Some of my Best Photos

Last night I had the chance to break out my camera to shoot my niece Taylor's tee ball game. The camera has not been out of the bag for a long time and I was hoping to capture some good moments. I locked on my 50mm lens and just shot. I went home to review the pictures while Anne and Cameron went for a walk. I was actually surprised by some of the pictures I had taken. I would say my best set since I got into photography. The pictures made me realize I need to get out and shoot more. Below are some pictures of Taylor. The rest can be seen on FLICKR

Family Pizza Night

Last night was an exciting night at the Gee/Rutledge residence. I usually do the cooking, but we all worked together to create mini pizzas. Anne bought some cookbooks for me as a wedding gift and she was excited to use one of the recipes. For the most part Anne did all the cooking. I snapped some pictures of the night. One...to capture the moments. Two...to have proof that Anne really did cook. The highlight of the night was Anne telling Cameron that she cooked the pizza. Cameron quickly followed up by saying "Mommy cooked this?" As if he was surprised. The pizza was good and I think Anne was proud of her cooking skills. I was proud of her as well. Enjoy the pictures!

-Robert

Life Update

Well...it has been a crazy 3 months and I think things are somewhat slowing down. I want to blog more, but I am finding it hard to keep up. The most exciting news in my life is that I am a married man now. I married my soul mate Anne on May 16th and it was the best day of my life! All of the planning produced an unbelievable rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception. Anne is definitely a planner (I think she'll be a wedding planner one day). I think she would agree with me that it was a dream wedding. Looking through piles of planning notes, I still can't believe it has been almost 2 weeks since we became husband and wife....and a family. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

With the wedding behind us, we had to get up 4:30am the next morning to fly to Florida for our honeymoon. Let's just say we were both drained and ready to relax. A family from church let us use one of their condos on New Smyrna Beach so we had to drive from Orlando. We ended up renting a Toyota Yarus for the trip and I had some major difficulties driving it the whole time. I will never own one of those cars. So we arrived at the condo and the weather was decent, but we decided to relax and take a nap. We woke up and ended up ordering pizza from Manny's and ate out on the balcony. That was the end of day one. The weather for the next three days was not all that good. It rained every single day...to the point where the area had flood, wind, and erosion warnings. We made use of the time by relaxing and eating at some local restaurants. We were definitely ready to head back to Indiana where the weather had been nice the whole week. We also missed Cameron and wanted to see him. After 4 days, we were back home and wanted to take Cameron somewhere fun. We ended up booking a cabin in Brown County, IN because they had an indoor water park. Cameron loved the water park so much, that we went there 3 times in a 24 hour period. He was a big boy and went down the 2-3 story-high water slide all by himself. We were all exhausted after that trip and it was back to work for us on Tuesday. It was nice not having to worry about anything for a whole week.

Now that the wedding and vacation is over, Anne and I are in the process of organizing the house to make it a home. We received a ton of wedding gifts and have to find a place for them (not to mention all the stuff from my house). I'm ready to cook with our new pots, pans, and dishes. I cannot wait until things settle down even more. It seems like there is not enough time in a day to do everything. All in due time though. I do not care what I am doing as long as it is with my wife and little Cameron.

Another update in my life is that my house finally got leased. I found this out on my honeymoon so that was a great wedding gift. I wish it would have sold, but it is better than nothing in this crazy housing market. I just pray everything goes well because I never thought I would become a landlord. So no double mortgage and utility bills for us for a whole year. YAY!

Other than those two big updates, I'm just looking forward to the rest of year. We plan on taking a mini vacation the last week of July, throwing Cameron a luau-themed birthday party in August, working vacation bible school at church next month, sitting down with the wedding photographers to review our pictures, and me graduating from IWU in December. I also hope to get back into photography and playing the guitar soon.

Well that is what I've been up to lately. I will try to blog more later.

-Robert

Cameron

I haven't blogged in a long time, but I just wanted to share some pictures of Mr. Cameron. We had fun while mommy was getting her taxes done this past Saturday.

Lots of Stuff Going On

Well..I've come to the conclusion that I'm not very good at the blogging thing. I am finding it hard to blog on a weekly basis because of my busy life right now. Here is a quick update on what has gone on and what is going on since the last time I posted:

First off...I haven't talked about this yet, but Anne and I are getting married on May 16, 2009. These last couple of months have been crazy with the planning process. The wedding and reception spots have already been determined. The cake decorator, photographer, florist, and reception DJ have already been picked. Anne recently found a dress that I am sure she will look beautful in. We decided to buy blank invitation and reception cards (since we got them for a great price) and have them printed at Kinkos. We still have a lot to do, but we can do it! I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to start my life with Anne and little Cameron. May 16th will be here faster than we know it.

With Anne and I getting married, we have decided that I will move in with Anne. So that means I will be selling my house in this terrible housing market. I met with a realtor yesterday and found that most people are buying foreclosed homes in the area which hurts the selling price of my house. Either way, I am going to list it above what I owe and hope that it sells. My plans are to fix a couple of things in the house this month and list it on December 1st. I'll definitely have my fingers crossed.

This past weekend, Anne and I attended a young family retreat in Bradford Woods. This was a retreat sponsored by her church. I really didn't know what to expect before going there since I didn't know anyone. I was excited though. It turned out to be a great time and I know I learned a lot from the guest speaker and parents that attended. I think Anne would agree that it brought us closer as a couple. It actually made me more excited about the wedding because I know Anne, Cameron, and I are going to be a happy family. I left the retreat feeling refreshed, positive, and less stressed - things I have not felt in a long time.

Lastly, I just wanted to talk about the health and fitness kick I've been on for the last two weeks. Not only am I trying to slim down for the wedding, but I decided that my diet and exercise have hit an all time low. For the past year or so I have been eating fast food like crazy and not exercising that much. Yes..I know that is not a good thing. So two weeks ago I decided to make a change to be healthy. I've been doing a lot of cardio (riding the bike 5-10 miles) and weight training at the gym. I've also been eating pretty healthy too. Lets just say I've been eating way too much chicken, salad, and Subway lately. But hey...it's healthy! I've also cut back on the McDonalds breakfast and drinking coke. I pretty much drink water and milk all day. It's only been two weeks but I feel less stressed out, more energetic, and more motivated. Plus I am saving money by not going out to fast food restaurants. I hope to lose the flab by May 16th. Anne and I are competing to see who has the flattest tummy by that time.

So that is what I have been up to lately. Pretty exciting stuff huh? I'll try to keep you all updated on the wedding and exercise stuff.

-Robert

Busy and Burned Out

So it has been awhile since I posted anything. Life has been quite busy and stressful lately. Most of my time is being consumed by homework. Thank God yesterday was the last day of my Network Security class. It was a very long 8 weeks. I wish I was done with school and had my Bachelors degree in hand. You know... I could have been a doctor by now since I've been out of high school for 8 years. All in due time though. I must be patient. Even though I'm stressed and burned out on doing schoolwork right now, it will pay off in the end. I actually start my Strategies in Marketing class today. Woo Hoo!! (this was a sarcastic Woo Hoo). Things are not slowing down at all. The rest of the year is full of weddings, birthday parties, and holiday parties. I am definitely ready for Thanksgiving because I love to eat. I do like the holiday season because that means breaks from school and work. Can you believe we are nearing the end of the year?

I have a busy three day weekend coming up. On Saturday, we are meeting Anne's family at the good ole' Fall Folliage Festival in Martinsville. Sunday, we have church and I have homework. Monday, I'm playing golf with 3 of my friends and jamming on the guitar afterwards. Well...that is what I've been up to lately. I hope to keep blogging on a regular basis.

-Robert

Life After Divorce

Divorce. Oooh..that is a scary word I have been hearing more in the last year or so. It just seems like no one cares anymore. For every couple I know that is getting married, I know 3 that are getting a divorce. Yesterday, I ran into an old co-worker at Wally World (Walmart) and found out he is getting a divorce after many years of marriage. To make matters worse he has two kids. I never like hearing the news of divorce because I've been through the nightmare myself. Not to go into too much detail, but I was with my ex-wife for 3 years before getting married and we were married for almost 3 years before she dropped the D-Bomb on me (while on a business trip in Chicago). It really caught me off guard, I did not want to accept it, and I questioned God many times as to why this was happening to me. Eventually reality set in and I had to accept it because there was no changing my ex-wife's mind. I did go through a very short period of depression, but counseling, going to church, getting closer to God, and surrounding myself with good people really helped. Without these things, I don't know where I would be right now. I learned that life does go on (like everyone was telling me) and God is always there. I have no regrets about anything and I’m happy with my life right now. I’m in love with a very beautiful, intelligent woman who loves me. As an added bonus, she has a son that brings a smile to my face even when I’m having a bad day. I am one lucky guy.

So I say to those (especially the ones I know personally) going through a divorce, “Keep your head up, pray about it, and surround yourself with good people! There is life after divorce!”