Don't worry...

I'm still alive – just trying to keep my head above water with everything I have going on. I'll post something more interesting soon...I promise!

Yet another great idea...

...not from me, but definitely worth sharing. I stumbled across another designer's blog a few months ago, and now I've found myself frequently visiting her page to see what fun things she's been working on. This project idea is pretty nifty!

Start 'em young!

I wish they would have had these when my kids were itty bitty. Gotta love it!



www.ipopmybaby.com

"Sure, I can get that for you by 4pm...no problem."

Have you ever had one of those days where, at 11pm when you're still hard at work, you stop and think, "How on earth am I still functioning after the day I've had?" Yesterday was definitely one of those days.

My day started out on a bit of a "sour" note...a sick kid who couldn't go to school despite her begging. That meant time to call in the troops for backup – Grandma Julie to the rescue! Usually that makes the kid's day when Grandma comes to play, but not to day...apparently Grandma's not so appealing when you're sick. Mom is the fix-all.

As I locked myself in my office hoping to get some work done, I quickly realized I was in for a crazy day. I had 3 projects that needed to be finished by 4pm, two others that needed to be sent off to the printer, and then over the course of the morning, I received 6 emails asking for quotes on potential jobs. AHHHHHHH!!! Oh, and I was supposed to fit in invoicing somewhere in there, too, so we can pay our bills. Yikes.

I started plugging away and was growing more and more frustrated with the constant interruptions of phone calls, emails, and crying kids knocking at the door. I hate that feeling of being torn – why must I be a working mom? Why can't I be one of those "stay-at-home-moms" who have the dream job of playing with their well-behaved children and watching soaps all day long, and who never have to worry about finances, deadlines, etc. Wait, there's no such thing. Never mind. Despite how many people may view "stay-at-home-moms", their job is SO much more intense and involved than any other job on earth! I guess a better question I should have been asking myself was, "what's more important – my deadline for the General Mills shelf set I'm working on or my sick baby crying outside the door?". The answer to that was obvious, so I took a "mommy break", curled up on the couch with my Peyton-girl and a blanket and we watched Elmo's World. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more...me or her. :)

Once I had things calmed down on the homefront, it was back to the office. I somehow managed to get everything done that I needed to over the course of the day. Projects were completed and proofs sent off to clients, files were sent to the printer, quotes were written up and sent out, and best of all, invoices were finished and e-mailed off. I love that part. Now I'm sitting here trying to plan out the next several weeks with the multiple new projects I landed in the midst of my chaotic day yesterday. Definitely will be a busy few weeks leading up to Christmas!

My First Tattoo


Too bad it's a dorky smiley face one from my daughter's "Harvest Party" at preschool.

Nothing too exciting...

Pretty much sums up my day. I spent a little while this morning doing some invoicing and miscellaneous administrative stuff, then I ran down to Plymouth to meet with a client about a project. After I got back to the office I responded to some emails and tied up some loose ends on a couple of small projects I've got going on, then checked in with a few clients.

I'm waiting for another project that's supposed to be coming my way from General Mills this week. Not quite sure on the specifics, but it's for some Green Giant packaging concepts. I'm pretty pumped for that. Slowly but surely, my name is getting spread around to various departments over at The Mills. The majority of the work I've gotten to work on over there has been through a friend of mine who's got a ton of contacts there. But I've covered for him while he's been on vacation, etc. and now people have started calling me directly just within the past couple of months. Gotta love that! So far everyone I've worked with there has been great. The deadlines are always insane, but once you get the paycheck it's TOTALLY worth it. Plus, it's always nice to hear good things about your work, and General Mills has certainly been very appreciative of the work I've done for them.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more productive of a day...okay, what I really meant to say was hopefully tomorrow I'll get some more kick-ass projects to work on. Kinda feeling like I'm in a "non-creative rut" so far this week. Good thing it's only Monday!

This is all I'm gonna say...

"I Pitty The Fool..."

Today as I was cleaning my desk I came across a beloved treasure given to me by a buddy when we worked together at Starkey Labs – "The A Team Soundtrack". I popped it in the 'ole CD player and we had our selves a kickin' afternoon. It was all I could do to stop myself from running upstairs and throwing on my tie-around-the-neck black jumpsuit with rainbow stripes down the side.

Crap, I wish I could find these in an adult size large:



Thanks for the priceless A Team Album, Jon!

What's the point?


As I pondered setting up a blog for Libby Design, I found myself asking what's the point? Yes, we have a family blog already where I post fun stories about what's going on in our life, but as I sit here in my office in the basement, completely cut off from society (other than greeting the office staff when I drop Peyton off at school and quickly chatting with the daycare lady as to which kid is getting low on diapers), I decided I need somewhere to jot my random thoughts down so I don't lose my mind completely.

Sweet. Now I have a place where I can tell the world about what projects I'm working on, what music I'm enjoying, what frustrations I'm dealing with on the business front, or even petty things like this...I decided to start drinking coffee last week. Perfect...just what I need – more caffeine. Why clutter my happy family blog with the seemingly unimportant sporadic events that take place from day to day in the business side of my life? I can't promise deeply intelligent and insightful posts on a regular basis, but I hope you enjoy following along in the life of a Freelance Graphic Designer (who moonlights as a Mamma and a wife the majority of the time!).

Enjoy.