PPA Convention

So I told you all I'd write about the convention and I just simply haven't made the time. After I got back, I was trying so hard to implement as many changes as I could, that I forgot to follow up on a few of them! The convention was just simply amazing. Dad and I went to an average of 3 classes each day we were there. In addition, there was an over 400 booth expo. It was just amazing. Some highlights (for me, at least!):

1. Getting to see and spend oodles of time with my dad - that was beyond cool.



2. Attending the seminar given by Liana Lehman. She is a phenomenal photographer with tons of energy. She was featured in PPA magazine last year during the wedding edition and I've followed her work ever since. I learned more from her than any other presenter there. I left her speech with a huge new thought process on how to approach my business. It was amazing.




3. Meeting and having my picture taken with David Jay, another spectacular photographer. He has the most amazing business sense of anyone I've seen. He's found ways to market himself and make himself stick out. I'm just in awe.



4. Going to the Canon booth...you can't believe the awesome gear they had there! I got a free CF card holder just for filling out a survey. Of course, my wish list grew exponentially...



5. Seeing and touching the different albums from the many album makers out there. I have been trying to decipher who I should choose as my album vendor for quite some time. The choices are staggering. But Dad humored me and came along as I touched and stared at and picked apart at least 2 dozen different companies. What I found out, was that I really have a good thing going with SharedInk. Their product is great and their customer service is unbelievable. And if you know me, you know that customer service is really hugely important to me.



6. Getting tons and tons of new ideas for my business - from marketing to new ways to run my workflow. It was just amazing. Well worth the money.



7. 7. Walking on the Riverwalk with Dad. We only did this on the first night we were there, but that place is amazing. I would love to see it when it's warmer out. The vendors were so interesting. I can't possibly describe all the sites and sounds we took in that night, but it was awesome. We had dinner at this really awesome Mexican restaurant. The margaritas were great, but cold!

8. Did I mention I got to spend time with my dad?!

9. Realizing I can actually survive on little sleep and much walking all in the same day. ...And I HATE trains! Especially loud noisy ones that beep every second as they drive through the lobby of the hotel I'm staying at between the hours of 4:00 and 5:00 am! But the morning coffee was pretty good, huh Dad?

10. Getting to see the Alamo. It was really cold and windy that day and neither of us had real jackets, so we basically ran around the outside of the Alamo getting spectacular images (can't tell by the image that it's less than 30 degrees, can you?!). That was really fun, though!

Dad and I had purchased plane tickets to leave on Tues, even though the convention lasted until late Tues night. Thank goodness we did. There was an ice storm (by the way, the weather in Boston was consistently at least 10 -20 degrees warmer every day we were in TX. It was FREEZING!). Many flights were cancelled (including Dad's flight :-( home, but he managed to get a flight out that night). I was reading on Wed that all flights were cancelled and that many people were stuck there until Friday. It was amazing.

The Tooth and the Shiner

I can't believe it! On Tuesday, I was sitting in Ballroom A of the San Antonio convention center with my dad, when I get the following text message from Ron, my husband: "Your son just lost his first tooth!" Immediately, I was both excited and sad, for I had missed a really big milestone in his life. In addition, this was a major ordeal for him, since he was really emotionally attached to that tooth! He just did NOT want that thing to come out.

He's good now, especially since the tooth fairy was kind enough to not take his tooth until I got home to see it, and she left him 4 quarters, to boot! But I did have a hard time getting him to sleep last night because he was afraid she wouldn't let him keep it. Even now that it fell out, he's still attached to it. I took some crazy pictures of them for this post, which I like a lot. Aren't they the CUTEST?!

So that's the tooth....that same day, Maddy decides she's going to reach too far off my bed for the new pink hat Daddy bought her. She falls off and hits her face, barely missing her eye on the night table! She's a tough little girl and only cried for a couple minutes, but between the two of them, we look like we should be reported to some gov't agency for abuse! They are both more than fine now, but I don't think I'm leaving for any trips without them for a while.

I'm still spinning from the events in San Antonio, but I will post more about the convention when I get my head to slow down a bit.

I have a blog!

I've decided to start a blog to keep you up-to-date with what is going on with me and my business. I'm not sure how much time I will have to add items to this, but it is my intent to add as much on here as possible. I plan on sharing my images from the weddings I photograph as well as personal goals, ideas, thoughts and of course, images of my two wonderful children - RJ & Maddy (or Maddy-Belle as she insists on being called).

I have a couple of ideas for future posts, but I would love to know if there is anything specific you'd like to see on here. Send me an e-mail, call, write, snail mail...do whatever and let me know what you want!

I just got back from attending Imaging USA (a HUGE convention for professional photographers) with my Dad. It was phenomenal! I will post more about our crazy adventures in the next couple of days. I didn't get to meet many Massachusetts Wedding photographers, but I did get to meet many great people.

Here's a quick picture of me, my dad and the chili pepper! (Note: This was taken by some random person who worked at the convention center, not a photographer.) More later, I promise!