I am Tammy Cardwell, she of the cluttered desk. (Hey, you think I'm kidding?!) I'm having a blast here in Blogland and invite to you to peruse my ramblings. Like a buffet, they offer variety - essentially whatever makes it to the top of the piles that sometimes clutter my brain. We'll eventually cover it all - homeschooling, God, our church, the Eclectic Homeschool Online, books I'm writing and publishing, conferences I speak at, the joys of grandmotherhood, and hopefully chocolate. Of course, this is only what's near the top now. Who knows what's in those piles?

Her name is Susan Boyle and she’s taught thousands of people not to prejudge someone’s abilities by their appearance or presentation.

I wish I could embed the video, but they’re not allowing it, so do yourself a favor and go watch this clip from Britain’s Got Talent’s 2009 talent search. See 47-year-old Susan Boyle completely floor the judges and everyone else when she sings "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Considering what I’m supposed to be doing - as opposed to what I AM doing, this one did make me LOL!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I’m not linking this post to my Living on a Dime category, because we’re not talking low-end products here, but I really am tempted when I consider just how much you can save with this site, especially with the invitation rewards.

The online company is The Gilt Group. I first read about them in Reader’s Digest and was impressed. These two ladies founded a business that sells upscale products (clothing for men, women, and children; accessories of all sorts; and home items) online via an invitation-only website. The "invitation only" part is the key. Because their customers have to be "members" and because they must be invited to be members, big designers are willing to sell them products that they know will be sold at greatly (GREATLY) reduced prices.

If you’re wondering about credibility, let me add that Forbes has also written about them. You’ll find the article for yourself if you google it.

The concept is that they put up a designer sale (11:00 a.m. my time, which is Central) and the sale stays up for 36 hours or until it sells out. From what I’ve seen people saying online (Yeah, I did my research), things sell out quickly, and I’ve noticed that it’s true. The Cole Haan slingbacks that I was drooling over this morning are totally sold out now. I’m not in a position to have bought them, but seeing these $185 shoes in my size for $85…

Currently, they’re running sales on…
Cole Haan Shoes
Walter
Habitual
A. Testoni
Alexis Bittar
Converse by John Varvatos Mens
Converse by John Varvatos Shoes
Gustto
Boy by Band of Outsiders
Authier
Women’s Sunglasses (various designers)

Of course, if you read this two days from now, it’ll be a different story entirely.

I’m not big into designers, so most of the ones I’ve seen are news to me, but I can definitely appreciate their designs. Well..okay..some not so much. But there are some great things here. There were some great things when I first joined, too. Among other things, I had fun perusing the Links of London jewelry offerings, and If I’d not already bought my dress for our music ministry banquet, I might have looked seriously at some GEEEEEEORGEOUS evening gowns that were up last week, up and with many at prices even I might have been able to pull off.

When you’re on the main sale page, you can scroll down to the bottom and click on the calendar on the left. This takes you to the list of upcoming sales so you’ll know which days you want to be in hover mode by your computer. You can also sign up for the daily emails that remind you about the sales in your preferred categories.

Also at the bottom, on the right, you’ll find "Quick Style Picks." This focuses on half a dozen individual items; I’m assuming these are things they have left from a sale that has ended. I’ve seen more than one item here that I’ve seriously considered as banquet gifts (See my earlier post), but so far I’ve held off since none felt like just the right fit.

Are you interested in checking it out for yourself? If so, here’s my Gilt Group Personal invitation Link. As I said earlier, if you sign up as a result of clicking this link, and place an order at some point, I’ll receive a $25 credit within about two days of your order shipping. This means that you, too, can invite people and if they place orders you get credit. Now that’s a great system!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

One of my frustrated publisher friends just posted to her blog. Her post soooooooooo expresses what thousands of people are feeling!

Practice with free writing: A rant against CPSIA

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

The following press release just hit my inbox. As a writer, this is a conference I’d rather like to attend. It’s not an option for me, of course, but if you’re a writer and at all in the area, you might want to consider it.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I read a whole book today - The Great Divorce, by C. S. Lewis. It’s one of the books on my "Classics/Must-read" list and it’s been sitting on the headboard of my bed for a while.

I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s fiction and a fairly quick read, which should make it appealing to many. It’s a story about hell and heaven and it really makes you think. Of course, Lewis was an expert at making us think. In fact, I think I’ll need to reread it; its supposed simplicity contains a lot that requires more in-depth consideration.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I wonder how many times I’ve read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (aka "A Visit from St. Nicholas") without ever even wondering what a sugar-plum was.

I now know, and oh…my…goodness!

I know because friends and I recently revisited a favorite candy shop. It’s Emmy’s Sweet Shoppe and it’s in Old Town Spring, near Houston, TX. This particular candy shop specializes in candies from the 20s through the 70s - all sorts of goodies that those of us who are more mature can remember and those who are younger can seriously enjoy. We go in and wander around, delighting in rediscovering nearly-forgotten treasures.

The real treasure, though, is Baron Jackson (As in "Owned & Operated by Baron and Baroness Jackson"), who is not only a candy fan, but a bit of a historian as well. We’d not been in his shop five minutes when he was telling us about the history and creation of two of his prizes, imported just for Christmas. One was champagne bubbles, a confection (made with real champagne) that was originally designed for Queen Victoria, and the other was sugar-plums.  Both were good, but I REALLY enjoyed the sugar-plums.

The candy really does start (and end) with plums. They take plums, reduce them to jelly, and roll them in pure cane sugar. The result, especially if you like plums as much as I do, is fabulous. He gave each of us samples and I was the only one who didn’t purchase a pound. (For budgetary reasons rather than because I wasn’t interested). I wish I had; I’d love to read Moore’s poem to Connor while he nibbles on sugar-plums. Maybe I’ll luck out and make it back that way soon and (the real "luck" part of the bargain) he’ll actually have some left. He said he started taking pre-orders in August so that he’d ensure he had enough, but when we were in he was already running low.

If you have a hankering for old-fashioned candies, you might consider a trip to Texas or, if that’s a bit much, making a quick phone call. I’d send you to his website, but he says that computers are evil and must be destroyed. He said it with a smile, of course, but the translation is, "Er…no…no website, ma’am."

Lest you think it’s crazy to call a Texas candy shop for an order of sweets, consider this.

He told us of one sugar-plum order he filled. The lady called and explained that she HAD to have some. He offered to have them bagged and ready for her whens she arrived, but she explained that it was "too long of a drive."

He shipped her order to Denmark. She’d discovered sugar-plums in his shop when she was visiting the states and realized upon ariving home that she could not do without. Gotta love someone who appreciates fine candy.

Emmy’s Sweet Shoppe
315 Gentry (Gentry Square)
Old Town Spring, TX 77373
281.288.0131

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I said in a post, not too long ago, that I was reading The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel. I anticipated the book being a winner and I was totally right.

I’ve never really gotten into apologetics before. They tell me this book is all about apologetics, but it doesn’t read like I would expect an apologetics book to read. It’s fascinating and full of personality. It also, on page after page after page, presents extremely strong evidence in favor of Jesus being the resurrected Christ, the Messiah the Jews are looking for. My biggest problem, while reading, was making myself put the book down.

I encourage every Christian to read this oldie, even if you don’t think you "need" it. I would also challenge every non-believer to read it. Though if you’re determined to remain a non-believer you’d best not; you’re too likely to find your convictions changing as Strobel, an experienced legal journalist, shoots down every argument I’ve ever heard raised against Jesus being who He is.

HIGHLY recommended!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Like most Christians, I love the song Amazing Grace; it speaks to me in a powerful and unique way. A friend recently sent me a link to this YouTube video and not only do I recommend it as a great rendition of Amazing Grace, but also because it shares some fascinating information that I never knew before. The speaker/singer’s name is Wintley Phipps and oh man is he good!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Reading my Bible has given me a hunger for more, so I started asking friends for book recommendations.

"What do you consider to be the must-read books where Christians are concerned?"

I had originally intended to stick to the classics, but got some really great suggestions for more modern books too, two of which really surprised me.

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades), by Robert Spencer
The Apocalypse of Ahmadinejad, by Mark Hitchcock

I’ve done a little (VERY little) research into Islam in the past few years and have learned a decent amount from one particular friend who studies such things, but I’ve never had much desire to really do any in-depth reading. However, when this particular gentleman not only included these two books in his four-book must-read list, but offered to loan me his copies as well, I decided it must be important material for the Christian to get hold of.

Uh huh

I understand much better, now, about the different types of Muslims and how they view Christians, Jews, and everyone else. I also understand why everyone has been telling me for years that Ahmadinejad is one of the most dangerous, if not the single most dangerous, men  on earth. Both of these books were real eye-openers, each in its own way, and I’m glad I invested time in reading them, especially since I now know even more about how I should be praying in these end times.

Next on the list, the book I’m reading now, is The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel. And this is another winner. I have a feeling I’ll be looking for more of Strobel’s books once I’ve made more inroads into my must-read list.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C