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.