judging a book...

I have always thoroughly enjoyed curling up with a good book. Its one of my favorite things to do on a cold, rainy weekend when there seems like nothing else to do, or when i need to relax and unwind in a steaming hot bubble bath. But it was always one of those things that I would only do when there was nothing else going on and in order to remain busy. Since I have been working graveyards (11pm-7am) my restrictions on what I can and cant do has been slightly lifted and therefore I am now able to read during my shift. This new ability of virtually 8 hrs of uninterrupted reading time plus the gift of a kindle that Jim gave me for Christmas and I have become a reading machine! (side note: I think the kindle is the greatest device.EVER!) In the 6 1/2 weeks since Christmas, I have read 16 books. 16! I thought it might be fun to do a little recap/review of what I have read so far and by posting about my new found hobby hopefully you can get an idea of what I like and I can get some good recommendations on what to read next.

*BTW, please don't judge my complete and utter lack of intellectual reads. reading for me is about fun and entertainment, and if you happen to learn something along the way that's great but not necessary. I'm all about indulging in some guilty pleasures when I read...hence the following list:

My guilty pleasure phase:

• Are you there vodka? its me Chelsea by Chelsea handler
  
• My horizontal life by: Chelsea handler
  
• Chelsea Chelsea bang bang by: Chelsea handler
  
• love lust and faking it by: Jenny McCarthy
  
• official book club selection by: Kathy Griffin
  clearly these first 5 books were all about fun and easy reads. I know the authors may not be some of your favorite people but I find them all hilarious in their own ways. I was surprised at how well written each of these were and while for the most part these were all about humor there were times where I actually learned something or thought differently about the authors after reading it. I would highly recommend any of these to anyone who wants to laugh...and who is not easily offended :)

My personal growth phase:

• the five love languages by:Gary Chapman
  I had always heard people talk about the 5 love languages and how everyone should read it. I had the time and the inclination so i figured why not, i have nothing better to do tonight. I am so glad and thankful I did! this book is A-Mazing! its so easy to read, its thought provoking and keeps you interested. I learned so much about myself and the way I am in all of my relationships, not just my marriage. Cannot recommend this book enough to any and everyone, whether you are in a relationship or not
  
• the tipping point by:Malcolm Gladwell
  
• blink by:Malcolm Gladwell
  These 2 books were all books I had to read for work. I was not super pleased with the thought of having to read some scholarly work and be bored to death while trying to keep to stay awake but I was surprised how un-boring these were. They both made me think differently about my approach to my job, my attitude and my relationships with co-workers. Gladwell's books were easy to get through and actually enjoyable...a nice surprise indeed! Recommended for people interested in social sciences or who have an interest in group dynamics and human interactions.

My recommended phase:

• A scattered life by:Karen McQuestion
  a scattered life was a book I randomly downloaded after reading a review on amazon...that and I think it was about $2. it held my attention and kept me interested. nothing profound, but nothing awful either. I know not a glowing recommendation but really it wasn't bad.
  
• water for elephants by:Sara Gruen
  a couple friends recommended it to me so I thought I'd check it out. Also, I want to see the movie so why not read it first. this was not something I thought I would really enjoy but the old saying holds true. Don't judge a book by its cover. This was excellent! and now I cant wait to see the movie. The casting of the movie has me concerned just a titch, but we shall see... maybe the movie will be prove me as wrong as the book did.
  
• ****The Hunger Games Series**** (hunger games, catching fire, mockingjay) by: Suzanne Collins
  OMG! these books are amazing, phenomenal, intense, excellent, and so many more synonyms for great that I don't have the words for. Seriously I am not over playing this, and I am not joking when I say probably some of the best books I have read. They keep you entertained, they make you think, they make you laugh, they make you cry, and they keep you on the edge of your seat. you feel like you are right there in the action. again the premise didn't sound super appealing to me but I was quickly running out of other things to read so i picked up the first one and I don't think i slept more than a couple hrs for the next 3 and half days until I was done with the 3 rd one. Ahhh! so so good! I cant say enough but i will stop now and let you make your own decision after you read it. which you should because its that amazing:)
  
  
• angry housewives eating bon bons by:Lorna Landvik
  the first "official" pick of the oec book cub. i think woman who have a group of fantastic female friends, who share life's big moments and are there for each other thru thick and thin will really enjoy this. you will be find yourself saying oh so and so is like that, and oh my god that's so me. or she reminds me so much of _____. its just one of those books you can relate to. Its cute and charming, but it can take a bit to get thru.
  
• heaven is for real by: Todd Burpo- super quick read! if you've got a few spare hours i recommend picking this up. very well done. makes you think and makes you realize how special gods children are. and how we should probably listen to what they have to say more often.

So there you have it my list of books and my thoughts on 'em. But now I would love to hear what your favorite books are and if you have any recommendations for me. Our hawaii trip is 1 week from today and I would love to have some good beach reads to have with me for the plane and while I'm sipping mai tai's, soaking up the sun by the ocean :)

Christmas catch up...

I cannot believe its already almost the middle of January. I guess its about time to get caught up on the comings and goings of Christmas in the McCollum household. Again sorry for the lack of pictures but by now you should really be used to it :)

I say it all the time, and I will say it again but Jim and I are truly blessed to be surrounded by the most amazing, genuine and supportive friends and family, EVER!!! Over the holidays we were able to spend some time although in my opinion not nearly enough time; with as many of them as possible and it was just another reminder of how lucky we are to have them in our lives

First things first, before we could celebrate the birth of Christ, we had to celebrate the birth of Simpson! Matt Von Stueben and his girlfriend Jackie thru a big ole bash for Jon's 30th bday up at their casa. His birthday happened to fall on Apple Cup Saturday so it was perfect timing for a get together with all of our favorite people! The game did not happen to go our way but as the saying goes win or lose we drink more booze...and that we did. It was a great time (minus the game), with great company, and great memories/stories, that will not be told on this blog ;)

In early December we also had our 4th annual McLaSnyd, {which from here on will be referred to as McLaSnydole, due to the addition of the Cole's: Matt and Ally} xmas party. Ally is Diane's best friend from Auburn and they moved to this side of the state the beginning of last year. They fit in with all of us right away and have been part of our crazy couples crew ever since.>!!!

For Christmas eve I had to work and unfortunately was not able to spend time with Jim's family but he went to dinner and had a great time at the white elephant exchange, a tradition that we started last year. For Christmas day we went to an early meal at my parents house and then it was back to work for me. Like I said not nearly enough time with family but thankfully we live in the same city as them and can get together for dinners and functions at other times as well. I got off Christmas Day at 11pm, so I rushed out to meet up with my girls at the Snyder household, for our first annual oec Christmas party. Not everyone was able to attend but I did get to spend some time with Megs, Jamie, Fuller, and Dawn (and Dave and Chris). WE MISSED YOU STONE, LANDIS, and JACQUEE

The day after Christmas Jim and I went to lunch with Jim's best friend John and his wife Sara, at The Onion (our favorite restaurant). As always the food was delish and the company was even better. John and Sara live in CA so getting to spend time with them just the four of us was a gift in itself. Hopefully Jim and I can get down to Cali for a visit again sometime soon. Or even better, they could move closer, so we could all see each other more often (hint,hint)!

New Years Eve I was back at work and but the rest of the McLaSnydole crew headed up to Priest lake. Keith Stamps happily took my place as Jim's new years date and from what I heard everyone had a rocking good time.

At 12:00 we had a mini celebration here at work with hats, horns and sparkling cider, and at 12:01 the phones exploded so that was the end of the celebration and also the reasoning behind why I said I would never go out in downtown Spokane on NYE ever again.

Also in December I have got to spend time with some of my friends who have I known for most my life and don't get to see nearly enough. Chad Koch came into town right before Christmas and I was able to meet up with him, Jon Abt, and Mark Spencer for a quick lunch one day downtown. I also had night out with him, Jim, and my bff Kristen. Chad and I have known each other since before 1st grade, so for those not wanting to do the math, that's around 25 yrs...and I'm not even 30 yet!!!!! I am so lucky to still be able to call him one of my best friends as we have shared so many things throughout our lives together.

As I mentioned my bff is also in town from NYC. Even though we did not get to spend a ton of time together we still got in our sisterly bonding, with sleep overs, manicures, games, dinners, gossip and wine. And we got to catch up with some more old friends at Carly and Katie's 30th birthday. The night started at the Cathay Inn and somehow ended with me getting taken out into a very deep puddle outside the Snyder's, with clearly lots of fun (and drinks) mixed in between the two. Her boyfriend, Marc, whom I love by the way, came into town the last part of December and I finally got to see them both last night before work. Unfortunately, I am heading out to Post Falls after work this morning to take them to the airport, BUT I do have a free flight coming my way soon (thank you southwest rapid rewards) so hopefully it will not be too long that I will have to go with out seeing them.

The seemingly unending stream of friends continued this week, when we got to spend time with another of Jim's high school buddies/college roommates, Jeff Peterson and his girlfriend Yvette. Again I had to work most nights but was able to catch up with him for a couple hours over drinks at the Swinging Doors. It is always great to see Jeff, he is hilarious and so much fun to be around, and I know Jim loves it when he he has someone else to rehash old high school and college stories with.

Speaking of old college stories I will hopefully get the chance to rehash some old stories when our friend Landis comes to town next weekend, and that means most of my Seattle girls will be making the trek back over the mountains to spend time with her as well. So it looks like the celebrating and visiting from friends wont be stopping anytime soon...and I for one could not be more thrilled about it :)

And I think that brings us to present day...which if you made it this far I applaud you. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to make sure not to forget anyone. If we did not see you or have not seen you in a while please know that we think of you often and hope to get together with you soon. I know its a cliche but I honestly don't know what I would do without each and everyone of the people mentioned or those of you near and far away who continually bless our lives. We love you all, and hope your holidays were filled with as much love and friendship as ours were!

Out with the old, in with the new...

Well, its a new year, and I for one could not be happier to see 2010 end! Not gonna lie, it was one of the most challenging years I have ever had to deal with and I am very excited to start 2011 with a clean slate and to see what happens next. I have never been big on new years resolutions as I don't really see the point in waiting for a new year to make a change, or start something, or stop something that you want to do. With that being said I am adopting a new slogan for myself this year. "A new year, a new you!" Clever I know but hey whatever works, right? Basically what that means is I am going to keep working on bettering myself. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically. I am going to continue to work out, I am going to continue to read and learn and grow, I am going to continue to strive to do my best at work, and continue to develop my relationships with friends, family and co-workers. With this comes resolutions of sorts but if I fail one day I don't want it be an excuse to not try again tomorrow, so hence not calling them new years resolutions. I want these to be solutions to what was plaguing me in the past, and I want 2011 to be the start of a healthy and happy new me. So here's to making this year the best one yet!

New Shift for me...

I am now working the graveyard shift at work 11pm-7am, and let me tell you it is A LOT slower than working swings. During swings I would get on average at least 60 calls a night. On graves I am lucky to get 20. Not that I am complaining, I still LOVE it and am so happy to be here, its just a big adjustment. Needless to say there is a lot of down time and not much else to do besides email, read, talk and think; so with that being said here are some of my thoughts on what I've learned from this job thus far:

• Parents were right when they said nothing good happens after midnight.
• After working on New Years Eve I never want to go out to a bar on nye in downtown again.
• Excessive alcohol and family lead to not good things.
• You'd be amazed all the stuff that happens that does not make the paper or the news.
• Spokane is a relatively quiet town, I can't imagine what other cities are like.
• There are lots of crazies in this town.
• I love my job!

There is a lot more but these are the ones that stand out the most at the moment. I will try to add to this as time goes on and I discover new and fun facts at this crazy/amazing/awesome job :)

Tis the season...

...to look back on the year and think of all the we have done, all that we have learned, all the we could have done better and all the great new things that are on the horizon in the new year.


To be quite honest, I could not be happier this year is over. It just seemed like one thing after another but regardless of murphys law rearing his ugly head there were still some great things that happened: I went on a random cross-country road trip with the Jay and Kevin show, I saw some great concerts here in spokane and at the gorge, I got to spend some quality time with tons of family and friend, I made a few new friends, and I finally found a job that I am fulfilled in, challenged by , and most importantly love going to every single day!

So to make this post short and sweet...Merry Christmas to you and yours and may the new year bring new adventures and many blessings!

All our Love,

Jim, Theresa, Beasley and Bledsoe :)

The thanks of giving...

Hi All,
I got this prayer forwarded to me the other day because I am named after Saint Theresa, however I thought it might be a good one to share with you all this week what with the upcoming holidays. I hope you all have time to relax with family and friends this week and remember all that we have to be thankful for, and all that we can share and pass along to those around us.

*************
Saint Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that
has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to
sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us..
*************

My oh My...

As anyone who reads this knows I am a huge baseball fan, and more importantly a huge mariners fan. So I was very sad to hear about the passing of Dave Niehaus last week. I was thinking about what to write about him but I found this article instead and it pretty much summed up everything for me, and in a way better way than I ever could.

I was sent this linkof Junior talking about his passing and thought I'd pass it along to anyone who may have missed it.

And for when you really miss the voice come baseball season, here are some of his famous calls