“I Love You In The Whole Universe, Daddy”
I don’t even really know where she got it from, but my little princess repeats it to me every night before bed. I have to admit that the fact that it is grammatically incorrect actually makes it more endearing to me. She is excellent at making me feel like the more important person in the world and I hope I do the same for her and my son.
This is my latest appearance on “Family Matters” with CJAD800’s Ric & Suzanne. In this month’s podcast, I talk about the Canadian Soccer Association’s decision to ban scores and standings in leagues with children under the age of 12.
We also discussed the Rehtaeh Parsons case and why it’s so important to talk to our children about bullying and consent. It was a difficult conversation but it’s one that all of us need to take a lot more seriously.
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I was recently approached by Minted to work on a sponsored campaign together. Admittedly, I was skeptical about how to fit this in with my blog and what I do. Sure, Minted had business cards, which every blogger knows are a necessity, but I was mostly worried that the rest of the site would be filled with pink drapey things and flowery cards. Not very dadly.
I was so glad to find that while they did carry those items, they also had all sorts of cool things that I could get behind. As you can see from the cover photo, I chose a customizable journal and I couldn’t be happier with it! On top of the amazing quality of the journal, the ordering, customizing and delivery were all fast and easy. It even let me put in my own inspirational quotes, which was awesome, and I chose one of my favourites from Harriet Tubman:
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
Why did I pick the journal? Ever since I started blogging, it seems as though I have forgotten how to actually “write” anything anymore. I used to write ideas, stories and music in an old beat up binder but with today’s digital age, I find I’ve been sending emails to myself, taking eNotes and saving recorded messages on my phone in order to remember ideas. That’s great and all but I miss that personal feeling of putting pen to paper and now I am able to do that.
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and product with Minted and hope you will give them a shot as well. You can also catch up with Minted on Facebook and Twitter, so please feel free to stop by and say hi for me.
Disclosure: I was compensated for this post but the opinions expressed are my own.
I watch the video below a lot. Part of it inspires me and part of it scares me to death. Could you imagine actually chasing after your dream with no regard for whether it will actually pay your bills or not? All in the name of happiness? That’s the part that gets my knees wobbling.
I have a young family and a steady job that does a great job of keeping a roof over our heads and providing us with some security. Of course I would love to make fun videos with the Harlem Globetrotters and Disney on Ice all the time. It would be great to get paid to write about fatherhood and share all of the things that inspire me in hopes of inspiring others, but it’s so hard to picture what that life would look like. Part of me thinks this video was intended for people without young families, but maybe I’m just too scared to imagine it.
How about you? Have you followed your dreams? If so, please share your story. If not, what is holding you back? Let me know in the comments and enjoy the video.
I had the special opportunity to interview Harlem Globetrotter, Buckets Blakes, leading up to their big show at Scotiabank Place on April 11th at 7pm in Ottawa. He was so much fun to work with and is amazingly talented, but didn’t necessarily like my line of questioning and we ended up facing off in a one on one challenge! Check out the video to see who won!
I can’t say enough good things about Buckets. He was down for everything I asked him to do and we had a great chat about his being a Dad as well. I’ll link up the full interview very soon but I hope you enjoyed my experience in the meantime! I would like to thank Amanda from Scotiabank Place and Troy Baker for shooting an editing the video. You guys are helping make lasting memories for me and I really appreciate it!
Cheers!
It’s funny to think that I have never been to a Harlem Globetrotters game. I mean, they’ve been around almost three times longer than I have and are beloved by almost everyone who has seen them. Well, all that is about to change at 7pm on April 11th, when I will be bringing my family to a game for the first time. That’s right, the Globetrotters are bringing their 2013 “You Write The Rules” World Tour to Ottawa’s Scotiabank Place and I will be front and center for all the action. Or maybe middle and left, I guess. Who really knows where seats are anymore.
The “You Write The Rules” Tour will be the first time that the fans will have a say in how the game will be officiated. Fans can vote for which rule(s) they want the Harlem Globetrotters to implement during their game by visiting www.harlemglobetrotters.com/rule and voting on rules, such as the use of two basketballs, double points, a 4-point shot (Buckets Blakes’ specialty), the dreaded penalty box and playing 6-on-5.
It sounds like a great time for the whole family and I can’t wait to get there! Tickets to see the world’s most famous basketball team start at $15 and can be purchased by visiting www.CapitalTickets.ca, by phone at 613-599-FANS (3267) or 1-877-788-FANS (3267); in person at The Sens Store at Carlingwood Mall and Place d’Orléans, any Ottawa Sports Experts location; Les Galeries de Hull and at the Scotiabank Place box office.
Also, thanks to my friends at Scotiabank Place, I will have the opportunity to interview Globetrotter Buckets Blakes in the coming days and will share that experience with you once it’s done. Hope to see you at the show! For more info on the Globetrotters, you can follow them on Twitter or on their Facebook Page.
Forget bending over. We have our own methods of teaching our children how to ride!
I believe very strongly in the power of giving. In the past few months, I have quietly started practicing a daily random act of kindness. It sometimes involves spending money but often is something as little as opening a door for someone or letting someone in line ahead of me. I never expect anything in return for any of this but I was lucky enough to be the recipient of some excellent news yesterday and I have to share it with you.
You may remember back in February, I posted an awesome commercial from Canadian Tire, that depicted a father and son going to the outdoor rink to skate and bond together. It was, and still is, my favourite commercial of all time. One of the commenters on the post mentioned that they hadn’t been able to afford skates for their boys but hoped it would happen someday. I’ve deleted that portion of their comment for their privacy.
The post faded into obscurity, as most blog posts do, until yesterday when I received an email from the people at Canadian Tire. They thanked me for sharing their commercial and asked for the contact info of the above noted commenter because they wanted to outfit her family with new skates. I’d be lying at this point if I said my eyes were completely dry after reading through their email and they didn’t get any dryer after speaking to the recipient of the gift. If I ever questioned what the ROI of sharing other people’s amazing content was, Canadian Tire answered it in incredible fashion.
I was already impressed with Canadian Tire for the way they portrayed the Dad in their commercial, but helping a family in need just put them way over the top in my books. When you do awesome things, especially in business, awesome things will come back to you. I hope creating two new life long loyal customers was enough for Canadian Tire in this instance, because they absolutely earned it!
Cheers!
When I was asked to attend the launch for National We Day, I really had no idea what to expect. If I’m being honest, I hadn’t really heard of We Day or the Free The Children organization but I was interested in finding out more, so I visited their official website and started to watch some of their videos. It only took about three videos before I began to swell up with emotion and inspiration and realized that this was an event that was going to change my life.
At the launch, I was lucky enough to meet Free the Children co-founder Craig Kielburger. In hearing his passion for what they are trying to accomplish, it was clear why this event has grown into the huge success that it is. Listening to the children speak about how this experience has changed them was especially moving and their passion to make the world a better place may or may not have caused a joyful tear or two.
One of the best parts of We Day is that you can’t buy a ticket. You have to earn your ticket through action. 1 Global and 1 Local action, to be exact. You can visit their Take Action page for more info on registering and volunteering.
So, I’m all in. How about you? I can’t think of anything better to do with my time than to teach our children how to be good to each other as we raise a new generation of young adults. I’ve included the list of speakers/performers for National We Day on April 29th, followed by the video that got me all choked up and inspired me to be a part of this movement. I hope you will take a few minutes to check out the website to see how you can take part and make a difference.
Martin Sheen – Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning actor and activist
Chief Shawn Atleo – National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations
Kardinal Offishall – Canadian rapper and record producer
Karl Wolf – International recording artist, Socan& MTV Europe Music Award winner
Shawn Desman – Platinum-selling, JUNO and MMVA Award-winning recording artist
Cast members from the hit TV show DEGRASSI
My Name is Kay – Canadian singer and songwriter
A performance by ONE DROP, a Cirque du Soleil Founder’s initiative
Frank O’Dea – Second Cup founder, Canadian entrepreneur, humanitarian and author
Neverest – Canadian pop-rock band
Jillian Vanstone – principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada
Rob Stewart – Award winning filmmaker of Sharkwater and Revolution
Tyler Shaw – 2012 Coca Cola COVERS MuchMusic Video Award winner
Molly Burke – Visually impaired Me to We motivational speaker
Spencer West – Me to We motivational speaker and Free The Children ambassador
Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have and I’ll do my best to find the answers for you. I really think this is going to affect a lot of people in a great way and I’m so happy that it is coming to the Ottawa area.
Could I look more awkward?? Still, awesome!
I’m a little under the weather this week. You’d think that would give me plenty of time to write but I just don’t have the energy to come up with anything at the moment. That said, this is something that has been making me smile the last couple days, so I thought I’d share.
We heard about a cool photo shoot that was taking place at a local ranch and decided to take part. The photographer was Christina from Tia Photography and we couldn’t be happier with how the pictures turned out. On a funny “the pictures you don’t see” note, my daughter started laughing when it was her turn to hold the bunny, but that laugh quickly turned into a nervous laugh and then to a full blown panic attack in about 10 seconds. We eventually calmed her down and she loved the experience. I have included some of our favourites below.
A big thanks to Tia Photography and Pinto Valley Ranch for giving us this awesome memory! We’ll be back next time for sure. Now if you’ll all excuse me, I have to get back to resting this flu…