Missed Opportunities

I can't believe it. I am always ready to talk about Heritage Makers but this time I had an opportunity and I missed it. I am still kicking myself for it and this was Monday! On one hand, every time I go to this place there is hardly anyone else waiting and the few who are, are glued to their computers or books. They look as though they really don't want to engage. So when I jumped out the car with my son and without my bag, I decided that I wouldn't go back for it because there wouldn't be anyone to share HM with anyway.

Low and behold...I walked in and soon there were 3 women there and then there were 4 women!! They were in two separate groups, chit-chatting amongst themselves, engaged and appearing to enjoy one another's company. If I had a catalog, business cards, or sample, this would have been a great opportunity to share my business and invite them to a class. But I didn't have anything. I was unprepared.

Lesson learned. How many of us run out the door to dash into the grocery store in sweats, a pony tail and no make up and realize we could have had an opportunity to talk with someone but didn't approach them because we looked like we just stepped off the treadmill? Maybe they would have been interested, maybe not~but Wayne Gretsky said, "you'll miss 100% of the shots that you never take." Always, always, be prepared to share what you do.

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Record Your Stories

Inside us, we all have a story to share, a story of triumph, a story of healing, a story of blessing or a dear memory that we don't want forgotten.  The most ordinary of lives can yield the most extraordinary of stories.  No one wants to read your stories, you say? Don't believe that hype! I read a book put together by a woman I've never met, about her grandparents, whom I've also never met and was moved to tears! She put together one of the most beautiful books of her grandparent's love story and it was entitled The Dress.  It wasn't fancy or heavily embellished but it's my most favorite Heritage Makers book to date.

My children read look at their books over and over again. I've found it to be a great way to encourage reading when my daughter was first learning to read. We would read about Grandpa and Gigi and her birth story. What child doesn't want to read a book that features them (or some one they know) as the main character? And even better...what better way to share the stories of our family heritage and keep the loved one that they don't see often visible in our daily lives? Yes, the photos and the stories behind them are an important part of who we are and yes, they need to be written down. So here are the top 10 reasons you should record your stories:

10.  The world will be a richer place for your having written your stories.

  9.   In telling how you survived painful times in your past, you teach useful coping skills to your descendants and come to a greater understanding and peace.
  8.  The things you did when you were young are as remote from children today as the Earth is from Mars.
  7.  You are part of the history of your city, state and country.
  6.  There are many pieces of information nobody else knows about you.
  5.  The stories you heard from your grandparents will die without you.
  4.  Let your descendants know that you were a real person and not just a name on a tree.
  3.  You owe it to yourself and to your family.
  2.  No one else knows the stories of your life quite like you do.

AND...the #1 reason you should record your stories is...
  1. No one has a better perspective of you than YOU!

How I Became "The Memory Keeper"

Although the seed had been planted a few months before, it started in early 2002. I took a weekend trip to New York and decided that while I was there, I would visit Ground Zero. I'm not sure exactly why I wanted to go, but I felt it was something I needed to do while I was there. I came across a vendor selling brag books of photos from the attacks to the clean up as a fundraiser. He was uniformed, so I believed this to be true.

I had absolutely no idea what I would do with this photos. As I contemplated buying them, I thought, one day I will have a child that may be doing a report on this event in history. So, I purchased the photos and continued with my visit. I  have to say when I approached the wall of messages and memorials, I had a very emotional experience. I don't know that I can really put that into words. I came on home with that experience weighing on my heart.

A few weeks later, I was cleaning up my spare bedroom and found (underneath an unfinished project) a laundry basket full of envelopes of photos. There must have 20 or so envelopes! Anyone else out there take photos, get them printed, look through them and then stash them some where? Here they were, precious memories that I had captured, so excited to have them developed, and then toss them aside. I recalled a conversation I had with my friend The Hair Whisperer about scrapbooking. I was adamantly against doing anything crafty because I was not a crafty person. But I thought, I can make a scrapbook to preserve these photos.

A few months later, I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I decided I would have to give scrapbooking a try so that I could make a baby book when my daughter was born. So I went on a mission to find out what I could about scrapbooking so that I would be a pro by the time my daughter arrived. Let me just remind you here, that at this point in the story, I still had not started the 9-11 book yet. I walked into Michael's for the FIRST TIME EVER! I was overwhelmed, but I picked up a few kits and decided to scrapbook my entire life up to this point. I became a fanatic! I soon discovered the local scrapbook store, Scrapbook Plaza, which is no more, but it became my second home. I took classes, made friends and developed my skill. I even earned my Bachelor's and Master's in Scrapbooking from Scrapbook Design University!

In 2004, I took my first scrapbooking weekend retreat and finally completed my 9-11 commemorative album. The photos that launched my VERY FIRST HOBBY, my passion, and my business was finally completed 2 years later. 

Are there any other crafters out there? What's your craft and how did you get started?

Photos in a Shoebox...Why Digitize?

Do you have shoeboxes of photographs? Have you inherited photos? Do you have family members with photos that you would like to have copies of? If you answered yes, this blog post is a must read!

It is said that there are over 3 trillion printed photographs in the US. Most of them are sitting in shoeboxes on a dusty shelf or dark closet, sitting and decaying. If you pull out some of those old pictures you will see that the ink is starting to fade. Over time, the ink or dye used to print pictures will start to decay until it is eventually washed completely out. If you have photos that are near and dear to you and your family, you will want to have those digitized (scanned)!

Having your photos scanned will help to overcome that decaying process. The photo will still continue to fade, but the digital image will capture the photo and preserve it in it's current state. Digitizing your photos will also allow you to share them with friends and family because you won't have to worry about only having 1 copy! You can send them electronically, post them on family websites or facebook, or create beautiful photo keepsakes with them. Creative end uses for your family photos are now only limited by your imagination!

We never want to think about unforeseen disasters such as a home fire or something. But many family photos are lost forever in these circumstances. So the most important reason to digitize your photos is so that you have a back up copy in the event something should happen to the original pictures. Protect and preserve by having your photos scanned.

I know, I know...it could take up to 30 hours to scan the 1300 photos found in a typical shoebox, but I can offer you a better solution! Photo scanning at 30 pictures per minute (up to 500 per hour), local and mobile! Don't chance your precious memories being lost forever!

Sincerely,

Yolanda Ventura~The Memory Keeper's Coach

Memories of the 80s

I proudly admit that I am a child of the 80s. I loved the movies, the fashion, and the music. It was just a great decade. Some of my favorites were Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Better Off Dead, The Breakfast Club, The Lost Boys and of course, Dirty Dancing!

I am not sure if I knew who Patrick Swayze was before Dirty Dancing but I, like a lot of other fans, couldn't get enough of him afterwards! He will truly be missed! Dirty Dancing made me want to take dance lessons, as it did much of the country. But for me, it wasn't just dirty dancing. I wanted to learn the waltz, the rhumba, salsa, cha cha cha...and you know what? I did!

So what's your favorite decade and why? Were there heavy influences that helped to shape your personality? What are your most favorite memories from that time frame and what are some of your saddest? Tell a story about it? Create a layout around it? Dig out those dreaded photos and give the world a glimpse back in time, through your eyes.

Sincerely,

Yolanda~The Memory Keeper's Coach