2010 Special Olympics

Our niece, Alisa, is participating in the Special Olympics this week. Her sport is Bowling! And she is dang good! She has set up a blog to share her week with us and I would love for everyone to check it out. If you're feeling moved, please leave her a comment. I love Alisa because she is strong, lovable and extremely independent. Alisa auditioned for American Idol in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, graduated from Montgomery College served a mission in the Washington DC Temple and she's engaged!!! Her blog can be found at this link: http://www.alisaogden.blogspot.com/.

I'm A Book Loving Freak!

What do you do when you're home alone for three days while your husband is away at another scout camp? You create another blog. Such an obvious answer, right? Well, that is exactly what I did this week. It is actually my third blog creation. My second blog is written under another name and is a collection of dreams that I've been having ever since I started reading. It's nothing x-rated or that I'm not willing to share. I just don't want people to think I've developed a personality disorder and so my readers are selected carefully. I only want positive feedback on that blog because I'm just learning the ins and outs of creative writing...and it's hard! It's also been pretty fun putting my dreams in writing. Richard was very encouraging and if he hadn't been so excited about the idea I never would have done it.

With that being said-it shouldn't be difficult to figure out what this third blog is about. It's about my love for books. It will be an awesome blog because everything will be book related. Whether I'm telling you about my latest book find or if I'm just sharing a quick story about how my books are affecting my daily life, you'll be sure to find something useful and hopefully comical too! I'm super excited and I hope you check it out and save it to your favorites. You can leave comments. And if you read something that you think others would be interested in you can hit the e-mail link at the bottom of the post and forward it to a friend.

Happy reading, friends! http://myfriendscallmekate.blogspot.com/

I'm not SELFISH!

A few posts ago I mentioned that I've developed a new love for reading. New because it had been almost 12 years since I actually picked up a book. And that isn't counting the one a year book I picked up at the airport to keep me entertained. Since then, I've been buying books and adding to my personal collection. I've been buying a lot of books-which is why Richard is starting to nag me about the library card. I don't want a library card. I want to own my own books. They're relatively inexpensive compared to his golf clubs and his gun collection. My purses, shoes and books in a year would never equal the amount he spends on his two greatest hobbies. I'm not getting a library card-at least not yet! Hopefully never!

Anyway, selfishness is my question today and it has to do with the books I'm starting to become buried in. I really never cared about lending my books to others until just recently. I had a friend read a copy of a book by one of my most favorite authors and then when he was finished I sent it on to another friend at work. I noticed upon its return that the first borrower didn't hold my book the way I do and now it feels worn. I'm devastated. I'm currently in the middle of the Reacher Novels and people are starting to ask when they can begin the books. I'm not wanting to share them at this point for fear that Reacher will be worn out when he returns to me. The thought of it sends me into a panic. That's when I looked up the definition to see if I'm really being as horrible as I think I am.

SELFISH-(1) looking after own desires: concerned with your own interests, needs, and wishes while ignoring those of others...(2) demonstrating selfishness: showing that personal needs and wishes are thought to be more important than those of other people.

I read the definition and it doesn't read like I thought it would. In fact, I really think I can rationalize not sharing my books at all. Maybe reserving them only for the closest people in my life. Which would be me and my closest friends at work and in the ward. It would include friends like Vicki, who loaned me all of her Anne Rice novels. It would be hardly fair for me not to return the favor especially since I've done nothing but talk about Reacher for the last few weeks. And it would include friends like Adrienne W. since I never attended the book club she started after I promised her I would participate. She deserves to read the books and I really think she'd like Reacher. I like Reacher. It's possible she might like him as much as me. But she won't know if I don't let her borrow my books. It would include Jacque, too. She got me started on the BDB series so clearly I would need to loan a series that I believe would fall into the BDB category. Clearly, Jack Reacher is Brotherhood worthy. And I suppose I could make an exception for people who don't have a library card. It would be very hypocritical of me to tell them to go get one when I'm not willing to get one myself. See- I don't think I'm that selfish at all!

Another Project

Last week, I took some alone time and updated a really ugly dresser that I've had for about ten years. It was pretty when we first bought it and it fit right in with the cherry sleigh bed that we owned. But over time, the furniture became dated and a couple of years ago we remodeled the master bedroom. The old ugly dresser with a cute shape went out in the entry area. It was painted a dark olive green and someone fancied it up with deep burgundy flowers and some lattice design on all the drawers. It didn't match anything in the house but it became well used for anything that I needed a place for when I was cleaning the house. The same year we updated the bedroom, I purchased a really pretty print of the Salt Lake Temple. It came in a black frame and we don't really have anything black in the house. My solution two years later was to paint the dresser black. I was hoping to get before and after pictures...but Richard had the camera at Scout Camp. I roughed up the edges of the dresser and I think it turned out pretty nice. It looks great with my Salt Lake Temple picture above it. I also love the way the black looks against the dark wood floors. I think I might actually do the kitchen cabinets in black with a roughed up look-I can already see it with black and white marble counters...beautiful!

The Rest Of The Story

I received a ton of comments at work regarding my last post. So, I thought I'd give the rest of the story. In my post for Father's Day, I mentioned that my Father sent me a note wrapped around a twenty dollar bill after I had told him I was running low on cash. My friends at work thought it was funny and some admit using it as a perfect example of what parents should do to give a "hint" to their children. I really can't disagree with that. The next day I got up early and found a job. So, whatever my Father's intentions were...they worked. I've been working and saving money ever since. Some at work are curios to know what I did with the twenty dollars. I ordered pizza with it. I had opened the letter in front of my "roomies" expecting this big some of money-It was clear I was getting nothing. I was embarrassed and acted like it didn't matter to me, even though it did. Buying pizza for us was just a way for me to eat away the shame of quietly being told to "grow up!" When Richard and I were married I had 21 credit cards. They ranged from Victoria's Secret to The Emporium card I received when I was living in Oregon after my mission. I really hadn't racked up that much debt-I was just carrying around the opportunity to do so and conveniently forgetting about the credit card statement that was still being mailed every month to my Dad's house. Yes~ I intentionally allowed a credit card bill to be mailed to my Father knowing that he would pay the bill faithfully for me each month. I was spoiled-and unkind, really. Imagine my embarrassment when my Father turned the monthly statement over to me. I had a credit card with 12 thousands dollars worth of debt that my husband didn't even know about. Heck, even I wasn't aware of how much I had racked up over the YEARS I had been using it and quietly sending the bill to an address I hadn't lived at for who knows for how long. I admit I was foolish. My memory serves me well at times. Too well. I, the one who constantly cautions others about debt, purchased a used vehicle with a cash advance on that very card that was now my responsibility. A car I didn't even own anymore. How much did that purchase cost me? 21% interest each month---ON ONE PURCHASE! I could hear the clanging of the slot machines in my mind. That credit card company made a ton of money off of my stupidity. And my Father? He was never one to yell much. He certainly didn't believe that constantly repeating yourself to make a point really did much in the way of teaching. Instead, he'd sit quietly by just waiting for the opportunity to drop the bomb. It worked for me every time!

Father's Day 2010

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

My Father was raised in the south. He went to school in the days of one room school houses during the depression. Most children at the time never made it passed 6th grade because they went to work to help earn money for their family. My Father was no different. He joined the Merchant Marines and served as a cook in World War II. He married and raised 5 children. He then spent his life as a 1st mate for an ocean towing company, Sauce Brothers, located in Coos Bay, Oregon. He retired in 1998.

Growing up, my Father wasn't around much because of his job. And even though we never had a close relationship, he has always been a very important person in my life. I find him inspiring. Some of the stories he tells about his time on the high seas are absolutely amazing. Richard and my Father can talk for hours about it. He taught me strength. This is a man, who after losing his wife to cancer at a very young age, did everything he could to keep his family together. It was a struggle. He wanted us to have a mother and we just wanted to have him. He taught me how to balance a checkbook. "Never have less than two thousand dollars in your checking account at all times." "Start saving early!" This was sound advice to me when I was first married and starting my own life. I knew I was on my own and had to follow this advice when I was 26. Whenever funds were running low, I would always call my Dad. He would then send me a check worth a few hundred dollars and I would continue on like it would be easy to get more money when I needed it. Finally, when I turned 26 and had moved to Utah, I called him and told him I was running low on cash. I received what I thought would be a check a few days later. Inside was a note wrapped around a twenty dollar bill. The note read: "I hope this helps!" It was the beginning of an end to the money fund. I still have the note and my checking account has always remained within the limit my Dad taught me. I've been saving for retirement ever since. It's become a passion!

Over the years my Father and I have become close. He's not much for talking on the phone but we still like to call each other anyway. There was a time when I didn't think I'd live to see my Father live to be so old. But, he has been blessed with priesthood blessings along the way even though he isn't a member of my faith. He was promised that he would live to see his family reunited. We've never been a close family, however, the older we get the closer we seem to become. I'm thankful that he's been able to watch and be such a big part of this happening. He really is a wonderful man. I love him!

My Love For Reading

I've always loved to read. I've just never felt like I ever had the time to do it. That changed last fall when my friend, Jacque, gave me a book to read. I couldn't stop. From September 2009 - December 2009 I read 28 books.

My goal this year is to read one book a week. 52 books! My other goal is to read all books written by Anne Rice. Why? Because a friend told me that she loved her style of writing. And having read, Interview with a Vampire, I agreed. She's been lending me the books and I've been reading them along with other books that I have found along the way. It really isn't a vampire thing-even though my list might make you wonder if I have an obsession. But even if I did; would it matter? Totally recommend-DRACULA!

For the most part, I have found that I love crime dramas. It started with a book by David Hosp. I love him! I read his book, Innocence, and fell in love with the characters. I was disappointed when I finished the book because I didn't know how I was going to finish the rest of the week without "Scott Finn" in my life. It was shortly thereafter that I discovered David's web page and I realized I had read book 2 in a series. I was super excited and am waiting for book 3 to come out in paperback before I read the entire series. Since then, I have compiled a list of 450 books that I hope to read in the near future. Most of them are book series-some having as many as 27 books. I guess that's the great thing about getting started with my passion so late in the game. All the books are completed and I don't have to wait year after year for a new book. I'm currently starting book 39 this year (I left a hard core romance series about vampires off my list...Black Dagger Brotherhood 4-ever)-My current read is a 14 book series by Lee Child-otherwise known as the Jack Reacher novels. AWESOME!

My obsession with reading has Richard shaking his head. He's requiring me to get a library card. So until that day arrives, I'm borrowing books from my friends and hitting all the Internet paperback sells I can find. I love books-almost as much as I love shoes, purses and pedicures!

I'd love to know if you have any interesting reads out

there and what you would recommend!