Archive for February, 2010

My trip to ARIZONA ♥ | my life

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

My trip to Arizona with my daughter and my mother was wonderful, but not long enough! We left Friday morning early to visit my sisters and new nephews! Kasey was wonderful on the plane! We were greeted at the airport by my sister Nikki and her new baby Liam! He is sooo stinkin’ snugly. I ♥ newborns. We watched my nephew Payton for my sister Tera on Friday night. We got rained on Saturday. We visited Tera and Randy’s place too and did a short photo shoot. I got the chance to go to my friend Jillian’s house for a short while to visit with the AZ gals ( Renee, Nicole, Jillian, and Jen). I got to see Nicole and Jen’s new babies too! On Sunday, we had a cookout with my brother in law Jon’s parents who are from the Cleveland area. They are staying in AZ for 2 months, they rented a house and are enjoying retirement. We also took some family pics on Sunday. The weather while we were there could have been much better. It was windy every day! Kasey wanted to be outside, especially on Sunday. It was a great short getaway. I can’t wait to visit again. I miss them all already! I hope you enjoy the photos from my trip.


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Happy Retirement to my Mother-in-law | my life

Monday, February 15th, 2010

On Friday, we celebrated my mother-in-law Penny’s retirement. We celebrated at a family owned restaurant Capers. They have yummy pizza! Penny had some of her close friends from work at the party along with her kids and grandkids. The grandkids enjoyed playing the crane game. My nephew Dominick won a HUGE red lobster and it got stuck, but Capers was kind enough to get it to him on Saturday! The guys enjoyed drinking some beer and playing KENO! Penny received lots of giftcards to lots of different restaurants. I am sure she will sure use them all, what else does she have to do now? CONGRATS Penny and enjoy your time off, you deserve it! Here are some photos from the night!

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Baby Mara | newborn

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Today I got the opportunity to photograph my second cousin! I ♥ newborns. Baby Mara looks just like my cousin Emily did as a baby. She wouldn’t cooperate with me and go to sleep, but we did manage to get some good shots. Emily and my sister Nikki were due on the same day, but Mara came a couple days earlier than my sisters babe Liam! I will be going to AZ in a week and will be photographing him and Payton, my other nephew! So stay tuned for pics next week. Enjoy Baby Mara for now, she is so stinkin’ adorable. We did have to throw in a pic of the dog aka Mara’s sister Woofie!

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Selling Creative Memories~ Still Uncluttering | my life

Friday, February 12th, 2010

So while I was getting my closet uncluttered, I decided that I wanted to sell some of my Creative Memories™ items! Here are some pics of what I am willing to part with. I am willing to sell all of this for $150 (value approx $170+). Shoot me an email if you are interested in purchasing these items. I need the money and the space and YOU need the SALE!

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Unclutter Your Life in One Week | my life

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Roughly two weeks ago, I received a tweet from the famous photographer Tasra Dawson. “Unclutter Your Life in One Week”. So, I challenged myself with the persuasion of a little contest that Tasra had going on for the week. You all know I ♥ contests! She made seven videos on the different creative ways to unclutter your home. I commented on the videos and I also retweeted the video of the day. Guess what? I won a free copy of the book “Unclutter Your Life in One Week” by Erin Rooney Doland. YAY! Go ME! Here are some before and after pics of my closet. I donated the clothes in the bags to Goodwill. I still have lots of uncluttering to do, but hey it is a start! Feel free to check out Tasra’s videos too:)













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Another contest? Why I want to attend WPPI? | my life

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

WOW! Another amazing opportunity to tell my story. Lawrence Chan from Tofurious is giving away YUP 10 free seats to WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) this year in Las Vegas March 4-11 at MGM Grand and all you have to do is blog about why you want to attend and then post your link on his site!

I would ♥ to go to WPPI this year! I am just starting out my business and trying to get all my ducks in a row before the business grows rapidly. This would be a great opportunity for me to attend. I am a wife, mother of four, sister, friend, labor & delivery nurse, and PHOTOGRAPHER! I would love this awesome opportunity to network and learn valuable information from some amazing peeps to run a successful business and see all the latest gadgets out there. It is difficult for me to get away because of well the $399 is not in my budget this year (so my CPA husband says so), so winning this would give me the perfect opportunity to make the jump and commit to going to VEGAS BABY! Winning this contest would boost my self esteem, since I did not win the last contest I entered. Please consider me for this wonderful opportunity to help my business and myself GROW in 2010!

P.S. My blog template is from tofurious ;) and a picture to show the main reason I need to attend! (photo by julie pasczykowski)

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Detroit PUG ~ Mike Larson Guest Speaker | my life

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

On Thursday Jan. 28th, 2010 I went to my first PUG (Pictage User Group) meeting in Dearborn, MI. The guest speaker was Mike Larson. He was such an inspiration to me. I went to the PUG meeting with my AWESOME and dear friend Julie Paczykowski, her assistant Emily, and my high school friend Shawna Keener. It was great to get away and have some inspirational time for my business! Mike Larson talked about Character Marketing. Mike said that we need to DREAM BIG or GO NOWHERE. I believe this wholeheartedly. He also shared a quote with us. “If you have no idea where you are going…every road will get you nowhere.” ~Henry Kissinger

I have been thinking that my business needs a little bit of a makeover because of Mike’s talk. I am currently updating my website and blog and working on branding. It is now my time to DREAM BIG and make some goals and changes for 2010! He also said, that you can try and it is ok to fail. We will never get anywhere if we don’t at least try. I have to be a model for my children and want them to see that a business does succeed, but it has it’s ups and downs. So, my promise to you is that this year I will be striving for EXCELLENCE! I want to be your friend and your photographer!

TRY SOMETHING. EVALUATE IT. TRY SOMETHING ELSE.

I want to thank Mike Larson for coming to the DETROIT PUG and inspiring me!

Here is a photo that Mike took of our group.

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