Nichol Krupp Photography

How cool are those names and how cute are these kids. They were so good for me too. Little Miss Payton was fun to work with and spunky to boot. Once again, a set of very laid back parents who were open for anything. Jaggar had the best cheeks I have seen in a while. Payton, if you are seeing this….thank you for being soooooo good. I will take your picture anytime!

Have a great day!

~N

I just had to share this because I think it is just a display of how stressed out people are getting these days. This morning when I took my kids to school, there was a mom in a minivan who had just dropped her kids off. I was waiting to park and the car I was waiting for was taking quite a long time to back out. So, in an effort to be polite, with my kids still in the car, I KINDLY let the minivan mom know that she could go ahead in front of me so she would not have to wait on myself and the other car. I waved to her(with a smile) to go ahead in front of me.

I always try to let people in front of me when traffic is heavy or even if I too am in a hurry. Why? Because I believe in Karma. I believe that if I do that for others it WILL come back to me ten fold. Then one day when I desperately need someone to do that for me….THEY WILL.

Okay, back to my story… So I wave her by with a smile and she starts coming unglued at me: waving her arms, cursing, yelling through her window. She was one irritated mom on a mission to do nothing but TELL ME OFF. My kids were just sitting there in a daze and I said, “Well, maybe she’s just having a bad morning.”

Truly though, I was really disappointed. I was disappointed that she assumed the worst and that my kids had to see another parent behave in such a manner. I thought to myself,WOW, I hope I never cut her off accidently on the roadway.

I still cannot figure it out. So, an act of kindness ends up being turned into a mom in a minivan going off on me in front of my kids. Perhaps she had just not had her coffee yet. Perhaps she did indeed have a rough morning. Perhaps she is one to automatically assume the worst in others and jump to conclusions. I am not sure. I will just hope that she is in a better mood before she picks her kids up at school today and I will also BLESS her and hope that whatever the reason….she tries to model better behavior in the future. I also know that sometimes we all just HAVE A BAD DAY.

My point….I know I am just on a ramble here, but it just goes to show you that you really never know who is watching: an adult, a child, a potential employer, a future client, the school principal. So try to hold yourself high. Be polite to others. Do random acts of kindness even if those you are doing them for end up not being grateful. Teach your children to do the same. Teach them to pray for road ragers and angry
minivan moms who have had a bad morning. REMEMBER, we teach kids more by our actions than by our words.

JUST MY TWO CENTS FOR THE DAY!!!

~Niki

NOTHING GRIEVES A CHILD MORE THAN TO STUDY THE WRONG LESSON, AND LEARN SOMETHING HE WASN’T SUPPOSED TO. ~E.C. Mc Kenzie

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money,in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You MUST first be who you REALLY are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.

~Margaret Young

Develop intrest in life as you see it; in people; things; literature, music—The world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting pepole. FORGET YOURSELF.

~ Henry Miller

More pics from FLORIDA…

In an effort to keep up with my committment of 365 posts by February 21st of 2009, I am going to do several posts today because I may not be on for a few days. Once again, another quote from the self-proclaimed quote ADDICT.

Hello…my name is Niki…and I am a QUOTE ADDICT.

Seriously though, they are a huge source of inspiration for me and they stick with me well.

This is a quote that is by Shaki Gawain:

We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people’s models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open.

WOW!!! I LOVE THAT!!! Especially in this world of keeping up with the Jone’s. Can we not just be happy with ourselves and who we are RIGHT NOW in THIS MOMENT. I am all for discovering WHO I AM. Sometimes I like her….sometimes I don’t.

Have a great day!

Niki

Shocking to believe she is a senior. What a great girl to work with. She came to the studio excited and a little nervous at first but you could definitely see some spunk in there which came out in NO TIME FLAT.
She planned well for her clothing and really was open to whatever I suggested and had so much fun with it. I could have photographed her all day if I could have.

Anyhow….meet miss “L” a senior this year.

BE THERE….AT NICHOL KRUPP PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO AND GALLERY. I wanted to give you all a quick reminder to come out to the Bay City Gallery Walk on March 6th. It is from 5-8. You can come anytime during that span. There will be several core galleries in the downtown area open featuring several different artists. I am so excited about the artist I will be featuring this month at Nichol Krupp Photography Studio and Gallery. Her name is Denise Kleiner and she is an AMAZING potter from Otisville Michigan. Her work is beautiful and I have been collecting it for the past 4 years. She will have several pieces on display for you to view and/or purchase. You will just have to fight me for them first. I AM SO EXCITED. So, please put it on your calendar and come join us. Have a great day and be sure to check out the blog for more information and upcoming events/contests.

Have a safe weekend!

Okay so I wanted you all to see this mom’s blog Husbands and wives alike. She is an unbelievably intelligent woman who has made some really amazing choices in her life to make sure she creates financial freedom, lives intentionally and authentically. She is an amazing writer to boot which is always nice and entertaining. I showed this site to my husband a few weeks ago and we both really started talking about things we need to change and choices we need to make to assure financial freedom in our lives, our children’s lives, and our future.

You have to go and check this out. Be sure to check out what she wrote about PARENTING WITH A PURPOSE and her MILLION DOLLAR LUNCH RECIPE. Since I read that one alone, I have only bought lunch one time. I would say on average, lunch in my area is $9 bucks per meal if I don’t have to drive or leave a tip. The one lunch I did buy I split with one of my assistants. I have been back to work for 3 weeks and have already saved $90($30 per week). If I stick with that for most of the year by bringing my lunch to work or staying under $3 per lunch I will save approximately $132 per month(22 working days in a month) and that adds up throughout the year to approx $1600 per year saved(not counting my hubby’s share) by not eating out every day for lunch alone. Invest that in an ROTH IRA and I will be sitting pretty in no time. This lady talks about doing this and letting it simmer for 41 years and you are a millionaire. See the details and calculations on her site.

Now…I am already 34 and my hubby will be the BIG 40 this year. So we do not really have that 41 years to wait and enjoy that money. Keith would be 81 yrs old for goodness sake. BUT…if he does it with me, the two of us together will more than make up for lost time and we would be millionaires in the next 20 years. I would be 54 and he would be 60. Actually, I hope to be a millionaire before that, but REMEMBER: That is just on lunches. I think this woman puts things in a perspective would make it possible for almost anyone to be able to pull off this savings.

Where can you save money in your life or cut back just a little bit. I am spending at least $300 in gas per month alone. I could probably plan better to keep from spending that much and save in that area as well. Obviously there are going to be exceptions to the rule but just go check out her amazing blog and see what appeals to you or APPLIES to you. Show your husbands and wives and make a game out of it. That is what I am doing. I am always up for a challenge. Heck I have even lost 3 pounds not eating those lunches and making healthier choices in the food I am bringing from home. Plus I KNOW what I am really putting into my body because I have the nutrition facts on the food at home unlike eating at the restaurants.

Here is the link: millionairemommynextdoor I would love some feedback on what you all think about this woman’s life plans and if any of you decide to utilize the info on there. I would love to email her with some of the feedback from here and let her know how many marriages and families she is touching with her great intelligence. I consider myself pretty smart but my brain does not work that way. I could see me really getting into this stuff though.

GOOD LUCK and please post your comments.

NIKI

“Where are you? Here. What time is it? Now. What are you? This moment.” – The Peaceful Warrior

Love that one. Hmmmmm! Off to gather my collection of quotes and purchase this book on Amazon.
~N