Update on my Progress....

So it has now been 2 weeks since I posted my "I have an Addiction" post.

Figured since I posted my secret addiction and my struggle (lol) I need to be held accountable for it. It's no where near where I want it to be but this weekend I made some good progress, thanks to my wonderful sister Cyndee. 

My sister was staying with me for the weekend (by the way this is the person that calls me a hoarder when it comes to my props) and she saw I hadn't done anything yet so she was sweet enough to tackle the room with me. It felt like an episode of Hoarders  (I think she would do really well as one of the head organizers) she wanted to throw everything away and I wanted to keep everything. 

She was very patient with me and after a quick hour and a half we had great progress.

I am so incredibly thankful for my sister she helped me clear the room up and made me realize I have way to many props and I really need to dejunk them so I can have the space I really want!

So I have made this cleaning endeavor into 4 simple steps:

1. Clear a path and put things in groups. - Check!

2. Dejunk

3. Organize

4. Decorate

 I am totally laughing at myself (which I am sure lots of you are) all this over a tiny room! :)

Hey some people struggle with biting nails, swearing, or smoking as their bad habit, this is mine and I have to own it!

So here is an updated picture after my sister left:

As you can see I have lots of stuff...my drops are being held up by more stuff. lol. And my closet is full.

Next step is to dejunk then it's on to organization! :) Hopefully in the next week or so I can post an update.

 My sweet sister did give me a little guidance as to how to keep my space from looking hoarded again. She designated me with a special "box".

OH how I love my sister! :)

Just so you know Cyndee my box is still empty and the room is just as we left it!

Jennifer - Mommy and Me Session

This is my beautiful friend and her sweet kiddos. 

As always I enjoy working with them and love capturing the sweet bond she has with each and every one of her kids. 

She is an amazing mama, I call her Supermom, and she is expecting a baby girl in August. 

So excited for her! :)

She has been waiting a while for this preview so I won't babble on.

Here is your preview Jennifer:

What to Wear - May

I just seems like the months go by faster and faster! I didn't even realize it was May already!

Summer is right around the corner, great time to capture those family portraits!

Here is a little help and inspiration on what to wear...

Snyder Family Portraits

It's taken me a couple of days to finally get this family's preview up. So many sweet moments were captured and it took me forever to narrow down my favorites to share. This family is so cute and was a blast to work with. I was lucky enough to photograph the little girls while they were newborns, can't believe how fast they grow up in just 5 short months!

Here is their preview:

Cutest Baby Contest

Mystic Memories is happy to announce it's 1st annual Cutest Baby Contest! 

I had so much fun doing the Cutest Kid Contest last year I have decided to get all those cute babies out there involved in their own contest.

Beginning May 1st you will be able to submit a photo of your cute Baby. I will be taking entries until May 7th. I will be posting the pictures to my facebook album "Cutest Baby Contest - 2012". You will know your baby is entered once you see the photo appear. Since I have no control over people liking the pictures once I upload them voting will begin as soon as your photo is posted. So the sooner you get your photo in the longer it has for people to vote on it. Voting will go on through out the month and close at midnight on May 31st. Winner will be announced June 1^st.

Sounds fun, right!?!

OK, now lets talk about the prize...

Winner will receive a FREE SESSION to show off their cuteness!

Here are all the Rules:

* Only one entry per Baby.

* You must be the parent or legal guardian of the child you enter into the contest.

* Baby must be under 12-months-old.

* You must have permission to use the photo you enter. Please do not send me photos taken by other photographers (I don't think they would appreciate you using their photo in another photographers contest. I respect other photographers.) If I have taken the photo I kindly give myself permission to use it.

* Photo must have been taken in the 3 months.

* Photos do not have to look professional. Any snapshot that shows the cuteness of your baby will work perfectly!

* Any photo sent after midnight on May 7th will not be entered.

* If any of these rules aren't followed I have the right to deny entry.

* This contest is opened to everyone, however if you don't live in the Southeastern Idaho area and you aren't willing to drive to this area I will have to charge for mileage to accommodate your prize session. I do travel to Utah (Hill Airforce Base area) often so I will be able to accommodate those of you in and around that area (dependent on schedules). Otherwise it is up to the winner to travel to my area for their session.

How voting works:

* For every "like" that your photo receives it gets a vote. 20 "likes" = 20 votes.

* Your job will be to send the link to your family and friends so they can vote. They will need to “like” Mystic Memories – Photography & Designing's facebook page and click “like” under your photo.

* Picture with the most votes at the end of the contest wins. (That winner has 48 hours to contact me or they default to the runner-up).

How to enter:

* First off you need to be a fan of Mystic Memories - Photography & Designing on Facebook. So if you haven't "liked" the page yet, please go to do this so you can participate.

* E-mail your photo to mysticphotography@live.com with the Subject line Cutest Baby Contest.
         Please include in your e-mail:
                       * Baby's Name
                       * Baby's Age
                       * Your Name and Contact Info

The only thing that will be posted is child’s first name and age.

OK now that you know all the Details and how to enter go ahead and find that perfect "Cutest Baby" picture and send it in.

The fine print:

This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

By sending in an entry you are giving Mystic Memories the right to post your photo on Facebook.

Nhyal 4-Months-Old

This little guy is by far the CUTEST 4-month-old EVER!

I might be a little partial because he happens to be my nephew....

But honestly even if he wasn't I would think that he was the cutest.

Just take a look at his sweet face and those baby blues - adorable!

I was so excited when I found out he was going to come visit - you see he lives in Minnesota and this was the first time I have seen him. 

I do have to admit when he met me for the first time he wasn't impressed and his mommy had to rescue him but eventually I won him over!

Oh I love this handsome little man and I am Soooooooo happy I finally got to met him.

I do have to make a little shout out to his talented mom who made his cute little hat and matching pants in the first pics.
Think I need to get her to make me a set for my prop stash! ;)

Getting back to the FUN stuff

It's been a stressful past month or so and I haven't been the best at posting previews or being active with my blog, facebook, or clients.......I apologize. 

Last night I sat down and asked myself when did this stop being enjoyable? 

I came to the conclusion that I need to start having FUN again. 

I LOVE what I do and just because things have gotten stressful and overwhelming I don't need to stop having fun! 

Life needs to be Fun, right?

YES!

So I brainstormed and I wrote down lots of things I think would be fun for my followers and clients! 

I am Soooooooooooo EXCITED and it's going to be tons of FUN!

I was trying to find out what made my followers happiest and more involved, and it hit me, 

ok it was more like a light bulb turning on. 

First off I have decided to do more mini session events - YAY! 

I get asked all the time about those so I figured I'd try to do one every month, "try" being the key word. 

Also I will be doing some fun contests, like my "Cutest Kid Contest" everyone loved that last year.

With that being said keep an eye out for those mini sessions and contests on facebook.

For the month of May I will be doing my Mommy and Me Mini Sessions

(which I only have 2 spots left open)

And I will be putting together a "Cutest Baby Contest"

so start digging through those snapshots and find a cute entry picture of your baby!

Let the FUN begin!

This is my sweet little girl and her Creative Kid Session we did last year. 

Just realized I never shared any of the images on the blog. 

Would anyone be interested in doing a mini creative session event?