Are you SICK of hearing about the unemployment rates, the bailout scandal, the bad news that goes on and on? There is a difference between reality and over-hype.

So I am here to list all the GOOD, the WONDERFUL and the AMAZING things that I am thankful for DESPITE the raging economy blues.

1. A healthy family. We have sniffles, occasional pukes fests, but my kids have never seen the inside of an emergency room and have only missed 4-6 days of school so far. I thank God.

2. A husband and partner that sticks with me through good and bad, and shares LOTS Of laughs in between. Love you sweetie for loving me just who I am.

3. A source of income. I whine and complain and a temp job scanning and part-time job at Kohl's is NOT my longterm plan, nor does it fulfill any goals I have...but it PUTS FOOD ON THE TABLE AND GAS IN MY CAR!

4. I am learning how to live with less. Do my kids need $50 of toys for Easter baskets? No. Do they need to understand what Easter is and appreciate it? Yes. Do they NEED a trip to Disneyland we had planned in October? No. Will we set an example for them by NOT using credit cards and teach them something that lasts beyond a trip to see Mickey? YES.

5. Coupons are my friend and I will borrow any recipe, idea and technique on how to get more out of my groceries and dollars. Thanks thrifty mom!

6. I really DO NOT need to eat out two or three times per week. I can cook (*sharp intake of air*) and eat better and enjoy a meal with my family, and TEACH my kids more cooking skills.

7. I choose to live in a Kingdom where worldly matters DON'T matter and my destiny has already been written. Thank you Lord.

8. I have friends that provide a laugh, a smile and an ear.

9. I have a church family that builds me up when I am out of steam, broken down and tired and remind me of #7.

10. I have really wonderful kids. How I love them for their creativity, occasional sassiness, abundance of love, freedom and trust. They teach ME everyday.

KEEP SMILING!!

For awhile I have been stalking, um I mean following the thrifty mom's website on how to get good deals at the stores using coupons.

Today I got this for $24.65..that's 20 boxes of cereal, and not pictured was a box of lasagne noodles, garlic bread and 2 bottles of ajax dish soap.
That is a savings of $85.44!!

OR AS I LIKE TO CALL IT: ME VS. THE SCHEDULE
The kids enjoyed spring break this past week and I am certainly glad it is over.
Being a little uber organized, I decided to make a calendar of our week. I had a lot of design projects and knew I would be working in my office A LOT so....
I thought it would be a great idea to show the kids each day and the times of the week, the times I worked, AND the times they got to do fun things as well (so they wouldn't bug me endlessly while I was trying to work).
What I didn't realize, is that my schedule was CRAZY!!! Way too many things and not enough time made for a stressed out, time deprived Momma all week long. I was gone EVERY night to work or church functions, getting home at 1-2AM in the morning after work. Lesson learned.

Prior to spring break schedule, I made a crazy spring cleaning list made in hopes to get the deep cleaning done by April end. Notice how much I have actually done.....(Taylor had to do some of it as a punishment for misbehaving).
So me and my list-i-ness will have to calm down. Somebody save me from myself quickly.


We did do some fun things during spring break. Each of the kids picked a recipe to make and Taylor picked homemade monkey bread and got to learn the ins and outs of working with yeast.

Holding down the 16 YEAR OLD MIXER bumping around that is a bit rickety but STILL works!
(this advertisement paid for by Kitchen Aid)

The finished product all warm and gooey from the oven..I am hungry for more! Taylor was very proud of his cooking skills and he did all the work himself!

Also here is a funny picture of our very own dog/cat whisperer:
They wait until he gets home and is reading and start nestling, the cat is purring, it's a very homey scene.
Note they do not do this with me, the one who trained them as puppies, were with them all the time and walks them most of the time.


My other obsession: this lady (you might have seen her on the news or in the paper) who can feed her family of 5 for $140 a month. Coupons- here I come! This week's hot item, cereal at Albertsons for less than $1 per box. Using her advice I went and got our weeks groceries at Albertsons and at the bottom of the receipt it said I saved $97!! So it does work, takes time clipping, planning and understanding how to use the coupons WITH deals but I love a shopping challenge and so does the dwindling bank account.

On another note about saving money, Mike and I just signed up for a 12 week course called "Financial Peace" by Dave Ramsey. I am really excited we are embarking on a journey to work together and get out of debt, have peace about our finances and build wealth!! Thanks Melanie to recommending this!!

Well, as a Mom to two wonderful kids, how can I not occasionally gloat a little....maybe a lot? The one I want to gush about today is my little Hannah (Taylor will be next in the near future). She is so hot and cold, so independent and has a very FIERY temper, yet underneath that sometimes hard-to-take exterior is the heart of a little girl that enjoys giving and doing for others-especially Mommy and Daddy.

Yesterday as we were out running errands and shopping she said she really wanted to give Daddy and I a present because she loves us so much, and could we please just go back home to get her wallet and get her allowance? I told her that was so thoughtful, but that was something we would have to plan for.

Well, she REALLY wanted to do it, so later that day I took her to the dollar store where she took her own little bag so I couldn't see anything in it and purchased some candy. She then took it home and worked on a treasure hunt for us (she really loves it when I do treasure hunts). She wrote on pieces of paper and hid them and then read us our clues, and at the end we enjoyed mini-snickers and marshmallow eggs. She really wanted to get herself something at the store but decided to spend her whole $3 on us!

She is really creative and loves to gather up our favorite things around the house: lotions, books, etc and package them and have us open them.

Everyday she makes a new picture or several-she is very artistic, or cuts us out bookmarks: here are some of them, along with her LOVEBUG she made for me in class.
She also loves to make snacks and put them on her Barbie tray and then serve us.

This morning, she puts notes on Mike and I's chairs while I was making breakfast.
It says "I LOVE YOU FOREVER" if you can't read kindergarten print, complete with hearts and smiley faces of course :-)
I think these are near and dear to my heart because I used to do the EXACT same thing when I stayed with my grandparents, I would have little notes all over the house and in my Grandpa's shop with the tools.

It's really amazing getting to watch your children learn, grow and mature and enjoy everyday you have with them. I, too, get caught up in my own agenda, and when Hannah has colored the 20th picture of the day for me, I just say thanks and go on, or when Taylor is telling me this detailed story of his newest toy and how it works, I just nod along, not really listening (thinking about what I have to do). I am reminded that I need to take time and listen. They need constant love, patience and kindness to grow into great adults.
Just little reminders of how I need to embrace each child's strengths and encourage and lift them up. If I don't do it, eventually they will find other places to find that acknowledgment.

Okay I am all done now gushing about my fabulous kids.

I don't have much time and it's been over two weeks since I was last whining so I'll just post a ton of pictures that cover the last 7 days: Hannah posing for the camera, Taylor turning 9 and oh, we just got two more pets (Rex the lizard, Isa the 4 month old chihuauha (sp??), Hannah posing some more and Hannah being our "waitress" and making us sandwiches. She says when she grows up she would like to work at Quiznos. Oh lordy! And the cute picture of the kids and cousins dressed in their battle attire!

Lately I have been feeling less-creative and a lot LESS inspired. That added to the fact that I am working 2 crummy part-time jobs to put some chaching in my bank account can really start making a girl feel a little whiny. Why don't I have as many projects to work on, where are my clients and why is nobody calling me back for the graphic design jobs I have put my apps in for??

So I was polishing my resume today and going through some files and found some of my past work. I really felt good looking at it, I felt proud to know I had designed those things and that was my CREATIVITY at work.
So I thought just for fun, I would post some of my work. I am still creative, I have still got it and even though things are slow right now doesn't mean I am any less of what I aspire to BE! And that is what just got me phone call with a 10 hour project coming my way! Yeah!

These are just some of the covers and layouts from the over 30 magazines I designed.

An ad that went into Skywest Magazine in 2007-this guy now owns Sotheby's in McCall, Idaho.


I have done lots of Sotheby's ads...

Idaho Botanical Gardens-they are awesome, this is just a couple of MANY things
I have done for them

Ad for the back cover of a local magazine

Flyers for a home builder in Boise

Cover and interior design for a couple that were trying to launch this magazine

Inside of a very nice brochure for my all-time favorite client

Well, every year about this time (ESPECIALLY WHEN I LIVED IN SEATTLE) I start climbing the walls with cabin fever, winter blues-blahs, etc due to lack of sunshine and warm temps. The kids get a 5 day weekend for president's day and teacher workshops, so I thought it was a good opportunity to do something different. On Wednesday, I got home from work, picked up Hannah and surprised them with the news we were going to a hotel for the night. Oh kids, they are just so easy to please. They were so excited, they had been asking for awhile to do that. So we checked in, had a swim (the only ones in the pool), went to Red Robin for dinner, did a little clearance shopping at Old Navy, got lots of treats, and went back to our hotel room to jump on the beds and rot our brains with TV until 10:30...all things we are never allowed to do.
I have to say I had just as much fun as the kids. Then we got up, had a great breakfast, had another swim (only ones in there) and then went and saw this movie (again, the only ones in there):

It was a great little break, we wanted to stay another night but I had to work. I'm sure next year about this time we will do the same thing again, maybe we can make it for a weekend instead of just one night. We are really ready for spring!!

Oh another good note, soon I will be taking pictures again. My camera is arriving Monday, I can hardly wait! I decided on a Canon Powershot SX110 IS. Woohoo!