Greetings friends! I guess it's about that time for my yearly post!

So... a lot has happened since my last post. Some good things, some bad.

First off, my dad passed away Thanksgiving Eve last year after his battle with cancer. I miss him everyday, but I've taken solace in knowing he's no longer suffering.

Let's move to December. The house my wife and I had been renting ended up with a serious mold issue due to water leakage from the pipes we kept telling our landlord about (and never did properly fix), along with water underneath the foundation of the house. So with that, in the beginning of the winter, with snow on the ground and cold temperatures and wind chills, we grabbed all our stuff that was salvageable and moved in with my in-laws.

Not an ideal situation, I know. But my wife and I have both made mistakes when it comes to finances, so we're currently recovering from a hole we dug for ourselves. We're steadily on the upswing towards getting back on track, and we're hoping soon enough that we will be able to purchase a home that we can finally call our own.

In April of last year, I transferred jobs within the same company. I went from being a casino table games supervisor to a barback for the wait staff. Doesn't seem like a very wise move, does it? Well, turns out it was one of the better choices I've made lately. Even though my hourly pay took a dip by nearly $4, I'm still making more money thanks to the tremendous staff I work with because of their tipouts. Plus I'm working only four days a week with three off, compared to the uncertainly of how many days I'd work a week.

I got extremely burnt out, and needed a change. Not only for my sanity, but for my well-being. I was feeling like garbage. I let myself blimp up to almost 385 pounds at the end of last November. I dropped almost 30 pounds by the time January rolled around, but I still didn't feel all there physically or mentally. So once the opportunity opened up to transfer departments, I hopped on it. Plus I'll hopefully have the opportunity to bartend later on down the road and make even more money.

With this new job of stocking the bar, I've actually been way more active than I was previously. As of right now, I'm back down to 330 pounds. The job keeps me moving constantly, and I definitely get a workout doing it. That's a lot of cases of beer to lug around! Still a long way to go to drop more weight, but I'm feeling loads better than I was late last year.

And Saturday, my wife and I will have been married for six years. Time flies, doesn't it? We won't get to chance to celebrate it the day of, but we will be celebrating it the following day with a little mini-getaway. She recently got a new job within the same company as their new marketing coordinator, which I'm elated for! She's busted her ass off to get to this point, and now has a chance to finally shine in a field that she went to school for!

Lots of ups. Lots of downs. But that's life. It can be cruel, but beautiful and joyous as well. Stay amazing, my friends.