But I am still working on telling the story with my camera.

I am probably being hard on myself.  Ugh, I say.  Do I have to “tell the story” or can I just line the kids up, put the camera settings on the dreaded green box, and yell “SAY CHEESE” and snap the picture.

I know, I know… I can just hear Me Ra’s gasp, can’t you???

What’s a mom to do?

Outsourcing.

So, I handed my $900 camera to my 4 year old son, Ty. “YOU take the pictures today,”  I say.  He beams.  I give him a quick lesson on the basics  –  viewfinder, thingy on back to look at the picture he just took, camera strap (a must!).  Then I set the camera on aperature priority and I turned on all the lights in our house and opened the curtains wide.  And I let him tell HIS OWN STORY.

Then I got out of his way.

How he sees the world made me stop.   One time a while back my then-8-year-old, Izzy said, “Adults get wrapped up in the craziest things sometimes.”  And that quote came to mind when I looked at Ty’s shots.

What he saw was not what I would have photographed.  But it was worth my time.  A fleeting moment of Daddy re-filling the ketchup bottle.

Mommy’s Desk.

Mommy, working on her blog and not looking her best.  But he tells me that I am the “prettiest mommy in the whole world.”  Het tells me I am “wonderful pretty.”

Part of a toy.

As Me Ra and Brian head back to Thailand, I think back to a post she wrote on how the people in Thailand really SEE kids and that Blaze noticed this.  He said he “felt invisible” in America. 

Then I thought, THIS is what my son sees.  This is his world.  This is the story he chose to tell with the camera. Although I have a need to photograph him from top to bottom AND in such a way that my love for him somehow translates into digital pixels, that is purely MY need.  HIS need is for ME to see his world the way he sees it.  And, today I did because I handed him my camera.  Today, photography taught me to slow down and really think about my child, my baby boy, and how he must see the world from only a few feet off the ground. 

He turned my paradigm of “Telling the Story” on its ear.  And I am so glad he did.  Because I think I’ll go a bit easier on myself next time I pick up my camera.  It’s not just about me afterall…

Click here to read Me Ra’s post mentioned above about Blaze feeling invisible.

Come visit me at MamaBloo and check in with my other tales!

This is Kari from Mamabloo—stepping in to help Me Ra while they prepare to make the SOAR! Scholarship announcement this Friday.

Okay, I know we all think our own kids are cute. But, mine REALLY are… being totally 100% objective here… my kids are darn cute….

The problem is that because I am a photography nut, my kids actually don’t like being photographed that much. So it is very hard to actually document their darn-cute-ness. Sometimes, it’s like I am pointing a weapon at them instead of a camera. This impression is not aided by the expression “just let me shoot you, please!?!!?” They usually look frightened, sometimes they look bored and sometimes they just look disgusted with me. And the older ones usually reserve the famous eye-roll

for very special photography occasions like graduations and band concerts.

So, right before a recent band concert of Izzy’s, I tried some Photocoaching a la Me Ra and Brian. “Look natural” I shout at them.  They stare back.  They try to smile.  They look like ZOO animals!  (I promise you, if you couldn’t tell, this is NOT Izzy’s most natural look.)

Ah, man. Me thinks that I am not a good photocoach.

So, after a sigh and some digging deep into my endless abyss of patience, I go to my old standby (and my favorite Me Ra tip! ). I go to… THE FAKE LAUGH. That’s right. Make them throw their heads back and fake it! What makes this work in my family is that itty-bitty, nano-moment when my kids transition from the fake laugh to the real laugh. But first I need to set my camera on continuous shoot because this moment is fast, I tell you. Elusive even.

“Just pretend you are having fun! Throw your head back and laugh! FAKE IT, for the love of God!”

Darn cute, don’t ya think?

To check out Me Ra and Brian’s video that demos their famous “Fake Laugh”, check out their video at:

http://www.merakohblog.com/2008/10/08/brians-video-and-people-magazines-sexiest-man-alive-contest/

And to see more Portrait Photo Tips from Me Ra, check out these 6 tips!

http://www.merakoh.com/2008/10/28/q-a-segment-2-top-six-poses-for-senior-portrait-shoots/

Yours truly,

Kari from Mamabloo

Welcome to 2010 ladies!  A new year, and a new decade!  Nothing like starting the New Year in the middle of a race against the clock. 

We are THREE nights away from announcing the SOAR! Scholarship Recipients.  Three nights.  There is so much to accomplish before Friday.  It’s both exciting and SCARY as all get out!  Has anyone else not slept?  I am one of those people who falls asleep within minutes.  And for the last several days, I haven’t slept at all.  And if I am lingering on the state of half awake/half asleep, I’m dreaming about all the SOAR! Video Entries.  It takes every thing in me not to get out of bed and see if anyone else is awake on the SOAR! site at 3am. 

There are so many amazing video entries.  In fact, every video is heartfelt, every single one.  As you know, there will only be three recipients announced this Friday.  But I’ve been thinking that there has to be a way to showcase more of you and all your hard work.   I think everyone will agree that these SOAR! Video Entries were the most inspiring pieces ever.  And the community that has grown out of the SOAR! Scholarship is phenomenal.  The support you are all providing each other on the SOAR! site is amazing.  I can’t wait to release the forum!

In thinking of ways to celebrate your videos even more, I had an idea.  What do you think about having a SOAR!  2009 Hall of Fame on our future SOARity forum and website?   The SOAR! 2009 Hall of Fame could be dedicated to the video entries that stick out most to all of you.  There could be a top three videos for each category below…But what do you think?  I would want the spirit of this to celebrate women even more.  Thoughts anyone?

If you love this idea and want to help organize a way for us to create a SOAR! Hall of Fame (i.e. organizing a panel to vote or some other system or creating fun categories that I missed below, etc.) email us today!  (soar@merakoh.com with the SUBJECT TITLE: SOAR! Hall of Fame). My plate is crazy full,right now, but if any of you feel inspired to run with this idea, it would be great.  And we would love to help support you in making this happen!  Below are some suggested categories, but feel free to brainstorm something more!

SOAR! 2009 Hall of Fame

1. Most Creative

2. Most Hilarious

3. Most Daring

4. Most Inspirational

5. Most Entertaining

6. Most Confident Video Presence

7. Most Heart Warming

8. Best Video Editing

9.  Best Photography

10. All Around BEST SOAR! 2009 Video

p,s. The SOAR! Forum is also in the works!  I can’t wait!  2010 is going to be our year ladies!  Sorry about no photo today.  We are racing the clock, but never fear, Mamabloo is coming tomorrow to the rescue with one of my favorite Photocoaching Tips for Kids and Adults!

Remember this one?  It’s from January 08! 

If you are snowed in (and I’m so jealous that you are!), click the link below to try a fun photo exercise!

Click Below!

Ski Lessons for Kids and Photo Tips for Parents!

Enjoy!

Me Ra

Can you believe Christmas is over?  I’m still in shock!  We had a wonderful, cozy Christmas with family—big Christmas Eve dinner at our house, singing carols around the tree, funny white elephant gift exchanges, the magic in Blaze’s eyes when he woke up with a red kiss on his cheek from Santa, Pascaline crossing the items off her wish list as she opened each present…but the best was coming downstairs Christmas morning to find that Rosie, our Golden Retriever, had got into all our fresh cookies and cakes and had a feast! 

I’ll try and post up some more favorite moments later.  We are taking some time to breathe before a crazy January hits us.  But I wanted you to know I have been sitting by the tree and reviewing every single SOAR! Video Entry—making notes for each one.  I’m so inspired by your courage, honesty, passion and fearlessness.  It has been amazing to watch each one of you present yourself in your video and be able to know who you are a little better.  I have less than 50 Video entries to go.  The panel of judges will start reviewing this week!

Before we fully move on from Christmas, does anyone have any funny Christmas stories to share from this year?  Can you beat Rosie running for her life when Brian realized there were only crumbs left?!  Yep, nothing like a sweet, cozy Christmas morning—husband trying to grab the dog, dog running for her life, cat snickering behind the couch, and kids holding each other in sheer terror.    How about yours?!

p.s. A handful of SOAR! videos would  not open.  So thank goodness for Brian’s IT background.  He has been trouble shooting the format, so that the videos will play online.  If you haven’t seen your video, we never forgot about you.  Quite the opposite actually.    Should be all done today!

Dear Santa,

Will you please give me the CONFIDENCE Workshop this year for Christmas?!  I’ve been wanting to go for three years!  I have wiped a thousand runny noses, made a trillion meals, cleaned the house (more than my mom ever did!), helped out in the classroom, been a GOOD listener to my husband’s woes and triumphs, and seriously, if that doesn’t make your GOOD LIST–WHAT DOES?!   Santa, I need you make the CONFIDENCE Wkshp happen, so I can somehow register?  I need a special payment plan, just for me!  If you can do all this, I promise that I will never doubt the magic of Santa!

Yours Truly,
Women on the West and East Coasts

To my dear friend,

This is your beloved Santa.  Because you’ve been a good girl, amazing mom to those rotten kids, and ever so patient with your husband–allowing him out of the dog house–more than he ever deserves, I’m going to give you some magic this Christmas!  My elves consulted with Me Ra Koh (we love her! ), and she is going to offer a Special Holiday Payment Option for her East and West Coast, Spring Workshops!

Use the Coupon Code: fourpaymentsdeal (all one word, all lower case), and you will get the Early Bird Registration deal but have FOUR months to pay it off! Me Ra and I want to give you CONFIDENCE this year!  2010 is going to be about making dreams come true!  So follow the links below!

Registration for West Coast Workshop

Registration for East Coast Workshop

Love, Santa

p.s.  If your husbands need some convincing, the elves tell me that two of the smartest husbands ever, put up a post called; TOP 12 Reasons Why Husbands Should Send Their Wives to the CONFIDENCE Wkshp.  Ms. Claus is baking cookies for these two husbands as I type! She recognizes brilliance when she sees it. 

p.s.s.  Everyone on the Newsletter got this letter yesterday, and the workshops are almost half full!  So make sure you hurry over to register!  And if your not already, sign up for the Newsletter to the left so you get the Early Notice next time too!

p.s.s.  The “fourpaymentsdeal” and Early Bird Registration ends in TWO WEEKS, Monday, January 4th 2010!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

This is a big day.  It is the last Friday before the SOAR! Scholarship Deadline.   I know a lot of you have yet to turn in your video.  You and I know that this weekend, tomorrow and Sunday, are your days to get it done—maybe Monday but that is SERIOUSLY pushing it.

Have the voices become louder as you’ve come closer to the deadline?  The voices that say, “You aren’t worth of this scholarship.  You don’t deserve it.”  Or maybe they say, “Look at all those Video Entries so far.  What makes you think you are that creative.  What makes you think you can do this?”  Don’t you hate those voices?

I must confess that even though I’m not an applicant, I have had my own voices to battle.  The SOAR! Scholarship is my own leap of faith.  ‘Can we pull something this big together?  Will it grow into what I envision?  Will women respond?  Will they hear my heart?’  They are all the doubts that you run through, just a different scenario.  And yes, they have become more and more loud as this deadline has approached.  Yesterday morning I got up extra early to get a head start on my day.  I did my workout and before leaving the gym, I decided to sit upstairs and write my morning pages.

I heard someone behind me messing with one of the elliptical machines.  I turned around and saw this man standing there, he was looking at me, and so I turned around and kept writing—choosing to ignore him.  In that split second I had a weird feeling, but I was at the gym of all places.  And then I heard the sound of someone urinating.  I turned around, and he had opened up his pants, exposing everything to me, and was looking right at me as he peed all over the equipment.  Insane, right?  Disgusting…violating.

I went downstairs, told the front desk.  They confronted the man.  He didn’t act senile or overly medicated.  He wasn’t a homeless guy who had wandered in.  Instead, he was a member.  And he was angry and offended by what he was being accused of.  They came back to me and said that there wasn’t much they could do but have me fill out a report for their records.  Since a staff member had not witnessed the incident, it was my word against his.  He was allowed to keep exercising.  …I had been here before.  This felt to familiar.  How was I not supposed to feel like they believed him since they were letting him stay?

I’ve been through the sexual assault court system enough to know that if nothing else, we can report the incident to the police so there is a record.  The staff called the police, and I waited in the office for over an hour.  There are these big glass windows in the office where you can look out on the basketball courts and upper level.  The track is on the upper level.  There he was–walking the track.  Doing his exercise instead of being asked to leave.  I had been here before.

In that next hour, I went through a myriad of flashbacks.  Almost twenty years ago, I was raped by a student on campus.  I had reported it to the police, but lack of evidence kicked the case out of court.  He was allowed to enroll back into classes.  As he stalked me for nine months, the college continued to say, “There were no other witnesses.  There is nothing we can do.”

As I was waiting for the police, one of the gym employees came in at his defense.  She told me that this man had been a gym member for years.  She had never seen or heard of him being inappropriate.  His medication, if he was taking any, was probably getting the better of him.  She walked away without asking me once how I was.

I had been here before.  This felt to familiar.

The man left when he was done working out.  The gym said they didn’t know if they could discontinue his membership.  Hard to prove what happened—even though there was urine all over the equipment.  The police finally showed up.  The officer talked to me outside.  I told him what happened, and he looked at me and said, “I believe you.”  Those three words almost undid me.  I told them I would testify.  They took my information, and I left.

I left the scene, but I had not left that familiar place.  That place where all my power seems to disappear.  Brian met me.  I looked at him and said, “Why did I sit upstairs by myself?  I should have known better.”  With passion in his eyes, he said, “No Me Ra.  That is not the voice of truth.  You’ve spent to many years battling that voice to let it have a say now.  This was not your fault.  You didn’t invite this.”

He was right.  That voice of unworthiness had crept right in and was now speaking for me.  How fast it happens.

I came home, laid down on the bed, and Blaze came and snuggled with me.  I had all these great plans for the day.  Plans to help promote SOAR! even more—with a dozen different ideas.  I felt like yesterday was our biggest viral day to promote SOAR! before Monday.  And now the day was lost to something like this.

The house was quiet.  The kids were at rock climbing club.  I lit a candle.  It was a red candle that my business coaches gave me last Spring.  They  told me to light it when I needed to remind myself of the light in the darkness—the power of that single light that is gentle, but ever present—that single light that is in me.  The power of Feminine Wisdom.

I felt like I had lost the day.  But in the quiet of this moment, as I write to you, I know that this isn’t true.  There is a light inside of me that cannot be put out.  I know this because of all the trauma I have had to endure, the light still shines.  I still love at the end of the day.  I still laugh.  And I still believe that we are all worth more than we could ever know.

I get to write to all of you that are struggling with the voices, the old, familiar, ugly voices.  And I get to say, you and I are worth more than what life has thrown at us.  You and I are worth more than we could ever imagine.  We are capable of more than we ever imagined.  We are meant for MORE than we have dared to dream. I believe this with all my heart.

But here is another truth I have found.  As I stretch my wings.  As I get into position to fly—to take my next leap—a little higher, a little scarier.  The voices come alive and things start to happen around me—things that make me scared to jump—to not fly—to never soar.  When those things start to happen, when the voices seem to be screaming at me from every direction, when I feel like I have been here before–that this place is all to familiar—I know that I am on the cusp of flying.   A shift is about to happen.  And all the powers that have come against me know they are powerless.  All I need to do is leap.

You can try to close out the voices—just block them out, but I have found that they are still audible until after the leap has happened.  I can’t wait for those voices to shut up—or I’ll never leap.  I guarantee that if you wait for those voices to shut up, you will NEVER make your video entry for SOAR!  And we both don’t want that.

So close your eyes. Picture me standing with you on the ledge.  Picture me surrounded by all my familiar places and horrible voices, and I’ll picture you surrounded by all your familiar places and horrible voices.  Together, we know how hard this is.  How much courage this jump takes.  And together, we will leap.

With full confidence in you and myself, I send you all my love and faith this weekend.  And I will be looking for your SOAR! Video Entry.

xoxo,

Me Ra

My dear friend, Kari, has started her own blog.  And I am LOVING it!  It’s called Mamabloo.  Some of you may recognize Kari from her funny comments on my blog posts, and then there was that incident where Oprah rebuilt her HOUSE!  (no, I’m not joking.)

Kari has a down to earth style of writing that nine out of ten times makes me smile.  When I post Photo Tips or Exercises, Kari will bust out her camera and give it her best go.  She’s not a professional photographer.  She is a full, and I mean FULL TIME mama, with FIVE kids in tow.  She doesn’t know all the camera jargon, but that doesn’t stop her from capturing her family stories.  What is so great is that she’ll often email me the stories behind what happened and her fun results.  Some of her stories have me rolling…and that got me thinking…why don’t I ask Kari if I can share some of her stories with you!  So for experiment sake, we’ve got our first Mamabloo Photo Tale.

_________

I love Christmas trees.  Every year I load the family up in the mini van – all 7 of us – the Saturday after Thanksgiving and head out to someplace to get a tree. What happens next is predictable and consistent from year to year. My husband, Dave, and I get in a fight.

We are in complete and utter disagreement over everything regarding the tree. What size it should be, how much we should spend, and, of course, where it should go in the house. The truth of the matter is, I always win. And Dave always sulks. This year, he took a different approach and just said “I’ll do whatever you want” over and over – sorta like a mantra — and the whole day was much better. Ahhhh…Merry Christmas. So it is not a coincidence that this year I think we have the best tree ever. Ever. So, it is finally time to take a picture of it.

Me Ra tells us that taking a good Christmas Tree photo requires 8 simple steps. Gee, only 8. Off I go to try the first step.

Step One says to set the shutter speed at a VERY slow speed. Check: 1/5

And to set the camera to TV mode (I didn’t even know it had a TV mode, but, hey, I watch a lot of TV, so it should be fine) Check.

And put the ISO up high. Check: 1600

Here is my first crappy picture.

I GUESS I AM GOING TO HAVE TO READ ALL THE STEPS!

The next steps actually involved the timer on my camera!  I actually had to Google it to find out where the stinkin’ timer was on this thing.  I spent the next few nights in short bursts of time shooting my favorite parts of the tree using Me Ra’s advice.

So……I wasn’t able to completely adhere to all the steps – anything called “RAW” scares the ba-jeebers outta me.  The imagery that word, RAW, conjures up is just wrong.  And I am glad I have had some ballet and yoga in my past because I needed to contort myself to see through the viewfinder. But, I was able to fiddle around with her 8 steps and come up with something to forever document the best tree ever. Even Dave agrees.

To try Me Ra’s 8 steps for photographing a Christmas tree, CLICK HERE!

If you are hungry for even more Christmas Tree Photo Tips, check out THIS POST where Carey Schumacher of Barefoot Memories chimes in!

Mamabloo and I would love to know what you think of Mamabloo’s first Photo Tale.  Should we share another one with you!  Post a comment and let us know.  (and post one fast b/c you know we are both going to be refreshing all day!  )

xoxo, Me Ra

p.s.  Oh!  Wait!  I just got word as I was preparing this post that we have TWO NEW CONFIDENCE Workshops to announce for the Spring!  We are coming to Jersey City, NJ for all our East Coast ladies and also Huntington Beach, CA for our West Coast ladies!  It’s going to be a GREAT Spring!  If a CONFIDENCE Wkshp was on your Christmas Wish List, stay tuned this week for Registration Details—either Wed, Thursday or Friday !

We had a great first Sony Style Store tour.  Thank you so much for coming out to the stores in San Diego and Costa Mesa!  It was wonderful meeting new faces, reconnecting with old friends, catching up on past workshop attendees’ lives.  What a wonderful week.  Thank you for all your support and friendship!

San Diego

It was crazy and fun seeing our Sony video, Kids in Focus, on the monitors! 

Costa Mesa

Joking around afterwards with the great team at Sony corporate and Sony Stores! 

I want to especially thank the Sony Style Stores and their managers for giving me such a warm welcome!  You guys are awesome!

Now to get us all home and buy our Christmas tree!!!

xoxo,

Me Ra

I’ve got some more EXCITING news to announce!  I’m coming to CA this week to do a Mini Workshop that is going to be FREE, yep I said FREE, at the Sony Style Stores!

What do you think!  I’m so excited!  This event is open to gals AND GUYS! (I know…can you believe it!  The guys are invited too!  Brian won’t have to be the only man in the room! )  Seriously, I can’t wait to meet YOU and also CATCH UP with past CONFIDENCE women!  We’re going to have a blast.

Space is limited in the Sony Style stores, so I would show up 15-20 minutes early.  If you can come, RSVP on today’s blog post.  You don’t have to RSVP, it’s just fun me to know your coming.

And for those of you who don’t live in Southern CA, here is the thing, with an awesome turnout, we might be able to do more FREE Mini Workshops at Sony Style stores in 2010!

Southern CA friends, are you coming?!!!!

The Juicy Details!

City #1

Date and City:  Tuesday, 12/8, SAN DIEGO! (that means we get to hang out in FIVE days!)

Time: 6pm-7:30pm

Location: Fashion Valley Mall

City #2

Date and City: Wednesday, 12/9, COSTA MESA! (only SIX days away!)

Time: 6pm-7:30pm

Location: Sony Style Store in South Coast Plaza

xoxo,

Me Ra

p.s.  My Copper Brown a330 DSLR camera will be there along with the new Kids in Focus DVD!  Woo-hoo!!!

p.s.s. The Copper Brown a330 DSLR camera won’t be there, it’s only available online at SonyStyle.com.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SOAR! Scholarship is LIVE!  Join us in celebrating women!  Three Awards, Thousands Win!  Deadline to enter is December 21st!  www.soarwithmera.com

Did you see the Top Ten Holiday Stocking Stuffers post?  CLICK HERE!