It’s been a few days since I’ve updated the blog.  I know, I know.  I have been paying attention to it, though.  I just haven’t felt particularly inspired  to write anything.  It’s not really from a lack of time.  Hell, I’m on vacation!

But today is Canada Day, and I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t post something.

It was a pretty low key day for us today.  I don’t think that my kids even realized that it was Canada Day until after supper.  I had planned on taking them somewhere in the afternoon, but my daughter said that she didn’t want to go anywhere.  She wanted to stay here.  Not really sure why.  The “I’m boooooooooored” has already started, but when she said that she didn’t want to go anywhere, I was fine with that.  Later, when she realized what day it was, she was more than a little disappointed with me.  Apparently when they’re with their mother, they go to the local festivities.  I’ll have to try to make it up to her, but I think I’m in the Daddy Doghouse at the moment. 

Yesterday was Father’s Day.  Between working until 7am, sleeping for a few hours, and then going to see my Dad and my kids, there wasn’t much time left over to blog.  (Yeah, I did manage to squeeze out one about 123LinkIt, but even that was rushed)

I think that Father’s Day gets a bit of a bum rap (is that even how you spell that?  Looks kinda silly) compared to Mother’s Day sometimes.  It just doesn’t seem to have the same zing and pizazz that Mother’s Day has.  Hell, even where I work, you get an additional financial incentive for working on Mother’s Day (regardless of your sex and/or parental status)… what do you get for Father’s Day?  Nadda.  Try to figure that one out!

But that’s ok.  There are more important things than money.  (Seriously, yes there are.)  My kids surprised me with cards that they had made at school.  They were really well done.  My son’s was the typical boy-themed card.  Thanking me for the super-soakers I had bought them.. ice cream.. wrestling.. playing ball and watching TV.  My daughter’s was a little different…

Awww.. how well does she know me?  Meatballs, pop, black hat (I honestly thought it was blue until she wrote that.  So I asked someone.. apparently it’s black!), music videos, So You Think You Can Dance… and sleeping?  Hey now!  It’s not my fault that the kids won’t sleep in  past 6:30am on a Saturday!

Hope that all the Fathers out there had a great day yesterday!

So I’m sitting here checking the blog logs (just try saying THAT 5 times fast.. blog logs, blog logs.. I can’t even  type it without going back and correcting it!) and when I did a refresh, suddenly I had a big GoDaddy logo on the screen, and some message about my domain name having expired.

Crap.

I knew that it was right around this time.  This blog was essentially a birthday present to myself, so I knew that it should be coming up.  I also knew that GoDaddy would send me a reminder notice that the date was getting close.  Right?  Sure they would.  So where the hell was my reminder notice?

After playing “What’s my password?” on the GoDaddy admin screen for awhile (note to self: learn to write these things down, or invest in Roboform) I finally got logged in, and realized WHY my domain name had expired without me having received any forewarning.

I changed my email address last year and forgot to tell them.

Doh!

So I guess that I can’t be too upset with them, considering that it was entirely my fault.  I also noticed that I have several domains expiring soon… most of which I registered and didn’t do a damn thing with.  I think that it’s time to sit down and do a self-assessment again.  Determine whether these domains are worth renewing, and if so, how I am going to incorporate them into the big scheme of things.  I certainly have ideas floating around in my head, but ideas don’t pay the bills unless they are turned into something tangible.

But that’s the explanation as to why you may have popped over here earlier today and been greeted with the evil GoDaddy dude, rather than my humbled rantings.

Happy Victoria Day, Canada!

Rumour has it that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.  As far as pre-fab holidays go, this pretty much tops the list of uselessness.  Wouldn’t be so bad if it translated into a day off, something we are in desperate need of at this time of year.  But no…  no day off. 

But for those people who do enjoy this day, there is no shortage of ways to express their undying love for their significant other.  Cards, chocolates, candy, flowers, maybe a dinner and/or movie.  And don’t forget the bling!  Nothing says “I love you” quite like a sparkling diamond.

So here’s this week’s poll… Quite simply, what are you hoping to receiving from your significant other on Valentine’s Day?  Feel free to choose more than one selection, as package deals are popular.

Then sit back and see whether Cupid agrees with you on Sunday.

Well, I finally did it.  I’m the proud new owner of an artificial, fake, lifeless Christmas tree… courtesy of Zellers’ after-Christmas blowout.  I still ended up paying $150 for the thing, a far cry from the $350 it was selling at originally.  I don’t know who Alfred Sung is, but apparently he designs everything from wedding dresses to sun glasses… yeah, I can see how a Christmas tree fits into that portfolio nicely… 

Right now it’s sitting in a box.  Maybe next year I’ll take it out of that box.  Or maybe I’ll just tack a couple of ornaments to the box and stand it in the corner!  This thing had better be simple to put together, or else it’s becoming someone’s new gift!

I can remember one of the great Christmas traditions that our family had when I was growing up.  Christmas crackers at my grandfather’s house on Boxing Day.  No, not the crackers that you eat.  Those Christmas crackers that are wrapped up, with a snapping stick thing sticking out of each end.  You held one end, and got someone else to hold the other, and then you pulled, and most times you heard a loud popping noise.  Then you’d open up the package and see what was inside.

Even as a kid, I remember the adults mentioning that the “prizes” inside were getting cheaper and cheaper.   You always got a brightly-coloured paper crown hat to wear.  (I think I still have a picture somewhere of Grampy wearing his, and a huge grin on his face)  You always got a joke, or riddle.  And then you got some tiny toy, or something interesting.  I can remember a puzzle, a large rubber fly, tiny magnifying glass… they were never extravagant items, but they were something to keep the interest of the kids.

Well… the times are certainly changing…

We had Christmas crackers when the kids were out a couple of weeks ago.  They look like the ones that I remember from when I went to my grandfather’s.  The popping thing is a little different now.  Instead of pulling the end of the little stick, the stick is now glued to the inside edge, so you press your thumb against it and pull.  And inside, you still have the coloured hats, and not-so-funny jokes.  But the biggest change is the toy prize.

My 6 year old was the first to get his open (of course).  He held a tiny little plastic bag in his hand and said “Is this all I get?”  The bag held about 6 tiny rubber bands.  Wow.  Then I opened mine.  A hair elastic?  Like I need one of those.  What happened to the fun stuff?  You don’t have to spend a fortune to put a decent toy in there.  A hair elastic???  Not even a scrunchy.  A hair elastic!  I can picture a factory worker

A couple of years ago my mother made her own Christmas crackers.  I really think that’s the way to go.