Category Archives: Misc.

Click on the title of the blog post to view the entire entry.


Our Anniversary

June 20, 2010 – 5:46 AM

Nancy and I were married June 20, 1987. It’s hard to believe 23-years has gone by. The time has rapidly flown by.

You have been my rock and helped me find balance in my life when it was lacking. Thank you so much for everything you do. I love you so much and look forward to many more years together.

I think back to our first date at Pizza Hut and the Sunday morning over that wonderful breakfast we shared by the river when I proposed. Your answer of “Yes” made me the happiest person on Earth. That sounds cliche I know but I’m not sure if I could or would want to live without you.

We raised two wonderful children and have had our ups and downs, our trials and tribulations and together we have successfully navigated these waters.

I know as we continue to grow older we will continue to use the love we have for each other to overcome any future hurdles may come upon us. I look forward to those days as much as I look forward to the happy, trouble-free days…as long as you are by my side.

Thank you Nancy for the wonderful times we have shared. I love you very much and look forward to many more years together.

With all my love.

Chris

By Christopher | Also posted in Family, Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Monday Musings 5/24/2010

May 24, 2010 – 9:33 AM

The highlight of my week, and I unfortunately missed it, was my son’s Senior Prom. Mom was good enough to take these photos. The second highlight of my week was traveling to Syracuse with Kujo and Nancy. We met the coaching staff, the players and many of the players who will be playing for the Upstate team. This will be the first ever NYS Senior High School Football game in NYS. It was an honor that Stephen’s playing and leadership abilities were recognized by coaching staff from around the state as he was selected to play in this prestigious game. He has had an awesome (senior) year. His team made it to their first ever State Championship game and handily won the game. As you can see from the photos below, Stephen has his father’s good looks.

Mom, Kujo, Kaitlyn and Kaitlyn’s mom.

Casey Shreve, Kyle Shreve and Kujo.


I know it’s not even Memorial Day yet but football is still right around the corner.

Kujo working out for the first “unofficial” practice with the Upstate Team. We traveled to Syracuse where we met the coaches, players and parents of the Upstate team.


The photo below is typical of Kujo. He is always smiling, always laughing and rarely do you see him angry. So if you’re wondering where the nickname “Kujo” came from, here’s the answer. When Kujo played Pop Warner football he demonstrated a tenacious, never say quit attitude much like the rabid dog in the Stephen King novel of the same name. The “C” was replaced with a “K” as our last name begins with “K.” So there you have it, the story of how Kujo earned his nickname.

The secret to success. The underwear not withstanding it truly is hard work, sweat and sacrifice upon which we build and define success.


Thanks for reading. I truly appreciate everyone who has subscribed to my blog through a reader service. Later this week we’ll be featuring a full post from Audrey and Michael’s wedding.

Chris

By Christopher | Also posted in Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Monday Musings 5/3/2010

May 3, 2010 – 5:31 PM

This is the first “Monday Musings” post in May. May?! I can’t believe it’s May already!

If anyone (within 50-miles of the 14120 zipcode) can identify the type of blossoms these are, you’ll win a free portrait session sitting fee. *Prints are an additional fee.

Nancy and Jack.


A quick glimpse of Audrey and Michael’s wedding on 5/1/2010.

I hope you enjoyed reading.

Chris

By Christopher | Also posted in Monday Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Monday Musings

March 8, 2010 – 5:23 PM

This week was a little slower than the past two weeks. For that I am thankful. I love to be busy but so busy that I can’t recall what I did or what day I did it on…that’s too busy.

We met with our accountant who is awesome. Refund? yes. Large refund? No. Anything is better than having to pay the State and Federal governments more money than I already pay them.

Earlier in the week I had an interesting conversation or should I say lively debate with some professional peers regarding the importance of the provision of the highest level of customer service. No exceptions. I’m not saying one needs to give away the farm but it’s important to listen to your clients and understand their needs. It amazes me what we allow to pass for “good customer service.” Once you have listened and believe you have a good understanding of your client’s needs, ask more questions to clarify and make sure both parties are on the same page. Too often we take such things for granted in the hopes of gaining a new client. When we don’t allow excellent customer service to shine through that leaves an unhappy customer to share his or her unhappiness with the world. As fast as communication travels with Twitter and Facebook we can develop a wounded reputation in a matter of seconds.

On another note, Winter seems to be on it’s way out. Mother Nature played a dirty trick on us and gave us all that false hope when she gave us warm temperatures for a few days and then threatened us with a storm eventually dropping a couple inches of heavy, wet snow on us. Damn you! Temperatures are beginning to slowly inch their way up to what most people would describe as civilized and livable. Ice has gone from the center of the Erie Canal and it continues it’s daily slow retreat toward shore. Another week and I can get my kayak into the water. Soon the ice boom will be removed and Lake Erie will allow the hundreds of square miles of ice to retreat the confines of the lake and make its long journey down the upper Niagara River before falling to its death over Niagara Falls. The sun has made an appearance or two leaving me wondering out loud if there really is hope for a sun filled Spring without snow and providing beautiful weather for the many brides and grooms who will be entering into matrimonial bliss.

I spent Saturday with my dad. We drove to Rochester and stopped at Hahn Photographic where I picked up a few things. I like Rochester. The city always appears to have more going on than does Buffalo. I love Hahn Photographic. Beautiful store, lots of stock and not at all cramped with great store personnel. Before we drove home we stopped at the Summerville Grill in the Town of Summerville, NY. We enjoyed a couple of Rubens and a couple of Guinness’. The weather Saturday was awesome as well. Nothing but sunshine. Not a cloud in the sky.

This past week gave us some bad news. Nancy’s dad took a turn for the worse. He’s been in a nursing home for the past year after his dementia grew worse and diabetes forced the partial amputation of his right leg. He developed a fever and his temperature spiked at 104. He responded to the treatments and for now he seems to have stabilized. Meanwhile we have increased the time spent with him. As I sat with Nancy and her mom I thought of my grandmother who had passed away just two years ago in the same nursing home. I remind myself daily of the importance of enjoying and living life to its fullest. Paul worked hard his entire life and enjoyed several years of retirement before Alzheimer’s and physical disabilities began to take their toll.

Thanks everyone for stopping by and for reading. Enjoy your week.

Namaste.

Christopher

By Christopher | Also posted in Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Monday Musings

March 1, 2010 – 10:29 AM

This past week was a good week. It was busy, but it was good. There were quite a few highlights. Nothing big or over-the-top, it just felt like one of those weeks where everything clicked

The Olympics have come to an end. I love watching the games and love even more hearing the stories of the athletes and their family’s. I think it’s important to understand what the non-professional athletes (are there any participating any more) and what they have given up or put on hokd to achieve their dream of being an “Olympian.” As a result of the athlete stories I’m not a huge fan of the team sports such as hockey. I’ve always been a fan of the individual sports where success and failure comes down to that one individual, their training and their effort that day. Cross country skiing has always been my favorite events and a sport I’ve enjoyed since I was small. I think about the 50K Classic Cross Country event. 30-miles on skis with a stop long enough to change skis. the athletecism is remarkable that after 50K the time difference between first and second place needs to be decided by a photo finish.

All week long we braced for the snowstorm we were supposed to get by Thursday. Thankfully we escaped the storm and  instead of the 6″-12″ predicted, we got away with 2″-4″. I awoke Sunday to find a fresh coating of snow which had fallen throughout the night. Snow so weighted down with moisture the snow-blower wouldn’t handle the it. I procrastinated throughout the day and finally decided, after dinner to go to my parent’s house with Kujo to shovel their driveway. I like snow and I like Winter, but I’m ready for Spring. Enough already.

Saturday Stephen and I took a ride to Alfred University located in of all places…in Alfred, NY. Kujo was accepted at this and several other schools. Academically his hard work has paid off and he’s been offered a nice scholarship that will help to offset his tuition. Unfortunately at  Division 3 schools there is no hope of any athletic scholarship but the awesome words by the coach all but assured him of a starting inside linebacker position providing he continues to work as hard as he has throughout his football career. This should be no problem for Kujo as his love for football and his intelligence should afford him the opportunity to play and to start. Kujo and I really enjoyed the campus and the meeting with the coaches. It was great to hear the discussion he had with the head coach who praised his play, his leadership and his hard work. I smiled big inside and know Nancy and I have done our job well with him. We were sad mom had to work as it would have been nice to have had her along for the visit. I love spending time with Kujo. It has been difficult to believe how fast the years have flown by. He’s 17 now and in several months he’ll be leaving for college. I look back at the years and wonder where they have gone. I have few regrets but hindsight is 20/20.

Sunday I met with a bride who flew in from Houston, TX. She brought her mother and we had a fantastic conversation regarding her 2011 wedding photography needs. I hope to hear back from them within the month and book another wedding for 2011.

Nancy’s Dad isn’t doing well. His left leg has developed an infection and the conversation has turned to what to do. No doubt he will have to return to the hospital and more than likely face another amputation. Paul worked hard his entire life and this is just no way for someone to spend what should be one of the happiest times of your life.  Alzheimer’s, diabetes, gangrene and amputation.

The photo below is of the The Robert R. McComsey Career Development Center at the Allen Steinheim Museum. The minute I saw this building on the tour I knew I needed to take a photo of it.

As always, thanks so much for reading. Keep coming back.

Christopher

By Christopher | Also posted in Fun Stuff, Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)