Excellent Wedding Photographer in Houston Area

The above is a promo slideshow they sent the Monday following the Wedding to wet our mouth while they worked on the photos

First, other than coming up with cash for daughter's weddings, I know very little about them. What I do know is quality photos — because that's a hobby; and organization — as I'm a businessman. I leave the actual weddings up to my daughters, wife, and their friends — so I don't know about what arrangements had been made. We have this arrangement where my wife and daughters don't repair my race cars, and I won't arrange their weddings. Anyway, while I'll take the time to tell you which vendors suck and screwed me — I seldom take the time to tell you who I was please with.

This is an exception. Dee and Troy with http://www.absolutelyperfectpictures.com/ have their stuff together.

My daughter was married at 6:30 PM and everyone in the wedding party was told by the coordinator to be there by 4:30PM. Upon me getting there I saw Dee and Troy hovering around snapping photos of the location and details of props. By 5PM, they hit up the guys in the wedding to get photos before they lost the sun light. After that they moved over to the gals, which as with anything with gals — must have been more time consuming. When the wedding started promptly at 6:30PM — they hovered around in such a way as to get the all of the photos to document memories — while finding the balance of being out of the background. After the ceremony — it took them no longer than 30 minutes to get all of the wedding party and family photos — which is a big task for a family as large as mine. For the rest of the evening, they busted ass getting all of the dance, garter, cake, toast,  guests having fun, and the "fun Photos". They shot over 3000 photos between the two of them, and I didn't see them take one break.

Dee and Troy remind me a little of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Sprat — as they are as different as night and day. Dee has a big outdoors voice and Troy is far more reserved. You most likely won't get the opinion that they're the Wedding Photographers to the Stars — but you will end up getting the same quality photos for a fraction of the snob photographer price. These people actually have a plan when they start — and are the most organized photographers I've ever seen at a wedding. Dee's Outdoor voice works perfectly with getting young people to be where where the need to be for the photo, and they both have a very critical eye for photo composition. We got Absolutely Perfect Pictures — and and no one's time wasted. Not once did I observe people having to stand around and wait for the photographer. They came into a group shooting with a plan, got it done — and moved on to the next group shooting.

I was pleasantly surprised, and strongly recommend that if you are within 75 miles of Katy, Texas — that you speak with them for your wedding.

Dave Schultz

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Last year my youngest daughter attended 6th grade at a Public Jr. High School in Katy, TX by the name of Wood Creek. For years I’d sent my kids to private schools and paid near $20,000 a year for their tuition — in addition to close to that same amount in school taxes for a system I’d not want my kids in.

The main reason I didn’t want my kids in public schools is that the teachers range from ignorant people with 40-word vocabularies benefiting from affirmative action, to those pushing political and gay agendas. I am so grateful that the schools I went to in San Marcos and San Antonio in the 60s were not like this. Even the non-Christian private schools I have sent two of my kids to are loaded up with Gay teachers and the Liberal concept of kids not needing to take responsibility — just stuff them with Ritalin.

Anyway — I tried sending my girl to Wood Creek last year — but got frustrated with Islam seemingly being more important than Christianity, screaming faggot (one with a photo of his boyfriend on his desk) teachers, and the unsafe environment of kids out of control. So after this one-year experience showing me that it was hurting my daughter more than helping — I pulled her out and put her back in Private School.

Yesterday, my wife was called by her friend who has a son that use to be in my daughter’s class at Wood Creek. She asked my wife if she could handle her car pool that afternoon, as she was in a jam. My wife agreed and ran off to the school and picked up the kids in her friend’s car pool. While the kids were in the car — the son of my wife’s friend was upset that he’d forgotten to bring the “Gay Pride” bracelet he was given in school that day. My wife asked if he was kidding — and he assured her that he was not, and that this was “Gay Pride” week. He was a serious as a heart attack that this was a week that should be honored. My wife asked if the school passed out the bracelets — and the answer was that it was girls passing them out to everyone, and if the school didn’t do it — they certainly knew about it. My wife said the rest of the conversation between the kids she was dropping the off dealt with who (of their friends) was gay and who is not. These are 7th and 8th graders.

If you would have told me in the early 60s that this would be the conversation in Texas Schools 50 years later — I would have laughed at you. It is sad to see the decaying of Texas and the agenda of turning our kids into Liberals and Queers. That crap might be OK in New York City, Boston, Chicago or San Francisco — but not Katy, Texas.

I expect in another 50 years there will be a “Bestiality Day” or a “Necrophilia Day” at the rate were accepting degenerative behavior.

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Cymax – Furniture Store From Hell

I need to take an hour to tell this little story like I need another testicle — but if it saves anyone else the grief I just went through — it will be worth it. In a nutshell — don't waste your time and money with Cymax at www.cymax.com.

We moved into this house a little over a year ago and since that time I've ordered on-line some fairly expensive office furniture for my home-office, all delivered with "White Glove Delivery" meaning not dropped on the curb — but unpacked and set where I need it, up to 2 fights of stairs. The below photos (as proof) show solid wood bookcases, desks, and other furniture delivered with the "White Glove Delivery" — although by a company different than Cymax. All went very well, and I was very satisfied — satisfied enough to have tipped well all of the people to deliver it.

The reason I order this stuff on-line is a combination of my being pretty particular about my office furniture (style and quality), and the convenience of looking at more desks on line than I could see spending a week running around to office furniture stores. I only buy with the "White Glove Delivery", because I'm the only guy here — and have a pretty screwed up back from a car accident. I can't be carrying this crap up stairs.

So I need a desk to go at the top of the stairs, to set a community computer on (the easiest of every furniture delivery ever made to this house – up one flight of stairs facing the front door, and on the other side of the short wall), and find what I want at Cymax, with "White Glove Delivery".

This one photo shows the entire path through the house and the desired location of the desk.

About a month after I order this desk, I get a call yesterday saying the only time they can deliver it is today between noon and four, which happens to also be the time my wife and daughter need to go to the airport for their 12:55 flight. So I say OK, and make arrangements for someone else to take them to the airport.

At 3:30, I get a phone call that they're on their way. At 3:50, this short little girl, and equally small guy show up. In the past, there was 3 or 4 men, who generally looked like they could handle the job. These two absolutely could not. The little girl (I doubt she was 5' tall) asks where it is going, and is obviously distressed with the answer upstairs. After a 5 minute conversation in Spanish with the guy with her — she says that she needs to see where. So I show her, after I lock up my 10-year-old 5lb Boston Terrier — because she's afraid of dogs, even the ones the size of hamsters. After another 5 minute conservation in Spanish, I'm catching that he's telling her that they'll leave it on the pallet and drag it up the stairs. They obviously can't lift this solid wood desk an inch off the ground, no less over the banister. Two on one end could barely get the damn thing raised high enough to get a dolly under.

So she tells me that that I need to sign a damage waiver in case they damage anything (and if there was anything certain — it was that there was going to be damage!), and that they will not unpack and cart off the pallet and crating, which has the appearance of external damage. I said — no way, that I paid for "White Glove Delivery", and that it is up to them to be prepared for it. She tells me that she needs to call her boss and goes to the truck. I call the Cymax number and played their game of going through menus and entering my sales order number. She comes back 10 minutes later — and I'm still on hold, yet to speak with any human. She hands me her phone, and some guy claiming to be her supervisor tells me that everyone has to sign a damage waiver, and that they won't be uncrating it, but will get it upstairs. End of conversation. It was obvious that they weren't even capable of dragging it up the stairs on a moving dolly (their incredible plan which was a physical impossibility based on dimensions alone), there was no way they could do it without damaging the wall and staircase (and most likely the desk and themselves), and they weren't going to try to it take upstairs without me signing a damage waiver. In the meantime I'm still listing to a Cymax recording that someone will be with me soon — but I'll get faster help going to the web site and reading the FAQs. I look at my phone and 19 minutes had gone by and still no human. So I tell them to put the desk in my garage and I'll tell the world how I feel I'm getting more of the "Latex Glove" treatment than the "White Glove" one.

These people can barely get the damn thing on wheels up a 1/2" lip at the end of the driveway! Yes there are two of them back there wrestling it for a good five minutes.

The little girl who can barely see over the top of the box is doing all of the grunt work.

The crating looks like I might find a surprise

So as they're leaving, a person comes on my phone (who suspiciously sounds like cross between Peggy and Osama Bin Laden – and I'd wager was at least 12,000 miles away making IUDs) and wants to know what the problem is. I tell him that in addition to being on hold for 25 minutes thus far, that I'm getting bitched slapped with their white glove. He asks what I want — and I tell him to get some people here who are capable of unpacking and taking the desk upstairs without me having to sign a damage waiver for certain damage. In his very fine combination of Farsi and English — Peggy tells me that he'll have to put me on hold. I soon got the expected dial tone.

So there you have it. Buy from Cymax.com at your own peril. I'd warn you of who their "White Glove" delivery people were — but it was a rental truck with the lease company name on the door, I see nothing on the paperwork on who they were, and I assume the two people sent were found at the local "Tree of Hope" for daytime laborers, or standing in front of Lowes.

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There is a new look and feel for the web sites of three cars currently running in Nostalgia Super Stock.

Vitamin C Racing | Nostalgia Super Stock Racing

Texas Whale Racing | Nostalgia Super Stock Racing With A 1960 Plymouth Wagon

Big Red Ram | Nostalgia Super Stock Drag Racing

If you've not created a web site for your race team, you might considering doing so. While winning is the number one secret to attracting sponsors, a web site is number two, and a Media Kit is number three.

Many feel like it is beyond their pay grade to create a team web site — but it actually very simple, and requires no programming experience. Word Press is a free application that allows the would-be web master to have a blog on the front page, and a number of information pages linked in the NavBar. It will cost less than $10 a year to register your Domain name (IE: BigRedRam.com), and just a few bucks a month to host it on a web server. There are no other expenses. The secret is to find a web host that will automatically install Word Press for you.

I've created a step-by-step set of detailed instructions to create your own Word Press web site — from registering the name, to selecting the host server, to installing Word Press, to creating your custom "Look & Feel", to posting context, to Search Engine Optimization. If you've ever registered and posted to a forum — you're over-qualified to create your own web site. Click –> Word Press for Dummies

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Dieting

I recently started a diet that appears to be working, so I thought I'd share it with others, in case they want to give it a shot.

For the last five years, my weight has bounced between 320 and 330. Seldom more, seldom less. I didn't use to always be that way — but life caught up with me. In the 70s I lived Jackass the Movie – doing all kinds of stupid people tricks. I broke virtually every bone from a car accident at over 100MPH that ejected me through the windshield and had me in the hospital for months. I fell off a train I was hopping, broke an ankle jumping off a three story roof into the shallow end of a swimming pool (it was the 70s and drugs were good for you then), did the agony of defeat down a mountain while skiing and was in two motorcycle accidents involving cars. Back then I appeared to heal fast, but time and age combined with 20 + years of being a softball whore, playing basketball three mornings a week, and lifting at the Gym every weekday — had all of those broken bones and injuries becoming very arthritic. I've had three shoulder surgeries (need the right ball and socket joint replaced), and 4 knee surgeries (both needing replacement now. I have 5 degenerated discs in my back screwing up the nerves to my feet, and the arthritis being so bad in my spine that back surgeons and neurosurgeons say I'm too far gone to do anything to repair it. While this might sound like a bunch of excuses, I can't stand without leaning on something or walk far without the aid of a cane. This lack of exercise has caused me to have a metabolism (study last year) that can't burn 900 calories a day — and I've ballooned from a fit guy with a 31" waist, 56" chest, and weighing 170lbs, to a fat slob with a 48" waist weighing in around 325.

back in the late 80s when I was running 170 and in shape

About ten years ago I went from 333 to 248 with diet pills. However, those same pills gave me some very severe medical problems before we'd realized it — so the weight came back on when I was pulled off them. It isn't so much that I ate too much — but that I ate too wrong for my limited ability to burn calories since having to give up sports — which are to painful to participate in.

So two weeks ago I was again hospitalized for chest pains. Like all of my previous doctors, and everyone else giving me obvious advice, I was again told to lose 100 pounds immediately or I'm not long for this world. I refuse to have the recommended by-pass surgery, and my heart can't take the newer diet pills — plus that sure didn't work out well for me the last time. I got out of the hospital the day before the Houston race. While at the race I saw a friend Donnie Bowles — who I'd not seen in a few months. He'd lost over 50 pounds in just a couple of months, and I barely recognized him. He kinda blew it off and didn't tell me how he did it. Last Monday, another racing friend (Jimmy Ray) told me he'd lost 25 months in a month on the 17-day-diet. The two of these guys motivated me to start my diet last Monday when I was 325, and today (8 days later) I weighed 312 after breakfast. I fully realize that 13 pounds on a 325 pound man ain't nothing, and that there is no way that I can expect to maintain that initial loss on a weekly basis, but I think I did learn something in the last 8 days, and want to share what I'm doing with anyone interested.

I looked into the 17-day diet, and while it is as hot as the Adkins, and South Beach diets before it — it wasn't really for me. I want the diet to be more simple than counting days and/or calories. For years, my typical diet was a bowl of Raisin Bran in the morning; Sushi, Subway, or other fast food at lunch; and whatever dinner my wife put in front of me for dinner — which was never low calorie or low carbs. In the evening I would eat corn chips and Salsa — and polish off 2/3 bottle of red wine.

How I eat now is much different, but I'm also hungry less often. First, the foods I don't eat are:

• No Cereal

• No Bread

• No Potatoes

• No Corn

• No Fried Food

• No Pasta

• No Salt

• No Salty Snacks

• No Bananas

• No Pineapple

• No White Grapes

• No butter or dairy

• No Sodas — albeit I only use to drink sugar-free anyway

• No Fruit Juices

• No beer or grain alcohol

What I do eat is:

• I still drink my five cups of coffee in the morning — but no cream (albeit was non-fat) in it

• I have an omelet of two eggs and pico de Gallo each morning. I have avoided eating more than 2 eggs a week for years — but no more. Two eggs a day now.

• My lunch is either a 6.5oz package of White Tuna or Pink Salmon mixed with Helman's Lite Mayo made with Olive Oil. I add either chopped onions, chopped celery, or pico de gallo to make it just a little different. I also whipped up a batch of Ceveche, and I alternate that in too. However so far, it has been fish every lunch.

• Between lunch and dinner, I have one plum and one pear an hour apart.

• For dinner, I limit lean beef to no more than twice a week, and a lean pork chop no more than once a week. I mostly have chicken breasts or turkey breast cutlets that I cook on the propane grill outside. I do hammer them pretty hard with Cajun spices or garlic powder for taste. My vegetables are steamed fresh carrots, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, artichoke, or asparagus.

• For a evening snack I eat an apple or some red grapes, and later a large navel orange.

I'm really eating enough to not be hungry, just better. I'm missing many foods that I like — but eating enough good tasting food to where it isn't killing me. While it isn't officially a 17-day diet, their concept of lots of fresh green vegetables and lower sugar fruits being virtually unlimited help. I also make sure I always have a bottle of cold water with me — drinking 5-6 a day. I don't drink 2/3 bottle of Merlot a night — but I do allow myself 1 heaping glass (served in a goblet instead of wine glass) equal to 1/3 bottle. Coffee, Green Tea, Water, or my glass of wine is all I'll drink now.

Finally. my back and feet don't allow me to do a lot of exercising right now (hopefully as I lose some weight), but I started walking everyday (albeit with a cane) about 3.5 miles — which takes me about 1.5 hours at as brisk a pace as I can currently manage.

So that's what I'm doing. I realize that the streets are littered with broken diets, but I do feel pretty motivated and have set a goal of being down to 250 by the first race at Bradenton. Maybe my "friends" will stop joking in the pits that I don't raise my window net when I'm racing slower than 10.0 (and its not required) because I'm too fat to raise it — which is Bullshit. If you have a few pounds to drop, give this a try and see if it works for you. I'd be interested if it does. I feel like I have to strictly follow it without backsliding — but I'm eating foods I like and finding ways to make it appear to be a bigger variety than it is.

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Christmas is Coming

Do you have a hard time getting a gift for some people?

Do you get strange gifts that clog your closet, because you'd never use
them?

The best solution I know of to hook up people to give the gifts that people want, is the Wish List at Amazon.com

If everyone would take a few minutes to create a gift list of stuff they really wanted in a variety of price ranges on an Amazon wish list, and if those giving gifts made a quick check to see if there was a wish list on Amazon.com (by name or email address) — then gifting would be far better and a efficient use of money spent.

The wish list thing removes the item purchased from the list from everyone's view but yours — so if the Wish
List is used, it will keep you from getting the same gift twice.

Amazon is as inexpensive as anywhere for the same item, and usually has free shipping. It also keeps you out of the mall crowds.

If you create a wish list, use the name most people refer to you as, the email address that you most commonly use, and upload a photo of yourself as the listings with photos go to the top of the list of people with the same names, and are easiest for your family and friends to quickly identify you.

So in a nutshell:

• create a wish list on Amazon that is easy to quickly identify you, and has a range of items you want
• clean it up after your birthday and Christmas to remove items you no longer want or received
• check to see if the person you are buying for has a wish list

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It may be hot and dry — but there’s nothing like it

Gary P. Nunn has always been one of my favorite Texans, ever since I first heard “London Homesick Blues” over 35 years ago. Here’s another of his great Texas songs put to a slideshow.

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