Dear Old Daddio

In my very first post I mentioned that I have no career, no home, no savings, no life. Melodramatic, right? It wasn't completely exaggerated; it's just how I was feeling about my current situation. Then I got off my ass and decided to do something about it. A blog was born.

Truth is that I have a wonderful life despite the sins of my past. I'm kind of a firecracker and enjoy constantly having new adventures. My problem is that I'm always on to a new project without ever finishing the first. I have boxes under the bed filled with fabric for all the sewing I planned to do with my new Christmas gift (a sewing machine). I have looms and needles for all the knitting I planned. Somewhere there is an empty scrapbook filled with leopard pages and beer stickers. The one time that I have never quit, though, was when it came to baking. Everything I've done for the last three and a half years has to do with cakes or cookies. It's just who I am.

My father, the one whom I said just ignores my sins and loves me anyway, is starting to get involved in this culinary obsession of mine. Yesterday he gave me two great financial books to help me get ahead. Today, he emptied his entire laundry room and converted it into a pantry just for me. I wasn't expecting that! He bought industrial shelves, boxes and bins for me to organize all of my tools, pans, etc. It's amazing!

I should tell you all that my father is the only parent I have. He lost my mother in 2000 to Scleroderma - a rare skin disease. For years I stayed with him and promised myself I would move when he was better equipped to be alone. Turns out the one who needed to be better was me. Now, a decade later, I'm ready to leave the nest and here my dad is padding it all up, nice and cozy. Ha!

Over the years he has overlooked calls from creditors, my pretty piles of overdue bills, even the projects that I would start on a whim. He knew I was still lost after losing my mother and that I reverted rather than maturing from her loss. This time around, though, he is much more involved in what I am doing and from what I can tell he really believes in this dream.

He knows about the blog, my college courses, my bakery plans and even knows how I just got out of credit card debt. Finally, he seems to get it. He's retired now and appears to enjoy spending his days planning my business for me. Awesome.

The books he gave me yesterday - fantastic. I'm already halfway done with Nice Girls Don't Get Rich: 75 Avoidable Mistakes Women Make with Money. It's absolutely fascinating! I love this book! My next post will be a brief synopsis. It's already helping me after one day.

My poor dad doesn't meddle with my life and never treats me like a child. We've been equals for years and since he is super close with my boyfriend, he respects me to make the right decisions for my life since I made such a wise decision with the keeper of my heart. For him to get involved at this level is an important breakthrough in our relationship as father and daughter.

Through this blog I think I will be bragging about my dad often - get over it if you don't like it. :)
Over the next few months I am sure you will read about him a lot if he keeps up this pace. He's going to play a key part in my bakery story and I'm really looking forward to seeing how this blog and this journey changes him. It's already changed me completely.