Simply Kate

Vote For Kates Book Club!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000

1,000 Subscribers Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:08:00 +0000

My YouTube Channel, Kate's Book Club has reached 1,000 Subscribers!

I'm thrilled!

So I'm hosting a Giveaway!

Three Winners will get their pick of one of these books!

And One Grand Prize Winner will get their choice of three!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ambition is the Word of 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:59:00 +0000

I've never been too great at keeping to goals.

So maybe this year, if I call them ambitions, I'll do better.

Maybe.

I have a few manageable ~~goals~~ ambitions for the year.

- Make my apartment into a home. -

- Finish an entire rewrite of my novel. -

- Try to be all around more healthy. -

- Read 75 books. Yes. 75. I managed 50 last year. I'm going to do even better this year! -

- Post a new video to Kate's Book Club every week. (With four freebies.) -

- Post a blog post every week. (With four freebies.) -

- Try not to let the little things bother me. -

Those sound like some good ambitions, right?

I think so.

Happy New Year, everyone!

2011

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 19:59:00 +0000

In hindsight - 2011.

Well, in that case. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have started posting on my blog again right before Christmas when I was busy having holiday merriment thrust upon me. Oh well.

Without further ado, the recap of twenty-eleven.

Highlights:

- I kissed my wonderful boyfriend for the first time. -

- I moved out to state. Utah to Las Vegas! An awesome, scary, wonderful choice! -

- I went to Louisiana with my sister and some friends! It was amazing! Now I can say I've been to 33 states! -

- I kissed my incredible boyfriend some more. -

- I got a job as a preschool teacher. -

- I visited California to see my boyfriend. We went to the beach. My first time since I was 14. -

- I saw Sugarland, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, The Cataracts and B.O.B. in concert. -

I tried beignets, adobo and sushi for the first time. I liked the first two a lot! -

- I met my boyfriend's family. -

- I introduced my boyfriend to my family. -

- I got the keys to my very own apartment. -

- I was kissed under the mistletoe. -

- I read 51 books! -

- I made adult decisions and it's actually working. It's terrifying, but I'm still going strong.-

This entire year has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. I made a giant leap and moved to Vegas. I've moved out of my parent's house twice before and failed both time. When things got hard, I'd just give up.

Things have been much harder this time. I'm six hours further than I was the other times. I had a much harder time finding a job. And even when I did, I was miserable going to work a good chunk of the time. But something was different. Even though things were awful, I still got up and did what I needed to do.

I've been here longer than I made it both those other times combined. And I just got the key to my own place. It's a tiny little apartment, but it's exactly what I need right now. It's a scary (terrifying) new adventure, but I'm feeling more capable than I ever have in my life. I can do this.

I've learned a lot about the world and about myself this year. These experiences, good and bad, have helped me grow so much as a person.

I'm excited for the new year, but I'm sad to see 2011 go. It was an absolutely incredible year.

Two Entire Years!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:35:00 +0000

I'm going to very honest.

I fail at blogging.

Way to go, Kate. Start a full time job and just drop off the face of the blog-o-sphere.

But I'm going to be honest about one more thing.

I've missed this so much.

Today I realized that this is Simply Kate's 2nd birthday!

I was so excited.

Until I realized that I haven't posted in nearly two and a half months.

Shame on me.

So let's count this as an early resolution. Simply Kate is BACK!

It's been a nice break, but it's even nicer to be posting again!

Happy second birthday, Simply Kate!

Here's to another wonderful year!

Some Kissin' in the Future!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Remember when I posted this photo?

Two and a half months ago?!

Well, I haven't seen this wonderful man since then.

But I will be seeing him tonight!

It's been too long! Can't wait!

I love you so much, Kevin!

We have a winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 07:22:00 +0000

We had a great turn out for my giveaway of the My Memories Suite software.

And we have a winner!

Congratulations to Emma!

I've sent you an email telling you that you've won!

And for all of you who didn't win, you can still use the Simply Kate promo code and get $10 OFF this awesome software!

Plus, it is good for $10 OFF anything in the My Memories Store!

STMMMS44607

So awesome, right?

Everyone's a winner!

Thanks so much for entering my giveaway everyone!

Leisl & Po

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 20:33:00 +0000

LeiI just watched one of the best book trailers ever!
It's for Lauren Oliver's (Author of Delirium) new book, Leisl & Po. It looks incredible!

And even cooler is that she's giving away some Advanced Reader Copies on her blog!
You can go and enter the contest here! I know I did!

A few book reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 03:27:00 +0000

Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien

Buy Prized Here:

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Buy The Adoration of Jenna Fox Here:

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Buy I Am Number Four Here:

Five More Days!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Hey hey hey!

There's only five more days left in my giveaway!

Be sure to go and enter to win a free copy of My Memories Suite!

It's free!

It's international!

It's awesome!

If you don't believe how crazy cool this program is, check out the latest page I made in this program!

I'm totally in love with program!

So go and enter the contest to win My Memories Suite! You have until midnight on Saturday, September 24 at midnight PST!

Also! If you haven't taken advantage of this offer yet, all of the readers of Simply Kate can use this code:

STMMMS44607

And get $10 off of My Memories Suite and also $10 off of anything in the My Memories Store!

That's AWESOME!

It's free for everyone to use!

And don't forget to go enter the giveaway! Only five days left to enter!

Loving Literature!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 23:00:00 +0000

I have a few very exciting things to mention!

One:

Earlier this week, I celebrated my channel 2 year anniversary on YouTube!

It was quite a party!

Two:
I finished my Summer 2011 Reading List!
My deadline was September 30th, and I finished early. There was a total of 21 books on the list and 7,969 pages read. I'm pretty impressed with myself.
(That's not counting the extra five books (1,842 pages) that I also read this summer.
You can check out the completed list here!
Three:
I have officially started my Autumn 2011 Reading List!
You can check that out here!
Four:
I've finally received my complimentary flyers from that giveaway I had last month.
I'm so excited about them!

I'm so excited to start using these adorable flyers in the books I read! They are blank on one side and are only 4x6 so I can easily slip them into library books with thoughts about the books I've read!
I think it would even be fun to stop into book stores (especially when I travel) to drop off a few! Who knows! Maybe one of you will find one in a book that you read! Keep an eye out!
I thought it was a great way to use my reward and get the word out about my blog.
So fun!
What's on YOUR fall reading list?

More Messing Around

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

If you missed it, I'm hosting this amazing giveaway right now! You can go check out details about how to enter HERE!

My Memories offered me a chance to review their software My Memories Suite and goodness, I am so loving it!

That's also what I'm giving away to one lucky reader!

Trust me, you better go enter because this is a program you definitely want to own!

And it's free if you win!

I spent an hour two tinkering around to make this page.

The goal for the day was to use as many embellishments as I could without making the page look cluttered.

So cute right?

I used the Morning Hush Pack from the My Memories Store!

So cute right?

It was so easy to place embellishments and I was so happy to find out that all of my existing digital scrapbook embellishments are usable in this program!

I'm loving this program more and more!

Be sure to go and enter the contest!

And as a special bonus, every reader of this blog gets an extra special promo code to use!

STMMMS44607

It will get you $10 off of My Memories Suite and $10 off ANYTHING in the My Memories Store!

Cool huh?

What is your favorite part of scrapbooking?

The Bright Side

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

I'm going to be honest.

Working with kids isn't always a stroll through the daisies.

They may look cute and harmless.

But unlike daisies, kids are loud, chaotic and definitely don't smell like a field of flowers.

I come home from work every day absolutely exhausted and drained.

It's not all bad though.

When I get home, I get to tell everyone about the funny things my little kiddos do.

And something that's even better than silly stories.

Kids have birthdays.

And when they have birthdays, they bring yummy Sesame Street characters for me to munch on.

Elmo came to see you!

There's only one thing better than looking at this adorable cupcake.

And that was eating it.

I really like my job!

Giveaway by My Memories!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 02:50:00 +0000

Guys! I've been given a fantastic opportunity!

I was given a free version of My Memories Suite!

Wait, you don't know what that is?

It's a program dedicated COMPLETELY to Digital Scrapbooking!

Needless to say, I am thrilled!

Cause I love Digital Scrapbooking!

This program is incredible! And that's saying a lot when you know how much I adore Photoshop!

I spent the afternoon tinkering around in this program.

Cute right?

It's officially one of my favorite scrapbook pages ever!

And it's even made with stuff I bought in the My Memories Store!

(The "Pretty In Pink" pack to be precise!)

And there are a couple great features to this program that I discovered!

1. There is an Auto-Mat Tool! If you want a simple mat on your photo, you can easily choose the size and color. And better yet! You can set it up so that every photo on a page has the exact same mat settings! AWESOME!

2. The Align/Space Tool! This was especially helpful when making the above page. You can line things up straight. And then you can space them EVENLY! I love this program!

There's bound to be other amazing things and I'm excited to find them out when I make more pages!

Now here's the exciting news!

One of you gets to win a free copy of My Memories Suite!

That's right!

Lucky ducks!

Here's what you have to do!

1. Go to the My Memories Website and tell me which item in their shop is your favorite in the comments!

And here's where you can get some extra entries!

1. Be a follower of Simply Kate!

2. Tweet about this giveaway!

3. Follow My Memories on their Blog, Twitter and Facebook!

(Each counts as a separate entry.)

4. Follow me on Twitter!

5. Like Simply Kate on Facebook!

Just be sure to use a separate comment for each!

This Giveaway will be open until September 24th at Midnight EST!

Be sure to enter to win this amazing program!

Also, as an added bonus to all of my readers! If you use this code:

STMMMS44607

You can get $10.00 off of My Memories Suite! And also $10.00 off anything in the My Memories Store!

That's $20.00 free dollars to spend on Digital Scrapbook stuff! Awesome, right?

It's only good once, so choose wisely!

Good luck everyone! This program is fantastic!

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Incredible, clever, quippy, intense, lovable, funny, dark, exciting. These are just a few of the words that describe this wonderful novel!

Buy the Books Here:

Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Prince

The City of Bones

The City of Ashes

The City of Glass

The City of Fallen Angels
GoodReads!

GoodReads!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:55:00 +0000

I'm now on GoodReads!

Add me as a friend!
And join my new YouTube Book Reviewers Group! It's awesome!
Come join in the fun!

August!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 00:34:00 +0000

Highlights:

- 1st: Orientation at Kohl's. Thank goodness. I almost had to move home! -

- 4th: Surprising and exciting interview at Creative Kids. I was offered the position on the spot! -

-5th: Officially became a Nevada citizen. I got a NV Driver's License. -

- 11th-14th: My sister and her boyfriend came to visit! We had great fun playing games and chatting! Kristi also won 700$ playing bingo! Go Kris! -

-17th: Filled out paperwork for Creative Kids, quit Kohl's, gave GameStop my two weeks notice -

- 22nd: My first official day at Creative Kids! -

- 29th: Aly took me out to eat at Red Robin! Thanks! -

Happiest Memory:

- Getting Prized in the mail! -

Saddest Memory:

- Picture a mess of tears anytime I worried about money. Which was frequent. -

Favorite Food:

Raspberries! I've found a place that sells them fresh and cheap! It's awesome!

Books Read:

- I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore - Decent. Not my favorite, but I did enjoy it after a slow beginning. -

- The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley - Wonderful! It's a reread, and it was just as magical the second time! -

-The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan - Such a fun novel. It's meant for a younger audience, but it was still good! -

- Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien - SO wonderful! It was my first ARC, and it was amazing! I LOVED it! -

- Tithe by Holly Black - Good enough by the end, but the beginning was a bit too raunchy for my liking. I ended up pretty invested in the story though. -

- Book of A Thousand Days by Shannon Hale - Another reread. Such a cute story. Not my favorite of Hale's, but it's still a favorite on my bookshelf! -

- Capt. Hook by J.V. Hart - So clever and fun! I had so much fun reading this book again! -

TV Shows Watched:

- LOST - I got the urge to watch all the madness again. Still as confusing as it once was. -

- Chuck - Alyson and I have been watching it together. Man, I love this show! It's so quippy! -

Favorite Photos:

Overall Impression:

It always astounds me how the months with the least amount of highlights are the ones where I am the busiest. I've been working so hard these past two weeks and it's been very rewarding. And exhausting. Being an adult is super scary, and was very much on the forefront of my mind this month. But I think I did a pretty good job at keeping it together and sucking it up.

Entwined by Heather Dixon

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Such a wonderful retelling of a beautiful fairy tale!

Buy Entwined Here:

BEDA Success!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Well friends, August is over!

It's astonishing how fast this month went by now that I look back on it.

But as it happened, it felt like the longest month of my life.

But even still, I posted every single day of the month.

That's right folks!

I Blogged Every Day in August!

Feel free to go through my posts this month! I'd love to see what you think!

I'm even more impressed because I had so much drama with work and interviews and orientations and money. It's been a stressful month. And it was definitely a struggle to post every single day.

But I did it and I feel proud!

Now allow me to take a few days off! See you this weekend! I'll be a blogging fiend this weekend!

All About YOU!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000

I'm feeling very cut off from the world.

With my new job taking up the majority of my day, I don't feel like I have nearly as much time to blog and connect with all of you like I used to!

So this post is all about you!

Let's have a discussion!

I am going to ask you a few questions and then I want you all to answer them in the comments!

You can answer all of them, or some of them, or only one of them. I just want to hear your thoughts!

If I like the things you have you say, I might feature your comments right here in an upcoming blog post!

Fun right?

I think so.

Topic One: Where are you working right now? Do you like your job?

Topic Two: What are you reading right now? Thoughts? What books do you WISH you were reading? What are you all time favorite books?

Topic Three: How do you find time to blog when you are working full time? What do you blog about?

Topic Four: If you could pick one sandwich to eat for the rest of your life, which one would it be?

I'll answer all of these questions in a future post right alongside some of my favorite comments from you!

Let's hear what YOU have to say!

Hoping to Win an ARC

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 07:20:00 +0000

Well hello, my friends.

Have you ever read a book that you enjoyed so much that you just couldn't possibly wait for the next installment to hit shelves.

Well, that's how I'm feeling about The Infernal Devices Trilogy.

Cassandra Clare is holding a contest. And one lucky person gets a copy of Clockwork Prince before it hits shelves on December 6th.

I want it.

Badly.

So I made this!

I think it's pretty darn awesome if I do say so myself. I spent a lot of time on it to make it look like it matches the other two.

What do you think?

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

A Day Off

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:38:00 +0000

Never once in my entire life have I worked more than 32 hours in a week.

This week I worked 50.

And today was my only day off.

It's over way too fast and now I get to do it all over again tomorrow.

Luckily, I really like my job so far.

I simply wish I could have another 24 hours to relax.

Oh the life of an adult.

Haunting: A Computer Story

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:04:00 +0000

I'm pretty sure my computer is haunted.

It's filled with a friendly ghost, and I'm pretty sure that's the only reason why this old thing has lasted this long.

He takes care of things for me.

But sometimes, ghostie is a bit mischievous.

Shutting down programs when I haven't saved a project causing me to lose a LOT of data and work.

Holding my backgammon dice in a state of endless limbo, causing me to close the game and count my losses.

But last night was the first time that Mr. Ghost decided he wanted to be just plain mean.

I've started a new job. And for that job, I have to wake up pretty early sometimes. But I am a night owl and a sleep procrastinator by nature.

Last night, I went to bed a little too late.

I was finally exhausted and was falling asleep on my pillow when my computer roared back to life.

I pop up off of my pillow and look at the screen, waiting for it to update or something.

Nothing.

Just my desktop.

I groan and get out of bed and put it back to sleep.

I get back in bed.

And it wakes up again the moment my head hits the pillow.

Now, I know that I haven't been on my computer nearly as much since I've gotten my job, but my computer ghost friend had gone too far.

Three more times he did this.

I turned him off.

And I was spooked.

I didn't sleep well last night just waiting for the haunted HP to turn back on.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:04:00 +0000

Err, except that the winner won't actually get chicken. Unless they buy it themselves.

Sorry.

However!

Heidi is the winner of 250 flyers from UPrinting!

Congratulations Heidi! That art show you're going to promote is going to be awesome!

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

noreply@blogger.com (Kate Weber) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Amazing book by a wonderful author!

Buy Birthmarked Here: PreOrder Prized Here: