Welcome to our seventh & final installment of “Getting to Know Your Cloud 9 Staffers” – Holiday Edition!  This week we are featuring 20 questions with the one and only Jeanine!  

Check it out!!! 

1) What’s your name & job title at Cloud 9?

Jeanine McLeod – Owner and photographer 😉

2) How long have you worked at Cloud 9?

I am going on 11 years of the studio being in Wesley Chapel! I still can’t believe how fast the time has flown.

3) What’s your favorite part of your job?
(cross out the word job, because the studio never feels like work to me)

I love being welcomed in to my client’s family and trusted to create photographic art of their children. Oh and I LOVE when the dads get just as excited about the results as the moms!! That gets me all giddy on the inside.

4) What are your hobbies?

I am an avid sports fan. I love Gator Football, Lightning Hockey as well as my JETS and METS. My Fantasy Football team (Victorious Secret) is currently entering the playoffs …
 

5) What’s your favorite holiday movie?

I can’t pick just one. I LOVE them all! The 25 days of Christmas on TV speaks my love language. If I had to narrow it down I would say Rudolph is my favorite cartoon, Christmas Story is my favorite movie and then Love Actually is my favorite romantic comedy set at Christmas time.

6) What’s your favorite holiday song?

I’ll Be Home for Christmas – Frank Sinatra; I truly love all the classics sung by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Andy Williams.

7) What’s your favorite Christmas gift as a child?

When Cabbage Patch Dolls were all the rage my mother somehow managed to get one and have it under the tree. I remember waking up and the doll was actually tucked in to bed with me with a note from Santa. HELLO Christmas magic!!

8) Favorite holiday tradition?

We are a big Italian family and I love our Christmas Eve tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes. My mom and uncle used to be the ones who hosted and pulled off this event. We would eat all day and then go to Midnight Mass. Things have changed a bit since I was little, but now I am the host of the day and while I don’t quite get all 7 fishes served, I do always have 5! So can we call it the Feast of the 5 Fishes? I love cooking for everyone and having my family and friends over to celebrate the eve of the birth of Jesus.

9) Wrapping paper or gift bags?

I like to mix it up and do a little bit of both.

10) Real or Fake tree?

Fake Tree … Real trees make me sneeze.

11) Clear lights or colored?

So this is a source of contention in our house. I like white lights and David likes color. Thank GOD for modern technology as we ended up getting a pre-lit tree that switches between the two. Whoever walks by the tree is always changing it to what they like best. HAHA

12) Star or Angel tree topper?

Angel!

13) Gingerbread or sugar cookies?

I am not a cookie snob. I eat them all. Unless they have nuts in them. I don’t like nuts in my sweets.

14) Hot Cocoa, Egg Nog, or Apple Cider?

Hot cocoa AND Egg Nog … as long as that Egg Nog has a little “something something” added to it 😉

15) What are your favorite holiday foods?

Mint M&Ms, Peppermint Mocha and the Crab Bisque I make on Christmas Eve

16) Peppermint Lover or Hater?

LOVER … Peppermint is like a little piece of heaven

17) Open presents Christmas Eve or morning?

Christmas Morning!!! I am usually up before the kids on Christmas morning … I LOVE all the excitement. In fact I may actually get more excited then they do!

18) What is your favorite activity of Peppermint the Elf?

I like when Peppermint tries to sneak off with the studio candy. Bad little elf.

19) What is your favorite part of the holidays at the studio?

I love getting to see all my clients and how big the kids have grown. This is the time of year everyone comes for portraits. I love being busy and the hustle and bustle of all the creativity happening each day. Oh and of course I love designing, building and photographing all my Christmas sets!

20) Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer (without looking it up?)

Well there is Dasher and Dancer and Donner and Blitzen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Vixen, but do you recall … the most famous reindeer of all?? Rudolph!!! (I told you it was my favorite movie afterall!)

And of course I can’t leave you without posting one of my funny family Santa portraits. Ahhhh my sweet baby James. He just did not share the love with Santa this year. Hopefully next year he will understand my obsession with the bearded man and make beautiful portraits with him! LOL