My Thanks for 2009

As I take a break from helping mommy dearest in the kitchen, I want to take a moment to share with you, my friends, all that I am grateful for.

For 2009, I am thankful for:

-my family that loves me so much, they aren't shy about yelling at me for being away too long.

-my friends that look with their hearts and let me pick food off their plates.

-Nikon & Canon for taking all of my money but leaving me w/warm fuzzies.

-my ex-bosses for demotivating me and helping me realize cubicles are not natural.

-my nephew & nieces for reminding that I am addicted to my laptop and cameras.

-the new 2011 BMW 5-series facelift, which I'll still not buy because I'm abnormally too logical.

-all the couples who invited me to shoot their wedding, and consider me family oddly enough.

Most importantly, I am thankful for:

-all of the wonderful and inspirational friends I have made in 2009.

-every kind word and message of support I received for my work and passion.

-every couple that invited me to shoot their wedding and become a small part of their history.

-all of my friends on Facebook & Twitter that I hope to meet one day.

-my family, my nephew, my nieces, and my friends for making me smile.

I am truly humbled to have every single individual I know in my life. Every single one of you gives value to my life and I am forever grateful.

Sincerely, thank you.

Donate Your Time & I'll Give You Mine

I walked outside my house this morning and was met with the freezing wind hitting my face and hands. It felt terrible as I wrapped my scarf around my neck tighter and bundled up in my coat. Another sign of the change in seasons. Although freezing cold, the best thing about this time of year is that everyone is so much happier while being around family and sharing holiday dinners.

Unfortunetly, there are so many that don't have a family to spend the holidays with, and worse, they don't even have a place to call home. Some will be spending this winter sleeping on the streets or if lucky, in a shelter. That is why I'm going to do my part to help by volunteering my time and hopefully get some of you to do the same. As an incentive, I'm rewarding some special gifts if you donate some of your time to help those less fortunate.

This is all you have to do:
1. Email a creative photo of yourself to info @ asimsoofi.com holding up a creative sign that reads "Turkey Volunteer 2008 with Asim Soofi!"

2. Take someone with you for atleast one volunteer shift at a local soup kitchen on Thanksgiving Day, or any day up to Christmas.

3. Take some photos of you and your friend volunteering with the same sign reading "Turkey Volunteer 2008 with Asim Soofi!" and send that to me as well.

Then you pick from one of the following for being such an awesome & giving person:
Choice 1: Lifestyle Session for individual or couple.
Choice 2: $500 gift credit towards product or service from asimsoofi.com.
Choice 3: Power Lunch to discuss photography, business, or anything else you want.
Choice 4: Power Shoot to pick my brain and learn about photography, tips, & tricks.

I'm going to limit this to the first 5 people to submit a photo of themselves holding up a creative sign saying "Turkey Volunteer 2008 with Asim Soofi!" If I get some extra responses that are EXTRA creative, I might consider upping the limit. For now, I will pick the 5 most creative submissions and post them on the blog...Yes, your face will be famous! :)

Find a local soup kitchen:
http://www.volunteermatch.org/

Extra things you can do:
-Take a child with you. Teach them the importance of community service.
-Organize a group of your friends or family members to go with you.
-Make it a family and friend tradition to do every year.

I'm really excited to do this and hope you guys enjoy the personal reward of giving back to your community. I also hope this leads to some of you to continue volunteering in an on-going basis afterwards.

Good luck and thanks for volunteering!