Pinterest...ing!

I will be the first to admit: I am a Pinterest addict. It has become one of my several go-to sites. I love finding new clothing, shoes, decor ideas, "I wish" homes, recipes, craft ideas (some of which I have attempted, with varying levels of success!), and more.

All in all, I consider myself a Pinterest success story: Mainly because I HAVE tried several recipes I pinned, done a few craft projects, and I even bought a pair of boots I pinned! I mean really, how many people can say that? Granted, they weren't Louboutins or anything, but still the fact remains: I purchased something I first saw on Pinterest. Go me.

So in honor of this, I thought I would share a few of my all-time favorite pins so far.


First, I figure I should start with the boots I actually bought: Lucky Brand Hibiscus. I love riding boots, but let's face it: I'm no good at being a girl. So those spit-shined boots? Not good. I need something that looks worn in, something that if I scuff or scratch it won't be the end of the world. These fit the bill, and they're just so much fun! They come in gray too... oh, if only I could afford both colors!

This next one isn't a "fun" photo by any means, but it's something that pops into my head every time I buy lettuce or make a salad at home. I hate how lettuce gets ick so fast, and this is such an amazing solution to that. I really need to get on this, pronto! And for the original blog post this came from, click here. Definitely worth checking out, I promise.

As an occasional runner, the following speaks volumes... of truth:

As a Disney fan whose inner child never grew up, I feel I have the right to say, "Preach, Walt!"

"I do not make films primarily for children. I make them for the child in all of us."

If I could ever get the red dog to sit still long enough, I would love to make this photo a reality with my two boys! What a great Christmas card it would make!

Hello, Gorgeous! I would love a kitchen (and a view!) like this!

Jackie O. was an amazing woman... and a wonderful equestrian! Love it!

Want to see what else I have pinned? Feel free to follow my boards at http://www.pinterest.com/heymckate! 

New Year, New Name, New Start!

After nearly a year of dormancy, I decided that 2012 is the year I kick-start this blog. However, upon looking back I realized that no longer did it fully encompass me and everything I am. So now I'm happy to share that it's the same blog, but with a new name.

My two biggest timesucks hobbies are horses and books, thus the new name. Do those two things 100% define me? Absolutely not. But they're two large parts of me, and I can tell you right now that those two topics will probably account for at least 75% of my blog posts from here on out. Chances are about 20% of the rest will reference my dogs in some form or fashion, with the remaining 5% dedicated to... stuff. Or something. My husband, perhaps?

Since this is a new start in many ways, I figure now would be a great time to reintroduce myself.

I'm Katie-Kate-Katherine (pick one). I'm quickly crawling my way to 30 (ugh), married to an amazing guy, and live in Oklahoma with our two dogs. My favorite books are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling (as if I had to tell you that) and Eve's Daughters by Lynn Austin. I love history, have a weird fascination with ocean liners and cruise ships, am pretty good at distinguishing models of commercial airplanes (it's getting harder now than it was 15 years ago!), love to travel, am an Oklahoma Sooner football fan, I love fun shoes but don't have the budget for it, and I have a dream of someday writing a novel that gets (gasp!) published.

My resume includes a variety of retail work, food service (yuck), radio production, concert public relations, film promotion and publicity, corporate communications (big yuck), riding lesson instruction, and social media. Some of those I have clearly enjoyed more than others, but I cherish the learning experiences each has brought.

Oh, and Wikipedia is like my website BFF.

So since I clearly need a photo in this post... here are two! Presenting, my dogs (and yes, I chose these photos so you can also see their personalities):

Back in the groove?

Miss me?

So here's the deal: Work has been killing me the past few months. I mean seriously, I feel like I've been to hell and back, which hasn't left much time for anything extra, blogging included. At the moment it's sort of a calm between the two storms though because I'm gearing up to get super busy again. Let's hope I can get through this busy period with a little more grace than I did the last one!

So here's an update on my life: I am now at 52 new books for the year, and I'm currently working on my ninth reread. I'm not going to do a blog post on every book I've read since Wake, but I can give you a quick summary here (and I just listed them, I think I have them all...):

Fade by Lisa McMann (Dream Catcher #2) - Good, but majorly awkward to read.
Gone by Lisa McMann (Dream Catcher #3) - Good ending to the series.
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #2) - Good, once I got into it.
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments #3) - Best of the series, I think!
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games #3) - Uh-may-zing, but no shocker there!
Columbine by Dave Cullen - Wonderful book about a horrific event. Definitely recommend!
A Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (The Infernal Devices #1) - I went all fangirl. Loved.
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory (Cousins' War #2) - Good, but not her best.
While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin - Beautiful! I loved it, like I love all her books.
The Exile by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Graphic Novel) - First graphic novel I've read, and not bad!

Out of all those, I would have to say my favorites were: Mockingjay, Columbine, A Clockwork Angel, and While We're Far Apart.

Let's see... what else. Since my last blog update, I went on a business trip to California that I was NOT looking forward to, but shockingly I ended up having a great time! My dad flew in for a meeting the evening my meetings wrapped up, and so we were able to spend a couple days hanging out on the west coast. Kinda fun that this summer he and I spent time on the east coast and the west!

In September I made an impromptu visit to Maryland/Washington DC for my best friend's birthday. I've never been to DC (or Maryland), so that was great to not only see her, but have her show me around somewhere I've never been. It was wonderful! The weekend after that, the hubs and I went to St. Lucia for a few days. It was g.o.r.g.e.o.u.s. Even though it rained most of the time we were there, it was so beautiful and relaxing. I don't know if he agrees, but I wouldn't mind going back someday! We went ziplining while we were there too, and let me tell you: If you have never ziplined, you NEED to. Even Hubs, who is scared of heights, had an absolutely amazing time doing it.

After we were back from St. Lucia, I then took a road trip up to Chicago with my mom for her 30th high school reunion. It was fun to visit my hometown, and I was able to visit my grandpa's grave a few times as well (it was somewhat cathartic). My only regret about the whole thing is that by that time I was TIRED of traveling! I wish we had gone at a time when I wasn't so busy and tired and stressed out because I would've appreciated it even more.

In between travel and excessive work, I've been keeping up with horseback riding and LOVING it. It's hard, and my muscles are certainly not in the shape they used to be (or my lungs!). But I'm working on it. Just last night I rode a new horse named Buckie. Buckie is a (formerly wild) mustang, and I have to say that was a first! I've never ridden a mustang before. He was a lot of fun though, even though he was a bit difficult to ride. My instructor brought up the idea of possibly leasing him since his owner has several other horses and doesn't ride him often. Leasing wouldn't cost much more per month than my lessons, and it would give me the opportunity to ride a LOT more often. While I love the idea of riding more than once a week, I admit I was on the fence about the idea last night. I brought it up to hubs, and he said I should do it. This morning I woke up thinking about it, and all day I've been thinking about it and getting a bit giddy at the same time. In other words, I think I knew what I wanted long before my mind officially made itself up to the idea. Hopefully it will be something that can be worked out!

Upcoming for me? Work and NaNoWriMo in December. I don't know how successful I will be this year because I'm just as busy this year as I was last year. But I'm going to give it a shot! It always is fun!

I guess that's about it. You're caught up on my life. :) I'll try to get to updating the blog a bit more frequently now. I promise.

Sometimes you just need a break..

No book updates today. I'm contemplating rereading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for the umpteenth time, but I'm not sure yet. I did put Honolulu by Alan Brennert on hold at the library earlier today, so hopefully it will come in sometime this week.

I'm really, really annoyed today though. I've had it rough the past few weeks, and it's been wearing me down quite a bit. I don't know when exactly things will get better, but one thing I've been looking forward to is vacation. The hubs and I have tried making it a September tradition to take a trip for the two of us to have some fun and just enjoy ourselves. Unfortunately, it looks like that's not happening this year. We have way too many other financial obligations, and so today was the official cancellation day. I got our deposit back, and just like that we're no longer going on vacation (and considering we live extremely close to the airport, driving by it on the way home today is going to be a major bummer).

I know to some people it may not seem like a big deal, but I'm a big believer in taking vacations. Sometimes we all need a little R&R, and I think the memories are also extremely important. So to be not doing it this year is a little bit heartbreaking. And while theoretically I could just throw the cost of the trip on a credit card and call it good, I can't bring myself to do that. It's not a financially wise decision, and honestly since finances was the reason we chose to cancel.. well, why make the situation even worse? Hopefully this is just a temporary thing though. I have faith that we can maybe rebook this same trip or a similar one for a few months later once some of the money strain goes away.

Thanks for hearing me out on my little whine party. I'll post something a bit more fun and optimistic soon, I promise!