Sport Chek

Win a $100 Sport Chek Gift Card!

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I’ve been talking a lot about getting back into my exercise routines lately and how Sport Chek has been helping me to achieve that goal. Now I want to help you get moving by giving away a $100 Sport Chek gift card! Just think of the possibilities! New running shoes maybe? How about a FitBit Charge? Tell you what, why don’t you just go to the Sport Chek website and dream for yourself?

In the meantime, please feel free to enter the giveaway below and I’ll choose a winner on October 28th. Sorry Quebec, as usual you are not eligible to win the prize. Good luck everyone!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Netflix Popples

The Popples Are Coming To Netflix!

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I have a confession to make. When I was a little boy I loved the Popples! I can’t confirm this 100% but I’m pretty sure I made my parents stop at every single department store we ever passed so that we could go in to see if they had any new Popples in stock. I know for a fact that I brought my blue & purple Popple everywhere I went and didn’t care what anyone thought about it.

That said, the news that Netflix has developed an original Popples series has me genuinely excited as it means that I get to push more of my youth on my children! For the rest of my Popple-loving friends, mark October 30th on your calendar as that’s when Netflix will debut 26 half-hour episodes for your Poppling enjoyment!

Assuming this reboot also means that we’ll be seeing new Popples in the toy stores, I’m not sure who is going to be more excited about this between my kids and I. I will also neither confirm, nor deny that I have been on eBay all morning trying to find my old blue & purple Popple friend. For the kids, of course… Here’s a clip of the new show!

Gas Leak Home

If It Smells Like Gas, It Probably Is Gas

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I wish this was a hilarious story about flatulence but unfortunately that is not the case. I took my son to an NHL hockey game the other night and upon returning home at around 10:00 pm I noticed a foul smell in my hallway. I jokingly asked my wife if she had been up all night making egg salad sandwiches when she directed me to the garage door.

The smell inside the garage was strong enough to make my eyes water. At first I thought it might just be a garbage bag with something rotten in it but as we settled into bed at around 11:30 pm we did a quick google search for the rotten egg smell with unsettling results. I probably should have called the gas company right away but I let the idea of a good night’s sleep rattle around in my head for another 45 minutes before I picked up the phone.

The technician arrived just before 1:00 am and it only took him 5 minutes to locate a gas leak in the garage. He shut off the gas as I breathed a sigh of relief and also kicked myself for hesitating to call in the first place. Seriously, I have a family sleeping in the house, what was I waiting for? If “luckily” can even apply in a situation like this, the weather was still warm enough that we didn’t have to call an emergency technician to fix the leak right away, which I’m assuming would have cost an arm and a leg.

As it turns out the problem was that our home builder’s contractor didn’t tighten the pipes properly which resulted in the leak developing over time. I don’t know much about gas lines but I can tell that the technician who fixed the leak was not impressed.

Long story short, sort of, if you think you smell gas, get it checked right away!! Sure it’s annoying to deal with but the alternative is much, much worse.

Sport Chek Bauer Vapor

Hockey, Hockey, Hockey, Hockey. Hockey All The Time!

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I’m not exactly sure when it happened but my son went from lukewarm about playing hockey to being an absolute monster who eats, sleeps and breathes the hockey life. I made a promise to myself that I would not push him to do anything he doesn’t want to do as far as hobbies go but if I’m being completely honest, I am so excited that he loves hockey so much.

I’m not just talking about playing ice hockey, either. This kid loves watching it on TV, playing road hockey in our free moments, mini sticks in the basement, practicing his shooting and possibly my favourite of his addictions, collecting hockey cards and stickers! No, seriously, I have a collecting problem that might actually need professional help…

There’s something about the fraternity of hockey that I can’t help but love. I love the smells associated with hockey. Yes, even the stinky hockey bag smell. I love that I get to lace up my skates next to my son and take to the ice with him. I love watching the kids grow and develop their skills. I love knowing that I may have had a small part in their development. I love watching the little puffs of breath in the air after a hard fought shift. I love hockey so much that I don’t even mind getting up at 4:30 in the morning for the 6am practices. You know, within reason.

Now that I am a grown man with a job and his own money, there is something else I love about hockey season. Shopping for hockey stuff! With last season being my son’s first in hockey, we opted to go with used skates in case he decided that he didn’t like it. In retrospect, that was probably a bad idea because the skates were fitted to someone else’s feet and he never really grew into them. This year we went all out and grabbed him some brand new form fitted Bauer Vapor X900’s from Sport Chek and the difference has already been night and day from last year. Just look at his concentration above!

A funny thing happened that day at Sport Chek. The goal was get in, get skates and get out, but that is not exactly how it ended up going down… You see, my wife saw the FitBit Charge and snuck it into the shopping cart. I can’t claim innocence either as I used my new found title of assistant coach as reason to purchase a brand new coaches tracksuit. But I mean, c’mon, it was worth it, right? My scratch and save card says yes!

Here’s hoping you all have a wonderful hockey season!! Don’t forget to pop in to Sport Chek to check out their awesome hockey selection! You can also visit them on Facebook and Twitter for more contests and great deals!

Sport Chek Coach Gear

Looking all coach like with my new Under Armour threads from Sport Chek.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this program, however I did in fact spend it all in a single trip to Sport Chek. But man do I look good now!

Marriott Rewards NBA

Marriott & NBA Team Up For 2015-2016 NBA Global Games

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I have been a sports fan all my life and have had the opportunity to attend a handful of NFL, NHL & MLB games in that time. One of the sports I have never had a chance to see live is the NBA but that is all about to change! Marriott is teaming up with the NBA as the Official Hotel Partner of the 2015-2016 NBA Global Games and will be rewarding its loyalty members with exclusive access to NBA games and events in Canada.

I signed up for the Marriott Rewards program a few years ago while attending the Dad 2.0 Summit at the JW Marriott New Orleans and have been enjoying the benefits ever since. Marriott Rewards is a frequent traveler program that rewards exclusive membership privileges when members travel, as well as a choice of frequent flyer miles in preferred airline program, or points toward free vacations. Delta Privilege joined Marriott Rewards earlier this year.

Marriott Around The World

Later this week I will be heading to the Canadian Tire Centre here in Ottawa to watch the Toronto Raptors take on the Minnesota Timberwolves (feat. Canadian phenom Andrew Wiggins) in pre-season action and thanks to Marriott Rewards I will also get to enjoy a private meet-and-greet with NBA legend Chauncey Billups! To say I am excited about this would be a huge understatement.

If you do any kind of travelling you should definitely check out the Marriott Rewards program. Also coming soon, members can look for the opportunity to enter in an upcoming elite #AroundTheWorld sweepstakes for an once-in-a-lifetime chance to win a trip and tickets to an upcoming NBA global event! Keep your eyes on the @MarriottRewards Twitter account and the Canadian Delta social channels for more info.

Disclosure: I received tickets to the Raptors game in exchange for this post, which was offered to me as a Marriott Rewards member.

Dance Like No One Is Watching

Do You Dance?

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Weird question, I know, but allow me to elaborate. I was outside watching my kids play this weekend when I felt the sudden urge to break out the whip, nae, nae dance I have been hooked on lately. Two of my 10 year old neighbours happened to catch my sweet dance moves and immediately complimented me on my efforts. Of course by “complimented” I meant shrieked in embarrassed horror and told me to stop… Naturally, I continued dancing while following them around the street in hopes of embarrassing them in front of their friends.

It got me thinking about how much joy I get out of dancing even though my skills are sorely lacking. I’m not kidding either, I love to dance! The first thing I think about when we get invited to a wedding, even before the food, is what moves I’m going to display when “Uptown Funk” inevitably comes on. I like to take “dance like no one is watching” to a new level and love that my kids seem to be adopting this motto as well. I have even contemplated joining an adult hip hop dance class so I can hone my skills a bit. Granted, there will be no Magic Mike performances in my future, XXL or other, but you’re never too old to learn something new and fun, right? Plus I’m pretty sure there have been studies that show dancing improves your happiness levels and general overall well being. I say pretty sure because I am a blogger, not some fancy research person…

My 5 year old daughter recently asked me if I would learn a dance routine with her so that we could make a video of it. She thinks it’s hilarious to watch home videos and I think it’s hilarious to watch her watching home videos so I have, of course, accepted her challenge. I am oddly nervous about it though, which caught me a bit by surprise. I don’t know if deep down I’m worried about my performance or if I’m afraid that my daughter will someday use this video to blackmail me but my cold feet have already begun. Either way, this video is happening and the only decision I will need to make is whether to share it with all of you or not. Ellen, here we come??

That brings me back to my original question of, do you dance?? If so, what kind of dancer are you? Are you a shower dancer? A toe tapper? Or, are you full on dancing with me to the elevator music in the grocery store checkout line? If you have pictures of video of you dancing, even better! Feel free to send them along and I’ll gladly share them for you. In the meantime, DANCE ON, my friends!!!

Blue Jays Clinch

Who Cries About Professional Sports?

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There I sat on my couch with my 7 year old son, watching the Toronto Blue Jays clinch the AL East title for the first time in 22 years. It was nice to be able to share something I enjoy with my son and I assumed that we would watch it and then go on with bedtime as we do every night. That isn’t exactly what happened though.

As we watched the Blue Jays celebrate, my son snuggled up next to me, I started to feel the sting that usually precedes a good cry. Trust me, I had the same thought you just did, “Who cries about professional sports?”. It only took me a minute to figure out what was going on and once I did I took an extra couple minutes with my son to sit and enjoy the moment we were experiencing.

It was 22 years ago that I sat in my basement with my dad, watching as Joe Carter hit a home run to win the World Series. I remember jumping up and down, numerous high fives and the feeling of pure joy in that moment. Every time I see that clip and hear the famous, “Touch ’em all, Joe”, I am transported back to that moment and I can’t help but smile at remembering that special time with my father.

I often worry that my memories of my father are going to disappear but this was an excellent reminder that they are just being stored away for when I really need them. My son is younger than I was on that day 22 years ago but that doesn’t mean his mind won’t come back to this moment one day when he is experience something similar with his own kids.

So I guess the answer to the question, “Who cries about pro sports?” is, I do, and I’m perfectly okay with that.

Nike Running SportChek

Back To School Also Means Back To Fitness

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This is a tough thing to admit but I tend to make a lot of excuses when it comes to my health and well being. No matter how often I think about being active, I always seem to have an excellent reason to do the exact opposite of that. Take this past year, for instance. I was working out at my local GoodLife Fitness at least 4 times a week and started training for my first 5K in the Canada Army Run. How many times do you think I’ve gone running from that day to about a week ago, almost a full year later? Zero! That’s right, in some twisted trick that my brain played on me, I had completed my goal and therefore had nothing left to prove. Even my time at GoodLife has been reduced to once a week, which is completed unacceptable.

Now that the kids are back in school and I have realized just how many hours there are in the day, I have decided to pick myself up off the couch and get my butt moving again. I figure one of these days it’s going to click, so as many times as I get off track I think it’s equally as important to keep fighting for consistency in my exercise regimen. I also decided that I couldn’t keep running in the discount running shoes I had been using, so I turned to Sport Chek for some assistance and decided on the Nike Air Zoom Pegasus 32 running shoes. Between the sole support and the mesh uppers, these shoes make it feel like I am running on top of clouds. Look at them up there in all their orange glory!

Just so you don’t think I’m a selfish monster, I also let my wife and kids pick out some new shoes. Besides, back to school seems like a special enough occasion to warrant some shiny new kicks, right? That and the fact that my kids have been running with me to keep me motivated. My wife, who has also been joining me on this exercising adventure, went with the Nike LunarGlide 7 women’s running shoes and I could tell by the spring in her step that she made the right decision. The kids? Well, my daughter saw the Skechers Twinkle Toes shoes, glittery with light up ability, and practically started shaking with excitement. My son chose the Under Armour Micro-G Velocity shoes because of the colour… Kids, am I right? I told both children that they could pose any way they would like to show off their new shoes and, go figure, they both decided to wear the shoes on their hands instead of their feet. Again, kids.

Under Armor SportChek

Under Armour Mirco-G Velocity Kids’ Grade-School Running Shoes

Skechers Twinkle Toes SportChek

Skechers Twinkle Toes Sport Chek

And there you have it. I have now successfully run 5 times in the last two weeks and I am starting to get that confidence back in my stride. Here’s hoping it sticks around but as you all know, I won’t be afraid to admit it if I get knocked down again. I would also like to say thanks to Sport Chek for helping me select my awesome new running shoes. I expected the price to be obscene and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was going to cost me an arm and a leg for excellent quality equipment. You can find out more about what’s happening at Sport Chek by checking out their Facebook and Twitter pages.

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this program, however I did in fact fall off the health wagon again and the shoes really do feel like what I imagine clouds to feel like.

Are We There Yet

Are We There Yet??

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You know, I used to think it was a myth. Something our parents joked about in the same way that they had walked to school barefoot and uphill, both ways, in the snow! After a summer of road tripping with the kids I can now confirm that, “Are We There Yet?”, is not only a real thing but it seems to be my children’s favourite question.

I’m never really sure how I’m supposed to answer this question in a way that stops it from being asked again so I decided to ask you, the reader, what you say to your kids when they inevitably spit it out. I have compiled your responses and this is what you came up with. For those of you with more thoughts on the subject, please feel free to leave them in the comments section!

I say “Yes, we’re there. We’ve been there for 10 minutes. See Grandma right there? Why are you still in the car?” ~ Gina

We did a lot of driving this summer. At one point I truthfully replied “we will be there in 14 hours”…the honesty didn’t go over super well. ~ Jennifer K

I find myself responding like Papa Smurf “Not far now” “Not to much farther” and then “It’s far, very far” ~ Chantal

When you and your brother were little..we would say 3 hours! Seemed to work for you guys..lol ~ My Mom…

We like to put on the gps and they can see the arrival time therefore it has quieted the are there yet questions ~ Teresa

“We literally just left the house fourteen seconds ago.” ~Lori Anne

“No.” ~ Jennifer P

I want to thank everyone who took the time to contribute an answer to my conundrum. I will likely slip back into my smart alec ways but it’s good to know that there are other options out there!

In an effort to ease the stress of the never ending “Are We There Yet” chant, I wanted to give you the opportunity to have your vehicle’s gas, maintenance and insurance all paid for a full year by entering the Schick “Drive Free For A Year” contest!! All you need to do to enter is click on the previously mentioned link, follow the easy steps and Schick could be paying your gas, insurance and depreciation for a whole year! You can also visit the @FreeYourSkinCA Twitter handle for more specials and details about the contest. *Drops Mic*

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in the Drive Free program.

SCENE Debit Card Scotibank

It’s Movie Night! And It’s On The House!

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Last week I told you all about the Scotiabank SCENE debit rewards card and this week I am going to demonstrate the value it brings by taking you through our latest family trip to the movies. I’ll be calculating how many SCENE points we earned in just one night, which includes dinner at a restaurant, the actual movie tickets and some snacks.

For the benefit of this exercise we chose to go see Disney’s Inside Out for a second time because we all thought it was amazing. Our evening began with a trip to our favourite restaurant, Boston Pizza, where the kids love the handouts because they are more than just a simple sheet of paper with some crayons. Seriously, at one point last year they were giving out these amazing Velcro mini pizzas and the kids played with them for months! When all was said and done, and because I like to have an adult beverage when we go out, our meal came to approximately $70. At 1 point for every $5 purchased with the SCENE debit card, we earned 14 SCENE points.

Next up it was movie time! I’d say it was hard to get excited to see a movie for a 2nd time but Inside Out was so good that I was actually excited to go again. I’m not entirely sure my kids grasped the full concept of the movie but they love the angry guy and that’s good enough for me! Now, let’s talk tickets! The total cost of the tickets was $46 for the four of us and because we get 1 point for every $1 spent at a Cineplex theatre, we got 46 SCENE points. I am a firm believer that you can’t watch a movie without popcorn and also that you can’t eat popcorn without a drink, so we spent another $40 on snacks which gave us another 40 SCENE points!

Ah, but there’s a twist here! By pairing my SCENE debit card with my regular SCENE membership card, we were able to collect an additional 700 SCENE points through the bonuses offered! In one family outing we earned a total of 800 SCENE points just by pairing our SCENE debit card with our regular SCENE points card. By the time Disney’s The Good Dinosaur comes out this winter, we’ll be leaving our wallets in our pockets!

This is just a small example of what you can expect from the SCENE debit card. Once you add groceries, gas and morning coffee to the mix, you are going to have so many free movies and popcorn waiting for you that the movie theatre staff are going to think you work there! You’re using your card anyway, right? Why not get something out of it?

PS – I’d also like to say a huge congratulations to Mark Hoffberg, who was the winner of the Cineplex movie passes from the previous post!

Disclosure: I was compensated for my participation in this campaign. That said, I am actually a giant nerd who needs to see every single superhero movie coming out in the next 5 years, so I kind of need these points…