Many of you know that I have a wedding video business that I run. I have a blast doing so and love shooting the weddings. There is nothing like watching two people start their new life together. On top of that, I am doing something that they will be able to cherish for years to come. I look at this as an art form and what other art form will be people be able to look at years and years later to remember a special day in their life. It gives me such pride to know that I am creating something that 20 or 30 years from now, some kids are going to be able to watch and ask their parents what they thought about that day.
That being said, I have been very busy the past few weeks getting ready for a bridal show this weekend. Since I am a one man operation, I have to do pretty much all the marketing work my self for this. Oh, I get lots of help from Leeann, she is my best source of information when it comes to how things should look and what would work best, but as far as putting it together, well, its just me. Just to give you an idea of what I have been doing, I have had to put together about 500 folders with information about me and my business, I have burned and labeled over 600 DVD's to hand out. I have put a half page ad in the bridal magazine that comes out at the show. This magazine is the bible in this area for brides to be.
I have also been doing a lot more research into marketing my business, I have ordered DVD's from well established wedding videographers to get ideas to help me improve my business. I can only hope that it works well for me.
An old friend of mine stopped by tonight to borrow some equipment for a wedding he is going to shoot for a family member of his. He works for a local TV station that I tired to get a job at this past summer. I did not get the job even though the guy I interviewed with told me he wanted me and was going to hire me. I had a feeling why I didn't get the job but, I did not have a way to prove it. Well, tonight I was told I was right in my thinking. Seems that my old boss at the large cable network did not like the fact that anyone would want to leave any job that involves working with her to go someplace else. Seems as if she went to someone she knew at this local station and spoke poorly of me. Now, I can't positively prove this, but if I could.......
I am not mad about this, it has worked out for the best for me. I am happy where I am and feel good about the direction I am taking. But, if I could only prove this,
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Where Have You Been -- It's Christmas
OK, OK, I know it has been a long time since my last post. October in fact, that is too long a span to try and make up here in this posting, but let's just say I have been busy with life, Thanksgiving, mine and Leeann's birthday, Katie.
But, enough about that, lets talk about Christmas. We had a great one to say the least. The past several weeks I have been putting together things I wanted to get Leeann. Since she has lost so much weight, it is almost like she is a new person. She is still the same person, but she is in a way a new person. She has gotten into wearing P.J.'s. She looks so cute in them that I went out for the first time since we have been married and got her some new PJ's from Victoria's Secret. I was not too sure she would like them. I knew they would fit, but I was not sure she would like them. SHE DID!! I was so happy.
This was one of the best Christmas we have had with Katie in a long time. In Christmas past she has either rushed through the gifts so fast that she did not know what she had or she didn't care what she got. Today, she smiled so big at each gift, she looked at each one with joy and happiness. She opened one gift, a blanket that was very soft to the touch and could be heated up in the microwave oven to warm her up. Anyway, she touched the blanket and said in the biggest "Princess" voice, "So Impressive" with a bit of attitude thrown in for good measure. You just had to laugh.
We let her play the rest of the day and just have some fun. Now, in the years past, she played with a few things, but moved on to her favorite toys she had before Christmas. This year was so different. When we finished with the gifts, she went up to her room and got her iPod on a danced around like she does most any other day. "Oh well," we thought, same as every year. But, much to our amazement and joy, she went to her new dress up trunk, played with her new cat and talking parrot. (Not a real one mind you, but you would think it was real the way it talks back) It was so much fun to listen to her play with her toys, to be a little girl and just to hear her have some fun.
I did a bit blue tonight as we were winding things down tonight. I made a garbage run with some of the big boxes and wrapping paper. There were not many people out and I was taking the long way home to look at some lights. I went by a house near our home and there in the window was a small, and i do mean small, Christmas tree with a few lights on it. It was the only sign of any Christmas in the house as the rest of the house was dark. It made me think back to my dad and one very special Christmas we had:
I had been out of the Army since March and i was living with my dad and two brothers. We didn't have a lot of money, but we did OK. It was late November or early December, I can't remember, and my dad and I were talking about what we were going to do for Christmas. I told him that I didn't want to do much of anything for Christmas, I wasn't in the Christmas mood, didn't want to go through all the trouble and such. I said, "Dad, I don't even want a tree to put up, it is too much hassle. Besides, who would notice?" He got so mad at me when I said that. He jumped up and said, "As long as I am alive, have a roof over my head and a dollar in my pocket, we WILL have a tree in this house!" With that, he went out the door and came back about 20 minutes later with a small tree, about 2 feet tall with a few lights on it. He stuck in on top of the TV we had in the living room. He looked at me, smiled at me and said, "There will always be a tree in this house no matter how small the tree or the house."
I miss my dad sometimes, I miss being able to talk to him about things. I miss the fact that he never got to meet Leeann or to see his first grandchild, Katie, or that he missed being able to play with her. Most of all, I miss him being in my life. I know that he is with me, but sometimes I wish I had one more day with him.
I hope everyone has had a great Christmas.
But, enough about that, lets talk about Christmas. We had a great one to say the least. The past several weeks I have been putting together things I wanted to get Leeann. Since she has lost so much weight, it is almost like she is a new person. She is still the same person, but she is in a way a new person. She has gotten into wearing P.J.'s. She looks so cute in them that I went out for the first time since we have been married and got her some new PJ's from Victoria's Secret. I was not too sure she would like them. I knew they would fit, but I was not sure she would like them. SHE DID!! I was so happy.
This was one of the best Christmas we have had with Katie in a long time. In Christmas past she has either rushed through the gifts so fast that she did not know what she had or she didn't care what she got. Today, she smiled so big at each gift, she looked at each one with joy and happiness. She opened one gift, a blanket that was very soft to the touch and could be heated up in the microwave oven to warm her up. Anyway, she touched the blanket and said in the biggest "Princess" voice, "So Impressive" with a bit of attitude thrown in for good measure. You just had to laugh.
We let her play the rest of the day and just have some fun. Now, in the years past, she played with a few things, but moved on to her favorite toys she had before Christmas. This year was so different. When we finished with the gifts, she went up to her room and got her iPod on a danced around like she does most any other day. "Oh well," we thought, same as every year. But, much to our amazement and joy, she went to her new dress up trunk, played with her new cat and talking parrot. (Not a real one mind you, but you would think it was real the way it talks back) It was so much fun to listen to her play with her toys, to be a little girl and just to hear her have some fun.
I did a bit blue tonight as we were winding things down tonight. I made a garbage run with some of the big boxes and wrapping paper. There were not many people out and I was taking the long way home to look at some lights. I went by a house near our home and there in the window was a small, and i do mean small, Christmas tree with a few lights on it. It was the only sign of any Christmas in the house as the rest of the house was dark. It made me think back to my dad and one very special Christmas we had:
I had been out of the Army since March and i was living with my dad and two brothers. We didn't have a lot of money, but we did OK. It was late November or early December, I can't remember, and my dad and I were talking about what we were going to do for Christmas. I told him that I didn't want to do much of anything for Christmas, I wasn't in the Christmas mood, didn't want to go through all the trouble and such. I said, "Dad, I don't even want a tree to put up, it is too much hassle. Besides, who would notice?" He got so mad at me when I said that. He jumped up and said, "As long as I am alive, have a roof over my head and a dollar in my pocket, we WILL have a tree in this house!" With that, he went out the door and came back about 20 minutes later with a small tree, about 2 feet tall with a few lights on it. He stuck in on top of the TV we had in the living room. He looked at me, smiled at me and said, "There will always be a tree in this house no matter how small the tree or the house."
I miss my dad sometimes, I miss being able to talk to him about things. I miss the fact that he never got to meet Leeann or to see his first grandchild, Katie, or that he missed being able to play with her. Most of all, I miss him being in my life. I know that he is with me, but sometimes I wish I had one more day with him.
I hope everyone has had a great Christmas.
Friday, October 26, 2007
What a week!!!
We are home from our nice trip to the beach. We had a great time but, there were a few things that could have been better. I enjoyed the trip down there, but coming home was a bit tough. But, why start at the end, lets go back in time to Monday and out day at the beach.
We rented bikes and tried to ride down to the beach. Katie had not been one to ride bikes which I don't understand, she has great balance on a horse. She sits up and has great control of her core muscels, but when it comes to a bike, she just has no control. Well, we got her a bike with some training wheels and off we went. She did great for the most part. It just took a bit to get her to understand that she needed to use the brake. There was one time when she was going down a very slight hill and she forgot to break and ran off the sidewalk and into a bush. I just had to laugh. Of course, Katie didn't think it was too funny, but I was proud of her for getting back up on the bike. It took a bit of talking to get her back on the bike, but she did it and made it to the beach and back in one piece. A bit scraped up, but in one piece.
We made it to the beach agian the next day and spent most of the day there. There were a couple of tidal pools on the beach and we found some very small crabs in them. Well, that was Katie's day. She spent the best part of the day playing with the crabs while Leeann and I sat on the beach, reading. You could not have asked for a better day. Well, it was not as good as that, Leeann, Katie and I all got a bit of sun burn. mine on my right side, mostly my shoulder. Leeann on her right side as well, but also on her EAR?!?!?!!?!? How do you get a sun burn on your ear??? Leave it to her. Katie got her sunburn on her back since she spent the day bent over playing with the crabs.
We decided to hed off to Savahana and do some sightseeing. We also wanted to do Paula Deens' place. First off, I have seen a lot of her TV shows because of where I used to work. Leeann and Katie have loved watching her shows and it seems like she is a great cook. Well, you have to wait in line to get a reseveration, then wait in line for your table. The food is not the great. Think of a cafeteria type resturant and get the type and style of food.
I am tired, so I am going to wrap up for the night and tell you more tormrrow.
We rented bikes and tried to ride down to the beach. Katie had not been one to ride bikes which I don't understand, she has great balance on a horse. She sits up and has great control of her core muscels, but when it comes to a bike, she just has no control. Well, we got her a bike with some training wheels and off we went. She did great for the most part. It just took a bit to get her to understand that she needed to use the brake. There was one time when she was going down a very slight hill and she forgot to break and ran off the sidewalk and into a bush. I just had to laugh. Of course, Katie didn't think it was too funny, but I was proud of her for getting back up on the bike. It took a bit of talking to get her back on the bike, but she did it and made it to the beach and back in one piece. A bit scraped up, but in one piece.
We made it to the beach agian the next day and spent most of the day there. There were a couple of tidal pools on the beach and we found some very small crabs in them. Well, that was Katie's day. She spent the best part of the day playing with the crabs while Leeann and I sat on the beach, reading. You could not have asked for a better day. Well, it was not as good as that, Leeann, Katie and I all got a bit of sun burn. mine on my right side, mostly my shoulder. Leeann on her right side as well, but also on her EAR?!?!?!!?!? How do you get a sun burn on your ear??? Leave it to her. Katie got her sunburn on her back since she spent the day bent over playing with the crabs.
We decided to hed off to Savahana and do some sightseeing. We also wanted to do Paula Deens' place. First off, I have seen a lot of her TV shows because of where I used to work. Leeann and Katie have loved watching her shows and it seems like she is a great cook. Well, you have to wait in line to get a reseveration, then wait in line for your table. The food is not the great. Think of a cafeteria type resturant and get the type and style of food.
I am tired, so I am going to wrap up for the night and tell you more tormrrow.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Fall Break
We are here in Hilton Head. We made the trip down here without any problems. It was kinda fun to make a road tirp after all the plane trips we have made latley. We got Katie a new game for her Leapster and that was all she wanted to do all the way down here.
We got here at about sundown and went to the beach real quick. MAN, it was wonderful!!! the sun sitting, the crimson sky, the cool ocean wind, Katie running around the beach in her bare feet looking for shells. it was so nice. We went to the South Beach area and had fun dinner at the Salty Dog Cafe. We are all beat. I will post a photo we took at the beach tomorrow, I am too tired tonight.
Bye
We got here at about sundown and went to the beach real quick. MAN, it was wonderful!!! the sun sitting, the crimson sky, the cool ocean wind, Katie running around the beach in her bare feet looking for shells. it was so nice. We went to the South Beach area and had fun dinner at the Salty Dog Cafe. We are all beat. I will post a photo we took at the beach tomorrow, I am too tired tonight.
Bye
Sunday, October 14, 2007
43!!!!! OH MY
Well, my birthday has come and gone. I am now 43 years old. Middle aged. On the the down side to 50. But, like Leeann says every time I complain about being old, I am just happy to be this old and to have the chance to see this age. She gets that from her great Aunt Gladys. When we first moved to Knoxville we meet Gladys Cantrell and we spent the next few years helping take care of her. I did things like little change light bulbs, fix a thing here or there. Leeann helped her with her day to day things and her bookkeeping. The great thing about here was she loved everyday she was alive. She never complained about a wrinkle, a stiff joint or much of anything for that matter. We may all need to be that way, just be happy for each day we have and enjoy that day what ever it may bring.
We had dinner with our really good friends Rick and Lisa. They are such good friends to have, I can't tell you how many times they have helped us with things. We are really lucky to have them as part of our lives.
Spent part of Saturday at the farm taking the horses for a walk. Yes, you read that right, we took the horses for a walk. We want to start riding trails with the guys and we want to get them used to walking in the woods with twigs breaking and such. Well, they did great. Sunny never flinched, or acted like she was in the least bit afraid to go through the thick brush, low hanging trees and branches.
I want to say a big THANK YOU to Rick and Lisa for the iTunes cards, can never have too much music. To Lynn and Lillian (mom and mommom) for the Target card, something good will come from that I am sure. But most of all to my wonderful wife and daughter for keeping my birthday very low key. They know I am not a big fan of my own birthday, but they did give me Madden 08 and that will keep me busy for some time.
43, lets hope there are 43 more to come
We had dinner with our really good friends Rick and Lisa. They are such good friends to have, I can't tell you how many times they have helped us with things. We are really lucky to have them as part of our lives.
Spent part of Saturday at the farm taking the horses for a walk. Yes, you read that right, we took the horses for a walk. We want to start riding trails with the guys and we want to get them used to walking in the woods with twigs breaking and such. Well, they did great. Sunny never flinched, or acted like she was in the least bit afraid to go through the thick brush, low hanging trees and branches.
I want to say a big THANK YOU to Rick and Lisa for the iTunes cards, can never have too much music. To Lynn and Lillian (mom and mommom) for the Target card, something good will come from that I am sure. But most of all to my wonderful wife and daughter for keeping my birthday very low key. They know I am not a big fan of my own birthday, but they did give me Madden 08 and that will keep me busy for some time.
43, lets hope there are 43 more to come
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
What has happened to us??
I am fast approaching my next birthday. I am not going to tell you the date, as I am not a big fan of birthdays. I don't hate my birthday; I just don't like to make a big deal of it. I tell Leeann to just kiss me in the morning, tell me "Happy Birthday" and that is it. Anyway, I have been thinking of my age a lot the past month, as I have been very sore the past month with the workouts I have been doing in "Boot Camp". So, I have been much more aware of my age the past couple of days. I have been thinking about what I have seen, where I have been and what I have done. I can tell you, I am very happy with my life up to this point. I have a loving wife and daughter, both very supportive of my dreams and hopes. But, something this week really made me question a few things
This week I have been a "door opener" at Katie's school. This is a volunteer service our school does to help traffic in the morning. There are about 4 of us each morning standing outside the school and we open the door of the cars dropping off the kids for school each day. These past couple of days have opened my eyes to a couple of things:
1. What happened to our excitement in life? I have been watching the kids coming to school and they have been running, laughing and skipping into the school. Do you remember being excited to get to school and seeing your friends, playing on the playground? I have been watching these kids laughing and having so much fun. Why don't we do that as adults? Why do we go off to work each day dragging our feet, head hung down looking forward to nothing more then the end of the day? Where is the excitement in our day? How much better would our day be if we went to work each day with the same laughter, joy and enthusiasm these kids have going to school? We each have chosen the path we are on and only we can choose to change that path or the direction of that path. We have the ability to be just as happy as these kids; we just choose to chase the dollar, and to see who can get the most toys. My only advice is this: There is no prize in heaven for having the most toys, only a prize for the heart for the most joy.
2. The other thing that has had me thinking is the fact that when I was Katie's age, 8, I
lived a greater distance from school than Katie does now. I walked or rode my bike to school each day, not once thinking about how far I had to walk, or if I was in any danger. Today, there is not enough money being printed in the world today to let me allow Katie to walk or ride a bike to school today. That makes me so very sad that we live in a world where a little girl has to be watched over to make sure nothing happens to her. We all read the stories in the newspaper about what happens to kids by people who are very sick. I would love to allow Katie to play outside more, or for her to go to the park down the street and play with other kids, but that is not going to happen
I saw a story in our local paper the other day where they are going to make a playground area bigger, but when I drive around town doing errands I never see kids playing at any playgrounds without either a lot of parents around, or teachers right near by. Why are our kids overweight and video game junkies? Simple, we can't allow them outside to play the way we used to play (kickball, football, baseball games, running in the park, playing tag) because we have some very sick and dangerous people in the world and we are trying to get the most toys.
One more thing since I mentioned tag. There have been several school systems across the country have banned the game of tag. They say it is not good for the kids to be chased after or to be scared from others running after them. The simplest game there is for kids to play is being taken away because some parents don't want their little darlings to get scared or feel like someone is after them. Why are our kids overweight???
This one last thing and I will get off my soapbox. We got a notice from school the other day about the grading system Knox County will be using for kids. They will be using letter grades as follows: A, B, C, D, & U. Do you notice anything???
That is right, there is no "F"s. So kids can't fail anymore. This has to be some over the top mom or dad who didn't want their kid to feel like a failure in life. I got a few "F"'s in my life. I am not a failure, I don't have low self-esteem, and I am a pretty normal person and pretty well adjusted. The "F" made me work harder (along with a belt from my dad, more about that later) to make sure I didn't get another one. I felt bad for making that grade. I knew each time that I could have done better, and I did.
My birthday is in a couple of days and I have to ask, what has happened to us???
This week I have been a "door opener" at Katie's school. This is a volunteer service our school does to help traffic in the morning. There are about 4 of us each morning standing outside the school and we open the door of the cars dropping off the kids for school each day. These past couple of days have opened my eyes to a couple of things:
1. What happened to our excitement in life? I have been watching the kids coming to school and they have been running, laughing and skipping into the school. Do you remember being excited to get to school and seeing your friends, playing on the playground? I have been watching these kids laughing and having so much fun. Why don't we do that as adults? Why do we go off to work each day dragging our feet, head hung down looking forward to nothing more then the end of the day? Where is the excitement in our day? How much better would our day be if we went to work each day with the same laughter, joy and enthusiasm these kids have going to school? We each have chosen the path we are on and only we can choose to change that path or the direction of that path. We have the ability to be just as happy as these kids; we just choose to chase the dollar, and to see who can get the most toys. My only advice is this: There is no prize in heaven for having the most toys, only a prize for the heart for the most joy.
2. The other thing that has had me thinking is the fact that when I was Katie's age, 8, I
lived a greater distance from school than Katie does now. I walked or rode my bike to school each day, not once thinking about how far I had to walk, or if I was in any danger. Today, there is not enough money being printed in the world today to let me allow Katie to walk or ride a bike to school today. That makes me so very sad that we live in a world where a little girl has to be watched over to make sure nothing happens to her. We all read the stories in the newspaper about what happens to kids by people who are very sick. I would love to allow Katie to play outside more, or for her to go to the park down the street and play with other kids, but that is not going to happen
I saw a story in our local paper the other day where they are going to make a playground area bigger, but when I drive around town doing errands I never see kids playing at any playgrounds without either a lot of parents around, or teachers right near by. Why are our kids overweight and video game junkies? Simple, we can't allow them outside to play the way we used to play (kickball, football, baseball games, running in the park, playing tag) because we have some very sick and dangerous people in the world and we are trying to get the most toys.
One more thing since I mentioned tag. There have been several school systems across the country have banned the game of tag. They say it is not good for the kids to be chased after or to be scared from others running after them. The simplest game there is for kids to play is being taken away because some parents don't want their little darlings to get scared or feel like someone is after them. Why are our kids overweight???
This one last thing and I will get off my soapbox. We got a notice from school the other day about the grading system Knox County will be using for kids. They will be using letter grades as follows: A, B, C, D, & U. Do you notice anything???
That is right, there is no "F"s. So kids can't fail anymore. This has to be some over the top mom or dad who didn't want their kid to feel like a failure in life. I got a few "F"'s in my life. I am not a failure, I don't have low self-esteem, and I am a pretty normal person and pretty well adjusted. The "F" made me work harder (along with a belt from my dad, more about that later) to make sure I didn't get another one. I felt bad for making that grade. I knew each time that I could have done better, and I did.
My birthday is in a couple of days and I have to ask, what has happened to us???
Friday, September 21, 2007
Two Down and Two to GO!!!
We are back from the big trip out west. We had a good time most of the time we were out there, but the last night there was not much fun. Understand that it was in the high 90's or 100+ every day we were there, Saturday being no exception. When we got done with the day we went back to our room and found it quite stuffy to say the least. We turned on the air and went out to the pool to cool off thinking this would give the room time to cool off. Well, while we were at the pool I found out something, while I have a heater for our pool here, because of the number of trees in our yard keeps the sun from hitting the pool most of the day, out there, they actually cool their pool water with a water cooling systems. We were told that if they did not do this, the water would be like bath water by the end of the day and you would not want to get in.
Anyway, we went back to our room to find it hotter than when we left. I called the front desk and after a 20 minute wait, the engineer came to the room and tried find the problem. He found it. The air unit was frozen. He had to turn the heat on to thaw it out. Took about 20 minutes and we were able to get the air going again. To make things a bit better, we had them send a fan out to the room to make it more comfortable.
I would not mind living out there, it was so nice. The roads were well done, smooth and new. The homes were very nice, and for the most part the people were nice. The sky was SO BLUE. Just a bit hotter than I would have liked. But the best part to me is that during football season, I would be in heaven. Since most games start at 12 noon on Saturday, that is 9am out there. They then go ALL DAY LONG. You get the east coast games, then you have the west coast teams that start around 6pm and go until 9 or 10 at night. It is like Thanksgiving every Saturday. You know, on Thanksgiving there seems like there are game all day long.
Then on Sunday's it starts all over again, NFL kicks off at 10 am, enough time to sleep a bit late, or hit the early service at church, then have brunch in front of the big screen watching games all day. Leeann may not like it out there for that reason, but for a football fan, it is the best place to be.
Everyone wants to know about Boot Camp. Well, I am two weeks in and have two more to go. The mornings are getting a bit better but that alarm clock going off at 5 am is still tough. The works outs change everyday so we don't get into a habit of doing the same thing everyday. I come home every day covered in sweat, sore, tired but feeling good for the most part. Some days are better than others. Like yesterday for example, we were using those rubber cords that offer strength training. But, man those things kill your arm if you use them the right way. And we are doing lots and lots of sit ups, push ups and running. I have hurt my knee so running has been limited, but walking is no picnic either. When walking, you have to keep your arms moving all the time, mainly over your head. I was talking to one of the other boot campers on Tuesday and he asked me if this was the same a basic training in the Army. I told him "Oh no, this is much different than Army basic training." He said "oh, so this is easier?" "OH NO, much harder, I would rather be back in the Army than do this." In basic training we did not do as much aerobic activity. It was mainly jumping jacks, sit ups, push ups, stretching, then off for a run of a mile or two.
My arms are hurting, my abs are hurting, my legs are hurting, my every part of my body is hurting. But I am having some fun. Would I do it again??? NO!! Is that simple enough for you.
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