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Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
On picture taking companies....sort of a rant but not really.
I just recently got my son's pictures done for his senior portrait, after having paid a 20.00 sitting fee which they had no idea that he could have one clothing change with and he had to inform them of that we waited patiently for the pictures. We got them today and for me it was a lackluster moment, none of his poses were really amazing and said buy me buy me. But my son is a senior and will have senior pictures.
For us it was quite a huge sticker shock! The cheapest package being 169.00 and only one of the 10+ poses that they used could be used.
The area I live in is economically depressed, many kids are not as fortunate as my son. How many of these kids will have the ability to have a senior portrait. There are families here struggling to put food on the table they can't afford such expensive things as these pictures. Even the school pictures are getting out of hand for priciness. I've taken to doing my own pictures of my kids because they are more natural and not so staged and sometimes with the fake smiles that are definitely not the smile of my kid.
My thoughts on this, picture companies should offer a payment plan or free photos for the kids that can't afford them. They make millions of dollars every year doing these pictures. So many people struggle here in our town, it's not compassionate nor is it right for them to come into towns like this where people are struggling to make ends meet and take money they don't have.
I will probably take my own pictures of him somewhere beautiful on a gorgeous day for his senior picture and he can use one of his canned pictures for the yearbook. (BTW they are 100.00 and he won't get it till next fall when he's not in high school)
For us it was quite a huge sticker shock! The cheapest package being 169.00 and only one of the 10+ poses that they used could be used.
The area I live in is economically depressed, many kids are not as fortunate as my son. How many of these kids will have the ability to have a senior portrait. There are families here struggling to put food on the table they can't afford such expensive things as these pictures. Even the school pictures are getting out of hand for priciness. I've taken to doing my own pictures of my kids because they are more natural and not so staged and sometimes with the fake smiles that are definitely not the smile of my kid.
My thoughts on this, picture companies should offer a payment plan or free photos for the kids that can't afford them. They make millions of dollars every year doing these pictures. So many people struggle here in our town, it's not compassionate nor is it right for them to come into towns like this where people are struggling to make ends meet and take money they don't have.
I will probably take my own pictures of him somewhere beautiful on a gorgeous day for his senior picture and he can use one of his canned pictures for the yearbook. (BTW they are 100.00 and he won't get it till next fall when he's not in high school)
Friday, October 25, 2013
Saying Goodbye Without Saying Hello by Raebeth McGee-Buda
Synopsis:
The journey
of pregnancy brings hope, joy, and love for the expecting mother. The hope of
giving birth to a new life. The joy of feeling this new life grow inside of
her. The love that starts with a test that doesn’t ever end. Dreams for the
unborn child flood the new mother’s mind, as well as those around her. Each
step of the pregnancy is a cherished moment. The anticipation of meeting her cherished
baby builds from the very first month and ends after birth.
This is the story of one mother and how a few words changed her life forever. How a piece of her faded when she heard these words: “There’s no heartbeat.” When RaeBeth Buda lay in the hospital in labor, she and her husband heard those dreaded words.
What happens when all of those dreams are shattered in a moment’s notice? How does one cope with the loss of their child? This is the story of their journey and of the devastating grief of the loss of her daughter, Dakota Emily Buda.
This is the story of one mother and how a few words changed her life forever. How a piece of her faded when she heard these words: “There’s no heartbeat.” When RaeBeth Buda lay in the hospital in labor, she and her husband heard those dreaded words.
What happens when all of those dreams are shattered in a moment’s notice? How does one cope with the loss of their child? This is the story of their journey and of the devastating grief of the loss of her daughter, Dakota Emily Buda.
*****
Small Teaser
Saying Goodbye Without Saying Hello
Shortly
after our perfectly imperfect wedding, my husband and I headed off to our
honeymoon. We were thrilled. It seemed like things were finally falling into
place. He had a great job and we were happy. The honeymoon was amazing. We
decided to take a trip to the Pocono’s for the most amazing time at the most
beautiful and entertaining resort we could find...Pocono Palace. I felt like a
princess. We overly enjoyed our honeymoon. We took walks, played games in the
game room, and made some memories would will last a lifetime.
Of course our honeymoon went by too quickly and after two weeks, we
headed home. I was glad to though because I was missing my daughter. She’s an
amazing little girl who has one heck of a sense of humor. She brightens our
world. There’s not a day that goes by
where she doesn’t make us laugh or make our hearts melt. Her personality is
amazing and her outlook on the world is impressive.
Let me introduce to you our princess, Emma. She’s our world, our breath that we breathe,
and we love her more than life itself. She’s a daddy’s girl and isn’t your
typical little child. She loves to get down and dirty with her daddy when
working on cars, but won’t hesitate to spend the day getting her nails painted
with Mommy.
When we got back from our honeymoon, life went back to the way it was.
Emma started first grade and Greg went back to work. I had a book I needed to
finish writing. I tried so hard to finish this book but out of the blue, I
started to get sick. My stomach would hurt and I was exhausted. Several weeks
went by and I didn’t seem to be getting any better.
Then it came to me, I might be pregnant.
My Review
Saying Goodbye Without Saying Hello is a poignant touching story that reaches right down into the very soul of the reader grabbing your heart and holding onto it even tearing it out at times. There were so many moments I just wanted to reach into the book and hug Raebeth at that moment. This story touched my heart and my soul in so many ways. Being an angel mom myself I knew her pain, the same kind of pain but not the same as we all grieve differently. Raebeth was so honest and took you right to the heart of what she was feeling in that moment and what her view was on what was going on at that moment. It takes you into the heart and soul of a mother who was rocked to her very core by the loss of her baby. This is an amazing true story beautifully written and carefully crafted to really bring you into the story with her. You're standing beside her the whole time, feeling what she's feeling and seeing what she's seeing her joy, her anguish, the gut wrenching pain when she got the news of no heartbeat. I loved this story, it truly is an excellent read but moreso an even better insight into loss. Raebeth was so brave to be able to share this story with the world, I know I will be recommending it to everyone.
Now let's meet the amazing mind behind Saying Goodbye Without Saying Hello the lovely Raebeth Mcgee-Buda in an awesomely unauthorized set of crazy questions for an amazing lady!
What food WON'T you eat?
I
refuse to eat any type of sea food, sausage, and most cheeses.
Is there a pen color you like better than others?
Yes, as a matter of fact there is. I love to write with a pink colored
pen over any other color.
If you could dip anything in chocolate what would it be?
I would stick with the strawberries. Yes I’m not very creative here but
it’s really good.
If there was one thing you could paint purple what would it be?
I would paint my Mother’s car purple because that’s her favorite color.
Favorite past hairstyle could be anything?
I absolutely loved when I had my hair mainly a medium brown with caramel
and blonde highlights. I actually miss it.
What would your superhero name be?
Well, call me conceited but I consider myself a hero already. I am the
hero to my daughter.
And what would your superpower be?
I have the ability to kiss away pain, hug tears away, and make her
laugh at anything I say that’s silly to brighten her day!!
Would you have a sidekick?
Yep, and I do... I call her Mom!!! Without my mother being by my side
to be a hero to my daughter, I don’t know how I would have come this far.
I would say the part about how I have endured so much within the twenty
six years of my life and I am still ticking. I have been through abuse,
bullying, death, and every imaginable problem within a relationship and here I
am... still here to actually write my story and tell others about it.
Who is YOUR favorite superhero?
My favorite superhero would be my mother. She is the strongest person I
know and has been through hell... only to come out smelling like wild gerbera
daisies. She’s one tough cookie. I’m so proud to call her my mother. **Rachel,
you’re awesome and I’m so blessed the Lord chose you for my Mother.**
Favorite Disney Quote:
There’s several quotes that I really love. It’s hard to pick between
them.
“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. No body knows my sorrow.” – Zazu
from The Lion King
“If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.” – Jimmy
Cricket
“Listen to me, the human world is a mess.” – Sebastian from The Little
Mermaid
“No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the
dream that you wish, will come true.” – Cinderella (Top favorite right now
because it speaks volumes to me.)
Ok now a few mundane ones
Who inspires you?
Every Angel parent out there who has walked this journey before I did.
I think I look up to each one of you and that gives me hope. Hope for my future
and I can see that my future will have tears and a bit of pain... but I’ll
survive. This isn’t the end of me.
Favorite book genre?
I love a clean romance or paranormal romance story.
Favorite Author?
This one is a hard one to answer. I love reading
Edgar Allen Poe and Stephen King above all though.
What is your take on social media do you like it / hate it / love hate relationship and why?
It would depend. Facebook has its perks. One thing that bugs me about
it is the fact that so many authors out there constantly have giveaways and
contests that deal with readers buying their book and reviewing them for big
prizes. Then, I see stacks of books or Amazon gift cards being given away. In a
way I feel this is sort of like buying the reviews. I’d rather have my readers
share their reviews because they want to. Not because they’ll get prizes out of
it.
I also think it makes it hard for the less fortunate when it comes to
Authors who can’t afford to give away big stuff all the time. Yes, when I broke
into the publishing world, I did giveaway a Kindle Fire. There was so much that
was going on within that party. So, many readers acted like they were pumped up
for my book, when in fact it was the Kindle that looked nice. After the party
and the tour started, there weren’t that many people who followed. Of course,
nothing was offered as a prize in a giveaway on the tour.
Therefore, I would say that I have a love/hate relationship with it.
About the Author:
RaeBeth McGee-Buda was born in southwestern
Pennsylvania in 1987, the second daughter of Rachel Yost and Arthur Curtis
McGee. RaeBeth grew up loving to read and write poetry, as well as short
stories. Her childhood dream was to become a teacher. Rae Beth's dream of
writing was created in her eleventh grade literature class where writing became
her passion.RaeBeth married in August 2012 to her husband, Gregory Stephen Buda Jr. and resides in a small Pennsylvania town of Fairchance. RaeBeth is a full time mother of one beautiful little girl and a mother to an angel in heaven as of May 27th, 2013.
She graduated from American Intercontinental University in 2010 with her associates in business administration. She enjoys spending her time writing and feels that connecting with readers is her main goal.
Author Links:
Email
Title: Saying Goodbye Without Saying Hello
by RaeBeth McGee-Buda
Genre: Nonfiction/Christian/Grief & Loss
Audience: Adult
Formats: Paperback and Ebook
E-Cover By: RaeBeth McGee-Buda
Paperback Cover: Marcy Rachel
Editor: Lee Ryder
ISBN-10: 1484801466
ISBN-13: 1492110884
Date Published: October 15, 2013
Giveaway
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