The Saucy Scribe

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Here’s to a successful first week at the new blog!  Thanks to all who stopped by, commented or not – you pushed me close to the 100 visitor mark for the week.  Woohoo!

Desiree’s Novella (progress meter posted on the sidebar) moved ahead this week and hopefully by the end of the day today, will cross the 6k word mark!  That’s almost 1/2 done.

On the homefront, the house needs more decorating, the hubby will be out hanging lights this weekend, and some holiday baking needs to get started.  And the holiday shopping?  Well, I’m pleased to report we’re almost done.  A few more things for those hard to buy for people in my life and I’ll be good to go.  But don’t ask about the Christmas cards – cause I haven’t even thought about them yet.

Looking forward to the weekend, but have to get my fingers going on the Novella first – so, on that note…

Happy Friday!

 1. Decorating the tree! – Some years everything goes on the tree – some years we keep it to a color theme…it always looks different, and like a little girl, I could sit and watch the lights for hours.

 2.  Baking!  – I think the holidays bring out the baker in most everyone.  The need for something sweet, the joy of making it with your family.

3.  Gingerbread Men! – This is separate from baking because one of my family’s favorite holiday traditions is the hosting of our annual Gingerbread Men party.  Since my oldest was one (he’s 16 now) we’ve hosted this party with our best friends family.  My girlfriend and I roll out the dough, the kids (7 of them) take turns decorating.  We eat pizza, drink and the cookies are great.  It’s an all-day/family friendly event.  We’ve watched the progression from small kids decorating to teenage boys making mutants and anatomically correct versions – the pictures through the years are priceless!

4. Pointsettias.  What’s not to love.  The bright red, whites and now even pink.

5. Christmas Carols.  Yup, I’m a dork.  I’d sing them all year if it was socially acceptable.  I love them all, the slow religious ones, the silly ones, and I even enjoy all the different versions by the artist du jour.

6. Wrapping Presents.  I love to wrap.  The pretty paper, the bows.  Big gifts, small gifts – even those stocking stuffers – I try to wrap everything!

7.  Egg-Nog.  Non-alcoholic and alcoholic – love it!

8.  Mistletoe.  What kind of self-respecting romance writer would I be if this didn’t make the list?  (Which reminds me, I haven’t seen any in the stores yet – I’ll to be on the lookout, cause the house decorations just aren’t complete with it!)

 9.  Christmas Lights.  I can still remember driving the neighborhoods in the back seat of my parents car.  Ooing and Ahing over the houses that really go all out for the holidays.  Now with blow-up decorations, lights in abundance and all sorts of huge displays – you don’t have to go far.

10.  Christmas TV specials.  As a kid, we’d count down the days to watch Rudolph and Frosty on TV.  Now with DVDs my kids can watch them anytime, but it still makes me smile whenever they’re on.

11.  Live from Rockefeller Center!  Okay, I’m a NY girl.  Nothing says Christmas to me like the huge tree in NYC.  If you get the chance to see it in person – take it.  It’s awe-inspiring.  If not, watching it on TV is a great start to the holiday season.  (And if you do get to see it live, don’t forget to stroll the streets – all the major department stores have holiday windows that are sure to bring out the child in you!

12.  Hot Chocolate & Candy Canes.  Guilty pleasures.  Plunk a candy-cane into a steaming cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter night – yummy!

13.  Santa.  The big jolly guy in red.  No list of traditions would be complete without him.  Whether the kids believe or not, just seeing him sitting on his throne in the mall, standing on the corner collecting money for the needy or watching him on TV – he embodies the spirit of the season.  Reminding us the holiday is about giving.  But not only about giving gifts, but of giving of yourself to make the little slice of the world around you a better place.  He reminds me to spread joy, to share happy moments and give something back to those less fortunate.

What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

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 As usual, I’m behind the technological times.  Many people I know get books every month on CD to listen to while driving.  Now I understand you can even download these audiobooks onto your MP3 player!

Up until now I’ve been fairly resistent to this new idea.  The idea of listening to a voice read a book to me is still foreign.  What if I don’t particularly like that voice?

So what has me rethinking this premise, you ask?  Well in my usual daily slog across the internet I stopped over at EHarlequin (a place I admit, I haven’t frequented since I decided I just could NOT write for the Desire line I had previous delusions of writing for) to find that many of their books are now available in an audio format.  Even better – they are offering a free Blaze download.

Woot!  I’m thinking this might be just the ticket to getting my butt off the computer chair and walking.  I’ve got the MP3 player.  I can download (I think!) and if I can get some of my TBR pile dwindled down by multi-tasking – well – need I say more?

What’s your opinion on audiobooks – good, bad, indifferent – now the time and this is the place to let me know.  In the meantime, I think I’ll take advantage of the free download.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Unless you’ve crawled out of a cave recently, you’ve no doubt heard about the WGA strike.  If you’ve turned on your TV lately in the hopes of catchinig a little down-time in the midst of your holiday preparations – yup – you’ve figured out the strike has now hit home.

No more new shows.

Late night is at a stand-still.

 I’ve heard people complain.  I’ve heard people being supportive.  We’ve all seen the pictures of striking writers.  But have you really been watching this unfold or thought about the “hows” and “whys”?

Anyone that knows the real me – knows that there are certain hot-button political issues I’ll rant over for hours.  My motto has always been “everyone’s entitled to my opinion.”  When I was younger and cared about being politically correct, I might (notice I said “might”) not have spouted off in public – getting older and caring less – I’m growing ever more increasingly willing to share my unvarnished opinions with anyone who doesn’t have the good sense to turn away!

In  case you didn’t know – the term, “starving artist” isn’t a joke.  Really, folks.  It’s a reality.  As most people in any “artistic” field will tell you, the money isn’t distributed evenly amongst the masses.  I once heard an estimate that the arts field 20% of the people earn 80% of the money – that leaves the rest of us poor slobs to fight for a pretty small piece of the pie.

Want to weed through throught the muck of the strike?  Want to learn how you can be supportive by helping or at the very least, at least be better informed?  I hope you’re nodding your head here.  Check out the United Hollywood blog!  As a writer, even though unpublished, this is a subject close to my heart.

No need to be shy here – what are your thoughts on the strike?

Today’s Coffee – Green Mountain – Pumpkin Spice (which I’m enjoying in my warm kitchen, wonderfully secure in the knowledge that my family’s well-being doesn’t rely on my writer’s salary.  Unfortunately, the members of the WGA don’t have that luxury!)

Photo courtesy of tv.zap2it.com

Of the few child stars that have managed to pull their careers into adulthood – I have to say Patrick Dempsey will always be one of my favorites. Is it the boyish grin or the rumpled good looks, I can’t say. But the man’s got charisma.

Look for him in Disney’s latest princess movie – <a href=”http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/enchanted”<Enchanted.

Happy monday!

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