Amalia

My neice has a name. Amalia Christiane Sarah Brace is the final, official chosen name of this beautiful little girl. Reports from her mom inidcate that she is very good, hardly fusses at all, and that her big brother Ryan is calling her Christiane and has changed his name to Karl (one of his middle names). Why, who knows? And that has probably changed since last week, but the story cracks me up. Kids are so great...where do they get their ideas?

Dinner Outside

Yesterday myself and Stephen had 3 friends over for dinner, and decided at the last minute before everyone arrived to move the dining table out to the backyard and have dinner out there. It was a perfect night for it, since there was no wind and it was sunny and very warm. We all had a really great time. Next on our agenda for the fall is to do a travelling dinner party, whereby you have a different course at each person's house.
I am really looking forward to that.

Another Puppy Story

So, Altas, our 11 month old puppy, is pretty well behaved (for the most part). He sometimes comes around if you're eating food, but never has tried to steal food from anyone, or especially from a countertop or table.

That is, until today.

I laid my and Stephen's plates on the table for supper (BBQ'ed hamburgers and fries) with the buns on the plate. Stephen was getting the burgers and I was getting us some water to go with our dinner. I came in, sat down, and wondered why I only had one bun on my plate, because Stephen had two, and I distinctly remembered placing two buns on each plate. Stephen replyed, "Because Atlas has the other one in his mouth".

The little fucker.

I ended up having a double burger instead of two singles, and Atlas had a time out in his kennel, as per our trainer's training methods, which works eventually with repeated usage for repeated offences, but I think that a whack across the backside would probably work better. (A gentle whack of course, but I can't bring myself to do it, so there you go).

Today

Today, I am supposed to mow the lawn, sweep the floors, mop the floors, empty the dishwaser, clean the dishes on the counter, vaccum the carpets, do three loads of laundry, clean out the spare room, dust furniture, walk the dog, pick up the dogs poop which is all over the grass I have to mow, figure out something to make for supper, cook supper, clean up from supper, go to work and catch up on last weeks work so Monday isn't hell.......

Instead, I may mow the lawn, I'll work for an hour or two, play with dog, and do the supper thing.....the rest will be there tomorrow. I may read, drink loads of coffee, catch up with friends and family, take a long walk since it's such a beautiful, sunny, gorgeous day; maybe I'll go to a movie tonight....it's my day....it doesn't belong to the housework, or the garden or the dog.....it's mine. And I'm taking it back and doing what I want! :O)

My First Neice

On Wednesday morning I became an Uncle for the third time, to my first neice. She weighed in at 8lbs, 3ozs and is quite healthly and doing well. Proud parents Blair and Kirsten are happy to have a girl, as are the rest of our family. Brother Ryan is apparantly on cloud nine to be a big brother. He knows what an important job it is, and I am willing to bet he will be amazing in his new role.

I still don't know my neices name....they still hadn't quite decided on one as of yesterday (as far as I know), so I guess it will be emailed out when they have a chance. (Most of us in the Brace family are not known for our promptness, so I'll most likely be making a call this weekend!)

I am hoping to get up to Ontario very soon to visit all the happy family....most likely a weekend in September is when I will be going. It will be great to see them all, play with Ryan, and hold my neice. See you soon guys!

Anxiously Awaiting

Well, my sister in law, Kirsten, Brother Blair and nephew Ryan, along with the rest of both families, are are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their latest child, which is less than 12 hours away. No one knows if it's a boy or a girl, and I think names have been solidified, although no one is talking. I suggested Shelby for a girl, but it's not my child and I'm sure my suggestion has been tossed out, although Kirsten did like it. As long as mother and baby are healthy, that's the most important thing.
Blair has promised to call me on my cell phone tomorrow, so I am very excited to hear news tomorrow morning. It will be a great way to get the day started. I''ll be sure to let everyone know as I hear news...not to mention of course bragging rights as an uncle for the third time!
Kirsten also writes a blog, which is linked here on the right side bar. There are pictures of her pregnant and my nephew dressed up as a princess....very cute Ryan!

Goodbye Nan

My Grandmother did today at the age of 89. I don't really feel anything. We were never close. Thankfully she died peacefully. I am more worried about how my mother is feeling and coping as it's her mother; when I spoke to her today she seems to be doing fine.
It just reminds me of the circle of life...nan gone today, and a new neice or nephew due on Wednesday. It also reminds me of how precious life is and how important it is to not be afraid to live life, to have fun and love openly and fearlessly and to be positive and joyful.
Goodbye Nan.

The Joys of Dog Ownership

Well, our puppy will be 10 months old on the 26th of this month. We have been using a method called Crate Training, whereby when you are not home, you leave the dog in his kennel. He is old enough to start having some freedom outside the kennel when we are not there, but you gradually increase the amount of time.

My partner Stephen and I introduced him to extended out time probably a bit too quickly. He has spent to date upwards of 6 hours on his own out of the kennel with no problems....until today. As you can see from the chewed part of the new rug we only put down a week and a half ago, he may not be quite ready for so much freedom.

At least he isn't sick, but I am willing to bet there will be some interesting "waste" over the next 48 hours.

About Me

Hi. This is about me. I am 33. I have brown hair with grey starting to make it's way in. My hairline on the back right of my head grows different then the left. My sideburns grow different. One long and skinny. One short and fat. I cut my hair every 3-4 weeks. I use gel. No particular brand. My eyebrows are thick so I pluck them. So are my dads but he doesn't pluck. My eyes are blue with flecks of yellow. My lashes are long. My lips are small. My wrists are small. I am 5'6" tall. I find it hard to find pants that fit. I am a creative/artistic/photographer/artist/writer/poet/decorator/salesman/trying to find my way in a big world. I finally have a sense of direction. I am not coordinated. I am no longer scared. I love coffee. Black. I love beer. I smoke. I am indecisive. I am scattered. I speak my mind by stating fact. I bite my nails. I am gay. I have a twin. Identical. He's straight. I have a younger sister. A younger brother. An older brother. A mom and a dad. I have a sister-in-law and two brothers-in-law and two nephews and a neice or nephew on the way. I don't like my grandmother. I loved my pop. I like heat better than cold. I like raspberries better than strawberries. I am confused over why raspberry flavored things are usually coloured blue. I love the colour blue. I like sweet better than sour. Whole wheat to white. I love fruit. I love yogurt. I love italian. I love take out. I am sometimes impatient. I try not to judge. I am sometimes judgemental. I am flighty and quick. But I am working on it. I have a best friend. A Robyn to my Batman. Life without her wouldn't be life. I love with my heart. Not my head. My head tells me I'm nuts. My heart says it's the only way to love. Iam in love with a wonderful man. I am lucky. But so is he. I am paranoid. I am self concious. I am whitty. But you have to know me first. I am hard to know. I am spritual. I don't believe in organized religion. I believe if others need it that that's okay. I respect and expect respect in return. I have an insie, not an outie. I like summer and autumn. I hate winter because of the cold. But I love the way snow looks when it's falling. I like making snowangels. I like classic Pooh. I love the smell of blueberry. I love candle light. I love sunny days. I love dancing in heavy rain. I have to care to have sex. Strangers don't cut it. I love kissing. Hugging. Laughing. I think too much, too quickly, too impulsively, too safely. I've been hurt before. I've gotten over it. I have no regrets. I love music. I love movies. I can't swim or skate. I learned to ride a two wheeler later than the other kids. I couldn't tie my shoes unitl I was 7. It didn't damage me. I didn't care. I love ice cream. I love taking naps. I love shopping. I love my cats, but one is too needy. I don't like needy. From cats or people. But I'm patient. I trust until given reason not to. I am guarded to a degree. I think that's smart. I love my spirit. I love myself. I make mistakes. I have learned from them. I love flannel PJ's. I hug my pillow when I'm lonely. I'm insecure. I was born to fly. I am currently growing my wings. One day I'll soar.

Shifting Your Thoughts

I read something interesting the other day about a technique for staying positive. It said, whenever you are feeling grumpy or crooked or mad or sad or whatever, immediately think of or do something that makes you happy in order to shift your thought process.
Well, the other morning I was in a bit of a bad mood; in a rush, the dog was barking at the ironing board that he is so wickedly afraid of, etc. I had music on in the background and a song came on I really like, so, I stopped everything I was doing, and danced and sang. By the end of the song my bad mood was gone, and I carried my positive mood for the rest of the day.
I shall endeavor from now on to always shift my thoughts to positive ones, and highly recommend it!

Facebook Commentary

The wonderful world of Facebook. You sign up for free, post some photos and voila! Instanstly you can get in touch from little Timmy next door who you knew when you were just three years old and he lived in your neighbourhood for 2 months. Friends galore will be filling your notification box in no time. Feeling down, simply join Facebook and in about a week you can have up to as many as 500 friends. It's amazing, and a great boost to the ego.
Pardon my sarcasm...the site is great for some reasons. For real friends that you don't see or talk to regularly, it's a great way to keep in touch and see what's going in in their lives (as long as they update their status on a regular basis).
What I find strange is the request from an old peer in high school who you never spoke to, all of a sudden poking you, requesting friendship, and then never even writing to you...but genuinely because they really don't care. And why should they? But if that's the case, why do they want to be your friend?
Facebook to me seems more like a popularity contest to a lot of people...I mean, who really has 256 friends, and counting? I guess it depends on what defines a friend....and I think I have some wall cleaning to do in my near future...