DisneyWorld

So I told my husband this morning about how EXCITED I am that my entire family is coming to visit and stay with us TOMORROW, BECAUSE we get to go to DISENY WORLD!

He laughed in my face.

But only because we live 5 minutes from Disney world... and I have a "Main Gate" card that lets me into the parks for free.

But still, I AM SO EXCITED for my family to come tomorrow and that we get to go to Disney World!!!

 I LOVE taking pictures during the parades!!!

These are all pictures I took during a parade at Animal Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World.

21 Acts of Kindness

I’m a little late writing on this subject, but I’ve wanted to write about my 21^st birthday for a long time now, and it’s never too late, right?

On the days leading up to my 21^st birthday, I was doing a really good job at feeling bad for myself. I felt like nobody really cared that I was having a birthday or that I was turning 21. So after finishing up my little pity party I decided that I needed to find a way to stop thinking of just myself. And immediately my mind went to service. There is no better way to stop thinking about yourself than to think about others instead. That’s when I decided that for my 21^st birthday, I would perform 21 acts of kindness. 

I started at midnight J

As a chef, my husband was working late, so I went to my Mom’s house the night before my birthday, just to avoid being home alone. It had been a long day for my mom. It had been such a long day for my mom that she didn’t clean the messy kitchen before she went to bed (which almost never happens! My mom will stay up hours past her bedtime just so the kitchen is clean for the next morning).

I was so excited to find my first Act of kindness!

My mom woke up to a clean kitchen the next morning. My Dad was in Iraq at the time, and nobody would ever accuse one of my brothers of cleaning, so my mom knew that I cleaned the kitchen. That was my first act of kindness on my birthday.

Here is a list of the remaining acts of kindness from my birthday:

2. Took cookies to my neighbor.

3. Bought a $20 gift card to the grocery store I was shopping at, and handed it to the person behind me in the checkout line.

4. Went through the Wendy’s drive through and paid for 5 frosties to be given to the next 5 customers.

5. Gave an encouraging note and iTunes gift card to my little brother.

6. Handed out lemonade to nearby construction workers

7. Left a couple of candy bars and a “Thank you” note for my mail man

8. Drove up to a hot dog stand, jumped out of my car to leave a generous tip, then jumped back into my car and drove away.

9. Gave lemonade to the high school kid holding/flipping a sign to a nearby store

10. Gave Thank you cards to the all the people who have ever helped me at my nearby bank.

11. Wrote a letter to my best friend and mailed it to her.

12. Wrote a long e-mail to an old friend telling her how I look up to her.

13. Gathered and retuned shopping carts.

14. Left a “Have a good day!” card on a stranger’s car.

15. Gave a thank you card to my older brother with his favorite candy bar.

16. Paid for a car behind me at a drive through.

17. Left flowers and a love letter for my husband to come home to.

18. Gave lemonade to the trash men.

19. Delivered cookies to my sister-in-law and brother.

20. Held the door for customers at local store.

21. Went into frozen yogurt store, put $20 in the tip jar (using $2 bills), and left.

Whenever somebody looked at me like I was crazy waiting for me to explain my action, I would just tell them “It’s my birthday!” And apparently that is suffice reason for my actions. I got lots of “Happy Birthday!”s.

It was such a rewarding day, and suddenly I was happy and not thinking about just me.

At the end of the day, my husband took me on a date, then surprised me with a last minute surprise birthday party at my parents house with my immediate family and a few of my closest friends. It meant a lot to me that they were willing to drop everything that they were doing that evening just to wish me a happy birthday.

I really am such a lucky girl J. 

My Number One Fan

With this being my very first post, it only makes sense to dedicate it to my Dad. If it weren't for my Dad, I wouldn't be here today. If it weren't for my Dad I would never have my first camera. If it weren't for my Dad I wouldn't be a photographer.

Back in 2010, in a spur of the moment decision, I signed up for my very first digital photography class. As I was getting ready to leave for my first day of class, I realized that I should probably have a camera for my photography class. Enthusiastically, my Dad got out his Canon Rebel and was showing me all the accessories he owned for the camera.

"I don't know if this will be suffice for the class, but you're welcome to use it."

My Dad watched my talent grow from Kuwait and Iraq as he fought to keep us free. He would call me moments after I posted pictures on Facebook just to tell me how impressed he was.

"I talked to TJ, and he and Jon are also so impressed by your talent. Nobody could guess that you just started!"

That meant so much to me! My Dad is an impressive man. He is a sought after financial planner and the author of a book titled "How to Become Wealthy and Wise: A Financial Planning Guide for Everyone" (which you can buy on Amazon.com ;). But really, he wrote and published a book! I remember the day he told me that he wanted to do it, and in a matter of months, he had a book.

Back on to topic; my Dad has always been an impressive man in my life and just like me, everyone who knows him, looks up to him. So my entire life has been dedicated to impressing my Dad. And I did. Not only that, but he was talking about me and my talent with my brother TJ (an impressive videographer) and his business partner Jon (An AMAZING photographer!), and they also were impressed.

My Dad has continued to be my number one fan and greatest supporter. There have been several times that I didn't think that I was good enough for particular clients needs, or good enough to be a professional photographer, he would always tell me that I have great talent, and because I trust his opinion 100%, I was immediately confident that I am good enough.

Of course without my Dad I wouldn't be here today since it was him who gave me my first camera. But even if I got that camera through other means, I wouldn't be where I am today without him. He believes in me more than I do. It's hard for me to even think that I could be missing out on this wonderful profession. This is my profession because of him.

I Love you Dad.