60 in 2010

What is that? I will fill you in on that, but give me just a second to tell you how super excited I am to wake up tomorrow morning!!! We are heading to Nashville for the national photography conference of the year, Imaging USA. I cannot wait to come home with a much needed revamp of energy, excitement, and fun new ideas/products. As you can imagine the Christmas season is always a fun filled time, but once it's over - whew, you find yourself quite wore out. :-)

Matt and I will be there thru Wednesday, and back at the office for a jam packed day at the Studio. Cannot wait! (Have I told you that I think I am addicted to Orange Juice, okay - so it was random, but it made you think didn't it?)

60 in 2010... a photographer whom I admire a great deal does something of this nature every year, except her list is always 101 things and it's much much more detailed. I find myself looking forward to her posting it every year, and I thought... "If I look forward to it, my Clients surely will love it also." So, here's my own twist on it... :-) {I apologize, I do believe my nice formatting got messed up in transferring it here to the blog}

1. Get a massage at a Spa
2. Get my bedroom organized back into a bedroom
3. Go to Maui again.
4. Buy my husband a truck!
5. Go somewhere else exotic.
6. Read my Bible everyday!
7. Purchase a Shootsac for myself
8. Get back to my workout regimen and get into size 27!
9. Hire staff at the Studio
10. Have smooth running Studio operations!
11. Get rid of all the extra clothes/shoes in my closet that I do not need!
12. Find two great vintage pieces of furniture to shoot on… chair and couch
13. Take boys horseback riding
14. Run five miles without stopping
15. Buy new furniture for the house
16. Become the most sought out photographer in our area
17. Complete an entire devotion series of my husbands choosing at night before we go to bed
18. Get front desk at Studio designed and made
19. Hire 2nd staff person for Studio
20. Finish my piano lessons with Elizabeth and/or get thru my piano book
21. Purchase newest Canon camera and learn to use all its features!
22. Schedule time to shoot for ME and stick to it!
23. Print gallery canvases for my house
24. Set more of a daily routine for myself and the kids, and stick to it too!
25. Enter print competition and fail miserably – well that’s not my goal, but just preparing myself!!! HA HA!
26. Go on a bike ride with the boys
27. Have a KICKIN’ Senior program ready to go by February!
28. Buy a new pair of BKE’s for myself
29. Get a Video interview of myself on my website
30. Double my 2009 income and sales
31. Start another business
32. Get up earlier and go to bed earlier
33. Finish all books that I’ve started the last year and have not finished
34. Learn my light meter like it’s the back of my hand
35. Ride horses on the beach at sunset
36. Shoot a session in a State that I have never been in before.
37. Earn 2010 Seniors Choice Photographer
38. Second shoot with someone that I believe has a fabulous style
39. Purchase a 70-200 lens before June!
40. Go on a romantic getaway with Matt
41. Pass the photography certification test!
42. Get back to an intensely structured schedule so my mind isn’t crazy!
43. Have my own budouir session – skinny, buff, and hot
44. Learn PROSELECT like it’s the back of my hand!
45. Work on posing placement and feel confident
46. Hire staff at Studio – did I say that? OH… guess you get the idea!
47. Take the boys to DisneyLand
48. Purchase a boat for our family
49. Pay off all debts, and work towards starting to pay off Matt’s student loans! Can we say MAJOR BUCKAROOS? WOWsers!
50. Possibly another romantic getaway?
51. Learn how to cook something magnificiant
52. Take a film photography class at a local college
53. Begin selling my favorite frames on the market, which will remain nameless for now :wink:
54. Do a live Radio/TV interview and rock it out
55. Find my bedroom again, wait, I bet I said that already as well!
56. Give a large amount of money to a local non-profit in the business name
57. Grade my kiddos papers as they do them
58. On that subject, write down my mileage in the correct place rather then 10 different locations to compile at tax time
59. Go to bed at 10:00 every night, that’s a big LOL – it’s 12:30a as I type now!
60. Go sledding with the boys

And what would a blog be without an image? One of my favs for the year... isn't she adorable? We'll hopefully post while we are in Nashville, but they tell me I might not have time... :-(. If you have not added us to your Blog feed, please do so as we will be blogging on a daily basis once we return. I would like YOU my Clients to get to know me in more of a personal level... so we are friends before we even meet.



Hugs,
Jamie

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Let's Ring in TWENTY TEN!

WOW! Hard to believe huh? It's here - the day that we never thought we'd see as kids. I remember playing those fun little games as a girl.... you know, the ones that said your 4 best friends, the 4 guys you wanted to marry, the 4 little girl names, pick a number, your 4 fav cars, and then did some crazy math to create the "story" for the future. Anyways, I digress... ha ha!

I've been thinking a lot this week about what this year means to me, what I'd like to change and who I'd like to become. Not as in a new person, but who I would like to allow myself to become in my habits, my ways, my thoughts, my breathes, my existence... it's been a pretty heavy load to ponder, but it's also been an enjoyable time as well.

Over the past year, I have found that my love for my husband and my family has grown more then I even knew was possible. I feel a feeling that I've never felt. Is this getting older or has something within me changed? I tend to believe that it was allowing myself to do the things that God had led me to do .... and following HIS promptings. What is it that you feel God is pulling on your heart to do this year? Will you take that leap of faith and do it, or will you push it aside and wish you had? What things might it free up in your heart if you take that step?

I always knew I wanted to homeschool my children, from the time I was a Senior in high school... odd, don't ya think? I chickened out when Cayden went to Kindergarten and put my business ahead of him. Guess what happened... the house got tense, the biz went south, and my heart ached for the things that I knew God wanted me to do. So after that, I knew I couldn't put Homeschooling aside any longer... i had to give it a whirl! And on top of that, guess what else God dropped in my lap... the Studio!

Yes, homeschooling and a brand new Studio all at the same time... no kidding! So, if you are like me and find yourself saying, "I can't..." --- Guess what, YES YOU CAN! Has it been easy? NO! Has it been hard? YES! Have I tried to be someone that I'm not? YES! But no more... I have decided that I need to be ME for my Clients - that is what got my business going, so why change it to "apease" any other Clients? I want Clients that are like minded, fun natured, fun spirited... and I've found them!

Am I perfect? NO! I still struggle with the same things that you all do, but you know what, with a smile on your face - it's so much easier to endure.

So I challenge you this year... take a jump and do those things that you feel tugging at your heart! You can - you can - you can! And in case you didn't get our Christmas card this year, I tried to emphasize having fun with your family and allowing life to be joyful! Enjoy!

Many hugs,
Jamie

ps... I plan to blog a whole lot more this year, so add us to your RSS feed and watch for them to be updated!

One Year Anniversary!!!

WOW, a lot sure happens in ONE YEAR~ it's official... we have completed our first year in business and WOW has it been fantastic! Thank you to all of you that have played a part... WE APPRECIATE YOU!!!!!!!!!

Playing in the rain... Or wait, is that water?

Look at the shear joy in these images! “Who would’ve ever thought Mommy would say to go play in the water”... I’m sure is what she is thinking! I remember when her Mom said, “it’s okay G – go ahead, you can get wet.” She just looked at her Mom like “Are you sure?” It was priceless! These are the beautiful and fabulous fountains that the newly renovated Washington Park has, and boy did she have fun!!!! These were my favorite images from the day... Enjoy...

And as always, Until next time.... :-)

A Morning at the Farm

Aren’t these two just sweet as ever? Every time I see L’s face I just laugh because she is so darn cute! And big brother, well ... What a handsome man!!!! They were such troopers out on the farm, and we found lots of fun things to play on! I think their Momma and Grandma were worn out by the end of the shoot, but I had a ball. Wouldn’t you if you got to play all day too? :-) Look at that sweet pic of them together... Makes your heart melt, doesn’t it.

:-) Until next time...

www.wherebabiesbloom.com

I had the privilege to help Mrs. Jessie Graves with her marketing materials for her brand new line of adorable baby girl headbands... www.wherebabiesbloom.com! We had SOO much fun together, and she has just the sweetest spirit ever. I cannot wait to see the success of her business unravel, she is amazing! We will be using her line in our Sessions, and cannot wait to see some more of the images that come from those. One thing that astonished me... They fit NEWBORN thru ADULT!!!!! Now THAT is some major stretching! Spread the word about her business, and watch for more of her lines to come each season!

:-) Until next time...