January 27, 1999

*sometimes I let too much time go by without blogging and with the start of the new year I had some ideas of things I can blog about. One of them is to reach back in my journals over the years and share the entry from today's day, years ago. So, here goes!*

Dear Cat,

Well today I didn’t go to school. Cause I slept in. My alarm clock is broken and so I kind of have been having a problem with waking up. And also, I only had three classes today and they were all my least favorite, so I made no effort to try and get to school. Mom just said I could stay home. :) So today has been nice. :) Today I went and bought a new alarm clock. It is black. I like it a lot. It looks cool. And I hope it does a good job of waking me up! Today also the B.'s came over. They are my favorite people! I want me and my husband to be just like them when we are that old! They are just so awesome! :) Yesterday was cool cause I went to the temple with my mom, E, G & J. It was lots of fun. I just did confirmations. We went to the Salt Lake Temple. And the temple workers kept teasing me about the fact that I broke my leg from falling down three stairs! It was lots of fun! :) Goodnight!

*true story. I broke my leg and was in a cast for two months, just by stepping off three stairs. My mom didn't think I had broken it. She just thought I was being a baby when I was crawling around the house and couldn't walk. I walked around on crutches for two weeks before finally going to see a doctor and get it x-rayed because I still couldn't put any pressure on it. Spiral fracture of my tibia. The only bone I've ever broken.*

*and yes. I had named my journal 'Cat.'*

Good News!

A couple of really great things have come to pass recently that I have wanted to share with you, dear blog:

1- John is back to work at JMR Cabinets!!!!!! You have no idea how happy this makes me! (and him too!) Yesterday was his first day back and he said he loved it.

2- Joseph has broken his habit of sleeping with us at night and is back to sleeping in his own bed throughout the night! AND (most importantly) he just lays down and falls asleep, with no more than a few minutes of crying. More often than not, he doesn't cry at all! It's wonderful. *sigh*

3- John found a good deal on a new truck for him and we were able to pay for it in cash. Remember how I said I didn't know how I'd be getting to school? Well, I didn't have to worry about taking our car for the first couple of weeks because John was not working. And now that he is, it's such a blessing now that we both have a vehicle to get us to where we need to be!

4- Having a truck also enables John to buy large pieces of wood and bring them home to our garage to build us a piece of furniture I've been wanting for a year!!! It's a toy hutch/bookcase for Joseph's room. And it's large. Big. Beautiful. Almost finished. I can't wait to organize all of my books and the toys on it!

5- I've been blessed with an opportunity to work from home to earn some extra money that will really help us out. Extra money is always a nice thing. :) I've been working at my business for two and a half weeks. Among other things, I can broker all the major cell phone providers and save my customers money on new phones; I can broker the two major satellite tv providers and save my customers around $20 a month; and I can save my customers money on local and long distance bundled with dsl internet too.

2009 Books

Well, last year I continued to devour books, even with a new little baby in my life. It wasn't as many as the year before, and I think I'll have read even less by the end of this year, but at least I'm still reading! I enjoy it so much. Some of the best advice that I have received and applied into my life has come from books that I've read. I read for pleasure and for education and enlightenment too. I want to share all the books I read for the year and give you my top recommendations, the ones I gave 4 & 5 stars. (the top recommendations are in bold)

If you've got any recommendations for me, please share! (And if you're interested in my book list from 2008, click here.)

1. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
2. I'm Proud of You: My Friendship With Fred Rogers by Tim Madigan
3. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
4. Clear as the Moon (The Great and Terrible volume 6) by Chris Stewart
5. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
6. The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials volume 1) by Philip Pullman
7. The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
8. The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials volume 2) by Philip Pullman
9. No More Goodbyes: Circling the Wagons Around Our Gay Loved Ones by Carol Lynn Pearson
10. One Child by Torey Hayden
11. The Tiger's Child by Torey Hayden
12. The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child by Robert Sears
13. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
14. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
15. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
16. The Coming Generational Storm: What You Need to Know About America's Economic Future by Laurence J. Kotlikoff
17. The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
18. Rosamund by Beatrice Small
19. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
20. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
21. Potty Train Your Baby by Katie Pelt
22. Obsessed by Ted Dekker
23. Seventh Son (Tales of Alvin Maker volume 1) by Orson Scott Card
24. The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman
25. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
26. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
27. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
28. Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving With Twins and Sextuplets by Kate Gosselin
29. Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter by Melissa G. Moore
30. The Angels of Morgan Hill by Donna VanLiere
31. Stolen Innocence: The Jan Broberg Story by Mary Ann Broberg
32. Pillage by Obert Skye
33. Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting From Birth to Six Years by Jim Fay
34. The Year That Follows by Scott Lasser
35. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians volume 1) by Rick Riordan

A Little Blue

Well, if you've ever wondered what you'd look like if you sucked on the tip of a marker, this will give you a little idea.

So last week was my first week of school and it went GREAT. I'm even more excited about it and feel like I am EXACTLY in the right place for me at this time. I'm thrilled to be taking this step towards accomplishing a great big goal for me. I can't remember if I mentioned this on here, but in case I haven't, I'm attending SUU and majoring in sociology. The two classes that I'm taking this semester are sociology of popular culture and global issues in sociology. They are both taught by the same teacher in the same classroom, back to back. And that's a good thing because I really do like my professor. She is from Nepal.