Fall -- Autumn -- Changing of the Colors!

Autumn is my favorite season. The colors that appear are in such seeming contrast and change so rapidly that I barely have time to plan a photo trip! But the weather and the scenery is FABULOUS!
I am looking to do some fantastic shoots this season....and it is Family Portrait season as well.
Join me whenever you get the chance!
Have FUN!
Celebrate YOUR Life!
...and the PEOPLE in it!

People are the scenery of life's journey.

Have an AWESOME day!

Need a hand in CyberSpace?

Does "Social Media" frustrate YOU?

I read an article on LinkedIn the other day. It talked about the frustrations of a photographer and listed the main frustrations of a lot of today's modern photographers. Among those frustrations was blogging, websites, and social media. This is a common frustration among many people today. Computers and Social Media are an ever changing area. We, as a people/society in general, try to avoid change if possible. Yet the digital age makes avoiding change very difficult.

frustrated Photographer

IF you are a frustrated photographer (or have frustrations in any industry) in these areas, then you should outsource to someone who loves to be involved in these areas. We tend to out source the accounting areas with not of a second thought. Why not outsource these areas as well?

Personally, I love to blog. I enjoy social media and websites too. They are all forms of creativity. We all get frustrated at things that are viewed as outside our "realm of comfort" or outside our "area of expertise". Things that make that list of obligations are a source of frustration as well.

For those that are frustrated in the areas of cyberspace...contact me! I will be glad to offer my services in that area. A phone conversation or email can set things on the right track for YOU! I can be reached via email (mishalowther@gmail.com), phone, or facebook. I also tweet, blog (obviously) and would love to help YOU!

Cyberspace frustrating YOU? Contact Me!

Cyberspace doesn't have to frustrate you. Let it "frustrate" someone else--someone who WANTS to deal with it FOR YOU!

Not frustrated--just don't have the time?  I can still help you out. I love to blog and spend time doing all of these things. It is a wonderful thing to spend the time doing what you love! We all love our business. It's what we do and what we create. Loving what you do makes life much happier and easier to enjoy.

Have a great day and enjoy the thought of letting go of one area of frustration or obligation...or just getting something done that has been haunting your professional "to do" list. :D

mishalowther@gmail.com (Send me an email!)

Goals and Strategies

Summer is almost over...we have just over a month and one week before classes resume. My goal is not close enough to what I had envisioned. This is disappointing but not surprising. The exercise program has been good and consistent. My eating habits, while not bad, have not been the best of help. The two go hand in hand. So Now I have to play catch up. I know the muscle tone is there and I know the composition is changing at a decent rate. Now it's the last stretch of the run, the 8th inning is half over, and here I am....

Back to the old grindstone as they say....time to get serious again...redirect! I have August, September, October, and November....then it's too late. Well, ok let's face it....by the end of November the holidays are in full swing and it may as well be over. We all know how that goes.

Best of luck to those out there who are in the same boat...or one similar. 

Ultimate Ren-Fair or Themed Party Place!

OK....Ren-fair and Pirate maniac that I tend to be this time of year, I had to post this!

A fellow blogger on wordpress posted this amazing party boat photo. Now I love the photo. But the ren-fair kid and pirate crazed fanatic in me absolutely drooled over the subject itself... a Pirate/Capt Hook style party boat!!! For Real?!?!?!?!!????? OMG! That is so AWESOME! 

I can so imagine a themed party booked on this party boat!

Now all I need is, apparently, a trip to St. Augustine......hmmm...... the closest I can get here is a riverboat in Missouri....so NOT the same!

Ok..... I know..... You're thinking: "grow up already". Peter Pan was a favorite childhood story and "growing up" was never a plan in that plot....so yes I admit to a little bit of a peter pan syndrome.... :D
Join me! Have some fun this summer! and SHARE here!

Saint Patrick's Day

Everyone wonders about holidays and where they originated.

It's a great way to share bits of history that make history exciting to children. Why? Probably because they don't realize these little facts are bits of history. St. Patrick's Day being the most recent holiday that coincides with this blog was originally a Roman Catholic holiday. It celebrates Ireland's patron saint and was originally observed only in Ireland; It was in the 1700's when Irish immigrants in the U.S. started the first St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City.


So how did the wearing of green become the thing of this holiday? It's said that blue was originally the color associated with the holiday but over time green took over in popularity. This could be due to Ireland's nickname as "The Emerald Isle", the green in the Irish flag and the clover that St. Patrick used in his teachings about Catholicism.


In reading about this springtime holiday of Erin, I found some other interesting facts as well.


We have all heard about the war between Protestants and Catholics. Sometimes it is hard to understand all the ramifications of it and how big the division really was or is. Not having been to Ireland myself, I am stuck with what I read. In Ireland, the tradition where Catholics wear green and Protestants wear orange on this holiday is still followed by some.


I also found an interesting fact that ties this tradition with some history of the Irish flag.


These colors are associated with the religious sects and are represented on the Irish flag; Catholics with the green, Protestants by the orange, and the white on the flag is symbolic of the peace between the two.


People in Ireland do not wear as much green or celebrate quite as wildly as revelers do elsewhere according to my findings. However, there is apparently a legend that wearing green makes you invisible to leprechauns that will pinch you if they can see you.....Hope your Saint Patrick's Day was a wonderful celebration however you chose to pass the holiday!

Directions...

Do you ever feel like you took a wrong turn....or missed the turn you needed to make?

Life is a journey...we can't always "turn around" so to speak....but we can change direction.
I have started a photography business and at times get impatient with myself in my goals....both business and personal. However...I do try to keep perspective...

My goals this year are posted on this blog as my first blog post of the year.
I have lost 4 pounds since that post....and yet....sometimes I feel as though things are not moving along as they should. Now, it isn't always humanly possible or healthy to move things along at the pace we want them to go.
I do get this....understand it...see it....but I still have to remind myself that all things take time. Just keep the focus and it will happen.

My train of focus does get derailed by others as well....today I was suppose to go shoot some local sites...however, my youngest child decided it was a sick day....today's train = derailed. BUT hey...life is ever changing.
I did manage to get some editing done, a professional blog post completed and published...lunch... and then i got bored so as we know we should NEVER do....I cut my own hair.

I know you are thinking "OMG!"

but it really isn't bad...It's actually pretty good for doing it myself with no help this time! :D

I will have to post a photo soon....and it is only shoulder length. I didn't butcher it.... I just got bored and decided to see "what if..."

LOL....I know that those "what if I did this" moments don't usually turn out the way we think they will. This time I just ......well I was going to say "lucky" but that doesn't really seem appropriate. My best friend is famous for telling people that "you make your own luck". You do. We tend to  say "oh that person just got lucky" when we see someone who has reached a goal or gotten somewhere we want to be and haven't gotten there yet. However we don't see all the time, effort, blood, sweat and tears that went into that achievement.

Hopefully I will "have just gotten lucky" by December of 2012....as I hope that the directions I have chosen for the year unfold to the path that leads me to the achievements I wish to attain.
Wish me luck..... or not.... but stay tuned to see if it happens....after all, there is still that "I told you so"!

Blogging Regular in 2012

Welcome back to my own personal blog!

I set a goal for 2012 of blogging on a consistent basis. So, this is my second blog  post...week 2's blog if you will. By the end of 2012 there will hopefully be 52 blog posts on this site.

This past week has been all about focus.  FOCUS! That is what I keep telling myself. Keep your eye on the goal. The goals are many so sometimes it is hard to keep focus when it seems so scattered. However! I did it. One week at time and 2012 will hopefully show more successes than the last year.
I did say you could say "I told you so!"....therefore, here is a reminder of this year's list of goals:

1. Run two 5K's this year so that I will keep running....maybe in April and again in October 
2. Up the workout to get the sculpting and toning desired
3. Organize my life....Home, SEO, Photography 
4. Build SEO clients
5. Grow photography business and clients
6. Branch photography out into more adventures and meeting more people...experience more styles!
7. Blog personally and professionally on a consistant basis
8. Grow and learn and continue the adventure

Goal 1: RUN!
...I have ran all three workout days this past week. I made my 40 minute treadmill time count and managed 2.5 to 3.02 miles each day.
Goal 2: up the workout
...I have added laps in between wt sets to keep up the cardio and endurance. I have kept each workout appointment with myself and NOT whimped out. I have also added an extra day. I made sunday afternoon pilates class this past weekend.

Goal 3: Orgainize my life!
...well, my house is getting cleaned. My list of to do's is on going. My kitchen has a new pot rack and it has been hung!
...I am purchasing a new laptop and outer disk drive to better organize my work environment.
...and I have spent twice the time communicating and working on SEO this past week!

Goals 4, 5, and 6 are gonna take a little more time and effort to report back on.

Goal 7: blog consistently.....
...well here it is in cyberspace and you are reading the proof....so goal 7 accomplished this week.

Goal 8:Grow and Learn
... again...ongoing and time is needed!

So...share your opinions, your goals, and even your frustrations if you so desire.

and Keep checking back for the "I told You SO!"'s