The Prince is travelling!

If you don't know already how crazy I really am, I'm going to solidify it for you. I found a stuffed red eyed tree frog that we called Prince Naveen. I wanted him to be a travelling frog and now he is. My goal is to get him to as many places as possible. I just want people to have fun with him the way we did. And of course, he went to the Yukon and is having a blast! Check him out on my side bar. You know you want to. Seriously. Go now. Stop reading. GO!

Oh my......

I am a huge fan of the reality show The V.oic.e. I love the concept behind the show, and since I am a HUGE Blake Shelton fan, it made it a lot easier to watch. Now that the second season is on, I find there is a new Adam in my life. I didn't really know who Adam Levine was before the show. Yes, I knew his music, but never truly appreciated the package that voice came out of. And boy, it's a yummy looking package, don't ya think??

Gotta love Sackville people

Sackville, Nova Scotia is where I grew up. For as long as I can remember, my dad would spend his spare time at the Sackville Arena, home of the Jr. B Blazers. Dad went from being a fan, to well respected member of the club. He travelled everywhere with the team, never missed a game, even if it meant travelling 4 hours to see it. Mom washed and repaired the jerseys, my brother helped with the equipment, my sister sang the canadian anthem at the home games, and I sold tickets at the door and the 50/50. When dad started working at arena, he continued to do as much as he could with the club. When he died, (which was a Friday), the following Monday was a home game for the Blazers and they had a moment of silence for him at the game. On his obituary, it was requested in lieu of flowers, donations could be made to the club. He loved it that much. So, when Joey started hockey here, I really had a bit of a hard time with it. This is something Dad should have been here to see. I don't think that way very often, but this is one of those times that it really really hit me that he's not here and he should be. Both Joey and Alan are in hockey this year, and I know he's watching and is very proud. The hockey here in town is, well, it's a small town. Coaches are volunteers and are stretched very thin. It is not unusal for a practice to not have a coach. The pre-novice this year only have 3 players, Joey and 2 other boys in his class. Unfortunately the interest just isn't here in this town for hockey as it used to be, and these guys are getting in on the very end of it. I don't see a lot of hockey in Joe's future, not if we are here. It's just not going to happen. Anywho, back to the jersey story. I emailed the current coach of the Sackville Blazers, who I know quite well and was coaching when my dad was still alive. I explained the hockey (or lack of) situation here, and told him that the little boys here don't even have jerseys. I asked him if there was any way to get a little jersey for Joe of the Blazers. I offered to pay for it if this was something that could be done. I received an email last week, asking me what number I wanted on it and where to mail it. Since Joe is a Sydney Crosby fan, 87 was the only number I could think of. And this is what showed up in the mail yesterday. I am going to enlarge this picture and mail it back to the coach, and when I go back there this summer I am going to visit him to say thank you in person.

I miss you Dad, but I know you're very proud right now.

Where did my baby go?

Yep, those are my kids, racing around the yard on quads. Joey is now big enough to ride the mini quad. Damn why are my kids growing up so fast??

Happy birthday Dad

Today (well technically yesterday if you look at the date this posted, but as I am typing this it is still January 31st for another 40 minutes) my dad would have been 59. We would have joked that in one year he would turn the big 6-0, and we would probably be planning a big birthday party. When he turned 50, we rented plastic penguins and had them on his front lawn. For his 60th I would have strung big ugly panties and bras and we would have laughed. Instead, I had a little moment and sent my happy birthdays to heaven, when I hope he is celebrating with a great game of crib with my grandparents. My sister on the other hand burnt a lemon meringue pie and ate lifesavers for supper. To each his own. :)

Taking a break

No, don't worry. It's from from blogging. It's from photography. I have all but stopped taking pictures in town. I initially stopped taking pictures because the unit that I was using is no longer available, which means I had no place to do indoor photography. I found that I was really busy with photography with the months leading up to Christmas, so much that when I was asked why I wasn't posting pictures of my own kids I was ashamed to admit I hadn't taken any. So I packed my camera away for a while. I used it when my inlaws were here for Christmas, and I hadn't touched it until the other day when the northern lights were out. I honestly had to go looking for my camera, because I couldn't remember where I had put it. I found I really enjoyed taking pictures of the lights, something up to this point I have never been able to do. My camera is really sophicasticated, with more bells and whistles than I ever thought I would use. But now I have decided to take my photography in a new direction. I had downloaded an amazing app showing all the ins and outs of my camera, and have spent the last couple nights curled up reading it. Hopefully by the time the summer comes I will be more knowledgable with this camera because we will be driving across Canada again and through the states. I also want to aggressively start a postcard business, and I'm hoping with more shots like the last northern lights one I did will help me get that going!

This was a shot I took just before Christmas during a family shoot I did for a friend. I forgot all about it until I was cleaning up my picture folder.

I LOVE this town

What makes this so much better is Joey was with me watching the lights. We have made many sacrifices over the past 5 years, but nights where my son and I can watch the Northern Lights dance make it all worth it.