Amie Stuart ~ On the Back Porch

I’m over at NAS today. But on to more important things….

The Lovely Sharon Cullars needs our help.

Sharon lost her job two years ago, and since then has struggled to find work that would have enabled her to pay her mortgage.  As a consequence, she now has very limited time to find funds to enable her to stay in her home. Hopefully we can pull together enough money to allow her to start over in an apartment and in an area where she can find work.

You can find more information here.

And also here.

And if you feel so inclined, Chip In Here.

I know these are tough times and as a single mom, I well understand the fear of losing that roof over your head, that safety net your job provides. I’ve been VERY fortunate and will happily donate whatever is necessary those organizing an auction.

I’m almost afraid to say this out loud but the wip is going swimmingly–or sluttishly if you will. *grin*

Whew–gotta whip er wipe the steam from my glasses!I got my ten pages today…then Charlene started twittering about hot carb porn–if you don’t get that let’s just say it involved yeast, flour and a breadstone. K, so anyway…i decided that since SOMEONE sent me a gift card for Christmas, I’d just use it to buy my OWN breadstone so I could have hot carb porn at my house. While I was there, I ordered two books. I figured why not just use th whole gift card. *sigh*

Why is this a problem? Well, see, the other night when I went out with Lynn, I had to wait a while so I waited at Barnes and Noble where I bought two books.

Which isn’t so bad except….I just ordered 8 books from them the other day.

This is a problem, because that’s 12 books and last year I only read like 24. *gulp*

I’m chatting goals (and bitching a little) at SFC today.

I wrote five pages yesterday then realized this morning that teh story should go in a different direction and I was going to have to delete them. *sigh* On the good news front, the kids are taking off in about two hours and will be gone overnight (at least) so I have lots of writing time ahead of me, and a quiet new year!

Happy new Year Peeps!

I’m over at NAS talking resolutions and stuff we should resolve NOT to do!

The grand total for books read in 2008 was……… 23 *sigh* that’s more than last year.  But not by much. And I’m sure I bought 2-3 times that many books *doubesigh*

Here’s a rough breakdown for you:

22 fiction / 1 non-fiction

6 YA’s (and all were UF)

4 Romantic Suspense/Thrillers

5 Women’s Fiction (2 with paranormal elements–Time of my Life and Earthly Pleasures)

6 UF -non-YA (1 was historical fantasy)

1 non-fiction

So did you keep track? how’d you do? And what are your plans for NYE?

Yesterday it was 77 degrees here. NO I’m not making that up. The temp just dropped like ten degrees and it’s supposed to rain all morning. The house is quiet, the baking is half gone, the kids are totally gone, and I have to go to East Texas this afternoon for one more Christmas

While I love my family I do NOT love the 2 hour drive.

Due to poor planning on my part, all we had to eat in the house for Christmas was leftover smoked turkey. The kids revolted. I told them EVERYTHING is closed. They insisted i call Quiznos and then Dominoes. No answer, so we got in the car and drove around. I told them if I didn’t find anything, I’d take them to Quik Trip and get them some 2/2.00 taquitos.  Our favorite Chinese restaurant was open so we SCORED!  Then we hit QT for coffee and smokes and soda (cuz it’s Christmas), and then, the car wouldn’t start.

So there I was on Christmas night sitting outside QT PRAYING my car started. It finally did and first thing yesterday (well, noonish first thing) we headed off to the Saturn dealership. I’m 200 bucks poorer but I have a new ignition switch.

And I read almost all of the Outliers. I don’t normally read non-fiction but I have to say it’s really fascinating! (and really easy reading LOL). Here’s a short description……

In Outliers, Gladwell (The Tipping Point) once again proves masterful in a genre he essentially pioneered—the book that illuminates secret patterns behind everyday phenomena. His gift for spotting an intriguing mystery, luring the reader in, then gradually revealing his lessons in lucid prose, is on vivid display. Outliers begins with a provocative look at why certain five-year-old boys enjoy an advantage in ice hockey, and how these advantages accumulate over time. We learn what Bill Gates, the Beatles and Mozart had in common: along with talent and ambition, each enjoyed an unusual opportunity to intensively cultivate a skill that allowed them to rise above their peers. A detailed investigation of the unique culture and skills of Eastern European Jewish immigrants persuasively explains their rise in 20th-century New York, first in the garment trade and then in the legal profession. Through case studies ranging from Canadian junior hockey champions to the robber barons of the Gilded Age, from Asian math whizzes to software entrepreneurs to the rise of his own family in Jamaica, Gladwell tears down the myth of individual merit to explore how culture, circumstance, timing, birth and luck account for success—and how historical legacies can hold others back despite ample individual gifts.

Then we hit the mall which nearly made me homicidal. So we left–really quick.

And OHHHHHHHHHH Yesterday I ordered a buttload (like of books from bn.com (most for 3.99), which totally cheered me up!!! I used my gift cards and ended up spending only 10 bucks. Mostly stuff I’ve wanted and been meaning to get. And I still have a gift card to amazon.com to spend–woot!

Will try to post some of my Christmas recipes but I’ve got to go make some pound cake now.

How was your Christmas? Did Santa bring you what you wanted?

to all my friends. May your holidays be filled with good food, good friends and much cheer.

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It’s friggen cute.  Happy weekend before Christmas everyone!

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