We (my good friend and fellow photog Kim, who flew down and met me there) stayed in a small, historical hotel in the Garden District, not too far from the conference center.  Every morning we would wake up and walk to the convention center.  Talk about getting the blood flowing!  The workshops started at 7:00 a.m., so we were up and out early.  We also walked to lunch and walked back to the hotel at the end of each day.  Boy did we get our exercise in!  One night while walking back to the hotel after the convention party, we witnessed an interesting (for lack of a better word) sight.  I can’t really go into it since this is a PG post, but I will tell you it was of an adult nature.  I’m sure you can come up with an idea of what we saw.

The workshops were fabulous and have given me so many new ideas that have re-energized me.  I can’t wait to share my ideas with you in the coming weeks and months.  I’ll have special offers and brand new products.  If you are signed up for my monthly newsletter or “like” my page on FaceBook, you’ll be receiving some information this week.  If you are not, then maybe you should.  I’d love to connect with you.

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Have you made a New Year’s resolution?  I did, but mine is the same every year.  My resolution is to be happy.  That’s it.  No, I don’t need to lose weight.  I don’t need to find a new job, I just want to continue to be happy.  I think that’s pretty simple and if you know how, easy to do as well.  I already do what I love for a living.  I have a wonderful son and husband and yes, we even have a great dog.  All of our needs are met and even some of our wants and my family and friends are happy and healthy, as are we.  What more could I ask for?

So, do you have any resolutions for this year?  If so, I’d like to read them.   Just drop me a line on this blog or on my Facebook page.  My next blog will be of one of my last sessions, so stay tuned.

Yesterday I decided to take the day off, which is always hard for me to do, but I did it.  I spent more time with my family and doing things that I needed to do.  Today I am working and I realized that this would be my last blog of the year, so of course I had to say something.

I just want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year filled with much success, joy and love.  Learn from your mistakes and try to be the best person you can possibly be.  That doesn’t mean try to be perfect, it just means do the best you can.  Help those who need help and make sure to take care of yourself and your family to the best of your ability.  Thank you all so much for allowing me to share my experiences and thoughts with you.  Below are some of my favorite images from this year and I look forward to creating more great images!

Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is a great time of year, but it has become so commercialized.  Everyone is so worried about what to get Aunt Besty or Uncle Joe and not that concerned about the meaning of Christmas.  Besides, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.    With Thanksgiving, it’s a bit different.  People think about what foods they can cook (and eat) to share with family and friends.  Of course there’s also the Thanksgiving Day football game too!

I don’t know about you, but I’m so looking forward to Thanksgiving this year.  It’s going to be epic!  On my next blog I will go into this year’s celebration further and let you know what I’m thankful for.  I’d also like to know what you are thankful for.  If you have a moment, please leave a comment as to what you are thankful for and why.  I love reading happy stuff!

As you know, I am not an event photographer, but I do enjoy capturing images of the goings on.  If you’re not familiar with Clarkston, Georgia, then let me enlighten you. Clarkston is a small city located between Decatur, Tucker & Stone Mountain.  It is very quaint and also very diverse.  Many inhabitants in Clarkston are refugees from various countries in Asia, Europe and Africa.  You can drive through the heart of Clarkston and feel like you are no longer in Georgia!

Anyway, the community center has an annual celebration that brings the different cultures together and shares the delights from each.  We enjoyed ethnic food, dance music and all around fun.  It just doesn’t do it justice to try to explain, so below are a few images from the night.

If that sounds good to you, then boy have I got something cool for you!  Photo jewelry! Yep, that’s right.  Instead of carrying around images in your wallet or on your phone, you can now wear it!  How cool is that?  Just in case you’re thinking it’s some cheesy jewelry, I’d like to inform you that that is simply not the case.  Not only is it fashionable and beautiful, it is sturdy as well.  It is guaranteed not to fade or yellow.  It just doesn’t get any better than that.

This is a sneak peak of what I will be offering for the holidays, as well as for other occasions.  If you subscribe to my monthly newsletter, you will get even more information on the jewelry.  It’s not too late to subscribe!

Basically you will host a party and invite your friends.  The party can be a children’s birthday or themed party, a girls-night-out/boudoir/bachelorette party, a holiday party, whatever kind of party you wish.  I will provide you with invitations to send out to at least 10 of your friends.  You will need to schedule your friends in 15 minute intervals for each of their sessions.  Instead of the regular $85 sitting fee, all your guests will pay is $20 to hold their slot, which will be used toward their purchase of prints.

I will provide a link on my website for them to review their images and order.  I will also provide them with a code that will apply their $20 deposit to their order.  Those that place their order within 7 days after the images are posted will help you, the hostess receive 15% commission on those orders to be used toward your portrait purchase.

One last thing, if you book any portrait parties with your guests the day of the party, you will get an additional 10% commission on the timely orders to be used toward your portrait purchase.  Any bookings subsequent to the party, you will get 5% commission. Just make sure when they book that they mention your name.

Now, doesn’t all that sound really cool?  It’s a great way to have friends over, have fun and get some great images as well.  As a suggestion, since this is a party, it would be great to have refreshments for your guests to enjoy as they eagerly await their session!  Please call or email me if you want to schedule a party.  If you are not a part of my monthly newsletter, please feel free to click the link to the right that says “Subscribe to our newsletter”.  In it you will find all types of interesting information like sales, discounts, new products and offerings.  Again, it is monthly, so I won’t be inundating you with emails.

Thanks for reading as usual and have a great day!

In case you don’t know, Dr. Amelia Boynton-Robinson was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement.  She played a major part in getting the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed, as well as being instrumental in getting the federal food program for low-income children instituted.  It was truly a blessing for me to just be in her presence.  I don’t think I have enough time or space to give this woman’s biography due justice, so if you are so inclined, I would encourage you to Google her name for a plethora of information about her and her life.  She is truly a heroine to me and I’m sure to many others.

As for Mr. Rufus Durrah, I actually do know him.  He’s my great uncle on my paternal grandmother’s side.  He turned 100 on August 22nd.  I remember visiting him in Cleveland (Ohio in case you’re wondering) in his small corner store.  It was always nice to see him and extra nice to get goodies.  He was always a friendly man with a warm smile.  I didn’t realize until I was an adult how much he looked like his sister, my grandmother. It’s actually uncanny!  Another interesting fact about my great uncle is that he is one of the last remaining World War II veterans.  In fact, earlier this year he and the other surviving veterans took a trip to Washington, D.C., where they were honored.  He said that he had a great time, but couldn’t believe how much they were fussing over him!

Evidently even when you turn 100, you still get gifts.  Not only did he get gifts from family and friends, but he also received a birthday card from President and Mrs. Obama! How cool is that?  His response to the card was “I don’t even know him.”

Well thank you for letting me share more of my experiences with you.  Below is one picture of Ms. Boynton-Robinson and one of my great uncle.  Oh to live that long and still be happy and loved.  What a blessing!

The funny thing about Mother’s Day is that it is the one day when a lot of moms don’t want to do motherly things.  Many spend time alone, out shopping or going to the spa.  I didn’t do anything at all.  I visited my mother, made a few phone calls and ended my day by playing a video game my husband bought me.  Most of the day I wasn’t even hanging out with my son, whom I absolutely adore, but just relaxing…doing absolutely nothing.

I believe the purpose of Mother’s Day is to celebrate moms, but it also gives mom time for herself, because we all know that mothers very rarely have time for themselves. Contrary to popular belief, sleeping does not count as “me time”.

Lately I’ve been photographing quite a few “moms-to-be”.   Each session has been wonderful!  The moms were so cute, but that’s for another blog.  At any rate, I had a wonderful Mother’s Day and I wish the same for all of the mothers out there.  Being a mother doesn’t provide a monetary reward, but the rewards we do reap definitely outweigh anything money could buy.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been to one of these competitions, but I must tell you that they are amazing.  The things you can do with cake, icing and Rice Crispy treats! Unfortunately for me I was unable to try the delectable treats because I gave up sweets for Lent, but I noticed everyone else was able to enjoy them.  Do you know how difficult it was to resist the temptation of tasting something after being so close to all of those desserts?  It was very hard.  They even had my favorite….cheesecake.  Sweet potato cheesecake no less!

Well for those who missed it, below are images from the competition.  For those who were there, it’s just a walk down sweet memory lane.