Too Many Books

Natalie Murphy and Tina Sandoval tagged me because they wanted to know my answers to the following: At least I think Tina tagged me. Maybe she didn't. I can't remember. If she didn't, then I tag her now. Question 1: Where were you five years ago? 1. Only working part-time (for the first time in my life) as a waitress. In fact, I might have not even been back to work yet because I was: 2. Still unpacking from a sanity-vacation. (That would be a good Thursday story.) 3. Heavily medicated. 4. Wondering if I would ever feel like me again. 5. Probably more profoundly sad than I have ever been before or since. (2005 was a rough year. May of 2005 might have been the roughest.) Question 2: Where would you like to be five years from now? 1. The hottest Mommy sitting by the kiddie pool. 2. A writer of published fiction heavily loosely based on May of 2005, 3. Earning at least 20k more than I do at my current job. 4. Debt free except for the house. 5. Livin...

Hubs and I have only gotten jiggy with it twice since I found out I have a bun in the oven. I mean, my libido hasn't really gone down much -- twice in six weeks was pretty much par for our course lately. How I got pregnant at all is still a complete and utter mystery (or at least a warning signal to all those occasional unprotected-sex-havers out there.) (And, I guess, excuses hubs from having asked, "Is it mine?" when I initially told him that I was knocked up.) Anycum, the reason we haven't had much sexy-time is because 1) I can no longer be taken advantage of in drunken moments of "let's get it on, wife" in which I am the wife and I am the drunk... and 2) It makes me uncomfortable. Let's explore number two. I know, I know. It's really ridiculous. But, seriously. I mean, there's a fetus in there listening to mommy's "o-voice" in what I can only assume is like the most serious surround-sound system ever. (You know: ...

Uncool Things About Today I was supposed to have my second baby-doctor's appointment today, but apparently, my OBGYN has more patients than just me, and one of them decided to go into labor. Sadly, I busted my hump to get out of work with enough time to scarf down a bite to eat before my 2:00 appointment time, and didn't get the voicemail about needing to reschedule the visit until I was pulling into the frakking parking lot. Oh well. Cool Things About Today Since I'd already broken out of the office (okay, the bank branch, but doesn't "the office" sound cool-er?) I decided not to go back this afternoon. I'm working the Saturday morning hours, so I don't have to use personal time -- I just won't get any overtime this week. With free time in front of me, I drove around in the late May heat with my air conditioner cranked and my sunglasses on, drinking iced tea and making eyes at hot boys in hot cars next to me at red lights. (Can't s...

WINTERGIRLS was amazing. I did not want to finish reading it. Reading Laurie Halse Anderson's words is like sitting in the most beautiful pocket of a poetry reading or listening to some breathtakingly sad song. But, I finished reading it. Then I moved on to Karyn Bosnak's 20 TIMES A LADY. It paled in comparison, but I don't know if it's Bosnak's fault or not. I just don't know what I could have read after WINTERGIRL'S that would have stood a chance. Now, I'm in the middle of Nick Hornby's A LONG WAY DOWN. There are four first person main characters, and each character's sections (there aren't really chapters) are titled with his or her name. It's about a group of people who meet on a roof top on New Years Eve: they are all up on the roof with the intention of jumping off. They have little more in common than their suicidal states of mind, but form an odd friendship... it's interesting and engaging. I'm going to sit outside and ...

As soon as the LOST camp announced an end-date for the show a few years back, I pleaded with the Big Guy upstairs: " Please don't let anything happen to me before then! I really, really, really want to know how LOST ends!!" The series finale was last night. The series finale was magical, worthy, and wonderful. My life is completespice: I saw how LOST ended. Of course, there are still questions. If you are a huge follower of the show, there are still things left unsaid, mysteries not fully explained -- hell, the last twenty minutes alone raised more questions! I. don't. care. LOST is still the best.show.ever. Here are my top-ten-off-the-top-of-my-head burning questions: 1. Since Jacob "touched" the castaways and brought them to the island for a reason, he had to have orchestrated the plane crash (i.e. he had to cause the pilot to turn off course -- or at least cause the transceiver to stop working -- and he also had to ensure that Desmond would...

Bird Update Hubs discovered the reason the bird's nest was gone last night. It had fallen off the porch light and was hiding behind our shrubbery -- along with the little baby birdies, who had been tossed from the nest and lay quivering in the dirt. After a little online research, an almost-teary-eyed hubs pulled on his new gardening gloves (I watched his back so as to warm him of the approach of the angry Mamma Bird) and scooped the little ones back into their nest home... and he stood on our his beer cooler to return the nest to its original spot. A little while later, Mamma Bird returned with food and was perched back atop her new arrivals. I planned to blog earlier, and thought this story might have a happy ending. Sadly, the nest has fallen again. I just arrived home from work -- it's Friday evening -- and there is no nest. I assume it's in the bushes, but I am not going to look. Hubs might look when he gets here. (Since I'm pregnant, I can't be arou...

Have I mentioned that a loving frighteningly territorial mamma bird must have smelled the maternity around here? Said bird constructed a nest atop our front porch light, and has now given birth to some tweety little babies. (Hubs was going to move the nest before she laid eggs; he decided against it at my bidding.) (The more I think about it, the more convined I am that Ms. Mamma Bird should be sending me a thank you card.) So, you know, I took a picture of the nest before the eggs hatched. There might not even have been any eggs in there at that point. It's just a little too high up for me to see inside, and though I considered getting a chair to stand on for a better shot, I thought no... don't push it, Amber. Give Mamma Bird a little privacy and respect. Photo 1 did not seem to ruffle any feathers. Anywaddle, the other day I came home from lunch and saw Mamma Bird perched up there, and noticed the cutest little baby birdie face poking out from under her ...

I didn't puke this morning! Hooray!! Maybe morning sickness is becoming a thing of the past. Oh, that would just be fantastic -- as opposed to yesterday, when I hurled up cold water -- which was all I had in my system. Moving on. I'm pretty such I'm probably kicked out of my crit group, since I haven't posted a chapter or completed any crits in a full month. I don't know why I've put writing on the back burner since finding out about my pregnancy... but that's what I've done. Sure, I've been a little more tired than before -- and maybe a bit distracted -- but it's not like I'm repainting a nursery yet, or stocking up on onesies, or stalking every known baby name website. (Well, okay. Maybe I am doing the last one, you know, since hubs isn't a fan of  Simon Larter Murphy for a boy or Tina Lynn Murphy for a girl. Whatevs.) However, yesterday's Let's Talk Blogfest really got me salivating a bit. I think it's time for...

Yay! The Let's Talk blogfest, hosted by Roni at Fiction Groupie , is finally here. (I didn't sign up in advance, because that's how I roll.) Click here to read some of the other entries (I'm the 98th participant! I just knew this fest would take off, since Roni is hosting. She should rename herself Fiction Goddess.) Here's my own entry, from my Work-Eternally-in-Progress. My MC Laurel, is hanging out with her BFF, Paul. Other characters include her ex-beau, Adam, as well as Laurel's sister, Laine. ___      The day Laurel left for college, her friend Paul came over and helped transport her clothes straight from the closet into the backseat of her Dodge Neon. They passed Laurel's mother on each trip through the kitchen. On one pass she was decorating the table with festive paper plates, bowls of potato chips and trays of cookies. On another, she stirred her famous seven-up and sherbert punch for Laurel's going away party.   ...

Last Thursday, I attended this Awards thing-y for work. It was because my customer service scores pretty much rocked last year. (We have these random phone calls to customers, and the customers are asked to rate us from 1 to 5 in different categories. Then, the scores are averaged for that particular call.) In 2009, I had over 25 "shops" and maintained a perfect "5" ranking! (I'm so nicespice. People just really, really like me.) Anyway, the awards thing-y was held at Churchill Downs. We, the chosen ones, got to leave work early and we headed to the track for a cocktail hour (okay, three hours) and then dinner and raffle prize drawings. Except for the fact that pregnant people can't even drink free alcohol, I had a super fun time. Mainly, because I bet on (Derby Winning jockey) Calvin Borel's horse to win in the 8th race that day -- $10 to win! -- and he came through for me. I won $132.00!! Squee! The horse was a semi-long-shot, and I read in ...

I have sucked balls lately. Oh, wait. Not that way. I have sucked at blogging with regularity this week. I mean, jeezel peets! Not once in the twenty-nine weeks since my maiden TMI post (which was about how I simulatenously pooed and puked and since God loves me there was NO cleanup invovled!) (I mean, seriously, it was a miracle) have I  ever missed a TMI Thursday post! (I mean, I even found time to post on Thanksgiving Thursday. That one is a favorite of mine -- it was about the time I gave my number to a hot guy at a bar -- in front of my husband -- because a) I was drunk and he asked for it and b) he looked like that teacher from GLEE. Mr. Shu. Swoonspice.) So, point being, I'm sorry that I have a been such a fair-weathered bloggy friend this week. I'll make it up to you today. Here's a snippet of a conversation I had with my girlfriends at dinner on Tuesday: Amber: "God, it would be so awesome if I was still a slut. I could have sex with whoever I w...

I'm too far behind in my reader to write a proper post. (It just wouldn't be fair.) I'll give you a random Tuesday list instead, then I'll try to catch up and comment on a few of your blog posts, dearest readers. 1. Sometimes when I am out (for instance, eating at Macaroni Grill) I look at people's babies and I think "God, I hope mine turns out cuter than that one!" 2. The other night, I asked hubs to pour me some ice water so I wouldn't have to get off the couch. He was all, "I don't wanna get up either" so I told him I read somewhere that it makes the baby happy when he does things for me. He's all, "Did you read that on your blog?" I was all, "What? No!" He added, "Was that one of your facebook status updates?" "Uh, maybe... Just get me some damn agua!" (I think hubs knows about my blog! I just can't understand why he doesn't stalk it enough to claim the b.j. I promise...

When I don't blog on a weekday, it makes me feel sort of icky and incomplete -- sort of the same way I feel when my mother calls in the evenings and I don't answer or return her call. Oh, wait. You didn't notice my lack of a post yesterday?! What? Your world wasn't spinning out of control? You didn't frown as you scrolled through your google reader and found my blog title greyed out? You didn't click on it anyway, only to find the obvious news: musings of amber murphy has No New Items?! (Don't lie. You know you missed me.) In truth, you didn't miss much. I've just been chillin' -- barefoot and preggers style. Apparently, during ones first trimester one has ZERO energy. This weekend, I mostly parked my bloated belly on the couch and participated in a one-woman movie marathon. I watched 27 Dresses, the uber-disturbing Monster (in which Charlize Theron plays one scary lezzie) and Nine... which was not everything I wanted it to be. Oh, yeah ...

Update : Hubs obviously does not know about my blog. Or, if he does, he doesn't stalk it. Therefore, hubs did not get any rewards last night. Writerleigh: ( What? Amber Leigh Tidd Murphy still writes? Since when? And she's blogging about writing? Wait, hold the phone!) (Hey, enough sarcasm from you, dear followers. That'll do.) So, I've decided that one of my hugest fundamental flaws is a LACK of writing in scenes . Here's the thing: I don't know why the hell I have this problem. Maybe it's because I'm writing over large portions of time. (Chapter One currently spans a few years time, and details my MC's experiences when she is 5-8 years old.) I've decided to try to break down chapter one into scene sections. Also, I've decided that I might not make it backstory. Why can't it be present action? (I was inspired by Curtis Sittenfeld's THE MAN OF MY DREAMS. Her MC, Hannah Gavener, is fourteen years old in the first chapter, w...

You probably thought this post was going to be about pregnant hanky-panky. It's so not about that. So, you know how hubs is in the dark about my addiction to blogging? I think he is thisclose to discovering my blog, if he hasn't already discovered it. See, when hubs navigates the internet, he always goes to "favorites" and then "history" to load up his desired website. So, after I've had my way with my reader, several of your blogs show up right there in the history feed on our adorable lap-top built for two. The other night, I walked into the room and noticed hubs had a window open -- it had a pink-y background. I recognized the site immediately. It was Fiction Groupie's blog. "Are you reading one of mine?" I asked him, scared to actually utter the word "blog." "No," he responded lied. (I love catching hubs in lies. It's so empowering.) He closed the window and right behind it was Vita Brevis...

Seriously, I can't even blog during lunch anymore. (I now spend the whole time feeding my face.) Here is my usual food routine: breakfast number one gingerale crackers coffee or cola -- my only caffeine of the day breakfast number 2 nutri-grain bar probiotic yogurtish shake string cheese yogurt (unless it's "fruit on the bottom." gag me.) lunch healthy choice steamer meal and a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese or a whole wheat bagel with mozarella cheese and roasted garlic hummus tortilla chips more string cheese raw veggies with obscene amounts of green onion dip water afternoon work snack carrot sticks oyster crackers almonds granola bar dinner whatever hubs cooks for me. Monday it was Five Guys Burgers and Fries, last night it was pizza rolls. Tonight, he's grilling brats and we're having potato salad on the side! dessert cheesecake ice cream sammies night time snack toast more string cheese half a pbj ...

Did you ever hear about SaveKaryn.com ? I remember when I discovered the website -- I think it was in the early 2000's -- and learned about this posh New Yorker named Karyn who was determined to get out of around 20k in credit card debt. She was selling tons of her prized designer handbags and outfits, and she also requested that readers send a dollar her way to help her out. Now, Karyn Bosnak is out of debt and is also a published author -- she wrote a book about her internet panhandling, and her second book 20 TIMES A LADY is being flick-ified. Awesomespice. I wish I could get my followers to mail me a dollar each. That would add up to $158.00 It wouldn't get me out of debt, but I would be able to make an extra credit card payment or something. I wish I'd thought of it first. Karyn Bosnak is so freakin' lucky. You can read her blog  here. And if you want to mail me a dollar, you can't. I don't have a PO BOX, and it's creepyspice to announ...

I vowed to read 100 books in 2010. I'm well on my way. Here's a peek at how I've been spending my time this year... January MIDDLESEX Jeffrey Eugenidies THE LITTLE FRIEND Donna Tartt EXTREMELY LOUD and INCREDIBLY CLOSE Jonathan S. Foer NO WAY TO TREAT A FIRST LADY Christopher Buckley THE MIDDLE PLACE Kelly Corrigan THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING Milan Kundera LOST IN THE FOREST Sue Miller HOW TO BE GOOD Nick Hornby February THE ROAD Cormac McCarthy THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER Kim  Edwards THE END OF ALICE A.M. Homes THE DOUBLE BIND Chris Bohjalian THE READER Bernhard Schlink THE AMATEUR MARRIAGE Anne Tyler March THIRTEEN REASONS WHY Jay Asher SPOOKY LITTLE GIRL Laurie Notaro THE TRIANGLE POSE Mary Welp (re-read, totally counts) APRIL IF I STAY Gayle Forman SWEETHEATS Sara Zarr SNUFF Chuck Palahniuk HARVESTING THE HEART Jodi Picoult THE CARBON DIARIES Saci Lloyd LITTLE BEAUTIES Kim Addonizio THE EASY WAY TO STOP SMOKING Allen Car...

It felt so strange not to blog yesterday. I don't think I even opened my reader! I didn't intend to unplug. I planned to post at work. (Shh.) Yesterday was the running of the Kentucky Oaks . (It's like the Christmas Eve of the Kentucky Derby.) Point being: we are usually super slowspice at work. What actually happened: the bank was as busy as a moderately attractive hooker on a popular corner. There was a record crowd at Churchill Downs yesterday: blue skies, perfect 80 degree weather with wind... it was the most beautiful day. (I know it was a beautiful day because the bank has windows.) (No. I'm not bitter that I had to work. Not at all.) So, today is Kentucky Derby 136 . Because God hates gambling, the sublime Louisville weather from yesterday has transformed into buckets of rain. If you're betting on the race, bet on a horse that can run on a sloppy track -- we call 'em mudders. I won't be going to the Derby. I may not even go to a derb...