Except for the odd sibling scuffle, everyone's been in pretty good spirits this past week. The kids have been playing a lot together, either on the PS3 with Little Big Planet, or in the basement building forts. Both Jennifer and I have been swamped at work, but surprisingly, we've had good nights together. On Wednesday we went to the gym together for the first time. Granted, the gym isn't much of a date, but it was still nice to get out. We're hoping our babysitter can commit to our schedule and perhaps we can make it a weekly affair.
November 13, 2009
November 12, 2009
Developed Awareness
And so it begins. Whilst Jennifer and I prepared dinner, Matthew came up from the basement—with Marina in tow—both of them in complete hysterics. Marina instructed us to "look at Matthew" and through fits of laughter, the Lad did his best to stand up straight so we would notice his new physique. "I'm a woman!" he cried. It was then that we'd noticed that he'd donned one of Jennifer's bras beneath his shirt.
When I told him that these antics would be source for tonight's blog entry, Matthew was quick to say: "Oh, that's okay, Daddy. But there's NO WAY you're taking a picture and putting it on the blog!" Ah, they learn their rights so quickly.
November 10, 2009
Temporarily Unhinged
Facebook. Twitter. E-blasts. Blogs. YouTube. Delicious. Metrics. Website.
Rinse and repeat.
While part of me loves all this learning, another part—my head—is spinning from the overload of information. Not every day, but today for sure. Still, I've got to stick with it because in a short while, everyone will get it. Then we lose the advantage. The interesting thing is, I've got to drag the rest of the office through this social media landscape and that, in itself, can be challenging.
November 09, 2009
Taking Notice
Reading the Menu … captured on November 8, 2009 - iPhone
I just wanted the record to show, Matthew, that I have noticed how hard you've been working at being a good boy this past little while. You've done your homework without question and practiced on the piano. Of course, it helps that you still enjoy it. You've been sharing and helping your sister although we still need to work on you telling her what to do; that's our job. Still, the effort is appreciated and hopefully, this will go a long way toward showing Marina how she should act. While the Lad has been a model child, the Wee-One has been very trying of late. But that, is for another day.
November 08, 2009
Lost But Not So Lost
Despite the fact I wasn't feeling 100%, the weather this weekend was fantastic. I had a quick meeting on Saturday morning and then hooked up with Jennifer and the kids as we did our weekly walk down Roncesvalles to pick up a baguette, some fruit and veg and a bottle (yes, bottle) of milk. Later in the day we did more chores including groceries and a quick trip to Ikea to pick up a small (and cheap!) bookcase for Marina's room which, once again, has been moved around to find more space.
This morning—taking advantage of the glorious weather—we met up with René, Danielle and Chloe for some breakfast before heading out along the Bruce Trail for a hike. We decided to drive up to Horning's Mills, about 90 clicks north of Toronto to find the Kilgorie side trail loop. Unlike previous hikes, where we start off at a conservation area, this trail is just off the highway so you have to look for markings (blazes) on the trees. We found plenty of blazes but not what we were looking for. Luckily, we came across a couple who had just finished a larger part of the trail and directed us back about a kilometre from where we were.
We found part of the side trail loop and hiked it for probably close to an hour. The trail snaked along a small (but quick) river and rounded an old, abandoned power plant. All that remained was the stone shell of the building, with trees growing through the long since broken windows. Eventually, we found ourselves back on the highway we'd originally crossed. Checking my handheld GPS, we tracked our way back to the car, deciding to cut cross-country up a pretty steep hill.
On the way home, Danielle guided us through Hockley Valley so we could take in the sights. I'm sure the colours would have been just stunning a month ago, but most of the leaves have since fallen. Regardless, the views and rolling hills were still quite impressive. Our path led us to Orangeville where we stopped for lunch before then taking our separate ways home.
November 06, 2009
The Last Bit of Halloween
Remarkably, there still remains some Halloween candy in the house. No, the entry title refers to the last of this year's ghoulish imagery. I just had to post this because I love it so much. Scary? No doubt. A little creepy? Absolutely; I think Wee-Mina took Matthew's zombie makeup to heart. But beyond that, her vampire is still fashionably dressed and sporting a lovely heart pendant choker and some orange jewelry across her shoulders. She has an eye for detail, this one. I remember when Matthew used to do the same.
November 05, 2009
And Another Update
Sorry gang, I'm still quite bagged so this'll be another quick entry. To tell the truth, I think I'm fighting something. Anyhow, the kids are fine and Jennifer has been off at a work conference for the day. She's expected to get home later tonight which is a nice switch for her. The kids and I picked up some fish 'n' chips on the way home and I've let them gorge themselves on cartoons; sometimes, you just gotta let 'em be kids.
I picked up Jennifer's repaired computer yesterday. It turns out it was the hard drive. Despite the $200 price tag, it could have been worse. I've just about finished reloading the software and organizing her mail, browser and personal files.
November 03, 2009
Latest Update
Just a quick update to let everyone know I'm feeling better and managed to go to work today. It was a good day and I created a presentation for the lads at the office to recap my day-long seminar on Friday. And, because the two grandmothers asked for it, here's a quick picture of the little plunderess, Marina.
November 02, 2009
Caught Up
I feel like Matthew looks. I went to bed with a headache last night, then woke up four or so hours later feeling awful. My headache was worse and my stomach was flipping like mad. I spent the first hour fighting both then decided if I was going to throw up, I might as well take something for the headache. Eventually, the headache abated and my stomach started feeling better. I then fell asleep around 5:00.
I slept in 'til 8:30 then went to work. Although I was feeling better, my energy was completely drained by the time I'd checked my e-mail. It was pretty quiet, so I decided to go home and rest. I even opted out of a board meeting tonight. Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I might take another day to recover. Luckily, it's no worse than a general wearing down; I guess the past few weeks have caught up with me.
November 01, 2009
The Night of Nights
I love this picture of Marina; it's not the best picture of the group, but it is the only one with that expression. It was a pretty long day yesterday and both kids were primed for the big night, Marina in particular. In fact, she's still going a mile-a-minute.
We decided to stay home last night and take the kids around the neighbourhood. Jennifer took the kids out first, doing one street over and half of our own street. I stayed home and dispensed the candy. We didn't get a whole lot of kids, maybe 30 or so. Jennifer came back and suggested I finish the street with the kids which, in retrospect, was very nice. We then came home and the kids began to sort (and eat) their candy. All in all, it was a lovely Halloween…until this morning.
The cat didn't take kindly to Daylight Savings Time, deciding to Meow-It-Up™ at his usual time. We took our time getting up, then made a Halloween treat bag for Chloe and wished René a Happy Birthday on our way out of the grocery store. The shopping done, Jennifer notice a scratch that runs 3/4 of the length of the van as we packed it up; we'd been keyed. When we got home, I checked the street we'd been parked on last night and behold, at least another 6 cars showed the same deep scratches. No doubt a Halloween prank and, I'm sure, one that will be costly at that. We just can't seem to catch a break. Little shits—thanks for ruining the weekend!
We finished our trip with a stop at the pet store to pick up some stuff for Cato. He's lucky though; we almost walked out with the cutest little black rescue cat. I keep thinking another cat will keep him company but looking at how he and Boo get along, I imagine he'd get tired of a new friend pretty quickly. Grumpy old cat.
October 30, 2009
And So, The Time Has Come…
Fierce Concentration … captured on October 25, 2009 - 5D
I had a good day today at the Park Hyatt hotel for an all-day "intensive" course on Social Media. You know: blogs, Facebook, Twitter…that sort of stuff. As some of you already know, I've been focusing a lot on social media and mobile marketing these past six months. I can't tell you how much of a boost it's been to my career, both in terms of security and spiritually. Most importantly, it's re-ignited my passion for marketing. Secondly, it's allowed me to expand my capabilities. Not only do I continue to contribute to the big ideas and develop strategies but I get to art direct, photograph and follow this new vein as well. Is it too much? No, because it's all connected. And that's what's so exciting.
And speaking of excitement, well, it's Halloween. The kids had an exciting day at school today and have already dressed up. But tomorrow is the BIG day. How it will unfold remains to be seen; there are many plans in the works so I don't know what will shake out. No matter what, I will eat more than my fair share of Reese's peanut butter cups so that means I'll need to spend more time at the gym.
October 29, 2009
Dull
Like the title of the photo, it's another dull, grey day in T-Dot. I'm speaking of the weather or course, not the mood. Although I think everyone could do with a bit of sunshine.
I always think of Fall as such a vibrant time of year but this past week has been anything but. You can see the fallen leaves, lining street edges, but they lay there sodden instead of skipping merrily across the street, coaxed by the wind. The colours have been drab as well. And the mornings, dark.
Dark will do well for Halloween this weekend, although there's talk of rain. The kids will NOT be happy if it rains but we'll see what happens. As for myself, I hope to go to the Zombie Short Film Festival at The Revue tomorrow to celebrate the season.
October 27, 2009
Slow Goes the Battle
1-and-a-half of 3 things down. First off, Jennifer took the van in for servicing yesterday. They acted like it was no big deal; like tie rods fail all the time. You could tell it was a pissing contest between one service department and the other. It's so nice to be the customer, stuck in the middle. Luckily, this bit was indeed covered by the warranty. We did get the alignment done as well and this did cost us; but, it was needed.
Step 2, Jennifer's laptop. Of course, it started up for the Apple fellow (I'd tried at least 7 or 8 times, without success) so I copied all her necessary information to a USB key. He agreed that the hard drive was likely the culprit but I should try a clean install of the OS. That's what I'm trying to do now. The computer has continued working—I've restarted with the Leopard installer, it's verified the disc, wiped the drive clean and crashed. Now I can start up from the DVD drive anymore. Ah, but that's what evenings are for…wasting your time troubleshooting. More on this later.
The final issue is the roof. So far, Jennifer has had no luck talking with the original roofer. She's left multiple messages, but they haven't found the time to call back yet. Guess who's losing a customer? More on this later as well.
October 26, 2009
La P'tite Marina
On the way home from school Marina looked up at me and said: "Citrouille."
"Oh…pumpkin!" I exclaimed with obvious pride. She does this, the Wee-One, ever since she started French immersion. She'll softly throw a new word she learned that day to see if I understand what she's saying. For the most part, I get it.
As we walked along, Marina would point out the various citrouilles standing guard on people's porches. "Look!" she'd call. "Trois citrouilles! Une petite, une moyenne et une grosse citrouille!"
Then at dinner she perked up for a joke. "Do you know that all horses speak French?" she asked. Jennifer looked at her curiously, "No…how do they speak French?"
Pointing to her nose, she beamed: "They all say: Nez, nez, nez!"
Ah, my little French girl!
October 25, 2009
All Better Now
We took it easy today. But it's not like we could have driven anywhere or afforded to do anything! Alright, alright, I'll stop being bitter.
No, we took it easy because, even though Matthew is feeling better and hasn't had a fever since he went to bed last night, we wanted to take advantage of one more day off to make sure he got over his flu. About the only thing we did that was strenuous, was walking down Roncesvalles to get some meat from Rowe Farms and veggies from Ko's. Of course, a coffee from Cherry Bomb and a couple of pain au chocolat were necessary to complete the venture.
The day was definitely cooler but beautiful and sunny. And a funny thing did happen on our walk; I had to stop at the bank on our way out and the lady in front of me was so busy talking to her friends, she left her bank card in the machine. WITHOUT LOGGING OFF! When I got to the ATM, I was faced with a screen asking which account I wanted to draw funds from. It wasn't until after I handed her her card back that I remembered all the things we need to pay for over the next few months. I could have replaced the Mac today! Who says nice guys finish first? Oh well, at least my karma is still intact.
The kids rounded the afternoon off with some pumpkin carving and we were paid a visit from Catherine who was in town for the weekend. She hung around while Jennifer made some cookies for her to take away and we wished her well as she headed off to the bus station for the trip back to UWO, in London.
