I was raised in Portland, Oregon by some wonderful parents. Mom was single, working nights, and putting herself through medical school during the day. Dad was a transmission mechanic and a dedicated father, who on the weekends was building a house by himself from the ground up --when he wasn’t taking on side jobs like rebuilding classic cars. Both taught us from a very young age to be hard working, thrifty, frugal and resilient.

I discovered a love of art at an early age. According to my mother, I have been into art since my days as a preschooler when I would stay up long past bedtime, coloring in my room late into the night. In middle school I took several ceramics classes and an art class. I still remember that moment when we were doing some quick line drawings to catch the mood of a person, and it actually looked like a person and depicted a mood. I was so excited and thought, “I can do this!” I continued taking several more art classes in high school, and went on to attend Brigham Young University for 2 years, majoring in Fine Art. At the time, I had hopes of going into illustration, although my real love was painting watercolors.

Jeff and I married and started having kids. Being a wife and a mom took most of my time, as family has always been my main focus; however, I still carved out what little time I could to develop my talent as an artist. Reading art magazines, watching painting shows, and late-night paint sessions after all the kids were asleep was something I did whenever I could. Eventually I started an art blog, began selling prints of my art online, and branched out into photography and photo manipulation… all in my very limited spare time. I have always taken being a stay-at-home mom seriously. I am always looking to learn something new, do things better, or be more efficient, challenging myself to improve in everything I do. I have nearly three decades experience doing that, with the past decade and a half of that with Jeff driving long haul. Currently I am the art director and designer here at Contractors Corner Consulting Group --doing everything from designing the logo, editing photos, creating thumbnails for the weekly show, helping with the visuals for the website, and more… all while still managing everything else at home as well as running the gamut with the 3 of our 6 kids who are still minors --and everything that entails. Being the spouse or partner of a truck driver comes with a lot of challenges. It can be a lonely life, with a lot of stress, and without a lot of back up. We have to handle all the emergencies on our own while our spouse is often thousands of miles away --keeping the bills paid and food on the table even if the truck is broken down and there isn't a paycheck. It can be mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting. We experience a lot of isolation. We at Contractors Corner Consulting Group understand what that is like, and we want to help both drivers and their spouses and partners to feel less isolated while helping them to navigate their unique challenges. Which is why I am heading up the family support group in addition to being the art director."Read More".

Read More