Plot Monkeys

I’ll admit it. I love getting a good discount on something, or better yet, free stuff. Who doesn’t? And nowadays, it seems like every store has some sort of “Free Buyer Reward Program”. And everytime I’m offered the chance to apply for some kind of new frequent buyer card, especially at a place where I buy a lot of stuff, I do it. I’m such a sucker, I know, but I can’t seem to help myself.

So, let me dig through my purse and share with some of the frequent buyer reward/discount programs I belong to.

Grocery store club cards: Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons. Now, I honestly don’t know why these grocery stores insist on having everyone sign up for a club card to get extra discounts on their groceries. Why can’t they just give EVERYONE the weekly ad specials and discounts — without having to swipe a club card every time? It’s annoying, but these club cards are essential for me when I shop for groceries because they make a HUGE difference on the bottom line total of my bill. As an aside, I also clip and use coupons and you should see the money I save between using the club card and getting those coupons “doubled”. I easily cut my grocery bill by 50% every time I make a shopping trip. It’s amazing. (I’ll save my “coupon” savings for another blog!) .

Office supply club cards: Staples, Office Max and Office Depot. I’ve received great discounts and even reward checks from these stores.

Pet club cards: Petsmart and Petco.

Clothing or Department Store club cards: Stein Mart & Hot Topic (My girls love this store and frequent buyers get 15% off!).

Bookstores club cards: Border Rewards and Barnes & Noble. (Absolutely necessary!)

Drugstore: CVS, GNC, Target Pharmacy

Food Stuff: Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt (Buy 8 and Get 1 Free), Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (Buy 10 caramel apples and get 1 Free), Orowheat/Entemanns (Don gets 50% off all bakery products at the outlet! Whoo-hoo!), Cold Stone Ice Cream (Buy 9, get the 10th one Free), Harry & David (Spend a certain amount and get a nice discount).

Beauty: Ulta Cosmetics, The Body Shop (Spend a certain amount and get free store credit), Victoria’s Secret Angel rewards card (Get a rewards check based on what you spend).

Misc: Hand Car Wash (Buy 9 Car Washes get 1 Free), Spencer’s Store (My girls made me get this card, but I’ve yet to see any kind of reward or discount — maybe I need to spend more money there! ), Hallmark Rewards (I’ve gotten some nice reward checks from them to use at their store!), Things Remembered Rewards Club (They send out discount coupons).

The discounts and freebies are great. Having to carry around all those frequent buyer cards in my medium-sized purse and trying to FIND THEM when I need them is a pain in the butt. Add to that all your various credit cards, gas cards, gift cards, health insurance cards, and other “plastic”, and you almost need two purses to carry it all! So, what to do with all those necessary cards, and frequent buyer/reward cards?

If I have a choice, I prefer those small plastic cards that you can slip onto a key ring. I have a key ring in my purse devoted just to the frequent buyer cards. What’s left goes into a zippered coin purse (larger size), which holds all the other reward cards. But I still feel that’s it’s not as organized as it could be. Recently I came across a pretty cool organizer created especially for discount cards and gift cards. It’s called a “Card Cubby“, and it actually allows you to alphabetize all your various cards! What a cool concept. I haven’t gotten one yet, but I’m thinking it would make a great Mother’s Day gift to myself. Especially the hot pink one!

So, how many of you out there have a ton of the frequent buyer rewards cards like I do? And how do you organize them?

I’m sorry I’ve been MIA (missing in action), but my girls and I have been in Oregon visiting Don for the past week. This is the first time that Danielle and Kellie have been to Oregon, so there’s been a lot of sight-seeing and checking out different areas just outside of Portland . . . and a bit of house hunting. We haven’t yet sold our house in Southern California, but I wanted to see some houses in Oregon in different neighborhoods, and get a feel for homes and builders. And I wanted to be prepared just in case our house does sell in the next few months. I’ve been viewing a lot of homes that are for sale in Oregon on-line, and I made a list of the ones that appeal the most to me that I want to see while we’re here. There are certain things I’m looking for in a new home (all Don wants is a three car garage! Typical guy! ), and one of the most important things would be a nice, big, functional kitchen — functional as in the way it’s laid out. I want a kitchen nook for our table and I want a LARGE great room (family room), since that’s where we spend the majority of our time together as a family.

What I don’t want is a formal living room and dining room. For me, personally, it’s been a waste of good square footage. The house I currently have has both, and we hardly ever use either. In fact, I recently sold my formal dining room set and china hutch because it’s furniture I just didn’t want to take with us — and I’m hoping we’ll find a house without a formal dining room. Believe or not, they’re out there — I’ve seen them, and it’s what works for us, personally. Currently, our formal living room has a pool table in it. When we first moved into this house 18 years ago we did the whole “formal living room” thing, and never ever used it!!! When we had company over, or even a party, everyone gathered in the kitchen and family room — which is why those two things are so important to me. Anyway, we got rid of the nice living room couch and furniture, and bought a pool table and some comfortable reclining chairs, and we’ve gotten more use out of that room now than we ever did before. So, those are my main requirements. I have a few more, but that big kitchen and great room is the top of the list.

Now, as we’re walking through homes that are for sale, I’m noticing a trend where people are painting every room a different color — and I’m not talking neutral colors, but bright, bold colors! I’m a neutral color girl myself. My walls in my current home are beige and the trim is white. (Boring to some, I’m sure! ) If I want color in a room, I do it with decor and furnishings. So, seeing all these bright colors on the walls in the homes up here in Oregon is throwing me off! I understand that everyone has their own taste, and colored rooms work for a lot of people — but I’m having a hard time seeing the layout of the house past that vibrant paint. I’m also very concerned that I won’t be able to paint the walls my neutral beige because the color underneath is so bold and bright and will change my beige color to something I just can’t live with.

So, I have two curious questions for you today. 1) If you have a formal living room and dining room, do you use them? 2) Do you prefer neutral colored walls in a house, or the bolder colors?

I’ll be traveling back home today and won’t see your comments until this evening, but I’m definitely curious to read your answers!

P.S. The pictures in this blog are actual pictures of homes that are listed for sale in the Oregon area. I just wanted to show you what I meant by the bolder, brighter colors on the walls.

———–
ADDITION TO BLOG: Hi, Julie here. I’m just sneaking into everyone’s blogs this week, aren’t I? Bad Julie.
I’m guest blogging over at Diana Peterfreund’s blog today, telling the story about how PHANTOM PLEASURES (in stores now, as if you didn’t know!) took fifteen years to publish. Come by and say hi! She’s also giving away a copy!

Emma (Comment #35)

CONGRATULATIONS! 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 (I couldn’t find an Easter joke, but this one is pretty darn funny!):

A woman went to her doctor. The doctor, after an examination, sighed and said, “I’ve some bad news. You have cancer, and you had best put your affairs in order.”

The woman was shocked, but managed to compose herself and walk into the waiting room where her daughter had been waiting. “Well daughter, we women celebrate when things are good, and we celebrate when things do not go so well. In this case, things are not well. I have cancer. Let’s head to the club and have a martini.”

After 3 or 4 martinis, the two were feeling a little less somber. There were some laughs and more martinis. They were eventually approached by some of the woman’s old friends, who were curious as to what the two were celebrating.

The woman told her friends they were drinking to her impending end. “I’ve been diagnosed with AIDS,” she told them. The friends were aghast and gave the woman their condolences.

After the friends left, the woman’s daughter leaned over and whispered, “Momma, I thought you said you were dying of cancer, and you just told your friends you were dying of AIDS.”

The woman said, “I don’t want any of those bitches sleeping with your father after I’m gone.”

Now that’s putting your affairs in order.

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?

**********
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!

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

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!