SCHOLARSHIP & SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
Thanks so much to everyone who applied for the Mind Your Business scholarship.  I received way more scholarships than I expected which was a blessing and a curse.. It was a bittersweet experience getting the read your stories – sweet because I feel so honored that you guys opened up to me, and bitter because I could only select one winner.  In the end I did hand out a few honorable mentions to people who really had a great story and a great attitude, but there was one person who completely stole the show.  I knew almost instantly after reading her entry that she would be the winner, and that instinct proved to be right.  Lidia Boicu is a Dallas-based photographer who does a little of everything but is especially talented at family work, including maternity and child portraiture.  Her business, Oh So Posh Photography, has been recommended to me by countless local photographers who are all impressed by her work, but more importantly impressed by her personality, attitude, and friendliness.  Lidia is always a pleasure to talk to, she seems to always be in a good mood and always lifting up and supporting others around her, which is even more impressive when you hear her story.  Lidia has been through a lot over the past four years.  Her daughter was born with a rare syndrome that required a cross-country flight and a difficult surgery to treat, her father died unexpectedly last Christmas, and at 31 she was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.  With all of that, it would be easy for Lidia to give up or succumb to depression, but instead, she has turned her brushes with death into an inspiring cause.  Lidia founded the Tiny Sparrow Foundation, which provides photography services to families of children who are fighting life threatening diseases.  I know Lidia puts so much of her time and effort into Tiny Sparrow, and she has really worked hard to help out people whose shoes she has walked in – facing a very real and very scary chance that they or someone they love may not be alive much longer.  Lidia has a great attitude about her business, eager to learn more and willing to work hard and do her research to get there.  She is really an impressive person all around, and I’m so excited to have her at the workshop, which will hopefully allow her to take both her business and Tiny Sparrow to a new level. Here is one of my favorite images from her blog:

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION DEADLINE
If you’d like to register for the Mind Your Business workshop, make sure you do so by midnight this Wednesday, January 6.  At that point registration will close and no further signups will be accepted.  You can learn more about the workshop here and sign up for the workshop here.  Thanks so much to colleagues Kelly Simants and Jason Huang of Table4 Photography for mentioning the Mind Your Business workshop on their websites and for their kind words and their friendship.  Kelly is also hosting a business-focused workshop called The Simple Plan, geared mostly towards wedding planners but applicable to all wedding industry vendors.

CANS FOR COMMENTS
Thanks so much to everyone who participated in Cans for Comments.  Between this website and Racy Steeves, you guys placed 207 comments in the month of December, which means a local food bank is going to be getting a HUGE donation!  I loved getting to hear from so many of my readers for the first time, so even though Cans for Comments is complete, feel free to keep the comments coming!

OUT OF THE OFFICE
Stacy Reeves Photography will be closed for business January 9-21.  We will all be out of the country for a destination honeymoon session and extended vacation, and we will have limited access to phone and e-mail.  Please be patient as e-mails, phone calls, and print orders will be delayed during this time.

FEATURED ON…
Recently I’ve had the honor of being featured on some major blogs and websites, and I’d love to reciprocate by mentioning a few of them here.  My Photographers Pricing Guide was featured on MCP Actions, a fantastic blog that offers advice and free resources for professional photographers.  It should be a staple on every photog’s RSS reader!  I was also surprised and humbled to find via Google Alert that I was mentioned on Photographers Who Blog among the likes of such industry legends as Pete Souza (the White House official photographer), David Hobby (aka that Strobist guy), and Zack Arias, whose famous OneLight workshop I attended recently.  I am definitely not worthy, but I appreciate the honor nonetheless!  Finally, this blog has been nominated as one of the Best Dallas Wedding Blogs by Dallas Wedding Planner, a great resource of brides planning a Dallas-area wedding.  I would really really reeeeally love your vote, and all it takes is a moment!  Just follow this link, scroll down to the poll, select “Stacy Reeves” and click Submit!  If I win I’ll add an additional 50 cans to the Cans for Comments donation, so your time spent voting will be for a good cause :)

I never say this enough, but thanks to all of you who read this blog on a regular basis, who leave comments, who send me e-mails, who share the stuff you learn here on other blogs and forums, and who just generally support me.  Sometimes as a blogger it can be easy to think that you’re talking to no one, so knowing that there are people out there who are actually listening is a really awesome and encouraging thing.  Thanks also to my clients, who make me love my job and who keep a smile on my face every day!  I’ve got over 40 – FORTY!! – weddings and portrait sessions waiting in the blog queue, so there is lots of great material in store for 2010!