Well, it's a.....

.....boy!

We found out yesterday at DW's 20-week ultrasound. So the big lobbying effort by my wife for the name "Hawksley" officially started about 1 minute after we found out :-)

Gotta say, I'm pretty happy about it. And I honestly wasn't hoping one way or another. Since we were never expecting any children, let alone our beautiful daughter and now a baby boy on the way - so I would have gladly taken a boy or a girl. But having another male in the house to balance things out will be fun :-)

So given this revelation, I wonder if Monstah would ever consider arranged marriages for her kids?

I'm baaaaaack

Wow, that was a bit of a break, now wasn't it?

I sit here with time to write this because we have been dealing with a minor incident involving an anonymous veiled threat of a toxic substance that starts with "a" and ends with "nthrax."

Considering the school was swarmed by police, firefighters, public health workers, and a bunch of peeps in biohazard suits, it was a bit of a crazy day. Particularly when your job is to fight all the misinformation that leaks into the media within a matter of minutes. So here I sit at 6 p.m., finally eating my lunch, and taking some time to post on my blog.

But I digress. Weltek told me to update, so here I am.

The house is conditionally sold, so I'll be moving next month if everything goes according to plan. I suppose I best get packing (ugh!).

The rock concert we went to was awesome, and DW even got her picture taken with Hawksley Workman (while he had his arm wrapped around her). Needless to say, she now wants to name our unborn child after him.

We competed in a mini Amazing Race that was put on here last week. 16 teams of 4 participated. Teamo Meemo (including 5-month-pregnant DW)? First place, thankyouverymuch. This pretty much confirmed for me that I could run the real thing, and kick some serious ass.

So that's about it for now. We go for the ultrasound next week to find out the sex of the baby. I'll be sure to let you know. I also think I'll post a pic or two soon, assuming blogger lets me.

Labo(u)r Day... lives up to its name

No, DW didn't go into labour this weekend (that would be a bit early, wouldn't it?).

But I did spend the entire weekend working. Fixing up the house in order to sell it. Isn't that a bitch? This weekend involved much painting (for curb appeal) and baseboard fitting. And there's still more to do.

On the brightside, I'm taking Friday off too, so that means a three-day work week. Of course, I'm sure there will be another project for me to tackle then.

We've had lots of showings on the house, but no biters. In fairness, the price we were asking is a bit high, so we might consider lowering the price a bit to see if we can get some action going.

DW and I are going to a rock concert on Thursday night at a seedy place called "The Underground." Not sure what it will be like, but I have to try and come up with my best Rock Star wardrobe so that I don't look too refined or *gasp* yuppie-ish. *Note to self: leave pink phone at home.

For Sale...

Anybody want to buy my house? It's a lovely, 3-bedroom updated character home in the heart of the beautiful Niagara region. Only 5 minutes from the Welland Canal and Lake Ontario, 15 minutes to Niagara Falls and the U.S. border.

We've got an accepted offer on another house, but it's conditional on the sale of ours. So now, we wait for a buyer. And wait. And wait. Oh, and get everything cleaned up and fixed around the house so that it presents nicely.

I should probably talk to the neighbours as well, since we're a close knit community. It's likely a shock for them to see the sign on our lawn, but we've just out-grown this house.

Here's hoping things go quickly and smoothly.

It's been a week already?

I really try to discipline myself to post every day, but then I look and see it's been a week since my last post. I suck at blog commitment.

A few reality TV thoughts, since I have to be in at 8 p.m. almost every night for baby to go to bed:

1. Rockstar is an awesome show - one of my favourites. But I'm finding myself not able to stand Dilana. I'm really digging Lukas - not sure if it's because he's from my hometown, or if it's because Glowie slipped me some kind of hallucinogen when I saw her a couple of weeks ago. Ryan is the other one I'm rooting for, but not as much. The other part of me wants Dilana to win, just because I know the band won't last very long or see significant success. But I digress....

2. Big Brother - I've never been a big fan of the show (as far as investing my emotions, or loving or hating any particular player), but I find I must watch EVERY EPISODE. I don't have the live feeds, but I check the RTVW many times during the course of a day. Perhaps I'm drawn to it because I'm finding myself smitten by Janelle. I've never been one to fall for the blonde bombshell type, but there's a first for everything. Of course, I'm also in awe of the genius that is Will. But I digress....

3. DW forced me to watch So You Think You Can Dance. Is it just me, or did that show run for 52 consecutive weeks? Holy Shnike! It seemed to never end. Not sure what the big deal was (I never got into it), but I'm sure we'll end up going to see them on tour *rolls eyes*.

4. DW also likes to watch Dog the Bounty Hunter. Not much to say here, other than I think my next career will be as a bounty hunter. It looks exhillerating.

5. Is it time for the Amazing Race to start yet?

Updated some links

Finally got around to updating some more (but not all) links over there --->

Again, if you don't want your link included, just let me know.

And for additional fodder, as of today, I am the proud owner of a new office at work. My cubicle days are behind me - hopefully forever.

Woohoo!

Another Meemo on the way

Yes, the Meemo's are recreating again.

For those of you keeping score, Baby Meemo #2 due right around the middle of February. Which (I haven't confirmed this yet) should put us right on schedule with Monsty's next one.

The due date is also the same as someone else's 2nd birthday - that's right... Baby Meemo #1. EXACT.SAME.DATE.

Wouldn't that be fun, having two kids with the same birthday? :-)

Needless to say, life is a bit hectic right now, making preparations and trying to get things (mostly the house) in order. The next six months will fly by (for me at least - I'm fully aware that the last two months will seem like an endless hell for DW).

Just as some background, for those of you who don't know: DW and I have been married for 9 years. We started trying to start a family after one year of marriage. After a series of episodes and tests (unrelated to trying for a baby), DW was told she could never bear children. This was confirmed by 3 different specialists. So we basically gave up hope for the next 6 years.

In the Spring of 2004, DW got pregnant (we were like, "WTF?" - but ridiculously excited and grateful). Unfortunately, she miscarried 10 weeks in.

Two months later, she got pregnant again and now we have an incredible and beautiful little girl who is 18 months old.

We were never expecting to even have one child, and now #2 is on the way.

So what do I need to expect having two kids under (or around) the age of two?

My date with Glow...

Ok, well it wasn't really a date since both of our respective spouses were there, along with Geg and her friend for awhile, but still, I got to finally meet Glooooooooooooooooooooow!

We left Canada, the true north strong and free, on Friday afternoon (shortly after lunch). After travelling through Buffalo and a bit of New York, we hit Erie, PA. While I had driven through Erie (on my way to Cleveland) before, this was my first time ever driving south through Pennsylvania, and it is such a nice drive!

The scenery, the rolling hills, and the mini-valleys are so beautiful. After about 3 hours into the trek, we noticed the incredible Grove City factory outlet mall, and made notes to include a stop there on our way back. We also realized that we left our camera back home sitting on the dining room table. D'oh!

Within the hour, we came around a corner on the highway to see the city of Pittsburgh emerge out of nowhere. It really is an amazing city (given it's geographic location).

Thanks to Mapquest, we navigated our way downtown to our hotel (which we got a wicked-awesome deal on. Yay Priceline.com!). Once settled into our room, I called Glow to see where she was at. They came by our hotel to pick us up.

Glow gives a pretty good run-down on our meeting and the baseball game in her blog -------> you can find it over there

Let's just say that her blog title (Not a Pretty Girl) is an outright lie. The Glow I met was beautiful and cool. And her hubby Shawn was so accommodating and easy to talk to. Of course, much of the conversation centred around Rockstar and Lukas, along with Glow's Bucky-encounter the night before, but I digress.... :-)

The baseball game was awesome, as was finally meeting the elusive Geg. I know byoffer and nailbone have been longing for a photo of geg, but alas, no camera on this trip meant no photo. She was great, and it was too bad she had to leave early.

After the game (which the Pirates actually won), and fireworks (quite possibly the best show I've ver seen) Glow and Shawn took us on a little tour of Pittsburgh (again, as mentioned in her blog). We even got to see where Ben Rothlisberger had his motorcycle accident.

The next day was so hot, so after sleeping in, DW and I headed to a shopping mall (the Robinson Centre?) to enjoy the air conditioning for awhile. That evening, we went down to Station Square for dinner where I had a salmon with basil pesto sauce dish that I am still longing for.

As a side note, I have to say driving in Pittsburgh is perilous (I got sworn at more than once), but the highways and roads made me think of Grand Turismo (the video game). Driving on a highway through the downtown, over a bridge, and then through a tunnel was unlike anywhere I have ever been before (and I've been alot of places). Just one cool feature of the city that I enjoyed.

On Sunday, we checked out relatively early, and made our way to the Grove City mall. The place is huge (some 150 stores) and it took us almost 4 hours to navigate the whole place. Ended up with some great deals before heading back home.

This summary really doesn't do the trip justice. We had such a good time with Glow and Shawn, and we're already talking about making another trip (to take in the Andy Warhol museum, the science center, and a few other things) when DD is big enough to come along.

Simply put, awesome time, awesome peeps.

Back from a small hiatus

Wow,

What a crazy couple of weeks. After the peep meet, I've dealt with a car accident (I'm okay. The car? Notsomuch), a weekend of camping, a conference in Toronto (which involved lunch with Byoffer and MarroonClown), dragon boat racing, and performing (that's singing for all you gutter-minded peeps) in front of nearly 1,000 people.

As for the accident, I've always wondered what thoughts go through your mind when you look up and see a very large truck coming right at your driver's side door when you're stopped at a traffic light. For me? It involved a couple expletives (can't really remembered which ones), and not much else. Pretty reflective, eh? :-)

So this week (*checks his agenda*), oh yeah: 1) meet Glow and Geg in Pittsburgh. 2) Attend Pirates game on Friday with Glow and Geg. 3) Get tours of Pittsburgh with Glow and Geg.

Oh yeah, and two of the coolest peeps in the whole world have birthdays in the next week. Catt, and me :-)

It will be a good week :-)

Niagara Peep Meet

Well, that there was a fantastic weekend.

So great to meet everybody. First up were MCatt and Jimbo, who I picked up from the airport on Thursday.

While waiting for them, I saw Tammy Pescatelli of Last Comic Standing (season 2). But then I spotted my two peeps, and they quickly saw my sign that read "Stan and Wendy" and we were off.

Friday afternoon, I got a call from Maroonclown. I headed off to meet her and her hubby at their B&B, and we did a quick tour of Niagara Falls before grabbing a bite to eat. We hit it off right away, and had a great time.

After dinner, I had a call from Kim (weltek) and Chris, who were also in town. We set out to meet them at our rendezvous spot. I called MCatt & Jim to meet us there as well.

At 8 p.m., we all connected in front of the Fallsview Casino. Within a couple of minutes, Byoffer and his wife and son arrived, followed by MysticWolf and her DH and then Seana. Lightsy called me to say they had just arrived in town and would be along shortly.

We headed across the street to a patio bar/restaurant to actually try and connect. Within the half hour, Lights and DH arrived (see Lightsy's blog for a better description of our meeting).

Here is a pic of Mr. Mystic, MCatt, Jim and Chris on the patio:


After awhile, we made our way up to a suite at the Marriott overlooking the falls. As mentioned elsewhere, the fireworks weren't really visible, so we just took in the view and a great time laughing it up.

Saturday morning, a bunch of us met for breakfast, where we were joined by the LePews (whom I had met previously), and Seana's family.

That afternoon, a bunch of peeps headed out to the zoo (see Seana's blog for a good recap of that), while others went shopping or in search of famous Buffalo wings. I, went home for a nap :-)

Saturday night was the culmination of the peep meet: dinner at Cafe Tu Tu Tango. The whole gang was there, including new additions cqvenus and baby alex, and Silvergirl and her DH & DD.

It was a great time, and we took up the full centre section of the restaurant. After dinner, we finally settled in for a group photo. Unfortunately missing are the LePews and Seana, who had left a little earlier:



From there, some peeps went for a walk down to the Falls, while others headed to the Casino. I was the big winner for the night, taking home an extra $25. Whoopee :-)

At 10 p.m., we reconvened and headed back to the fallsview suite for more fun, cross-dressing and cavorting on the bed.

The night went by so quickly, and we said our good-bye's as we headed out. Most peeps were leaving the next morning.

So that, in a nutshell, is a recap of the weekend's happenings.

My thoughts on peeps?

Jim: Like I said, the sight of him in a skirt was repulsive, yet strangely attractive at the same time. Is that weird? :-) Very cool guy who I could totally see hanging out with, if not for the 3000 mile distance.

Catt: Had us in stitches the whole time. A true sweetie and friend. Very sorry I didn't get to spend more time talking with her, but we will meet again. Oh yes, we will meet again.

Lights: Someone I have been waiting years to meet - and she didn't disappoint. One very cool lady holds a dear place in my heart - and a very gracious husband as well.

Kim & Chris: Who knew that Wisconsonites could be so cool? They wowed us with their knowledge of cheese and beer, and tales of Birth-days. Not to stereotype or anything.

Byoffer: Resilient, in that he survived the weekend while mocking Catt at every opportunity. Really, a great guy who I might be having lunch with next week. Kudos to his wife and son for putting up with us :-)

Maroonclown: Super nice (as is her DH) with an infectious laugh. Hence the new acronym LLMC (Laugh Like Maroon Clown)

Mystic Wolf: She and her DH were awesome, easy-to-talk-to kind of peeps, always with smiles on their faces. So glad they made the trip!

Seana: Total cutie, seemed like she was star-struck among all the peeps :-) Very comfortable to chat with, with no serial-killer tendencies that I could see.

The LePews: Totally cool. Third time I have met them, but didn't get a whole lot of time together this time around. Hopefully we connect again soon.

Silvergirl: Other than giving her directions on the phone on several occassions, I didn't really get to spend much time chatting with her or her family. But anyone who brings chocolates to a peep meet for everybody is ok in my book :-)

cq: A pleasant surprise - so glad she was able to make it, especially with her little cutie Alex. Like mother, like daughter - beautiful :-)

Did I miss anybody?

busy, busy, busy

So I've been tackling my home improvement projects over the last few days. Pretty sad when I have to take vacation days to get stuff done.

But I feel good: I've totally revamped the front of the house, painted the second bathroom, and done some other minor improvements. We plan to sell the house in the next couple of years, so it's nice to get a few more things done that will up the price.

As of tomorrow, I switch into peep meet mode. The Niagara meet officially gets underway, and with 15 or so blog/OT peeps attending, it's taken quite a bit of planning. It will be nice to see it all come to fruition.

I'll be sure to post an update when the weekend is over. Until then, *smooches* to you all.

A time for....

....peep meets.

Seems peeps are getting together at record rates this summer, and I shall not be left out!

In 8 days, I get to connect with the likes of Silvergirl, weltek, byoffer, the LePews, cq, MCatt, Seana, Maroonclown and lightsy in Niagara Falls.

And then three weeks later, I get to meet up with Glowie and geggy in Pittsburgh. Yup, be gellus of me.

Of course, I will also be undertaking some home improvements this summer, but I'm choosing to focus on the peep meets (thinking happy thoughts rather than labour intensive thoughts).

Seven Things meme

As tagged by HD. And you're right, I do need a good excuse to update. I had to cut out a couple because of time. I may edit them in later:

Seven things to do before I die:
1. Own a boat
2. Finish my MEd degree, and possibly my PhD.
3. Visit Egypt and other parts of the middle-east
4. Deep-sea dive
5. Appear on "The Amazing Race" with HD.
6. Cut a CD in a real studio
7. Play in front of a stadium audience

Seven things I cannot do:
1. Skate - I am the most un-Canadian Canadian that I know.
2. Gain weight. Go ahead, hate me.
3. Roll my r's
4. Eat strawberries. Ewwwwww.
5. Stay focussed at work. I blame all you blog peeps for that.
6. Sleep in absolute silence.
7. pay regular retail price for anything.

Seven things I say:
1. "Where are my keys?"
2. "Where is my wallet?"
3. "Where is my watch?"
4. "I'm working on it."
5. "Is it time to go home yet?"
6. "Throw me a frickin' bone here"
7. "Way to go a-hole."

Seven movies that I've loved:
1. "To Kill a Mockingbird"
2. "So I Married an Axe Murderer"
3. "The Hurricane"
4. "The Shawshank Redemption"
5. "Grease 2"
6. "Match Point"
7. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Seven People I Tag:
1. Catt
2. Glow
3. Nookie
4. txmomma
5. Kim (weltek)
6. Swami
7. Monstah

Peripatesis

I tend to take my little girl on walks. Put her in the stroller, and away we go. Sometimes we go for a good 45-60 minutes and go quite a distance since I have a long stride and tend to truck along pretty fast. I consider it an excersise, not just a comfortable stroll.

Well last night was goregeous - not too hot, but still shorts and t-shirt weather. So we started out on a walk. And we kept going. And going. And going.

After 90 minutes, we had covered a good 12 km loop, going from the centre/west part of town to the extreme eastern edge and back again.

Last night, I felt great.

Today, I hurt.

Needs meme

As passed along by Dweeze.

Type “(Your name) Needs” into Google and list the results. Here are some of what I got using my real name:

Meemo needs your money.
Meemo needs expert witnesses, research, and other things that the court is looking for.

Meemo needs a vacation.
Meemo needs to get a real job.

Meemo needs to address the issues themselves, rather than making the knee jerk reaction.
Meemo needs to put on weight.
Meemo needs to be committed.

and perhaps the truest of them all:

Meemo needs sexual and emotional tension, a firebrand who matches him taunt for tease.
Meemo needs to get some.

Stolen from HD...

.. and no, this isn't his car battery :-)

While I've never been, I'd love to go to:

You Belong in Barcelona

When it comes to Europe, you don't want to decide between culture and fun. You want art by day and a big party by night. Barcelona is ideal for you. You can check out some Picasso, eat some tapas, take a siesta, and then dance all night!

What European City Do You Belong In?

One of these days I'll actually post something original. Oh, and the peep meet blog has been updated.

Happy long weekend to all my American friends!

Stolen from Carey, Jen, MCatt, and others...

A is for Age - 30 somthin' (but just barely)
B is for Booze - not much of a drinker, but that may change at the Niagara Peep Meet :-)
C is for Career - Communications/PR
D is for Dad’s name - Dad
E is for Essential Item to bring to a Party - Me and my dancin' shoes
F is for Favorite Songs at the Moment - rediscovering some old Bob Marley tunes
G is for Goof off thing to do - Sing in public places and dancing like children of the night
H is for Hometown - Niagara
I is for Instrument you play - Saxophone, guitar, various wind instruments, drums...
J is for Jam or Jelly you like - apple or grape
K is for Kids - one.. my perfect little girl
L is for Living arrangement - With DW and DD
M is for Mom’s name - Mom
N is for Names of best friends - Too many to list here.
O is for overnight hospital stays - none. Let's keep it that way.
P is for Phobias - some bugs (e.g. centipedes), balding (it's a vanity thing)
Q is for Quote you like - "Art is whatever you can get away with" - Marshall McLuhan
R is for Relationship that lasted longest - currently, 13 years (9 years married)
S is for Siblings - Older brother, aka Asshat
T is for Texas, Ever been? - Nope, but plan to. Houston Rockets are my fav basketball team
U is for Unique trait - I have the ability to scratch any part of my back
V if for Vegetable you love - Broccoli, carrots
W is for Worst traits - procrastinating
X - is for XRays you’ve had - back
Y is for Yummy food you make - toast
Z is for Zodiac sign - Leo

My Meemo meme

I AM: CANADIAN.
I WANT: to live somewhere else
I WISH: I could find a career that I truly love
I HATE: strawberries
I MISS: going out more often.
I FEAR: boredom
I HEAR: the door opening
I WONDER: wonder, who-budubo-who, who wrote the book of love?
I REGRET: too much.
I AM NOT: very motivated.
I DANCE: like a machine. A DANCE MACHINE.
I SING: semi-professionally.
I CRY: not.
I AM NOT ALWAYS: the happiest person around.
I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: music on the guitar and saxophone
I WRITE: for a living.
I CONFUSE: most people.

I have a fashion twin

My office is about 80 per cent female. That means we have three guys in our office (including me). One guy is 50+, and keeps to himself, dressing quite inappropriately (read: slobby). The other guy is a couple of years younger than me, but dresses very conservatively and simple (not to mention a bushy beard and longer hair).

I consider myself to be somewhat fashion forward (think clean-cut GQish on a budget), so considerably different from the other guys . So last year another guy gets hired on (not in my department, but his cubicle is right next to mine).

He is my fashion twin. We own several of the same shirts. We style our hair similarly. We are both tall, slim, with dark hair. We like the same stores. We even live three blocks from each other.

I? HATE.IT.

I feel like I'm trapped. I used to be an individual. Now, I just get associated with "how much we look alike." On numerous occassions we have shown up to work wearing the exact same thing. This drives me bonkers.

What do I do?

Bathing suit photo

After much persuasion (or really, not much all) I have decided to post a pic of me in my bathing suit from my vacation. This was taken at a beach that my cousin and I went diving for conch shells. We only nabbed a single tiny one, but I did get a couple of star fish.

And don't worry, this eye candy is non-fattening :-)