Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Boo!



When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on Halloween. ~ Author Unknown

We don't celebrate Halloween. I know, I heard a gasp of dismay from the collected tens of you. We tried last year, but DD did NOT like Trick-or-Treating. She did like giving out candy until the kid in the Scream costume showed up. She still remembers it ("Mommy, that gave me nightmares").

So, I buy her a bag of candy corn (her choice) and we go out for dinner during the two hours our town Trick-or-Treats. That's way more fun... for both of us.

What do you do to celebrate?

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Tomorrow NaNo begins. I'm completely unprepared (though I do have my first line already written in my head... if I write it here, does it mean I'm starting early? Will the NaNo police come and get me? I'll risk it...). Here's the first line of of 2007 NaNo novel:

When the doorbell rang, Ben expected to find a salesman, not a dog.
Now, because it's NaNo, and all about word count, that line will probably end up looking more like this:

When the doorbell's shrill call echoed through the nearly empty house, Ben lifted his head and glared at the oak door. "Damn salesmen," he murmured under his breath and slammed down his pencil. "Made me lose my train of thought." He stood and stalked to the door, yanked it open and prepared to let loose a stream of abuse. No one stood before him. He looked left at the cat lady's house and right toward town, until a gentle snuffle pulled his attention down to the stoop.

At his feet sat a gorgeous German shepherd, one paw up in greeting.
Man! That was a hoot!

I am SO READY TO START!!

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Aww, you think you're evil? That's adorable. We could just pinch your not-so-evil cheeks and pat your friendly little head. You seem like someone who feels massively guilty if you have even the slightest negative thought. If you were really evil, you'd lie, cheat, and hatch diabolical plans without feeling the slightest hint of remorse. It looks like your conscience is leading you down the "good" path, which is great… unless you're planning to take over the world someday.

10 comments:

Sarita Leone said...

LOVE the kitty picture! Still grinning over that.

So jealous that you've got a first line, Marianne. I have nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

*forehead to desk*

Hey, there's still a few hours left before midnight. I could think of something, right?

It's gonna be a loooong month! :)

Charity Tahmaseb said...

Well, you know, if it weren't for that pesky half of the country between us, I'd invite her to come along with us.

My kids like the idea of being scared more than being scared itself, so our "spooky walks" are pretty tame.

Alice said...

Good luck with NaNo, Marianne! Happy writing!

anno said...

There are about four families within a mile of our house... doesn't make for great trick-or-treating. And nobody has ever come up our driveway--it's a long driveway, and all in the dark. So, we don't celebrate Halloween, either.

Tonight, instead, having a candy extravaganza, I'll be making the world's richest macaroni and cheese; there'll be some fruit and maybe a crispy cabbage salad, but no one is required to eat anything totally nutritious. I'll probably figure out a way to sneak some M&Ms and mini Snickers bars into the dessert. We'll watch a science fiction movie (Philadelphia Experiment). My husband and daughter LOVE scary movies; I hate them. This is our compromise.

Enjoy your dinner out -- Happy Halloween!

And good luck with Nano, beginning tomorrow!

Melissa McClone said...

Great kitty pic.

I'm not ready for Nano. I'm in total denial. It can't be almost Nov. 1. It just can't be.

Anonymous said...

I love your NaNo opening!!!

I'm barely evil at all.

You… evil? Ha. Nobody's perfect, but you're one of the least evil people who've ever taken this quiz. If you're feeling guilty about something, it's probably only because you momentarily stopped petting a kitten to answer those questions. You would never be intentionally cruel to an animal, a friend, or even a stranger. Reading this quiz is probably the closest you've come to having an evil thought. We don't want you focused on evilness any longer than necessary, so please go back to what you do best -- spreading joy and sunshine throughout the land.


*gag* Could that be any more sickeningly sweet? *g*

Brandy said...

Hubs is taking the kids and their friends around the neighborhood and I'll stay home and hand out candy. Then, we'll go through their candy and see what they can keep. (And what hubs wants! *G*)

I hope your Halloween is full of fun!

Jen said...

I'm hoping I get my 50,000 in... not doing Nano officially, but hoping for 50,000 on the new novel, but I'm also entering Changeling in Golden Heart and have lots of company... we'll see...

My vampire hunter, is out with his German big "sister," who's dressed in Lederhosen as a joke, and they're promenading with a snow princess and a star maiden. They should be home any second now, as we probably have a whopping 6 houses in our neighborhood that do Halloween.

Dru said...

I love the kitty picture. Since it's just me, I don't do much for Halloween but enjoy seeing the young kids in their costumes.

ooh, I love your opening paragraph. This is a book that I want to read more of.

for the quiz, I'm barely evil, like Tori.

Ceri Hebert said...

We do trick or treat. The kids still like it and there are some houses that are fun to visit.

I love your opening paragraph. Maybe I should do something like that!

GOOD LUCK!