For references to some stuff, I have done a little programming with the PIC using Pik Kit 2Pik Kit 2 Pickit 1, I would recommend the 100 microcontroller projects for the evil genius,
I also have some blog posts that are dealing with such things
http://blog.onaclovtech.com/2010/01/interrupts.html
http://blog.onaclovtech.com/2010/01/analog-inputs.html
http://blog.onaclovtech.com/2010/02/pic-16f913-quick-reference-guide.html
http://blog.onaclovtech.com/2010/02/pic-16f913.html
I plan to post a SPI update as well as when I figure out how to deal with CAN bus traffic using some microchip chips, I'll have updates then too.
Thank you,
onaclov