A collection of transformation, identity, and the stories that shape who we become.
THE BOOK of BECOMING
a living collection
Our meetings with Sony yesterday were unreal. I am so overwhelmed with how AMAZING it was that I’ve been in and out of tears. Every thing will be officially announced on Monday to the press. So you better believe that I’ll be sharing the good news on Monday morning with all of you, right here!
In the midst of an unforgettable day, we have even more crazy news to share!
This is actually another DREAM come true for me and Brian! It’s one of those dreams that your almost afraid to wish for, but you hold your breath and go for it anyway. (What do you have to lose, right?!)
Here it is…Our instructional, photography DVD series, Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box , has won one of the most prestigious parenting awards ever! The National Parenting Publication GOLD Award! To give you an idea of who else submits their products for this award…Last year, the 10th Anniversary Edition of Baby Einstein won! Can you believe that! Our DVDs are keeping good company!!!
We submitted each DVD on its own to be judged and scored independently, and I can’t tell you how excited we are that they BOTH won the GOLD award!
On June ST, NAPPA and their partner, Parenthood, will have our DVDS and the other winners appear in over THIRTY magazines! Brian and I are so excited to see what this will be like to have that much exposure at once! Check out the list of magazines! It’s going to be crazy! Do any of you receive these magazines already? If you see our DVDS in them, will you cut it out and send it to me? My grandma and I would LOVE to have a copy of the features!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with NAPPA, here is a quick summary. (Check out NAPPA’s website to learn more! They carry a big influence on what is hot for parents!)
NAPPA is one of the oldest and most prestigious Children’s Products and Parenting Resources competitions. Expert judges and family testers select from hundreds of products that embody innovative design, quality construction, and make parenting easier.
In regards to the DVD winners, Judges evaluated programs for their overall appeal, production value, quality of content and benefits –
which may be pro-social role models, educational content or pure entertainment. Every winning title is one that you could happily add to your collection and enjoy sharing with the children in your life.
Is that AWESOME or what!
If you haven’t seen our DVDS, or should I say “Award Winning DVDS” :), you can check them out and purchase them at our product site, Refuse to Say Cheese! If you are a friend that lives abroad, Downloadable Versions are available too!
Okay, keep voting for your favorite Finalist! We are almost to 300 votes, and we only need 500 total by Sunday night for a Random Voter to win Adobe Lightroom 2! Click HERE to vote today!
We will be back Monday for the most amazing news ever on what Sony has done to change our world! Hint: some of you helped inspire it!
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We only have FIVE SPOTS left for the Seattle June workshop. The enthusiasm, nervousness, willingness, and openness of the attendees so far is going to make this a fantastic workshop! If you are looking to take our workshop on the West Coast, this is your best bet before the summer ends! To see all the details, check out THIS BLOG post. To grab a spot and get the early bird special, GO HERE! The Early Bird price ends this coming Wednesday, so make sure you get signed up before the special is over!
May 15th, 2009 at 6:01 am
Wow! That is great news! Congratulations! The DVDs are really good so I’m not in the least surprised! Well done you!!
May 15th, 2009 at 6:16 am
OH Me Ra!!! I’m so excited for you guys!!! This is awesome!
I’ll be sure to grab a few copies of the mag! One to send to you, one for me and extras to pass out to friends who don’t have your DVD’s yet!
I’ll be checking first thing monday morning to hear ALL of the exciting news!
I’m so thrilled for you guys!
May 15th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Congratulations!
The DVDs are excellent and you deserve all the praise and awards they receive!
May 15th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Mera (and Professor Townsend),
Congratulations! It’s been on my mind to share with you and whoever else will listen that YOU were my first photography teacher. Yes, I took a course in HS that taught me nothing. But 10 years later I had a DSLR put in my hands & no idea what to do. I found your blog and learned. I bought your videos and learned some more. I practiced what you taught… and now I’m a finalist in your photo contest & pursuing photography as a trade.
Because of YOU.
Thank you for moving beyond yourselves & your business and teaching and investing in others. 🙂
Michelle S.
May 15th, 2009 at 7:00 am
Me Ra and Brian–I can’t think of anyone who deserves all these blessings more than you. Can’t wait to hear the great news from Sony–and heartfelt congratulations on the NAPPA award!
May 15th, 2009 at 7:01 am
Congratulations! You guys are so awesome.
May 15th, 2009 at 7:02 am
A HUGE congratulations to you BOTH. You are FABULOUS, FUNNY & FOCUSED (on things that matter). I shoot manually now, and owe my education/pivotal point to your wacky, loving, cut-to-the-chase instruction. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!
May 15th, 2009 at 7:25 am
Oh my gosh, can’t wait till Monday & that isn’t something I say EVER! 🙂
May 15th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Since we are on the topic of your DVDs… I am a cashier at Costco and we sell a ton of Nikon and Canon DSLRS. No joke every time one comes through my line I close my till off afterwards and tell them all about Merakohblog.com and your DVDs that they really need to go home and purchase! I guess this is my public apology to everyone else standing in line behind them, that i make just stand there!!
Great work!
May 15th, 2009 at 7:46 am
CONGRATS!!!
May 15th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Way to go! My parents live near San Antonio, so they will be on the lookout for the magazine.
You two are too awesome!
May 15th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Congratulations!! I always love when really good things happen to really good people!
May 15th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Yayyyyy!!!!!
I’m so excited for you guys. You deserve EVERY BIT OF IT! And honestly, I would only have been surprised if the DVDs had gotten anything less than GOLD. They are an incredible resource. I only wish there were MORE.
Looking forward to Monday…
May 15th, 2009 at 9:33 am
WOWOWOWOW! A huge congratulations to you both!!! As a purchaser of the DVDs, I must admit, they are quite fabulous! So fabulous, that I’m now so motivated with capturing my children’s childhood that I signed up for your Seattle workshop! I CANNOT WAIT!!!!!
Congrats!!
May 15th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Congratulations! Such exciting news all around. Bravo for you and Brian! Can’t wait to hear the Sony announcement.
May 15th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
congratulations, brian and me rah…awesome!!
May 15th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Congratulations!!!! So exciting. And, you’re killing me about the Sony announcement! Monday is so far away…
May 15th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Thanks so much everyone for celebrating with us!! The NAPPA award is such a honor, but to hear about how much you’ve gained from the DVDs is incredibly moving! And Steph, I LOVE your Costco story! Go girl!!
May 15th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Congratulations on such an amazing (and well deserved) accomplishment!
As great as this news is I cannot imagine what Monday’s news could possibly be!!
May 15th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Oooh, congratulations on such amazing news!! You guys deserve it! They actually have piles of the Westchester Family (Mamaroneck, NY) in the lobby of my chiroprator’s building, so I’ll keep an eye out for you and send you copies! Much love!!
May 15th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
wonderful, amazing news! so happy for you guys…seriously!
May 15th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
definitely something to celebrate – congratulations! this is awesome!
May 15th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Veriest congratulations to you both!
May 15th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Congrats on winning the award! You guys are SO awesome…it’s not surprising that you WON!!!!! 🙂 I love those DVD’s!
….can’t wait to hear what going on with you guys and Sony!
May 16th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Great news! What a well-deserved accolade – I wouldn’t know how to use my camera without you guys. 🙂
May 16th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
You deserve all the blessings you are receiving and more!
I totally agree with the others who said that your DVD’s taught them so much when they were struggling in the beginning. Without them, I seriously doubt I would have ever pursued photography. Combine those with the workshop and, well, it doesn’t get any better than that!!!
Congratulations!! whooo hooo!!!
May 16th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Congrats, you deserve it!!!
May 17th, 2009 at 3:36 am
Congratulations!!! So happy for you both! You two give so very much and it is nice to see this continuing to all come back to you.
May 17th, 2009 at 3:38 am
PS: The DVD’s continue to give and give too because we have gone back to them time and time again. A real tool for the “gear” box. 😉
May 17th, 2009 at 4:11 am
Congratulations! You are two of the most deserving people! I am so happy for you! Can’t wait to see what comes next!!!
May 17th, 2009 at 4:36 am
Congratulations!! I live in Augusta, GA so I will be on the lookout and I “might” be able to get my hands on the Columbia, SC one as well!
May 17th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
This posting reminds me of several moments over the past couple of years. When you first showed a portion of the DVD of the Professor in your living room. And when after 5 years you returned to public speaking. I am so happy for you. So proud of you:) I knew this was going to be big…and I am glad that NAPPA agrees.
June 2nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to […]
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:43 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to […]
June 5th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to […]
June 8th, 2009 at 4:09 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to […]
June 15th, 2009 at 5:22 am
[…] awards in the parent product industry: The Gold Award from NAPPA! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
June 16th, 2009 at 5:07 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to […]
June 19th, 2009 at 4:49 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:57 am
[…] our DVD series! The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
June 24th, 2009 at 5:06 am
[…] our DVD series! The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
June 25th, 2009 at 5:45 am
[…] our DVD series! The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
July 1st, 2009 at 5:46 am
[…] our DVD series! The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
July 6th, 2009 at 5:04 am
[…] our DVD series! The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
July 9th, 2009 at 5:35 am
[…] our DVD series! The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
September 28th, 2009 at 5:41 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
September 29th, 2009 at 4:27 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
September 30th, 2009 at 5:21 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 6th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 8th, 2009 at 9:41 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 9th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 12th, 2009 at 5:17 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 14th, 2009 at 4:34 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 20th, 2009 at 5:05 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 21st, 2009 at 8:31 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 23rd, 2009 at 8:37 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 26th, 2009 at 4:34 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 28th, 2009 at 9:37 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
October 28th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
November 4th, 2009 at 5:20 am
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
November 17th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
November 18th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
November 18th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to […]
November 18th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse […]
November 18th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
[…] Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to […]
March 26th, 2011 at 8:09 pm
YAY!!!!! So happy for you and Brian — you guys are the best!