Professional Photos for Everyone

Jennifer sent me a picture of one of her clients requesting that I do some Photoshopping of it. I had done it for her on several occasions, and each time I thought, "I wonder if I could market this skill?" I have now attempted to do that.

I created a website called Professional Photos for Everyone designed to allow people to send me their pictures, allow me to doctor them in whatever way they want, and pay me for the finished product. You can see the website here.

Now, I need your advise on a few things:

1. Is this really a service people would use? Would anyone really want to do this? I can see it being more for the person who has one photo that they want to make look nice for a special occasions, but will people even be willing to do it for that? Would you pay for it?

2. Is it too difficult of a process? E-mail me photos, I fix them, send you previews, you pick which ones you want and then pay for them. Will people even go through the trouble? Would you go through the trouble?

3. Are people really going to trust me? Will they be willing to send their pictures to a complete stranger?

4. Is this too much exposure of pictures of my family? I tried to suppress any identifying information, but do I really want photos of my children on this business website?

In the end, it costs nothing for me except the time that I took to build the site. Feel free to post a link to my site on your blog (look to the right for a link on this blog). You can use the picture found here, post it in your sidebar and create a link for it (if you add a picture gadget, it is really easy to do).

I need your input! Tell me what you think!

Now that I am old

Being the oldest- I realize that I am going to ALWAYS be older then you guys- I'll be forging the way into my 40's long before a couple of you even reach your 30's. That being said, I have so many memories of you guys being little kids. Jeff and Alisha's pictures are from right before I graduated, the others are from my Junior year in HS. These are the pictures that I took with me to college. Can you imagine- you weren't much older then this when Blair first met you guys. Thinking about all of you, I realize that we really do have the coolest family ever- I think! Thanks for being the best siblings ever. I can't imagine life without any of you- and QWEST would have been boring to play all by myself! Thanks Greg, for remembering my Christmas plays. I now know where Brooke gets it, and it makes me so much more understanding of her.

I Propose a Jen Week

Few people in the history of mankind had made more of an effort to keep a family close than Jennifer Piippo. I can't tell you the number of times I have been solicited to make Missoula,  Montana my home (actually, both Hayley and I really like montana).

Probably my favorite memory of Jen, aside from some amazing school photos, was Christmas dance routines. Tape on the floor, New Kids on the Block, and a couple of parents wondering if their boys may develop successful dance carreers. What could be better?

We love you, Jen! Happy Birthday!

Dearth, Danske, and Deutsch

It has been a while since I found an ancestor that needed an ordinance done. As I was searching through old membership records this evening, I found a third cousin whose husband was not yet sealed to his parents. Hoorah! I know it is remote, but I will take them where I can get them. Still have tons of ordinances people (i.e. you) can do at the temple.

I have, at various times, embarked upon a quest to learn Danish so that I could go to Denmark someday to do family history. All attempts have been unsuccessful. So, I am going to stick with what I know (or whatever minute knowledge I retained from Freulein Freeman's class or watching the Sound of Music) and brush up on my German (there is a lot of Family History Potential in our German line). Care to join me, Jeff, Mike, or Brian?

Send Me an E-mail Please!

Since our computer crashed I've lost all my E-mail addresses. Could you all just drop a line to say "Hi" so I can collect yours? Thanks, MOM juliebean@cableone.net

Dear Mr. President...

Greg and Jen, you two just have to much time on your hands. I on the other hand woke up this morning at 3:00 and couldn't sleep. I wondered what in the world I could do to make my concerns for this country heard (knowing of corse that I'm just a dot and will not be heard). So I began to compose this letter in my head. By 4:00 knew I would never get to sleep so I got up and went to the computer. I hope each of you will do something, anything, to let your feelings be known. Write your own letter, use parts or all of mine, go to Town Hall meetings, just do something so when and if things go South, you will know you've tried. You can get all the addresses to elected offices by googling "Government addresses" . It's very easy, so GET INVOLVED! Love to you all, Mom


Dear Mr. President ( or Speaker of the House or Senator or Law Maker),
I am just one person. Just a dot in the crowds on the streets of New York or Los Angeles. One of the millions across our great and wonderful country. But, just like every one of these millions, I have a heart, a soul, and a desire for a good life for me, my children, and my children’s children. I fear God, but have faith in His love and protection of a righteous nation.
I know He was there at the forming of our Constitution. Each of those brave authors felt His strong presence there as well, as they crafted a government so strong that, coupled with a good and righteous people, it would stand forever, blessing the lives of those lucky enough to be under it’s perfect construction.
But, for the first time I, like millions of others, am truly afraid. Suddenly we see the Constitution treated like a warped piece of clay, to be fashioned into a government by a few for the benefit of a power hungry few. It feels wrong and evil.
Our Federal government was constructed not to bail out banks or auto makers, not to decide our health care, community control or wind it’s long fingers into our everyday lives. Fingers that feel to be covert until a time comes they can grasp and pull our liberties out from underneath us. Our Federal government is simply to protect us from foreign invasion and promote a healthy commerce between states.
It feel as if I’m looking at an ant hill. A few ants coming and going, but what’s inside? What is happening in our government we can’t see? What controls and softly defined contingencies are being crafted, hidden in the thousands of written pages our respectable law makers don’t even have time, or maybe don’t take the time to read and understand before they are signed and enacted to law?
I feel a stick, wielded by a conniving few, is hovering over that ant hill, waiting to be thrust in and stirred about. Then, I fear, we will see what a pandemonium is inside. Then we will see the carefully orchestrated mass of twisting events where we will have no control over our own lives.
Make no mistake, there are millions of us who will find our hearts and courage. We will stand and fight for our rights, liberties, families, and our God. I pray that will never come about.
Please, please, help turn this government back to what our Heavenly Father intended for us, a safe, protected, Christian nation. One that is kind but steadfast, not one who pulls away from others we have committed to defend. A Great nation, to strong for others to take lightly. Let your words to the world be positive to the might and goodness of our United States of America. Please Stand for the Right. Sincerely,

Things you can type with one hand

Stupid post- but it's late and I have no one to share my amazing discovery with- so as my family you are subject to my whimsical posts. I just wanted to share with you that i can type my log in- "jpiippo" with one hand. And that when I am doing work for Blair I only have to use my left hand to type staff 100 times into the appropriate boxes. HA! Anyone else no of any magical words that don't require a two handed effort.

I told you at the start it was pointless- hello- I am blonde ya know!! :)

Shampoo

Canning Season

I just finished canning some peaches, and now I am moving on to pears. I anticipate that my tomatoes are going to be ready to make salsa and chili sauce in the next week or so, and if I can steal some apples from mom and dad, I'll throw a bunch of apple sauce into jars. I have also started canning my chicken (GROSS, huh!) and am toying with the idea of throwing a couple of roasts into jars to see how that goes. I remember HATING all those hours snapping beans and cutting up fruit. I still don't get much enjoyment out of the actual canning process, but I do get satisfaction when i see the jars all lined up. I am starting to feel like a squirrel, hiding all the nuts I can find in my crawl space....hmmmm, I wonder if I could go find nuts to store?

Mike....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :o)

I just want to say Happy Birthday, and thank you. See you tonight at the Fair :o)

I propose a Mike week

Happy Birthday, Mike! You (and your behind) have always managed to stand out from the crowd. Whether you were Canning Cougars with a thick German accent or establishing yourself as the favorite Uncle by submitting yourself to every whim of your nieces and nephews, you have proved that you are a caring, kind, hilarious guy. We love you!

Happy, Happy Birthday Michael Dear....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!

I just figured out how to post a comment but I already did on Mike's test taking post. Read and be so grateful we all have Mike in our Family.

H1N1 Swine Flu

So, for all of you boys that are in school and super-duper smart- and all of you other people who have more time and knowledge then I do
Answer Quick
Influenza Type A has been around forever, right?
The CDC is now saying that any version (99.6%) of Influenza Type A has some sort of the H1N1 flu in it. Sounds like they are going to classify all flu cases as Swine Flu for reporting purposes. I just spent 20 minutes on their web site, not believing the news report, but that is what it seems they are saying. I am a little confused, since the "regular influenza A" averages 36.000 deaths a year- way more then this H1N1 has as of yet. SO_ will they now blame all flu deaths on H1n1? I'm frustrated that last week they said that it doesn't look like H1N1 has mutated and that the vaccine's will work against it, and now they say that there are all sorts of cases that are out there and not under control. I truly hate vaccinating for no reason, and figure getting sick is a consequence of life, but maybe not vaccinating is not an option? Just wondering what ya'all are learning about it out there in education-ville. Thanks!

Obama's Speech to Kids

Just wondering how everyone is feeling about the upcoming presidential speech to the kids of the nation. I have some really mixed emotions. I am glad that our school district has given us the option to opt out of it, but a little frustrated that they are showing it at all. Our district in particular, has been incredibly up tight about its teaching time. Last year the University offered Brooke's class a free field trip to their science center. It was paid for- down to the bus trip across town. The kids would spend 2 hours doing hands on experiments helping them to learn how science applies to the world around them. The Sup. wouldn't let them go because it would take away from "teaching" time. I disagreed with the decision, figuring that hands on learning and real world experiences are just as important to the learning and development of our kids.

As for the presidential speech, I think it's great he wants to connect with our kids, but I really wonder about the motive behind all of this. He is a very smart man and doesn't do anything with out it being very calculated and thought out. I don't need any president to teach my kids about standards, service, or what they should be doing. It's sad that our society has so disconnected from the youth that the government feels like they have to (or can) come in and talk to our kids without their parents there to discuss what they have heard- be it good or bad. Why not put it on in the evening.

I read one post by a parent that pretty well described my feelings: "Had President George W. Bush deigned to give a speech to the nation's schoolchildren, the left would have burst with a thunderous fury exceeding the explosion of Krakatoa. As a parent, I control who and what enters my child's life, to the best of my ability. If President Barack Obama wishes to reach the ears of my child, he can give a speech at 7 p.m. If I choose to allow him to speak to my child, I will allow my child to watch it. His choice of venue reduces the children to a captive audience in a mandatory setting. The left has traditionally been against school prayer because those who choose not to participate may feel ostracized. " Why are those of us that may object to it now put in the minority and ostracized?

SO_ there is my question/comment, and I know that I am the only one with kids that are in school dealing with this- you'll be here soon enough.

The Hill's Wall of Fame

This is going to be a short post but I just started something really fun and I thought I'd pass the idea along. On my mission we taped a paper to the wall and we'd write down all of the funny things that happened to us. Well, I've started to do that with the funny things that my kids say and the important things that happen so that I don't forget.
For example, the other day Emma came up to me and said "Mom!! My toots. They sound like elephants!!" It was hilarious. And Jaxson. Last night I put a spoonful of vegetables on his plate (he never eats them though) and immediately he said "OH MAAAAAN!!" It was so funny.
I want my kids to be able to look back and remember their childhood. Now if I can just make sure that it's a happy one. If you do end up doing this I hope that you have fun with it.