Tuesday, January 27, 2009

25 Random Things About Me

So, I was tagged in one of these stupid lists on Facebook so I thought I would past it here instead of there. Here are 25 random things about me...

1. I think it is important for families to eat together. I make an effort to sit down with my family WITHOUT telephones, Internet, ect. at least 4 times/week.

2. I have a love/hate relationship with my cell phone. It makes things so much easier but I hate how people think that you should be available to talk to them anytime. Just because I have my phone with me at all times does not mean I feel like talking when you call. Leave a message and I will call you back when I am ready to talk.

3. I HATE doing laundry! I usually get through the washing, drying and folding parts...I cannot stand the putting away part and therefore have piles of folded laundry all over my house. It's a mental block.

4. I feel very inadequate when it comes to housekeeping. It's just not that important to me yet I feel this guilt in the back of my mind that I should care more. I feel judged (and guilty) every time somebody comes to my house and it isn't perfectly clean.

5. I think I am a little ADD. I have trouble staying on task and I get easily distracted.

6. I took four years of Spanish in high school and four semesters of French in college. I was going to spend a year abroad in France and Spain but my life took me other places.

7. I have a slight (ok, big) addiction to TV. The invention of Tivo has made it much worse. If you ask me for a list of my favorite shows that I CANNOT miss, it is embarrassingly long. It includes The Office (funniest show ever!), Mad Men, Big Love, Dexter, Brothers and Sisters, Gossip Girl (so embarrassing but I love it...especially the fashion), America's Next Top Model (I watch it for the photography), and the Hills (another embarrassing show but I have been hooked since Laguna Beach). I think it is a good mix of really amazing shows and trash.

8. I have big time mommy guilt. I never feel like I am good enough.

9. I love to read. I always have to have a book and I read every night before I go to bed.

10. I use earplugs at night. I started wearing them because Charlie snores but now I need them even when I am alone. I like silence when I sleep.

11. I also need it to be completely black in order to go to sleep. I even cover up the clocks in the room because the light wakes me up.

12. I am addicted to Afrin. If you don't know what that is, it is a nose spray that lets you breathe. I am currently in the process of diluting it with saline and I am down to 20%. I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud of myself!

13. I am usually ok with the way I look but some days, I have the plastic surgeon on speed dial with the list of everything I want to change.

14. I love food and I feel bad for people that don't have a developed palette. I think it is one of lifes most amazing pleasures and they don't know what they are missing.

15. I talk really loud when I get excited.

16. I envy women who look "put together" all of the time. I want to be chic and trendy and sophisticated. I feel inadequate when I see them.

17. I was born in Pocatello, Idaho. Yep, I'm an Idaho potato! We moved to Florida when I was 2 and I don't remember anything other than Orlando.

18. When we first moved to Orlando, we lived in a house one street over from where we live now. I think it is weird and neat.

19. I think everything is totally random. I drive my husband crazy because I am always saying "that's random." He did recently point out something that was totally random but was hesitant to admit that it was indeed random. A jewelry shop and a cell phone store together...random!

20. We grew up in unincoporated Longwood (translation: out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods, dirt roads, and a place we called the boonies). We were able to wonder around and play freely without our parents worrying about us. I feel sad that my kids don't have that same opportunity.

21. I grew up with the most wonderful neighbors. They let us come over whenvever we wanted and we could stay as long as we wanted. Mrs. Murphy used to rescue opossum babies and keep them in her hair or in her shirt to make them feel like she was their mom. It's so weird to me now but it was awesome when I was 10.

22. When I was 10, another neighbor found two stray kittens. I sat out in my lawn for hours hoping and praying that one more kitten would find me. I wanted a pet desperately! One did find me and he became my first pet, Rumpleteaser (after a cat from Cats of course!).

23. I feel very blessed that my parents thought that it was important for us to travel. They always made it a priority and we got to go many places as children. I have been to about 30 states, Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, many of the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, and all over Canada.

24. We got to go and spend 6 weeks every summer with my grandparents in Ogdensburg, NY...way upstate on the Canadian border. We weren't allowed to watch TV, we were forced to read books (well, I love reading so it wasn't that bad), we had to do chores like making our beds everyday, and we were allowed to go all over town as long as we were home by dark time. It is some of the best memories from my childhood and I feel so blessed that I had that opportunity.

25. I have many friends but only one true best friend. We became best friends in the second grade because we were both nerds who didn't have any other friends. I know she will always be there for me. I feel bad for people that don't have that in their lives.

Ok, so that is it! Kudos to you if you made it through that whole boring list. I do love this blog that lets my clients get to know me. I will leave you with two pictures in case you skipped over all of the boring text ;)

I *heart* this picture...a two year old and his new baby brother.
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I also love this one...an artistic take on the classic baby sleeping on daddy's chest.

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Til next time...
Kristin

Thursday, January 22, 2009

One that Caught my Eye...

When I first started my photography business, I looked to other photographers for inspiration and advice. One piece of advice seemed to come from every successful photographer was to find your own style. I had no idea how to even begin to define my style so I just kept shooting. I think after four years, I finally have a grasp on my own style; elements that are common threads in all of my photos. Connections between people (usually including laughter, hugs, kisses, or snuggles), close-up, focus on the people with non-distracting backgrounds and usually a pop of color are inevitably my favorite photos and I think define my style of photography. I love that my camera captures those moments that my clients aren't even really aware are happening. As I was going through a session I shot this weekend, this picture caught my eye...this picture is the definition of my style. Moments captured that will be treasured for a lifetime...

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Til next time...
Kristin

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Cutie Patootie {Family}

Before I show you the pictures of this little cutie that I had the pleasure of photographing before Christmas, I just wanted to let everyone know what is going on with me. I found a little lump on my tailbone last week which quickly turned into a very large and painful lump. I woke up in tears last Thursday morning and went to the doctor. It turns out that it was a cyst (something I was born with) that became irritated and infected. They did a little surgery on it in the doctor's office and I have been slowly recovering. The recovery process has been slow and painful. Luckily the doctor gave me some good pain medication and my mom was able to take care of me. I still cannot really sit or drive but I am off of the pain medication now. If you have sent me an email in the past week and I haven't responded, I will be catching up today and tomorrow. I was forced to lay on my side and live in a "vicodin cloud" so I wasn't really able to get on my computer. I am on the mend now; the doctor told me I would be all healed up by the end of this week. Thank you for your patience and understanding!!

Ok, onto the little cutie!! I think his parents were worried that I wasn't getting any good pictures...mom ordered almost every single picture from the session so I think she liked them :)

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So Adorable!!

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I love the bubble...

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I love Daddy's face...isn't that the way we all feel as parents?

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Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post! I was very excited to read each and every one! Keep them coming!

Til next time...
Kristin

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Jade {Maternity}

Can I just say that I am way too excited about tonight's game!! I've been giddy all morning...chanting it's great to be a Florida Gator and all that jazz! I am trying to pass the time by finishing my newsletter and posting a blog post (I figured I should give you some eye candy if you're stopping by the blog...to leave some comments...wink, wink :)

Ok on to the photos! You might remember this gorgeous girl from my old website (if you haven't seen my new website, click here!). She is pregnant with her second now and so we headed out to take some maternity shots. I wanted to do something totally different than the last time so we headed out on an adventure. I had no idea where we were going...but I knew I wanted a field. We ended up in some small little town and asked a woman driving a tractor if she knew anywhere we could go. Mary (that was the woman's name) said sure...right on my property! She drove us all over in a golf cart and patiently waited while I shot Jade's pictures. Can I just say I was in HEAVEN!! I could have shot there all day!! Thank you so much Mary!! Here are some of my favorites!

Isn't she gorgeous?? Can everyone please leave her a comment and tell her how gorgeous she looks because she doesn't believe me!

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I wanted to play with sun flare...I like it in maternity photos!

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LOVE this one!!

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Shea doesn't understand there is a baby in there...he was wondering why we kept asking him to point to mommy's belly button!

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One of my favorites!

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I don't know why...but I just love this photo...I think it is so cute!

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Til next time...
Kristin

Monday, January 05, 2009

Happy New Year!!

Ok, I am officially back from my much needed vacation (if you can call it that!). As most of you know, I have an extremely stressful holiday season. It is a two week extravaganza and by the time it is done, I am in need of another vacation! It all starts with Natalie's birthday on December 19th. She wanted to go and eat dinner with the princesses so we all went and had a fun filled day at Epcot. Natalie had the time of her life and announced that it was the best day of her life. Here is a picture of the little princess...I can't believe my baby is 5!

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December 21st marked Charlie and I's 6th wedding anniversary. I don't have any pictures to share of us together...I meant to have Dylan snap one of us, but I haven't done it yet :( We had a lovely dinner at the Wing House and watched the basketball game. Yep, that's how we roll :) We plan on actually celebrating sometime this spring down in South Beach!

In the Mizo household, we don't just have one Christmas...we have a Christmas week extravaganza! By the time Christmas dinner rolled around I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open at the dinner table. Dylan and Natalie had a fabulous Christmas! Natalie got a new bike and Dylan got a basketball hoop.

We normally have a huge New Years Eve party but decided to bypass that this year. We then have Charlie's birthday on January 3rd and finally rounding out the craziness with Dylan's birthday on the 9th. Of course...one more little thing this week...the National Championship game!! Go Gators!!

A couple of announcements! Most of you will be receiving an email with all of this information but I thought I would put it here too!

1. It's finally done!!!!!! I am so excited to announce that my brand new website is DONE!! I seriously have had the template for almost a year now and just could not get motivated to finish it (I HATE going through my old images!). I buckled down this week and did it. Go check it out now..send the link to all of your friends!
www.kristinmizophoto.com

2. My prices are going up slightly in 2009. You can check out all of my new pricing on the website here. I also completely restructured my prints and products. I have some AMAZING new products to offer!! If you want the updated list, shoot me an email and I will send it to you. I will be honoring 2008 print prices for past photoshoots through January 31st if you are still waiting to buy prints. If they are not ordered by January 31st, the new prices will apply. So stop procrastinating and get those prints ordered!!

3. My hard drive is screaming at me! I am currently in the process of getting all of these photos off of my computer. I am making a firm deadline of January 31th. All sessions will be moved off of my computer by this date and I will charge a 20% additional charge to retrieve your prints. If you are currently doing a "grow with me package," this does not apply to you! Thank you for understanding that I cannot store your photos on my computer forever.

Kudos to you if you made it through all of that text! Sorry...I promise to post lots of pictures in my next post. Here is a little sneak peek of this gorgeous mom to be that I shot over the Christmas holidays.

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Til next time...
Kristin
 
weddings photographer