High School Musical

Sunday March 3, 2013: Beauty and the Beast

So last night and this afternoon I was privileged enough to get to watch my daughter perform in her first ever high school musical.

I remember when she first told us that she was going to audition. I was so proud of her for being willing to audition, but scared for her at the same time because I knew how much she really wanted to be involved with this production. The rest of the week after her audition was a pretty long week as she waited to find out if she got into the musical or not.

After finding out she had made it, her emotions were a little bit mixed. She was ecstatic that she got in, but a little disappointed with the roles that she got. She got to be a townsperson, and a plate in the production of Beauty and the Beast.

I have to admit, there were days when she wouldn't get home from school until later into the evening because of practice, or she would have cheerleading practice as well as musical practice and her mom would have to pick her up from one and run her to another, but after watching the performances the last couple of days.....it's definitely been worth it.

Last night, for the first time, I got to see the finished work and the product that was the result of all the hard work that each and every one of the kids had put into this production. I have to say, they did a great job. Today I was able to watch it again, and once again they did a great job. I was very proud of each and every one of the kids involved, and extremely proud of my daughter. Not only did she make the decision on her own to participate in this wonderful production, but she went out and auditioned, got the part, attended the practices, worked hard and did a fabulous job. I was, and am, extremely proud of her, and I think the smile was plastered on my face every time she was on the stage.

Good job baby girl, and to the rest of the cast as well. Great job. As much as I look forward to her next musical (and maybe even a bigger role) I also can wait because that just means she is another year closer to graduating and moving on with her life. That's one production that I am not ready to watch....just not yet. Let me enjoy these times while I can.

Getting Healthy.....and Getting Results

Saturday February 16, 2013:

I honestly have not looked at my last blog to see how long it's been since I have posted one, but I know it's been a while. I apologize for not being better at staying on top of this. It's actually harder to do than I thought it would be. I also knew I was busy, but never realized how busy until I realized that I really don't have much free time these days.

So one thing that I have mentioned in some of my previous blogs is the fact that I started on Herbalife products back in December (the 7th to be exact) and committed to them for 30 days. Well before my 30 days were up I was so happy with my results (weight loss, high energy, clarity, focus, etc.) that I decided to become a Independent Distributor for Herbalife, and have been on the products ever since.

To give you some background on why I was interested in getting healthy, within the last 18 months I had weighed in at 217 pounds, I was going in to work at 5:00am so I wasn't eating breakfast, I was working through my lunch, so I wasn't eating lunch, and then I would snack on junk food all day long at work. Since I work for a vending company I had access to candy bars, potato chips, pastries, sandwiches, pop, ice cream,  etc.. I mean anything you can buy in a vending machine, I was eating it as my food supply during the day. It wasn't healthy, and I wasn't healthy.

I took action and contacted a friend of mine who was an Herbalife distributor and started talking to her about my situation. I told her that I needed, and wanted, to get healthy and if I lost a few pounds in the process then great. I attended a sampling party and committed to the 30 days. The night I committed to get healthy I weighed in at 198.5 pounds, I would come home after work every day and take an hour or two nap, I was depressed and I felt lousy. I was tired all the time, had no energy to do anything, and I was overweight and out of shape. Since then, I have been on Herbalife for 72 days, I have dropped right around 17 pounds, I have only taken one nap after work in those two months, I feel great, I have energy, and my depression is minimal at best. One of the best parts for me.....I HAVE NOT EXERCISED ONE TIME!!!!!!

Today I attended my first Michigan STS (Success Training Seminar) at the Firekeepers Casino in Battle Creek and learned a lot about all of the wonderful products that Herbalife has to help anyone and everyone no matter what your situation. Listened to guest speaker Alexis Pelfrey teach how Herbalife can change your life, and your lifestyle.

(me with guest speaker Alexis Pelfrey and my wife Paula)

In the 70+ days that I have been on Herbalife, not only have I experienced my own results, but I have watched friends and family experience some results of their own. I currently have three family members and three friends all using Herbalife, and all using the products in their own way, each looking to get healthy, but each with different goals. They have combined to lose just over 25 pounds (in less than 3 weeks) and they all say they have more energy, they feel good, and are losing weight.

I could go on and on about Herbalife, but unfortunately I am still trying to learn more and more as we speak, so I don't know all I need to know yet. But I do know this..... Herbalife works. I've seen the results myself, I've seen the results in my friends and family, and I spent the day with almost 500 people that have all seen the same kind of results.

 (my cupboard with my pudding and jello mixes, peanut butter powder, oatmeal,  & coconut flakes)

(the products that have changed my life)

If you are reading this, and are interested in experiencing these same kinds of results feel free to message me and I would love to talk to you and see how Herbalife can help you to achieve your goals. If I don't know the answers to your questions, I would work with you to help you find those answers. But I am working to be a great wellness coach, and I look forward to helping all of you to get healthy. After all, if I can do......anyone can do it.

Welcome To Michigan

Saturday January 26, 2013:

I must start this blog with an apology. I am sorry that I have slacked in keeping this updated, but I have been without internet access at home since at least last Sunday evening. I don't know if it has been the weather, or what, but I still don't have internet....I am currently sitting at Martin's using their wifi to do this blog.

So anyways.....

Welcome to Michigan. There are many jokes out there that everyone uses to describe the state they are from. For example if you are from Michigan you might say one of the following:

You know you are from Michigan when you use the back of your left hand or the palm of your right hand to show people where you live.

You know you are from Michigan if you have gotten frostbitten and sunburnt in the same week.

You know you are from Michigan if you know that UP is a place, not a direction (that is the Upper Peninsula for all of you not from Michigan)

You know you are from Michigan if you know how to pronounce Mackinac. (Mak-in-aw)

So you get the idea.

Now while I have been to at least 27 states in the union, and am currently planning a trip to Hawaii in 2014, I have to say that I love Michigan. There really is a lot of things to do (if you like the outdoors) and there is plenty of beautiful scenery around the state. Just to show you a few, we have:

Mackinac Bridge

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

and 

Tahquamenon Falls

So these are just a few places in Michigan from the Mackinac Bridge north up into the Upper Peninsula. But one of my favorite local places to visit is the lighthouse in St. Joseph. Fortunately for me I actually get to drive near it two to three times a week for work, so I get the chance to stop by and shoot pics from time to time.  I am going to post below some pics from there, but I called this blog "Welcome to Michigan" because you will get to see the four seasons of Michigan in these photos.

Here is spring:

Here is summer:

Here is fall:

Here is winter:

I have to admit that as much as I love the high waves crashing on the lighthouse in the fall, I have to say that the winter picture is my favorite. It was pretty cold out, but just to see everything frozen and beautiful the way it is, was just incredible.

So these are just a few of the many sites to be seen in our lovely state of Michigan. Now while I would move to North or South Carolina in a heartbeat, or Tennessee, Arizona, or several other states. Michigan is home and I will always be a Michigander, no matter where I live.

Another one of the "Michigan" jokes goes like this:

You know you are from Michigan if you get to experience all four seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter) all in the same day. That might be true, but that is just another one of the beautiful things about Michigan.

Now somebody please take this snow away and bring on Spring!

What a Day.....

Thursday January 17, 2013:

So what a week it's been for me, and I'm sorry I haven't kept up with my blog this week.

I started my Monday out in typical fashion, finished with a 10 hour day. I know that isn't bad, but for me that is a long day as I usually don't hit 8 hours consistently. Then Tuesday I was sick with a sore throat and a pinched sciatic nerve so I took the day off. Then Wednesday I did my normal day, then headed to St. Joe to start the process of opening a new store for work. 13 hours later I was finally going home. Then today I went in at 5:00am (normal start time) did my normal job then returned to the new store to stock the shelves to prepare for tomorrows opening day. 14 1/2 hours later I was finally getting home. So even with a day off I am still going to have well over 40 hours this week, and I only get paid for 40 hours.

So you might wonder what exactly do I do, and what do I mean by a "new store" for work. Well I work for a vending company, yes the type of company that has vending machines in businesses for break rooms. The type with potato chips, soda, candy.......you get the idea. Well what I do is we started replacing these vending machines with C-Stores....short for Convenience Store.

So here are a couple of pictures of what I have done the past two days:

We took the old vending machines out of the break room leaving a blank wall.....and then we turn it in to this:

I know, it's not the most exciting job in the world, but it is pretty cool to see it all come together, and to see the employees excited about having a "convenience store" facility right in their own break room.

So it's been a long week, but it's been fun actually. 

UPDATE: Below is an updated photo from a post I made last week about the progress of one of the stops that I have on my job. (http://amelio2013.blogspot.com/2013/01/life-is-work-in-progress.html?spref=fb)

I can look at this photo and can see the obvious changes, the obvious progress that has been made toward completing this project. I also can look back at myself in the last week and see progress that I have made, changes that have been made toward turning me into the person that God wants me to be. While my changes may not be as obvious on the outside for everyone else to see, they are obvious on the inside and I see them....and right now, that is what is important to me.

Traffic Signs For Life Events

Monday January 14, 2013:

Have you ever taken a long road trip?

Do you use a GPS (Global Positioning System) in your car? Do you use an atlas? Do you use Mapquest, Google Maps, or any other sort of mapping system?

I will admit that I have used all of the above at some point in my life. But if you are honest with yourself, or if you have any idea how to read a sign, truth is you can probably get to almost any major city without ever looking at a map, or a GPS unit. After all, every major highway has signage everywhere, all you have to do is know how to interpret these signs.

I mean, this sign doesn't look hard to read does it?

Ok, maybe if you are driving in bumper to bumper traffic this could be confusing, but if you aren't and you are headed to Phoenix or Los Angeles you could figure out pretty easily that you need to turn right.

Or you might be driving and you see signs that look something like these:

You get the point. If you have any sense of direction, and you can read a sign, chances are you can get pretty much anywhere you want to without using a GPS or an atlas or any other sort of directions.

Did you ever think about these signs, and how they can relate to life? Sounds funny doesn't it? But seriously, what if we had signs like these that could direct us through life? Just imagine:

Which way is the right way to go? Or what is the right path to take in life? Well how about....

or

Wouldn't those signs help us to make better choices in life?

Or how about this:

What if on our road of life we had signs that looked like this instead:

Wouldn't signs like that help us all figure out what it is we want, or at least know where we need to go to get the things we want?

Or what about a sign like this?

Shouldn't it read more like this?

Or how about this one, I know we are all guilty of this one:

We are all guilty of speeding. Whether it's 20 mph over or just 5 mph over, we have all done it.

But think about it, doesn't life go by fast enough? Shouldn't we slow down and enjoy life a little more. I remember when I was a kid and it seemed like the days were extremely long, and lasted forever. School years took forever, the summers seemed to last for at least  six months. But as soon as we get out of school and get out into the real world our "speed limit" picks up and our life flies by, and no matter how much you want it to slow down, it doesn't happen.

I have more signs that I would like to talk about, and I will in another blog, but as you are out driving around, whether on the highway, or just a normal two lane road take a look at the signage and think about how it could relate to your life. I bet you will surprise yourself with some of the ideas you think of, plus it gives you something to do while you are cruising around. 

Am I Really This Old?

Saturday January 12, 2013:

 As a dad, today is one of those days to which you look forward with a little bit of hesitation, a little bit of excitement, a little bit nervousness, a little bit of joy, a little bit of worry, a little bit of comfort, a little bit of protectiveness, and a little bit of anxiousness.....yet despite all of these mixed emotions you have A WHOLE LOT OF PRIDE.

 You see today my 15 year old daughter attended her first Winter Formal as a freshmen in high school. WOW....15 years old!!!! Wow....freshmen in high school!!!! Am I really this old that my daughter is attending high school formals?   (please no old jokes)

You see I still remember the day she was born like it was just yesterday. It was December 14, 1997, it was a Sunday. I felt all along in my heart that the baby we were expecting was going to be a girl, but I KNEW it was going to be a girl when she decided to be born on an NFL Football Sunday.

You see it didn't even bother me that the Dallas Cowboys lost that day to the Cincinnati Bengals 31-24 and fell to 6-9 on the season because at 6:19am my life as I knew it had changed. I was now a dad. A proud dad of a 5 pound 13 ounce little girl. A little girl that would have me wrapped around her finger from the moment I cut the umbilical cord until the day the Lord takes me home.

I know that I've not always been the best dad in the world, and there were probably times where I should have been here when I wasn't. But I also know that there has never been a moment since 6:19am on December 14, 1997 that I have ever loved anything more than I love my little girl.

I get mad, upset, irritated, and everything else with her like any other parent does, but I wouldn't trade her for anything. ANYTHING!!!!!

So as today got closer and closer my feelings about it were all over the place. I was happy for her to be so excited about it, but I was not excited that she was old enough to be attending a formal already. I was excited to see how beautiful she would look in her dress, but I was not excited about her being all dressed up and looking older than she is. I was not excited about a certain boy that was supposed to be her date, but I was excited when he realized that he wasn't good enough for her and "broke up" with her just last week. You see.....I was being a dad. A dad with a teenage daughter.

She is a great kid....she has her flaws, she is human after all, but I am really proud of the young lady she is becoming.

I can't believe that she is already in high school, that she is 15 years old, and that she is becoming an independent young lady already. But I also know that 15 years after the day when I welcomed her in to this world, I am still a very proud dad, and I hope she had a lot of fun at her formal, but at the same time....I hope it's a while before her next one. She is growing up too fast. I love you baby, and you looked beautiful today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I5UV4VWCSk

Friday, Friends, Fellowship, Fun and Food

Friday January 11, 2013: So after a long work week it's always nice when Friday comes around. Not only is it the beginning of the weekend, but for the last few months it's been an opportunity to hang out with my friends and go to dinner. For the last couple of months I've had the opportunity to hang out with some friends on Friday nights as we all get together for dinner. While the size of the group changes from week to week, as well as the location, the fact that it is friends getting together, having fun, and eating food always stays the same. So I encourage each of you....get a group of friends, plan a day to hang out and spend time with each other....just relaxing, having fun and being yourselves. You will be surprised at some of the things you learn about each other, some of the things you hear, and maybe even some of the things you will see along the way. But I promise you it will be worth it, and it will be a "ritual" or "habit" that you look forward to every time. We've been to places like Lunker's, Zeke's, Applebee's, Chili's, T.G.I.Friday's, Wings Etc., and the Four Winds Casino, but no matter where we go, we always have a good time, good food, good fellowship and interesting conversations. It's a weekly "ritual" that I look forward to, and it's a "habit" I hope I never have to break. To my friends that are a part of this weekly adventure, thank you for including me in your Friday night ritual, and I look forward to many more of these fun times.

Not Happy!!!!!

Thursday January 10, 2013: So today I have been really tested. If you know me, you know how much I use my camera. I shoot sports for the local newspaper, I shoot scenery pictures, senior pictures, and even an occasional wedding. And as I mentioned in an earlier blog, I want to shoot a picture every day, whether with my camera or with my iPhone. So today I took my camera to work with me as I knew I would be doing some driving and there are some pictures that I want to shoot for an idea that I have for a blog. So I get my camera out to start shooting some of the pictures that I wanted and this is the picture that I kept getting over and over and over.

I decided to Google this error message to see what I could do for it. According to Google I can clean the contacts and hope it works. I called the local camera store and they told me to clean the contacts, if that doesn't work then I might need to send the camera and lens back to Canon. They said that process could take 4-6 weeks, if they can fix it. So needless to say, I was not able to shoot photos today with my camera, I don't have the time to be able to be without it for 4-6 weeks and I don't have the money to go out and buy another $1200 camera. Not really sure what the plan is now....but I know it will include lots of prayers. Sorry if this blog today wasn't like the ones previous, but it's not been a good day as far as the camera is concerned, and it's hard to be creative. But I promise to be back to myself tomorrow.

Attitude Adjustment/Lifestyle Change

Wednesday January 9, 2013: First of all, I need to apologize that I didn't blog yesterday. I would like to say that my mom raised me on the saying that "if you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all" and after the football game on Monday night, I am sure I could have had plenty to say yesterday. But unfortunately for me, that wasn't the case....I just flat out forgot to type down some random thoughts. Some of you know me pretty well, and some of you don't. Some of you pay attention to my Facebook status updates, and some of you don't, and that's totally cool with me, because chances are, I don't notice all of your updates either. Anyways, my point to that is this. A few months back I found myself going through some things emotionally that were really bringing me down, and making me really depressed. The root of the depression wasn't really something that I could control, but I really let it get to me. I would be totally fine, then out of the blue....BAM!!!! I am down in the dumps, and ready to do something stupid. While the thought crossed my mind on occasion to do stupid things, deep down I knew that I enjoyed life too much, I loved my daughter and my family too much, and I had too much to live for to go out and actually do something stupid. So bottom line was something needed to be done. I needed an attitude adjustment. What I did, and what I got was more of a life adjustment, a lifestyle change, and clearly an attitude adjustment. You see, I had so much negativity in my head, so many bad vibes going on in my soul that I needed to "clean house". It all started with venting and expressing the thoughts and feelings that were being stored throughout my heart, mind, and soul. Once I was able to get those things expressed and off my mind it was a huge relief, BUT then I needed to find something else to fill that void that was just created. I decided that it was time for me to "get healthy". I didn't mean just physically, but mentally as well. I knew that if I started with the physical health that the mental health would follow suit, but it was going to take some work. I attended an Herbalife shake party that a friend of mine was hosting hoping that maybe I would find an avenue that I could take to help get me on track physically. I actually knew going in to the party that if I liked the product I was willing to give it 30-days to see if it helped me as I was searching for something, something to help me any way that it could. Here we are a little over 30-days later I have dropped over 8 pounds (without exercise) but more importantly my body is feeling wonderful. I used to come home from work and take naps every day because I was completely exhausted, but that isn't the case anymore. I am actually starting to feel like I am getting my life back....at least physically. I'm so happy with the way things have gone, that I am actually an Herbalife Independent Distributor now (so if you need help with getting healthy just let me know). #shamelessplug:) So with the physical side of things starting to be under control I still needed to work on the mental and emotional side of things. Honestly, believe it or not, this hasn't been quite as tough for me as the physical side of things. I talked to my Pastor at church a little bit, and we are using Bible verses to focus on when things aren't going our way, and that has helped....but I think more than anything I flushed my brain of all the negative thinking, of all the worthless worry, and of all the things that I couldn't control. I decided that I'm a good person, and damn it I'm going to be happy and I am not going to let anything have any power over me anymore. I wasn't going to let any person hold any power over me, or be in control of my situations anymore. I was going to take back my life, and be in control of my own destiny if you will. I was going to do things for myself, and not for anyone else. Honestly, it's not been ANY ONE THING that I can point to....I've had help. I've had the support of friends, I've had support from family, I've had my faith, I've gotten healthy, both physically and mentally. But I've put myself in control over the things that I can control, I've put God in charge of the things that I can't. I've focused my attention on getting healthy physically, and it has flowed over into my thinking, into my emotions, and into every aspect of my life. Are all of my days good? NO....but the good days outweigh the bad days 5 to 1 anymore (if not better). So I've changed my eating habits, my thought processes, my ideas of control, and my perspective on every day activities.......and what I've gotten from it is a healthier body, a healthier heart, mind and soul, a new found respect for myself, my friends, and my family and more importantly than any of those things.....a new lease on life with a new attitude towards myself, towards God and His Word, and a new perspective about everything. All because I realized that if I wanted something to change about my life, I NEEDED TO BE THE ONE TO CHANGE IT, and if that meant stepping up and putting myself out there to get help, then so be it. A month into this whole new me.....I don't regret a single thing, and so far things are going well..... but don't stop praying for me either.

In the Grand Scheme of Things....Who Cares? Seriously?

Monday January 7, 2013: I have to preface this blog by saying that I am one of the biggest sports fans that I know, and that I watch nearly every sport that they put on TV. Football, both NFL and NCAA, basketball, both NBA and NCAA (even women's basketball), baseball, both MLB and NCAA, hockey, both NHL and NCAA, NASCAR, NHRA Drag Racing, INDY CAR, golf, whether it's the PGA, the Sr.PGA or even the LPGA. I even shoot sports pictures any opportunity that I get, whether it's little league, high school, college or professional sports. So you get the point, I LOVE SPORTS. However, the older I get the more and more I am starting to realize that it really is just a game. I used to be the kind of sports fan that it didn't matter who was actually playing in the game, if it was the Championship game, no matter what sport it was, I had to watch it until the end as I didn't want to miss someone becoming a champion, I didn't want to miss the celebration. Watching the confetti falling, seeing the players crying as they realize all the hard work that they had put in has finally paid off. I will admit that I am a Dallas Cowboys fan, and while it has been 17 years since they last won a Super Bowl, I still cheer for them (which I know is a waste of my time) and still hold out hope that maybe, just maybe I will get to see them win another Super Bowl.....but you know what? If I don't get to, it won't ruin my life. I am an Indiana Hoosiers fan in all sports, but specifically basketball. It's been 26 years since the last time they won a championship, and while I would love to see them win another one, it won't ruin my life if they don't. There are teams out there that I despise, and never want to see them win a championship, but even if/when they do....my world doesn't end. I still wake up the next day and go on with my life. It's really hard for me to believe that I am actually typing all of this being the sports fan that I am.....but the older I get, the wiser I get, the more I realize that it is just a game, and there is more to life than just whose team wins a championship in their perspective sport. After all, what do I get from a team winning a championship? NOTHING What do I get if MY team wins a championship? NOTHING, except some bragging rights. So while many people around the world get ready to watch Notre Dame and Alabama play for the BCS National Championship title, I'm sitting here watching my Indiana Hoosiers play a meaningless basketball game against Penn State. I'm getting ready to go shoot a few pictures of people gathering to watch the BCS Championship game......and I think to my self....WHO REALLY CARES WHO WINS? Now I have a preference, but honestly, no matter who wins this game, I will wake up tomorrow (hopefully, God willing) and my life will go on. The only thing this game will determine is which fans I will have to listen to for the next several months.

Because Lazy Days Are Deserved Sometimes:

Sunday January 6, 2013: There are many thoughts and opinions out there about what I like to call "lazy days". Here are a few examples of what I am talking about: "A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave." - Benjamin Franklin "Failure is not our only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others." - Jules Renard "Laziness is a secret ingredient that goes into failure. But it's only kept a secret from the person who fails." - Robert Half So as you can see, there are people out there that don't think highly of "lazy days". The reason I am bringing this up is because that is exactly what today has been for me....A LAZY DAY. You see it all started when I slept in passed 10:15am this morning and knew I didn't have time to rush around and get everyone to church on time by 10:45. Then, my wife and daughter had a birthday party to go to, that I didn't have to attend, so that gave me more time to just relax and do pretty much nothing. So I decided that today was going to be my lazy day.....my day when I did pretty much nothing all day except for that which I wanted to do. I decided that today would be a good day to watch movies, or TV, or music videos....pretty much anything that entitled me to just sit on my butt and do nothing. I watched the movies Super 8, and The Hunger Games, I watched NFL Playoff football (both games) and I even watched a few music videos. While I did do all of these things, I did also have stuff to do around the house at the same time, so I didn't get to just sit around, I did a few things around the house as well. But it still was a lazy day. So I got to thinking about it and wondering how I felt about this idea of having very little productivity, and a lot of lounging. I decided that I am totally okay with it, as sometimes these lazy days are deserved, even warranted if you will. Here are a couple of quotes that I like concerning laziness. "Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." - Jules Renard I am totally okay with that thought. "I like the word 'indolence'. It makes my laziness seem classy." - Bern Williams But as I was thinking about this whole idea I thought of my most favorite quote on this subject. Genesis Chapter 2 verse 2: (NIV) "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work." So as you can see, even God rested. Even God had a lazy day. I am in no way comparing myself to God, nor am I calling my missing church today "okay". But I am saying that if it is okay for God to have a day of rest, then it surely is okay for the rest of us to have a day of rest, and relaxation. A lazy day if you will. I hope you all had a great weekend, and were able to relax and get yourselves ready for the work week ahead. Week one of 2013 is in the books, and so far it's been a good year, and with the help of friends, family and my faith in God....I've been able to keep myself positive, upbeat, and on top of my depression. Enjoy the rest of your night.

The Importance of Being Friendly

Saturday January 5, 2013: I have always tried to pride myself in being a likable person, and a friendly person. I've always tried to live by the "Golden Rule" - you know, 'Do Unto Others As You Would Have Done To You' But since I'm human, I don't always succeed. However, as far as being friendly, outgoing, and trying to make friends....I have always seemed to be able to do that for the most part. It doesn't make everyone like me, but such is life. Anyways, sometimes you meet people in your life who become your friends and you get along, and call each other friends even if you don't hang out regularly but that is about the extent of the friendship. There are other friends that you hang out with all of the time, go places with, do things with and just can't imagine your life without these people. I have friends that fall into each of these categories, and I probably fall into these categories myself when it comes to my friends. Either way, I try to treat each of them the same. I try to be friendly. Sometimes I fail at the whole friendship thing. Sometimes I succeed. Usually when I fail it's because I might be trying too hard. Sometimes I succeed, and don't even realize that I am succeeding. Sometimes you may not know you've succeeded in being a great friend until many years down the road. Recently I have had a couple of encounters with friends from school that many years later have turned out to be good friends. Friends that have helped me get through some tough times, or have helped me to get my life on track in some area or other. These friends were people that I was friendly with in school, called my friends "back in the day" but lost touch with over time as we tend to do as we get older and move on in life. People that during that stretch of years I may never have had any contact with, or would never have reached out to during difficult times. Through social networks like Facebook, and Google+ I've been able to reconnect with many of my friends from elementary school, middle school, high school, old jobs, and other aspects of life. A couple of my friends that I talk to these days if you had told me 20+ years ago that they would help me through some situation in my life nearly 25 years after high school, I probably would have laughed at you just because we weren't "that close" of friends....we were just friends. These people have not hesitated to help me, and I am very thankful for them. While I won't mention their names (to save them the embarrassment of being my friend) they will know who they are if they read this. The one friend I reached out to as I was searching for a better way of life, and they have been there to help me out. The other friend reached out to me after reading some of my status updates on Facebook, and they cared enough to see if there was anything they could do to help despite us not being "best friends". Both of these friends have been a big help in getting me to where I am at this point in my life, and have helped me more than they know over the last month to feel the way I do about my life. So thank you to both of you. So despite having great friends in my life, and friends that I have had all of my life....I get happiness out of being friendly to others, and doing what I can for others. Because like karma, you just never know when it is going to come back on you. But unlike karma, when friendliness comes back to you.....it's worth accepting.

T.G.F.F (Thank God For Family)

Friday January 4, 2013: T.G.I.F.....everyone knows what T.G.I.F stands for (Thank God It's Friday) Well today my theory was T.G.F.F or Thank God For Family. If you know me, which if you are reading this then the odds are pretty good that you do, then you know that I have a wife and a 15 year old daughter. While I love them both dearly, I've not always shown it in the best manor. Well as I mentioned in my first blog of the year, one of my New Years Resolutions is to be a better husband and father to my family. So today was one of the first times I was able to really spend time with the family this year if you will. I was able to spend time with my wife watching our daughter cheer on the Niles boys JV basketball team, then after dropping my daughter off at her friends to stay the night, my wife and I went to Chili's for dinner. It was a nice opportunity just for the two of us to get out and have dinner, and we were able to use a gift card we had gotten for Christmas. So while today was a pretty uneventful day....it was a very relaxing, and rewarding day as I was able to spend it with family. So far 2013 is off to a pretty good start (with the one exception being that my friend is still mad at me) and I am looking forward to more from this year.

Life is a Work in Progress.....

Thursday, January 3, 2013: So I have been thinking today, which if you know me you know that I actually think a lot....too much sometimes. But anyways I was thinking that nobody wants to read about what I did today, or yesterday, or tomorrow for that matter so I was trying to think about how to make these blogs more interesting and worth reading. So as I was driving to Benton Harbor for work I started to come up with an idea about how to take the things I do, the things I see and just your ordinary, everyday things in life and see how they relate to life, and me. Try to figure out how my life can relate to these things and how I can learn from them. Today, although I already knew it, I kind of realized that each and every one of us is a work in progress. A project if you will. I've heard people say that we are the clay and God is the sculpture molding us to be what He wants us to be. If any of you are like me, sometimes I have a tendency to have a great idea, and work hard to start whatever the idea is that I have, but sometimes actually finishing the idea is another story. They eventually get finished, but sometimes it takes longer than it should. When I got to Whirlpool in Benton Harbor I sat for a few minutes and watched the construction crew working on the addition to the Riverview offices. I noticed that every time I show up here the addition looks differently, and that it keeps progressing along, just the way it is drawn up, just as it is planned. When I got inside I shot this picture of the addition and decided that I would start "tracking" the progress each time I go there to see if I can notice the differences.

Don't you wish that our lives were this easy to see the progression? That maybe we could see what the finished "product" would look like, or be like. While I think it would be great to know where I will be in 5 years, 10 years, even 20 years down the road....I also think it is great not knowing what the future holds. So today I have spent a lot of time thinking about life, and about how everything around us effects who we are and who we will eventually become. I've decided that while God molds me into whatever it is that He wants me to be, I'm going to look at my life as a canvas, and I am the artist. While God has a plan, and knows exactly what I will be, where I will be and for how long I will be....I don't know any of these things so I am going to "paint away" and see what kind of masterpiece I can create with this life He has given me. Below are many pictures of me, and how I've changed over the years. I hope to be able to look back on my life 40 years from now and see how God has worked in my life, and be able to see exactly how I have progressed, and how he was able to mold me into something great. I also hope that I will be able look back and realize that I took all of the things with which He surrounded me and created myself a masterpiece.

"We are not given a good life or a bad life. We are given a life. It’s up to us to make it good or bad." - unknown

January 2, 2013: Two Days in and I've Dropped The Ball Already

So here we are two days in to the new year, and I've already hit a snag when it comes to my resolutions that I posted yesterday. My resolution #2 was to be a better friend to others and be the type of friend my friends can trust and rely on when they need me. Well although what happened actually happened before the new year, the repercussion of it happened today. I just hope that what happened can be forgiven, and that wounds can be healed and trust once again can be established. I know it's a devil thing trying to bring me down already this year, trying to get me back in to a state of depression, but I am not giving in to him, and I will not let him win. I've hurt a good friend, a friend that trusted me. I was only trying to help, but I know now that you have to pick and choose your battles....and this was obviously a battle in which I had no business being involved. To my friend(s) involved, I'm sorry....truly sorry. So with all of that being said, let's get on to today's blog. January 2, 2013: So I had to report back to work this morning at 5:00am after having the last four days off for the New Year holiday. While it sucked to get up that early after sleeping in for several days my work day itself really wasn't that bad. After leaving work around 2:00pm, I came home and continued with my Walking Dead marathon. I'm on Disc 2 of Season 2. While I have started to "get in to it" a little bit, I still haven't gotten in to it enough to see what all the fuss is about as to why everyone is always talking about this show. I am hoping as things progress I will begin to see what everyone else is seeing. After a few episodes of The Walking Dead it was time to go bowling. I didn't start off so hot tonight rolling a 167 the first game, but things picked up as I rolled a 194 and a 234 in my last two games. Not a terrible night personally, but as a team we got our butts kicked. I came home from bowling, watched a couple more episodes of TWD, and now it's time for bed. One thing that I want to do this year is to shoot a picture every day...whether with my camera or with my iPhone, but I want to shoot one photo of something that catches my eye for one reason or another. So todays photo comes from Better World Books in Mishawaka. This business is one of my stops during my day, and while I have seen this "chair" before, today was the first time that I thought of shooting a picture of it. So here is a picture of the chair, which is made up of old Readers Digest books.

So there is my day in a nutshell....boring I know, but such is life sometimes. The one thing from today that I wish I could do over is this situation with my friend. I hope with time things will work themselves out, but until then I can't let the devil get me down....I have to keep pushing on, enjoying life and making the most of every day.

January 1, 2013: First day of a great year

So I am going to try and make a valiant effort this year to not only make the most of 2013, but to try and document as much of it as I can with this new blog. I am not usually one for making New Year's Resolutions but this year I have decided to make a couple. While most people would say that they want to lose weight, or stop smoking, or drinking or something along those lines....mine aren't any of those. I don't drink or smoke so those things aren't something that I need to stop. Just over 3 weeks ago I started on Herbalife and have lost 8 pounds, and will soon be under 190 for the first time in many years. In fact, I have been so pleased with my weight loss, and how healthy I have been feeling that I have officially become a Herbalife Independent Distributor. So if you feel like you need to lose a few pounds, or just want to try and live a healthier lifestyle, feel free to contact me and I will see how I can help you. So the resolutions that I have decided to make are actually a little harder for me put out here for everyone to read, but by doing so it also holds me accountable and makes me have to work harder to achieve them. So here they are: 1) I need to learn to be a better husband to my wife of 17 years and a better father to my 15 year old daughter. While I have always been here and have done what I can to provide for them, I haven't always been the best husband or father to them. 2) I want to be a better friend to my friends. I have a lot of friends, and I want to be the kind of friend that they can all count on when they need someone, because I know there are times that I may need one of them and I am hoping they will be there for me in those times. I have some more goals, like get a new camera, start actually getting paid to shoot photos, see one of my photos published somewhere other than just in the local newspaper, do some work around the house, things like that. But the two listed are the primary things I plan to work on for 2013. So my first day of 2013 in a nutshell, went as follows: January 1, 2013: Spent the better part of the morning watching the first season of The Walking Dead. I received seasons 1 & 2 for Christmas and I want to get caught up on what everyone has been talking about.

Early afternoon I went and met up with a couple of friends, Scott Riggs and Mike Stowe, at Wings Etc. and watched Michigan play South Carolina in The Outback Bowl, which South Carolina ended up winning 33-28 by scoring the winning TD with 11 seconds remaining. Unfortunately for me, I didn't see the winning TD as I left during the third quarter and went to the movies to see Jack Reacher. I thought the movie was good, but it seemed a little long to me.

So there is January 1, 2013 in a nutshell. I have to go back to work tomorrow, but I can't let that detour me from everything I need to accomplish this year. I don't anticipate my daily blogs being this lengthy, but I do plan to try and post one daily, and I hope to try and shoot at least one photo every day as well. Here's to a great 2013 everyone. Amelio