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“You make a big difference…”

“You make a big difference in a lot of people’s lives” - Rosie Before I could walk out the door of my client’s house, she embraced me with these loving words. Five days before this, Rosie wasn’t feeling so warm and fuzzy; She was grumpy, fatigued and only focused on her never ending to-do lists. Instead of welcoming the satisfaction of the transformation, Rosie focused on her remaining chores.  She was lacking presence, perturbed and stuck in worry mode. Can you relate to Rosie right now? If so, continue reading. I was once in Rosie’s position too and always focused on the next task, next project, next activity for my girls…. I literally would lie in bed at night revising mental to-do lists, in place of sleep, relaxation and quality time with my family. This led to pure exhaustion in the morning, stumbling through the kitchen after having hit snooze 1308408 times…. And that unfortunately put me into a ball of shame and guilt. [...]

By |2023-01-09T16:33:54+00:00January 9, 2023|Uncategorized|
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Don’t drag emotional truckloads with you

Did you know the average American car owner buys 9.4 cars in a lifetime? Imagine if you parked every car you ever owned in your driveway or garage? How much space would that occupy? And what if they can no longer be driven? Do you keep the broken down ones, bring them with you if you were to take a job or retire across the country? Of course not!  The added expense and logistical annoyances are too great to consider this. Trade in, sell or donate them and welcome the space for vehicles that serve you.  And yet it happens all the time with our captured memories; Our photos and memorabilia are completely irreplaceable if they were to be lost, so we literally drag 'emotional carloads' from one place to another until we either decide to UPDATE the formats, edit them down, or do the unthinkable; Toss them out! Some see little value in these captured moments, but let's be honest- That's not the [...]

By |2022-08-26T15:54:58+00:00August 22, 2022|capturing moments, community, connection, declutter, digitizing, finding help, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos, Sharing Photos|
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Doing [Scary] New Things

I was a guest on a podcast!!! You may be thinking… ‘So what, Kris; What’s the big deal? You’ve been on stage, TV, directed countless productions and are no stranger to a zoom call. Why not a podcast?’ Well, it was a FIRST for me, and I honestly got REALLY nervous beforehand. Firsts can be scary When I booked the appointment to record with the host, I was actually living in a dorm room in downtown Chicago with my younger teenager, dreaming of the comforts of home. I was excited to find a new platform to find more of the audience I want to serve. It was a small win. It seemed so far in the distant future… but then the day arrived and my nerves set in! My stress response was pretty significant, and a racing heart was only one noticeable symptom. I am coming clean when I admit that I generated so much mental drama- yikes! But then I decided to practice [...]

By |2022-08-15T15:57:42+00:00August 15, 2022|capturing moments, community, connection, finding help, managing photos, photos, special event|
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Demo to Delivery; Kindness shines brightly

MORE KINDNESS: It’s the soothing emotion that calms a feeling of need. It’s the gold bottle of water from a Lyft driver on a hot summer day. It’s reminiscing over a rediscovered moment, for the purpose of letting a grandchild know their late grandfather better. It’s the card my grandmother wrote me when I was away at college, that I keep in my old Bible so I find it when I open it each time and her voice is immediately brought back to mind by the sight of her handwriting. That's one way I practice kindness for myself; I allow that memory to continue to bless and affirm me. In my work, I love witnessing and delivering moments of kindness through my clients' rediscovered memories. That’s why I love #DeliveryDay. Kindness is the current that flows, but it doesn’t happen instantly. Much happens behind the scenes before #DeliveryDay can happen. Speaking of "behind the scenes," those close to me can attest to my love and adoration [...]

By |2022-08-08T16:28:01+00:00August 8, 2022|community, connection, managing photos, photos, Sharing Photos, Uncategorized|
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A Legacy of Kindness

Kindness has been a recurring theme lately. I find myself talking about it, noticing it in the others, and also encouraging my children to be above all else, kind. With this filter in place, I find myself saying thank you more ofte n, gathering more smiles, giving more smiles and attracting a kinder world around me. Even the restaurant who gave me a free smoothie because I thought I' d ordered one... (I hadn't but they still gave me one regardless.) Kindness is a happy space to live and breathe in. I also find it easier to return to this mindset when I slip up; My practice must be paying off!  I recently lost a customer (it feels strange to call her a customer because she meant so much to me.) Emotions come in waves and instead of sharing words of sadness, I’ll honor her memory by sharing a taste of the kindness she brought to my world. Judy was one of my favorite [...]

By |2022-08-01T19:49:40+00:00August 1, 2022|albums, capturing moments, declutter, digitizing, finding help, gifts, managing photos, photos, Sharing Photos|
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Saving the World With a Photo Album

Ok, ok. Maybe that's a bit over-the-top, but the truth of the matter is we are living creatures in an energetic world, meant for human interaction and without "touch" we would cease to exist. Literally, we as a human race cannot thrive without human touch.. sure we have discovered many things we didn't think of doing virtually until a pandemic hit, and now we are masterful at things we didn't know we would be. However the suffering from separating loved ones from one another and their communities has taken a toll. I am so thankful that my immediate family survived and in some ways thrived through new skills acquired, however I've never been more committed to my mission than I am today; Helping people live their best lives and share them with other to inspire greater connections, stronger communities and an enriched future! I just happen to use photos/videos to accomplish that. Now, back to the topic at hand: PHOTO ALBUMS. This is an [...]

By |2022-06-28T23:20:03+00:00June 28, 2022|albums, community, connection, finding help, photo albums, photos, scrapbooks, Sharing Photos, Uncategorized|
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Here’s Why Frustration Helps

I’ve been talking a bit about frustration this month: …Frustration not finding photos, …Frustration not having a system, …Frustration over wasted time, …Frustration that breeds frustration, But the truth of the matter is that this often perceived negative emotion serves great purposes.  The purpose I refer to is not to make us miserable, but to cause enough discomfort for us to consider looking for a solution, an improvement, or a chance to grow. It takes motivation to try something new, and a small irritation is often not enough for the average human to search for an improvement.  Sometimes our pains [frustrations] are the only things that push us to take a new action. Inspired action like this unlocks the blessings. If we don’t let it motivate us and choose to stay stuck we can slip into helpless and immobile states. That's when it's most important to seek out someone who can get us unstuck; That's when we need someone who can bring objectivity and [...]

By |2022-06-21T21:08:35+00:00June 21, 2022|finding help, managing photos, Photo Tips, photos|
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Wait-“Replaceable & Duplicatable Albums”? Are you kidding, Kris?

NO, I'm not kidding. This is a thing. And if you never considered this, allow me to explain... If you've been around long enough to hear my story about a garage fire that threatened to take my home along with all of my photo, video memories away, you already know why I made it part of my mission to protect these tangible treasures. This is part of the insurance I love to deliver my clients. The ability to not only replace, but reproduce albums so they can be preserved and shared with more than those who have the originals in their hands. Here are some examples of when digitizing albums has been the go-to solution for some of my clients: Families who are re-organizing, splitting up or transitioning to more than one home. Giving reprinted, streamlined copies to grandchildren, relatives and loved ones, Sending digital printed copies to seniors moving into senior housing with smaller spaces, Downsizing individuals who simply don't have space in [...]

By |2022-05-20T17:04:10+00:00May 23, 2022|capturing moments, digitizing, Photo Tips, Uncategorized|
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Happy National Photography Month

Officially recognized by Congress in 1987, National Photography Month is a time to celebrate photography as an art form, the history of photography, and taking selfies on your phone. OK for me, I actually think every month, week day and year is cause to celebrate photography, but it’s really cool to know congress made it official. I feel like I should be giving you posts and content to support your use of photos or something… oh, yeah… I already do!!! OK I’ll stop being silly and get to the good stuff. YOU AND YOUR PHOTOS.  In honor of National Photography Month, I’d love to celebrate YOU, YOUR photo art, YOUR history in photo, and YOUR best selfies. Seriously. THIS IS YOUR INVITATION to engage with me a little on Facebook for some month-long sharing! I am going to feature two photos you share each week, and from those featured, I’ll select a winner in June, with a Reminiscence prize to be awarded on National [...]

By |2022-05-06T21:39:53+00:00May 9, 2022|community, photos, Sharing Photos|
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3 Essential Travel Photo Tips

If you travel much or just once in a while and you enjoy taking photos as you discover new places and experiences, then this post is for you! Many of my clients appreciate having a vacation album or wall collage  to help them relive their best travel memories. They often take months or years to actually have an album in process  because they can’t seem to select the best moments and often never do because of the excess of time needed to to select (and remember) the best memories. Here are some important tips to shorten the distance between vacation and album (or just the best images ready to view.) Make sure you delete the excess as the day goes on, when you’re traveling, waiting in line, a down time or before you go to sleep. Get picky, then you won't be weeding through to find the good ones. The following tips build on this... Try to be intentional about snapping photos. Don’t feel the [...]

By |2022-05-06T21:25:54+00:00May 2, 2022|managing photos, Photo Tips, Uncategorized|
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