Something to be Thankful for

I’m one of these people that has lots of “first world problems.” Really! And the whole hashtag (#firstworldproblems) has really brought out how much I should really be thankful for.

Some of my current problems include; no living room furniture, because I’m too snobby to settle on one. Dirty floors because the backyard is full of dust, sand, dirt and the dog brings it all in. And so on.

While most of you will agree these are problems they are not the end of the world. While I don’t have a beautiful living room set (or any furniture in the living room for that matter) I have a beautiful house that will eventually get filled with the perfect couches, tables, chairs, and décor. My floors? Well they’ll get scrubbed with a gallon of bleach as soon as the hubs is done with the yard and Lilly is running on rocks and fake grass.

So here are some things that I am Thankful for on this beautiful Monday morning.

• The internet: I don’t think anyone of our generation really appreciates the internet as much as we should. It allows me to work from home from a different state. It allows me to see my parent’s faces on a daily basis and speak to them in real-time. It allows me to go to school from the comfort of my tile floor () and keep in touch with all of my loved ones via Facebook, email and so on.

• My job: I work… a LOT. Probably more than I should. BUT I love my job. I really really do. I’m thankful that I can sit at home and do what I love and get paid for it. Who else can say that?

• Husband: We have our ups and downs, and all married couples do. I’m thankful that at the end of the day, the hubs cares and loves me. Even if we are sleeping on a mattress on the floor (which is actually NOT that bad), I know that I’ll wake up every morning to a snuggle and a kiss.

• Lilly bug: This morning, I was not thankful for her at all. Especially her insistent whining and licking of my face witch cow hoove breath. Only dog owners who give their dogs cow hooves will actually understand how gross they smell after chewing on one of those things. I’m thankful for her health, for her constant want to play and then crash not 5 minutes into playing. OH and her love for running and sliding on the tile floor. She may not be too happy when there is furniture in the house.

• Our awesome neighbors: Seriously, best part of moving to Arizona and to this small town. Our neighbors are beyond awesome and we couldn’t have asked for better. Who else will volunteer to help clean our house and then put together a plan on how to do it?! OH or feed us yummy food? And help move a really heavy couch? And the list goes on. BEST NEIGHBORS EVER! PS: C if you are reading this, I LOVE YOU!

• My Parents and their health: My parents aren’t really just my parents. Their my best friends. I can talk to my mom about anything, literally, anything. My dad’s pretty much the same way. In fact, I think I’ve talked to my dad about things that no one would really talk to their dad about. AnyWHO. I miss them BUT I’m thankful that their only a short flight away. I can hop on a plan and be in Denver in under 2 hours.

AND I just realized that my list can go on for a very very long time. So here are some in short order with no explanations: my grandfather and his health, my brother and the fact that he’ll be here in less then 26 hours, my computer and camera, the house and cars, and in general the life we have.

So what are you thankful for this Monday?

OHHH it’s Friday

Hi Friends! And Hello Friday!
Granted this Friday means very little as I’m on call this weekend. BAH. I am not a fan of on call weekends. ESPECIALLY, when I get paid nothing extra. Being salaried sucks!

 

So today, I’ll be talking about what I’ll be saving on and where that money is going to go.

 

 

This week, we’ve only spent money on groceries and some presentation folders for my photography clients. The groceries are a necessity, since we do have to eat. And the folders are a business expense that is tax deductible. Other than that, we have spent no other money! YAY! For living in the middle of nowhere!

 

I have decided that my piggy bank savings will be going into our vacation fund. The hub’s and I are in MAJOR need of a vacation. We have a rule that we need to take time off every 6 months and go on a week long vacation, we also try to squeeze in a few short trips between big trips. BUT between the move, getting things together, traveling for work, school and so many other things we haven’t been able to go on a vacation since November of 2010!!!! That is entirely too long to go without a beach vacation.

Now, some of you might think I’m a snob, but we need our vacations. It’s our way of re-energizing. I refer to the week long beach vacations as my “C drive formatting” trips. I lay on the beach, have some drinks, read a mindless book and not give a crap about a thing in the world. When we come back from these vacations, I always have a fresh and positive outlook on life.

SO vacation = very much needed.

 

While I didn’t necessarily have anything this week that I restrained myself from buying, I did make some extra money with my photography. I did three paid mini sessions at $45.00 a piece. Now the money goes towards prints as well as my time shooting and editing… BUT it is money that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. So my virtual piggy bank gets ($135.00). That’s a one way ticket to Mexico! Now only to get the return trip!

 

NOW, tell us what you are saving on and what it’s going towards!

 

Home made pizza and babies!

Last night we made homemade pizza… crust and all.

It was pretty tasty. Mine had all kinds of things on it, like mushrooms and fresh mozzarella cheese. Hubby’s was a boring cheese and pepperoni.

 

Lilly helped make the pizza by laying right in front of the ovens and guarding the food while it baked. Unfortunately, she did not get to have a slice as she get’s too many treats as is, and is starting to put on a bit of extra wait. Dog parent FAIL

After dinner, I met a little cutie.

He’s name is Ian and his has some bright blue eyes!

He wants to be just like dad when he grows up.

And this may be my favorite picture by far from the whole shoot. The face says it all!

Hope you all have a great Tuesday!!!!

Z

Ramblings on Monday

I don’t know where time goes. Really, it seems like you wake up on a Monday and before you know it it’s Monday morning again. This weekend was very low key for us, we worked on our backyard, cleaned the kitchen, cooked A LOT, drank wine and played with our pup. I worked a little for my 9 to 5 job, and did a few shoots on Friday and one on Sunday. Overall, it was a good weekend.

Here we are again on Monday morning though. Lilly’s been really good at getting me up at the crack of dawn, and it’s actually been nice. While I grumbled a little about it initially, now my body and mind are use to waking up early and it’s nice. I get lots more done, and have time to workout again.

I’ve been going a little crazy between two jobs and school, so I decided to drop my class for this 8 weeks. I’ve got one bitch of a teacher anyways, she constantly takes points off of assignments without explanation. I hate professors like that. For some reason they think they are above everyone else and no one can get a good grade in their class, I’ve seen at least 10 of my classmates already drop the class.

On a brighter note, I got a bright orange kitchen aid mixer. We picked the most obnoxious color in the world… just because we could. It’s awesome!

I’ve already made a big load of twice backed potatoes, deviled eggs, funfetti cupcakes and nutella cupcakes (which turned out more like muffins).

I’ve also been able to take photos of some beautiful people… and when my camera decided to quit on me, husband decided that I should get the camera I’ve been drooling over for a year or so. SOO, now I’m the proud owner of a Mark II. <3 It’s love!

I’ll leave you with a few of my favorites shots from my recent shoots:

My beautiful friend Irina posed for the camera when I was back in Denver at the end of April/beginning of May. She’s one of the most beautiful people I know, and there are so many more shots that I’m drooling over.

I’ve known Navodita (Dita) since we were in the 4th grade. She was one of my first true friends here in the States and we have stayed friends over the years. It’s scary to think we’ve known each other for 15 years!!!

 

When we moved to Arizona, I was afraid we’d never meet anyone or have any friends, as the places we’ve lived before, most of the neighbors have been closed off an unfriendly. Well, we lucked out this time! Our backyard backs up to an amazing family, who has this little boy! They’ve become our close, and this little babe brightens up our day, everyday!!!

Amy found me through Facebook and we clicked right away. She’s such  a sweet and beautiful gal, a true Southern Belle (she’s from Georgia)! Such a beautiful family! Can’t wait for the arrival of little Mr. Logan!!

Kristin is the local power yoga instructor. She is amazing, and so are her classes!

This beautiful baby girl is Jenny, Val (the mama) is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. We were doing a Father’s day mini session for Jenny, when Val got the news that her grandma (Jenny’s great grandma) wasn’t doing so great and most likely wouldn’t make it through the weekend. So we got a few pictures of Jenny holding her great grandma’s picture. Such a sweet moment.

Individual posts with more photos from each session will be posted on my photography blog later on this week. I’ll link it on this one if you all are interested!!!

 

Have a great Monday!!!

Let’s Save Some Money

Today is the day for our Budget Challenge!!!

When I first met Janna in person, in early May, I was amazed at her take on money. We must have spent a good hour talking about my lack of budget skills and her AWESOME budget skills. She revealed that a Challenge is what really got her into budgeting … she went a whole YEAR without buying clothing!

With a new house, a new businesses, and lots of furniture and equipment to buy I think this is a good time to get this thing going. So I coxed Janna into doing another challenge but this time with a twist.

 

 

For the next 30 days you will give up a vice (or vices) that are not necessities, and then add up what you save and place it towards something big.

For example, I’ll be cutting out buying clothing, shoes and accessories as well as Starbucks, Eating Out at Fast Food places, as well as buying things for the house. My goal is to ONLY spend money on buying groceries and filling up my tank (which I don’t need to do often as I work from home).

My hope is that the money I end up saving (or as my hubs put it NOT spending) will go towards paying off our smallest credit card. From my calculations it should end up actually paying it off.

So are you up for it????

You’ve got till next Friday to figure out what you’d like to save on, and what you’d like to apply it to.

If so, we’ll be linking up weekly. Get a list of the things you wanted to buy and what they cost together. Every Friday we’ll link up and see how much is in our virtual piggy banks!!!

Ready?! Set! GOO!!!!!