I Want Success For You!

Has it really been a year?

It's hard to believe that it was a year ago this week that Mason made his national television debut on The Steve Harvey Show. It was a fun excursion for Dave and Mason as I was on my own adventure with Lisa Anderson in NYC. It's amazing to me that we get to live this life, yes, I work hard for it, I earn it to be sure, but I also know that I have people on my team who root for me, help me when I need a hand, and encourage me to go for it when I'm not so sure of myself. I look around and see bullies in the world, not just middle school kids, but full grown adults, and I think to myself, how awful do you have to feel about yourself to pick on others, and even worse, adults who bully children? When Mason is struggling with middle school drama, I remind him that it doesn't end with middle school, or high school, or college, or the workplace, or, or, or... The fact of the matter is that there always will be people in this world that not only find joy in hurting others but thrive on chaos and pain. It's sad but true. I advise him to do his best to eliminate these kinds of people from his life and when he can't, he's best off to not engage in the drama. Be forthright, honest, & practice the golden rule and things should work out just fine. Who was I talking to, him or me?

With that said, let me tell you I want to see you succeed. Not just reach the goal, reach far beyond what you can even imagine is possible. You see, it's not you OR me, it's you AND me, there is more than enough for all of us.

Enough of what you ask? Enough jobs, enough opportunities, enough open doors, enough leading roles, enough first places, enough abundance, enough prosperity, enough money, enough friends, enough party invites, enough love. It is not necessary to tear down those around you who are seeing success, stand up and cheer for them! Maybe if you stand up for them, you can stay on your feet and take the action you need to see what you want to come to fruition. If you do, I'm already standing and taking action, but I will cheer for you, I will cheer as loud as I can and say, "I'm so glad you are making this happen for yourself, how can I help you?" I will be there for you, lifting you up so you can do the same for someone else. What a wonderful world this would be if more people could see the good. I see the good, I see you. 

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

It's Labor Day which to most people just means a day off from work and an opportunity to barbecue. Dave and Mason have been at Pacificon, a game convention in the bay area. Dave has been at a game convention during Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends as long as I've known him and now it's Dave and Mason. There are times when something special comes along that I wish we could go as a family, but for the most part, I look forward to having the long weekend to myself. 

This long weekend I worked, showed houses, ran errands, helped dig out the kitchen cooking stage supplies for the upcoming Gold Country Fair, I took care of a project in the backyard (that one was tricky by myself), got Dave's car washed, cleaned the house, and I took myself out to dinner last night and then relaxed in the hot tub. 

Speaking of the fair, I am running the cooking stage again this year, but the difference is I've got almost all kids doing the cooking demos. How fun is that? I know Mason has something special in his love and ability to perform and entertain, but I think we know this about him because he's had opportunities that other kids don't normally get. I want to give kids the opportunities to do a cooking demo, perform, entertain, and be in the spotlight. It's the perfect venue in that the local fair is smaller in scale and attendance but it's bigger than the stage in their living room. I've got four kids other than Mason, Abbey is the youngest at 6 years old and Blake is the oldest at 15. Ryan is 11 and Dylan is 12 and both have never done anything like this, but they really want to. Who knows how this will all play out, but I think it's really cool that we are creating an environment to empower our local kids. They may not keep cooking and performing, but they are going to move on in life knowing they can do it. I've arranged for each child to not only get rides at the fair, and our good friend Gary has donated Pampered Chef gifts to put in their goody bags as a thank you gift. The Auburn Journal did a story and included each of the kids photos and I will have lots of pictures next Monday after the fair. 

Dave and Mason are on their way home and I have to get the kids recipes formatted and printed for next weekend. I also need to get the schedules put together to be printed. It's going to be a busy week, but hey, what's new about that?! I hope you had a great weekend and as the new week approaches, target one thing you can do to move your dreams forward. It can be as small as starting to play your perfect holidays, or bigger, putting a down payment on your dream vacation for next year. Do it, you won't be sorry!

To Send or Not To Send. . .

Welcome to Monday!

Our weekend was a great mix of work and play. This week is the last week of this semester for me so I am studying for finals and gearing up multiple projects for the few weeks I have off before summer school starts. Dave is back to work today and still on crutches. He is waiting to get the approval for physical therapy to begin and it can't come too soon. He is much better but still not walking and in some pain. I'm predicting that his recovery will be long.

I took the final for my history class and I got an A. With that grade I have secured and A in the class overall. I'm not sure if I did the same quality of work in my other two classes, but I'll let you know.

This entry is late not because I didn't sit still to write it, it's late because I was contemplating whether or not to share with you a moment of spiritual and personal growth that initially made up the whole piece. I wrote the story and then thought twice. Yes I did! Many of you are now shedding a tear with pride in my ability to think twice before pressing send. I'm growing and realizing that just because I've had an epiphany in my life, it doesn't mean it will resonate with you. Furthermore, it may be hurtful to some of you in my life even though that's not the intention. Life just works that way sometimes, for one of us to learn a lesson another of us has to say or do something (come on Kathy, pick the right word here). . . less than flattering (or stupid). In the end, hopefully all involved are the better for it. I believe we are. Maybe at some point I will share the story, for now it's just simmering with me as I work on implementing the changes I want to make with me.

Happy late Monday and welcome to a new week! Smiles, Kathy

Dream It - Do It!

Happy Monday Friends!

I am home and energized from an amazing weekend in Truckee. It's a good thing, too because I have a busy few weeks ahead of me. Lisa A. and I had planned a girls weekend months ago. The invite to come spend the New Year holiday came after so lucky for me, I got the gift of two glorious weekends in a row in heaven!

Now it's back to work with the SIA snow show in Denver at the end of the month, school also starts for me on the 24th and I am now working as a full-fledged Realtor listing short sales. Keep me in mind if you or someone you know has questions about loan modifications, short sales and all the options/ramifications of their choices. I can answer loan mod questions no matter where you live in the US, but foreclosure laws vary from state to state. As always, consult a CPA and/or attorney for the best information for your situation. Laughing! I just provided a legal disclaimer in my Monday Motivator, how funny is that? I suppose as a professional, I can't help it -- it's the right thing to do.

Hey, if you have a Dream-Not-Come-True you want me to feature in my Intentional Winning In Life blog, reply to me and share what is it (you didn't pursue) and why you think you didn't or can't. You can check out Dave's Gettysburg story which is my feature for January. Oh, and take a moment to click the "follow" link, There is no better way to show a blogger some love than to follow & comment!


Whatever it is you long to do, do it. There has never been a better time to get busy and make you dreams come true. You can do it and there is no time like the present. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Our holiday season was the best ever! I say it all the time, my life is incredible and though there are rough patches, they pale in comparison to the love and friendship that surrounds me. Dave, Mason and I spent the weekend in Truckee with David and Lisa Anderson. It was a lovely mix of girl time with Lisa, skiing in fresh powder with Dave & Mason (the best weather day of the weekend), shopping in Old Town Truckee, playing in the snow and the cherry on the icing, it snowed while we were there!

Mason didn't make it to midnight on Friday so we put our hats on, got our noise makers out and did it up big on Saturday night, too. It was a double dose of new year fun and kisses!


We ate amazing food, drank the best wine, and made a new favorite cake - white with cranberry filling iced with whipped cream. Decadent and abundant in food, wine and friends. We played Wii - sports, Shaun White's Snowboarding, Dance 2, and balance games. I suggested Mason put the balance games on because they are fun. He said, "Oh yeah, those are fun and they are good for the elderly, too!" Elderly?! Well, I guess when you are seven and everyone else is 44 or older, we look pretty elderly! I'm still laughing about that one -- but then again, I'm the 44, not the "older."



One bright spot in our trip was shopping in Truckee. Lisa said she wanted to buy me a Brighton charm for my birthday. We were looking at all the charms and I picked the inspirational style, I told her she had to pick the one she thinks is most representative of me. She easily narrowed it down to two; Laughter and Live. She said, "I'm choosing Live because you really do." There just aren't words to express how this touched my heart.

We made the trip home early Sunday morning so we had the day to heat the house (it was 40 degrees inside when we got home!), get groceries, do laundry,and get ready for work/school today. Well, I did those things and some writing while Dave built a fire and then slept on the couch watching football. Yep, you read that right! I'm not complaining, he did more than his fair share of cooking and other stuff at the Truckee house -- we take turns sleeping/watching (reference: Kathy's Christmas Day ritual).

Happy New Year friends! Make small changes one day at a time and measure your success in weeks. Weeks will turn to months and before you know it, another whole year will have passed and you will see positive changes all around you. The time will pass no matter what you do or don't do - either way, it's up to you!

Happy Anniversary Honey!

"It's Monday! It's Monday! Starting a new week! It's Monday! It's Monday! Get on your feet!" This is a little ditty I sing to Mason on Friday mornings to wake him up (I use Friday, not Monday) so I thought I would wake you up with it today!

Tomorrow is our anniversary, nine years. I have to share that my marriage to Dave has so far exceeded my expectations! I love, love, love my life with you honey! Happy Anniversary.

This weekend was fun, not super eventful which is a nice change from the normal go, go, go! Saturday I took Mason and Kyle to the 4-H Make It and Take It craft fair where they made Christmas gifts for family members. The boys had a ball and really took pride in the gifts they made. Mason played soccer and from that point forward, we were home and in for the rest of the weekend.

Dave had drill this weekend so he had to get up early both days, but Sunday, Mason and I got to stay snug and warm in bed. It felt so good in our pajamas, we stayed in them all day! We watched television, ate whatever we felt like, watched movies and basically just relaxed. Dave was able to come home early and he got right in the swing by putting on his pajamas and crawling in bed with me! We sat in the hot tub and enjoyed the rain as we plan the weeks ahead with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year.

An update on my Intentional Winning book/blog, I've received some great subjects on dreams NOT come true but I need some more. I'm looking for that thing that maybe as a youngster you thought you wanted to be or maybe even something more recently. Did you want to be a Nurse? Or an astronaut? What was that dream job and why didn't you pursue it? It's not a big deep thing, I wanted to be a actress and until I was 30 I didn't pursue it because I believed I was too big and not pretty enough. When I did pursue it, I learned that I was plenty pretty enough (in fact, I was once told I was too pretty to do commercials!) and my weight was manageable. I took a different path to marry Dave and have Mason - a very conscious choice! My acting dreams are not dead, not by far, they are alive and well in different clothes. So here's an example of what I need from you: "I wanted to be in the military but could not because my vision did not meet their criteria." "I always dreamed of writing for a living but never did it because I didn't think I could make enough money to support myself and my family." "I always wanted to start a business but never went to college so I don't feel I have the skills to run a company." You get the picture, what did you want to do and why didn't you do it. Get to it, write back and tell me what it is/was for you!

Gear up for the new year, it's less than eight weeks away. Don't wait until January first to think about what you want to make happen in 2011. Start now and when January one comes, you'll already be on your way! Happy Monday!

Happy November First!

Welcome to November!

This Halloween weekend has been nothing but fun! Well, some work too, but more fun for sure! Friday Dave surprised me with Halloween costumes he picked out for the two of us, Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf! WOW! How thoughtful! The local newspaper came over to interview us about the way Dave does up our house with Halloween decorations. They took some really great photos, check them out here: //www.http//auburnjournal.com/detail/163611.html After that, we went to James and Lisa's Halloween party and then out to the Auburn Ale house where we shared funny dating stories (before we were an us) and laughed like we were young and dating. It was fun making people smile as we walked in all decked out in our oh-so cute costumes!

Saturday Mason played soccer and his team won - again! The Pistol Pete's Pirates are undefeated. It has been wonderful watching these boys learn to work together and work the plays they learn in practice. Dave and I made caramel apples for the team and I have no doubt the gummy worm coming out of a pile of candy bones made them all that much more fun to eat! We spent Saturday afternoon cleaning house and then it was time to get all decked out again for more parties. We went to a work party and then to Pistol Pete's where we met up with James and Lisa. We walked over to a little bar in town where we found our groove laughing and dancing enjoying all the costumes and smiles. After all that fun, it was hard to believe that we hadn't even arrived at Halloween yet!

Sunday, we got up and read our story in the newspaper and then went for a family run. Mason on his bike and Dave and I (with Spencer) went for a run downtown. It made me think, since we don't do Thanksgiving on Thursday, why don't we do the 5K Run To Feed The Hungry? I think we need to consider it. If you are local, do you want to go, too? I digress, so we ran some errands, got groceries, and watched Beetlejuice on TV. Dave did homework and then it was showtime! We had tons of kids, people who saw the house in the newspaper came to trick-or-treat and see the lights. It was really fun and made Dave really proud. Mason and Dave went trick-or-treating and now it's all done. I hope you had a fun weekend and I would love to hear from you, leave a comment and tell me a little about your weekend. In the meantime, scroll down and see the pictures from our fun-filled weekend! Happy Halloween and welcome to November!

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” Ashley Smith

Fall Is Finally Here!

Welcome Fall!

For real this time! Oh, I'm not fooled by this lovely rain we had yesterday, I know we have lots more warm, dare I say even hot days left this year, but the cool weather and rain was a welcome treat!

This weekend was a nice balance of "got lots done" and "did nothing." Don't you just love when things balance out like that? I do! Saturday was the annual Community Festival in Auburn. Mason and I had recipes entered in the contest and Mason won 1st place for his cookies. We also went to Mason's soccer game and yet again, the Pistol Pete's Pirates won! It's safe to say that Saturday was a winning day! We spent the afternoon decorating the house and enjoyed the evening visiting with Mike around the fire in the backyard. We made s'mores and the specialty for the night was the key lime pie s'more! It was really yummy, but still doesn't rank above the pumpkin pie s'more!

Sunday it rained! Dave split some wood and we put the lawn furniture in the garage. I did the grocery shopping while Mason played and Dave napped. Yep, while Dave napped - he never does that! We all ended up in our jammies early hanging out in the living room enjoying our first fire of the season. All in all, it was a lovely weekend.

Now we head into a new week and I have a proposition for you; how would you like to start making your dreams come true right now? Yes! I'm starting an Intentional Winning In Life group that will meet twice a month with e-mail updates the other two weeks. My plan is to work together to get the ball rolling on making your dreams come true and see some significant results within 90 days. If we start in November, that will have you well on your way by February 1st. How cool will it be to be two-thirds of the way to living your dreams instead of making a resolution to start on January 1st? Come on, I'll show you my plan and help you find a way to make your dream come true, no matter where you are in your life, you can do it! If you don't want to join my group, but would like my two cents, send me your dream and why you haven't pursued or achieved it and I may select your dream for my blog in 2011. You don't have to send some major essay, just what your dream is/was and why you didn't follow through. Dave's is that he has always dreamed of being a Park Ranger in a national park. He got detoured by marriage and military deployments. That simple!

Have a great week and if you're not already, find five things everyday to be grateful for. More is better and if you can just focus on what's right, it's safe to say you will barely notice that which is not. Happy Monday friends!

Inspired!

Happy Columbus Day!

I had an amazing weekend! It started early on Friday with Dave and I driving up to South Lake Tahoe. We stopped off in Apple Hill where I performed my ritual Thanks to the Harvest Gods for all the abundance and beauty they provide (Yes, I really do this! Ask Dave or Mary D., they've been-there, seen-it!). It's a fun way to show gratitude and appreciation during my favorite season of the year.

We arrived in Tahoe in time to visit some of our retailers and a couple of prospects, too. We had a lovely dinner overlooking the lake, it's incredibly difficult to not be romantic sharing a delicious meal while watching the sky turn pink at dusk. Perfection! We went to play cards for a little while and had a blast in Cabo Wabo at Harvey's. Not only did we not lose the cash we started with, but we won the money to cover dinner. Not bad!

Early Saturday morning, Dave drove me to the north side of the lake where I met up with my new Leadership Auburn class. We did an intense day and a half of leadership training that was great fun! I am so blessed to be surrounded by and continually meeting amazing people. See what happens when you do a ritual giving thanks? Laughing! On our way we stopped at Taylor Creek where we walked the nature trail to see the salmon spawning. An impressive display of nature at work. I suppose we see those impressive displays everyday but they blend into our regular environments so we don't give them the time and awe they surely deserve. The morning walk was was a special way to end our date. Now I'm back from my weekend, completely inspired and ready to go.

So today is a holiday, are you off? Dave is. I didn't think I was, but the banks are closed so guess what? No work for me! This is good news because I have lots to do and I need your help. All of you know about my Intentional Winning In Life concept and anthology book series plan. I'm ready to start sending that plan into action! November first marks the three year anniversary of writing my blog, can you believe it's been that long? Here's the plan and how you can help:

Each month starting in January I plan to take a specific topic, the topic of your dreams placed on hold, and show you in twelve posts (give or take) how to put that dream back to work making you happy!

• I need you to share with me what it was you wanted to be when you grew up, or a dream you realized later in life that for one reason or another you stopped pursuing. I also need to know why you came to believe you couldn't see it through.

• I also need you to put this call out to everyone you know in hopes that with your blessing, they will share their dreams not come true with me, too.

• I'm going to pick ten of the most popular topics and two of the most unusual to work with next year. This will then become the foundation of what Intentional Winning In Life books will be about. Intentional Winning In Wine Making. Intentional Winning In Writing. Intentional Winning In Nursing. You get the idea. This is going to be really fun, and if I use your topic, how cool will it be to have a real road map to making your dreams come true?

Will you help me? Send me your dreams and why you are not pursuing them and send this request out to your family and friends. I can't wait to make things happen as this year wraps up and we welcome a new year!

With love!
Kath