The Best of Daddy Geekdom 2011

The year winds down and the holidays barrel towards us.  It's usually a time of reflection...and eggnog.  Man do I love eggnog.  And WonderWife™ has started making her own...  Oh sorry.  Got distracted. 

2011 was a year with incredible ups and downs.  On the positive side, my family is flourishing like WW™'s summer garden.  Professionally, it was a year filled with great challenges and personal rewards.  I spent more time in airplanes and hotels this year than the last three or four combined.  It was a crazy time with a tremendous amount going on, but we all got through it unscathed.

Somehow I carved out time for blogging (though not as much as I would have liked).  And as we prepare to put this year to bed, I thought I'd list a handful of my favorite posts from the 12 months that made up 2011.

I spent a lot of time this year trying to feed the Bean's inner geek--not always successfully. 

I spoke my mind in a post that garnered some attention.

I ended up living with some unlikely new roommates.

I continued my battle with the worst arts and craft ever.

And I exposed my kids to one of the most whimsical authors of my childhood.


Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

The Wit and Wisdom of Sprout: Volume 3

Sprout doesn't talk nearly as much as her brother (who pretty much doesn't stop yapping unless he's sleeping or watching Phineas & Ferb), but that doesn't mean she lacks wisdom. Check out these nuggets of goodness:


Sprout: "You made my sauce touch my chicken."
WonderWife™: " Mommy’s not perfect."
Sprout: "Ashley’s mom is." (8/11)

"I’m washing the car soapilly!" (9/11)

Sprout to WonderWife™: "Why can’t you read me a story?"
WW™: "Because I’m going to lay on the couch and do nothing while Daddy reads you a story."
Sprout (bursting into tears): "I want to do nothing too!" (9/11)

The Bean: "This rice tastes like poo."
Sprout: "Winnie the Pooh or just poo?" (11/11)

"Can you help me find Black Bear? He’s black and he’s a bear, Mom!" (11/11)

“Tonight I’m going to sleep with my eyes closed.” (11/11)

“Is smiling laughing without making any sound?” (12/11)

(Holding hand up to her granny's): "Granny, your hand is as old as Bean is." [5] (12/11)



Past Wisdom
Volume 1
Volume 2

Traveling Again

Although the trip had been planned for many months, the kids only found out about it a few days ago. Time moves slowly when you’re a kid and weeks can feel endless. Not telling them was an act of mercy.

They found out three days before the trip was to commence and they immediately started to pack their bags, trying to cram as many of their toys and stuffed animals as their small backpacks would carry. They spent the next few hours debating which items would be the most essential on the long flight.

I sat back and gleefully watched them scurry around, flush with the adrenaline rush that comes with being told you’re about to go to Disney World. Inside I was as excited as they were.

The night before the trip I packed my bag, unable to shake the feeling that I was forgetting something, that my routine had been shaken. I had traveled many, many times during the year and the trips had become rote, carrying the same bags to the same airport and arriving at the same destination. But this trip was different. This trip was a vacation—the only one I was taking all year…to a magical place…with the people that I love.

In a few days I would be riding roller coasters with the Bean and boats with Sprout. We would be shaking hands with over-sized rodents and smiling at princesses. We would be having the time of our lives.

New Products: Canadian Edition

I used to write a lot about new food products. Not so much these days. In fact, the last time I wrote about something with the label “new” (my favorite label, followed closely by “limited edition”) was July 2010, and I got lambasted by my wife. Truthfully, there has seemingly been a lack of exciting new food products out there. Nothing worth writing about, at least. That was until I strolled into a Canadian branch of my beloved convenience store and found a few interesting items.

Let's start with this one:

 

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are my undisputed favorite candy of all time.  I'm a sucker for peanut butter.  So it was with great excitement that I spotted this bar.  Notice the "limited edition" at the top?  Unfortunately the bar has nothing on the cup, which has the perfect chocolate to peanut butter ratio.  The bar is too heavy on chocolate, which was a bit waxy.  As they say, close but no...something.

Ketchup is not one of those flavors I seek when craving chips.  Outside of fries, onion rings and the occasional burger, ketchup doesn't make many appearances in my food repertoire--let alone spicy ketchup.  But far be it for me to resist a package of junk food that says "new" so I bought 'em and ate 'em.  Thankfully the ketchup flavor wasn't overpowering, and they weren't that spicy, but I'll take a bbq potato chip over these any day.

The last package didn't say "new", but falls under the category of "if they don't sell it in your country, it's new to you."  As with ketchup, pickle isn't a flavor I would associate with snack food.  This was the first time I'd seen it in a Dorito.  Normally Doritos all kind of taste the same, no mater what flavor.  Unlike their cheesy cousins, the pickle Doritos did have the unique tangy taste of a pickle.  Initially, this was startling. But after a handful, the flavor stared to grow on me and I nearly finished the bag.

Who knew there was such a snack food bounty hiding within my neighbors to the north?  Nice snacks you have there, Canada.