Amie Stuart ~ On the Back Porch

Daylight Savings Time is costing YOU!

That’s right…you heard me. DST which is supposed to save you money, is costing you a whopping $3.19 extra each year in utility bills.

I wonder how much the study to figure that out cost?

SCREWED:

Not much progress over the weekend. Sunday was a wash. Don’t ask what I did because the answer would just be NOTHING. And I do mean nothing.

It’s Monday and I’m not really here. Okay I’m here but I’m also there, talking about stuff I don’t really hate as much as I hate other stuff.

Before I get to my recap I have to send out a personal, heart-felt message to Paula: PLEASE STAY OUT OF MY GRANDMOTHER’S CLOSET! She’s very old and senile and it’s just not nice to steal from old women, k?

Now that we have that out of the way…..

Carly with “Crazy” by Heart. I’m a big Heart fan but I don’t LURVE them. That said, this was a good solid rendition and Carly was in FINE form, but I’m not as sold on her as Simon seems to be.

Syesha with um “Me and Mr. Jones”–Loved your scarf sugar, and you looked super classy. You are so CUTE–Ooooooo sorry I was channeling Paula. Anyway it was good and very smooth. I hart you.

Brooke White–Ooooooooo Carly Simon (or was it Joanie Mitchell?). About 2/3 the way through her performance I DID wonder if she was singing to Mr. Happy but I think it was a good song choice and a solid performance with strong vocals. I really like her. I do however, wish she’d cut off that extra piece of hair that flops in Ramiele’s eyes. It makes me itch to grab my scissors!!!

Ramiele with some song I apparently hated (according to my notes). I also hated her outfit (according to my notes). I thought her vocals were okay but I didn’t 100% buy into what she was selling. I have to go with Randy here–she wasn’t keeping it real. My note says it was like a book with poor characterization.

Kristi Lee Cook–like Jaq I was NOT surprised to learn she was a tomboy–hello she SOLD a HORSE to get to the AI tryouts). She’s cute as a bug and has potential but she never quite took control of the song. The chorus sucked, it was weak and pitchy and it seemed as if instead of getting bigger, the chorus got weaker and slowed down.

Amanda Overmyer–goodbye my rocker chick friend. I”m sorry I love you. I think you’re fabulous but DAYUM WTF were you thinking? You BUTCHERED KANSAS!!!! One of my fave songs evah! OMG WTF just WTF Sadly I think that one’s going to get you voted off the island.

*Paula…dancing? again just WTF?

Alaina W–doesn’t like her food to touch. I have a note here: My son does the same thing. Matter of fact we were talking at the end of the show and Elvis had this to say about Alaina and her food issues: SOmetimes I don’t like my food to touch either. Corn and mashed potatoes are okay because it all mixes well. With Bacon and Pancakes and Syrup food touching is a no no. HOWEVER, with sausage, pancakes and syrup it’s OH YEAH! When asked why he said, “Because the bacon is crispy.”

Where was I? Oh yeah…Alaina honey you were shreiky on the high notes.And I agree w/SImon on the pagenty thing.

Alexandrea–Beautiful vocals but I HATE that song. I have to agree w/Jaq on this one–elevator bigtime but then I’ve NEVER been a big Chicago fan. She could have sung that “Saturday in the Park” Song for all I cared. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Kady–the softer notes were flat and weak and you were stiff. Maybe you should have snuck a sip from Paula’s cup? Just saying. Anyway I’m sorry but Heart doesn’t Heart You Anymore. I”m sure you’ll understand because this was totally not a good song for you. I’m with Jaq–Simon you never heard that song before? WTF?

Asia’h–I sorta agree w/Simon here. It was a big song for her and she gets big points for “Degree of Difficulty”–she had a rough start but a real solid finish.

Who’s going home? Hmmmmmmm It’s a threeway for me –Kady, Amanda and/or Alaina.

Ohhhhhhh and next week guess what’s back? DIRT! I LOVE DIRT! It’s like Nip/Tuck used to be before someone started smoking crack while writing the manuscripts (the last couple episodes with the whole sibling love thing totally grossed me out. I really can’t believe you went there nad you’ve gone some really questionable places in the past). Life is good–Dirt is coming back, BSG is right around the corner (if htey’d quit moving it) and The Riches are coming. *sigh* Um yeah and I have a book due 10 weeks so I’ll be TIVO’ing a lot–promise to any of you lurking editors out there *g*

I did write one page and edit what I wrote this weekend.

WARNING: MOMMY RANT BELOW. SKIP IF YOU WANT…….

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Happy Monday Pookas!!!! I’m over at SFC today taking it down to the bare bones. Stop by and play!

Accountability Update: Saturday I managed about 8 or 9 pages on SCREWED but I got TONS of plotting done which is mega-good. Page count isn’t as big a concern as I’d thought (but my fingers are still crossed. Makes typing kinda hard but we’ll figure something out). I am reminded once again why I said I’d never write suspense. *sigh* My goal this week is 19 pages. I’d like to cross that 100 page line.

Otherwise, I had a lovely afternoon out with Lyn and Dennie (we had to case out places for our May conference–stay tuned because Margie Lawson is coming to down! SWEET!)

Other than writing and plotting and cleaning out the DVR, I cleaned my room *falls down*, cleaned out the fridge, did most of the laundry and cleaned up the laundry area (and chewed the kids out about cleaning up after themselves and doing chores. Old rules are back into effect so look out!).

Also finished Patricia Briggs’ Moon Called–really enjoyed it and will definitely be picking up the next book (yes I KNOW I’m behind–don’t remind me).

And…….last but not least, *sob* my Kevin went on his first date. Okay okay so they’re JUST FRIENDS, but still… and she’s so CUTE!!!!!!!! *sigh* damn…..

So, what’s new in your world?

SCREWED:

Remember when I posted about Exxon’s record profit a few weeks back?

Check this out…..

General Motors reported a fourth-quarter loss of $722 million on Tuesday and offered more buyouts to all 74,000 of its unionized employees in another bid to keep its turnaround from stalling…(snip)For all of 2007, GM posted a loss of $38.7 billion, the biggest ever for an automaker.

Interesting…….in ways that turn my tummy.

Now on to the Mavericks attempt to get Jason Kidd. MARK CUBAN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SMOKING???? You’re trading off nearly the ENTIRE starting lineup for Jason and someone we’ve never heard of? WTF?!

Here’s the breakdown: He [Devean George]and point guard Devin Harris, swingman Jerry Stackhouse, center DeSagana Diop, guard Maurice Ager, two first-round picks and cash [reportedly 3 million dollars which is probably pocket change to Cuban] were to be sent to New Jersey for Kidd and forward Malik Allen.

The upside is, NJ will reportedly buy out Stackhouse’s contract so he can RETURN to the Mavs. I love me some Jerry. And don’t get me wrong, Kidd can play some mean ball (and he’s HAWT HELLO can I rub your head, sugar? *drool*) but he’s OLD!!!!!! Yes, he’s younger than me, but in basketball years, 30-something is old. Hello, did you see what they did to Shaq (who, btw, is like 35 or 36 and injured)?

Update from Bailey!:

The NBA will investigate the possibility the Mavericks and Stackhouse violated league rules with a prearranged agreement for the forward to return to Dallas after reaching a contract buyout in New Jersey and sitting out the 30-day waiting period, sources said. Several league sources said the NBA will consider forbidding Stackhouse to re-sign with the Mavericks this season as punishment for public comments the forward made on Wednesday that suggested tampering could have occurred.

If it comes to that, the deal is dead. Dallas owner Mark Cuban wouldn’t complete the trade for Kidd without a belief that he could bring back Stackhouse this season. Ultimately, sources say, Mavericks management decided that losing Stackhouse would be too hard of a hit to the Mavericks’ depth, too steep a price to pay for Kidd.

And then…….last but not least, Texas has finally rescinded a, ahem, personal massager law and Smart Bitches is celebrating. I think the contest is closed but no blog day should pass by without sharing this image.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which represented the Travis County district attorney in the case, has not decided whether to appeal, said agency spokesman Tom Kelley.

Um dude, might want to cut your losses, k? Cuz it was a stupid law to begin with.

It’s Friday. No writing, but I did start reading the bestest book ever last night! OMG I’ve been dying for some good chick lit women’s fiction. Okay fine, chick lit. I don’t care if it’s “dead”, because I wasn’t one of those folks who glutted myself on it in the first place. So anyway I started reading this book last night and I could TOTALLY see Mik writing this. It’s sarcastic, it’s funny, but it’s not bitter which is what makes it work especially since it’s a “post-divorce” story. And of course, it’s about something ALL WOMEN can relate to.

Last but not least, I’m gonna ask ya’ll to pray for my good friend Kody. He’s a young’un undergoing some very scary surgery on Monday. *sigh* (Aunt Amie Loves ya bud!)

I’m out…….have a good one.

My new single title mom-lit about a basketball mom who kills referees who anger her just with the power of her loud shreiky voice. She’s also developed the ability to completely mortify her son, piss off the refs, and embarrass other parents in a single screech. Look for it soon from STFU Books.

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I saw on the news this morning that Exxon/Mobile posted a RECORD profit for the last quarter of 2007.

How much you ask?

40 BILLION DOLLARS!

I can sooooo see someone spinning around behind his desk doing that Dr. Evil laugh. I have never in my life wanted to write hate mail so bad. Do you KNOW how much 40 billion dollars is? I can’t even figure out how much that is a day?!?!

My head hurts. I”m gonna go take two squirts of gas and call you in the morning.

Warning slight parental rant ahead….(And I’m over at SFC today wondering what to do with my stuff)

Responsibility: A form of trustworthiness; the trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one’s conduct

Myspace recently entered into an agreement with 49 states to up their level of protection for children against “internet predators and bullies”. The one state that didn’t sign on? Texas.

And I say good for Greg Abbot (even if I do hate the AG’s office but that’s another rant). Don’t look so shocked. Frankly, it’s not Myspaces responsibility to protect my children. It’s mine. The buck stops with me. Not Myspace, not the state. The parent. Funny enough this announcement came on the heels of last week’s LAO: SVU episode about a 14 year old who raped four children after watching hours of porn via cable and the internet. His father was a single parent, his mother was dead. The kid thought it was okay. It was DISTURBING on levels I don’t even have the words for. Had I known what it was about, I wouldn’t have let the kids watch it with me (normally it’s no biggie), but it’ll probably go down as my least favorite of all time. The bottom line? It really drove home the importance of keeping an eye on my children.

Yes, my children use the internet, yes they have their own computer and YES I monitor them. We also have an open dialog about what’s appropriate and what’s not as well as about posting personal information on the net. At the same time, because I write erotic romance, I walk a fine line on hypocrisy. We also talk about sex and they know that what I write isn’t any more appropriate for them to read than porn is for them to watch.

So what do you think? Whose job is it? The state? Myspace? Dialogue……

Ok so I wrote this on Saturday night and I’ve been mulling it over. I THINK what really bugged me about that SVU episode is that the kid didn’t look fourteen. I have a 14 YO son. He’s taller than me and he has a baby ’stache. This kid looked like he was maybe MAYBE 12. And he’d been picked on. Don’t get me wrong, I know there are little kids in my son’s class–just like I know there’s a kid in the 7th grade who’s 6′1 …. and I know that bullying happens, but I think the fact that he was so so … babyfaced is what made it disturbing.