I was honoured to work on this travel book for Karen. I was able to live vicariously through her stories and stunning photographs as she traveled South America for a few months. I got to see the people she met, the places she went and the experiences she encountered. To be able to put memories such as these into books for people is truly humbling.

Here is a preview of the first few pages. Enjoy!

You can also see Karen’s journey at her Surgeon Savours South America blog.

First of all, this is not a sponsored post. I saw the new feature and thought I’d give it a go and I can’t wait to get my book with my random everyday shots. I was not asked, nor paid, nor given anything for free to yap about this.

I just tried the new Instagram to book feature Blurb just released.

Easy-peasy.

All I needed to do was enter my Instagram login info and give Blurb permission to slap my pictures in a book.

From there you can name your book whatever you’d like. Adjust what pictures you want where. What cover you would like. You can change your page layouts (which I just left at one pic per page).

The only thing I had trouble finding was how to add pages (since not all my pictures loaded into the book right away.) I found that on the “arrange pages” view and there’s a little icon between the page spreads to click to add more pages.

After that? I was sailing.

I uploaded my pics, adjusted stuff, connected to Blurb and ordered my book all in about twenty minutes. (I have a Blurb account already, so I didn’t have to create one.)

Simplest thing ever. And I’m looking forward to my awesome “bits of everyday” book to arrive soon.

Click on the picture to see a preview of bits of everyday.

While at Blissdom Canada ’10 I had the opportunity to sit and chat with Candace Derickx of Best Tools for Schools. She’s a smart cookie and I’ve admired her since I first “met” her on Twitter.

I apologize about the banging, clanging and general state of chaos of the interview site. Candace and I wandered away from the buzz and energy of Blissdom and found a nice quiet corner to converse… or so we thought. Just as we got going, the big doors not too far from us opened up and the hotel staff began clearing the entire ballroom of tables and chairs…

‘Tis the life of an entrepreneur. Something’s always coming up, right?

Enjoy (and disregard the unflattering screen shot.)

If you hang around Twitter, you may be aware of Heather‘s story. Her beautiful son, Zackie, slipped out of this world on March 10, 2011. Her blog posts are beautifully written and give us a real sense of who she is and what kind of a boy Zack was. Zack’s daddy, Paul, also wrote a heart-wrenching and raw post about his son.

I can’t even begin to fathom what Heather, Paul and their sons Ty and Jayden (Zack’s twin) are going through. To say good-bye to a child. It’s just… wrong.

If you do go on Twitter, you’ll likely see profile pictures (or avatars) that have a little Elmo on them. Many people have added the little red guy to their avatars to show their support and grief over the loss of a child. Zack loved Elmo. He was non-verbal, but so expressive. He would hum Elmo’s theme and loved the red, furry muppet. I wish I could have met Zackie.

To read Heather’s stream on Twitter, one would think the updates would be filled with despair. But the reality is quite the opposite. She is so positive and uplifting and supportive of others around her – even in this time in her life. It’s astounding.

I felt compelled to do more. To help. To do…. something. Anything. I don’t live near the Hamiltons. At least, not close enough to drop by food or something. And frankly, I can’t cook, so really, Heather and her family should be thanking their lucky stars I didn’t send food.

I thought of how much joy my blog books bring me and those who share in them with me. Heather has been blogging her journey of her life as a mom of a three boys, one of them special needs, for a little over a year. So, I put myself to work creating something special for Heather and Zackie. I took her posts and designed her blog book. I put her deepest sorrows and her happiest moments onto the printed page.

It was intended to be a surprise, but Heather started sniffing around Twitter asking about putting blog posts into a book, so I had to tell her before she put any time and energy into the project!

I also need to give a shout-out to Blurb for their fantastic customer service and allowing me to stop the presses to get one more post into the book that just HAD to go in.

The labour of love was delivered today. (Really, each book I do is a labour of love, but this one was just so meaningful to me.) Heather and I met about halfway, at a McDonald’s with a Playland so that our three-year-olds could play. And play they did! They had so much fun today. Heather and her son even brought a monster truck for my boy. He was completely over the moon. Still is.

I know personally how much emotion is in a blog book. Especially one that chronicles your life’s journey. We rarely go back and read our posts online, but put them in a book and they are there to thumb through at anytime. Seeing the pictures on the printed page are so much more powerful than seeing them on the screen. Reading the posts takes you right back to where you were when you wrote the words the first time. There were a few tears today in the McDonald’s Playland (and not just from the two little ones that bonked heads.)

The way I see it, the tears that are shed over memories are cathartic. The laughs shared over past events help us savour those moments again. My purpose in life is to help unlock those memories – or at least help get them down from those shelves and dust them off a bit.

As a mom.. as a woman.. as a human.. I felt I had to something to add a little bit of comfort – however small, however fleeting – into the lives of the Hamiltons. I hope this book does just that. I wish I could do more.

Diary of a Supermommy by Heather Hamilton | Make Your Own Book

You can help by donating to Zack’s Dream Room that will be at York Central Hospital. In only the span of a couple weeks almost $10,000 has already been raised – a testament to the impact this little boy had in his three short years here. The goal is $25,000. Every little bit helps.

Ten dollars from every book I design will be donated to Zack’s Dream Room until the goal is reached.

Do you have an amazing mom?

Want to do something fantastic for her?

Want to give her something that in some small way reflects the enormous impact she’s had on your life?

Giving her a book, a book made just for her, is about the closest I’ve come – in a tangible form – to summing up how much my mom means to me.

There are so many different ways to do this.

Compile pictures of your family’s history. Add stories if you wish.

How about a book of family vacations through the years? Even old ticket stubs, receipts, notes can be scanned and added into the book.

What about all those crafts you did as a child? Or the ones your children have done? You can put those into a book.

Ask family and friends for stories or thoughts about your mom and have those compiled into a book. Partner these with photos and you have something unbelievable to give your mom.

One of the best ways I found to include children, especially young kids, is to ask some fun questions and put their answers into the book – along with pictures of them.

The possibilities are endless – bound only by our imaginations.

The look on my mom’s face when she opened the box containing HER book is the reason I do this. There is nothing that can compare to THAT look.

You can give your mom that look, too. And I can help you.

Simply send me an email, find me on facebook, twitter, or go to the “I want a book” request form.

Let’s take a look at where I was this time last year – looking forward to 2010:

2010 is not going to be a year of resolutions for me. (I’ve never been a fan of resolutions anyway, so not having them is really not that much different for me!). This coming year…. which, by the way, is TWO THOUSAND AND TEN for those of you not paying attention. How did we get to 2010?! Is that not supposed to be some far-off futuristic year?! I remember thinking how OLD I was going to be when the millennium started anew. How far off that seemed…. And now, here we are ten years PAST that! Holy crap! I’m married to an amazing man who drives me nuts and challenges me, we are the keepers and shapers of two (awesome) kids. We have a house (ok, the bank has a house… they’re just letting us live here) and both Jean-Paul and I are about to embark…. Oh. Getting ahead of myself here….

So, where was I? Ah yes…. This coming year is going to be a year of goals. Not resolutions. Go back and forth for a moment on those two words. Goals. Resolutions. Goals. Resolutions. Resolutions. Goals. I think there is a powerful difference. Resolutions are generally things you want to stop doing – or possibly things you want to start doing to offset negative things. They are also generally general. Lose weight. Eat healthier. Go to (join) the gym. Get in shape. Stop smoking. Quit eating mounds of junk, blah diddy-blah. (If those are some of your resolutions, great. They are something to strive for, but how about looking at them as goals instead? Specific, measurable goals.)

Goals are places you want to get to, not places you’re trying to get away from. Goals are something to achieve, not something to give up. Yes, you need resolve to reach your goals, but they are not resolutions. Goals have steps so you can see how far you’ve come. (At least the goals you mean to reach should!)

So, back to our 2010 (and again I say “?!”) goals. Jean-Paul is looking at being a *deep breath* self-employed franchisee of the DJ company he works for. This is an exciting *leap* opportunity. It means many positive changes are on the way. It should mean a doubling or tripling in income. It means more *deep breath* expenses, too, but that’s part of the price of *leap* freedom.

Now… MY *deep breath* goal this year? Since being laid off in September I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching. As much as I loved the job that I had, I know there’s something else I should be doing. Part of the reason I loved my last job was the freedom and flexibility it allowed me with my family. (I also loved the free company van, laptop and BlackBerry… but I digress). I looked deep inside and really thought about what I love to do. What do I spend my spare moments doing? What is it that I have to tear myself away from at 1 or 2am and go to bed? I love making books. Digitally. The comments I have gotten on the books I have made so far have been extremely positive. I want to do this for other people. I can do this for other people. I *leap* will do this for other people. And they will pay me well to do it!

So… I’ve signed up for a Photoshop course to refresh myself on the software. I’m going to be taking a small business courses/workshops. I’ll also be doing an InDesign workshop. I lined up at 4:45am yesterday to get a great boxing day deal on a new desktop computer for my *deep breath* new venture. (And by the way, I have the “boxing day mayhem” figured out. If you need tips, let me know!)

My biggest concern at the moment is being able to use the name I want to use for my *deep breath* *leap* new business.

I aim to have a few more books done, a website up and running, some idea on how to price my work and, oh ya, my business name – with signs – all ready to go for April’s MeFest here in Waterloo. I was in MeFest the last two years (and honestly was a little embarrassed by the company I was representing – not my job, but a side business). This year is totally different! This year I will be ME at MeFest!! It will be MY business. My confidence level about this new venture is so incredibly high no one can bring me down.

And I’ve decided this is my theme song this year. (My love for Glee shall be fodder for another post).

*This was posted previously on my now-private personal blog, but wanted to share it here with you.

Man in Motion came on the radio while I was driving home with the kids last night, and yes, John Parr spoke to me. Remember the song? From St. Elmo’s Fire? Love it.

“Just once in his life
A man has his time
AND MY TIME IS NOW!
I’m coming alive!!”

I’m standing at this precipice. When I look back I see the person I “should” be. The one that went out everyday and worked for someone else and brought home a decent paycheck. (With a BlackBerry, company van and expense account… Yes… I miss those things.) That was a very comfortable place. When I was in it, it felt like a good place. (Did I mention I miss the van?)

As I stand and look forward I see a world of possibilities. It’s an exciting time. I’ve just been approved to go ahead and start my business without worrying about losing my benefits. (We need those benefits!)

Starting my own business? Crazy? Hells ya! Especially when hubby is not a traditional bring-home-the-bacon kinda guy. He was/is stay-at-home daddy guy who works part-time (and who is also looking at becoming self-employed soon…)

Am I excited? YES! Am I scared? Shitless. Is this business viable? Yes. (OK… I don’t know.. but like my theme song says “I’m through accepting limits ’cause someone says they’re so…   But ’til I try I’ll never know!”) Is this the best thing for my family? I truly believe so. Creating and helming my own business will be A LOT of work, but it will be FLEXIBLE work. If I need to take an hour off during the day to see my Baby Girl graduate from Kindergarten, I can do that. Then, I can work those hours after the kids are in bed.

I’ll be putting myself out there like never before. This is me. My ideas. My neck. If this doesn’t fly, it’ll be a blow to the self-esteem in ways that will make being laid off look like a laughable life-glitch.

As I stand overlooking this precipe, again my theme song plays in my head:

“It’s time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and LEAP!”

*This was posted previously on my now-private personal blog, but wanted to share it here with you.

I absolutely love this concept. I just read a blog post by Elizabeth Potts Weinstein of Live Your Truth, and while most of her posts resonate with me, just one just blew me away. I was reading it and I usually am thinking, “So true, EPW. So. True.” This one? I was screaming, “YES! That is it EXACTLY!”

Just as “The Nothing” in The Neverending Story is what is used to describe the absence of anything at all. “The More” is what is used to describe that presence of something else. Something missing. Something you KNOW is supposed to be there but, right now, isn’t quite.

I not sure “The More” can quite be described to somebody who hasn’t experienced it, just as “The Nothing” is so abstract a thought it makes your brain hurt if you really try to conceptualize it.

I have experienced “The More” moment. It was while I was talking to an amazing woman I met via Twitter. I now refer to her as my tell-it-like-it-is-truth-speaker.

As well-intentioned as those people are who try to steer my path to where they feel it should be, I know I feel “The More.”

And because I feel it, it must exist.

And just as the-scariest-wolf-monster-my-tween-self-had-ever-seen embodied “The Nothing”; I feel “The More” is that flittering-something-or-other you catch out of the corner of your eye, but when you turn to really see it, it’s gone. I’m now open to accept “The More.” I’ve acknowledged “The More” and I even welcome “The More.”

This ride that I’m on is scary as hell, but I can feel it’s right.

And, I leave you with this. Sorry, embedding has been disabled…

I had a job up until September 2009. I’d always had a job. Ever since I graduated from Marketing in college. I graduated in April and started in May. I’ve had a full-time job with benefits since 1995, except when I moved to Toronto and had decided to change careers. I always chose when to move on. I worked as an advertising consultant for 5 years. Then I wanted to change direction, I had met a boy and moved to Toronto. I did supply teaching at the high school level for the school year, and had pretty much reached full-time just doing that. Then I started working at a call centre and I stayed there for 8 years. I was training and I really liked it. During my second maternity leave we moved to Kitchener and I didn’t want to do the commute into Toronto every day, so I changed jobs and became a Business Development Trainer (sales coach). That went well for just over a year. Then, in the fall of September 2009, I found myself in a position I’d never been in before. Unemployed and not being able to find work! For the most part, I wasn’t even getting interviews. Even with 8 years’ experience doing what the job description asked for!

So I did some soul-searching. And I need to thank some people. Without these people yo’ books would not be in existence.

First of all I need to thank Laurel Crossley-Byers. I met Laurel on Twitter. Many of you may know her as @optimom. She is listed in the yo’ books business plan as my “tell it like it is, go-to girl”. And that’s what she is. She gave me a complimentary coaching session and that’s how the concept for my venture as an entrepreneur was sparked. We talked about what I wanted (I had no idea). I spoke about some possible ideas. Then I talked about what I like to do in my “spare time” (meaning the time I used to use for sleep, but now use to do other things because I have wee beings around me the rest of the time.) When I mentioned these books I had made. I felt different when I spoke about my books. Laurel could feel it on the other end of the phone. I had life in me. I was excited. I was proud of these books and people loved them, too. This was the moment my completely fantastic and yet-to-be-named book design company was born. So, a HUGE shout-out, high-five and ass-slap to Laurel.

In one of the groups I go with my son we made ‘vision boards’. I chose the lyrics to my new theme song, along with some key words and phrases. It sits on my desk, in my peripheral vision, all the time. I move my gaze a little to the right, and there it is. It reminds me to “trust my instincts.. close my eyes and leap!” Feel free to listen to Defying Gravity (the Glee version), my theme song, as you read the rest of the post.

Now what? I needed a brand identity, right? Well, first thing I wanted to figure out was a name. I threw around some names. I settled on life.bound and went about buying the domain names and doing Google searches. After some searching around on Google, I saw there were quite a few “lifebound” businesses and one was similar to what I was planning to do. Not the same, but similar. Similar enough to be confusing – and possibly leave the door open for issues in the future. There was also a business registered with that name, but not using it, in Ontario. Again, why worry about having someone come to me two years later and tell me to stop using the name? So, I abandoned it.

Back to square one with the name. I threw around some other names: Huckleberry Books, Pink Dolphin Book Design (I know what about 30% of you are thinking… stop blushing.) The funny thing is I had my branding vision sort of going, but didn’t have a name yet. This is where kitestring creative marketing + design comes in. Chris Farias (@kitestring), Jenn Hudder (@jennhudder) and Meg Coppolino (@ettiekit) are brilliant – as are the other members of the kitestring klatch. Work with them if you can. Seriously fun and awesome stuff! When the opportunity for an ‘Imagination Station’ with them came up, I jumped at the chance! And it was fabulous. A kitestring Imagination Station is like a super-awesome brainstorming session with some of the most creative minds in the business. The four of us talked. They poo-pooed ‘Pink Dolphin’ – thankfully. And right at the end of our time, Meg squeaked in some more brilliance. She mentioned Yo Baby yogurt and maybe we could use ‘Yo’ in the name. As many of you know, my online name in most places is ‘JackiYo’ – ‘Yo’ being short for ‘Yovanoff’. So, at the very last second of our Imagination Station, yo’ books was born. It’s short, simple, fun and incorporates me into the name.

I also wanted a separate name for the memory and memorial books part of the business. These type of books hold a special place in my heart and I didn’t feel that yo’ books quite worked with the more subdued and delicate tone of these books. I was driving along one night and saw a sign on someone’s lawn that said ‘Beyond Construction’ and that made something in my brain go, “Huh. Perfect!” And the ‘Beyond Memories – a special division of yo’ books’ was born.

Next step was to have a logo designed. I wanted someone outside my brainspace working on this, so again I had a pow-wow with kitestring. As Chris was doodling on the coffee table, he popped the ‘yo’ in Beyond Memories out to tie the two names together. Brilliant! I wish I could have used kitestring for everything, but it just wasn’t quite in the cards for this little broke start-up dream.

Cue Lindsay of Grace Announcements. I know Lindsay via Twitter (@graceannounce) and have had the absolute pleasure of hanging out with her on a few awesome occasions. She does amazing invitations, birth announcements, holiday cards and wall art, just to name some of the stuff she designs. I like her stuff. It fits with my style, so I had her do my logos (along with some collaboration from her wonderfully talented husband, David @mydaddydraws).

It was a very fun process (at least on my end!) The back and forth and exchange of ideas was very exciting for me. I love the finished products. I love how ‘yo’ is subtly incorporated into Beyond Memories. I love how the colour story is consistent between logos, with yo’ books having a bit more colour in it to add to the fun I want to exude.

Alright. So, I had a name (or names). I had my logos. I had a good handle on my brand identity. Next I needed a website. Chris of Chris Eh Young Entreprises stepped forward and offered his services, as a total favour, not trying to sell his business. Chris is someone I have also gotten to know through Twitter (@Chris_Ed_Young). In fact, yes, pretty much every single person I need to thank for helping me along this journey I met via Twitter. (Did I mention Twitter rocks?)

Chris has done – is still does – so much work to get my site up and running the way I want it. I asked things of him that he hadn’t done before, but instead of saying, “We can’t do that” he said, “Let’s figure out how to do that.” And we did – or should I say HE did. I have no clue how most of the back-end stuff works. (That’s what she said. Sorry. It’s a habit.)

Chris also created my yo’ books Facebook page and I love it. He made some really smart suggestions and I think the page works really well. Even something as simple as having a welcome page – and reminding people to click ‘like’ at the top! So easy, yet something I likely would have overlooked.

And this is why it’s important to have other brains working with you. It truly does take a village.

I am so absolutely, truly, undoubtedly grateful every day for my village. I love you guys. Even if I didn’t mention you by name in this post – you know I love you. You all rock my world. Every. Single. Day.

Photo from jimijones.com

From as far back as I can remember my mom always had her camera with her. (And my mom is a big reason why I’m doing this – then and now.) We have pictures of almost everything. Lots of photo albums full of great memories (because we don’t photograph the bad usually, do we?). Lots of pictures of posed people – even posed animals – and “cheeeeeese” smiles. Lots of weddings. No funerals. (At least not in my family. At a funeral on my husband’s side, someone did break out the camera.) You don’t see pictures of that nasty thorn in my finger when I was about 8 and my dad having to dig it out with a sewing needle. Nope. Camera didn’t come out for that momentous occasion – although it’s burned into my brain. Anyway, I digress.

I know part of my love for chronicling events, places, people is my mom’s love of it. It’s something I got from her. Now of course, with the advent of digital, I have WAY more pictures than she ever had! But there’s more to it.

Why do I have this fire in my belly for commemorating events? Keeping memories? Journaling everything? Why was my ‘aha moment’ about becoming an entrepreneur and making memory books for people, just as I’ve been doing for myself?

I was literally born to do this. And I mean literally in the literal sense. Not the “I ran so fast I was literally on fire.” No, doofus. You weren’t “literally” on fire. Because literally means, well, literally. It means you were actually on fire. So, unless you were running because you were on fire (which you shouldn’t be – you should be stopping, dropping and rolling instead of running) you weren’t “literally” on fire. Again, I digress.

So where was I? Oh right. Yes, I was literally born to do this. In the Secret Language of Birthdays by Gary Goldschneider (no, I’m not being paid to mention that), it lists my birthday as “The Day of the Commemorator.” It goes on to say:

These people are born chroniclers, diarists and commemorators of events and tradition.

As it is human character that interest these people beyond any technical, scientific or natural phenomena, they not only observe what others do and say, but also try to discover what they feel.

This is me to a tee. Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you I’m the one quietly lurking around with my camera to capture the real moments. I really try to capture the emotion in that brief instant when the shutter snaps. I don’t fancy myself a ‘photographer’, but I do love many of the shots I get. The best ones are when people have no idea the picture is being taken. Those are the real moments.

This is why this venture means so much to me. Whether it’s for a family or business, corporate or personal, birth or death or anything in between – it’s all about the emotion pictures, memories, moments evoke. That’s why I love this so much.

Do you know what your birthday says about you? Is it right? Way off?
Do you have a passion? A purpose? What is it? I’d love to hear more about it.