A few years ago, after much hemming and hawing about the subject, Trent and I finally cut our ties with the cable company. We have gone with and without cable TV on and off for years, but we got to the point where we just couldn’t justify the cost. With this came tons of benefits…we read more. We spend more time away from the television. We don’t have the TV “on” for no reason or in the background. Our television watching time is definitely a bit more intentional.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a saint and I still watch TV! In fact, I probably still watch more than I should. With the combination of Netflix, Amazon Video and Hulu, I surely get my fix. But these days I’m finding shows I love and binge watching them, instead of spending time watching shows I feel pretty “meh” about (I’m looking at you, Bones and all CBS crime dramas!).
Over the holiday break, I gave myself permission to be a lazy as possible, and with the addition of some sick kids, we ended up spending a great deal of time stuck indoors…perfect chance to get started on some quality binge watching! Here are my Top 4 Favorite Shows to Binge Watch if you’re stuck inside this cold winter.
1. The Man in the High Castle (Amazon) – I had heard rave reviews about this drama from Amazon, but although the pilot was released early in 2015, the rest of the episodes weren’t made available until right before Thanksgiving. Based off the book of the same name written in 1963, the show follows an alternate universe, in which the Allies didn’t win World War II and the United States ends up being taken over by the Nazis and Japan. It follows the journeys of members of the Resistance, who are collecting videos to deliver to the mysterious “Man in the High Castle.” When they watch the videos, they see OUR history (ie. the Allies winning the war) and the show takes off from there. What is real? Are their multiple timelines? Who is the Man in the High Castle? It’s a mystery, sci-fi and historical drama all wrapped up into one. Bonus: The costuming and sets are INCREDIBLE.
2. Marvel’s Jessica Jones (Netflix) – I started watching this one right before Thanksgiving, but it’s pretty heavy, so I’m still working on finishing. The Marvel brand has made other great shows via Netflix before (like Daredevil), but I love the character of Jessica Jones and her world. The acting and story are really superb, and I really enjoy the idea of making a “superhero” just a regular person, instead of all dressed up in a mask and tights. Bonus: David Tennant is really disturbing and amazing in his role as the villain, Killgrave. Bonus #2: Luke Cage. Enough said.
3. iZombie (Netflix/Hulu/The CW) – Okay, I’m not gonna lie. The name of this show is super dumb. Like…so, so ridiculous. But once you can get past that, it’s a really fun, quirky program with a lot of dark humor. The pretense is that a successful doctor gets turned into a zombie, but no one in her life knows. She realizes she can remain mostly human by eating brains, so she get’s a job at the medical examiner’s office, where she can eat the brains of crime victims. A side effect is that she gets all the memories and characteristics of the person who’s brain she consumed. So she uses that to help solve their murders. Yep, it’s a zombie crime drama/comedy and it’s way more amazing than what I just described. It’s made by the same team that made Veronica Mars, and you can tell. The look and feel are quite similar. I know this is a hard sell, but trust me, give it a chance. Bonus: Season 1 just came out on Netflix, yay!
4. Making a Murderer (Netflix) – It’s hard to avoid all the online buzz about this documentary series that follows the case of Stephen Avery, a man who served 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, only to be released and charged with murder two years later. I am only on episode three, but from what I can tell…this is going to be a wild ride. Bonus: Critics are calling this show a television version of the podcast “Serial”…
What are you binge watching lately? Anything I should add to my list?
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Netflix-and-Chill-Edited-FB.jpg640960Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2016-01-13 06:35:562016-01-22 09:56:24My Top Shows to Binge Watch in the Winter
I’m so excited to be teaching a class for Hive Workshops this week all about blogging! I taught this class last summer and the response was awesome (you can see the recap from that class here). This is a workshop for all creatives, not just photographers and will take the creatives through the benefits and how-to’s of blogging for creative businesses. The end goal is for you to leave the workshop with the tools to either create your own business blog or to enhance your current blog and social media content. I will show real-time demonstrations and techniques for making your blog amazing! Worksheets will be provided for the creatives to keep for their own use. As with all Hive Workshops, open discussion is strongly encouraged!
WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES
At the end of this workshop, attendees should be able to:
– Understand how blogging helps build their business
– Identify the top blogging platforms for creatives
– Understand simple HTML and CSS tricks and tips to help them create and design their blog
– Know easy methods for building story and interest through blogging
– Describe how to make content shareable on social media
– Identify the best social media platforms to focus on in order to build their brand
– Understand how to promote their blog, including SEO and hashtags
– Describe and explain the “3-and-3 Blogging Rule”
– Be familiar with programs/plugins specific to creatives that make blogging workflow fast and efficient
Event sponsors include J. Lynn Designery, who will be gifting our creatives with 25% anything in her shop! Her blog planners are a must have for bloggers in order to make successful blogging easy and productive. BlogStomp is a returning sponsor and will be gifting our creatives 20% off their products. BlogStomp makes creating image boards for your blog quick and easy, cutting down workflow and making it simple to create beautiful blogs that showcase your best work.
I would LOVE to see you at this workshop on Wednesday, January 13th from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Hive Workshops fantastic space in the West Bottoms in Kansas City! To sign up, click here! And as an exclusive gift from me to you, use the code BLOGGERBEE to get $10 off the cost of the class!
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Hive-Workshops-KC-Blogger-009-e1452541396715.jpg533800Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2016-01-11 13:44:002016-01-11 13:44:00Blogging for Creatives Workshop : This Week!
A few weeks ago I was fortunate to be asked by one of my very best friends to help her create a unique announcement to share the news of her pregnancy with her friends and family. Abbie and her husband Luke were surprised and thrilled to find out they were expecting their third child, and she really wanted to do something that showcased her sweet family and included her two older sons. We decided to put together a video pregnancy announcement, which she shared on her social media to announce her good news! So fun!
We were super lucky, because the day after we shot this, the entire area was COVERED in snow and ice! It was totally nuts to be editing the images and footage of this gorgeous day while the wind was blowing outside and everything was coated in white. The day we shot, it was warm enough to be running around without coats and the boys had a blast wrestling, playing tag and chasing each other through the field. Within twelve hours, it would be a totally different scene!
I’m so excited to announce in 2016 I am officially adding VIDEO to my photography packages! A keepsake video of your family is a beautiful way to capture these precious moments in your life. If you’re interested in learning how to add video to your photography package, please visit my video page for more information, or contact me at megan@crazybananas.com.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2016-01-08_0001.jpg533800Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2016-01-08 12:05:142016-01-08 12:05:14Video Pregnancy Announcement : Kansas City Family Photographer
My Top Shows to Binge Watch in the Winter
/0 Comments/in Blond, Fun, Nerd Herd /by MeganA few years ago, after much hemming and hawing about the subject, Trent and I finally cut our ties with the cable company. We have gone with and without cable TV on and off for years, but we got to the point where we just couldn’t justify the cost. With this came tons of benefits…we read more. We spend more time away from the television. We don’t have the TV “on” for no reason or in the background. Our television watching time is definitely a bit more intentional.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a saint and I still watch TV! In fact, I probably still watch more than I should. With the combination of Netflix, Amazon Video and Hulu, I surely get my fix. But these days I’m finding shows I love and binge watching them, instead of spending time watching shows I feel pretty “meh” about (I’m looking at you, Bones and all CBS crime dramas!).
Over the holiday break, I gave myself permission to be a lazy as possible, and with the addition of some sick kids, we ended up spending a great deal of time stuck indoors…perfect chance to get started on some quality binge watching! Here are my Top 4 Favorite Shows to Binge Watch if you’re stuck inside this cold winter.
1. The Man in the High Castle (Amazon) – I had heard rave reviews about this drama from Amazon, but although the pilot was released early in 2015, the rest of the episodes weren’t made available until right before Thanksgiving. Based off the book of the same name written in 1963, the show follows an alternate universe, in which the Allies didn’t win World War II and the United States ends up being taken over by the Nazis and Japan. It follows the journeys of members of the Resistance, who are collecting videos to deliver to the mysterious “Man in the High Castle.” When they watch the videos, they see OUR history (ie. the Allies winning the war) and the show takes off from there. What is real? Are their multiple timelines? Who is the Man in the High Castle? It’s a mystery, sci-fi and historical drama all wrapped up into one. Bonus: The costuming and sets are INCREDIBLE.
2. Marvel’s Jessica Jones (Netflix) – I started watching this one right before Thanksgiving, but it’s pretty heavy, so I’m still working on finishing. The Marvel brand has made other great shows via Netflix before (like Daredevil), but I love the character of Jessica Jones and her world. The acting and story are really superb, and I really enjoy the idea of making a “superhero” just a regular person, instead of all dressed up in a mask and tights. Bonus: David Tennant is really disturbing and amazing in his role as the villain, Killgrave. Bonus #2: Luke Cage. Enough said.
3. iZombie (Netflix/Hulu/The CW) – Okay, I’m not gonna lie. The name of this show is super dumb. Like…so, so ridiculous. But once you can get past that, it’s a really fun, quirky program with a lot of dark humor. The pretense is that a successful doctor gets turned into a zombie, but no one in her life knows. She realizes she can remain mostly human by eating brains, so she get’s a job at the medical examiner’s office, where she can eat the brains of crime victims. A side effect is that she gets all the memories and characteristics of the person who’s brain she consumed. So she uses that to help solve their murders. Yep, it’s a zombie crime drama/comedy and it’s way more amazing than what I just described. It’s made by the same team that made Veronica Mars, and you can tell. The look and feel are quite similar. I know this is a hard sell, but trust me, give it a chance. Bonus: Season 1 just came out on Netflix, yay!
4. Making a Murderer (Netflix) – It’s hard to avoid all the online buzz about this documentary series that follows the case of Stephen Avery, a man who served 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, only to be released and charged with murder two years later. I am only on episode three, but from what I can tell…this is going to be a wild ride. Bonus: Critics are calling this show a television version of the podcast “Serial”…
What are you binge watching lately? Anything I should add to my list?
Blogging for Creatives Workshop : This Week!
/0 Comments/in bloglife, Crazybananas Photography /by MeganI’m so excited to be teaching a class for Hive Workshops this week all about blogging! I taught this class last summer and the response was awesome (you can see the recap from that class here). This is a workshop for all creatives, not just photographers and will take the creatives through the benefits and how-to’s of blogging for creative businesses. The end goal is for you to leave the workshop with the tools to either create your own business blog or to enhance your current blog and social media content. I will show real-time demonstrations and techniques for making your blog amazing! Worksheets will be provided for the creatives to keep for their own use. As with all Hive Workshops, open discussion is strongly encouraged!
At the end of this workshop, attendees should be able to:
– Understand how blogging helps build their business
– Identify the top blogging platforms for creatives
– Understand simple HTML and CSS tricks and tips to help them create and design their blog
– Know easy methods for building story and interest through blogging
– Describe how to make content shareable on social media
– Identify the best social media platforms to focus on in order to build their brand
– Understand how to promote their blog, including SEO and hashtags
– Describe and explain the “3-and-3 Blogging Rule”
– Be familiar with programs/plugins specific to creatives that make blogging workflow fast and efficient
Event sponsors include J. Lynn Designery, who will be gifting our creatives with 25% anything in her shop! Her blog planners are a must have for bloggers in order to make successful blogging easy and productive. BlogStomp is a returning sponsor and will be gifting our creatives 20% off their products. BlogStomp makes creating image boards for your blog quick and easy, cutting down workflow and making it simple to create beautiful blogs that showcase your best work.
I would LOVE to see you at this workshop on Wednesday, January 13th from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Hive Workshops fantastic space in the West Bottoms in Kansas City! To sign up, click here! And as an exclusive gift from me to you, use the code BLOGGERBEE to get $10 off the cost of the class!
Video Pregnancy Announcement : Kansas City Family Photographer
/0 Comments/in Crazybananas Photography /by MeganA few weeks ago I was fortunate to be asked by one of my very best friends to help her create a unique announcement to share the news of her pregnancy with her friends and family. Abbie and her husband Luke were surprised and thrilled to find out they were expecting their third child, and she really wanted to do something that showcased her sweet family and included her two older sons. We decided to put together a video pregnancy announcement, which she shared on her social media to announce her good news! So fun!
We were super lucky, because the day after we shot this, the entire area was COVERED in snow and ice! It was totally nuts to be editing the images and footage of this gorgeous day while the wind was blowing outside and everything was coated in white. The day we shot, it was warm enough to be running around without coats and the boys had a blast wrestling, playing tag and chasing each other through the field. Within twelve hours, it would be a totally different scene!
I’m so excited to announce in 2016 I am officially adding VIDEO to my photography packages! A keepsake video of your family is a beautiful way to capture these precious moments in your life. If you’re interested in learning how to add video to your photography package, please visit my video page for more information, or contact me at megan@crazybananas.com.