Holy Crap!!!

Well it has been a long time. Things are going.........just that. I am now back on days and loving it. As of now our department has offered to eliminate 4 positions in the jail and we had 3 people retire and 1 move to the road patrol. So that saves some jobs for now. It is also an election year and we will have a new Sheriff come the 1st of the year. I have a good friend from Red Wing PD who is running for Sheriff and has a pretty good chance at winning. What this means for me is a "chance" to succeed in my career. I have not asked him to do anything special for me other than to give me a fair chance at succeeding in the department. He seems to indicate to me that there might be more than that waiting for me but I only want a fair shot and a clean slate.

On other fronts money is tough, kids are tough, marriage is tough and trying, and real life is tough. But life goes on and we keep on plugging away.

Thats it for now. Hope to post again soon!

Greg

And it just keeps getting better........

Well our luck just keeps getting better. Got word yesterday that our department is probably going to lay deputies off at the end of this year or beginning of next year. Wonderful.

What this means is that because I got moved to the bottom of the seniority list, I am on the chopping block. In a job that is suppose to be recession proof.

Damn it all to hell.

Whoa......Sorry

Dang it has been a while huh?? Some good news has come our way since my last post. The wife got a job at the local YMCA!! She is the boss. Of the daycare and kids gym anyways. She gets to bring the kids to work with her on the days that I work and so I always tell her that it is kind of like being a stay at home mom except she gets paid to do it! The program is fairly unorganized and she has a bunch of work to do in order to get things going in the right direction. But, she loves the challenge and really likes the fact she can bring the kiddos!!

Not much going on with me. Still working. Still trying not to get "noticed" to much while I am there. I have learned that life is much more enjoyable in jail when you just come in, do your job, shut your mouth, and go home safe. It is nice to let other people cause problems with the things they say and do!

I have started working out again after my surgery. I am feeling pretty good and am hoping to drop about 30lbs by July.

That is about all I have. I feel lame even posting. It feels like I don't have much to say. Maybe I will come up with something later!

Rough Road Ahead

Well we have worked ourselves into quite the pickle. With the wife working part time since last May and my almost 3 months off last fall, we are no longer in a position to pay our mortgage. We have tried to work with our mortgage company and they are unwilling to help out in any way. They have pretty much told us that the only options are Short Sale, Deed in lieu of Foreclosure, or Foreclosure. I am not sure what we are going to do and I am feeling more and more like a complete failure.

I have failed myself, our families, and most of all my wife. I am not sure what is running through my head and where we go from here. All I know is that it will be a long road. I also know that it is easy to see why people can get depressed, become alcoholics, and divorces happen because of this type of thing. Kris and I are strong and on the same page with this whole thing, but Foreclosure just makes people so irritable and grumpy which is what makes it all the more stressful.

Blah.......

So it has been a couple weeks and it has been busy. Not cool busy like we ran off to Vegas and won 2 mil playing craps. Then decided to stay and really have a good time. Nope not that kind of busy at all. I have been working a lot this week and have not had much energy at night to check my email let alone think about blogging. Work is work and it moves on slowly.

Got news yesterday that I will NOT be photographing the wedding that I was asked to in May. They decided to go with a Pro who has experience with photographing weddings on the beach. Someday I will get to do one, just not this spring.

Belly is feeling good and I have been cleared to start working out next week on Monday. I am really antsy to get moving and back to the gym. I still want to be down 50lbs by July when we go on vacation.

The wife and I are thinking about taking a 3 day trip this fall to somewhere. We are thinking to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. Who knows.

Well that is all I have for now. Getting taxes done this Saturday so hopefully there will be good news. Maybe I will even get to purchase a new camera!

Booze and Difference of Opinion

Why is it that booze makes one feel so strongly about things?? I am photographing my first wedding in May.......in Alabama. I want to leave the kids home and Kris does not. Why is it so difficult?? So I guess we are taking the kids with us. It will sure be an interesting trip with a 4 year old, a 7 month old and mom/dad in the car. The upside is that we should get lots of great photos of the kids at the beach to share with all!!

Whats New With Me???

Well let me tell you. First off, I was able to take my first series of engagement photos this last fall! It was for one of Kris' good friends and it was awesome!! Mikki, Dan, and I had so much fun and I think we were able to capture some great moments. They even used one of my photos for their christmas card this year!! Here are a couple of photos for your enjoyment:






The first one is the christmas card shot!! Then in November I was asked to photograph my first wedding!! Can you friggin believe it?!?!?! I am so excited and it is something that I never, NEVER thought I would do. I am a bit nervous but I am sure that I will be able to do a great job.

Also, I am fat. Seriously. I mean it. I was on my way to being in shape, but then a hernia came along and that put a stop to that. I was in a good groove, was building muscle like crazy and overall feeling good. Once the hernia came along I pretty much had to stop lifting so that I wouldn't make it worse. Yes, yes I ,know that I could have kept up the cardio, but I hate cardio. But that is one of my goals for the new year, to do more cardio and drop some serious weight. I had surgery last week on Thursday and now I am not "allowed" to lift more than 15lbs until February 9th (MY BIRTHDAY!!!) so I am starting some cardio on Monday and working my way up from there. I am looking to go from 265 (uuuggghhhh) to 210 by July when we go on vacation. I am pretty positive about this because Kris and I are both committed to getting healthy. So here starts my journey to becoming a "professional" photographer who gets paid for his work, to becoming less of a human (size wise), and to be the best husband-father-coworker-son-grandson-nephew and person that I can be!!

Till next time.......