So November 22nd is always a special day for me because not only is it my birthday (yippee – when you get to be my age having a birthday is SO darn exciting!!  Haha – NOT!) but my parents always come up from NY to visit and we have special traditions we do every year.  This year I didn’t think they were going to make it BUT . . . looks like they are going to come after all.  This means so much to me – my parents have been so supportive of my career, wishes and dreams all my life.  I miss seeing them and am so thankful they can come.  Which brings me to this blog post – that I am so thankful for my family, friends and wonderful customers (who very often become my friends) that I wanted to give something special away on my “special” day.  I want to give one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE things away  (I feel like Oprah or something).  A 12×12 cavnas from my favorite canvas place, pixel2canvas.  They are a husband and wife team who has twins,  based out of Las Vegas.  Let me tell you just one reason why I love them (*this is beside the fact that their canvas prints are the BEST around and will last for 100 years).  As Garry (my cousin w/the brain tumor) was given only a few days to live this September, one of his friends called me up and wanted to buy a large print of their family that I had taken over the summer.  We talked about what she was looking  for and I decided I wanted to kick in some money and together we were going to get a canvas.   If you don’t know anything about canvas prints, they are very expensive- but SO gorgeous!  At the time we knew the funeral would be sometime soon (and we were hoping to display this canvas there for everyone to see).  I called P2C because it typically takes a week for them to deliver a canvas all the way to VA (or NY in this case) and I didn’t know if they could print it in a few days, much less ship it that fast (without it costing a fortune).  I explained the situation to the CS rep, who not only said they would get the canvas to NY, but they would pay for the ENTIRE thing (canvas and overnight shipping) for Kristen, Garry’s wife.  I was completely speechless and could only blubber a few thank yous before I got off the phone in total shock at their generosity.  The canvas arrived two days later, in time to be hung in Garry’s hospice room for him to look at, and was absolutely the most gorgeous canvas I have ever seen.  The colors and richness of the canvas blew me away.  I was so thankful to the company for how quick they acted (so Garry could see it) and the generosity and kindness they showed us.

SO, with that being said, I am going to pay it forward and give away a canvas from my favorite company, Pixel2canvas.  This is a random act of kindness giveaway – but has a few rules.  

I love to have the first person who comments on my blog posts win something -but that is not always fair to people who work or have commitments – and for something this fantastic I want everyone to have a chance. 

So, between now and November 22nd, just make a comment on this blog post and you will be registered.  If you are a fan of mine on Facebook, mention that you will get two entries.

On November 22nd at 9pm  I will announce the winner. 

*** This contest is open to anyone who has purchased products from me (at anytime).  This includes fundraisers and portrait parties.  As long as you have purchased something in the last four years, you are eligible to win.

**** Also your name will not show up on the blog, but I will be able to see it on the admin. part of this site – so don’t worry if you don’t see your name.  You will be entered.

So I got to meet Tyler at Midlo Mines over the weekend for his senior photoshoot.  He is on the cross country team and had just gotten a stress fracture in his foot, causing him to have to wear this big black boot.  But he was quite a sport walking around the mines with me -

Are you ready for this girls?  Tyler is a very handsome guy . . .

This one is my favorite – I love the lighting and the way it hits Tyler’s hair.  I love his expression too . . .

And what do we have here?  A senior texting on a photoshoot – haha!  This is SOOOO uncommon (just kidding!)

Shooting in the tunnel -

It was great to meet you Tyler!  I hope you have a fantastic senior year!

So tonight I got to go to the absolutely gorgeous University of Richmond campus to meet Tess and her best friend Christine.  They were so cute together!  While I was shooting Tess, Christine put some Michael Buble on which totally made me laugh because my kids are always making fun of me for listening to him.  Maybe I’m cooler than they think (haha)!  Also, in case you are wondering who Tess looks like but you can’t put your finger on it – she looks like Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana). 

Tess laughed a lot – I loved that . . .

Best friends are so much fun!

I hope you have a wonderful senior year Tess!

I got to meet Sam yesterday at Midlothian Mines.  He is a handsome senior from Midlothian High School and he had his two dogs along for some fun. 

I wish you a fun and exciting senior year Sam!

I got to meet beautiful Christine the other day at Midlothian Mines.  What a gorgeous smile she has.  Towards the end of her shoot I got to meet her sweet dog.  I had a great time getting to know you  Christine – I hope you have a terrific senior year!

Tonight I got to meet Brenda and I had a blast with her!  She reminded me of someone from America’s Next Top Model with the way she would continually move her head while I was shooting.   It made my job easy!  Here is her sneak peek  . . .

Thanks Brenda!  I”ll have your gallery ready soon.

Sophia, my senior rep – a beautiful person inside and out  . . .

I tried a little different processing on this one – whatcha think?

Tonight I got to meet Ben at the University of Richmond campus, which is gorgeous by the way.  Actually I got to meet his whole sweet family who came along to cheer Ben on during his photoshoot.  I had a great time getting to know Ben and his parents.  Here are some of the shots . . .

Best of luck for a fun and exciting senior year Ben!

I got to meet beautiful Sophia tonight at Midlo. Mines for her senior photoshoot and what a sweetheart she is!  Look for yourself . . .

Sophia – thanks for meeting me tonight – I’ll have the rest of the post up tomorrow morning.

So tonight I got to take pictures of Jack, who I actually knew already because he is a lifeguard at our pool.  What a sweet, easy going guy!  Jack is a fantastic model who will do just about anything (although when I asked him to jump in the tunnel he wasn’t quite sure about that – haha!)  Plus he’s an Eagle Scout – how cool is that?

Handsome Jack – I love this shot -

Thanks for hanging out with me tonight Jack and I wish you a senior year filled with fun and great memories!