. REALLY! Every contestant is given a lie detector test and asked 50 questions before the show. The truth of the contestant’s answers are determiend by a certified polygraph examiner, but the contestant is not told the results. Then, when the contestant appears on the show, he or she is asked 21 of those questions in front of a live audience (and in front of their significant others, friends, and family members!).

The questions start out innocent enough, but once the $10,000 level of money has been reached, the questions usually take a very personal and intimate turn that has the contestant squirming in their seats, or near tears because of what they’re about to admit to family and friends and a million other people who are watching the show. Some of the questions I’ve seen asked are: Do you think you’ll still be with your husband five years from now? Have you gambled away your children’s inheritance? Would you dump your current spouse or partner if your ex wanted you back? Do you like your mother-in-law? Have you ever stolen anything from work? Have you ever cheated on your spouse? Not only are most of the answers to these questions a YES, but the contestants are answering them in front of said husband, children, mother-in-law, etc. If just watching the contestant squirm and contemplate their hurtful answers is enough to make ME nauseous, why isn’t it enough to make THEM decide during the course of their lie detector test (the one they take BEFORE the show) that hurting the ones they supposedly love on LIVE TV just isn’t worth the $10,000, $100,000, or even $500,000 they might win? I’m truly baffled by this!

This is, undoubtedly, the Jerry Springer of game shows, where people openly air their family secrets, personal opinions, and other sordid details of their lives, in hopes of gaining monetary compensation. But is that money worth risking their relationships with their spouse and family? Not to mention giving up all self-respect, slaughtering any semblance of integrity they might possess in front of millions of viewers, and doing irrepairable emotional damage to significant others, friends, and family — all for money?

In my personal opinion, there is no amount of money that would make me reveal such personal, intimate information on TV — and hurting the people I love in the process. I don’t care if I was destitute — I’d never do it. There are just some things that are better left unsaid. And some truths that should only be revealed in a private discussion so the other person isn’t completely humiliated in front of the world.

So, what do you think drives these people to be on the show? Lack of conscience, definitely. Money, most likely. What are your thoughts about the show?

Instead of a guest blogger today, us Plotmonkeys are issuing all you writers out there who visit our blog to a “70 Days of Sweat” challenge. All four of us have joined this challenge, and we’d love to have company! What is the “70 Days of Sweat” challenge? Well, if you’ve never heard of it before, I’ll post the general description and rules of the challange here for you:

On July 6th, 2007, writing friends Alison Kent, Jo Leigh, HelenKay Dimon, Stephanie Tyler and Larissa Ione launched the Seventy Days of Sweat Writing Challenge. The point of the challenge was to rid their writing lives of the solitude of laboring alone and share the pain and agony with as many other writers as they could. Two-hundred seventy like-minded fools authors signed up, taking on the challenge to write between 60K and 100K words in the allotted seventy days.

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the National Novel Writing Month where the goal of the participants is to write 50,000 words during the month of November. You’ve probably also heard of the Book-in-a-Week first draft blast, and may have heard of the Book in a Year challenge at eHarlequin, or simply the One Page A Day method to getting a book written in 365. How ’bout a book in seventy days? Doable? You betcha.

Say you’re writing a 100,000 word single title. 70 days at 1500 words per day (approx 6 pages) is 98,000 words total. Say you’re writing a 60,000 word series romance. 70 days at 900 words per day (approx 4 pages) is 63,000 words total. Writing 4 - 6 pages every day for 70 days is a schedule anyone who calls themselves a pro can handle easily!

The rules are simple. You agree to write 4 - 6 pages a day (depending on the length of your book) every day between the dates listed above. If you need to take off a day, you make up the pages another. If you don’t like to write 7 days a week, too bad. This challenge lasts for only 10 weeks, and if you have to get up early on the weekends to get the pages done, you do it. (Hey, we all do it! You can, too!)

You don’t have to have a blog to participate, but we do want you to sign up so everyone involved can get to know one another. And if you do have a blog, you can post the information there. Going public with your commitment is about owning it. As far as reporting your progress, you’ll return to the 70 Days of Sweat Blog each Wednesday and Sunday and post your total word count.

70 Days of Sweat Round 3 will start on March 1. Basically, 70 Days of Sweat is designed to challenge (naturally), support, and encourage those of us crazy enough to write a book in 70 days. At the end, we’re looking for a word count between 60-100K. We’ve built an extra week into this round, so technically you have 77 days to sweat meaning . . . Round 3 will run from March 1 to May 16.

Okay, so technically we’re a week behind in inviting you to the challenge, but it’s all about writing those pages each and every day — no matter when you might start the the challenge. So, who’s not afraid to sweat? Join the Plotmonkeys in their 70 Days of Sweat challenge!

A SURPRISE SATURDAY CONTEST!

Since today is technically our “writing day”, and we always try to do something writing related, I’m giving away my copy of GOAL, MOTIVATION & CONFLICT by Debra Dixon. Since I’m moving in the next few months, I’m cleaning out all my books, including a lot of my writing reference books. This is a MUST HAVE book when it comes to building/creating strong characters. (It’s a concept us Plotmonkeys use to plot out every one of our books, thanks to Julie who taught us how important GMC is to writing a book!) Learn to use these critical fiction-writing elements to give dimension to your characters and direction to your plot. Plan a road map to keep your story on track. Discover why your scenes aren’t working and what to do about it. Since this book is coming off my own personal shelf, it does have some yellow high-lighting in sections, so I do apologize for that — but other than that, it’s in perfect condition and I’d love to pass it on to someone who doesn’t already have this book.

All you have to do to be eligible to win GOAL, MOTIVATION & CONFLICT is post a message below. Let us know if you’re joining the 70 Days of Sweat challenge, and why you feel you should win this book! Check back tomorrow (Sunday) to see if you’re the winner!

I switched days with Carly this week because she’s got a lot going on today — mainly, taking Buddy in for surgery to have some lumps removed. So, big hugs to Carly and lots of Milk Bones for Buddy when he’s feeling better. Carly, let us know how he’s doing!

I don’t have a specific topic in mind for today, though I have been thinking about our unpredictable California weather this year. One day it’s in the 90’s, and the next it’s cold and drizzly. A few weeks ago, it even SNOWED where I live! Talk about bizzarre! I was driving my youngest daughter to school while snow flurrys were hitting the windshield! We were both stunned and amazed. A few days after that and I had to run the air conditioner because of how hot it was! Talk about extreme changes in the weather!

I have to say, I like it when it’s cool or cold the most. I don’t think I’d want to be in snow for days, but Autumn weather is my favorite — the kind where you walk outside and it’s crisp and cool. I’m not a fan of the heat and summer — maybe because it’s so HOT here in California during the summer! But give me a nice Fall day and I’m happy. Lucky for me, there’s plenty of cool weather in Oregon

So, what’s your favorite season — Summer, Autumn, Winter or Spring? And why?

I recently came across an article that talked about movie quotes that have become famous through the years. Quotes that we, as viewers of those movies, sometimes even use ourselves. Such as “Hasta la vista, baby!” (Terminator 2) or “Here’s looking at you, kid.” (Casablanca). As I was reading through the list, I thought it would be fun to post some of them here to see how many you all can guess! I’ll post the quotes first and the movie they came from below. Have fun!

1. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

2. “Go ahead; make my day.”

3. “Hello, Gorgeous.”

4. “Here’s Johnny!”

5. “Houston, we have a problem.”

6. “I feel the need . . . the need for speed!”

7. “I see dead people.”

8. “I’ll have what she’s having.”

9. “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

10. “Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

11. “My precious.”

12. “No wire hangers, ever!”

13. “Nobody puts baby in a corner.”

14. “Play it again, Sam.”

15. “Show me the money!”

16. “Snap out of it!”

17. “There’s no place like home.”

18. “They’re Here.”

19. “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

20. “You can’t handle the truth!”

21. “Yo, Adrian!”

22. “You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?”

23. “What do you mean he don’t eat no meat? That’s okay — I make lamb.”

24. “I’m not bad. I’m just drawn that way.”

25. “Luke, I am your father.” (This one was for Julie! )

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ANSWERS!

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1. Gone with the Wind
2. Sudden Impact (Dirty Harry)
3. Funny Girl
4. The Shining
5. Apollo 13
6. Top Gun
7. The Sixth Sense
8. When Harry Met Sally
9. The Godfather II
10. Forrest Gump
11. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
12. Mommie Dearest
13. Dirty Dancing
14. Casablanca
15. Jerry Maguire
16. Moonstruck
17. Wizard of Oz
18. Poltergeist
19. Jaws
20. A Few Good Men
21. Rocky
22. Dirty Harry
23. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
24. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
25. Star Wars

So, how many did you guess right? What is your all time favorite movie quote?

PATRICIA W. (Comment #34)

AND

SUSIE (Comment #87)

CONGRATULATIONS to the both of you! Please contact me at janelledenison @ sbcglobal.net with your mailing address and your choice of book from my backlist so I can mail out your prize package!

SUNDAY FUNNY:

A lady walks into a high class jewelry shop. She browses around, spots a beautiful diamond bracelet and walks over to inspect it. As she bends over to look more closely she inadvertently breaks wind. Very embarrassed, she looks around nervously to see if anyone has noticed her little accident and prays that a sales person doesn’t pop up right now. As she turns around, her worst nightmare materializes in the form of a salesman standing right behind her.

Cool as a cucumber and displaying complete professionalism, the salesman greets the lady with, “Good day, Madam. How may we help you today?”

Very uncomfortably, but hoping that the salesman may just not have been there at the time of her little ‘accident’, she asks, “Sir, what is the price of this lovely bracelet?”

He answers, “Madam, if you farted just looking at it, you’re going to shit when I tell you.”

Have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday everyone!

Since I’m still in the Valentine’s mood, today I’m giving away TWO prizes to TWO lucky winners!!! Whoo-hoo!

Today’s two winners will receive a fun heat-activated mug that says “Coffee, Chocolate, Men . . . ” and when you put hot liquid in it the brown circle fades away to reveal the second part of the saying “Some things are just better when they’re rich“. Winners will also receive a box of Harry and David’s strawberry chocolates. Since I ate a box of these myself, I can attest to how fabulous they taste! Oh, and of course each winner will be able to select one of my backlist books (depending on availability).

All you have to do to enter today’s contest is post a comment below, then check back on Sunday to see if you’re one of this week’s winner!

The writer’s strike is FINALLY over, and new shows should be coming soon.

While I do love watching American Idol and The Biggest Loser, I was getting tired of watching reruns on other series shows. Of course, since the writer’s have been on strike for over three months now, and they haven’t written any new TV scripts during that time, all of the TV series schedules are all out of whack. So, now the question is, when is your favorite TV show going to be back on, and when can you look forward to fresh, new shows being aired? Well, I came across a rundown of all the shows that have been waiting in limbo the past three months, and what their upcoming schedules will be. I thought I’d share it here, for those of you who are wondering when to expect your favorite shows.

24
Season 7 postponed until January ‘09.

30 Rock
Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

Aliens in America
Eight pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Back to You
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future TBD.

Battlestar Galactica
Returns April 4 with first half of 20-episode final season. Production on second half could start as early as March. Airdate for those TBD.

The Big Bang Theory
Returns April 4 with first half of 20-episode final season. Production on second half could start as early as March. Airdate for those TBD.

Big Love
Expected to go into production on Season 3 in March. Airdate info is TBD.

Big Shots
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Bionic Woman
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Bones
Four pre-strike episodes left. Unclear whether additional episodes will be produced for this season.

Boston Legal
One pre-strike episode remains. Expected to shoot 6 to 8 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Brothers & Sisters
One pre-strike episode remains. Expected to shoot 4 or 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Burn Notice
Production on Season 2 expected to get under way in late April. New episodes could start airing as early as July.

Cane
No additional episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.

Chuck
No new episodes until fall.

The Closer
Expected to kick off its fourth season this summer.

Cold Case
Expected to shoot 5 new episodes to begin airing on March 30.

Criminal Minds
Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing April 2.

CSI
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing April 3.

CSI: Miami
Expected to shoot 8 new episodes to begin airing March 24.

CSI: NY
Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing April 7.

Desperate Housewives
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Dirty Sexy Money
No new episodes planned until fall; three remaining pre-strike episodes will undergo some tweaking and kick off fall run.

ER
Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

Everybody Hates Chris
Twelve pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Friday Night Lights
No new episodes expected for this season. Future TBD.

The Game
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 8 or 9 additional episodes to air in March/April/May.

Ghost Whisperer
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 4.

Girlfriends
No new episodes expected this season, although a special one-hour series finale is being discussed.

Gossip Girl
Expected to shoot up 5 or 6 episodes to air in April/May.

Greek
Kicks off second half of Season 1 on March 24. Still awaiting Season 2 pickup.

Grey’s Anatomy
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Heroes
No new episodes expected until fall.

House
Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

How I Met Your Mother
Expected to shoot 9 new episodes to begin airing March 17.

Jericho
Seven episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Journeyman
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Las Vegas
Three pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Law & Order
Expected to shoot an indeterminate number of episodes to air in spring.

Law & Order: CI
Expected to shoot an indeterminate number of episodes to air in spring.

Law & Order: SVU
Expected to shoot an indeterminate number of episodes to air in spring.

Life
No new episodes expected until fall.

Life Is Wild
No new episodes expected. Ever.

Lost
Six pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot five additional episodes to air in April/May.

Medium
Six pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot additional episodes for this season.

Men in Trees
Eleven pre-strike episodes remain, the first of which airs Feb. 27. No additional episodes expected this season.

Moonlight
Expected to shoot 4 new episodes to begin airing on April 11.

My Name Is Earl
Expected to shoot 8 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

NCIS
Expected to shoot 7 new episodes to begin airing on April 8.

The New Adventures of Old Christine
Seven pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.

Nip/Tuck
Season 5 concludes Feb. 19. Production on the show’s eight-episode sixth season expected to start up this summer. Airdate TBD.

Numbers
Expected to shoot 6 new episode to begin airing on April 4.

October Road
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

The Office
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

One Tree Hill
Fivex pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 or 6 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Prison Break
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Private Practice
Slim chance it could return with 4 or 5 new episodes this season. Either way, it’ll be back in the fall.

Pushing Daisies
No new episodes until fall.

Reaper
Three pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 or 6 additional episodes to air in April/May.

The Riches
Seven-episode second season kicks off March 18.

Rules of Engagement
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 14.

Samantha Who?
Three remaining pre-strike episodes could be held until fall (see Dirty Sexy Money).

Saturday Night Live
Returns Feb. 23.

Scrubs
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Four additional episodes will likely be shot; unclear whether they’ll air on NBC or go straight to DVD.

Shark
Expected to shoot 4 new episodes. Airdate TBD.

The Shield
Final season already shot. Airdate TBD.

Smallville
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Supernatural
Two pre-strike episodes remain. Expected to shoot 4 or 5 additional episodes to air in April/May.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Four pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

Two and a Half Men
Expected to shoot 9 new episodes begin airing on March 17.

Ugly Betty
Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

The Unit
No additional episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.

Without a Trace
Expected to shoot 6 new episodes to begin airing on April 3.

Women’s Murder Club
No new episodes expected this season. Future beyond that TBD.

Personally, I’m anxiously awaiting new episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, Boston Legal, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order, Moonlight, Medium, and Without a Trace. And I’m sooooo bummed that BIG SHOTS has been cancelled! I loved that show! What about you? What shows are you looking forward to seeing again?

Well, Carly has deserted us for the warm climate of Aruba for her yearly vacation with her family. Lucky her! She asked that we fill in for her today, and because I couldn’t come up with anything exciting to blog about, I thought I’d present to all of you a question, of which you need to figure out the answer. You’ve might or might not have seen this before, but I thought it would be a fun “filler” for the day. So, here we go . . .

This “thing” has the range of 8 inches long, the functioning of which is enjoyed by members of both sexes. It’s usually found hung, dangling, ready for instant action. It boasts a clump of little hairy things at one end and a small hole at the other. In use, it is inserted, almost always willingly, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, into a warm, fleshy, moist opening where it is thrust in and drawn out again and again, many times in succession, often quickly and accompanied by squirming bodily movements. Anyone found listening in will most surely recognize the rhythmic, pulsing sound, resulting from the well lubricated movements. When finally withdrawn, it leaves behind a juicy, frothy, white sticky substance, some of which will need cleaning from the outer surfaces of the opening and from some of its long glistening shaft.

After everything is done and the flowing and cleansing liquids have ceased emanating, it is returned to its freely hanging state of rest, ready yet for another bit of action, hopefully reaching its bristling climax twice or three times a day, but often much less.

WHAT AM I? (Once you have your answer, scroll down to see if you guessed right!)

It’s a TOOTHBRUSH!

Now be honest . . . what were you REALLY thinking?

Happy Monday everyone! I hope this gave you a chuckle for the day.