Big Brother Is Coming To Canada and I Can’t Wait!

/15 Comments/in /by

Photo from http://bigbrotheraccess.com

You may not know this about me but I am a Reality TV junkie. I know, I know, it’s nothing but senseless drivel that further dumbs down our society and takes away from the actual film and television makers who slave over their product. Still, I like it.

I’m not saying I watch all of them, although this new Here Comes Honey Boo Boo show looks great….(Not Really Though). Of all the Reality shows out there, only one of them has kept my attention for longer than 2-3 seasons. That show is Big Brother!

I remember about 4 years ago, I had sent an email to ask if Canadians were allowed to apply for Big Brother and got a big fat NO! I knew the answer before writing but I’ve never been one to follow traditional “rules”. Enter last months news about the upcoming production of Big Brother Canada and I couldn’t be more excited!

I’ve seen every season so far and although I’m not as impressed with the new trend of mixing in old players with new players, I do still enjoy the show and am excited at the prospect of a fresh start here in Canada.

I was reading some of the details over at Big Brother Access and the more I read, the more excited I get. It seems like casting was going to begin in July but has been pushed back to August and will most likely run until sometime in January 2013.

Either way, I’m keeping a close eye on the details so I can get myself ready to enter the BB house! Oh yeah, I’ve already decided that I am going to be on the show…Do you hear that producers?! Yeah, I’m talking to you John Brunton!

The only downside was when I suddenly came to the realization, while watching Big Brother 14 the other night, that I am no longer one of the young, buff house guests. That’s right, I’m pretty sure as a 33 year old, slightly out of shape male, that I would be considered one of the “Old Guys” on the show…No matter, I’m still in!

Now that we’ve got that out of the way and decided that I am in fact already going to be on the show, the application video seems like somewhat of a formality. It’s still necessary though so I’ll put the question out to all of you to help me decide what to do.

What should I do in my Audition Video to get noticed for Big Brother Canada?

I appreciate all your help and hope that I don’t get kicked off first!!

You can read more about Big Brother Canada on their host site, Slice. You can also follow along with updates from their Twitter and Facebook accounts as well.

UPDATE! You can now apply for BB Canada by going to their Application Page and going through the motions! Good Luck!

Cheers!

Bieber, Prostitution, Trophy Dads & My Rap on The Life of Dad Podcast

/0 Comments/in , /by

Recently, I was happy to accept an invitation to be a guest on the Life of Dad Show Podcast with Tom Riles and Art Eddy. For those of you who haven’t heard of Life of Dad, it’s like Facebook for Dad bloggers. There are a lot of great Dads writing over there and I’ve heard that the guy who runs their twitter account is handsome and awesome! (PS – It’s me, come and say hi @LifeOfDadShow)

On this particular podcast, which is about 30 minutes long, we talk about Trophy Dads, Justin Bieber, Ellen, Ping Pong, Prostitution, Canadian Geography, the Montreal Canadiens and I close it out with a rap that I wrote specifically for the podcast. Each podcast ends with the guest rapping and I was challenged to a rap off, which you will see I clearly won, lol.

It was a jam packed show and has inspired me to look into starting my own podcast. I’m not going to promise it will happen but it’s at least on the table.

So, without further ado, here is my day with Life of Dad. PS – If you’re looking for the rap, it’s around the 28:30 mark, although I don’t why you would want to hear that….

Dad Blogs Exposed! – Honea Express

/9 Comments/in , /by

This week I’d like to introduce you to Whit Honea, who started his Dad blog, Honea Express, way back in 2005 before Dad blogging was cool.

One of the first things I read by Whit was his post entitled “When Stuffed Animals Die” and from that moment, I was hooked! Not surprisingly, that post also got him named as a BlogHer Voices of the Year winner.

The thing I like about Whit is that he isn’t afraid to show his emotions. In fact, he himself will admit that “Every time I speak about my kids on a conference panel I wind up crying in front of everyone”. It absolutely shows in his mesmerizing posts about his family.

His writing skills are beyond anything I could dream of achieving in my lifetime, which I why I like to read his stuff and take away as much as I can. After all, there’s a reason why he’s been published by the likes of Babble, AOL, BabyCenter, The Stir, MamaPop, The Disney Blog, CBS: Los Angeles, Man of the House, UpTake & Orbitz…..Yeah, that’s a lot of writing.

Another great thing about Whit is that you can tell he cares about the people that read and take the time to comment on his stuff. The way he responds to the comments on his site and his twitter feed (@WhitHonea) show how invested he is in his craft.

Just in case writing for his own blog and the others I mention wasn’t enough, you can also catch Whit writing over at DadCentric, co-owning a production company called Limey Yank Productions and oh yeah, working on a book! Here’s an excerpt from his blog.

Not too busy though, right? I can barely find the time to write 3 posts a week so reading all of these jobs is a little overwhelming to comprehend. The best thing is that his work clearly isn’t suffering from it.

Most recently, Whit was involved in The New Face Of Dad campaign from Philips Norelco. It’s a great campaign that showcases some great Dads and really captures the way most Dads feel about parenthood. Here’s the full New Face Of Dad video and you can check out Honea Express for Whit’s personal video.

I really hope you take a few minutes to check out Whit’s blog, Honea Express, I promise you won’t be disappointed. You can also find him on Twitter @WhitHonea and on his Facebook Page. He’s also got an upcoming project with Limey Yank Productions that will be going live soon.

You can also let him know you popped in by showing him some love in the comment section below.

That wraps up another edition of Dad Blogs Exposed! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Til next time!

Cheers!

The Smile That Stopped The World

/30 Comments/in , /by

It’s no secret that as our children get older, they need us less and less. I’ve already begun to see the signs of this with my 4 year old son as he sets out on his path to independence. He recently started his first “no parents allowed” swimming class and it is devastating and exciting all at once.

For some reason, even though I’d been through this with my boy, I thought that my little girl would be, well, my little girl, forever. Every day that passes I see her learning more and gaining the ability to do the little things that Daddy used to help with.

She can do up her own seatbelt in the wagon now, Daddy used to help with that. She doesn’t need Daddy to help her much at the park any more because as she says “No, I Can Do It!”. She doesn’t even need me to help her down the stairs any more, even though I still stand there, hovering over her, sometimes even hoping she’ll slip up a bit so Daddy can catch her.

That sounds harsh and it’s not that I want her to get hurt, it’s just that I want to show her that I am still useful. I want her to need me as much as I need her to need me. I know there’s a next stage of her life, where she’ll need me for a lot of other things, like riding a bike or eating an ice cream cone but I’m just not ready to go there yet.

There’s something about the sincere joy in her eyes when she sees me come in the door from work, that makes my heart ache for the day when I walk in and she just nods and carries on with her day. I dread the day when her excited screams of “Daddy, Daddy!” change to a “What’s Up?” as I enter the room.

She doesn’t know it but she has the ability to stop my world on a dime with a simple unforced cuddle. With a smile, she takes away all my worries and troubles, even if just for a split second, which is long enough.

I’m not sure what brought this on tonight. Whether it was the terrible things happening in the world right now or the realization that kids get older and need us less; or maybe a combination of both.

There is one thing I do know though.

I danced with my little girl this afternoon and as I twirled her around in my arms, in that moment, we were both completely and utterly happy. Most likely for different reasons but happy all the same.

I realized today that it’s okay for my kids to get older and it’s okay for me to be scared about that. What really matters is that I take a moment every now and then to stop and truly appreciate everything I have in them.

There’s no way of knowing what’s in store for them, so all we can do is show them that we are here for them when they need us. To give them all the love that a parent possibly can and hope that someday they are able to share that love with a family of their own.

Kids may grow up and need us less but until that happens I am going to continue to enjoy the moments that bring my world to a stand still.

Cheers!

Send In The Clowns…And Bring On The Fear!

/16 Comments/in /by

People have a lot of fears. Some of them are strange, like Coprophobia, which is an abnormal and persistent fear of feces. Others are more common, such as Arachnophobia, which everyone knows is a fear of spiders.

The one that seems to straddle the fence between weird and normal however, is Coulrophobia, which is better known as a fear of clowns.

A member of my household, who shall remain nameless, suffers from this phobia. There’s no crazy story behind the phobia about how a clown tried to murder him/her. It’s just one of those things that strikes you whenever you see one.

The problem with this particular phobia is that once you have kids, there is no escaping it. Kids love clowns! They make them balloon animals, play funny instruments, perform hilarious pratfalls and most importantly, they teach children about the joys of Hamburgers, French Fries and Play Land’s!

Come to think of it, how could anyone be afraid of clowns? They are so lovable and funny! What has a clown ever done to anybody to deserve this sort of discrimination?! They slave and slave to look their very funniest, so that your kids birthday parties are a giant success and this is the thanks they get? Give me one good reason why I should fear one of these pillars of society!

Oh yeah, I forgot about him…. Sorry Ronald, as long as this guy is around, you’ll have to keep working double time to convince us that you are not evil.

Question Time! Do you have a phobia? If so, what is it? Don’t worry, no one will judge you, just consider this a safe space to share your darkest fears!

Cheers!

The 5th Annual Gil Read Memorial Fastball Tournament in #Ottawa

/2 Comments/in /by

I’m very happy and even more excited to announce that The 5th Annual Gil Read Memorial Fastpitch Tournament is all geared up and ready to go! The tournament will take place at the Carp Fairgrounds in the Village of Carp, Ontario, home of the Carp I4C Victory Fast Ball Club.

The tournament will run from July 27th to July 29th and features some of the best fastball in Eastern Ontario and Quebec. The games will begin Friday the 27th at 7pm. A day pass is $5 and a weekend pass is $10 with kids under 12 free.

For those of you who don’t know, and there’s probably a lot of you, The Gil Read Memorial Foundation is a charity that my family set up shortly after my father passed away. Our goal is to help less fortunate children compete in sports and we’re proud of the work we do in his honour!

I could go on forever about my Dad, as you all know, but I want to focus on the tournament this time around so I’ll leave you with a link to the About Gil page on our website, as well a Guest Post I did about him for the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Ottawa website.

A little bit about the venue. Carp, located approximately 20 minutes west of Ottawa, has been a fast pitch community for many years. In the early 1990’s, The Carp Valley Pride made their home at the Carp Fairgrounds and boasted one of the top lineups in all of Canada. It was an easy choice for us and we know you’ll love it there.

We have 10 teams entered in this years competition, ranging from local to long distance: Carp I4C Victory, Kars Aces, Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric, Ottawa Taylor Blitz, Stittsville 56ers, Toronto Gators, Donnaconna Blue Sox, Cornwall Pickups, Chisasibi Comets & the Elkland, PA Thunderbellys.

As far as fan entertainment goes, we have a lot lined up for you! There is a Beer Tent on location, sponsored by our friends at Molson’s. We also have Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, lots of Water and other snacks available throughout the weekend. We have lots of prizes available as well and all the wonderful volunteers are available and willing to help out in any way possible to make this a great experience for you and your family!

Please feel free to bring your kids out to the event as well, as the diamonds feature a Splash Pad and Park on site, along with plenty of open space for the kids to run around and play. Not to mention that they are the future of our sport and we love to see them out there enjoying themselves!

We are always looking for new volunteers and we are especially in need of Corporate Sponsorship, as this is what helps the Foundation continue in providing for our local kids.

If you’re interested in helping out with sponsorship or volunteering, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or find me at our Twitter page @GilReadMemorial and I’d be happy to talk to you!

Thank You for your continued support and I hope to see you at the Ball Park for some great Fastball for a great cause!

Cheers!!

Dad Blogs Exposed! – Beta Dad

/12 Comments/in , /by

Welcome back to Dad Bogs Exposed! Every week I will be introducing you to a new Dad blogger and today, I’m happy to introduce you to Andy Hinds, who runs the popular blog Beta Dad!

Andy was one of the first people to really make me feel like I was a part of the online Dad blog community. All he did was have a Twitter conversation with me but for most new bloggers, that’s all we really looking for. You spend a lot of time staring at your empty interactions page when you start up and it was cool of him to fill mine up a bit!

Andy is father to twin 3 year old girls, who go by the pseudonym’s of Butterbean and Cobra on the blog. At least I hope that’s their pseudonym’s….His writing has slowed down a bit since he’s rejoined the workforce but I’m guessing it’s tough to find a balance between it all, especially with twins.

You can add to that, the fact that he can also be found writing at the collaborative Dad blog DadCentric and also over at the popular blog, Aiming Low, and you can see where life would start to get a little busy.

Now, let’s get into the awesomeness that is Beta Dad! First things first, Check out this header from his website, which features his girls stomping through downtown Toyko. I knew from that moment that this was a site I was going to enjoy!

Andy is not your prototypical Dad blogger. On top of posting about his kids and family life in a sincere way, he is also not afraid to take on bigger topics, such as his thoughts on kids using the word Hate and his take on people (and brands) who think Parenting is a Job.

It’s refreshing to read someone who isn’t afraid to just tell it like it is, or at least how he sees it. I’ve dabbled in this format but I’m still trying to find my voice so I can respect how hard it is to put yourself out there like that. It’s not easy to take criticism for things you’ve written but Andy always answers the call when it happens.

Much like every other Dad blogger I talk to on the internet, I’ve never met Andy, but my interactions with him so far have been nothing but great. He seems like a nice guy and I’m happy to have stumbled upon his work. The one thing he’ll never be accused of is being a fake, that’s for sure.

He made a joke a while back that I was out to steal all the Dad bloggers jobs. Probably because Canada has a small Dad blog market, so I tend to get a lot of calls from the media. Funny how things work out that just over a month later I was trolling on Twitter and noticed his most recent work…This interview and post on HLN TV!!

Way to go Andy, you’re raising the bar for the rest of us and I, for one, accept your challenge! I look forward to fighting the good fight with you for more years to come!

If you guys are so inclined, I urge you to catch up with Andy on his home site Beta Dad. You can also find him on Twitter @BetaDad and also on Facebook.

As always, don’t forget to leave some love for our guest in the comments section. I can’t even guarantee that he’ll read this post but I’ll spam him until he does and I’m sure he’ll appreciate the kind words (or hate mail) 😀

Cheers!!

I’m Taking The Adult Essentials Vitamin Challenge

/10 Comments/in , /by

I’m excited to announce that I’ve been chosen to take part in the Adult Essentials Men’s Blog Tour! I’ll be taking their Vitamin Challenge over the next two months, to see if my energy levels and overall health can improve.

I’ve never been a big fan of vitamins. I’m not sure if it’s because of the taste, the enormous size of some of them or just plain old laziness. I recently attended a retirement course offered through my work place (no, I’m not even close to retiring) and they had a doctor come in and tell us about the benefits of vitamins.

It was pretty good timing that the folks at Adult Essentials came knocking at my door so soon after and I decided I’d give it a go. They’ve provided me with a couple months worth of vitamins to try out and I’m excited to get started. I have to admit that I don’t know a lot about vitamins and the different benefits they offer but I’ve done my research and I’m ready to go!

The reason I agreed to do the Adult Essentials Vitamin Challenge is because they come in Gummy form and seeing as how I am a child stuck in a 33 year old’s body, I was definitely excited and intrigued at the prospect of eating what looks like candy for the next little while.

I guess I should tell you a little about myself. I’ve worked a grueling shift at my job for the past three years, that has taken it’s toll on me physically, mentally and pretty much in every other imaginable way. Because of this, I have let myself slip a bit in the last few years. Did you know at one time, I was a very high level fastball player? Those days have long since come and gone. In fact, if you’re new to the blog, you might enjoy the time my Doctor told me that I Was Fat…

I am lucky enough to have a free 24 gym at my work and I absolutely know where it is. I was re-routed through it one time in order to get to the cafeteria. It looks nice, I sometimes think about going there while working at 2 in the morning. My sleep is all over the map along with my energy levels and at times, my patience suffers as well.

Point is, I am not the picture of perfect health and I’m ready to start making some changes. If not for myself, certainly for the future of my wife and kids. It all begins today! Adult Essentials has asked that on top of taking the Vitamin Challenge, that I participate in at least 15 minutes of exercise, 3 to 4 times a week. I call that a deal and promise to them, myself and you guys that I will follow through on that!

I won’t bore you with all the details on my height and weight and all that because I don’t need to depress myself right before I get started, lol!

That’s all for me at this time! I hope you’ll take a minute to check out Adult Essentials on Twitter and Facebook and don’t forget to say hi to them for me!

Cheers!!

I am participating in the Adult Essentials Men’s Blog Tour. I received a supply of vitamins in exchange for my participation in this campaign. Opinions expressed belong to me and are NOT influenced in any way.

Canada’s Newest Superhero! Captain Caffeine

/17 Comments/in /by

Awhile back, I wrote about my superhero idea on my page over at the PTPA. I think it’s time to introduce him to the rest of my faithful followers as I attempt to take his adventures to the next level!

My superhero’s name is Captain Caffeine and he is one of the few Canadian Superhero’s in existence! His goal is to fight chronic fatigue by providing special caffeine injections, which he gets from the planet Tim Hortons!

His arch nemesis is the Decaffeinator, who slips about the country, swapping people’s much needed strong coffee with useless decaf. His plan is to take over the world by keeping the world tired and weak.

As you can tell by this point, I had a lot of time on my hands a few years ago when I created this character. Times have certainly changed but the one thing that has remained the same is that I still have my childish side. That’s why Captain Caffeine has made a comeback and I think I’ll write a few stories for him.

Anyway, this is just an introduction. You’ll be learning more about Captain Caffeine in the weeks and months to come and he may be making a live appearance at the Blissdom Canada conference this October….Just saying.

I’ll leave you with some photos from the live action comic I created about 7 years ago. I was really on the ball back then as you’ll see from the small details, like the Tim Hortons utility belt!

I hope you’ll come back and check out the adventures of Captain Caffeine!

Cheers!

Raising Children Without A Father Of My Own

/67 Comments/in , /by

“Daddy, did Grampy die and go to heaven?”

“You bet, buddy”

“Why?”

“He had an accident and didn’t get better, but he was a good man and gets to go to heaven”

It was 5 years ago this August and every day is a reminder of the great loss we suffered that day. My 4 year old son never met my Dad and doesn’t really understand the concept of life and death. He doesn’t understand heaven either but then again, who does?

In a cruel twist of fate, my father passed away on the same day that we found out we were pregnant with our first born. At the time, we used that as a way to help deal with the pain of the loss by saying that he lived on in my son. I never really believed it but when you lose someone, you tend to take any positive thoughts you can get.

I’m not an overly spiritual person, so to me, the reality was that it was just his time to go. It wasn’t an easy time. I went trough a very dark transition following that day and essentially missed the first year of my son’s life. Constantly feeling like my world was caving in, spending countless days and nights in hospital emergency rooms, trying to figure out what crazy disease I was suffering from this time.

It wasn’t until one of the doctor’s referred me to a psychiatrist that I really started to see what I was doing to myself and my family. I don’t know what it was that snapped me out of it. Maybe the thought of losing my wife, or knowing that I was completely letting my son down, which didn’t seem very fair considering how great my Dad was.

Point is, I decided it was time to man up and cut the “Woe is Me” act out of my day to day. Almost overnight, I managed to shake it all off and began acting like the man my family needed me to be.

I’m certainly not perfect. I have bad days just like everyone else and I don’t have all the answers to the mystery that is raising children. I’m not even a great husband but I’m working on it.

As my kids are getting older, I’m noticing more and more the extreme void that was left by my father not being here. There are so many things that I don’t know how to do and it’s frustrating/upsetting/devastating when I realize that my Dad isn’t there to ask for help.

It’s important for me to note at this point, that I mean absolutely no disrespect to the 2 men I call Father in Law’s. They have done nothing but treat me with the utmost respect and have helped myself and my family more than most people could ever understand. They’ve accepted me as if I was one of their own and I love them for that.

There’s just something about being able to talk to your Dad. To be able to ask the questions that you don’t feel comfortable asking anyone else on this earth. My Dad was a great listener too. He never once made me feel stupid for having questions or asking for help and I miss being able to do that. One of the last things he did before he passed, was to help me build a fence in my yard. Do you think I know how to do that? No way!

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will never have that luxury again, and it is a luxury. Instead, I do the uncomfortable begging to friends, family and neighbours whenever something arises that I don’t know how to do or can’t do by myself. And it happens a lot. I’m blessed with good people in my life, which makes it a little easier.

It doesn’t change the fact that I feel ridiculous to have to ask my neighbour to take time away from his family to help me install a screen door; or constantly bother my friends to help me with two man tasks that most guys my age do with their fathers.

And it still hurts when I see how much fun my friends parents have with their grandkids. In fact, anytime I see any kid with their Grandparents (even my own), I get the sting in my chest. My Dad would have been an amazing grand father. He dedicated his life to coaching kids and I know that he would have loved them to death and probably would have turned them into big time athletes!

In the end, I’m left to wonder what might have been as I navigate the often complicated world of raising children. But I’m still happy. I have a lot of amazing people in my life, who are always there for me whenever I need them. I still have my Mom, who is an amazing woman and who loves her grand kids! I love my kids and my wife and we have a great life together, filled with fun and laughter!

I know I’m not alone with this struggle either. Some of my close friends have been dealt the same cards as me, but we don’t really talk about it. Instead we act tough and pretend to be superheroes, I’d be Batman by the way, until the pain passes and we get back to normal lives.

I was lucky enough to be blessed with a great Dad and even though he left us way too soon, I have the memories and lessons he taught me. Which were many. I can only hope that someday my kids can look back and say the same about me.