A long time ago, or at least it felt that way, there was a rumor going round that when Dora the Explorer was going to be shipped up to Canada, that instead of Spanish she would have to speak French.
As it turns out, this wasn’t the case. She’s still speaking Spanish(and wearing shirts that don’t fit). But thinking of it now, I really wish she was speaking French. If that were the case, then Liam would actually know a useful language in Canada.
See, because of Dora, he does in fact speak some Spanish, and uses it in the right context.
He’s said Gracias to me more than once in place of Thanks. He knows that the ball goes arriba when he throws it, and eventually comes abajo.
Sometimes things are the colour rojo instead of red.
It’s cute and all, don’t get me wrong. And because I watch so much Dora with him, that I know what he’s talking about. It’s just that, if it were French, it would be that much further along.
We tried Ni Hao Kai-Lan for a little while, but it just didn’t take. Chinese would still be more useful than Spanish. At least around here.
Now, if he moved to Spain or Mexico, well, that’s different…
Our flights are booked, the condo is booked(and deposit paid) and we’re totally geared up for visiting the sunny land of Florida!
I’ve been to Disney World twice; once has a kid(9 or 10) and 7 years ago with a group of friends. Not sure which visit was more exciting 
We’re going in April, sort of on the line between the busy and moderate season. It won’t be stinking hot, but a heck of a lot warmer than it will be here. While we’ll be in Orlando for about 10 days, I know we won’t spend the entire time at Disney(as that would cause a stupid fortune). I think there will be a fair amount of random visit time and hanging around the pool time.
The geek in me is trying to find a bunch of fun apps for my phone that would ‘help’ us while in Orlando. There are a few fun map apps for Disney, and Lego Land(more research is needed here…). I’m also thinking of the best way to travel to the US with my iPhone and not getting charged an arm and a leg for data use. I’ll have to call Virgin to see if/how much it will cost to unlock the phone and then I can get a local sim. Sure my number will change, but so what, it’ll be short term.
Actually, just found out that it’ll cost $75 to get the phone unlocked, but only if I’m off contract. There’s a place downtown that’ll do it for $40, so guess what
Overall, I’m stupid excited to go, more so because I’m the dad his time so I get to see all the cool reactions that Liam will have to things. Not to say that I won’t have any cool reactions, but I think mine will be to his.
Last night, we upgraded Liam’s room to 2.0:Big Boy. He has a twin mate’s bed(apparently captains beds have additional storage at foot), a proper dresser and we’ve moved out the crib and change table. The transformation isn’t complete(ok, we’ll call it 2.0 beta) as there’s some decoration still needed, but functionally, it’s upgraded.
And he slept in the bed last night with no wake ups. I think this is because some time ago we removed one side of his crib and replaced it with the bed guard, and kept that bed guard on the new bed, so he’s used to it. While he went to bed a little later than usual last night, there wasn’t much of a fight with the new bed(he’s been a little difficult to put down lately).
I have to admit that it’s now a little odd to go in there. For over two years it was the baby room, where we rocked him to sleep, changed diapers, fed him, and now it’s a little space for him to play and sleep in. We might move the train table up there, but we’re still on the fence as it’s an easy thing for him to play with on the main level, and it doesn’t take up too much space.
The next thing to do is arrange the basement as a play/work out area for all of us. We want to partially finish the basement and make a little zone for his kitchen and other toys so that he can hang out with Mom and Dad as they exercise. Or just hang out and have fun.
So while I miss the babies room, I’m looking forward to hanging out in the little boys room.
It’s Winter, and that means it’s cold and there’s a lot of snow. The snow wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the cold. And the cold is always bad.
I mean, I like the cold, as I can do things to combat the cold. I can always put on more layers. But that wind can be really biting. Really really biting. And I can only cover my face so much without, well, without wandering accidentally into traffic.
And it’s a little worse for Liam as I have to bundle him up a little more. Not to the point where he can’t walk or anything, but it does make it more difficult.
So it’s Winter, and we want to make sure he get’s enough exercise. Now, in terms of outdoor activities in Ottawa, they’re limited to(at least at his age) to walking and snow shoveling(of which he loves). Walking is frustrating as he needs to take is ‘bike’ with him, which is a three wheeler that doesn’t travel in the snow very well. Or the sled, and then he just wants to sit, which isn’t a great form of exercise(just ask his Dad).
So we got him a year pass to the local FunHaven. I think it might be he only FunHaven, but just in case it isn’t ill specify that it’s the local one.
If you’ve never been, FunHaven is this cool place that’s not far away where Liam can run around and be a two year old. It’s split up into multiple activities, all of which you would have to pay for separately. The nice thing is that there’s no entry fee, just a fee for the stuff you want to do. Liam likes Ballocity. It’s a huge three level platform play place with air cannon ball shooters and a couple of big slides. Off to the side is a play kitchen and a little play house thingy. Liam likes it all. Mom and Dad like the big comfy chairs for the parents. We have a blast in there every time we go and it tires the heck out of him, which is good. However, it also costs $12 every time, so the thought of a $100 all you can play pass was pretty appealing. Also, considering that we were there 3 times that week alone(between Christmas and going back to work) it should pay for itself pretty quickly.
Before making this decision though, we did check around for cheaper options, and one of the local rec centers does have this play hour thing, but it’s during the day(not so helpful) and only for an hour. So FunHaven it is.
It’s pretty easy to amuse a toddler, but almost never cheap 
Yes, it’s that time again where we all sit down and write out a bunch of stuff that we want to accomplish this year. For some of us, it’s really a retelling of things we didn’t get done last year, but we’re really really sure we’ll get done this year.
I am no exception.
In past years I’ve made lists, plans, goals, you name it. And sometimes it works out. But for some goals, it really doesn’t.
The usual goal for me is the weight loss. It’s a struggle at the best of times and this year will be no different. However, I think the reason of the goal will be a little different this year, and therefor might actually get done. See, we want another child this year, but need to get ourselves a little healthier in order to do this. So it’s not just for us, it’s actually for someone else, and that might make it work.
Another goal is to read more. I had this goal a few years back but made it too ambitious for myself. And I had no plan. This year I’ll make it a little easier and have a better plan. I want to read 4 books this year. Doesn’t seem like much, but for me it is. I managed to read two last year, and it felt good. I have two tiles picked out already:
I know, I still haven’t read WWZ but I really meant to
But if you have suggestions for two more books, please feel free to suggest. I’ll be honest when I say I’m more likely to read sci-fi and horror than fantasy, but I’ll take all suggestions. And since the plan is to read on the phone, I don’t think I’ll do any graphic novels. Not that they count for this goal
There are other things that I want to get done this year, some are more creative than others. I’m trying to broaden myself(as he mentions loosing weight *ba doom boom*) and live a little more. Get out of the house some more, get everyone out of the house some more. We’ve freed up some finances so that opens a few more doors for us.
I’m also(like many) to kill some bad habits and create some new good ones. One way to do this, at least I hope, is through HabitRPG and it looks both simple and fun. It’s a basic RPG, and when you get things done, you get XP and gold(in which you can buy rewards) and if you do a bad habit, or delay things, then you loose HP and eventually die. Not sure what happens when you eventually die, but it looks fun(not the dying, the overall thing).
So that’s it for now, I’ll try to keep up with how my habits and everything are forming, but let’s be honest, I’ve said that in the past
Another Christmas has come and gone in what seems like a flash. As usual, there’s so much build up and then, boom, it’s all done and all you see around you is wrapping paper and left over turkey.
We were in town this year for the holidays, as we’re going to try every other year out west. The morning started at my brothers for the gift exchange and some yummy breakfast. I was up early making the bacon. Early is relative of course as it was really 7am. Liam was still asleep as mom and dad wished they would be.
And it was an explosion of gifts and excitement as all the little boys were spoiled as usual
Then for us it was home time and time to call far away grandma. At that time, there was more gifts to be opened and I think Liam was a little overwhelmed with new things. At least it was close to nap time, and I think he needed it. I know his parents did, so we took advantage as well. The turkey was in the oven and there was little that we needed to do anyway, so might as well recharge.
Dinner went well and we had my folks over. They brought mashed potatoes, stuffing and dessert. Such yummy things!
After that big meal, we just chilled, because really, that’s all you can so.
And that was Christmas for 2012.
How did you celebrate?
We’re really gearing up for Christmas in the Fuller household. I think we finally have the tree fully decorated, and I think at one point we might have to cull the decorations a little. But we managed to fit them all on, and it’s looking pretty awesome. I also got the lights up, but obviously can’t remember how I did them last year. For some reason, we have half our lit garland…unlit, and now a strand of the LEDs is out. Also, the garland is half falling off the garage door. Looking at it now, it appears I was drunk when I put them all up. It’s not the look I was going for.
We’ve also got all our inside stuff up, not the ceiling snow flakes, but I’m not sure if we’re going to do that this year. Or, I could just go ahead and do them. Haven’t decided yet.
As mentioned previously, the second attempt with Liam and Santa went a lot more smoothly than the first attempt. There was no screaming and clawing at eyes. Granted, he didn’t really look at the camera, we blame the balloons in the background for that. But, he was good, and we have a decent picture.
Our Christmas day plans are being finalized, and they’re not overly complicated. Not that they ever are, but I just wanted to set your mind at ease. The morning will be at my brothers place for all the gift opening, and then a nice rest at home, then dinner with my folks. A simple quiet dinner. Well, hopefully quiet.
We’re also amassing a collection of Christmas movies to watch between now and then, just to get us in the mood. These movies include:
- Home Alone
- Die Hard
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas(the original, natch)
- Elf
- A Christmas Story
- Mickey’s Christmas Carol
We watched the Grinch the other night on CBC, but there was an odd problem(either with the broadcast or my stand def TV) where the picture would zoom in randomly to fill the whole screen. But it was still really great to watch, and always puts me in the right mood.
And finally, on Friday, we did a marathon shopping trip all day and got the majority of our stuff done. We will have some outstanding gifts, but at least we got most of it. And, it was a great day with just Tara and I
How is your Christmas shaping up?
There are advantages to being in a country that’s not America. Ok, I’m sure there are a lot of advantages, but one of them is staggered holidays.
We had our Thanksgiving last month, they have it this week. What this means for me is that all the clients I normally have to deal with are away eating themselves to sleep(it’s a turkey thing). So the end result has been a very slow work week. This is good as it allows me to catch up on stuff that’s been lagging. And there are a number of those things 
I’ve recently been given some new tasks/roles at work, and one of them is to maintain our test servers. This has been kinda fun as it’s all AIX and all command line stuff. It’s allowed me to learn a bunch of new commands that I need to run in order to keep other things running. And we all know I like a good command line. But, as of last week, one of the servers was giving me grief, and since work was busy, I wasn’t able to solve it. Now that it’s nice and quiet and I could clear my thoughts, it took only the part of one morning to sort it all out and get it up and running.
Woo me!
Now I have to somehow gain root access to them so that I can keep maintaining these servers properly. That might be a little challenge, but I’ll get my manager involved and I’m sure it’ll get sorted out. Then I’ll make a bunch of useful scripts for myself and replicate them on the servers so that I can keep tabs on things and start/stop what I need to when I need to. It’ll be a fun little project in my ‘spare time’ at work.
So it’s good to be working when others are on vacation. Some of the time.
The night before my first day of high school, I started shaving. Actually, at around 3am on the first day of high school, I started shaving. My mom dropped off a ‘campus kit’ when she thought I was asleep and as I was too nervous to sleep, I shaved instead.
I didn’t cut myself or anything. Granted, I’m sure I didn’t need a shave either, but at 3am in 1989, my options were a little limited.
But since then I have been a fairly regular shaver. There were periods where this was more irregular than regular, but I have always shaved.
And, truth be told, I’ve mostly been irritated by it. Not so much by the physical act of shaving, that’s pretty easy. It’s the ongoing cost involved.
See, I’m cheap. At least when it comes to things I don’t think I should have to spend large amounts of money on. And with shavers, you really don’t have much of a choice.
I mean, on average, you’re spending $2.50 to $3 on a Cartridge of blades. Not a box, one cartridge. And that’s a bulk price I found online. For most people, that would be one week if you shaved daily. I didn’t, so it might last me two, but those last couple of times would be a little rough.
Then there’s the foam/gel that goes along with that. You’re looking at about $3-$4 a can of that stuff, and that’s just the cheap stuff. And that’s a month or two.
Last year Tara, Liam and I went to see her grandfather and spend a week there. I forgot my shaving cream, so I decided to use soap instead. Didn’t have a whole lot of options, so I went with it. And ya know, it was just fine. In fact, I preferred it. So that’s what I did when I got home. I got a 3 pack of soap and just used that instead. Still have one bar of that pack(3 pack) and it cost $4.
I saw the add for Dollar Shave Club online some time ago(now that I think of it, it was probably close to a year) and I, like everyone else, was taken in by the ad. And the theory. That shaving doesn’t have to be stupid expensive. So this November, I signed up. It’s available in Canada now BTW. It’s a little more then a dollar for the basic blade option, but $4 isn’t bad. And for that, I get 5 cartridges and it’s delivered to my home each month. Not too shabby. This also allows me to shave daily as I have 5 to go through each month.
So let’s add it up.
I used to spend(on average):
$78/year on blades
$36 on cream/gel.
Now it’ll be:
$48/year on blades
$2.66 on soap.
That’s a difference of $63.40.
You know, when I write it all down, I am cheap. I mean, what does $63.40/year get me? Honestly.
I suppose if I socked all of that away, by the time I retire I could get a TV(not super great, but decent), a trip to Mexico or Disney World. But at 65, do I want to go to either?
Anyway, the real point is that you don’t have to spend what you’re spending, there are alternatives that are just as good or better.
Today I finished reading my second book this year. I know it’s not a super huge accomplishment for most people, but for me it is. And, I read them both on my iPhone.
I used to read, alot, and now for some reason I don’t. I’m sure there are plenty of good excuses out there as to why I don’t read as much, I just don’t know if they all hold water. But with the iPhone at least I don’t have to remember to bring the book(s) with me where ever I might be doing. I always have my phone, therefore I always have my books. I like this concept.
And reading on the phone isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it might be. As long as it’s a decent ebook format, iBooks does a good job displaying it. That being said, I have some that are in less then stellar format and I have to do something about that. Like find a better copy.
The two books I read were “Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep” and “I am Legend”. Both were turned into movies that I enjoyed, and both were excellent books to read. I liked knowing what was likely to happen in the book and then being plesently surprised when new things popped up. Oddly enough, I don’t so much like it the other way around
I’m not sure what I should read next. Someone has distributed the complete works of HP Lovecraft, and I’m tempted to go through that. I’ve read a lot of his work, just not all of it. And this is a good chance to do just that. And it’s legit free
So yea, I’m happy to be reading again, even if it’s not a whole ton.
PS, this was all written in VIM and uploaded via a python script. So I can have a command line blogging tool afterall