Valentines Pics...

 Better  late then never..

Here are some pics from Valentines day....

We made some heart shaped pancakes .....

Skating Comedy of Errors...

What's funnier then watching a parent who doesn't know how to skate

on the ice with his kid?

Two parents who don't know how to skate

trying to teach two toddlers...

Kendal and I took the kids skating last weekend...
It was NOT fun...LOL!

First of all, I can skate, but haven't in years...

and trying to do it with a 2 year old girl who has never been on skates??

I will leave it to your imagination. 

It did get better...

In the beginning she cried because she was on the ice...

When we went to leave, she cried because we were leaving...LOL!

Kendal and Jeremy did better...

By the time he got off the ice with Jeremy, 

he was able to walk on the ice without help...

And so could Kendal!  

We probably will try again...

After some good tranquillizers...LOL!

Snow day....

 This is the first day in ages where it has been warm enough

for the kids to go play outside. 

Jeremy was frustrated because his bike was buried right up to the handle bars, 

while Gracie was content to try and find the swing....

I am just relieved to let them burn off some of that pent up energy 

from being cooped up in a small house....

You may not have noticed....

Jeremy having a pout...

You may not have noticed....
but I REALLY like photography....
I'm sure you could NEVER tell,
It's not like I EVER post any pictures...LOL!

Gracie

My Love Affair with the camera started about ten years ago, 

with a cheap little Kodak..

It was a snap and shoot..

and you had to be practically standing on your subject

before you could get any pictures...

The snap and shoot was all I had for several years

until my husband bought me a Pentax...

I LOVED that camera...

It was my first experience with a camera that had some ability..

I learned all about light and shadow,

people placement...

What actually looked good in the lens...
Worked great till I left it on the roof of my car...
......and drove away....  :(

For those of you who see my daughter at church and down town..

this is what she REALLY looks like....LOL!

Notice the nice fat bruise on her forhead,

and the dirt all over the pretty Sunday dress...

(Good job mommy for letting her out in that...LOL!)

It was my favorite camera  until the day my hubby bought me my first 

Very Exspensive Nikon camera...

and then I truly fell in love...

Today I have a Nikon D-90...

my birthday present this year...

After digital had taken over the photography world,

my poor manual Nikon became obsolete,

and as my hobby is exspensive,

for several years, I was stuck using a Kodak easy share camera.

My husband liked it, 

but it drove me crazy...

No more great indoor shots,

no quick shots of fast moving children...

no more great sports shots...

My favorite kind of photography is people..

and especially children and old people...

There is just something about capturing an expression of absolute joy or rage

sadness, or peace that makes my heart sing...

capturing that memory for an eternity...

It is different from portrait photograpy

where the shots are set up

although that can be fun too,

but candid shots are so much about what the person is doing at the moment.

I think if I was ever to take up photography for a living again..

it would be candid shots, and events photography...

Because of the kind of pictures I like, 

and because I get lazy with some of the technical aspects of photography,

my pictures aren't always perfect...

but I am learning..

 It is my Passion.

I have promised myself with my new camera

to learn ALL the technical stuff as well.

which made hubby happy with me...LOL!

I have to admit though, that my kids get tired of being subjects..

I get two reactions...

My son ignores me at times when he sees the camera,

and my older kids groan...LOL!

My youngest daughter is the only one who seems to like being a model...

and she poses like a diva...

no matter how she looks...LOL!

I am looking forward to getting back into photography again 

now that I have something to work with..

so I hope you can all bear with me, 

while I play!  

What kind of photography do you like...

and what kind of camera do you have?

Share a link with your favorite picture and I will 

do a short expose, and post your picture and give you some linky love next Monday...

The Changing Tides...

WOW! I just realized this morning that it has been almost two weeks since I posted anything....

That's crazy... 

Part of the problem is to be honest, I have just been plain tired.

I don't really know why, but if I don't feel better soon, 

I guess I will have to get that checked out...

I am also not sure anyone actually reads our blog,

and the effort just seemed not worth the while...

I put this together so that friends and family outside of Regina 

could keep track of our family,

and after 4 years, I am not sure if anyone is actually reading this,

except for my MIL....

so if you do read our blog...

could you leave a comment so I know?

Even if you don't use blogger, you can leave a comment under annonymous...

Another problem is, that I haven't been taking as many pictures...

My camera pretty much quit working...

won't take indoor pictures anymore...

at least not where you can actually see what things are...

(However this problem has been remedied.)

and we actually haven't been our normal active selves either...

We have been busy, but not with the kind of things most people are interested in...

Some big things have happened in our lives lately though...

One being that my husband was fired from his job...

I wasn't surprised...we have been expecting this for a long time...

and it finally happened...

I was very proud of my hubby for taking the high road...

What a man of God...

I have attached his note about it from facebook,

if anyone is interested in reading it...

Other then that...here we are I guess...

Just living life...not really up to much at the moment..

but spring is coming, so that should change soon..  :)

Jeremy is joining Soccer, Gracie will be in swimming..

We have an Ghana dinner coming up this weekend,

and we are going to the Barenaked Ladies concert in April...

That will be a blast...I can't wait.....

OK, here is Kendal's note...

It's a strange world we live in when an ordinary 9-5 worker like me has to do a press release when he loses his job. :) Thanks a lot Facebook.

On Conan O'brien's last episode of The Tonight Show, he addressed his public falling-out with NBC. He took the high road and kept it classy. I would like to try to strike the same tone here. His message was that he was thankful for the opportunity NBC gave him and for the 20 years he was there.

I was employed at my last job for the last 7 and a half years. While there I earned a decent wage, had full time employment and learned a lot. Just to be clear, the company I worked for is a good well-run organization. Unfortunately my position was terminated this week. The stated reason was that my performance was not adequate. My work performance was a somewhat subjective issue. I feel that I fell victim to some nasty office politics. I believe and have some proof that someone in my office was running down my reputation, while he cut corners and took credit for other peoples work to make himself look better. I believe his campaign was effective and played a large role.

This has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. If I had sunk to that level and done what was necessary to win that war, the taste in my mouth would have been far worse.

It is also my opinion that I could only have improved my performance by cutting corners and not following procedures, which I was unwilling to do. As I said these are issues which are completely a matter of opinion and perspective, therefore pointless to debate.

I regret that things turned out the way they did. My employer was not an easy person to work for. That's no secret. The first thing he says to new employees is, "I'm not an easy person to work for." While working for him I learned to be a better employee. I learned about professionalism and commitment. I learned to work very hard. I learned not to be constantly watching the clock for the next coffee break or the end of the shift. I learned to be punctual and dependable. I learned that employers will not trust you if all you do is verbally run down your previous employers. I also learned a lot of practical lessons about work and efficiency. I am thankful for all that my employer taught me. I am thankful that my family was provided for. My favorite part of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" is when Bob Cratchit, at his family's meager Christmas dinner, toasts his boss, Ebenezer Scrooge. Despite his wife's protests Bob calls Scrooge "The founder of the feast." Not that I'm comparing my employer to Scrooge, but I've always thought that Cratchit's attitude was admirable.

Of course I did not like being fired. I don't think anybody has ever responded to the phrase, "you're fired," by saying, "Good call, boss." Obviously there is a sense of anger, frustration, betrayal and humiliation. Clearly my friends and family members are going to feel all this stuff and more. I also can't control the opinions and comments of other people who have worked for the same company. When I posted a positive and uncontroversial comment (the comment was, "Wednesday 5pm, I lose my job. Thursday 3pm, I have a new job, starting with the same pay, but I also get benefits!") on Facebook earlier today it turned into a debate. I never intended that to happen, but my family and friends are entitled to their opinions. It would be completely ridiculous to expect them not to support me and weigh in with their thoughts. I have removed the whole comment thread as some of the comments turned ugly and abusive.

I do not feel ashamed by my work record at that company. My work was meticulous and accurate. Even my employer has said as much to me, and he doesn't pay very many compliments. While there I was loyal, dependable and maintained my integrity. I left with my head held high. I intend to keep it that way by not dragging my employer's reputation and that of his company through the mud.

I don't want to walk around with bitterness and anger over this issue. I actually feel relieved, as I was saw this coming for a long time. The mind games and constant feeling of being unable to satisfy the demands put on me caused me a lot of stress. Within 22 hours I was able to find a new job that will not only match my pay, but has a benefits package. I see this as a positive situation. If anyone else wants to comment on the situation, I would prefer that you use the private message system in Facebook.

Thank you.

Kendal

Today Kendal starts his new job...

I am very proud of him, and know he will do well...

I am also thankful to God for providing for us as He always does...