Thursday Thirteen - All About Nothing

Using a line from the show Seinfeld – this week’s T13 is All About Nothing

1. Reading a great book – you know, the one that you can’t put down even though it’s now 3:00AM and you’ve got to get ready for the day job in a few hours.

2. Before the rain – you walk outside and sniff the air. The sweat aroma of moisture tickles your senses as the clouds begin gathering from some distant place.

3. Watching the babies sleep – For me this is my dogs. After they’ve played, torn up the new toy we bought them and aggravated each other to no end. Now you watch as they curl up next to each other, the littlest ones head on the side of the other, sleeping without a care in the world.

4. Flowers on the dinning room table – the day jobs been rough, all you want is to go home and sulk. Then you walk into your house and there they are. Standing proud in your favorite vase. Greeting you with sunshine to your tired soul.

5. Surprises – You’re trying to figure out what to do with the mishmash of food you have left at the end of the week to make dinner. Standing with the freezer door open, you stare at the lone package of frozen chicken. The cool air washing over your face and still nothing comes to mind to cook. That’s when you hear his/her voice. “Honey, lets go out tonight.” The freezer door closes on its own accord and out the door you go. Fun!!!

6. The best scene in the book writing – Your fingers fly across the keys, words hitting the screen so fast in front of you that you’re not truly sure if you’re doing it or some magical force is sending it through you. Gotta love those scenes. :)

7. The worst scene in the book writing – You sit, stare at the blank page, and wait. Nothing. You knew the scene early in the day but didn’t have time to sit down. Now it’s become pulling words from your muse who’s decided she no longer likes this scene. (had to throw that one in since I had the best scene, they usually go hand in hand)

8. The two-hour phone call with your cp who tells you, yes, you are a writer and a damn good one. This of course is after #7 has happened.

9. Birthdays – You either love them or hate them. Me, I love them. I figured out a long time ago that I couldn’t stop them. Besides the alternative is not so great. I celebrate them to the fullest. It may be simple or it may be huge but celebrate them nonetheless.

10. Spring cleaning – the time to throw away or give away the stuff you really don’t need. It’s also the time you revisit old memories as you open that box sitting in the back of the closest. The pictures you’ve not looked at in forever quickly take you back to the moment in time when they were taken. A part of your life frozen to remember with joy.

11. Going to the spa for a day – Yep, this is one of my fav’s. I don’t do it often but love the pampering and just plain feeling good that goes along with it.

12. Finding that perfect birthday, Christmas, or Hanukah gift weeks in advance. Then trying hard not to give it the person before said holiday. :) That’ very hard for me. I love to get things for others but then I want to give them the gift right then.

13. Sunrise, Sunsets, and Moonrises – Any of these works for me. The crisp morning air as the sun begins to peak its sleepy head, the late afternoon sun dipping off the horizon its warmth tucking away for the night, or the moon, bold and bright, shinning the way across the waters a beacon of light brighten the path for ships and giving the outer edges of the sea its nightglow for the rest of us.

There you have it. My Thursday Thirteen all about nothing and yet all about lots of everything.



Don't you love the picture? If you look close you'll see it's a double rainbow.

WW’s and PD’s,
Vicki

Wednesday Funny

Before the Wednesday Funny I can’t believe I forgot to tell you this on Monday. Karen Rose hit the New York Times Best Sellers (#20) and USA Today’s List with Die For Me. WhooHoo!!!! If you haven’t picked up a copy go and get it now. Remember to read it with the lights on though. :)

Now for the funny. And some of us thought the newspaper had lost its fun:


REAL NEWSPAPER ADS

FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 years old. Hateful little dog. Bites.

FREE PUPPIES:
1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbor's dog.

FREE PUPPIES...
Mother, AKC German Shepherd.
Father, Super Dog...able to leap tall fences in a single bound.

FOUND DIRTY WHITE DOG.
Looks like a rat ... been out a while.
Better be a reward.

COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED.
Also 1 gay bull for sale.

NORDIC TRACK
$300 Hardly used, call Chubby.

GEORGIA PEACHES
California grown - 89 cents lb.

JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
Must sell washer and dryer $300.

WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE .
WORN ONCE BY MISTAKE.
Call Stephanie.

AND FINALLY:

FOR SALE BY OWNER:
Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, 45 volumes
Excellent condition
$1,000 or best offer
No longer needed, got married last month.
Wife knows everything

WW's and PD's,
Vicki

Monday Check In and Contest

Last weeks contest winner is tetewa!! Congrats, I’m sure you’re going to love the book. Email me your snail mail at vickilanewrites at yahoo.com.

My word count for the past week is 3198. Not too bad considering I didn’t write at all this weekend. Saturday I did this huge yard sale at a park. The city does all of the promoting for it, they have a bandstand with music the entire time and a food court type area. I’m not really that big on “doing” yard sales but this ended up being fun and I made some extra cash.

Sunday was a family thing and then Science Guy and I put in a decorative fence in the backyard. Actually the back yard is privacy fenced but I wanted an area for the babies when they didn’t need to run the entire yard.

The instructions looked simply enough. Measure, pound in the stake, put the fence piece on top of said stake and put the pole through it. Yeah, sounds easy. Not so much. It took much much longer than we thought and pulling out the stakes to put them in again even though we measured.

But the results are great. It looks pretty and does the job all in one.



Okay, for the fun part. This week’s contest giveaway is autographed copy of Terri Garey’s new book Dead Girls Are Easy. Click the title to read an excerpt.

And to wet your appetite here’s the back cover blurb:

There's something about almost dying that makes a girl rethink her priorities. Take Nicki Styx—she was strictly goth and vintage, until a brush with the afterlife leaves her with the ability to see dead people.

Before you can say boo, Atlanta's ghosts are knocking at Nicki's door. Now her days consist of reluctantly cleaning up messes left by the dearly departed, leading ghouls to the Light . . . and one-on-one anatomy lessons with Dr. Joe Bascombe, the dreamy surgeon who saved her life. All this catering to the deceased is a real drag, especially for a girl who'd rather be playing hanky-panky with her hunky new boyfriend . . . who's beginning to think she's totally nuts.

But things get even more complicated when a friend foolishly sells her soul to the devil, and Nicki's new gift lands her in some deep voodoo.

As it turns out for Nicki Styx, death was just the beginning.

So, how was your week? Did you reach your goals you’d set in writing? If you’re joining the 75 Sweat or the 100x100 let us know. Did life and things you had to do get in the way this week?

Did you read anything new that you absolutely loved? We always love to hear about new books.

Leave your comments to be entered in this week’s contest.

Writing Wishes and Plotting Dreams,
Vicki

Thursday Thirteen - Random Lines from ATB

Thirteen Random Lines from AT&B

1. Shelves along the far wall, lined with bottles and jars filled with what looked to be the remains of a thousand dead creatures.

2. This is New York and all is fair in love, war, and stealing taxis.

3. What’s next, Leprechauns?

4. Lord, I feel like a peeping tom.

5. Denying the obvious was useless.

6. A small giggle bubbled up inside as thoughts of Mr. Blue eyes, incredibly dark blue eyes, looking at her with disbelief when she told him no.

7. “That didn’t go quite as planned. You didn’t tell me you’d met her already,” The solicitor said.

8. “Aye, Miss I do be looking like Mr. Van Winkle. It’s a curse I’ve carried for a thous…err, years.”

9. Come pluck me, My Lord

10. “Hells bells,” she said, gasping for breath as she ran. “It’s not like I’m ever going to see him again. Get over it and run girl.”

11. “You will die here, and then be forgotten. Like all the others.”

12. Laughter, deep and sick filled the room stopping any thoughts of sleep

13. Someone or something was watching her.



WW's and PD's,
Vicki

Wednesday Fun - Hell: Is it Hot or Cold

Here's funny for your Wednesday.

Is Hell hot or cold?

The following is an actual question given on a University of Liverpool chemistry
final exam.

The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with
colleagues via the Internet, which is why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's law that gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following: First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.

As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that, if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell.
With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell. Because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to
stay constant, the volume of Hell must expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Sandra during My freshman year, that "it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is endothermic and has already frozen over.

The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is extinct....leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being - which explains why, last night, Sandra kept shouting "Oh my God."

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY A

Happy Wednesday,
Vicki

Guest Blogger - Karen Lingefelt

I’d like to welcome Karen Lingefelt to Writing with Vicki. Karen is not only an amazing writer, wife, and mom but also the Past President of TARA.

Her book True Pretenses received rave reviews. It’s “fast and furious” read will not only delight you, but is “full of twist and turns on the road to romance”, check out her site for the full reviews.

With out further ado I turn over today’s blog to Karen.


A recent event in the life of our blog hostess inspired me to write about one of the two evils most likely to send couples to divorce court, if not lunging for the kitchen knives.

It’s not sex or money, because really, what is marriage all about, but sex and money? (When pop psychologists go on talk shows to proclaim that, “Most marital issues are about sex or money,” they really mean, “Most marital issues are about—well, marriage.”)

After twenty years of joint insanity with the same person, I can state with absolute certainty that the two greatest menaces to connubial bliss are buying a Christmas tree, and moving. As Vicki (and her marriage) recently survived the latter, that will be the topic of today’s ramblings.

My husband and I are Air Force veterans. He also grew up an Air Force brat. Between us we’ve weathered many moves, from cross-country to halfway around the planet. I’ve often wondered how we made it this far—literally tens of thousands of miles—without killing each other. Somewhere along the way, I must’ve picked up something that kept my murderous instincts in check, but what? (I mean besides chocolate.) Here are a few things I’ve learned about moving that might hold the key:

You can never have too many boxes. Start collecting them well in advance—preferably right after you’ve finished your previous move. Let hubby have his fun stomping them flat, as if they’re flaming pies left on the doorstep Halloween night. But stand your ground afterward. Ignore those whiny entreaties to keep the boxes out of the garage, storage room, tool shed, attic, storm cellar, or any other parts of the new house he’s scheming to convert into one or more of the following just as soon as rerun season starts: Game room, home theater, gymnasium, model railroad empire, laboratory, bowling alley, or mockup of the war room from Dr. Strangelove. Worst case scenario, you may have to bury the boxes in the backyard, or even under the bed if his unopened box of exercise equipment for that future gymnasium leaves enough space.

If you haven’t looked at it since your last move, get rid of it. But there are obvious exceptions. Like old TV guides, because it’s so warm-and-fuzzy nostalgic to thumb through them and marvel at how program grids once took up only half a page, and were still decipherable as recently as 1992. Or my old wardrobe from the 1980’s, because you never know if ruffles and piecrust collars a la Lady Di, big hair bows a la Fergie, or even NFL-approved shoulder pads a la Joan Collins might come back into style. If they do, I’ll be ready—assuming I lose enough weight to fit into those clothes again. My ever-thoughtful husband says he’s been hanging on to his unopened box of exercise equipment all these years for precisely that purpose. Isn’t he a prince?

So, Karen, what DO you get rid of that you haven’t looked at since your last move? There’s no better time to don the hazmat gear, open that refrigerator, and throw out the leftovers and five gallon jar of Dijon mustard the husband bought (along with an entire gross of “irregular” hot dog buns), during his three week “Let’s-Buy-Bulk-At-Wholesale-Grocers-To-Save-Money” kick.

If you can disassemble it yourself (and if you can’t, my youngest son does it every day for relaxation), do so and hand carry the hardware to your new home. If movers disassemble it before removing it from the premises, then they must reassemble it at your destination, but I’m scarred for life by one move where this did not happen. I was still single, and being transferred from stateside to Germany. They disassembled everything after taking it out of my apartment—a bentwood rocker* I’d bought in Spain on a previous overseas tour, bookcases, you name it. When these items were unpacked at my new duty station, not only were they in pieces, but all the hardware was missing—every last nut and bolt and screw and doohickey. Alas, there was no Home Depot where I could buy replacement parts. But even more embarrassing, I couldn’t remember the German word for “doohickey.”

Since then, with every move we disassemble the stuff ourselves—and I hand carry the hardware along with all the other valuables, like my secret emergency chocolate supply and picture of Colin Firth as Darcy giving Elizabeth “The Look.” Besides, I’d much rather watch my husband reassemble everything in our new locale and enjoy his—shall we say, “colorful” commentary—instead of making him drive all over an unfamiliar town looking for a place that sells three-eighths inch Thompson-head doohickeys. For one thing, he might stumble across the local Best Buy and then I’d never see him again till the next move. And for another, he won’t let me break into that unopened box of exercise equipment to harvest it for extra nuts and bolts.

Provide refreshments for the movers. I could be wrong, but had I known this at the time, I might still have a bentwood rocker to commemorate my time in Spain, instead of a useless pile of extra-fancy imported firewood. It was my new husband who, on our first post-nuptial move from Germany to California, bought a case of soft drinks especially for the movers, and put it in the refrigerator to chill the night before. He said it was important to do this.

Didn’t I tell you he was a prince?

I think I just found the answer.

*Bonus Household Tip: Bentwood rocker pieces make interesting wall decorations—or just use them to fill that annoying gap in the family room between your favorite end table and the wall! Woven cane seats and backs not only make great strainers for huge amounts of spaghetti serving twelve or more, but will make you and your dinner party the talk of the town for years to come!

Karen

Monday Check In and Contest

It’s Monday. You know what that means. It’s time to check in with the week’s word count. Word count: 3639. WhooHoo! That’s a bit more like it, for me. :)

As I said in yesterday’s blog (be sure to check it out for last week’s winners), I’m starting a new challenge today. The 100x100 started in our TARA group a hundred days ago. Some joined immediately and some came in later in the challenge. I wrote 58 days out of 100. During that time I added 30,080 words to my current wip. Pretty good, I’m thinking.

Then Julie Leto emails and reminds us in order to have our books completed by the Christmas Party we only have 75 days. OMG, 75 days sounds like plenty of time, to procrastinate and still get it done. Procrastinate: Often my middle name. But it’s not. Not if the needed word count is around 90,000.

She threw out the gauntlet. Anyone who wants to join this challenge has to figure out how many more words needed and then divides by 75. This will give you the amount of words you need each day in order to meet the goal. If you’re not sure of the words needed you can estimate. You can also check out Julie on the Plotmonkeys.

If you are doing the 100x100 and that’s working for you, then by all means stay with it. It’s a great concept and one I’ll go back to when I start working on CI. However, if you want to step it up a notch, add some deadlines, and complete your work in 75 days then this is for you.


Contest for this week:

Whose Number Is Up, Anyway? By Stevi Mittman

This is a signed copy. :) How fun is that. Stevi is an excellent writer, who books are never easy to put down. Make sure you have plenty of time when you sit down to read this book. And to find out more about Teddi and tips check the site. :)

Backcover blurb:

Literally, he's had it for every hour of the day for as long as Teddi's known him. So it's no coincidence that minutes after Teddi stumbles accidentally on a corpse in the deep freeze at King Kullen, Detective Dreamboat is back on the scene. Her supermarket snob (among other things) of a mother will never let her hear the end of it.

Nor will Drew, who has told Teddi time and again she's got to stop messing with murder scenes. Until Teddi goes from material witness to potential next victim…
But the woman whose smarmy ex dubbed her "Long Island's Most Dangerous Decorator" isn't going down without a fight. Or going down alone. Not when she's got an oh-so-irritating, way-too-irresistible cop watching her every move…

Here’s
where you can read an excerpt and check out href=http://www.stevimittman.com>Stevi’s website.

Leave your comments this week to be entered.

Tell us, how did you do this week? Did you find time to write, plot, revise, or set any new goals? We need to know. We’ll cheer with you or encourage you, whatever you need.

Oh, I almost forgot! Tomorrow I have the wonderful and talented Karen Lingefelt as my guest blogger. Be sure to stop by and say hi.

Writing Wishes and Plotting Dreams,
Vicki