Well I have been not updating my blog as my only follower may or may not have noticed!! Spring is here and we have already planted new flowers and things in our front garden. I have also built, with Zoey's help) a second gardening box for our vegetable garden. A very easy project and I think I wrote about it last year. The only things you need are:

6 - 6 foot fence boards
1 - 8 foot 2 X 2
1 - package of outdoor deck or fence screws 1 5/8 length

I used wood glue last time I made this but didn't this time because I forgot. Wouldn't hurt to use it but not really one of those things that will make or break the project. Take the 8 foot 2X2 and cut it into 8 pieces. You will have a 9th piece left over that is smaller than the other 8. Place two boards side by side and use the total width as your guide which works out to be about a 10 or 12 inch piece of the 2X2. Then use that to make the marks on the remained 8 foot 2X2 and cut your pieces. They will be used for middle support and end attachment of you boards. Cut two 6 foot boards in half as these will be the ends. I drilled pilot holes for the screws in my boards which does make it a lot easier and you can place your screws and then come back and drill them all in. When you screw everything together you will end up with a 3 X 6 garden box that you can use for flowers or veggies!

 

This is not the one I made but should look similar. This one is made with 2X4's and it was dug into the ground. You can do that also but I just placed mine on the ground and am going to fill it with topsoil.

The girls picked out seeds so we will hopefully be growing corn, peas, cucumber, carrots, radishes, watermelon and sunflowers. I also bought a strawberry plant and red pepper plant that we got from Walmart. I also planted herbs in a small planter that consists of dill, chives and sweet basil. I am going to try and grow garlic and jalapeno's if I have enough room. I may make a third box to plant the rest. I found out last year that big and tall plants and vines need a lot of space or they won't let anything else grow. I am carefully planning my boxes so I can maximize space and not have the taller plants block out the smaller ones. Last year the cherry tomatoes took over 50% of the box with the pumpkins take 40% leaving very little for the other things we planted. I am a little worried about the corn and watermelons. Not so much the size of them but the timing. I want to pick them at just the right time so I am following the chart on the package which gives the growing time from seed to harvest.

I will be documenting the progress to see how the garden grows. I have started the seeds in jiffy pots we bought at the dollar store and it worked great last year. Only time will tell. You can cheat and buy the plants at Canadian Tire, Walmart or any store that sells vegetable plants so you are already 3 weeks ahead of waiting for the seeds to sprout. I like the seeds because it was my care and watering that I was able to grow from a seed!

Cheers!!

The Lorax Review

Dr. Seuss and his many brilliant books have been made into some enjoyable movies. It began in 2000 with Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas and a 3 out of 5 stars. 2003 was Cat in the Hat with Mike Myers that was rated 2 out of 5 stars. In 2008 it was Horton Hears a Who with Jim Carrey again & Steve Carell that received a 3.5 out of 5 stars. March 2nd 2012 saw the release of the 4th Dr. Seuss movie with The Lorax which has received some very good reviews so far. I have seen mostly 3.5 stars but some have been out of 4 instead of the 5.

Sunday morning we all went to see The Lorax in 3D at AMC in Whitby. Not the IMAX version which was more money. For anyone who is unaware, movies before noon are $6 for regular, $9 for 3D & $11 for IMAX. This applies to everyday of the week so if they are showing a movie before noon it is a discounted price. We paid $36 for the 3D movie which normally would have cost us $54.50 and using the savings to buy snacks. A normal 3D ticket costs $15.75 which saved us $13.50 for two adult tickets. The AMC provides a very good experience and would highly recommend them over anyone else.

The Lorax was a very colourful and musical movie. The movie begins with singing and introduces the town of Theedville. Everything is plastic and there are no trees or plants. Two young kids, Audrey (Taylor Swift) and Ted (Zac Efron) talk about trees in the story and wonder what happened to the trees. Ted talks to his mother and Grammy Norma (Betty White) about where the trees are. Grammy Norma tells Ted where to find his answers and to take 3 things and see The Once-ler (Ed Helms). The movie goes back and forth between the past and present with The Once-ler telling his story and how the trees disappeared. We are introduced to the Lorax (Danny DeVito) when a tree is cut down. Without giving anything else away, because I recommend going to see it, the end of the movie ends with the Theedville people needing to make a change in their ways or face an uncertain future. I really enjoyed the movie and the whole message in the story was not lost on myself or any of the adults. I am not sure if all the kids watching the movie picked up on the message but Zoey did.

I would give The Lorax a 3.5 out of 5. It could have been higher but the story in the film about the present is only about 1/4 of the whole movie. 3/4 of it is based in the past and there could have been a bit more story about the present state and future of Theedville. The message in the movie is a great one and should resonate in everyone with today's climate questions and preserving out natural resources. I recommend seeing the film since it does send a positive message and hope for the future if you are willing to change and it begins with one person. It is actually refreshing to see a movie about a story that was written in 1971 that can still be relevant today and Dr. Seuss had that vision back then.

Go and see it and hopefully it will make you think about yourself and if you are doing enough or making the right choices in regards to our environment.

Cheers!!

Are we all a bunch of damn spoiled kids?

I am not one to complain unless it is warranted. Things really don't bother me and it makes me more mad at seeing someone drive like a real inconsiderate ass. Ad's don't bother me. Commercials I skip through on the PVR. I can tolerate the telemarketers and door to door sales people. The thing that really gets under my skin is whiners and complainers. Don't get me wrong. It is okay to complain when it is warranted but it is all how you handle it.

You order a meal and it is wrong. Tell the waitress and she should correct it. Drive thru is wrong so you take your meal in and show them the bill. They will correct it. Most people will want to help you if you are calm and relaxed but firm. You get your point across and people won't dispute it. The people that come with attitude and start whining and bitching like spoiled kids really set me off. Do you need to get all offended and snotty with someone who made a mistake? Are you the only table in the restaurant? No! Mistakes happen and if you were it that position you wouldn't want to be treated like crap. So why do people treat people like the are stupid and try to belittle them? I was at McDonald's last week and some woman was told that the chicken nuggets would be about 3 minutes and they would bring them out to her table when they were ready. She wanted the nuggets now and asked why they wouldn't have food ready? The lady at the register told her that during busy times they sometimes have a few minutes to catch up with food stocks and are not always able to keep up. They try their best but it is only a couple minutes longer. she wasn't happy with that and asked for the manager. She bitched to the manager with the same "I want my food now" and the manager told her the same thing the other lady did. She was not happy about the answer and asked what she was going to get for waiting. The manager replied nothing.

She told her that the nuggets were done and another manager brought them up to the register with fresh fries and thanked her for waiting. She said she didn't want them and asked for a refund. The manager said she would refund her money for the meal that was now in front of her and the woman was still complaining. She said that she shouldn't have to wait because her kids were hungry and someone said behind her "if you'd shut your mouth and take the food they wouldn't be hungry"! She was really mad and stormed out of McDonald's. That was now the talk of the dining room and how much of a bitch she was for not waiting. I was just ordering and was told to wait for the nuggets for the kids and I said it was not a problem. After she stormed out, the girl behind the counter said the nuggets were ready and the manager was walking buy and thanked me for my patience. I told her it was no problem and it happens. She told me to wait and gave me 4 pies for having to wait. I told her she didn't have to but said after that incident, she was more than happy to do it!

I was laughing thinking it would have been much better if that woman was still in the dining room to see good behavior gets rewarded. I guess she has been a spoiled brat all her life and just taught her kids a valuable lesson. Acting like a fucking jerk gets you no where!!!

Cheers!!

Saturn Ion's

Well last week was a little frustrating when our Saturn Ion wouldn't start. It was cold and I have had this problem before and thought it was the starter. I replaced the starter in the summer with a used one and low and behold it happened again last week. Aside from being pissed that it wouldn't start, I thought about having to buy a new starter. I got to work and started looking into "Saturn not starting" on Google when  it popped up on the search engine. I clicked on the first link and this is nothing new to Saturn owners. The problem is with the type of lube they used on the chip for the ignition switch. It freezes in cold weather and can collect moisture in humid weather causing issues with the chip and trying to start the car. The anti theft system thinks you are trying to steal the car so it disables the ignition for 10 minutes.

What I found out about this is that you leave the key in the ignition with the instrument panel light up and wait for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the ignition will unlock and allow you to attempt to start the car again. If the switch has an issue again with you starting the car, you have to wait another 10 minutes for it to unlock. Now that I know how to get it started once it locks I was feeling a little bit better about not having to buy a starter. This now gives me 3 options to do about this known issue that Saturn won't address.

1. I can clip a white wire attached to a clip that plugs into the ignition switch. This will disable the anti theft system and allow you to start your car without the problem of it locking for 10 minutes at a time. The problem is that the light on the dash will stay light and someone can steal the car. (Not that worried!)

2. I can buy an ignition switch at an auto parts store at replace it myself. To replace it I would have to remove the battery terminal so the air bag doesn't go off in my face and get a small ratchet into a really tight area to remove two screws and the ignition switch. Then put the new one in and put the screws back in with losing any. Then once the plastics are back on, connect the terminals again and go through starting the car which takes about 20 minutes. You will start it once which locks you out and wait 10 minutes, then do it again and it locks again. The third time should allow you to start the car with the new switch but if something is wrong you are screwed.

3. Pay my mechanic about $250 to replace it for me and if anything is screwed up, he can deal with it and get it working. This way I can pay for them to replace it and if anything is screwed up after they replace it then they can trouble shoot it and I can save the $70 to get it towed to the shop.

The bottom line is that this is something that Saturn could have easily addressed under warranty for me but they want to save a few bucks. If I had anything to get them to admit it and fix it I would go after them but since Saturn no longer exists, I'll pay to fix their lazy mistake.

Cheers!!

Cuba

Well it has been almost a month since we have been to Cayo Coco, Cuba and I want to go back!! What a simply beautiful place to visit. Wonderful people, amazing weather, Cuban cigars and beaches. What more could you ask for? I never thought in a million years I would be travelling to Cuba, let alone for an all inclusive vacation. We paid $2400 for a family of 4 and it was worth every penny because we had a great time and it was no worries while we were there. The only thing we had to worry about was what to eat? What to drink? Hang out in the pool or beach and how late we stayed up. Lots of food, lots to drink and relaxing at it's finest.

I would love to go back but minus the kids. We loved having them there and they didn't slow us down or get in the way. They were very good and only had about an hour of meltdown on one day and that was it. They were so good and it was great seeing how excited they were. But to go back and have time to go to the club, drink more, and not have to worry about the kids getting into trouble in the ocean or pool would be nice. I am so glad they got to go and experience it with us. It made the whole trip seeing how happy they were.

We have already said we would love to go back to the Blau Colonial and hopefully some friends could join us. It would be great to go and hang out with friends and drink and dance and just have fun! Nicole and I would go together but it would be nice to have some friends with us to hangout with.

Cheers!!

Healthy Eating

I have been trying to instill with the girls how important it is to eat healthy now. My parents did the best the could have and gave us great meals. Nothing that was unhealthy but maybe more of moderation would have been better. My mom did pack some less than healthy snacks in my lunch for school but I was active and playing hockey and softball until 16 or so. I am not blaming her because I have continued the same hard wired habits. Something I am hoping I can rewire by forcing myself to go with fresh and healthy instead of quick and fatty.

I don't eat very much fast food but do pick the worst times to snack and that is my downfall along with moderation. I have been more of moderation and this is going to help. I am working on the healthy combinations. I did today swap out a can of habitant soup and crackers for a nice salad with chick peas, mushrooms, and cucumber. Along with baby carrots and an apple. Water to drink and no pop even though it is on sale this week and I would love an ice cold pop! I bought a lot of veggies and fruit today but still bought some not so healthy items such as frozen pizza's and the soup. I did try a more organic and natural eating lifestyle, but it is hard to go from quick and easy with working to making dinner once you get home and hungry. I would like to not spend 2 hours making a meal and the kids are hungry also and tend to complain about no food. I am trying a new method. I am cutting celery and leaving it in water in the fridge for a quick snack and they can have that with a little peanut butter for a snack while we make dinner.

I have to rewire myself and make sure I send them on the right path to good eating and exercise so they don't become a statistic like I am. I'm not down on myself but the kids look at me as an example and I need to show them the right way now instead of 10 years down the road. This week we have done almost nothing for exercise and I need to push them with myself to get out and go. Walking, playing soccer, running, riding bikes and other things can get them out and interested. They had a great year of soccer and really enjoyed it. Zoey scored a goal her second last game which I missed because of work but was able to see all but one game for both her and Hailey. Hailey is a good runner and has some skill kicking the ball and keeping it in her feet. We will see if they want to keep playing indoor this winter because it is a great sport for them to improve and was very cheap to put them in.

We will again look at a membership to the rec center because the girls can swim as well as join classes for more activities. With Nicole working straight days, it is easier for them to join after school programs now that one of us has a normal work schedule. They are also going to be starting the biggest loser competition at work and for a $50 buy in I could walk away with $500+ depending on how many people enter. Since I am on a health kick it might be a good way to stay motivated and make $450+!!

I'll keep you posted....

Cheers!!

Not an excuse

I have had a few people tell me that I can't use my kids as an excuse. Not recently but ever since I became a parent. This always comes from people who don't have kids and are either single or in a relationship. My first reaction is to laugh so I don't reach out and smack them in the mouth! First of all to all my best friends and close friends who have kids, you know what I am talking about when I say our day begins and ends with our kids. We loved them from the first minute we saw them and cannot imagine life without them. I enjoy spending time with the girls and I know we have fun together because they tell me. I get up in the morning and they are there to greet me with a "hi dad!" or "Daddy? Are you awake?" and that is the best wake up. I also love reading to them before bedtime and kissing them and tucking them in. I always tell them how much I love them and tell them goodnight.

Now not everyone can understand how much time and energy kids take and babysitting them doesn't even come close. You have to live with kids for at least 2 weeks to get a feel of what it is like to be a parent and experience how tiring it can be. I wouldn't trade it in for anything. I love my peace and quiet too but love to hear them laugh and feel their warm hugs more than anything in the world. That is something that I will miss when they grow up and move away. Maybe that's why I cherish it so much now. Maybe that's why I get so defensive when people say "Don't use you kids as an excuse." They are not an excuse and never will be. I do get tired and get cranky sometimes but if I was ever given a choice to be childless again my answer is never. I often sit and watch this girls play or do various things and remember what it was like to be a kid. I love seeing myself in the girls and it does scare me because I remember what I was like as a kid. I don't need a boy to carry on my family name because they are a part of me and that will be passed down for as long as they have kids and so on and so forth.

I might just tell someone what I really think the next time I hear someone say "Don't use you kids as an excuse." Maybe they will see a side of me that rarely comes out but can be as nasty as they come. Any proud parent will tell you the same thing. Protecting you children is the most important thing to you. You want to pick them up when they are hurt and encourage them when they are doing well. Nothing will make a more lasting impression on your kids then you. I know my parents did and regardless if it was good or bad I still carry it with me to make me a better parent and person. I do feel sorry for people without kids to a certain extent and not in a bad way but sorry that they haven't yet experienced what we have....life.

A new life. One filled with hope for a future and eagerness to learn and be like mom or dad. A life to grow into and become their own person and stand on their own. We will always be there for them and never turn our backs on them no matter what because we also have hope. We hope they will be better than us and be more than what we are because we want the best for our children. Not and excuse but a choice, to be a parent and devote 24 hours a day to them from birth to our end on this planet. Life is what we have given so we could have more in our lives because we have chosen this and this is what I wanted. This is what I can't live without....Kids!

This is what I get when I am tired and working overnights....sappy!!!

Cheers!!